Baby Bombshell Page 17

  She shook her head. “No.” She hugged herself, rubbing her arms to try and get rid of the icy chill that seemed to creep over her skin. “No, Evan McKenzie, I won’t marry you.”

  “What? I thought… Are you sure?”

  “Duty isn’t love. And I love you too much to force you into this.”

  The words made him flinch worse than before and a flush rose up to stain his cheeks. His eyes met hers again. She could see the ache she felt reflected in the green gaze.

  “I’m sorry, Annie,” he said softly. “I never meant to hurt you.” With that, he stood and walked out of the house.

  When the latch clicked, Anna released the breath she had been unconsciously holding. Elaine came to her, embracing her without a word. Letting her head droop onto her mother’s shoulder, she clung tightly. Despite the comforting arms and the family and friends in the room, Anna felt so completely alone. This time her heart would not bounce back. This time, she knew the truth: it was over. The pain was overwhelming and tears began to fall.

  Chapter Fourteen

  The scent of frying bacon wafted through the warm kitchen. A beam of sunlight spread over the table, brightening the whole room. Anna stood in the doorway, absorbing the familiar scene: her father reading the Sunday paper, her mother cooking, the radio playing softly. She had taken moments like this for granted too many times—even been irritated by their sameness. This morning it seemed infinitely dear, a haven from all the turbulence life had thrown at her. For the moment, she could almost believe that yesterday had never happened.

  Elaine threw a smile over her shoulder. “Good morning, dear.”

  “Morning, Ma.” Anna slipped into a chair at the table.

  Her father looked up from his newspaper. His eyes narrowed as he scanned her features. “Good morning. Did you sleep well?”

  “Not especially,” Anna said. She could lie, but her swollen, red eyes gave it away.

  Antonio set the paper aside. “I will talk to Evan.”

  “No, Pop.” Anna reached a hand to him across the table. He took it, his grip calloused, but gentle. “I know you think we should get married, but that’s not the answer for either of us.”

  “A child needs two parents.”

  “And he or she will have two parents,” she countered and squeezed his hand. “Evan will be a father, he just won’t be my husband.”

  “Evan is a fool,” Antonio said indignantly. He frowned and shook his head, letting out a heavy sigh. “And he has wronged us.”

  Anna felt a pang of guilt at his words. The damage done to Evan’s relationship with her father was partly her fault. “Please, try not to be too hard on him. Evan’s never lied to me about who he is, or what he wants.” Anna laughed a little, but it was more sadness than humor. “I may have lied to myself about him, but he’s always been straight up with me.”

  “You are too generous, Anna Maria,” her father said, shaking his head. “That is one of your strengths. But now it is a weakness.”

  Anna shrugged. “What can I do? I love him.”

  “He does not deserve your love.”

  “You’ve always taught me that love forgives.”

  Elaine brought over a cup of tea, set it on the table and kissed her daughter on the top of the head. She smoothed a strand of hair behind Anna’s ear and put a hand under her chin, tilting her face up.

  “Don’t worry, dear,” her mother said with a faint smile. Her gray eyes were full of concern. “It will work out somehow.”

  Anna sighed, a wobbly breath that held more tears. She swallowed them back before they could fall. “I hope so.”

  Elaine hugged her, then went back to the stove. As she cooked, she kept up a steady stream of chatter.

  Anna sipped her tea, not saying anything. She let her mother’s words flow past her ears without absorbing any. It was a familiar sound, soothing to her tired, troubled heart. Antonio grunted occasionally. Whether that meant he agreed with what she said, or was simply pretending he had heard it, Anna had never figured out. Whichever the case, the routine worked for them.

  Elaine set three plates of bacon and eggs on the table, adding a basket of freshly baked biscuits. Butter and homemade jam completed the repast.

  “Do you still plan to leave on Tuesday, Anna?” her mother asked when they had all started in on breakfast.

  Anna buttered a biscuit and reached for the strawberry jam. “Yes. I’ve got to get back to my office.”

  Elaine pursed her lips. “When will you be back?”

