Tanya Michaels - Their Precious Christmas Miracle - Mistletoe Baby / In the Spirit of...Christmas / A Baby By Christmas

“Anything else you need?” he asked her.

It was such a loaded question that she merely shook her head, not trusting herself to speak. She took a bite of apple just for the extra security.

“All right. I’m going to run to Winnie’s for a little while. The cordless phone is right there on the nightstand, and I’ll have my cell with me at all times. If you need anything …”

“I know.” She licked a spot of peanut butter off her finger. “And I appreciate it.”

He watched her eat, so intent that she held a slice toward him.

“Want one?” she asked.

He huffed out an amused sound that was more than a sigh but not fully a laugh. “You and your peanut-butter apples. Sure, why not?” He leaned forward to take the end with his teeth while his hand came up to hold the other half. His breath was warm against her skin.

Rachel shivered.

He straightened immediately, swallowing a bite of apple. “You cold? I can turn up the heat. Or get another blanket out of the closet.”

“No, I’m not cold at all. It was just … one of those involuntary muscle things.” She washed down the lie with some milk, struggling with the question she wanted to ask. “David? There is one thing.”

“Absolutely.” He got to his feet, looking relieved to have a task. “You name it.”

“Before you go …” She worried at her bottom lip with her teeth, feeling weak for what she was about to ask and hoping it didn’t qualify as a selfish mixed signal, but she was still so shaken from earlier. “Before you go, could you maybe just hold me for a minute?”

His expression was comically dumbfounded. Whatever he’d been expecting, that hadn’t been it. “All right,” he said slowly. “I can do that.”

Sitting against the headboard, he scooted over until he was almost behind her. She moved the tray onto the nightstand and leaned back, reclining against his chest. Breathing in the scent of him, she let her eyes close, sighing when his arms went around her.

She shifted suddenly, realizing how still and quiet he was behind her. “David?”

“Yeah?”

“Just checking.”

He smoothed a hand over her head, trailing it to the end of her dark hair. “I’m here, babe. For as long as you need me to be.”

Tears pricked her eyes at the sweet poignancy of the moment. This was exactly what she’d needed, although it might have been unfair to ask him for it.

Within minutes, she was unsuccessfully stifling yawns. “You should go,” she mumbled. “Once I fall asleep, I’ll be a dead weight on top of you.”

“There are worse things that could happen.” But when she propped herself on her elbows, he obligingly slid free. “I’ll lock the door behind me. You just nap. Sweet dreams, Rach.”

Her eyes flew open, and she gave a startled laugh.

“Did I say something funny?”

“No. No, it’s just that …” She didn’t want to explain that, here in their marriage bed, she was haunted by hot dreams of him. Closing her eyes again, she turned onto her side. “When I left for Winnie’s, was it hard for you to be here? In our house?”

He stood, not answering for a long moment. “It’s hard to be without you no matter where I am.”

A houseful of laughing women was the complete opposite of the quiet, complicated intimacy of the night before, when David had returned to cook Rachel chicken and pasta. Tonight’s dinner was Chinese takeout. Arianne had ordered enough to feed an entire sorority house.

Since Rachel and David’s house was larger than Arianne’s garage apartment or either half of Lilah and Quinn’s duplex, the women had agreed to meet here for the Bubble Party. At the reception, before the bride and groom’s departure, attendants would hand small decorated bottles of bubbles to each guest. The catch was, someone actually had to decorate three hundred clear plastic bottles in the appropriate wedding colors. With Tanner and Lilah both having spent most of their lives in Mistletoe, they’d invited the majority of the town.

Rachel had carefully hidden her scrapbook materials, and the entire bridal party except Vonda (who was hoping to hit a jackpot on a seniors’ trip to the Biloxi casinos) gathered at six-thirty. While the glue guns heated up, the women gorged themselves on mu shu pork, beef with broccoli, shrimp lo mein and egg rolls. Afterward, they formed an assembly line in the living room, wedding-themed movies playing in the background for ambiance.

By the time Nia Vardalos and John Corbett had overcome cultural obstacles and meddling family in My Big Fat Greek Wedding, one heart-shaped basket was already full of completed bottles of bubbles. Halfway through Father of the Bride, Arianne got up to dig out the corkscrew from the back of a kitchen drawer. She’d brought over two bottles of wine from a Georgia vineyard.

“Okay, what can I pour anybody?” she asked, standing at the edge of the living room.

“The white merlot for me,” Quinn said.

“Chardonnay, please.” Lilah affected a reprimanding scowl. “But when the tiny green bows end up crooked on these bubbles, you’re going to have to explain to my wedding guests it’s because you plied us with alcohol.”

“Fair enough,” Arianne said. “What about you, Rach?”

Rachel kept her gaze on the piece of lace in her hand. “I’m good, but thanks.”

“You sure?” Arianne persisted. “It’s from that family winery in Dahlonega you love.”

“Yeah, but I’ve almost hot-glued my fingers together twice. Friends don’t let friends drink and glue. Maybe later.” Like in six and a half months .

An hour or so later, as Arianne popped a rented copy of The Wedding Singer into the DVD player, Quinn stretched and regretfully announced that she didn’t think she could stay much longer.

“I have to be at school at seven tomorrow to administer some makeup tests before winter break and the end of the grading period.” She shot an apologetic look at the bride. Since the two friends lived in adjoining houses, they’d driven over together. “I hate to cut the evening short.”

“Are you kidding? We’ve already decorated, like, two hundred and eighty bottles.” Lilah looked tickled pink by the progress. “You guys are amazing.”

“I can stick around and help for a little longer,” Arianne volunteered.

Rachel managed not to wince—she’d actually been hoping everyone would go and that she could shuffle off to bed. “That’s sweet, but you don’t have to. I can easily finish the few that are left tomorrow.”

“Okay.” Ari agreed readily enough, but stared at her for a moment as if she had more to say. She bided her time, though, until after the other women had left.

Rachel was stacking all the movies by Arianne’s purse when her sister-in-law asked from behind her, “So when are you due?”

“What?” Rachel jumped. “How— Why— Why would you …?”

Arianne rolled her eyes, but her grin was a mile wide. “Oh, that was a convincing denial.” She suddenly squealed, throwing her arms around Rachel’s shoulders. “I am so excited for you!”

Rachel blinked back tears. Even though it hadn’t been the plan, it felt pretty amazing to share the news with someone close to her. “Thank you.”

“Now go sit your pregnant butt down and tell me everything!”

“Um, other than what you’ve already surmised, I’m not sure what else there is to know.”

“Well, for starters, when are you due?” Arianne repeated. “When did you find out? Did you set up an elaborate romantic scene to tell David, or did you just kind of blurt it out because you were so excited or did he already suspect or—”