“We’re going to be in-laws,” Suzanne said. “That deserves a hug.” Impulsive as always, Suzanne stepped forward and quickly hugged Thomas.

  “I expected you two to look more alike,” Thomas said when she moved away.

  “Different fathers,” Suzanne explained. “But that doesn’t keep us from being sisters.”

  Thomas knew they were close. From the few times Meghan had mentioned her sister, he understood that they loved each other deeply. He’d never had a sibling, although he had a few friends who were as close as brothers.

  “Since you’re here, why don’t we get some lunch?”

  “We didn’t want to take you away from your work,” Meghan stated.

  “It can wait,” he replied. “I don’t often get to spend time with two beautiful women.”

  He watched Meghan. Under her skin a flush of color washed up her face. She was beautiful. He remembered the teenager she was. Pretty, yes, a little nervous and clumsy, but she’d blossomed into a swan. And she did things to him that no other woman had been able to do since Ruth. She’d quietly broken through his defenses. When she’d first refused his request, it had been a hit to his ego. He wasn’t used to refusal. Then he got to know her and found a quiet strength and intelligence that he admired.

  As they went through the door, he put his hand on her back. It seemed natural. He didn’t even realize he was doing it until he felt her warmth through the fabric of her dress. He liked touching her, wanted to do it more. At odd times he’d find himself thinking of her or dreaming of doing things with her to the point that his body grew hard.

  He dropped his hand, recognizing that now was not the time to allow those thoughts to take control. He pushed the button to summon the elevator, but removing his hand from the place it wanted to be took an effort greater than he imagined. He thought of Ruth, tried to pull her image into focus. She was the safe haven for his emotions. But Meghan’s presence, the soft scent of her perfume, the way she smiled, the sensual way she moved, conspired to prevent his attention from sharpening on anyone but her.

  After a moment, Thomas gave up the effort. Across the small space of the elevator he watched his fiancée. Other than Suzanne, two of his colleagues had stepped into the tiny room when the door slid open. Thomas paid no attention to them. His eyes were only on Meghan.

  And for the first time, he didn’t care who knew it.

  Chapter 8

  The room was a maze of boxes. Everywhere Meghan turned she had to weave her way through them. How had she accumulated all this stuff? she wondered, carrying a heavy box of books. There was a storage unit, a huge white storage box, in her backyard that she, Suzanne, and several of her neighbors were systematically filling with the memories of her life. Trophies from school days, photographs, clothes, furniture, books, all went into the huge white coffin. It represented the transition her life was taking. She was leaving the old Meghan forever and moving into a new adventure.

  She was both excited and afraid. Never in her dreams did she believe she would agree to marry a man she didn’t know, let alone love. Or that she would be a surrogate. But as she had learned at an early age, life didn’t go according to a preset plan.

  She set the box she was carrying on top of two others and turned to reenter the house. The only thing she couldn’t put in the portable storage device was the joy she and Suzanne had shared in the tiny rooms that had been their home for over ten years. Suzanne’s sweet sixteen party had taken place there. Several of her friends had shown up dressed like the women in Dream-girls and sang a rendition of the musical’s songs.

  Meghan’s twenty-fifth birthday, when she’d been surprised with a ticket to a ski trip by her colleagues and her sister, took place in the dining room. Graduation day, summers sitting on the back porch listening to music, simple events that made up daily life, were all part of the rugs, the drywall and the light fixtures. There were so many good times to recall and none of them could be captured and held in the physical confines of the rectangular module.

  “Do you want this china in there?” Bob Lewis, a blond, college-professor type, asked. He was Suzanne’s age and had had a crush on her since puberty. Unfortunately Suzanne’s tastes ran toward the hard-bodied, intelligent-model type. Bob held a box labeled “China.”

  “There’s a special shelf for that one,” Meghan told him. She led him to the storage unit and showed him the place where the china would be strapped in for transport.

  As they walked back into the house, Suzanne approached them. “What time is Thomas coming?” she asked Meghan.

