Meghan scanned their faces for surprise as they shook her hand. In several cases she wasn’t disappointed. After the surprise, she felt their smiles were genuine. Some of them were happy for Thomas, even mentioning that it was time for him to move on. Meghan wondered about his relationship with his wife.

  After a few moments Meghan felt comfortable enough to move away from Thomas.

  “You are a surprise,” someone said to her. Meghan turned to find a tall woman with graying hair in front of her. Meghan was good with names. She remembered this woman’s name was Olivia Twomley. She and her husband had known Thomas since he was a child. “We didn’t even know he was seeing someone.”

  “We haven’t been engaged that long.”

  “But you’ve been seeing each other for some time?”

  “About a year off and on. Then seriously for the last six months.”

  “Funny, he didn’t mention it.”

  “He’s very busy. Maybe he never got the chance.”

  She nodded, and Meghan wondered what that meant. Did Olivia believe her or not? Meghan hoped she was convincing.

  “Anyway,” she said. “Congratulations.” She leaned forward and hugged Meghan. “Thomas needs someone in his life. Make him happy.”

  She left Meghan with a smile. Meghan turned away from the room. She felt like a fraud.

  “Are you all right?” Thomas said, immediately coming to her side.

  “I’m fine.” She turned to him with her smile in place.

  “What did Olivia say?”

  “She congratulated me.”

  “You don’t sound like she meant it.” His tone was guarded.

  “I’m sure she did.”

  “Then what’s the problem?”

  “No problem.”

  “Thomas, you ol’ fraud,” Gary Walls, the president of a local college, joined them with his wife Alice. Gary and Thomas threw soft blows at one another for a moment before they hugged. “You know I would have sworn this man was a confirmed bachelor. And that’s despite him being married once.” He laughed at his own joke. Meghan smiled as expected.

  “That’s a beautiful gown,” Alice said. She looked at her, admiring the dress. Alice Walls was three sizes larger than Meghan.

  “It took me awhile to find it,” Meghan said.

  At that moment, dinner was announced. Thomas took Meghan’s arm and slipped it through his. They had to lead the group into the dining room.

  “How’s it going?” he asked.

  “Better than I expected,” she told him. And that was the truth.

  “Good night, Meghan. It was a pleasure meeting you.”

  “Good night, Pepper.” Meghan smiled warmly. Pepper took her hand and pulled her into a bear hug. “You’re good for him,” she whispered before releasing her. “We’ll have to get together again soon.”

  “I’d like that,” Meghan replied. Pepper was Fredonia Patterson, a pattern designer for Vogue Patterns. She’d complemented Meghan on her dress. She herself wore a simple, straight gown of a clingy pink fabric that flowed like water when she moved.

  Adam and Nina were the last to bid them good-night, Nina with a twinkle in her eye and a wide smile on her face.

  “I had a wonderful time,” Nina told her. She pressed her cheek first to Meghan’s and then to Thomas’s. Adam did the same and the two went to a waiting car.

  Thomas held the door open, his arm around Meghan’s waist, until the driver closed the door and Nina and Adam disappeared from sight. As the driver turned out of the circular driveway, Thomas closed the door and turned to her.

  “Tired?”

  She shook her head. “I should be. Especially because I was so nervous. Do you think they bought it?” Meghan wasn’t used to deception. She needed complete honesty from the clients she dealt with in Social Services. And she needed to be completely honest with them. Many of their problems stemmed from deception and dishonesty. She hadn’t been completely comfortable with deceiving Thomas’s friends, some of whom she liked, but there was no way around it if Thomas wanted to save his reputation and keep the press at bay. And Meghan didn’t want to defend her position as a surrogate.

  “I think you were magnificent. Even Olivia seemed to warm to you.”

  “I’m not so sure about her.”

  Thomas put his hand on her lower back and guided her toward the living room. He’d done that a lot during the evening. Meghan felt jumpy each time she felt it, but hoped no one noticed. She knew he was being reassuring, that he was letting her know he was there for her, ready to deflect any untoward comments. None had been delivered. For the most part, his friends were accepting.

  Meghan had felt Thomas was still in love with his wife. Tonight she discovered he had yet to complete the grieving process. She saw it in the smiles of his friends, in their willingness to believe that he had at last found love again. The knowledge depressed her. Thomas’s “new relationship” was a facade, only the image of what they expected.

  Meghan glanced at the dining room which had been completely cleared by the catering staff, though music was still playing from a stereo system that was out of sight. Meghan hummed along with the song, unsure what was going on now. They should be getting her wrap and going to the car for the long drive back into the city. Instead a maid came silently into the room and placed a tray of fruit, cheese and two champagne glasses on the coffee table. She smiled and left as quietly as she had entered.

  Thomas lifted the two flutes that had already been filled, and handed one to her.

  “What shall we drink to?” she asked. “Since this is likely my last drink for the next nine months.”

  “New beginnings,” he said after a moment.

  Meghan nodded and clinked her glass against his. She drank the champagne. It was sparkly and tickled her nose. Thomas popped a square of cheese into his mouth. Meghan selected and ate some grapes. They were exquisitely sweet and balanced the wine.

