A Tricky Proposition

“Hello, Billy,” she called. “How did your baseball tournament go last month?”

“Great. Our team won every game.”

“I’d expect nothing else with a fabulous pitcher like you on the mound. I’ll see you in a couple minutes.”

As often as Jason had seen her at work, he never stopped being amazed that she could summon a detail for any of her two hundred clients that made the child feel less like a patient and more like a friend.

“I’ll call you tomorrow.” Without waiting for him to respond, she followed Billy to the treatment area.

Reluctant to leave, Jason stared after her until she disappeared. Impatience and concern urged him to hound her until he was satisfied he knew all her plans, but he knew how he’d feel if she’d cornered him at work.

Instead, he returned to the parking lot. The Camaro remained at the curb where he’d left it. Donning his shades, he slid behind the wheel and started the powerful engine.

Two

When Ming returned to her office after her last appointment, she found her sister sitting cross-legged on the floor, a laptop balanced on her thighs.

“There are three chairs in the room. You should use one.”

“I like sitting on the ground.” With her short, spiky hair and fondness for natural fibers and loose-fitting clothes, Lily looked more than an environmental activist than a top software engineer. “It lets me feel connected to the earth.”

“We’re three stories up in a concrete building.”

Lily gave her a “whatever” shoulder shrug and closed the laptop. “I stopped by to tell you I’m heading out really early tomorrow morning.”

“Where to this time?”

For the past five years, her sister had been leading a team of consultants involved with transitioning their company’s various divisions to a single software system. Since the branches were all over the country, she traveled forty weeks out of the year. The rest of the time, she stayed rent-free in Ming’s spare bedroom.

“Portland.”

“How long?”

“They offered me a permanent position.”

Her sister’s announcement came as an unwelcome surprise. “Did you say yes?”

“Not yet. I want to see if I like Portland first. But I gotta tell you, I’m sick of all the traveling. It would be nice to buy a place and get some appliances. I want a juicer.”

Lily had this whole “a healthy body equals a healthy mind” mentality. She made all sorts of disgusting green concoctions that smelled awful and tasted like a decomposing marsh. Ming’s eyes watered just thinking about them. She preferred to jump-start her day with massive doses of caffeine.

“You won’t get bored being stuck in one city?”

“I’m ready to settle down.”

“And you can’t settle down in Houston?”

“I want to meet a guy I can get serious about.”

“And you have to go all the way to Portland to find one?” Ming wondered what was really going on with her sister.

Lily slipped her laptop into its protective sleeve. “I need a change.”

“You’re not going to stick around and be an auntie?” She’d hoped once Lily held the baby and saw how happy Ming was as a mom, her sister could finally get why Ming was willing to risk their mother’s wrath about her decision.

“I think it’s better if I don’t.”

As close as the sisters were, they’d done nothing but argue since Ming had divulged her intention of becoming a single mom. Her sister’s negative reaction had come as a complete surprise. And on the heels of her broken engagement, Ming was feeling alone and blue.

“I wish I could make you understand how much this means to me.”

“Look, I get it. You’ve always wanted children. I just think that a kid needs both a mother and a father.”

Ming’s confidence waned beneath her sister’s criticism. Despite her free-spirited style and reluctance to be tied down, Lily was a lot more traditional than Ming when it came to family. Last night, when Ming had told her sister she was going to talk to Jason today, Lily had accused Ming of being selfish.

But was she? Raising a child without a father didn’t necessarily mean that the child would have problems. Children needed love and boundaries. She could provide both.

It wasn’t fair for Lily to push her opinions on Ming. She hadn’t made her decision overnight. She’d spent months and months talking to single moms, weighing the pros and cons, and using her head, not her emotions, to make up her mind about raising a child on her own. Of course, when it came right down to it, her longing to be a mother was a strong, biological urge that was hard to ignore.

Ming slipped out of her lab coat and hung it on the back of her office door. “Have you told Mom about the job offer?”

“No.” Lily countered. “Have you told her what you’re going to do?”

