Their Precious Christmas Miracle: Mistletoe Baby / In the Spirit of...Christmas / A Baby By Christmas

Chapter Twelve

A houseful of laughing women was the complete opposite of the quiet, complicated intimacy of the night before, when David had returned to cook Rachel chicken and pasta. Tonight’s dinner was Chinese takeout. Arianne had ordered enough to feed an entire sorority house.

Since Rachel and David’s house was larger than Arianne’s garage apartment or either half of Lilah and Quinn’s duplex, the women had agreed to meet here for the Bubble Party. At the reception, before the bride and groom’s departure, attendants would hand small decorated bottles of bubbles to each guest. The catch was, someone actually had to decorate three hundred clear plastic bottles in the appropriate wedding colors. With Tanner and Lilah both having spent most of their lives in Mistletoe, they’d invited the majority of the town.

Rachel had carefully hidden her scrapbook materials, and the entire bridal party except Vonda (who was hoping to hit a jackpot on a seniors’ trip to the Biloxi casinos) gathered at six-thirty. While the glue guns heated up, the women gorged themselves on mu shu pork, beef with broccoli, shrimp lo mein and egg rolls. Afterward, they formed an assembly line in the living room, wedding-themed movies playing in the background for ambiance.

By the time Nia Vardalos and John Corbett had overcome cultural obstacles and meddling family in My Big Fat Greek Wedding, one heart-shaped basket was already full of completed bottles of bubbles. Halfway through Father of the Bride, Arianne got up to dig out the corkscrew from the back of a kitchen drawer. She’d brought over two bottles of wine from a Georgia vineyard.

“Okay, what can I pour anybody?” she asked, standing at the edge of the living room.

“The white merlot for me,” Quinn said.

“Chardonnay, please.” Lilah affected a reprimanding scowl. “But when the tiny green bows end up crooked on these bubbles, you’re going to have to explain to my wedding guests it’s because you plied us with alcohol.”

“Fair enough,” Arianne said. “What about you, Rach?”

Rachel kept her gaze on the piece of lace in her hand. “I’m good, but thanks.”

“You sure?” Arianne persisted. “It’s from that family winery in Dahlonega you love.”

“Yeah, but I’ve almost hot-glued my fingers together twice. Friends don’t let friends drink and glue. Maybe later.” Like in six and a half months.

An hour or so later, as Arianne popped a rented copy of The Wedding Singer into the DVD player, Quinn stretched and regretfully announced that she didn’t think she could stay much longer.

“I have to be at school at seven tomorrow to administer some makeup tests before winter break and the end of the grading period.” She shot an apologetic look at the bride. Since the two friends lived in adjoining houses, they’d driven over together. “I hate to cut the evening short.”

“Are you kidding? We’ve already decorated, like, two hundred and eighty bottles.” Lilah looked tickled pink by the progress. “You guys are amazing.”

“I can stick around and help for a little longer,” Arianne volunteered.

Rachel managed not to wince—she’d actually been hoping everyone would go and that she could shuffle off to bed. “That’s sweet, but you don’t have to. I can easily finish the few that are left tomorrow.”

“Okay.” Ari agreed readily enough, but stared at her for a moment as if she had more to say. She bided her time, though, until after the other women had left.

Rachel was stacking all the movies by Arianne’s purse when her sister-in-law asked from behind her, “So when are you due?”

“What?” Rachel jumped. “How— Why— Why would you …?”

Arianne rolled her eyes, but her grin was a mile wide. “Oh, that was a convincing denial.” She suddenly squealed, throwing her arms around Rachel’s shoulders. “I am so excited for you!”

Rachel blinked back tears. Even though it hadn’t been the plan, it felt pretty amazing to share the news with someone close to her. “Thank you.”

“Now go sit your pregnant butt down and tell me everything!”

“Um, other than what you’ve already surmised, I’m not sure what else there is to know.”

“Well, for starters, when are you due?” Arianne repeated. “When did you find out? Did you set up an elaborate romantic scene to tell David, or did you just kind of blurt it out because you were so excited or did he already suspect or—”

“Whoa. One question at a time. We haven’t known for very long at all. David was with me when I took the home pregnancy test. We got the results confirmed by the doctor, but we were waiting to tell people. Obviously.”

