She's Having My Baby!

And Maggie cursed her own guilty reaction as the woman left, her mail cart squeaking. “Way to go, Maggie,” she scolded herself. “Nothing like planting a seed in fertile ground.”

The phone rang and she jumped, grabbing it.

“Hello?” she said breathlessly, expecting bad news, just because it seemed to be that sort of day.

“Maggie?” Her friend Sharon sounded surprised. “Are you okay?”

“Oh.” Maggie tried to laugh. “Of course I am. I was just…sort of rushing around here when you called and you startled me.”

“Oh.” Sharon sounded a bit bewildered, but ready to accept the explanation as offered. “Well, listen. A bunch of us are going out to the Copper Penny for lunch, and I was just wondering…would you like to come along?”

Maggie grimaced. It was awfully nice of Sharon to include her. As the administrative assistant to Kane Haley, she didn’t often get treated like “one of the girls.” And she loved the Copper Penny. They had the greatest Caesar salads. But she knew she had to decline.

“I’d love to, Sharon, but I’m afraid I’ve got too much work to do.”

The work wasn’t the reason. Money was. She couldn’t afford to go out to lunch any longer. She had to save every cent for her baby.

“I think I’ll just stay in the office and have a sandwich,” she told her friend.

“You want me to bring you one back?”

“No. No,” she said quickly. “Thanks, though. I brought one from home.”

“Okay. We’ll miss you.”

She chatted with her friend for another moment, then hung up, smiling as she replaced the receiver, but feeling just a hint of envy. Sharon was pregnant, too, but she wasn’t hiding it. And she had a group of good friends to support her, not to mention the baby’s father. It must be nice having all that help.

Suddenly Maggie felt very much alone. Placing her hand over her stomach, she thought of her baby. Was she really sure she’d done the right thing? Was she going to be able to make it on her own? And was it fair to her child? She wished she’d waited a while longer before doing this. If only she’d confided in a few people, talked it over, listened to some other experiences before she’d jumped into this. Now she was about to make her boss her only confidant. Nothing was turning out to be the way she’d expected.

Pushing aside doubts, she got very busy during the next half hour or so, and had to run down to Financial to discuss some statistics they’d sent up that morning. When she returned, she assumed her boss had gone out to lunch. She knew Hannah and Kate, the two secretaries in the adjoining office, had gone. The building was quiet. Everyone was either off at a restaurant or down in the cafeteria. Pulling her paper bag out of a bottom drawer, she spread the contents out on her desk and looked at it.

One simple peanut butter sandwich on wheat bread, with just a touch of marmalade, one little box of dried cranberries and an apple. She’d had the same thing for lunch every day for the last month. Staring down at it, she tried to work up some enthusiasm.

“Eating at your desk again?” Kane Haley came out of his office, startling her. He peered at her lunch bag, then at her paltry meal. “Peanut butter sandwiches?”

“They are very nutritious,” she replied defensively, unwrapping the plastic and placing the sandwich out on a napkin as she glanced his way.

He was so handsome, his skin tanned even in the depths of winter, his dark hair just unruly enough to look casual. All in all, he was a very sexy guy. Funny how she seemed to be noticing that more and more lately.

He raised one sleek dark eyebrow as he gazed at her skimpy sandwich with a sardonic twist to his mouth. “I’m sure they’re full of good things. But not exactly gourmet fare.”

“I can’t afford gourmet fare at this point.” She looked away quickly, feeling flustered and wishing he would go on toward the elevator and leave her alone.

But he seemed in no hurry to leave. Instead of heading for the exit, he casually propped himself on the corner of her desk, one leg swinging, as though he were planning to oversee her lunching activities.

“Why Maggie,” he said, his voice warm with teasing humor. “Are you angling for a raise?”

Her eyes widened. “No, sir, I…”

He laughed. “Don’t worry. I put in a great evaluation for you just last week. I’m sure there will be something for you when Personnel gets through with their calculations.”

“Oh.” She wanted to thank him, but she didn’t want to sound too desperate. Even if she was exactly that. “I’m…well, thank you very much, Mr. Haley.”

“Don’t thank me.” His smile made her toes curl. “Your work is tops and you know it. I’d rather lose an arm than lose you.”

That did it. Guilt choked her. How was she going to tell him? He’d been so great to her and here she was, pretty much betraying him with this pregnancy. No matter how she worked it, she was bound to leave him in the lurch for a few months. There was just no way she could avoid it. Was there? She tried to think, but nothing came to mind. Unless she could work out a way to deliver her baby in the conference room and keep it stashed in the closet and never miss a minute of work. But she had a sneaking suspicion that wouldn’t work out. She was going to have to take some time off.