  She glanced at Thomas. He was quiet. The kind of silence that meant he was thinking of something, reviewing, remembering other times, other events, another woman. A wave of jealously went through Meghan. She mentally shook herself, knowing she had no right to those feelings.

  “You said you thought I did well tonight.”

  He looked at her. The two lines between his brows deepened.

  “How did you do?”

  “What?”

  “From something someone said, this is the first time you’ve had a dinner party and invited someone you were interested in to meet your friends.” Nina had told her that. Meghan purposely didn’t say who had given her the information. “So, are you all right?”

  He stood up and walked to the unlit fireplace. “I wouldn’t tell anyone else this,” he began.

  Meghan knew they were not intimate and not likely to be. But she also knew more about him than he often allowed other people to see.

  “It wasn’t easy tonight. I kept remembering…”

  “Other parties…Ruth,” she supplied when he trailed off.

  “I know it’s morbid, but it was impossible not to comp—not to remember seeing all our friends.”

  “Thomas, are you sure you want to do this? You can back out. I won’t hold it against you. If you’re not ready, I’ll understand.”

  He was shaking his head before she finished her comment.

  “Then are you doing it for the right reason?”

  “The right reason?” His brow crinkled again. Meghan wanted to reach up and smooth it out. She was glad she was still seated.

  “Because you want to be a father. Because you want to love and rear a child? Or are you doing it because you think it’s what Ruth would want you to do?”

  “Is there something wrong in my wanting to have a child with the woman I loved?”

  “Nothing at all,” Meghan stated. “Children should be created out of love. And I have no doubt that you loved your wife. I believe you still love her.”

  “So a child is the natural progression.”

  “Progression of a relationship. Of a family. That avenue has been cut short for you. So the natural progression is to move on.”

  “That is not an option for me.” His voice said his comment was not open to further discussion.

  “You have an option to go a step further, and I am a willing participant to fulfill that option. But I’ve seen the effects on the children of parents who miscalculate the changes required of them for family. Being a single father with your business and the necessity to travel forces me to ask if you’ve truly thought through all the changes you’ll have to make for this child.”

  “No, I haven’t,” he said.

  Meghan did not expect him to admit it.

  “Then are you rethinking the agreement?”

  “No,” he answered again. “I believe it’s impossible to completely understand what will be necessary before it really happens. I’ve observed other people with their children, but without a twenty-four-seven, long-term period with children, it’s not possible to know. But I’m willing to make the effort, to do what is necessary for this child.”

  He said it as if there was already a child. Meghan took another drink from her flute. The champagne no longer tasted as good.

  She stood up and joined him. “You’re a very honest man,” she said. “I think you’ll make a good father.”

  “Was that an interview?” he asked. “Were you testing me, practicing your craft as a social worker to see if I’m fit to raise a child?” His voice was edged with anger.

  “Yes,” she said succinctly. “And you passed.”

  Chapter 5

  If the procedure worked, Thomas and Meghan were going to spend nine months together. He wondered if she would continue to catch him off guard and render him speechless the way she had just done.

  “Are there to be more of these tests in the future?”

  “I don’t think so. Your heart’s in the right place. I believe you truly want a baby and that you’re willing to do what it takes to provide love, comfort and a home for him or her.”

  “That sounds like a report you’d give the court.”

  “You’ve already been before the court. You have Nina and Adam as a support system, and I’ve already said you passed. Now I should be getting home.”

  He didn’t want her to go. She looked great in that dress. Thomas wondered what she’d look like out of it. He’d seen the way other men stared at her, some even commenting on how lucky he was.

  “Should I find the maid and get my wrap?” she asked.

  “It’s in the hall closet. I’ll get the car,” he said, moving past her.

  “You’re not going to drive me?”

  He stopped and turned back. “Sure I am.”

  “You have to be tired. You drove all the way in to pick me up. If you drive me back and then come home, that’s a three-hour turnaround.” She glanced at the clock on the mantle. “You won’t get home until daylight. I assumed a car service would drive me back. Or Nina and Adam’s driver.”

  “Don’t worry about the drive. I do it regularly. And I’m staying the night in the city.”

  Moments later, the two were ensconced in the interior of the same sedan he’d picked her up in. Thomas drove in silence for several minutes. Meghan had said she wasn’t tired, but her body sagged against the upholstery. The dinner was an ordeal for her. He knew it, but she’d won over his friends. The approved whispers and promises to see her again let him know that they’d accepted her.

  Had she won him over as well? Thomas wondered.

  When he’d seen her in that gown in her living room, he wanted to skip his own party and spend the evening whispering in her ear. For a moment, he thought she had the same idea.

  Glancing at her, Thomas noticed Meghan had fallen asleep. She was beautiful even with her eyes closed. The drive took over an hour, but it felt like only minutes. She was affecting him as no other woman, except Ruth, had done.

  Parking in front of her house, he cut the engine and turned to face her. She didn’t stir. Thomas released her seat belt and removed it without disturbing her. Then he went around to the passenger side and opened the door, hunkering down to her level.