  “I have no idea. The delay on your project has put me way behind schedule. No more vacations for this girl.” Anna glanced at the clock over the stove. She still had work to do before her second presentation to the planning commission.

  Elaine stopped, staring at her daughter, coffee cup halfway to her mouth. “Surely you’ll be home at Christmas?”

  “Of course she will.” Antonio patted Elaine’s hand.

  Anna took a bite of eggs and chewed slowly. It was strange: she found herself wishing she could stay here with her parents longer. There was an ease to being with them now, the rubbing that had once irritated her felt soothing, as if someone had polished and oiled the rough surface between them. It didn’t even bother her that her father had assumed she would be here.

  “Definitely for Christmas,” Anna promised.

  “Good.” Elaine drank from her cup, then set it aside. “The nicest young man just bought the optical store on Crestmount. I think you and he would get along very well.”

  Anna’s mouth dropped open, hardly able to believe her own ears.

  Antonio cleared his throat. “Perhaps it is too soon to discuss this.”

  “Why?” Elaine blinked at both of them, looking astonished. She turned to her husband first. “Anna is single and so is he. I don’t see why they shouldn’t go on a date.”

  “But Evan—”

  “If he has a problem with it, he can speak up,” Elaine said sharply, interrupting her husband. “Anna can’t put her life on hold forever.”

  “Don’t you think my pregnancy might hinder my dating life?” Anna asked.

  Elaine waved a dismissing hand. “I told him about your condition,” she added in a confiding tone. “He didn’t even bat an eyelash.”

  The triumph on her mother’s face was too much to bear. Anna started to laugh. She looked at her father, who chuckled as he leaned over and kissed his wife on the cheek. Elaine shook her head, but her smile was still smug. Wiping tears—of laughter this time—away from her eyes, Anna picked up her plate and put it in the sink. Despite their differences, she appreciated her parents as she never had before. They did love her. It recompensed some of the pain.

  THE DOORBELL RANG, BUT Evan ignored it. There was no one he wanted to talk to today. Maybe no one he wanted to talk to ever. The bell rang again. He turned up the volume on the stereo. It sounded a third time and didn’t stop. Even the music wouldn’t drown out the incessant noise. Swearing, he flipped the stereo off with the remote and stomped down the hall to the front door.

  He yanked it open, ready to do battle. “What!”

  Ian stood on the front step, hands in the pockets of his hoodie. “Hey.”

  Anger left Evan in a rush, leaving an empty void. “Aren’t you supposed to be sailing to Bermuda?”

  Ian shrugged. “We delayed till after the big meeting. Can I come in?”

  Evan stood back, closing the door behind his friend. At least he thought Ian was still his friend. After yesterday, he couldn’t be sure. Ian walked into the living room and Evan followed.

  “You want something to drink?”

  “I wouldn’t say no to a beer.”

  Evan went to the refrigerator and pulled out two bottles, opened them and passed one over. Ian took it and sipped. Pulling out a chair, he sat at the table. Evan leaned against the bar, too tense to sit.

  “You look like hell,” Ian observed.

  “Thanks.”

  “How are you feeling?”

 
With a shrug, Evan paced over to the windows, staring out sightlessly. “I’ll live.”

  “That’s a depressing prognosis.”

  “You want me to tell you I’m killing myself over your sister?” Evan asked, his voice hard. “I’m not.”

  “I’d rather you told me you were in love with my sister.”

  “Sorry. I’m not that, either.”

  Ian was silent.

  Evan sighed. “Look.” He turned around and faced the other man. “How many girlfriends have I had over the years?”

  “You’re asking me?” Ian snorted a laugh. “Well, let’s see. First I’d have to know how many available women there are in a hundred-mile radius of this town.”

  “Smart-ass,” Evan muttered. “I’ve had a lot. That’s my point. I’ve never stayed with one of them longer than six months. Is that what you want for her?”

  Ian cocked his head to one side. “Have you ever stopped to think that the reason you’ve never had a long-term girlfriend is because you’ve been waiting for Anna?”

  Evan rolled his eyes. “You’re nuts.”

