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Not likely. The sooner she nipped that notion, the better.
He walked over to the door, snagging her jacket as he passed the chair. “Thanks for bringing the papers by. I’ll look over them carefully and let you know if I want anything different.”
“Fine.”
He helped her put the jacket on, brushing the back of his fingers against her cheek and leaned closer until Cath held her breath. Was he going to kiss her again?
He did. Not just a brush against her lips, but a full-blown kiss, the kind they’d shared last summer. The kind she’d yearned for during the weeks she hadn’t seen him. The kind she never thought she’d have again.
She was almost breathless when he lifted his head.
“Need a ride home?”
“No, I’m good. Bye.”
She opened the door and almost ran out of his apartment. Her heart was racing, blood zinging through her body. She felt exhilarated, more alive than she had in weeks. Oh, oh, she was in trouble.
Cath chose to walk home, both for the exercise and to get some control over her emotions. She couldn’t believe Trace wanted to play such an active part in the baby’s life. Yet how could she deny the man time with his child? Especially when she knew he grieved the loss of that first baby he thought was his. She’d have to find a way to deal with the emotions he evoked.
No more kisses.
When she reached her place, she fixed lunch and then called her mother.
After the preliminaries were out of the way, she broached the subject,
“I thought I’d finalize plans for Thanksgiving. I’ll be down that morning and stay until Sunday.”
“How are you feeling?”
“Much better now. Almost back to normal, except I’m tired all the time.”
“And the baby’s father?”
Cath hesitated, not sure how much to tell her mother.
“He wants an active role in the child’s life. We are already discussing custody arrangements.”
It sounded so odd. She felt a pang. She didn’t want to share this baby with anyone. Yet at some point she might have to split each week.
“I plan to tell everyone I’m pregnant when we’re all together. That’ll work, won’t it?”
Cath wanted to share her good news. Maybe if she told everyone, nothing bad would happen. She’d have a textbook perfect pregnancy and deliver a healthy, beautiful baby.
She wasn’t quite sure how her sister and brother would take the news. She knew they’d be happy for her, but probably question the wisdom of bringing the baby into the world as a single woman.
But her family would only be critical because they loved her. She had to make sure they knew this is exactly what she wanted. This was so complicated.
“Best time to tell them. We can all make plans if we’re together. I can’t wait to hold that new baby.”
After she finished talking with her mother, she went to take that nap. The luxury of the weekend was the ability to sleep as much as she wanted. She needed to rest up—the weekdays were hectic.
Feeling refreshed when she awoke, Cath wandered into the living room and began to review some notes from work. It was late afternoon when the telephone rang. She was surprised to hear Trace’s voice when she picked up.
“Do you want to have dinner with me?” he asked.
Cath hesitated a moment. Being with him wasn’t the same as it had been last summer. Then they had plenty to talk about. Now it seemed everything revolved around the baby. She was afraid to say too much for fear of rocking the boat.
“It’s only dinner, Cath.”
