The Pregnancy Surprise

would be to find a computer terminal, order online and print out your boarding pass. But we close the gangway for good in twenty minutes.”

Reece tipped his head back and looked up at the sky. Why, oh, why did Sara not answer her cell phone?

But then he spied an Internet cafe-right there at the harbor.

IT DIDN’T TAKE Sara long to unpack-it never did. Her quarters on the Sapphire Princess were distinctly unglamorous, a closet-size room with a tiny bunk, a tiny dresser and a tiny sink with a tiny mirror. Honestly, the cabin had been designed for Thumbelina, and the bathroom was down the hall.

This was quite a comedown from her quarters at the Sunsetter B and B, and it didn’t even have a porthole.

But she wouldn’t spend much time here. She would be busy. She was expected to work long hours, which was fine with her. The harder she worked, the less time she had to think about Reece.

One problem, though. All through her first shift she’d suffered from morning sickness. Even now she was queasy, and though she longed for a nap after her shift cutting up fruit for a buffet, she needed fresh air worse than sleep.

She now had an inkling of why Reece didn’t like boats.

She was about to head for the deck when someone knocked at her door. Curious, she opened it and found Reece Remington standing there. Only it wasn’t the Reece Remington she was accustomed to. This one wore wrinkled, disheveled, filthy clothes, uncombed hair and a day’s growth of beard.

Her jaw dropped and her heart pounded crazily. “Reece? What are you doing here?”

“I’m trying not to be sick.”

Join the club.

But then he smiled. “I can’t believe I found you.” He steadied himself against the doorway. “Is the boat moving?”

It was. And her stomach was pitching right along with it. “Follow me. Up on deck.” Otherwise, things were going to get very unpleasant.

Once she could breathe the fresh air and see the sky, she felt better. She stood at the railing, oblivious to the hubbub around her as the Sapphire Princess pulled away from the dock.

“Are you seasick?” asked Reece, standing right beside her, his hands gripping the railing just as hers were.

“Unfortunately. Never expected this.”

He reached into his pocket and handed her a small bottle. “Take some Dramamine. It helps a little.”

“Maybe later.” After she read the label and found out whether pregnant ladies could take it.

Finally the reality of the situation sank in. Reece was here. He’d followed her here. “Did you buy a ticket?” she asked.

“I had to. But I’d have done anything to get to you. I couldn’t stand to be apart from you another minute.”

Was he really saying this? Was she dreaming?

He grasped her shoulders and swiveled her around to face him. “Sara, I’m so sorry I gave you the wrong impression.”

Her eyes filled with tears, remembering their last conversation at the hospital. “You acted like you were trying to get rid of me.”

“I was, but just for the moment. I didn’t want you to know what was really wrong with me.”

“What is wrong?” Oh, God, was he dying? Was her baby going to grow up without a father?

“Nothing, now.” He smiled. “Sara, I love you so much. It took me two planes, three cars and a motorcycle to get here so I could tell you that. I quit my job. They offered me the vice presidency, can you imagine? And I quit. Because I don’t want to live like that anymore. I want to live in Port Clara with you.”

“But I don’t live there anymore!” she wailed, because she was so overwhelmed she didn’t know which way was up. He loved her. He’d clearly been through some kind of hell to get here, judging from the looks of things. He’d gotten on a cruise ship for her, and he hated boats.

“Then I’ll go wherever you go,” he declared. “If you want to live on a cruise ship, then I will, too. I’ll learn to eat strange food and I’ll try new things. I promise I will. And I’ll love you forever if you’ll marry me.”

He reached into his sad-looking, shrunken jacket and pulled something out. Then he took her left hand and slid a ring onto her third finger. “Sara Kaufman, will you marry me?”

That just made her cry harder, and he drew her to him and wrapped his arms around her. “Sara, please.”

Miss Greer must have told him. At the last minute, Sara had confessed to both Valerie and her grandmother about the baby. Sara couldn’t explain Reece’s odd behavior any other way.

“I’m sorry I’m crying so much, ruining a perfectly good moment,” she said, gathering herself together. “It’s my hormones. I’d always heard that pregnant ladies are weepy, but-”

Reece grasped her shoulders and pushed her away, just far enough that he could look into her face. “Pregnant ladies?”

“You…you didn’t know?”

“How would I know something like that? I’m not psychic. So are you?”

She nodded.

“Oh, baby!” He kissed her then, like he meant it, and for the first time Sara really understood what Allie meant when she said two people could become one.

She hugged Reece hard. “You’re okay with that?”

“Okay? I think it’s great.”

“But it’s so…unplanned.”

He stroked her tear-damp cheek with his knuckles. “I’m learning to roll with the punches.” His gaze flickered to the rapidly receding shoreline. “Holy cow, we’re stuck on this ship, aren’t we.”

“Yup. For a whole week.” She grinned impishly at him.

“Could be worse.”

“Could be a whole lot worse.”

“Does this ship have some place I can buy some clothes? And a toothbrush?”

“Let me get this straight. You rode a motorcycle across the country…with no toothbrush?”

“I left my bag in the trunk of a 1964 Nova, somewhere in the desert.”

With a grin Sara hooked her arm through his. “You can buy anything you need on this boat, including enough seasick medicine for an army. I’ll show you around.”

They started walking, but Reece stopped abruptly. “Sara, did you say yes? To the proposal, I mean.”

She held out her hand to admire her engagement ring. The enormous marquis diamond winked in the sun. “Of course I’ll marry you. I’ll learn how to cook food you love, and I’ll even open a retirement account.”

She turned to face him, serious now. “I love you, Reece.”

She knew their relationship would always provide challenges. But Sara loved a challenge.

Epilogue

Sara stood in the Sunsetter’s front yard, admiring the new sign. The bed-and-breakfast’s placard had been repainted to include two new shingles underneath: Reece Remington, CPA, and Sea Breeze Catering.

As soon as she and Reece had finished their cruise, they had returned to Port Clara and had a long meeting with a banker. It turned out she could afford to buy the B and B with a little help from Reece. He’d set up his office in a side parlor.

She wasn’t too sure about the catering thing, but Reece had urged her to at least give it a try. If it proved too much, she could scale back or hire a helper. She had already hired a part-time housekeeper.

Max was busy coming up with marketing plans for all three businesses.

It had been difficult to say goodbye to Miss Greer. But the woman Sara had come to think of as a grandmother had seemed so happy, off to start a new life with her new family. Sara thought of her often, surrounded by