“I was planning to on Friday. We’re having dinner, just the two of us.” Ming arched an eyebrow. “Unless you’d like to head over there now so we can both share our news. Maybe with two of us to yell at, we’ll each get half a tongue lashing.”

“As much as I would love to be there to see the look on Mom’s face when she finds out you’re going to have a baby without a husband, I’m not ready to talk about my plans. Not until I’m completely sure.”

It sounded as if Lily wasn’t one hundred percent sold on moving away. Ming kept relief off her face and clung to the hope that her sister would find that Portland wasn’t to her liking.

“Will I see you at home later?”

Lily shook her head. “Got plans.”

“A date?”

“Not exactly.”

“Same guy?” For the past few months, whenever she was in town, her sister had been spending a lot of time with a mystery man. “Have you told him your plans to move?”

“It’s not like that.”

“It’s not like what?”

“We’re not dating.”

“Then it’s just sex?”

Her sister made an impatient noise. “Geez, Ming. You of all people should know that men and women can be just friends.”

“Most men and women can’t. Besides, Jason and I are more like brother and sister than friends.”

For about the hundredth time, Ming toyed with telling Lily about her mixed feelings for Jason. How she loved him as a friend but couldn’t stop wondering if they could have made it as a couple. Of course, she’d blown any chance to find out when she’d agreed to have dinner with Evan three years ago.

But long before that she knew Jason wouldn’t let anything get in the way of their friendship.

“Have you told him about your plans to have a baby yet?”

“I mentioned it to him this afternoon.”

She was equally disappointed and relieved that she’d decided against asking Jason to help her get pregnant. Raising his child would muddle her already complicated emotions where he was concerned. It would be easier to get over her romantic yearnings if she had no expectations.

“How did he take it?”

“Once he gets used to the idea, I think he’ll be happy for me.” Her throat locked up. She’d really been counting on his support.

“Maybe this is the universe’s way of telling you that you’re on the wrong path.”

“I don’t need the universe to tell me anything. I have you.” Although Ming kept her voice light, her heart was heavy. She was torn between living her dream and disrupting her relationships with those she loved. What if this became a wedge between her and Lily? Or her and Jason? Ming hated the idea of being pulled in opposite directions by her longing to be a mom and her fear of losing the closeness she shared with either of them.

To comfort herself, she stared at her photo wall, the proof of what she’d achieved these past seven years. Hundreds of smiles lightened her mood and gave her courage.

“I guess you and I will just have to accept that neither one of us is making a decision the other is happy with,” Ming said.

Jason paced from one end of his large office to the other. Beyond his closed door, the offices of Sterling Bridge Company emptied. It was a little past six, but Jason had given up working hours ago. As the chief financial officer of the family’s bridge construction business, he was supposed to be looking over some last-minute changes in the numbers for a multimillion-dollar project they were bidding on next week, but he couldn’t focus. Not surprising after Ming’s big announcement today.

She’d be a great mom. Patient. Loving. Stern when she had to be. If he’d voiced doubts it wasn’t because of her ability to parent, but how hard it would be for her to do it on her own. Naturally Ming wouldn’t view any difficulty as too much trouble. She’d embrace the challenges and surpass everyone’s expectations.

But knowing this didn’t stop his uneasiness. His sense that he should be there for her. Help her.

Help her what?

Get pregnant.

Raise his child?

His gut told him it was the right thing to do even if his brain warned him that he was embarking on a fool’s journey. They were best friends. This was when best friends stepped up and helped each other out. If the situation was reversed and he wanted a child, she’d be the woman he’d choose to make that happen.

But if they did this, things could get complicated. If his brother found out that Jason had helped Ming become a mother, the hurt they caused might lead to permanent estrangement between him and Evan.

On the other hand, Ming deserved to get the family she wanted.

Another thirty minutes disappeared with Jason lost in thought. Since he couldn’t be productive at the office, he decided to head home. A recently purchased ‘73 Dodge Charger sat in his garage awaiting some TLC. In addition to his passion for racing, he loved buying, fixing up and selling classic muscle cars. It’s why he’d chosen his house in the western suburbs. The three-acre estate had afforded him the opportunity to build a six-car garage to house his rare collection.

