Baby Business(3)

"I want to know why you changed your mind. You said kids were the major  source of all arguments between married couples. You said that having a  child ruined many of the great relationships you'd seen. You said-"



"Hell, I know what I said."



"And?"



"I've had a lot of time to think about you and me, Cassidy. The way we  were with each other, the way we were both raised … I think we can have a  family and not lose the essence of who we are as a couple."                       
       
           



       



He was saying things that she wanted to believe, things that she'd  dreamed of him saying, and a part of her wanted to just say yes. But  being alone had made her realize that being in love wasn't the be-all  and end-all of a relationship. And she couldn't go through getting over  him again.



"Are you proposing because you found out I'm pregnant? I don't want you to marry me because you feel obligated."



Donovan crossed the porch back to her. He set his beer bottle on the  table and drew her to her feet. "Cassidy, I wouldn't insult either of us  that way. I'm here because I need you. I was coming to see you today to  beg you to take me back."



"Does it have anything to do with your grandfather's death?" she asked.  "I was sorry to hear of his passing." She'd sent flowers and felt awful  for not going to the service.



Donovan couldn't believe how close to the truth she'd come with that one  innocent comment. "Losing Granddaddy did make me realize how quickly  life can change, and I thought about how much he'd always wanted me to  have children of my own while he could see them. I thought we had more  time … "



Cassidy wrapped an arm around his shoulder and hugged him briefly then  stepped back. "Did that make you realize there was more to life than  work?"



Cassidy knew how hard it was for Donovan to talk about his emotions. But  if she was going to take a chance on him again, on letting herself  really love him and bring up a child with him, then she needed to know  where he stood.



It wasn't just about her anymore. She rubbed a hand over her stomach,  thinking of her baby-their baby. She wanted the best for this child, and  that meant two loving parents.



"I guess it did. I don't want to talk too much about it. Granddaddy and I  butted heads a lot, and his heart attack was so sudden … ."



Donovan and Maxwell Patterson had had what could kindly be called an  adversarial relationship. "Did you get a chance to make peace with him?"



"No, not really. Our last words were spoken in anger. I walked out on him."



"I'm sure he knew you loved him."



Donovan shrugged as though it wasn't important but she knew that he'd  always had a driving need to make his grandfather proud of him. To prove  to the family that he was more than his sculptor father's son. To prove  that he had the same blood in his veins as his grandfather did.



"That's why I need you. I need to have you by my side. You and our  child. I don't want to get to the end of my days and find I have nothing  but Tolley-Patterson to show for it. I want you to marry me, Cassidy."



Her heart melted. She still thought there had to be more to his change  of heart, but she didn't care. He was offering her more than she'd ever  expected him to. Donovan was the kind of man who honored his  commitments. And with their baby on the way she knew that she could make  their life everything she always dreamed it would be.



"Um … "



"What?"



"Getting married now, like this," she said, gesturing to her stomach,  "isn't what I had in mind. I want to have a big wedding and all that."



"What are you saying?"



"Um … " What was she saying? She wanted their child to be born with  Donovan's name. But a public wedding was out of the question until she  delivered their child. "I think I'm saying let's get married in secret,  with just our families present, and then after the baby is here we can  have a big public commitment ceremony."





Donovan hadn't thought beyond getting Cassidy to agree to marry him.  Married in secret didn't seem like a plan that would fulfill the  conditions of his grandfather's will. His lawyer was working on finding a  loophole, but Granddaddy had been a smart man-he'd made sure that his  bizarre requirements for the next CEO of Tolley-Patterson were legally  sound. It didn't matter that everyone who'd heard the will and read the  new CEO description thought it was crazy. Legally Granddaddy had  followed every rule.



"Why do you want to keep the marriage secret?"



Cassidy flushed and wrapped her arms around her stomach. One hand rubbed  the top of her baby bump. "I just don't want the world to think that  you're marrying me for the child."



"Cassidy, that's silly. Who cares what the world thinks?"



"I do," she said quietly.



"Then, okay, we'll do it your way."



"Really?"                       
       
           



       



"Yes."



"Thank you."



"You're welcome," he said, drawing her into his arms. The exhalation of  her breath on a sigh brushed against his neck as she wrapped her arms  around his waist and melted against him. Because of her belly, the  embrace was different from all the ones they'd shared in the past, but  Donovan felt a new sense of rightness to having her in his arms.



No matter why he was back here with her, this was where he was meant to  be. She tipped her head back and he looked down into her brown eyes.



He cupped her face in his hands and lowered his mouth to hers. She rose  on tiptoe to meet him. He brushed his lips over hers once, twice, and  then he felt her lips part and her tongue touch his lower lip.



He'd never forgotten Cassidy's kisses. She was the only woman he'd ever  found who fit him perfectly physically. There had never been any  awkwardness to their sex life. She tasted wonderful to him, and as he  slipped his tongue into her mouth he realized just how much he'd missed  the taste of her.



She held on to him as she tilted her head to give him deeper access to  her mouth. He tunneled his fingers into her hair, caressing the sides of  her neck with his thumbs. She moaned deep in her throat, and the sound  made him groan and slide one hand down to her hips to draw her closer to  him.



She shifted against him, and then he felt a nudge against his stomach.  It knocked him off track. He pulled back and looked down at her belly. A  bump moved under her maternity top.



"Uh … "



She smiled. "He gets active in the afternoon."



"He?"



"Yes. We're having a son."



"A son," he said. Thinking about the baby as the means to an end was  different than this. My God, he was going to have a son. That rocked him  more than finding Cassidy pregnant. He sat down in the chair that  Cassidy had vacated. She stood there watching him.



"Are you okay?"



"Yes. I just didn't think about the baby beyond you being pregnant. You know?"



She smiled at him. "Yes, I do. It's one thing to be pregnant but another to picture the baby in the future, isn't it?"



"Yes, it is. So I want to do this as soon as possible."



"Do this? You mean get married?" she asked.



"Yes. I'll take care of getting all the paperwork in order."



"Okay. I want to have our ceremony at my parents' house on the beach."



"That's fine. You can make the arrangements. When is the baby due?"



"In less than two weeks."



"Then I think we should get married over the weekend."



"So soon?"



"We don't have a lot of time if we're going to be married when our son is born."



"Does that matter to you?"



"Yes," he said, realizing that it did matter. He wanted to do everything  by the book so that when the lawyers looked at his marriage to Cassidy  and the birth of their son, they'd have no questions. And he needed to  be married to her before she had his child. His primitive instincts  demanded that she have his name.



"I'll give my mom a call and see if they can host the ceremony this  weekend. Adam is in New York, so I'll have to see if he can make it  back."



"Will both of your brothers be there?" he asked, guessing that the Franzone boys weren't too happy with him.



"I hope so. Don't worry, they understood about me having the baby on my own."



Somehow Donovan doubted that. Her two brothers were older and  superprotective. He'd done his best to avoid them since he and Cassidy  had broken up.