“Well, you didn’t try hard enough.”
“I left messages at your apartment,” she said pointedly. “I called your office, only to be told you were away and weren’t to be bothered. What more would you have had me do?”
“Write me a letter, keep calling.” He ran a hand through his hair in a familiar gesture of frustration. “Dammit, Janie, you should have found a way.”
“Did it ever once occur to you to call me?” she retorted. “You knew we’d taken chances. Maybe you should have been responsible enough to check to see if there were any consequences.”
“So now it’s my fault for not checking with you? Don’t you dare try to pull that, Janie. You know perfectly well you told me there was no risk.”
She flushed at that. “That’s not exactly what I said,” she argued, but without much spirit.
“It’s sure as hell what you implied.”
She couldn’t deny that was exactly the impression she’d meant to give him. “Mike, it doesn’t matter, not now. I’m having the baby in a few weeks. I don’t expect anything from you. Not a thing. You’re off the hook. You can hop the next flight to San Francisco and forget all about this.”
He stared at her as if she’d lost her mind. “And what if I don’t want to be off the hook? What if I want to be a father to this baby?”
She fought the little frisson of hope stirred by his words. He was just feeling territorial.
“Then we’ll work something out,” she said evenly. “I would never try to keep you from your child. That’s why I called you in the first place.”
“But you still won’t marry me?”
“Now? Under these circumstances?” she asked incredulously. “No, of course not. A baby doesn’t solve the problems we were having. It’s just an added complication.”
“That’s how you view our child, as a complication?”
“No, never,” she said fiercely. “That wasn’t what I meant at all.”
“What, then?”
“Just that it was difficult enough figuring out what to do when it was just the two of us involved.”
“A baby should simplify it. We should both be thinking about what’s best for our child.”
“But we obviously don’t agree on what that would be. We never have.”
“How the hell do you know that? I only found out about this baby a few minutes ago. I don’t even know what I think.” He stared at her in frustration. “Jane Dawson, you are the most pigheaded woman I have ever known in my life.”
“That kind of attitude will certainly win me over,” she said dryly.
“I’m not trying to win you over. Obviously I’ve lost that battle. But I’ll tell you one thing and make no mistake about it,” he said, his voice climbing, “I am going to be a father to this baby and you can damned well get used to the idea.”
“Well, that’s just fine,” she shouted back.
In the silence that followed, another CD slid into place on the player and the pure, clear notes of “Joy to the World” filled the air. Jane couldn’t help it… she began to chuckle. When she glanced at Mike, she saw the fierce expression on his face begin to give way to a smile.
He sighed, then said softly, “Merry Christmas, Janie.”
“Merry Christmas, Mike.”
“Think we can discuss this rationally?” he asked.
“Maybe in the spirit of the season, we can try,” she conceded, then gave a little gasp as the baby walloped her with a ferocious kick.
“What is it?” Mike demanded at once. “Are you okay?”
“It’s nothing, just a little reminder that your kid’s getting restless. The baby gets a little rambunctious around this time of day, probably because it’s time to eat. A couple of cookies aren’t going to do the trick.”
“We’ll go out,” Mike said at once.
“I can fix something here.”
“Do you have to argue about everything?”
She grinned. “Pretty much.”
“Well, just this once give in gracefully, okay?”
His gaze settled on her stomach and a look of such yearning came over his face, that Janie felt something inside her shift. She had always imagined Mike looking at her with exactly that expression of awe when she was carrying his child. She had always imagined them sharing the wonder of it. Impulsively she moved across the room and stood in front of him.
“Give me your hand.”
He stared at her. “Why?”
“Do you have to argue about everything?” she teased, echoing his accusation against her.
He held out his hand and she placed it against her stomach. The baby didn’t disappoint her. The kick was another solid wallop. Mike’s eyes widened and he stared at her incredulously.
“Oh, my God, that was him, her, whatever?”
Jane nodded.
“Do you know which it is?”
She shook her head. “I didn’t want to know.” The truth was it would have hurt too much to know if it was going to be the little boy she’d dreamed of giving Mike. She hadn’t wanted to deal with that until she had to.
“It’s a boy,” Mike said with utter confidence. “If it’s not, we’re never going to have to worry about anybody messing with our daughter. She’ll blow ‘em away.” His gaze on her softened. “You’re okay? No problems with the pregnancy?”
“I’m healthy as a horse,” she assured him.
“I want to know every detail,” he said fiercely. “And I want to go to your next doctor’s appointment with you.”
Jane stared at him in shock. “You’ll be here that long?”
“Honey, you couldn’t get me out of town now if you wanted to. I’m here for the duration.”
When she opened her mouth to argue, he cut her off. “Get used to it, Jane. I’m here to stay.”
“But your job…”
“I’ve worked nonstop ever since you left San Francisco. I’m due for some time off. I’ll call tomorrow and make the arrangements.”
The thought of Mike being around for the birth of their child left her feeling shaken. If he stayed that long, if he took care of her as he obviously intended, if he reminded her of how deeply she loved him, how would she ever manage to say