  “Meghan,” he whispered. She opened her eyes, but they didn’t focus. She closed them again. “Meghan, you’re home.”

  She opened her eyes, blinking several times, looking around to orient herself.

  “Did I sleep all the way?”

  “Afraid you did.”

  “I’m so sorry,” she said, yawning. “It was rude of me.”

  “I didn’t consider it rude,” he said.

  Twisting her body, she put her feet on the ground and leaned forward. Thomas helped her stand up. Once she was standing, he didn’t relinquish his hold on her, but kept his arm around her waist.

  He’d done that throughout the night, giving the impression that he was being affectionate. It wasn’t a stretch. And he’d gotten used to the feel of her.

  She found her keys in the small beaded bag she carried and opened her door. Then she turned to him.

  “It was a nice party,” she said. “You have wonderful friends and they care about you. Thanks for introducing me.”

  “You did all the work. I should thank you.”

  For a moment they said nothing. The air between them changed, electrified. He became aware of himself, of the way his hand was holding hers, the small amount of space that separated them. He felt like a teenager again, saying good-night to his first date and wondering whether it was appropriate to kiss her.

  With Meghan he knew it wasn’t, but that didn’t stop him from wanting to feel the softness of her mouth, taste the sweetness of her being. Feel her body pressed against his.

  Then she took matters into her own hands. Standing on her toes, she kissed his cheek. Without knowing it, Thomas’s hands caught her waist and held her in place. She moved her head back to look at him. Their mouths were only a kiss apart. Thomas felt her breath. He was mesmerized by it. He looked into her eyes—eyes that drew him to her as if she was some exotic goddess.

  “What was that for?” Thomas thought he should say something, move away and break the connection that was holding them together, but he ignored all warning signs. He hadn’t felt like this in a long while and he liked it.

  “Familiarity. If I’m to play a role, I don’t want to be surprised by it.”

  He knew she meant his arm around her waist. The first time he’d touched her, he could feel the surprise pass through her, but she’d relaxed as he’d touched her more often. But he was thinking of touching her now and it had nothing to do with their agreement. He wanted to feel her, all of her.

  He wasn’t sure if Meghan moved toward him or shifted in place, but the result was the same. His mouth covered hers. His arms tightened around her waist and he aligned his body with hers. She was soft and curved in all the right places. She fit into him as if the two had been made for each other.

  Thomas slipped his tongue into her mouth, tasting the nectar he had thought about since first seeing her this afternoon. Their mouths melded, tongues danced. Her arms snaked around his neck as she joined him in full measure. He kissed her with desperation, holding her tight, pushing his hands into her hair and searing her mouth with his.

  It had been a long, long time. And suddenly, he wanted her, wanted all of her. His hands roamed along her back and over her hips. Heat poured into him and pooled in his growing erection. Thomas took control of himself. Gently, he pushed her back.

  “Good night,” he said.

  “Good morning,” she answered with a sly smile. After a short hesitation, she stepped inside and closed the door.

  Thomas let out a long breath and hung his head.

  What the hell was he thinking?

  Meghan’s sneakers made that squishy sound that rubber soles did against concrete. Her feet pounded the pavement. Her grunts punctuated the air in rhythmic syncopation with her steps. She kept waiting for the endorphin trigger to kick in, that feel-good place where her mind would clear and she would feel as calm and happy as if she had no worries.

  This morning it didn’t seem to be working. Her mind and her body knew something was different. And that was blocking everything else. Like she often told clients, they needed to face their issues to resolve them. And here she was trying to avoid hers. Trying to head off thoughts of Thomas and the way he’d kissed her. The way she had responded. And worse, the way she wanted to see him again and have him kiss her in the same way he had done on her doorstep.

  Meghan topped the hill at Columbus Avenue. Usually at this point, she’d reached the top of her jogging circle and would begin her return. But her mind continued to be active. Without thought, her feet pressed on, veering away from the circle.

  She pressed forward, continuing, not thinking about her route, but unable to force her thoughts off Thomas Worthington-Yates and his arms embracing her, her body pressed to his hard muscular frame.

  She looked up at the sky as she kept going. She felt her legs. Her calves ached. Looking around, Meghan recognized the landmarks. Ahead of her was Lincoln Park. She was two miles farther than her longest run. Five miles from home.

  Meghan slowed her momentum and by the time she reached the paved circular path in the park, her energy level was down to a walk. But she felt like crawling. She wanted to drop to the grass and fall face-first onto the ground. Sweat poured off her golden brown skin. Her hair, which she’d pulled into a ponytail and knotted on top of her head, had fallen down. Wet tendrils adhered to her neck and shoulders. Her mouth was parched. Her legs burned from overdoing it and she must’ve been taking in three times as much oxygen as normal if the rise and fall of her chest was any indication.

  Seeing a juice bar set up on the edge of the track and umbrella tables with seating, she headed toward them, wondering if her legs would carry her the ten yards. Buying an expensive bottle of cranberry juice, she dropped into a seat closest to the track.