  “Think about it,” Ian said, pinning him with a stern gaze. “You’ve wanted her since she was sixteen. You couldn’t have her, so you used other women to distract yourself. They never meant anything because Anna’s the one you really want. You were marking time.”

  “She’s been legal a long time, Ian.”

  “Yeah, but she’s also your best friend’s sister,” Ian said, drinking his beer. “That put her off-limits, too.”

  The doorbell rang again before Evan could counter this drivel. Ian had been bitten by love and had stopped making sense, he thought as he walked down the hallway. When he opened the door, Evan was shocked from his whirling thoughts again. Patrick stood on the stoop.

  “Hey.” Patrick’s greeting was stiff, without his usual heartiness. His eyes were shadowed and wary beneath the brim of his ball cap. “Hey.”

  “Can I come in?”

  “Uh, yeah. Why not?” Evan stood back, letting Patrick walk past him. “Ian’s here.”

  “He beat me to it.” Patrick followed Evan down the hall.

  Ian saluted his brother with his beer. “Hey, Patty,” he said cheerfully. “Come to help me pound McKenzie to a bloody pulp?”

  Without a word, Evan got out another beer, opened it and handed it over. Patrick took it, but seemed as restless as Evan. He prowled over to the windows and stood looking out, his back to the other men. Evan picked up his own bottle and downed half the contents in a gulp. Patrick turned and came back to stand in front of Evan. “I should beat you senseless,” he said, his eyes blazing with anger. He took a swig of beer. “You deserve it.”

  Evan set his drink down carefully on the bar, ready for anything. “Probably.”

  “Probably?” Patrick’s voice rose. “You knock up my sister, keep it a secret for two months and you think you probably deserve to get beat up?”

  “Anna didn’t tell us, either,” Ian said mildly. “You going to beat her up, too?”

  “This isn’t about Anna. It’s about us. Him and me,” Patrick said to Ian impatiently. He turned back. “We’ve been friends for years, Evan. Why didn’t you come to me?”

  “What would you have done?” Evan shot back. “As I recall, you were ready to jump on whoever was responsible. Beat the bastard up first, ask questions later.”

  “I would have been pissed off. Sure, but I’d have gotten over it,” Patrick shouted. “We’re friends, dammit. Best friends. Or so I thought.”

  As he spoke the last words, his voice dropped. Evan knew his biggest crime in all of this mess had been in not telling anyone what was going on. He hadn’t wanted to disappoint anyone, but he had managed to hurt them more with his silence. He ran a hand through his hair, then looked directly at Patrick.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t…” His voice trailed off, his thoughts scattered. He could only repeat, “I’m sorry.”

  “Yeah, you ought to be,” Patrick said in a growl. “Sometimes, McKenzie, you are the biggest jerk on the face of the planet.”

  “And sometimes you are,” Ian said to Patrick. “That’s why you two get along so well.”

  “Do you have a point?” Patrick demanded of his brother.

  “You’ve had your say. Lay off him. He’s got enough problems.”

  Patrick walked over and pulled out a chair at the table. Sitting, he shrugged out of his jacket, then pushed his cap back on his head. “You look like shit,” he said to Evan.

  “So I’ve heard.” Evan picked up his beer and took a drink. “I didn’t sleep much last night.”

  “You going to try to get Anna to change her mind?” Patrick asked.

  “Don’t be stupid,” Ian said, picking at the label on his beer bottle. “McKenzie doesn’t want to get married.”

  “Why’d he ask her then?”

  “What would you have said with Pop bearing down on you like that?” Ian said drily.

  “There’s a point,” Patrick said, nodding slowly. “How come you don’t want to marry her?”

  “He doesn’t love her,” Ian said before Evan could answer.

  “You want me to go upstairs so you two can discuss this alone?” Evan asked irritably.

  “Nah. Bring your beer over and sit down.”

  Patrick pushed another chair out with his foot. Reluctantly, Evan did as he was told. He didn’t want this inquisition, but these were his two closest friends. He needed them. But they were Anna’s brothers, too. How could he expect them to help him?

  “How do you know you don’t love her?” Patrick asked Evan.

