The Christmas Wedding Quilt. Sarah Mayberry

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СКАЧАТЬ blew out a breath. “You’re right. If our situations were reversed, I’d want to know what kind of person was raising my child,” she admitted.

      Relief pumped through him. “Taking that class together would give us a chance to get to know each other,” he suggested, his mind leaping ahead. “It starts on Tuesday.”

      To his astonishment, she didn’t immediately object. “I think we should have a face-to-face meeting before then,” she said instead.

      “I’d like that, too. Unfortunately I’m leaving town first thing in the morning and I won’t be back until late the afternoon of the first class.” Mac felt genuine regret. What if they loathed each other on sight? “I’d postpone the trip if I could, but it’s too important.” Would she think his priorities were out of whack? That he should put the child ahead of everything else? He refrained from pointing out that her own stubbornness was the reason they’d run out of time.

      Megan gripped the receiver tighter, still clinging to the hope that he’d lose interest in the class and in her soon enough. She couldn’t imagine him giving up two evenings a week for a stranger and a child he’d fathered with so little involvement. If she was wrong about his staying power she’d be stuck with him for the duration, but if she wasn’t and he did drop out, she would probably be allowed to continue the course without a partner, since her due date was so near.

      The idea cheered her. She was tired of arguing, tired of dodging him. And it wasn’t as though she’d lined up anyone else to go with her. If the truth be told, she hadn’t even asked around.

      “What time are you leaving on your trip?” Perhaps they could still meet before then.

      “Early. My flight out of Denver is at eight, so I’ll have to catch the first commuter plane from the county airport.”

      Megan groaned softly. She wasn’t a morning person at the best of times, but now that she was pregnant, getting up at dawn wasn’t a sacrifice she was willing to make. “Okay,” she said on a burst of bravado. “If you’re sure you want to go through with this, I guess I’ll see you at the center on Tuesday evening.”

      “How will I know you?” he asked.

      “I’ll be the pregnant one,” she quipped, suddenly nervous. What was she getting herself into?

      He chuckled appreciatively at her lame attempt at humor. “Oh, sure, I hadn’t thought of that.”

      “Actually, my hair is kind of long and dark blonde,” she said, gesturing with her free hand even though he couldn’t see. “I’ll be wearing jeans and a red top.”

      “And you’ll be alone,” he added with typical masculine bluntness. “I mean, everyone else should be paired up with someone.”

      Megan pressed a hand to her stomach, seeking reassurance. “That’s right, two by two, just like on Noah’s Ark.” This was a huge mistake. She just knew it. “And I already have a description of you.”

      “Yeah, I remember.” His tone was dry. “Intelligent and attractive. I’ll do my best to live up to that.”

      As soon as she hung up, Megan realized that she had completely forgotten to talk to him about ground rules. He needed to understand that just because she’d agreed to take the class with him didn’t mean he was horning into her life.

      Mac glanced at his watch as he drove into the clinic parking lot. Of course the plane from Atlanta had been late, and then an unexpected blizzard at the supposedly blizzard-proof Denver airport delayed his commuter flight. Despite all that, it was barely six-thirty. He had hoped to arrive a few minutes early so he could catch his breath and introduce himself to Megan before class began, but at least he wasn’t going to be so late that he made a bad first impression.

      While he was in Atlanta he’d talked to Dennis Reid again. The chief of staff had spent the first five minutes of their conversation bragging about his new girlfriend, a “gorgeous babe” named Rachel, until Mac finally interrupted.

      “Sorry to cut this short, but I’ve got an appointment in a few minutes. Were you able to find out anything about my situation?”

      On the other end of the line, Dennis cleared his throat and Mac’s heart sank. Bad news.

      “Truth is, I haven’t learned a thing, buddy. The director’s had major surgery, very unexpected. Then there was a big computer crash. Between you and me, the place is in chaos. Not my department, you understand, but the admin side’s a mess. Like a ship without a rudder. Until they sort things out, it’s not a time to get answers. Wish I had better news.”

      Swallowing his frustration, Mac had thanked Dennis for his time and promised to get together for racquetball the next week. Maybe by then Dennis would have found out something for him.

      Now Mac pulled his pickup into a parking slot and hurried inside the clinic, following the bright pink signs down the empty hallway. At the far end he could see a small group of people going two by two into one of the rooms. Slightly apart from the rest stood a woman with her back to Mac. She was wearing red and her hair was a tangle of dark honey.

      Megan.

      As he walked quickly toward her, his footsteps echoing in the hall, she turned around. Some part of Mac’s brain noticed that she was attractive despite her serious expression. The rest of him was too busy staring at the bulge beneath her red blouse. She was a lot farther along than he’d imagined, her body swollen with his child.

      His child.

      The enormity of it drove the air out of him like a hard fist to the gut. He faltered, his legs suddenly shaky, knowing he was gawking but unable to stop. Somehow hearing about the baby’s existence hadn’t even begun to prepare him for the visual.

      “Are you Mac?” Her voice was low, betraying nothing, but her hands were linked in front of her, fingers poker straight. He wasn’t the only nervous one here.

      The other people had already gone inside, leaving him and this woman alone in the hall.

      “Yeah, I’m Mac Duncan,” he croaked. “And you’re Megan. Hi.”

      He must have sounded normal enough to appease her. After a barely perceptible hesitation, she stuck out her hand. Her full mouth relaxed its pinched expression as she studied him, but when he touched her fingers, they were icy cold.

      Wanting to stare at the evidence of her pregnancy, he forced himself instead to focus on her face. Her cheeks were gently flushed and her eyes were hazel. He must have looked as dazed as he felt, because a tiny crease appeared between her brows.

      “Hi,” she echoed. “I was beginning to think you’d changed your mind.”

      Vaguely he remembered the time. “I’d hoped to be here a few minutes early,” he said apologetically, “but the Denver airport’s a mess. It’s snowing there.”

      She looked surprised. “Well, at least you’re here now.”

      Feeling awkward, Mac ran a hand through his short brown hair. It was probably standing on end. He’d meant to shave in the car, but his razor was packed and he hadn’t wanted to take the time to pull over and dig it out. Some impression he must make—running late, with rumpled clothes and a five o’clock СКАЧАТЬ