“God, you’re incredible… After what I tried to do to you!”
He smiled at her. “I was wrong to call you when I got back to Grants Pass. It set up a series of events that were unfair to you. But I remember it so damn well—I was in a lot of pain. It was a bad, bad time for me. That night, I was a pretty miserable, desperate guy and you got me through a rough spot. You were kind to me. Sympathetic and sweet. Loving. At the time, I was very grateful. I wouldn’t be a gentleman if I didn’t tell you that.”
She leaned against him, the tears dry now, and he put his arms around her in comfort. She sighed. “I thought I loved you, that I could make you happy if I had a chance,” she said. “I didn’t lie about that.” She lifted her head and looked up at him. “You’re an easy man to fall for.”
He tightened his arms a bit. He knew something about love now. It filled him up inside, made him feel like the luckiest man on the planet to have Vanessa. He would do anything for her, and if she had come to him with another man’s baby and asked him to take her with that burden inside her, he wouldn’t even have to think about it.
“Is there anything you need?”
“Yeah,” Terri said with a sad little laugh. “I need to find a man like you. Then I’ll be set.”
He sat with her for a long while, his arms around her, giving what small comfort he could. He dropped a tender kiss on the top of her head. “You’ll find the right man,” he said. “And you’ll be a good mother. This will work out.”
“Paul, I’m sorry if I hurt you, if I complicated your life. It was so selfish of me…”
“We’ll get past that, no problem. Desperate times sometimes bring out desperate measures—I’m not angry. And I know a really good pediatrician, if you’re looking for one…”
Eleven
Vanessa had just finished nursing the baby when the doorbell at Paul’s house rang. Holding the baby, she went and glanced out the window beside the door. There stood Carol, looking every bit the chic and sophisticated businesswoman she always did. Vanni opened the door somewhat reluctantly.
“I didn’t know if you’d be here,” Carol said. “I didn’t want to call. I wanted to see you and I wasn’t sure you’d agree.”
Vanessa opened the door. “I haven’t been in touch, Carol, because I thought we could use some time to think things through. Both of us.” Vanni held the door open. “Come in, since you’re here.”
“Is Paul at home?” she asked, stepping across the threshold.
“Not at the moment.” She looked at her watch. “I guess he should be coming soon.”
“I’m sorry, Vanessa,” Carol said uncomfortably. “Lance is furious with me. Terrified we won’t see much of the baby because of what I did.”
“Come in and sit down,” Vanni said, leading the way to the dining room. She put Mattie in his bouncy seat on the table and pulled out a chair. “So,” she said bravely. “Lance didn’t like that little meeting you tried to arrange?”
Carol was caught looking around at Paul’s house. By the rather surprised expression on her face, maybe she wasn’t expecting anything quite so beautiful, so tasteful. Maybe she thought Paul made his home in a construction trailer?
“Carol?” Vanni asked.
She shook her head. “No,” she said. “Not from the beginning. He blustered about it, but I didn’t think I was doing anything harmful. You know we care about Paul for many reasons, but after getting to know Cameron, I just thought the world of him. And… Oh hell,” Carol said. “I didn’t know about you and Paul.”
“That’s exactly why you should make it a policy to ask if your plans are acceptable. Had you asked me in the first place if I’d like you to invite a single man to dinner, I would have asked you to wait on that. I was missing Paul, wanting to see him. Cameron’s a great guy, but I’m not interested in him romantically,” Vanni said. “In the end, both men were hurt. You have to stop doing things like that.”
“I always think I’m helping,” she said. “I always feel like I have the perfect solution. Really—I wouldn’t…” Her voice trailed off. “You and Paul…？”
“That’s right. We’re getting married. I love him. He’ll be a wonderful father to Mattie. You can’t imagine how much he adores this baby. How grateful he is that there’s a little piece left of his best friend.”