Celebration's Baby Read online

  Thoughtfully, Maya ran her finger around the rim of her demitasse cup. “At the risk of—how do you say it—sticking my nose in where it doesn’t belong? Hugh Newman may be the father of your child, but he is not the right man for you.”

  “Story of my life,” Bia murmured.

  “Make no mistake, there is someone out there for you. He is already in your life. You simply must learn to see what is right in front of you.”

  * * *

  Thursday afternoon, Aiden was leaning against his car, which was parked in the lot of Bia’s doctor, waiting for her to arrive.

  When she finally did, she got out of her car and said, “Aiden, you’re here? I told you not to come.”

  Her words said one thing, but the way she said them confirmed that he’d been right to not let her face her first doctor’s appointment alone.

  “I thought you might want some moral support.”

  She smiled. “I’m a big girl, Aiden. I can handle this.” Then she hugged him and whispered, “Thanks for being here. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

  He put his arm around her as they walked from the parking lot into the lobby. To the untrained eye, they probably looked like a happy couple eager to get the lowdown on their first child. He could play that role, especially if Hugh wasn’t going to.

  “Have you heard from Hugh?”

  She stiffened, pulled away ever so slightly. “No. But he knows. And he knows how to reach me and where to find me.”

  “Ball’s in his court, then,” Aiden said as he opened the office door and stood back so Bia could enter.

  Two other women, both obviously further along in their pregnancies than Bia, waited. Both had men with them, and Aiden was instantly reassured that he’d made the right decision to come along. No doubt Bia would’ve soldiered through on her own, but she shouldn’t have to face this alone.

  “I’m going to go sign in,” she said. “Go ahead and sit down and I’ll be right back...with mountains of paperwork, no doubt.”

  He sat down in a chair across from one of the couples. The woman looked as if she were smuggling a basketball under her dress. Aiden looked away, trying to imagine what Bia would look like that far along. She’d be gorgeous.

  “Is this your first child?” the woman asked.

  “Uhh...” Obviously, she’d caught him staring. But she didn’t seem annoyed or put off. Her husband was reading the newspaper and didn’t seem to notice that Aiden had been scoping out his wife’s belly. Good thing.

  Rather than dive headlong into an explanation, he simply said, “Yes. It is.” After all, he hadn’t been party to another pregnancy before. She hadn’t asked him if he was the father.

  “Congratulations to you and your wife.” She beamed at him and clasped her hands over her belly. “You have some exciting months ahead of you. Years actually. Kids will change your life.”

  Yep. So I’ve heard.

  He nodded. Pondering the thought of Bia as his wife as she walked toward him, clipboard in hand. She stirred in him a feeling that was equal parts primal lust and Cro-Magnon protective. He’d always been attracted to her. Hell, if he were honest with himself, he’d admit that he’d always been in love with Bia Anderson.

  He just hadn’t been able to admit it to himself until his roommate Duane had taken an interest in her at that party their freshman year of college. He couldn’t remember who threw the party or what the occasion was, but he would never forget what she looked like standing there kissing Duane. At that moment, something inside him shifted and snapped into place. By the time he finally woke up and realized what had been under his nose all his life, she was off-limits. So, Aiden had settled for a friendship because it was better to have her in his life under restricted terms than not at all.

  Duane never had treated her right. He used to think Aiden was joking when he said things like, “Too bad you saw her first, man,” and “If you don’t treat her right, I’m going to take her away from you.” They would all laugh and then Aiden would try to get interested in some other girl. Inevitably, those relationships never worked out. Bia thought he was the world’s biggest player. And he would laugh it off and say, “None of them compare to you.”

  And she thought he was joking.

  He’d come here, taken the Catering to Dallas gig, to be near her. Things had been going well between them. The best way to describe them was platonic with chemistry. They were solid, and he wanted to take things slowly, let the relationship develop naturally. And then Hugh Newman came to town, proving it had been a dumb idea to take things slowly. It had been a grave miscalculation to not move at the speed of Hugh.

  As Bia sat down in the chair next to him, the nurse called back the woman who had been talking to him—Sandra something...he hadn’t caught her last name.

  “Good luck, you two,” she said as she and her husband walked toward the waiting nurse. “This truly is the beginning of the happiest time of your lives.”

  “Thanks,” he said. “Nice talking to you.”

  “Making friends, already?” Bia murmured. “You are such a flirt.”

  “I wasn’t flirting,” he said. “I was just being cordial. They think we’re married.”

  Bia rolled her eyes at him. “Obviously they don’t know who they’re dealing with. You, with your commitment allergy. I’m surprised that you didn’t run screaming for the door after she said that.”

  “That hurts, B. Like a stab right through the heart. You know I’m committed to you. You’re the only woman in the world for me.”

  She made a tsking sound and gave his arm a little shove and muttered, “Spare me.” Then she refocused on her paperwork, but she was smiling as she wrote. He noticed that she had left the spot on the form that asked for the name of the child’s father blank. He thought about asking her what, if anything, she was going to tell the doctor, but he decided to wait until after the appointment.

  “Obviously, we make a good couple,” he said. “We fooled them.”

