Surrogate and Wife by Emily McKay Page A

sheunfolded herself from the sofa and stood. Only as she was headed toward the hall did he notice how tired she looked.
    â€œIf you weren’t waiting up for me, why were you sleeping on the sofa?”
    She hesitated in the doorway to the hall, and for a second he thought she’d just ignore his question altogether. Then she turned to face him, propping her shoulder against the door frame. “Insomnia.”
    Her arms were crossed over her chest in a defensive posture. Waiting for him to tease her, he supposed. She looked cute, standing there in her ladybug pj’s and bare feet. Vulnerable in a way she almost never was. And that appealed to him.
    Not that he wanted her to be weak. He just wanted her to let him in occasionally.
    â€œInsomnia, huh?” he prodded, willing her to say more.
    â€œI’ve had it on and off for years. Mostly on. I can usually cope with it pretty well.”
    â€œAnd sleeping on the sofa helps?” he asked doubtfully.
    â€œA little. The doctor said I shouldn’t sleep on my back. Apparently it restricts the flow of blood to the placenta. So, when I do fall asleep, every time I roll over, I wake up, afraid I’ve rolled onto my back. At least on the sofa there’s nowhere to roll. But it’s less comfortable, so I still have trouble falling asleep. Unfortunately, a lot of the things I usually do to relax, you can’t do when you’re pregnant.”
    â€œLike drinking a glass of wine?”
    She smiled. “I was thinking more along the lines of taking a hot bath. That usually helped. But I’m not supposed to raise my body temperature above 102 degrees. So the hot bath is out.”
    Into his mind popped an image of her soaking in the bathtub, surrounded by bubbles, hair piled high on herhead, skin silky and moist, gleaming in the flickering light from a nearby candle.
    He shoved the image aside and cleared his throat. This was not the time to be fantasizing about Kate. That tended to lead to wanting Kate. And wanting Kate was what had scared her off the last time.
    Now that she’d finally started to relax around him again, he didn’t want to screw this up. He wanted to do the right thing. To be helpful, damn it.
    â€œThere’s gotta be something you can do to help you relax enough to sleep. Back when I was fighting fires, I’d come home from the job all keyed up from the adrenaline. I wouldn’t be able to sleep.”
    Her lips curved into one of her rare smiles. “Well, I did blow out a candle earlier. But that’s hardly the same thing.”
    He smiled. “You’re into the second trimester, right?”
    â€œThis is my nineteenth week, so yeah.”
    â€œIsn’t that when women are supposed to feel all energetic? Clean a lot or something?”
    â€œRight. Nesting. It’s when women are supposed to go through the nesting stage.”
    â€œExactly. Tonight when I saw Stew, he said Beth was driving him crazy. She’d reorganized every closet in the house and was having him paint everything that stood still.”
    She laughed. “I guess that explains why I got a message from her last week wanting to go through some old stuff of our adopted Mom’s.”
    â€œSo you’re probably nesting, too. That’s why you have so much extra energy.”
    â€œRight.” Her smile faded. “Except, I have no nest. I mean, sure, I’ve got a house I could clean and paint and organize, but what’s the point, really? I don’t have a baby to get ready for.”
    Her tone sounded almost wistful, and before he could stop himself, he asked, “Having second thoughts?”
    Her gaze darted to his. “About?”
    â€œDo you want to keep the baby?”
    â€œNo.” She shook her head. “Absolutely not,” she said a bit too firmly. After a second she looked at him curiously. “You’re not…”
    â€œNot what?”
    â€œThinking you want to