But luckily Mr. Haley was firmly behind the new day-care center that was being set up, right here in the building. She was planning to get her baby into it as soon as possible. But in the meantime, she was going to be leaving him in the lurch. And she felt downright crummy about it.

“Aren’t you going out to lunch, Mr. Haley?” she asked pointedly, hoping to jog his memory and speed him out the door.

He sighed, and, for the first time, she noticed that he was looking preoccupied again, despite his sense of humor. “No,” he said in answer to her question. “I don’t think I’ll go out. I can’t really eat anything.”

She studied him, concerned. He looked tired. Suddenly she wished with all her heart that she knew what was wrong. If she knew what was troubling him, maybe she could help.

“You don’t have any children, do you Maggie?”

Her shocked gaze met his and she flushed. How could she answer that one? “N…no. Not…not really.” Not yet, anyway. Was that lying? Technically, she didn’t think so, but she didn’t like it even so.

But he didn’t seem to notice her unease. He had a hint of that faraway look again. “I just wonder what it would be like to have a kid,” he said softly. Absently, he picked up one half of her peanut butter sandwich and began to munch on it. “Do you ever wonder?” he asked, looking into her eyes as though he thought an answer might be hiding in there somewhere.

Maggie’s breath caught in her throat. He was sitting so close and his eyes were so dark…. Suddenly she was very much aware of how the way he was sitting revealed the muscularity of his thighs.

Thighs! What was she thinking? She shouldn’t be noticing that. Swallowing hard, she tried to keep some perspective.

“Yes. Yes, of course I wonder,” she murmured, but she hardly knew what she was agreeing to.

“There’s something almost magical about babies, don’t you think?” he was saying.

But she was losing her train of thought. Her attention had been captured by the realization that his eyelashes were incredibly long. Why that made her feel light-headed she couldn’t have said. But she stared at them, fascinated, and the room faded around him. He had the most gorgeous eyes she’d ever seen. Weren’t eyes supposed to be windows into the heart? Did he have a beautiful soul to match his wonderful eyes?

She was swaying toward him and she knew it, almost as though he were drawing her closer magnetically, and somehow she seemed to be powerless to stop herself. Those deep eyes, the tiny hairs curling at his hairline, the tanned skin—masculinity radiated from him like heat. She came ever closer, experiencing his pull, taking in his air of casual acceptance, his handsome face, his straight nose…the peanut butter on his lower lip.

“Can you pass me a napkin?” he was asking.

She blinked at him as though he’d just gone off like a camera flash in her eyes, staring at him like a deer in headlights.

But he didn’t seem to notice. Looking down, he groaned. “My God, I’ve eaten your whole sandwich.”

Her peanut butter sandwich. She shook herself and reality washed over her like a cold ocean wave. Her heart began to thump in her chest. What was wrong with her? She’d almost made a very big fool of herself. Was it her pregnant condition? She was being irrational. Had he noticed?

“Your whole sandwich,” he was saying, looking at her as though it were her fault. “Why did you let me do that?”

Taking a deep breath, she steeled herself and fought hard for distance.

“How was I going to stop you?” she said, managing a tart tone, hoping to wipe away any lingering hints of her recent plunge into near-dementia. “You bolted it down like a starved wolf.”

“You’re right. But it was tiny. And suddenly I am hungry.” He looked almost embarrassed as he wiped his mouth with her only napkin. Not actually embarrassed, but almost.

“I’m really sorry.” His lopsided grin was meant to make up for it. “Listen,” he said impulsively. “I know how to fix everything. I’ll take you out to lunch.”

She gasped. Quick. She had to think of an excuse. “But it’s almost one o’clock. I have to be at my desk by one.”

He wasn’t buying it. “Hey. Who makes the rules around here?”

“I don’t know.” She frowned, thinking. She did not want to spend any more time with him if she could help it. That silly little trance she’d gone into might have been a harbinger of things to come if she didn’t watch out. She couldn’t risk it. Besides, she needed time to think up a good way to tell him she was going to be having a baby. It had to be done today. “I guess you do.”

“Damn right,” he said, sliding off her desk. “Come on. Let’s go.”

“I…I really can’t,” she said quickly. “I have so much work and…”

“Nonsense. We’re going to lunch. And that’s an order.”

“Mr. Haley…”

“Besides, I owe you. Remember on Secretary’s Day I gave you a rain check?”

How could she forget? He’d done that every year since she’d come to work for him. He’d never been keen on doing the lunch thing. Why now? Why with her?

“I’m not a secretary,” she tried feebly.

“Administrative assistants should get special days too,” he told her cheerfully. “And this is it. I’m finally going to pay up. You’re going to get your lunch.”