  Consulting her watch, Meghan said, “In an hour.”

  “You should get dressed. We can handle the rest of this.” She glanced at Bob, who looked as if she’d agreed to marry him.

  “I have a little time.”

  Meghan got another box and headed back for the storage device. She was moving soon. She wondered what life would be like in a place she’d only dreamed of living. And with Thomas. The reality of this quasi-marriage was proving to be more complicated than she’d pictured. Meghan picked up another box of books and headed for the unit. Was she falling for Thomas? She shook her head, refusing to answer that. She couldn’t fall for him. It wasn’t part of the plan.

  Forcing herself to keep sight of that, she put the box down. Twenty minutes later, she headed for the stairs and her bedroom. It was almost time for Thomas to arrive.

  “Bob and the rest of us are going to run over to Macchio’s and have a pizza. We can finish the rest tomorrow.”

  “Have a good time,” Meghan said.

  Suzanne smiled and went out the door. Meghan was hot and sweaty from the exertion of packing. The house was now comfortably quiet with the cessation of movement. Stepping on the first rung of the stairs, she thought of Thomas. He was taking her to get the marriage license. It was becoming real, Meghan thought. Running up the steps, she walked into her bedroom. She needed to shower and change. Each time she showered, she was reminded that Thomas had been in there, too. He’d used her bathroom two days in a row. She was sure that although she couldn’t see him, she could feel that he’d been there. His scent wafted through the small room.

  Meghan went into the shower with a light step and a wide smile, knowing she was safe wrapped in his ethereal arms.

  “What’s this?” Thomas asked, when Meghan called for him to come in. Coming in from the kitchen, she saw him walking around the boxes.

  “We were packing, but the heat got the better of the crew and they went for pizza and cold drinks.”

  “Packing?”

  She laughed. He probably thought she was planning to move all this stuff to his manicured neighborhood.

  “We’re putting it in storage until I get a new apartment,” she explained.

  “I should have thought of that,” he said. “Can I help with something?”

  “We’ll finish it tomorrow. We’d better get to the license bureau before it closes.”

  He nodded, taking a step. He expected Meghan to fall into step with him, but she didn’t move. Thomas stared at her. The mood in the room changed. They’d been speaking easily, but now a cloying cloud of doubt washed over her.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “Do you really want to do this?” she asked.

  “It was your idea,” he replied.

  “I understand that, but we’re nearing a point of no return. We haven’t gotten there yet, but if you’re having second thoughts, I need to know.”

  “I’m not.”

  “You want this baby bad enough to marry me to get it?”

  It sounded like a trick question. Either answer would be wrong. Yet Thomas’s head bobbed slowly up and down. She saw him swallow. She’d been trained to read body language, but she didn’t know what that meant.

  “What about you? Do you want your new life, your school and career this badly?”

  Meghan did. She was tired of struggling, tired of penny pinching and tired of going without. She only had to wait several months for her new life to begin.

  “I haven’t changed my mind,” she answered.

  Thomas took the two steps that brought him close to her. He stopped close enough for their toes to touch. “Maybe we’d better go, then.”

  But they didn’t move toward the door. Thomas leaned forward, his finger lifting her chin until his mouth hovered over hers. He didn’t kiss her, although there was only a millimeter of air separating his lips from hers. Meghan felt the fire. Her bones melted. To keep her balance, she reached for him, her arms running around his tight waist. His went around her, embracing her in a clasp as strong as steel.

  No words were spoken, none were needed. His mouth brushed hers. Back and forth their lips painted each other’s. Meghan’s arms moved with a mind of their own, exchanging positions until they wound around his neck. She pulled his head down to meet her mouth. Fire erupted around them. Thomas pulled her as close to him as he could get her. Meghan felt the hard length of him, knew the arousal of his body as it fit into hers.

  They exchanged positions, their heads moving back and forth as they responded to the inciting need growing in each other.

