Second Time Around (17 page)

Halley spent the first few moments as a married woman admiring the simple white gold band beneath her engagement ring on her manicured hand as Alec led her through a side door towards the waiting photographer. It was either that or let the world see how flushed her cheeks still were in response to overhearing Em ask Leonora how long they were going to kiss for.

As the photographer snapped pictures of them all Halley could still barely believe the lengths Alec had gone to in making the day perfect. Even the boys were dressed in miniature versions of the charcoal suits and paisley green waistcoats that Alec and Rufus wore. Anyone attending the wedding would certainly think their marriage was for real.

Afterwards, Alec had proudly taken Halley around their milling guests that numbered closer to forty than the two hundred that Rufus had earlier claimed. He introduced her to everyone before they all sat down to a late lunch. Alec admitted her he had planned it this way so she wouldn’t be too tired later. The smile he had given her when he said it should have warned her…

Halley swished her hand around in the bath, willing it to fill up faster. Unfortunately the water still had some way to rise before the jets would be covered and she could climb in.

Alec tapped on the door.

“Your dinner’s here,” he announced cheerfully.

Halley eyed her discarded dress on the floor balefully.

“I’ll be right out,” she said.

She reached for one of the pair of neatly folded bathrobes sitting to one side of the hand basin and slipped it on. When she tied up the belt around her extended belly the top gaped. Sighing, Halley pulled the belt free of the loops and tied it above her belly. Pressing her hand against the edge of the bathrobe to keep it covering everything essential she opened the door.

“That was fast,” Alec remarked as she joined him.

“I haven’t got in yet,” Halley told him as she took the empty seat opposite him. “The bath is taking so long to fill that I’ve left the water running while we eat.”

“The bath seats two doesn’t it?” Alec asked as he raised the lid from her meal.

“Um, yes,” she answered distractedly, salivating at the sight of the steak covered with a creamy mushroom sauce, chips and salad that appeared as he took the cover away. She had been too overwhelmed at their reception to do more than taste the elegant looking food that had been set before her and now she felt decidedly hungry.

Alec looked amused as she tucked into her food but Halley didn’t care. Her back was aching and she wanted to finish quickly so she could get into the bath and soothe away the discomfit. She set her fork down to pick up the glass of apple juice that Alec had poured for her.

“A toast,” Alec declared before she could take the glass to her mouth. “To…”

“The second time around,” Halley finished, wanting to remind him that they’d been there, done that. It had been incredibly thoughtful of him to give her the most amazing wedding but he didn’t need to keep trying so hard. She wasn’t going anywhere and she knew he wasn’t either. They needed each other too much.

Halley tapped her glass to his and took a sip.

“Yes,” Alec mused, sounding pleased before taking a sip from his own drink. Taking the glass from his mouth he caught her eye and tapped his glass against hers again. “And it’ll be better than the first time.”

His words seemed to fall somewhere between a challenge and a promise and Halley dropped her eyes to her plate. The last time she had read that intent in a man’s eyes she had wound up pregnant.

The napkin spread over her belly to keep the bathrobe clean slid to the left as the baby stretched underneath it. As she tugged the napkin back into place it occurred to Halley that she couldn’t get any more pregnant than she was.

Looking at her lap, Halley reached a decision. She told herself that it was only because they were legally married and she was curious about how he intended to go about seducing her. The feeling that fluttered inside when he looked at her had nothing to do with it at all.

“I think the bath is ready,” she murmured and pushed herself away from the table, her half eaten steak already forgotten.

As Halley got to her feet the napkin fell to the floor. What was she supposed to do now? There was no way she could pick it up. With her thoughts transferred to something so mundane, doubts started creeping in. What if she had misread Alec’s intent? After all, who in their right mind would want to have sex with a woman who could play the stunt double in Free Willy?

Halley mentally sniggered at the double entendre and suddenly felt better. She threw Alec a smile as she passed him, relieved that she had come to her senses. Any physical attraction he felt for her was all in her mind.

Inside the bathroom the bath was nearly full so she turned off the tap and shut the door. Steam rose from the bubble covered water and she dipped her hand in to check the temperature. It felt just right. Halley unbelted the robe and it slipped off her shoulders.

Alec looked at the closed bathroom door in consternation. For a minute there he had thought Halley was as keen to make their marriage real as he was. He drummed his fingers on the table for a moment then absently reached down, picked up the napkin and set it back on the table.

She hadn’t said no.

He drummed his fingers on the table again as he continued to think.

Maybe I should just go in there.

