The renovations would be staged so that any of the remaining residents could stay in their units until newly refurbished apartments were ready for them. Best of all, Jeff had frozen the rent for the next three years for all remaining tenants. Leslie and Sid had decided to move in together, and yesterday they’d asked Courtney if she would plan a small wedding for them.
Matt’s life had changed too, although she hadn’t spoken one word to him. His mother and aunt had been swarming over his apartment for the last week, redoing everything. Courtney had run into them only once, thank goodness. She didn’t know what she would do now. Julia was going to be her baby’s grandmother.
She was curious to see what they were doing to his place. Anything would be an improvement over the stuff he’d bought at IKEA. And if he was running for office, he needed a little more class.
Courtney hadn’t expected Jeff to talk Matt into running for the County Council. But last Friday, Matt had stunned the county politicos by announcing his candidacy for Bill Cummins’s seat. Matt had the right political breeding, not to mention the full endorsement of Senator Mark Lyndon himself. The party, which had all but abdicated the seat, had been overjoyed to suddenly find a candidate with ready-made fundraising clout. Although it was early for editorial endorsements, the Winchester Daily had launched its own investigation into Bill Cummins and his relationship with Jerry Beyer. Sally Hawkes hadn’t yet discovered any kickbacks, but every day the newspaper published some new, damaging revelation of a very close, and potentially corrupt, connection between the two of them.
Arwen’s life had also changed. She’d moved in with Rory in order to save money, and she was helping him set up a recording studio right in downtown Shenandoah Falls. She planned to be the first artist to record there, and she had big plans to send her songs off to several recording artists in Nashville.
And now Courtney’s life was about to change more than anyone else’s. With stunning irony, her tasteless joke about the sperm bank had come back to bite her in the butt. The timing for this was spectacularly bad, what with Matt running for the County Council. Courtney had no illusions about her situation. Matt didn’t love her. He didn’t want to make a life together.
And the last thing he needed was an out-of-wedlock child.
But he would have one. And he’d probably hate her for it, although the only emotion Courtney felt when it came to Matt was love. And she truly hoped he’d love their child.
She got up from the bathroom and phoned Dr. Lawrence’s office, making an appointment for next week. Once that was done, she sat in her living room awash in a strange mixture of feelings: elation, fear, sadness, joy, all mixed together. She would be having this child one way or another. And that meant Matt would have to know about it. She decided not to wait to tell him the news. She had no desire to surprise or manipulate him.
So she stayed home and waited for him.
It was almost 10:00 p.m. when Matt finally came home. Courtney had spent the evening on her balcony keeping a lookout and had just about given up for the night when he came strolling down the street with his suit jacket over his shoulder and his shirtsleeves rolled up, like a campaign-poster portrait of a young politician.
He looked good enough to eat. Or to hug. Or to love for the rest of her life.
He paused a moment on the sidewalk, and Courtney’s heart soared. Please give me a poem.
It didn’t happen. It wasn’t ever going to happen again. Instead of poetry, Matt made a point of glancing away before turning toward the door.
This confrontation wasn’t going to be easy, but he needed to know the truth. So she opened her door and met him in the hallway, her stomach tied into knots and her pulse hammering in her head.
“I need to talk to you,” she said as he came up the stairs.
When he reached the landing, he turned those incredible brown eyes in her direction. “Look,” he said, “I probably should have come over a couple of days ago to tell you how much I appreciate the fact that you talked to Melissa and Jeff about Dogwood Estates. Honestly, if you hadn’t gone to Jeff, I don’t know where those tenants would be. Hell, I don’t know where I’d be. So, I owe you one. But I can’t—”
“Matt, I need to talk to you,” she interrupted. Courtney’s voice remained firm, which was nothing short of a miracle. His words of thanks were totally unexpected and knifed into her heart so much more effectively than his anger might have. “I have something really important that I need to tell you.” She opened her apartment’s door. “Please.”
He nodded. “Okay.”
A moment later, he stood in her living room, his presence making her apartment seem small. How would she manage without him? Hell, how would she manage if he wanted a relationship with their child? Would she be stuck loving him forever while he kept her out of his heart?
Her runaway thoughts settled in her throat. “Can I get you something? A beer, a Coke?” she said around the lump.
He shook his head. “What is it, Courtney?”
She pointed at the couch. “Sit down.”
Something in her tone must have warned him that she meant business because he dropped onto the couch and cocked one foot over his knee. “Okay. I’m here. I’m listening.”
“This is very awkward. I want you to know that I’m as surprised as you are.”
“Surprised about what?”
“I’m pregnant,” she