  “This is crazy,” he whispered against her mouth.

  “I know,” Meghan said, her mouth feathering his with whispery kisses. She ignored the voice in her head that brought back the memory that she and Thomas would not do this again. She couldn’t stop herself. Each time she saw him, she wanted to run her hands all over his body. She wanted to slowly remove his clothes, revealing his perfect body one brown inch at a time.

  “If you want me to stop…” Thomas’s voice was deep and breathless. “Now would be the time to say something.”

  Meghan answered with her mouth. And her hands. And her body. She went up on her toes, pressing herself even closer to him. The kiss deepened, taking on a new level. His tongue dug deep into her mouth. Meghan had never felt so alive, so close to another human being. Her body was humming, vibrating, breaking apart except for a thin layer of burning skin that kept her from shattering.

  Meghan had taken care with her wardrobe, choosing a white suit with a violet shell and matching shoes. Thomas removed the jacket, slipping it down her arms while his fingers burned a trail from her shoulders to her hands. Then he slipped his hands under the stretchy fabric spanning her waist.

  Meghan moaned as naked skin touched naked skin. Her stockinged leg wrapped around his. His erection pressed into her. She felt a wetness in her panties. Thomas unbuttoned her blouse and lowered the zipper on her skirt. Meghan’s hands loosened his tie, pulled it down and off. The buttons on his shirt opened with little effort and she pressed her splayed fingers against his damp skin.

  Inhaling, she took in the essence of him, kissing his chest, feathering it with her mouth from one side to the other. Running her tongue over his flat nipples, she tasted the saltiness of his skin, felt his surprised reaction and moaned when his hands pressed her buttocks and her body against his erection.

  Thomas reached down, his hands stealing behind her knees as he lifted her. He carried her up the stairs, keeping her balanced even though his mouth stayed glued to hers all the way to her bedroom. The bed gave as he lay her on it. His eyes, warm and brilliant with desire, devoured her face, imprinting it on his mind.

  Slowly his hands began an exploration of her body as his passion deepened to meet hers and he quickly undressed her.

  “Thomas…I…” Meghan whispered.

  “Don’t talk.” Thomas stopped her, his voice husky. “Don’t talk, don’t think, just feel.” His soft voice was her undoing. She reached up to pull his mouth back to hers hearing a low moan in his throat before restraint snapped in him. His hands caressed her body from head to foot, light fingers ran over her curves causing tiny fires to ignite along the trails his fingers traversed. She in turn memorized every inch of his taut body pressing her lips to his shoulder. She trembled as his body covered hers.

  Feeling the total length of him covering her slender frame. She was afraid, wanting to push him away, but the sensations his hands were causing as they trailed fires along her arms, her throat, her breasts, quickly left her a mindless mass of emotion. Slowly he intensified her desire, finding every erotic area while his tongue and hands exploited them to the point of an exquisite, physical pain—a pain so sweet she shuddered, arching herself closer to him.

  Thomas made love to her slowly, entering her slight body for the first time with such tenderness she could hardly express herself without tears. Settling into a rhythm, they began their seductive dance. Meghan murmured his name over and over, unable to refrain from doing it. He was totally in her, engulfed in a world of sensation and need, consumed by a feeling of intense pleasure such as she had never known.

  Totally mindless now, she writhed beneath the heightened rhythmic thrust of his taut body. They soared, her hands moving on his powerful body as she moaned incoherently into his shoulder.

  His mouth covered hers again as they came to a final shuddering climax. Clinging to each other, savoring the sweet moment as long as possible, Meghan kissed his shoulder, while his arms tightened around her, gathering her closer to him. Tears streamed from her eyes. It was beautiful, the most beautiful experience she had ever known or imagined. She was overcome with the force of emotion that welled up inside her.

  Thomas was kissing her again, their bodies connected, consumed with feelings that only two people could understand, glad he was a man and she was a woman.

