Stand-In Mum. Marie Ferrarella

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СКАЧАТЬ before firmly dismissing the subject. She was here to enjoy her visit with Sydney, however brief, to catch up on Sydney’s life here, not dwell on her own past.

      “That’s why I’m here,” Marta reminded her. “To help you ‘handle’ as much as I can in the next two weeks. And now that I’ve made my maiden flight, I’ll be back the very next vacation.” Marta smiled down at the swell of Sydney’s belly. “To be here when you give birth to that bundle you’re carting around—or shortly thereafter.”

      Sydney had never asked Marta outright to come to Alaska—only said how much she wished her friend could be here and see the place for herself. Marta had never before been off the ground, choosing to take any overland route available to where she wanted to go. Sydney knew what making this trip had cost Marta and was grateful beyond words that she had come. She couldn’t imagine anyone she would have wanted in her corner more than Marta—with the exception of Shayne.

      It had been a little over a year since she had last seen Marta. Then they had parted with Marta’s reluctant good wishes ringing in her ears and Marta’s dubious expression imprinted on her mind. Sydney knew that Marta had expected her to return to Omaha on the very next flight. When things abruptly turned sour on her, she almost had. But refusing to be defeated by the disappointment she’d initially discovered, Sydney had dug in and stayed.

      Now, she was eternally grateful that she hadn’t turned around and come back to what had then been home to her. Glad that she’d remained here to make a life for herself.

      Several lives, she amended silently, affection filling her as she passed her hand over her belly and thought of the child she and Shayne had created. And of the children they would create in the future. It was a good life. A life that she knew Marta would love if only she gave it half a chance.

      She meant to try to convince her of that every opportunity she found. More than anyone, Marta deserved to finally be happy.

      But first things first. Marta had to get settled in, Sydney thought. Then she could begin working on her.

      The taller of the two, Sydney slipped an arm around Marta’s shoulders. “I can’t tell you how glad I am that you finally decided to bite the bullet and come out here.”

      Marta curved her mouth—a generous mouth for a woman whose other features were so delicate—in amusement. “A little healthy panic never hurt anyone, I guess. Besides, I couldn’t stand not being able to see you like this for myself, at least once.”

      Excited over seeing Marta again, Sydney had completely forgotten about the man who had accompanied her in the Cessna on the trip over here—until he cleared his throat. Loudly and with amusement.

      Sydney flushed warmly as she turned toward him. His easygoing smile only made her feel worse for the oversight. “Where are my manners? Marta, this is—”

      Marta held her hand up, stopping Sydney’s introduction in mid-sentence. Though leery of good-looking men the way only a woman who has been badly burned could be, she still had never been slow in appreciating the sight of one. And this one was good-looking with a capital G-L. Tall, and obviously muscular beneath the unzipped parka he had on, he had an olive complexion and cheekbones that could set the rhythm of a woman’s heart off by several beats. There was no question in Marta’s mind that the man with jet-black hair standing behind Sydney was nothing short of drop-dead gorgeous.

      Just as Sydney had told her he would be.

      “Yes, I know who he is.” Marta moved forward, throwing her arms around the man who looked a little surprised, as well as faintly amused, at her declaration. She liked the way he smiled. Damn, but Sydney was lucky. “Sydney said you’d be the most devastatingly handsome man at the airport.”

      Momentarily overcome with emotion, Marta hugged just a tad harder. Sydney looked happy, and her letters had fairly sung of contentment. Any man who could do that for her best friend earned Marta’s unqualified affection and gratitude. “I thought she was exaggerating, but it looks like for once in her life, Sydney was making an understatement.”

      On her toes, Marta gave Sydney’s companion what she felt was an appropriate, friendly kiss in greeting, her enthusiasm and happiness getting the better of her.

      That Ike LeBlanc was surprised to have a petite, attractive redhead all but wrap herself around him within five minutes of their first meeting was putting it mildly. That this same woman then went on to kiss him with enthusiasm only compounded that surprise.

      But Ike was never one to be caught off guard for more than a single heartbeat. Responding to stimuli faster than any clinical biochemist could ever have prayed for, Ike wrapped his arms around the woman’s trim, tempting frame and hugged her with the same enthusiasm she had displayed.

      He returned not only the hug, but the kiss as well. With verve. If she was going to catch him in a lip lock, then he damn well was going to make it worth both their whiles.

      With a barely perceptible sound of pleasure escaping, Ike tightened his embrace and deepened the kiss that God and this woman had chosen to bestow on him. Deepened it and felt his blood warming to an incredible, tantalizing degree. With the shortage of women in not only Hades, but in Alaska itself, he didn’t get to do this nearly as often as he would have liked. He was not about to throw the opportunity away.

      For the briefest of seconds, Marta’s head swirled and her pulse throbbed, as her very skin heated to the temperature of a much sought-after hot springs in this February wilderness. Her body melted in response, and had begun molding against his when her brain finally caught up to the rest of her, issuing orders like a strict commandant. She reeled in sheer horror, disgust and embarrassment.

      What was going on here? This was Sydney’s husband for heaven’s sake, and he was kissing her as if they had been intimate with one another all their lives.

      What was even worse was that she had just kissed him back.

      Appalled, Marta wedged her hands up against the man’s chest, shoving him away as hard as she could to break contact.

      Coming up for air, Marta felt her jaw slacken as, for the second time in a matter of minutes, her mouth dropped open in overwhelmed surprise. The power of speech was temporarily and completely beyond her grasp. She could only stare at the man who had just effectively destroyed her cherished belief that no matter what, time moved relentlessly forward. It hadn’t moved on. For one tiny moment there, it had stood perfectly still, content to linger and hear nothing but the pounding of her heart and the soft sound made by her knees as they dissolved.

      Chagrined and heartbroken for Sydney, as well as furious with this man who didn’t deserve to be her husband, Marta searched vainly for her tongue. She would have slapped him with all her might if Sydney hadn’t been standing right there, watching.

      And how could she be standing there, watching, when her husband had all but seduced her best friend in a crowded airport?

      Questions, oaths and outrage all scrambled through her mind. Marta swung around to face Sydney, apologies mingling with denouncements pulsating in her brain.

      To her overwhelming surprise, Sydney looked completely unfazed. Maybe even a little amused and pleased. What was the matter with her? Had the overwhelmingly cold weather frozen her brain and snapped her brittle self-respect? Sydney’s husband was in the same shameful category as Alex Kelley had been.

      “Sydney, don’t you mind?” Marta cried in dazed wonder.

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