A Convenient Proposal(58)

“That was either very profound,” Griff said, once they were in the car, “or totally absurd.”

“I vote for absurd.” Arden wound his tie between her fingers. “Your days are what you make them, good or bad.”

An echo of Dr. Campbell’s question came back to her. What do you do with your life? Why do you get up in the morning?

The man had a point. What had she accomplished in the last year? What would she accomplish in the years ahead?

Parking on the gravel drive in front of the cottage, Griff said, “Stay right there. Don’t move.”

Then he came around the back of the Jaguar, opened Arden’s door and bent down. “Put your arms around my neck.”

“You don’t have to carry me in,” she protested, laughing. “I can slip my shoes back on.”

“Just wrap your arms around me.” He scooped her up and lifted her out of the car. To save them both a fall, Arden did as he asked.

She also turned the doorknob so he could push through into the house. He shut the door behind them with one foot, but didn’t set her down.

“I’m heavy,” she murmured as he stood there. “You can’t hold me forever.”

“I think I could,” he said quietly. “I want to.” He kissed the top of her head, her temple, her cheekbone. Then Arden turned her face up so their lips could touch.

His arms tightened around her as he walked steadily down the hallway. She clung to his shoulders and gave herself up to the mouth plundering hers.

In the bedroom, he eased her bare feet to the floor. His hands moved over her body and her dress disappeared. Jacket, shirt, shoes, socks and pants followed, every layer between them stripped away.

“You are so much more than I imagined when we met,” Griff said, stretching her arms above her head as she lay beneath him. “I never dreamed this would happen to me.”

“Ah, Griff.” She wanted to say the words, to share the feelings that seemed likely to tear her apart.

But the wildness took over then, and she could only gasp. Fireworks couldn’t begin to describe the magic shooting through her. Exploding suns came closer to the mark.

When she could finally think again, when her body had relaxed and her brain reassembled, she turned her head to tell Griff what she felt.

Eyes closed, mouth open, he snored into her face.

But, thinking of champagne in the ladies’ room, Arden simply smiled.





Chapter Eleven





As ordered, Arden visited Dr. Loft on Tuesday. She’d never thought about the need for vitamins before she got pregnant. Like most women, she wanted to do the best for her baby.

Whether that included keeping the child a secret from its father and other family members was a question she had begun to ask herself more often than was comfortable.

Dr. Loft’s receptionist required her to fill out information forms, including past medical issues and current health. Arden found some of the questions painful to answer, but she told the truth. Doctors couldn’t be lied to.

The exam was as careful and complete as Arden had expected. After giving her time to dress, Dr. Loft returned to the room and sat down on the rolling stool, then thumbed through the papers in her hand.

“You seem to be in good shape,” she said. “No more dizziness or nausea?”

“Not at all.”

“Good.” Again, she referred to one of the forms Arden had filled out. “According to your history, you had a miscarriage a little over a year ago.”

“Yes.”

“That’s too bad.” The doctor followed up with other clinical questions. “And now you’re trying to get pregnant again?”

“Yes.”

“Well, then, I’d like to make a recommendation. Not a requirement, you understand. A precaution, at most. I’d like to refer you for an ultrasound exam of your abdomen.”

“Why?”

“Since you’ve had one miscarriage, I’d like to be sure there are no problems with your reproductive system as you try to conceive again.”

After scheduling the appointment for Friday, Arden left the office, but then sat in the car for a long time, trying to think.

Dr. Loft had been reassuring as she explained her reasoning. The fact remained that she believed there might be something wrong.

And the possibilities for Arden’s future—dreams she’d just begun to believe in—had suddenly been called into doubt.