His Forever Family(21)

The moment the door was closed, Marcus stepped up onto the dais with  Liberty. "You look gorgeous," he told her, leaning forward to press a  kiss against her bare shoulder. He caught her eye in the mirror and slid  his arm around her waist. "You do fit in my world, you see? You fit  with me."

"It's just the dress," she said, feeling a little weird because she was  wearing a gown and he was still in cargo shorts. "It's a great dress."

"It's not the dress. It's you. Babe, I know this makes you nervous, but  what's the worst that will happen?" She gave him a suspicious look in  the mirror, which made him grin. "You'll be your normal confident,  capable self, and we'll have some fun together and maybe a few bored,  vicious people make snide comments. So what? There's nothing inherently  scandalous about you."

She swallowed. There'd been a moment this afternoon, lying in his arms,  listening to him tell her his deepest secrets, that she'd wanted to  tell him hers.

And he'd said the past was the past. So it wouldn't matter that Jackie  Reese had been African American or an addict or a hooker in her free  time. It wouldn't matter that Liberty was a foster kid. None of it would  change his opinion of her, right?

Maybe she was foolish, but she desperately wanted to believe that. He  hadn't asked for details, so she hadn't told him. It wasn't dishonest  because she would tell him if he asked.

"I know how these things go," Marcus went on, his fingers drifting over  her bare arms. "I've weathered worse, remember? It'll only be a few  short days and then people will move on to the next scandal."

She could still stop this. She could come down with the plague or  something-anything to make sure that her past couldn't be used against  him.

But she'd backed herself into a hell of a corner and she had no choice  but to brazen it out in a pretty dress. Still, she gave him one final  out. "Are you sure about this?" she asked even as she leaned into him.  "It's not too late. We could just spend the three days in bed here."

He turned her into his arms and looked her in the eye. "We still have time before the trip, if you want to come home with me."

"You mean, spend the night?" She'd be lying if she said the idea didn't  appeal to her. A night curled around Marcus? Waking up by his side in  his gorgeous home, the lake spread out beneath them?

It was like something out of a fairy tale.

He cupped her face. "Yes. It's fine if you don't but..." Then he  lowered his lips and kissed her. Her blood began to pound and the space  between her legs throbbed even harder. It wasn't a bad thing, that  throbbing. If only he'd touch her there again, take some of the pressure  off her body as he'd done earlier... "I want you to stay."

How could she refuse? "I'll need to go back to my apartment at some  point before work on Monday," she said in a quiet voice. "I'll need my  running shoes. I have this boss, you see..."

His eyes lit up with hope-and excitement. "We can stop by after this, then grab some dinner."

"Not at that fancy restaurant?"

"No," he quickly agreed. "Let's get some takeout and watch the sun set.  Just you and me. Let me show you how good I can be for you."

"Here we are," Cathy announced loudly as the door cracked open. Liberty  jumped and tried to step clear of Marcus, but he didn't let her go and  Cathy didn't come rushing in. "This tie will match her dress perfectly,  but I brought a few others, just in case. I've got pocket squares and  sock options, as well."

Marcus barely looked at the ties before giving his approval to the  first one. Then, stepping off the dais, he said, "I think that we're  ready to move forward."





Twelve

This time, when Marcus and Liberty got out of the car in front of the  little bungalow in Rogers Park, they held hands as they walked to the  door.                       
       
           



       

It was a brilliantly hot Thursday afternoon, one of those days that's  so warm the sky is no longer blue but a nearly colorless gray. It was  the kind of day when Liberty stayed at work as long as she could. She  was lucky she had a window air conditioner in her apartment, but  air-conditioning wasn't cheap. She ran it only when she was home.

Of course, she hadn't exactly been at home much in the past six days.  And she hadn't been working late in the office, either. Instead, she'd  spent nearly every moment with Marcus.

The whole week had a dreamlike quality to it. Dining out at nice-but  not too weird-restaurants with Marcus. Going to see a White Sox game  Tuesday evening. Even the morning runs were different. She ran faster  because instead of having to catch the train to work to shower, she  raced Marcus back upstairs to his home and they showered-together.

But the thing about dreams was that they always ended sooner or later.  And since they were flying out on Marcus's private jet early tomorrow  morning for that wedding-the wedding she had a completely new wardrobe  for-she was afraid that the ending would definitely be sooner.

And it would be no one's fault but her own.

The door popped open before Marcus could ring the bell. "Mr. Warren!"  Hazel Jones stood in the open doorway, beaming a megawatt smile at them.  "Ms. Reese! Oh, it's just..." Her voice trailed off as  honest-to-goodness tears formed in her eyes.

"What's wrong? Is William okay?" Liberty demanded, releasing Marcus's hand and rushing toward the older woman.

She was surprised when Hazel pulled her into a hug. "It's just the most  wonderful thing ever!" she said in a quavering voice. "William's fine,  just fine. Do come in."

"I trust everything was delivered satisfactorily?" Marcus asked as  Hazel began her slow climb up the flight of stairs. Liberty paused and  looked back at him.

"What did you do?" she asked in a whisper as he pushed the door shut.

Marcus winked at her. "You'll see."

"I know you called," Hazel was saying, "but I had no idea you meant to  replace it all. And when the men showed up! Oh, my heavens!"

"Replace what?" Liberty whispered at him. But his only response was to place his hand on her lower back and propel her forward.

"William's just waking up," Hazel said as she disappeared into the  nursery. "Oh, those men did such a quick job-I hardly had to worry about  a thing!"

"What..." Liberty walked into the nursery and her words died on her lips.

The walls were the same, with all the curled and faded photos of tiny babies tacked up. But the rest of the room?

Gone were the rickety metal swing and the metal crib. Gone was the  dresser that doubled as a changing table and the second crib. The  ancient rocker that had barely rocked wasn't there anymore, either.

Everything was brand-new. There were two sturdy wooden cribs finished  in a high-sheen gloss. Instead of threadbare cotton sheets, there was  new bedding and, Liberty was willing to bet, new mattresses. The swing  was up-to-the-minute and the rocker was so clean that it practically  glowed. The changing table was an actual table now, with stacks of  diapers underneath. The dresser next to the table matched the cribs and  the rocker.

"This is simply the most thoughtful thing anyone has ever done for me,"  Hazel said, clasping her hands in front of her as if she were giving  thanks to God.

"It was nothing," Marcus said warmly, moving toward the crib where  William was beginning to fuss. "You're doing so much good in this world,  helping these babies out. I just wanted to make your life a little  easier."

Then, as Liberty stared at him, he leaned over and picked William  up-correctly, even, supporting his head and everything. "Hey there,  buddy," he said in a soft voice. "Did you grow? I think you grew!" He  tucked William into his arms and began to sway gently from side to side.  "How do you like your new swing?"

Something clenched in Liberty's stomach, some need she couldn't even  name. As she watched, completely dumbstruck, William blinked and focused  on Marcus. His little mouth opened and he made a sighing sound. It was a  noise of contentment.

A hundred images flooded her mind-images she knew she couldn't have,  but she wanted anyway. A baby-not just any baby, but their baby. And  Marcus would be right there with her. He wouldn't disappear and abandon  them. They'd get up in the morning and load the child into the jogging  stroller and they'd all run together and then, when he got older, they'd  spend Saturdays at the parks, playing soccer and baseball. Afternoons  on the beach, trips to the museums.