  “Yeah, well, welcome to the grand illusion. When a man and a woman come to an OB-GYN office together, they’re usually involved. We just happen to be part of the slim minority who aren’t.”

  “We should stop pretending and get married, Bia.”

  She didn’t look up from her paperwork, but she laughed. “Says he who is allergic to monogamy. Don’t joke about marriage, Aiden. Some things are sacred.”

  “Who says I’m joking?”

  This time she pierced him with an exasperated look. “Settle down and quit distracting me. I have to finish filling out this paperwork before they call me back.” She started writing again. “Besides, you don’t have a ring. You can’t propose to a woman without a ring.”

  He pretended to pat down his pockets, looking for a ring. “Touché. You got me there.”

  She did have him. Heart and soul. He’d never realized just how deep his feelings for her ran until recently. If only he could tell her without the comedy routine. Easier said than done.

  A few minutes later, the nurse called Bia back.

  Aiden followed her to the door. “I haven’t finished my paperwork,” she said.

  “That’s not a problem,” the nurse said. “Maybe your husband could finish filling it out for you while we’re getting you ready to see the doctor?”

  “He’s not my husband,” Bia said.

  The nurse smiled, and she looked from Bia to Aiden. “Well, okay. Do you want him to come back with you?”

  She asked the question as if he would be entering a restricted-access area.

  “Oh...” Bia glanced at Aiden and then back to the nurse. “I guess he can wait out here. Would you mind, Aiden?”

  “Probably a good idea.” The nurse smiled at him and took a step closer. “The first visit is always the longest. The doctor will want to go over
the genetic history of your family and that of the baby’s father. It will take a while, but if you’d like to wait, let’s get you something to drink—would you like coffee? A soda?”

  He felt Bia pull away from him emotionally. She had a strange look on her face, and he wasn’t sure why. Probably just nerves. This was suddenly becoming very real, and she wanted to go back there alone.

  “Aiden, I’m fine. Why don’t you go back to work? There’s no sense in you waiting.”

  “I don’t mind. You might need me.”

  She softened, but the wall was still in place. That same wall that kept him a safe, platonic distance away. “It was so sweet of you to come. But really, I’m fine. Please go.”

  * * *

  The nurse left Bia standing there while she fetched coffee for Aiden.

  How utterly unprofessional. If the woman hadn’t been wielding needles—once she’d made sure Aiden was comfortable—Bia might have schooled her on the meaning of a proper time and a place for everything. When a woman was walking through the door for her first obstetric appointment, it definitely wasn’t the time or the place for the nurse to flirt with the man who had accompanied the pregnant woman. Just because he wasn’t her husband didn’t mean he was fair game.

  Aiden seemed absolutely clueless to the effect he had on women. Sometimes she wondered if that cluelessness was more a case of playing dumb like a fox. I’ll be so disarmingly charming and oblivious to how gorgeous I am and see how many women I can lure in.

  He did it all the time, whether he was cognizant of it or not, and it made Bia crazy. He dated women long enough for them to fall for him and then he got the heck out of Dodge.

  Since college, Bia had witnessed the never-ending parade of bimbos who were crazy for him. In fact, Bia was willing to wager that Aiden could give Hugh a run for the number of women he was stringing along.

  The nurse, for example. The pregnant woman in the lobby... Well, that probably wasn’t the same thing. She looked like she was about to pop and her husband was sitting right there. Still, the pregnant one could be filed in a subcategory of looking but not touching, which was fine.... Actually, it all was fine. She had no claim on him.

  Since Aiden had moved to Celebration to work on Catering to Dallas, there hadn’t been as many women. But he hadn’t been there that long, and work kept him pretty busy. What little free time he had, he tended to spend with Bia. She’d come to think of herself as his safe haven.

  They’d been friends for so long that she prided herself on being the person with whom he could hang out without fear of her getting the wrong idea or coming back with expectations.

  That’s not to say that Bia didn’t find him attractive. For God’s sake, he was probably the sexiest man she’d ever met. Sexier than Hugh Newman, hands-down sexier than Duane. A big part of what made him sexy to her was that she knew all the facets of Aiden. She’d seen the soul behind the one-hundred-watt smile and the smoldering I-want-you-now glances.

  If there wasn’t so much history between them, so much water under the bridge, he probably would’ve had her flat on her back a long time ago—and much faster than Hugh Newman. The difference was Hugh hadn’t mattered.

  A piece of her soul would die if she lost Aiden.

  They hadn’t gotten to this point overnight. The wine of their friendship had been maturing for years. And it had withstood nearly insurmountable mishaps.

  When she’d found out Duane had slept with the stripper that Aiden had hired, she’d blamed Aiden. She had called off the wedding and sent Duane packing, but she blamed Aiden for enabling his friend. Two nights before the wedding. Two nights.

  She’d had to cancel everything: the church, the caterer, the guests, the wedding hall. Her father had lost a good fifteen grand thanks to one night of someone else’s utter stupidity.

  The only reason she and Aiden were still talking today—and were as close as they’d become—was because Aiden had proven that Duane’s actions had hurt him almost as much as they’d hurt Bia. Aiden had cut ties with Duane, but he hadn’t left Bia alone until she’d accepted his apology. Once they’d cleared that hurdle, Aiden had never left. But they’d also agreed to never talk about the Duane–stripper fiasco again.