“I don’t think that’s gonna work out. No offense, but you and David don’t have poker faces. When I went to lunch with the two of you the other day, I knew something was up. For one thing, whenever one of you thought the other wasn’t looking, you were staring at each other.”

Rachel felt her face heat. “We were?”

“Oh, yeah. He was in such a great mood, too. But he’s also been tense lately. I get it now. He must be really happy but maybe worried about you and the baby all at the same time. Is everything all right?”

“So far. I mean, I’ve had a few dizzy spells, some nausea. Dr. McDermott assured us all that was normal. And I’ve been tired.”

“We noticed. You were practically falling asleep over your craft scissors, then you refused a glass of one of your favorite wines.”

“We noticed?”

Arianne bobbed her head. “I asked Lilah and Quinn if they thought you’d been feeling all right lately, and Lilah mentioned that you’d seemed less than a hundred percent shopping the other day. She also said that you asked them to stop the car because you had to go to the bathroom every five minutes. The way David was hovering at the shower and all that food he brought you? I think everyone suspects, but we didn’t want to …”

“Get your hopes up?” Rachel asked, knowing that Arianne was treading lightly because of what had happened last time.

“So when are you going to tell the family? You can’t wait until the second trimester—everyone will have figured it out by then!”

She made a valid point. Rachel sighed. “I don’t know. I’ll have to talk it over with David.”

Arianne was grinning from ear to ear again. “I am going to be the coolest aunt ever. No offense to Lilah or your sister, but come on. This is me we’re talking about.”

Rachel experienced a twinge of guilt. Even though it hadn’t been intentional, she felt bad that one of David’s family knew about the baby and he hadn’t been part of the announcement. He would have wanted to share in the moment.

“I know you’ll be a fantastic aunt. You’ve always been a fantastic sister-in-law,” Rachel said with feeling. “But right now, there’s something I need you to do for me as a friend. Well, two things.”

“Yes?”

“First, keep it just between us?”

“You got it—it’ll be our little secret!”

Yours, mine, David’s, Mindy’s, May’s, Dr. McDermott and her entire staff … Chloe, Quinn and Lilah had probably all figured it out, too.

“Second.” Rachel rubbed her eyes. “Any chance I could convince you to clear out of here so that I can drop into an eight-hour coma?”

Arianne laughed. “Deal. I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?”

Once Rachel had the house to herself, she brushed her teeth and changed into a silky, oversize sleep shirt that buttoned down the front. In the darkness, she climbed into bed, but her conscience nagged that there was something she should do before she let herself sink into slumber. After only a minute or two of deliberation, she reached for the cordless phone.

Would he be asleep? It was a few minutes past eleven, and David liked to be up with the sun.

He answered on only the second ring, sounding plenty alert. “Rach? Is that you?”

“Hey. Sorry for calling at this hour.”

“You can call anytime. Is everything all right?”

“Absolutely. No problems today. But … something happened tonight that you should know about.”

“All right.” From his end, there came rustling and a click. Rachel imagined him sitting up, turning on the light and bracing himself for whatever news she might have.

“It’s nothing bad,” she reiterated. “Your sister caught me off guard.”

He snorted. “Ari has a way of doing that.”

“We were all over here working on party favors for the wedding, and after Quinn and Lilah left, Arianne asked me point-blank about being pregnant. I didn’t mean to tell her, but I didn’t deny it convincingly.”

“You’re a very honest person,” he said, his voice laced with affection. “So my sister knows?”

“She said she won’t tell anyone, but I figured now that the cat’s out of the bag, it would only be right to let the rest of your family know. Soon.”

“Christmas is right around the corner. Why not tell them Christmas morning?”

She smiled at the idea. “That sounds festive. With the big announcement as backup, I won’t have to worry about whether your family will like their presents.”

He chuckled. “Oh, come on. They’ll love whatever you got them because it was from you.”

She picked at the fringe on the edge of her bedspread. Their bedspread. “Actually, I did all right shopping for most of your family, but …”

“But?” he prompted.

“I was at a loss as to what I should get you. Everything seemed either hypocritical or too impersonal.” When he didn’t say anything, she couldn’t help asking, “Didn’t you have trouble picking something out for me?”

“No.”

“Oh. Well, I—”

“Rachel, it doesn’t matter. It’s the thought that counts, and I … Really, it doesn’t matter.” His voice lowered. “There’s only one thing I want, anyway. You.”