On the way out, Jason passed his brother’s office. Helping Ming get pregnant would also involve keeping another big secret from his brother. Jason resented that she still worried about Evan’s feelings after the way he’d broken off their engagement. Would it be as awkward for Evan to be an uncle to his ex-fiancée’s child as it had been for Jason to watch his best friend fall in love with his brother?

From the moment Ming and Evan had begun dating, tension had developed between Jason and his brother. An unspoken rift that was territorial in nature. Ming and Jason were best friends. They were bonded by difficult experiences. Inside jokes. Shared memories. In the beginning, it was Evan who was the third wheel whenever the three of them got together. But this wasn’t like other times when Ming had dated. Thanks to her long friendship with Jason, she was practically family. Within months, it was obvious she and Evan were perfectly matched in temperament and outlook, and the closer Ming and Evan became, the more Jason became the outsider. Which was something he resented. Ming was his best friend and he didn’t like sharing her.

Entering his brother’s office, Jason found Evan occupying the couch in the seating area. Evan was three years older and carried more weight on his six-foot frame than Jason, but otherwise, the brothers had the same blue eyes, dark blond hair and features. Both resembled their mother, who’d died in a car accident with their nine-year-old sister when the boys were in high school.

The death of his wife and daughter had devastated their father. Tony Sterling had fallen into a deep depression that lasted six months and almost resulted in the loss of his business. And if Jason hadn’t snuck into the garage one night to “borrow” the car for a joyride and found his father sitting behind the wheel with the garage filling with exhaust fumes, Tony might have lost his life.

This pivotal event had happened when Jason was only fifteen years old and had marked him. He swore he would never succumb to a love so strong that he would be driven to take his own life when the love was snatched away. It had been an easy promise to keep.

Jason scrutinized his brother as he crossed the room, his footfalls soundless on the plush carpet. Evan was so focused on the object in his hand he didn’t notice Jason’s arrival until he spoke.

“Want to catch dinner?”

Evan’s gaze shot toward his brother, and in a furtive move, he pocketed the earrings he’d been brooding over. Jason recognized them as the pearl-and-diamond ones his brother had given to Ming as an engagement present. What was his brother doing with them?

“Can’t. I’ve already got plans.”

“A date?”

Evan got to his feet and paced toward his desk. With his back to Jason, he spoke. “I guess.”

“You don’t know?”

That was very unlike his brother. When it came to living a meticulously planned existence, the only one more exacting than Evan was Ming.

Evan’s hand plunged into the pocket he’d dropped the earrings into. “It’s complicated.”

“Is she married?”

“No.”

“Engaged?”

“No.”

“Kids?”

“Let it go.” Evan’s exasperation only increased Jason’s tension.

“Does it have something to do with Ming’s earrings in your pocket?” When Evan didn’t answer, Jason’s gut clenched, his suspicions confirmed. “Haven’t you done enough damage there? She’s moving on with her life. She doesn’t need you stirring things up again.”

“I didn’t plan what happened. It just did.”

Impulsive behavior from his plan-everything-to-death brother? Jason didn’t like the sound of that. It could only lead to Ming getting hurt again.

“What exactly happened?”

“Lily and I met for a drink a couple months ago.”

“You and Lily?” He almost laughed at the odd pairing. While Evan and Ming had been perfectly compatible, Evan and Lily were total opposites. Then he sobered. “Just the once?”

“A few times.” Evan rubbed his face, bringing Jason’s attention to the dark shadows beneath his eyes. His brother looked exhausted. And low. “A lot.”

“Have you thought about what you’re doing?” When it came to picking sides, Jason would choose Ming every time. In some ways, she was more like family to him than Evan. Jason had certainly shared more of himself with her. “Don’t you think Ming will be upset if she finds out you and her sister are dating?”

Before Evan could answer, Jason’s cell began to ring. With Ming’s heart in danger and his brother in his crosshairs, Jason wouldn’t have allowed himself to be distracted if anyone else on the planet was calling. But this was Ming’s ringtone.

“We’ll talk more about this later,” he told his brother, and answered the call as he exited. “What’s going on?”