And the next thing she knew, she was stepping into the elevator, heading for lunch with the boss. And looking back longingly at her little office area, seeing it as a haven, a safe harbor. How long before she would get back to that safety?

This was going to be great.

Kane had a plan. A rather good plan, if he did say so himself. He was going to get his superbly skillful assistant working with him to find his baby. He was sure that she would attack the problem with all her legendary efficiency. He didn’t know why he hadn’t thought of doing this before. It was perfect.

There was only one flaw he could think of—getting her to do it. Instinctively, he knew she would resist. She would think it was a part of his personal life and she had no role there—and, of course, she was right. But he would have to find a way to convince her.

His current scheme was to use this lunch to build a sense of camaraderie between the two of them, get her to feel like a friend, and then to enlist her in the search. It was underhanded, sneaky, and not very nice. He knew that. But desperate times called for desperate measures. He was going to have to put aside all scruples and go for the throat.

As they entered the building that housed his favorite restaurant, he glanced at her sideways and his gaze accidentally cruised down to where her blouse gaped to show a bit of cleavage. She had nice cleavage. It gave him a little jolt of pleasure to see it, and he didn’t even feel guilty about it. After all, it meant nothing. She was married. Out of bounds and absolutely safe.

He put a protective hand at the back of her neck as he ushered her into the restaurant itself, and felt another pleasant sensation at the smoothness of her warm skin. It made him want to slide his hand down under the collar of her blouse, but he resisted the urge. That might be taking friendship a little too far a little too fast.

The Shoreline Grill combined old-fashioned semi-private booths with a modern menu that included mesquite-grilled meats and inventive pizzas. The manager hurried out and personally escorted them to one of his prime locations, with a view of the lake.

“It’s good to see you again, Mr. Haley,” he said, handing them menus. “We haven’t seen you for quite some time.”

“I haven’t been going out much lately,” Kane told him vaguely.

“Ah, but now, I’m sure we’ll be seeing you again regularly,” the manager said, giving Maggie a significant look.

He left before Kane could think of an answer to his insinuation, and for just a moment, both he and Maggie stared after the man, neither knowing what to say.

“Well, I guess…” he began.

“I don’t think…” she began at the same time.

They both stopped, their gazes caught and then quickly detached again. Kane frowned. Things weren’t working out quite the way he’d thought they would. He was feeling a strange awkwardness he wasn’t used to, and he wasn’t sure what was bringing it on. It seemed to have something to do with Maggie.

Probably because of his plan, he thought with a sense of relief that he’d pinpointed the problem. After all, it was manipulative. But necessary.

“Maggie,” he said firmly, smiling at her in a friendly fashion. “We’ve worked together for a long time now. I think it’s high time we put our relationship on a more personal level.”

“Oh no,” she said, paling and looking positively dismayed at the thought. “Let’s not.”

It seemed an odd reaction, but he patted her hand in what he hoped was a reassuring manner. “I’m talking about names, Maggie. I want you to call me Kane from now on. Except when we’re in board meetings, of course. Things like that. But for the most part, you can call me Kane.”

“I don’t think that’s a very good idea,” she said, “I like it the way we have it. You’re the boss and I’m the assistant. I can’t call you by your first name.”

He stared at her for a moment. Had he ever noticed how blue her eyes were before? He couldn’t remember. They sparkled like diamonds, making him wonder what she would look like all dressed up with fine gems draping down into that lovely cleavage.

But he shouldn’t think that way about a married lady. And he shouldn’t let himself get that tingle he was suddenly getting when he caught a hint of her spicy scent.

Shoving all that aside, he smiled at her. “Come on. It’s easy once you get used to it. Say Kane. You’ll see.”

“No, I’d rather not.” She pushed a strand of hair back into the twist at the back of her neck and he noticed, startled, that her fingers were trembling. “Actually, I just think there’s a lot of value in keeping the lines of responsibility clear. I like things in order. I like things to make sense.”

He stared at her for a long moment, strangely touched by how fierce her statement was, despite the fact that she was obviously very nervous. Was she afraid of him? That couldn’t be. She’d faced him down in many a battle over work and he’d never noticed this trepidation in her before. It made him want to protect her.

They ordered lunch and once they were alone again, he cast about for some subject he could bring up that might get her mind off whatever was bothering her. The room was filled with customers. People-watching was always good for a comment or two.

“Look at that tall woman over there,” he said, tactfully gesturing with his head and averting his eyes so that it wouldn’t be obvious whom he was talking about. “The one in red. Do you see her?”

Maggie glanced up casually and looked back at him. “I see her.”

He nodded knowingly. “I’d lay odds that she’s pregnant,” he said.

Maggie’s mouth fell open with a slight gasp.

“I’m sure of it,” he told her, gratified at her reaction. “I’d say almost five months along. What do you think?”