  “How do you know you do love someone?” Ian asked in a musing tone.

  “Please.” Patrick rolled his eyes. “No amateur philosophy.”

  “I just know I don’t,” Evan said, ignoring the byplay between the brothers.

  Ian shook his head. “You love her.”

  “I do not!” Evan sat back, glaring at the two men. “Whatever crazy—”

  “Do you think about her all the time?” Ian asked leaning forward and punctuating each question with a tap on the table. “Have trouble eating or sleeping when she’s not around? Do you want to do stupid little things for her, just to make her happy? Do you do anything to keep her from leaving? Can’t wait to see her again when she does go?”

  Evan was silent. He didn’t like the fact that Ian’s questions hit uncomfortably close to home. He had felt that way about Anna this week. Life had quickly started to feel incomplete and empty now that she wasn’t around. Lack of sleep was just one symptom. Crossing his arms over his chest, he tried to keep his face blank.

  Patrick drank the last of his beer and lifted an eyebrow at Ian. “You want another?”

  “Yeah. Get McKenzie one, too. He needs it.” Ian kept his gaze locked on Evan. “Not answering is as good as admitting it’s true.”

  “So why not marry her?” Patrick asked bringing three bottles back to the table and setting them down.

  “What is the deal with marriage? Just because you’re both married doesn’t mean I should be. For Pete’s sake, it isn’t the answer to everything!” Evan slapped his hands on the table, glaring at the two brothers. Neither looked impressed. “No matter what you say, I am not getting married.”

  “Just because your parents screwed it up doesn’t mean you will,” Patrick said, pointing his bottle at Evan.

  “Patty, they didn’t screw up, they exploded that marriage and I happened to be standing in the blast zone.” Evan shook his head slowly back and forth. “I am not putting my kid through that.”

  “So don’t. Get married and don’t get divorced.”

  Evan snorted. “Nobody sticks around forever, least of all me.”

  “I don’t get this,” Patrick said. “You think Kate and I will get divorced, or Ian and Mimi?”

  “I didn’t say that.”

  “Yeah, you did.” Patrick pushed his beer aside and leaned his elbows on the table. “Nobody ever said any marriage was p
erfect, Evan. Everybody fights and it can get ugly sometimes. Shit, when Kate and I go head-to-head, it’s like I’m channeling Ma or Pop.”

  “Can I bring popcorn and watch sometime?” Ian asked with a grin.

  Patrick ignored him, locking his eyes on Evan. “You don’t get a guarantee. All you get is work, every day.”

  “That’s quite the endorsement,” Evan said drily. “Gee, let me rethink my position.”

  “You should rethink it,” Patrick agreed. “Because what you do get is amazing. Love and trust and friendship and laughter, the list is endless. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life and at the end of every day, I hope I get a chance to do it again tomorrow.”

  When Patrick finished his sermon, silence fell over the room. Evan didn’t know what to say. He just shook his head. It sounded so glorious but he could not make them see. He didn’t have the Berzani gene for lifetime commitments. All he had was the McKenzie gene, the one his father had passed on for loving and leaving.

  Ian finished his beer and stood. “Well, I guess my job here is done. Oh, except Anna asked me to pick up her laptop and some paperwork for tomorrow. She said there’s still a lot of work to be done before the meeting.”

  “I did most of it last night,” Evan said, standing and rubbing two fingers into his tired eyes. The beer had kicked in and made his already fuzzy brain worse. “Since I couldn’t sleep anyway. Tell her…tell her I’ll finish it today and I’ll drop it by the house in the morning.”

  “Better if you call me and I’ll come pick it up,” Ian said, his expression neutral.

  Evan looked at him and heard what he wasn’t saying. “She doesn’t want to see me?”

  Ian shrugged. “Why would she?”

  The words hit like a punch in the solar plexus. “I guess I don’t know.”

  Evan led the way up the stairs and gave Ian the laptop in its case.

  Patrick looked around the messy office with the stacks of paper and the rolls of drawings. “You really put some effort into this, didn’t you? I had no idea it was so involved.”

  “We want to make sure it happens.” Evan paused. “For your parents.”