“It’s Lily.” There was no mistaking the cry for help in Ming’s voice.

Jason’s annoyance with his brother flared anew. Had Ming found out what was going on? “What about her?”

“She’s moving to Portland. What am I going to do without her?”

What a relief. Ming didn’t yet know that her sister was dating Evan, and if Lily moved to Portland then her relationship with her sister’s ex-fiancé would have to end.

“You still have me.” He’d intended to make his tone light, but on the heels of his conversation with his brother moments before, his declaration came out like a pledge. “Do you want to catch a drink and talk about it? We could continue our earlier conversation.”

“I can’t. Terry and I are having dinner.”

“Afterward?”

“It’s been a long day. I’m heading home for a glass of wine and a long, hot bath.”

“Do you want some company?”

Unbidden, his thoughts took him to an intoxicating, sensual place where Ming floated naked in warm, fragrant water. Candles burned, setting her delicate, pale shoulders aglow above the framing bubbles of her favorite bath gel. The office faded away as he imagined trailing his lips along her neck, discovering all the places on her silky skin that made her shiver.

“Jason?” Ming’s voice roused him to the fact that he was standing in the elevator. He didn’t remember getting there.

Damn it. He banished the images, but the sensations lingered.

“What?” he asked, disturbed at how compelling his fantasy had been.

“I asked if I could call you later.”

“Sure.” His voice had gone hoarse. “Have a good dinner.”

“Thanks.”

The phone went dead in his hand. Jason dropped the cell back into his pocket, still reeling from the direction his thoughts had gone. He had to stop thinking of her like that. Unfortunately, once awakened, the notion of making love to Ming proved difficult to coax back to sleep.

He headed to his favorite bar, which promised a beer and a dozen sports channels as a distraction from his problems. It failed to deliver.

Instead, he replayed his conversations with both Ming and Evan in his mind. She wanted to have a baby, wanted Jason’s help to make that happen, but she’d decided against it before he’d had a chance to consider the idea. All because it wouldn’t be fair to Evan if he ever found out.

Would she feel the same if she knew Evan was dating Lily and that he didn’t care if Ming got hurt in the process? That wouldn’t change her mind. Even if it killed her, Ming would want Evan and Lily to be happy.

But shouldn’t she get to be selfish, too? She should be able to choose whatever man she wanted to help her get pregnant. Even the brother of her ex-fiancé. Only Jason knew she’d never go there without a lot of convincing.

And wasn’t that what best friends were for?

Fifteen minutes after she’d hung up on Jason, Ming’s heart was still thumping impossibly fast. She’d told herself that when he’d asked if she wanted company for a glass of wine and a hot bath, he hadn’t meant anything sexual. She’d called him for a shoulder to cry on. That’s all he was offering.

But the image of him sliding into her oversize tub while candlelight flickered off the glass tile wall and a thousand soap bubbles drifted on the water’s surface …

“Ready for dinner?”

Jerked out of her musing, Ming spun her chair away from her computer and spied Terry Kincaid grinning at her from the doorway, his even, white teeth dazzling against his tan skin. As well as being her partner in the dental practice and her best girl friend’s father, he was the reason she’d chosen to become an orthodontist in the first place.

“Absolutely.”

She closed her internet browser and images of strollers disappeared from her screen. As crazy as it was to shop for baby stuff before she was even pregnant, Ming couldn’t stop herself from buying things. Her last purchase had been one of those mobiles that hangs above the crib and plays music as it spins.

“You already know how proud I am of you,” Terry began after they’d finished ordering dinner at his favorite seafood place. “When I brought you into the practice, it wasn’t because you were at the top of your class or a hard worker, but because you’re like family.”

“You know that’s how I feel about you, too.” In fact, Terry was so much better than her own family because he offered her absolute support without any judgment.

“And as a member of my family, it was important to me that I come to you with any big life-changing decisions I was about to make.”

Ming gulped. How had he found out what she was going to do? Wendy couldn’t have told him. Her friend knew how to keep a secret.

“Sure,” she said. “That’s only fair.”