  There had been a couple of times when Bia had been tempted to test the bounds of their friendship...to quench her curiosity about how his lips would taste...or how his hands would feel on her body...how he would feel inside her body.

  She shivered at the thought and pulled the paper gown closed at her neck. But he was her friend. She shouldn’t even go there mentally. Especially when she was sitting in a doctor’s office pregnant with another man’s child.

  She took a deep breath and exhaled away the inappropriate thoughts about her friend. Her friend.

  Even if she wouldn’t allow herself to cross the line with Aiden, she was allowed to resent Nurse Flirty for so brazenly flirting with him. Yeah, honey, you may pack a scary syringe, but if you want to get to him, you’ve gotta go through me.

  Finally, the doctor knocked on the door. He entered the room, accompanied by—oh, joy—Nurse Flirty, who immediately turned her back on Bia and busied herself at the counter on the far wall.

  “Hello, Ms. Anderson,” said Dr. Porter. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  He washed his hands and then shook Bia’s hand before picking up her file.

  “This is your first pregnancy?” he asked.

  “It is,” she said.

  “I notice you left the space on the form for the father’s name blank. Would you mind telling me why?”

  Well, yes, she minded. She really didn’t want to talk about him.

  “He may or may not want to be a part of the child’s life,” Bia said. “That remains to be seen. So, until I know, I would prefer to leave him out of it.”

  The doctor rubbed his chin. “Regardless of whether or not he is part of the child’s life, the baby will have his genes. It’s important that we know as much about him as possible for your child’s health. I’d prefer for his name to be part of the records.”

  A slow burn started in the pit of Bia’s stomach. Maybe it was hormones; maybe it was this particular doctor’s office. She’d chosen it because it was close rather than trekking all the way to Dallas for her checkups, which, according to everything she’d read, would be much more frequent than her annual checkup. She might need to rethink this decision since she wasn’t feeling very comfortable.

  “Dr. Porter, the baby’s father is prominent, a celebrity who isn’t local, and all communication thus far indicates that he doesn’t want to be part of the child’s life. I will do my due diligence and gather his medical history, but I’d like to keep his name out of the official records.”

  Bia noticed that the nurse was now facing her, unapologetically taking in every word of their conversation. Bia frowned at her, and she turned back around.

  “Well...it’s not optimal,” Dr. Porter said. “But as you wish.”

  There was a knock at the door and another nurse stuck her head in. “Excuse me, Dr. Porter. May I see you for a moment? I’m sorry to interrupt, but there’s an important matter.”

  “Certainly.” He looked irritated, but he said, “Excuse me, Ms. Anderson. I’ll be right back.”

  When the door had closed, the nurse turned back around to Bia. “I’m sorry—I just have to ask. Is Hugh Newman the father?”

  “I beg your pardon?” Bia said.

  “Is Hugh Newman the father of your baby?”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me.” Bia said.

  “It’s just that I knew you looked familiar and when you said the baby’s father was a celebrity, I remembered seeing you on XYZ with Hugh. He is such a hottie. I’m such a fan. Don’t worry—I won’t tell anyone. You know, with HIPAA laws and all, I could get into big trouble if I told anyone.”

/>   Was this some sort of joke? Was she being punked for one of those reality television shows? Because this was the most surreal doctor visit she’d ever experienced in her life.

  First, Nurse Flirty all but gave her number to Aiden and now she was prying into a subject that Bia had clearly stated was a closed subject.

  “It is him, isn’t it?” the nurse said.

  “Umm...I have to go,” Bia said, getting to her feet.

  “Dr. Porter isn’t finished with your appointment yet. He’ll be right back.”

  “That’s okay. I’ll make other arrangements. I need to go back to work. Would you please step outside so I can get dressed?”

  “I’ll go find Dr. Porter for you. It will only take a moment. Please don’t go anywhere.”

  However, in less than a minute, Bia was dressed and in the lobby, where Aiden was still sipping the cup of coffee Nurse Flirty had fetched him.

  “That didn’t take long,” he said. “What’s wrong?”

  “I’m leaving,” Bia said and quietly let herself out the front door before the reception staff realized what was happening. She would call later, but now she needed to get out of there and rethink her plan. She’d call her doctor in Dallas and make the trip if that’s what it took to maintain her privacy. Actually, she wondered, was privacy a thing of the past post-Hugh?

  “What is going on?” Aiden repeated once they were in the parking lot.

  “This is obviously not the right doctor for me,” she said. “I didn’t want to name the baby’s father and they took issue with it.”

  “I noticed you left it blank,” Aiden said. “But shouldn’t that be your call?”

  “You’d think. Actually, the doctor accepted it. I made the mistake of saying that the father was a celebrity who didn’t want to be involved, and after Dr. Porter left the room for a moment, your girlfriend asked me point-blank if the father was Hugh. And she kept pressing it. So, I walked out.”

  “My girlfriend?”

  “The nurse who got you all tucked in with juice and cookies while I was waiting.”

  “She’s not even my type.”