Kara Lennox - The Pregnancy Surprise

Allie didn’t appear happy with him. “If you say so, Reece.”

As the song ended, Cooper appeared to reclaim the bride. His jacket and tie were gone, his shirt open and his sleeves rolled up. He didn’t look quite as happy and carefree as a new bridegroom should.

“Have you guys seen a weather report lately?”

Allie looked surprised by the question. “I’ve been a little busy getting married.”

“I’m sorry, sweetheart, but we’re going to have to delay our honeymoon.”

“What? Why?”

“Because of the hurricane.”

Sara finally gave up waiting for Reece to find her; she went in search of him. She found him a few minutes later, talking with the bride and groom-and all of them looked worried.

“Hey, what’s going on?” she asked. “Did somebody die?”

“Hey, Sara,” Reece said, managing a tense smile. “No one died. But there’s a hurricane.”

“Oh, is that all?”

“Is that all?” Allie repeated. “Have you ever been through one?”

“Yes, and I don’t mean to make light of it, but it’s not a hurricane. It’s an itty-bitty tropical storm, and they don’t even know if it will hit here, or when. It could just peter out.”

Reece looked relieved. “Have you seen a weather report?”

“Yes. Max checked it out on his super-duper phone. You guys are worrying for nothing.” She took Reece’s hand. “C’mon, Reece, let’s dance.”

THE OFFICIAL WEDDING reception lasted for a couple of hours, after which the bartender vanished and the tent came down. The bride and groom said their goodbyes and left for their wedding night in some fancy hotel in Corpus. But the wedding revelers showed no signs of slowing down. The party would probably continue into the night, but for once Sara wasn’t in a partying mood.

Her reunion with Reece hadn’t gone at all as she’d planned. He’d been perfectly pleasant to her, solicitous, even. He’d fetched her a piece of wedding cake and a glass of champagne, which she’d covertly dumped in the sand. He’d danced with her, and he’d touched her often in a way that promised he hadn’t lost interest.

But there was an edge to Reece, something on his mind that kept his forehead creased with worry. Maybe it was talk of the storm, or maybe it was something else.

The worst thing, though, was that she had no idea what his plans were for the evening-and whether they included her.

She would have to take the proverbial bull by the horns.

“So, Reece,” she said, sitting in a folding chair next to him. “Have you had enough party?”

“I’m just waiting for Max. He’s giving me a ride back to Cooper’s house.”

“Oh. Well, I’m heading back to the B and B. Do you want to come with me?”

“How? Isn’t the car at the marina?”

“I planned ahead, aren’t you proud of me? I parked the Benz in the lot just on the other side of those dunes.”

She could see he was tempted, but for some reason he hesitated.

“Reece, what is it? Do you want to spend the night with me or not?”

“Of course I do.”

“Then what is your problem?”

“The problem is…hell, the problem is I don’t want to say goodbye to you. I don’t want to get on a plane Sunday night and never see you again. And if we spend the rest of the weekend together, getting on that plane is just going to be ten times harder.”

Sara smiled. She hadn’t expected such a heartfelt confession. “So don’t get on the plane.”

When she saw the pained expression on his face, she wanted to take the words back. “No, forget I said that. I know it’s not fair. I can’t expect you to give up the life you’ve built in New York-I get that.”

“I’m sorry, Sara. I wish things could work out. But we’ve both known, from the beginning, we’re from different worlds.”

She wanted to tell him what a cheap cop-out that was. Cooper and Allie were from the exact same different worlds that Reece and Sara were from, yet they were making it work. It was all about priorities, and clearly she wasn’t that high on his list. But if they got into a big fight tonight, he would go back to New York mad at her, and that wasn’t what she wanted.

She didn’t want him to leave until she’d had a chance to take a pregnancy test. And if it was positive? Of course she had to tell him. And of course he would take responsibility. But she didn’t want a baby to be the reason he stayed with her.

“So you’re going to let what’s coming Sunday night ruin the whole weekend?” At his questioning look, she took his hand. “We’ve found something special. Sometimes special things are, by nature, short-lived. Why ruin it by worrying about when it has to end?”

Finally he got it. He gave her a look that could melt cold steel and got to his feet, pulling her with him. “I can’t argue with your logic. Let’s get out of here.”

Sara had never seen Reece drive as fast as he did that day. They didn’t talk, perhaps both of them thinking ahead. Only when they entered the house did Reece speak up.

“Do you need to check on Miss Greer?”

“Valerie’s here. Let’s just sneak upstairs.” Sara had never brought a man into this house for the purpose of having sex; in fact, the only time she’d slept with a man under Miss Greer’s roof was two weeks ago, with Reece, while her landlady was absent. She had no idea whether her employer would object, but just now she didn’t care.

All of the guest rooms were full, so Sara and Reece headed directly to her room on the third floor. Belatedly she realized she hadn’t prepared for company, but she didn’t figure Reece would notice. He seemed pretty single-minded at the moment.

Just the same, she didn’t turn on the lights or open the shades. She closed her bedroom door, turned the lock and, still holding Reece’s hand, headed directly for the bed.

Reece stopped before she reached it, tugged her to him and wrapped her in his arms. His kiss was so steamy they could have boiled lobsters without a stove. Feeling his hot mouth on hers, his hands roving anywhere and everywhere at once, she thought she might burst into flame.

He made quick work of the zipper on the back of her dress. The garment fell in a heap at her feet, and she stepped out of it and kicked it aside. In no time he had her stripped of her bra and panties. He was so efficient, in fact, that he was half undressed himself before she even realized it. She helped him with the studs on his tux shirt, her hands trembling with anticipation as heat pooled between her legs.

They fell onto the unmade bed, and for once she was glad she was a slapdash housekeeper when it came to her own space, because it would have taken too much time to pull back the covers.

She felt no need for excessive foreplay; she was so ready. She’d been ready for him for hours. She pulled him on top of her and wrapped her legs around him, and he entered her with one swift, deep thrust.

She gasped with the indescribable pleasure of joining with Reece again.

“Sara,” he said on a groan. “You make me insane.”

“Insane is good,” she shot back, but he cut her off with another of his masterful kisses.

They rocked together in her big four-poster bed, which serenaded them with a gentle squeaking. With each of Reece’s thrusts, Sara felt herself moving closer to that exquisite place that was so fine and so rare, a special place she’d never been with anyone but Reece, like their own private universe. Then the stars exploded and Sara soared through them, buoyed by wave after wave of stardust.

She was so far gone, she only vaguely registered Reece’s low groan of pleasure as he joined her on their private psychic plane.

Minutes or hours later, the dimly lit room around them reappeared. Reece rolled over and cradled her against his shoulder, kissing the top of her head. “I don’t know what to say.”