“That’s why I’m here to tell you that I’m going to retire and I want you to take over the practice.”

This was the last thing she expected him to say. “But you’re only fifty-seven. You can’t quit now.”

“It’s the perfect time. Janice and I want to travel while we’re still young enough to have adventures.”

In addition to being a competitive sailor, Terry was an expert rock climber and pilot. Where Ming liked relaxing spa vacations in northern California, he and his wife went hang gliding in Australia and zip lining through the jungles of Costa Rica.

“And you want me to have the practice?” Her mind raced at the thought of all the things she would have to learn, and fast. Managing personnel and finances. Marketing. The practice thrived with Terry at the helm. Could she do half as well? “It’s a lot.”

“If you’re worried about the money, work the numbers with Jason.”

“It’s not the money.” It was an overwhelming responsibility to take on at the same time she was preparing for the challenge of being a single mom. “I’m not sure I’m ready.”

Terry was unfazed by her doubts. “I’ve never met anyone who rises to the challenge the way you do. And I’m not going to retire next week. I’m looking at the middle of next year. Plenty of time for you to learn what you need to know.”

The middle of next year? Ming did some rapid calculation. If everything went according to schedule, she’d be giving birth about the time when Terry would be leaving. Who’d take over while she was out on maternity leave? She’d hoped for twelve glorious weeks with her newborn.

Yet, now that the initial panic was fading, excitement stirred. Her own practice. She’d be crazy to let this opportunity pass her by.

“Ming, are you all right?” Concern had replaced delight. “I thought you’d jump at the chance to run the practice.”

“I’m really thrilled by the opportunity.”

“But?”

She was going to have a baby. Taking over the practice would require a huge commitment of time and energy. But Terry believed in her and she hated to disappoint him. He’d taken her under his wing during high school when she and Wendy had visited the office and shown her that orthodontia was a perfect career for someone who had an obsession with making things straight and orderly.

“No buts.” She loaded her voice with confidence.

“That’s my girl.” He patted her hand. “You have no idea how happy I was when you decided to join me in this practice. There’s no one but you that I’d trust to turn it over to.”

His words warmed and worried her at the same. The amount of responsibility overwhelmed her, but whatever it took, she’d make sure Terry never regretted choosing her.

“I won’t let you down.”

Crickets serenaded Jason as he headed up the walk to Ming’s front door. At nine o’clock at night, only a far-off bark disturbed the peaceful tree-lined street in the older Houston suburb. Amongst the midcentury craftsman homes, Ming’s contemporary-styled house stood out. The clean lines and geometric landscaping suited the woman who lived there. Ming kept her surroundings and her life uncluttered.

He couldn’t imagine how she was going to handle the sort of disorder a child would bring into her world, but after his conversation with Evan this afternoon, Jason was no longer deciding whether or not he should help his oldest friend. It was more a matter of how he was going to go about it.

Jason rang her doorbell and Muffin began to bark in warning. The entry light above him snapped on and the door flew open. Jason blinked as Ming appeared in the sudden brightness. The scent of her filled his nostrils, a sumptuous floral that made him think of making love on an exotic tropical island.

“Jason? What are you doing here?” Ming bent to catch the terrier as she charged past, but missed. “Muffin, get back here.”

“I’ll get her.” Chasing the frisky dog gave him something to concentrate on besides Ming’s slender form clad in a plum silk nightgown and robe, her long black hair cascading over one shoulder. “Did I wake you?” he asked, handing her the squirming Yorkie.

His body tightened as he imagined her warm, pliant form snuggled beside him in bed. His brother had been a complete idiot not to give her the sun, moon and whatever stars she wanted.

“No.” She tilted her head. “Do you want to come in?”

Swept by the new and unsettling yearning to take her in his arms and claim her lush mouth, Jason shook his head. “I’ve been thinking about what we talked about earlier today.”

“If you’ve come here to talk me out of having a baby, you can save your breath.” She was his best friend. Back in high school they’d agreed that what had happened after prom had been a huge mistake. They’d both been upset with their dates and turned to each other in a moment of weakness. Neither one wanted to risk their friendship by exploring the chemistry between them.