Her voice was choked when she answered. “I wouldn’t know,” she said. Reaching out for her glass, she took a huge gulp of ice water.

He glanced across the room again, then looked back, smiling. “I’m getting pretty good at judging how far along the mothers are. It’s becoming a real interest of mine. I can spot a pregnant woman across the room, even at about four months.”

Maggie folded her hand primly in front of her on the table and tried to smile back. “Really?”

He leaned closer and went on earnestly. “Have you noticed that lately, there seem to be pregnant women around everywhere? It’s like an epidemic or something. Every other woman I see is about to have a baby.”

She seemed to swallow before answering, and then she turned her bright-blue eyes on him, looking puzzled. “I…I’ve got to admit, I’ve been having the same experience.”

He nodded and muttered to himself, “See? It’s not just me. I’m not going nuts.”

But maybe she was. She shook her head as though to clear it. Too many things were coming at her too fast. She didn’t know what to think any more. First there was the staring, then he’d asked her to call the clinic where she’d had her artificial insemination done. Then he’d made her come out to lunch with him, something he’d never done before, and now he was talking about babies and pregnant women. It was all too much. She felt as though she were out on a very high ledge and one misstep would send her plummeting into the void.

She took a deep breath, as though to steel herself, and looked him in the eye. “Mr. Haley, are you…?” She stopped, then went on in a rush. “Are you…I don’t know… in love or something?”

Her words went through him like an electric charge and he recoiled. “In love? Whatever gave you that idea?”

She shook her head and another strand of hair escaped the twist and curled in a gentle tendril in front of her tiny ear. “Well, you keep talking about babies, and…”

“Babies!” He glanced around as though to make sure no one had heard her. “Who said anything about babies?”

“You did, sir. And I think I’d better tell you…”

“Wait a minute.” He glared at her. “I was not talking about babies. I was just trying to make conversation. And I’m definitely not in love.”

“Oh.” She sat back and pressed her lips together.

His glare lightened into a doubtful frown. “Why would I be talking about babies?”

She glanced up at him. “You said earlier that there was something magical about babies.”

“It was just a common observation.” His gaze sharpened. “Why would that make you think I was…in love?”

She shrugged, then looked at him searchingly. “Well, usually a man who is thinking about babies is planning to get married.”

“Hah!” He nodded knowingly. “There’s the problem right there. The marriage thing. That’s where everything always goes wrong.”

Maggie frowned at him. Her own marriage had been far from ideal, but she was definitely in favor of the institution. “What have you got against marriage?”

He paused while the waiter set a crab salad before Maggie and a steak sandwich in front of him.

“I’ve seen a lot of marriages,” he told her, nodding the waiter away. “I know a thing or two about them.” He took a bite of his garlic pickle and savored it as he thought over what he was about to say. “My uncle Joe, for instance, has been married seven times so far, and counting. And every single time, he’s sure that this is the one, the true love of his life. The honeymoon is terrific. He’s walking on air. And before the year is out, he’s headed for divorce court. Again.” He took a bite out of his sandwich as though he’d settled the matter for good.

She watched him eat through narrowed eyes. She couldn’t let his opinion stand as though it were proven fact. “Have you ever considered that the flaw might reside in your uncle, and not the institution of marriage?” she asked him crisply.

“Of course. I’m not naive.” He looked up and met her gaze.

As usual, that set off a tingle of reaction that she was beginning to wonder about. She could see that he was about to come back with something he obviously considered a zinger, but suddenly he hesitated. He seemed to remember that he was trying to charm her, not browbeat her, and he smoothly shifted gears.

“All this is just my opinion, of course. I know you’re married, and for all I know, you may be quite happy with that situation. It seems to agree with you just fine. You’re certainly blooming.”

Maggie blinked. Two years a widow and he didn’t know it. Well, that just about took the cake. It was beginning to look as if she wouldn’t dare go on maternity leave. He wouldn’t recognize her when she tried to come back.

Kane went on talking, but Maggie was having trouble following what he was saying. The food was delicious, but she couldn’t eat more than a few tiny bites, and she spent most of her time pushing food around on her plate with her fork, hoping he wouldn’t notice how little she was consuming.

She was getting very nervous. She had to find a way to tell him about her pregnancy. She’d tried once, but he hadn’t let her get her sentence out. She had to do it. Now.

“Mr. Haley,” she said when he’d paused for more than a few seconds. “There’s something I really have to tell you.”

“Say, look at the time,” he said, glancing at his watch. “We’d better get back to the office. We still have that contract to get out before five.”

She opened her mouth to try again, but he was already sliding out of the booth and reaching to help her. It was too late to do it now. Maybe back at work would be better anyway.

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