  Finally they both lay exhausted in each other’s arms. He looked at her—his Meghan, her eyes shining and drowsy. He gathered her even closer to him and studied her face. Meghan knew her skin was flushed with color, that her body was slightly moist with perspiration, her beautiful hair almost obscuring the pillow she rested on. She didn’t know how beautiful she looked to Thomas. She knew he wanted her and she wanted him. She wanted to wake next to him each day, spend her life drowning in his smile and she wanted to be rewarded by this look after making love, to see it shining in his eyes, to bear his children, to be his wife. Reverently he kissed her forehead and contentedly fell asleep.

  A restful and dreamless sleep claimed Meghan, a sleep of contentment she had not experienced before. When she woke it was dark. Thomas was dressed, sitting on the side of the bed watching her. She sighed, stretching lazily.

  “How long have you been watching me?” She smiled at him.

  “Not long,” he answered quietly.

  “Are you leaving?”

  “In a few minutes,” he replied. They had long since missed the license bureau. He pulled Meghan into his arms and cradled her there as if she were a newborn baby. Meghan thought of bearing his child, watching as the head crowned and she saw the first vestige of hair.

  Then she remembered the real reason she was with Thomas. And like their climax, her world shattered.

  The next day, Meghan looked around the empty room. Part of her life lived in the walls and floor of this space. No amount of cleaning and painting would remove the lives that had been spent here.

  Leaving was both necessary and bittersweet. Meghan rubbed misty eyes. She knew it was for the best that she not return here after her divorce. She didn’t want to have to explain why and how her marriage had failed. When she saw people she knew in the future, she could discuss the school she was attending, her new job or her new apartment. Life changed every day. She was entering a new phase of hers, with only a little regret to what she was leaving behind.

  Meghan pulled the door closed and locked it for the last time. Sniffing, she raised her head, adjusted the purse strap on her shoulder and walked down the steps.

  The driver came forward and took the things she was carrying, placing them in the car. Evelyn crossed the street and rushed to hug her.

  “I’m going to miss you,” Evelyn said.

  “I’m not going to the moon,” Meghan told her. “I’ll come back to see you. After all, I’m going to need my hair and makeup done.”

  “The shore is a long way off. And with that fiancé of yours, you’ll be so busy with him that you won’t have time to come visit us.”

  “Evelyn, don’t cry.” Meghan knew if Evelyn couldn’t hold it together, neither could she.

  The two of them were joined by Mr. Forrest. He lived next door. Before his wife died, she used to take care of Suzanne while Meghan was at work and Suzanne was still in school. Meghan knew his house as well as she knew her own.

  He hugged her, not saying a word.

  “Are you going to be all right?” Meghan suddenly felt guilty that she wouldn’t be there to check in on him once in a while. He had a son and daughter who came by regularly, but he always smiled when he saw her.

  He nodded instead of speaking. She understood his emotion. He rarely showed it, but she knew he thought of her and Suzanne as his daughters.

  When she turned around, her other neighbors had joined them. The small circle grew larger. Meghan hugged them, no longer able to stem the tears. Some pulled her hand up to view the huge diamond on her third finger. Others told her to keep in touch, or said they would see her at the wedding.

  Suzanne came forward and tapped her on the arm.

  “We have to go now.” She spoke to the group. Meghan was grateful to her. She’d taken control. Meghan had gotten caught up in the past, her love for her personal world and the fact that she was leaving it behind going almost as far as the moon compared to the where she stood now.

  Shepherding her into the car, Suzanne climbed in behind her and the driver closed the door. As they drove away, Meghan refused to look back. She didn’t want to see the old neighborhood receding. She could leave it and she knew she wouldn’t be returning. When her nine months were over, she would take a place somewhere distant from here. She might even leave the state to attend school.

  Her heart was already telling her to get as far away from Thomas as she could.

  Chapter 9

  Meghan heard the doorbell. Normally, she would get up to answer it, but she’d found out that living in Thomas’s house had rules and boundaries that she was not to change. Her position here was temporary.