Her breath stuck in her throat, her skin tingling at the intensity in his voice. She was suddenly, miraculously, not the least bit tired. You, he’d said—not the baby, not another chance at their marriage, simply you.

“I …” Maybe it was a surge of hormones, maybe it was old-fashioned lust, but she couldn’t turn away from what she was feeling. Not this time. Didn’t she want to be that bold woman who went after what she wanted, a woman who wouldn’t cower away from making love with the lights blazing?

“Last night?” she prompted. “When you were leaving after dinner, I really wanted you to kiss me. And when we said goodbye after shopping with Tanner and Lilah. And when you picked me up for shopping with Tanner and Lilah. I should have just taken action.”

Now she heard his breathing hitch as he fumbled for words. It was a delicious sensation.

“Give me five minutes.”

PLEASE don’t let her change her mind, please don’t let her change her mind. David shoved his arms through the sweatshirt he’d discarded earlier and took the steps two at a time toward the front door. Part of him thought it would be quicker just to sprint toward the house—the way he felt now, he could make it in twenty seconds flat—than mess with the car, but then he’d show up sweaty and panting. That was only romantic under certain very specific conditions.

What is it you think is going to happen? he asked himself as he turned the key in the ignition. So she’d admitted to wanting to kiss him. That didn’t necessarily translate to …

But instead of listening to what was probably the voice of reason, he focused on thinking positively. He let himself dwell on the way she’d responded when he’d kissed her over a week ago. Such heat. It had to mean she missed him at least a little. And what about the way she’d looked at him during their dinner with Lilah and Tanner, and her request yesterday that he hold her? He couldn’t help believing that things between him and Rachel were shifting for the better.

Pulling into the driveway, he barely had the engine shut off before he flung open the door. Now what, Einstein? Did he approach this casually, asking if he could come inside so they could talk about what she’d said? Or did he just plant one on her, not giving her the chance to take back her rash admission, and hope for the best?

The porch light was on, probably a holdover from the ladies’ visit earlier, but there was no visible illumination from inside the house. He stood in the pale orange glow and rapped against his own front door.

It swung open immediately, his wife smiling up at him from the shadows. “What took you so long?”

A streak of pure need jolted through his body. “Rachel.”

That was all he got out before he reached for her, pulling her into his arms where she belonged. His mouth fell on hers, and she kissed him back fervently. She tugged on his hair as if trying to bring him closer. He was happy to oblige.

It wasn’t until a gust of particularly frigid December wind hit them that they both realized their front door was standing wide-open. He shoved it closed and turned the dead bolt. The good news was, they’d been in the dark foyer and there were unlikely to be many witnesses at this time of night anyway.

Within seconds, he’d turned back to Rachel, but apparently it had been enough time for her to go. His heart pounded an anxious drumbeat as he struggled to read the situation. Had she suddenly had misgivings, or was she simply awaiting him in their bedroom? As if in response to his questions, a thin ray of light appeared, beckoning him toward the living room.

She was at the sofa, leaning one knee on it without really sitting.

He said the first thing that came to mind. “You’re beautiful.”

She blessed him with an ageless smile, full of feminine secrets. “I feel beautiful.”

Her fingers flirted with the button at the top of her shirt, and David suspected that he would die on the spot. Except that, if he did, he’d never get to make love to Rachel again.

He approached her slowly, curious, not wanting to rush her or take charge of the seduction. As he’d climbed out of his car, he’d been trying to decide on the best plan of action here. Why hadn’t it occurred to him that Rachel might have her own plans?

Mesmerized by the slow slide of the button from its buttonhole, he stopped inches from her. A second button followed, revealing the creamy swell of her breasts. He had to touch her.

He rested his thumb over the third. “May I?”

She nodded, her eyes echoing the urgency he felt. His fingers actually shook as he unbuttoned the shirt and parted the satiny folds of material. Her breasts were so full, their centers darker than he remembered. It made him crazy that her body had started changing with pregnancy and he’d already missed some of it.

Recalling what she’d discussed with the doctor, he asked, “Are they too tender?”

She arched toward him. “Only one way to find out, I guess.”

Keeping his touch featherlight, he trailed two fingers over the slope of her left breast, slowing so that it took forever to reach the tightly puckered nipple. “That hurt?”

Wordless, Rachel shook her head. He wanted to smile, but his entire body was humming with arousal. Still, he focused his concentration on being gentle, bringing her pleasure. He slid the fabric off her shoulders, glancing down to take in the sight of his wife wearing only a pair of pink panties. For just a moment, he slid his hands down over her rib cage to her waist, then back up to her breasts. When he moved to lay her back on the couch and lavish her with more attention, she frowned, tugging instead at his shirt. He struggled free, glad for the sudden cool air against his skin. It might be December outside, but it was an inferno here.

Rachel placed a palm against his chest and gave him that smile again, the one he felt down to his toes. He sat, helping steady her with his hands as she straddled his lap. The urge to bury himself inside her, to reclaim what was his, was overwhelming. But he hadn’t touched her in weeks—hadn’t truly explored her in months—and he refused to deny either of them the experience.

Reaching up, he cupped her breasts together, still gentle but merciless in his attention, running his thumbs over the peaks, bringing her close enough to his mouth to suckle. When she cried out, he had to double-check that he hadn’t caused her any discomfort.

“No,” she assured him. “More.” Her voice sounded exactly like the woman he’d once thought he knew as well as himself, but also not. It was a dizzying, exotic contrast.

He continued to use his tongue and lips against her sensitive flesh, and she bucked in his lap. Edging one finger beneath the band of her panties, he found her slick and ready for him. Having been pushed to exquisite, excruciating limits, he yanked down the combined waistbands of his pants and boxers. She braced one hand on the sofa back for balance while she shimmied out of her own underwear and he sat paralyzed, absorbed in the sheer joy of watching her, the warm light of the end-table lamp bathing her lush curves in gold. She looked like a decadent, pagan treasure. His treasure.

Kissing her again, he slid her across his thighs, so close now that all rational thought fractured and flew. Meshing his hands in her hair, he angled her head back, wanting to look into her eyes as he thrust upward and impaled her. For just a second, their gazes were locked together as intimately as their bodies. Then she leaned forward, rocking in a rhythm that quickly doubled and grew frantic. Fingers clutched on slippery skin and half-formed words of carnal praise were traded breathlessly.

She called out his name, one of the few coherent things either of them managed, just as her muscles constricted around him. Feeling like an exile finally home, David tightened his embrace and lost himself inside her.

Chapter Thirteen

They lay together stretched out on the couch for some time, dozing but neither of them falling asleep for long. David idly massaged the small of Rachel’s back, which she seemed to like, judging from the occasional sighs.

He kissed the top of her head. “I don’t think you told me—what actually tipped Ari off about the baby?”

“A combination of a couple of different things. A biggie seemed to be our lunch with her the other day. She said it was obvious there was something we weren’t telling her.”

The comment lodged under his skin like a splinter. He and Rachel had definitely been keeping secrets, and not only the happy news of the pregnancy. As for the other? It was probably impolitic to ask where they stood relationship-wise while he still had her naked against him. They’d dragged an afghan over their bodies as their temperatures dropped back to normal, but neither of them had bothered to dress. Just being around Rachel when she was this uninhibited made him want her again.

Would she expect him to stay the night, or would taking a step that gargantuan be overkill? Despite himself, he grinned. After what they’d just shared, it was hard to imagine anything else being seen as too much, too soon. “I hate to leave you, but I guess I should get back to the dogs.”

She nodded. “I suppose that’s the responsible thing to do.”

He felt around for various pieces of clothing while she watched, her expression inscrutable. “Rach, I can’t tell you how glad I am that you called.”

She shot him a smile so wicked it was probably illegal in fifteen states. “Well, you kept saying that if there was anything I needed …”

He laughed out loud, a tremendous weight off his chest. For the first time all year, he felt deep down in his soul that they were going to be okay. It would take work, and it wouldn’t happen overnight, but they were going to be okay.

His mother was right—this was the season of miracles.

WHITE ROSES awaited Rachel when she walked into work on Wednesday morning.

May nodded toward them with an approving grin. “Someone loves you.”

The words gave Rachel warm fuzzies. All morning, though, the quick pulses of joy were followed by nervousness. When she’d suggested to David in November that they go their separate ways, she’d been almost numb. Even he, by tacit admission and his total lack of protest, had acknowledged how much their relationship had deteriorated. Now … Last night had been like regaining feeling in a frostbitten extremity. Along with the extreme pleasure he’d brought her, he’d awakened a dormant pain. Because, for the first time in a long time, she truly realized how much she had to lose.