He got up from the table, took note of the closed door and sat down again. For some reason he felt more nervous than he had on his first wedding night. But then he’d spent most of that night holding Miranda’s head over the toilet bowl because she’d had too much to drink at the reception.

Ah, happy memories,
he thought cynically.

He turned his head to look at the bathroom door. It was still closed.

You’ll never know unless you try
, he told himself.

Alec pushed himself to his feet. He wanted to claim his bride. There was only one way to find out how she felt about that... He’d have to ask.

Alec rapped lightly on the bathroom door with his knuckle.

“Halley? Is it okay if I come in?”

Smooth
, he thought disparagingly.

He heard a splash.

“Yes.”

Smiling to himself, Alec opened the door.

He found Halley swishing bubbles around the bath in an effort to cover herself. A facecloth was draped over her belly which poked through the bubbles.

“How’s your back?” Alec asked solicitously.

“It’s still aching,” Halley complained with a small grimace.

“Let’s see what I can do to help,” Alec murmured. He removed his cufflinks and set them to the side of the hand basin.

Thinking that he was going to roll his sleeves up so he could rub her back, Halley relaxed as he disappeared from view behind her. A minute later his hand nudged her shoulder.

“Move forward a bit,” Alec suggested.

Halley grabbed the sides of the bath and awkwardly wriggled forward. To her surprise instead of a hand touching her back as she had expected, his foot slipped in behind her compelling her to move further forward. That foot was followed by another one and then Alec was sitting behind her in the bath. Halley held her breath, unsure of what she should do.

Alec slid his legs around her then started rubbing the small of her back. His touch felt so good Halley immediately forgot her insecurities and pressed back against his hands. Pleased with her response, Alec allowed one hand to wander while the other hand continued to rub. From her hip his fingers navigated a path to the top of her thigh… where his destination was blocked by her heavy belly resting on part of it.

Undeterred, he smoothed his hand upwards over her belly, deciding to head towards her breasts. The skin under his hand suddenly became taut and Halley groaned. Alec’s hand froze.

“Are you okay?” Alec asked tentatively, not really sure he wanted to hear her answer.

“My back hurts.” Underneath his hand Halley’s belly relaxed and she let out a breath. “I must have moved funny,” she said. “I’m okay now.”

No she wasn’t.

Alex mentally cursed the timing. If he had just had another hour or so… His thoughts were interrupted by Halley’s belly tightening under his hand again. So soon?

“Sweetheart, I think the baby’s on its way,” he said gently.

“No, it can’t be,” Halley protested. “It’s not due for another five days.”

Alec smiled at her naivety despite the situation.

“I’m pretty sure it’s coming,” he said, reluctantly taking his hands off her. “I’m going to get out and pack our things.” Alec gazed at the queen sized bed he could see through the open door as he climbed out of the bath. He’d had big plans for that bed. Biting off a sigh he returned his eyes to Halley who was clenching the side of the bath so tightly her knuckles were turning white.

“Would you like a hand?”

Halley shook her head.

“No, I’m good,” she lied. When Alec had got out of the bath her self-consciousness had returned in full force. The pain in her back ebbed and she prised her fingers off the side of the bath to wave him away. “I’ll get out in a minute.”

Alec wrapped a towel around his waist and gathered up their clothes. Halley wouldn’t be wearing her wedding dress to the hospital. Intuitively knowing that she wanted privacy he closed the door on his way out.

Several minutes later he was dressed and he’d packed their things. He’d even laid out a dress for Halley to wear to the hospital and phoned the midwife to say they were on their way but Halley had yet to appear from the bathroom.

“Halley?” he enquired, giving the bathroom door a tentative knock. “Is it okay if I come in?”

Upon hearing a groan on the other side of the door Alec burst into the room and found Halley still in the bath despite having pulled the plug out.

“I can’t get out,” she said. “It hurts.”

“I’ll help,” he soothed as he grabbed a fluffy white towel and did his best to wrap it around her. “Is it okay to lift you out now?”

Halley nodded and Alec struggled to raise her out of the bath. Apart from her stomach she was relatively slender and Alec decided that the baby must have the density of a dwarf star. Either that or she had eaten an elephant when he hadn’t been looking.

Getting her over the rim of the bath he allowed her feet to touch the ground. As soon as she regained her footing she clung to him.

“Another one, huh?” he said rhetorically as he started rubbing her back.

Halley nodded again and Alec knew that if she couldn’t bring herself to talk the pain must be worse than she was letting on. Hiding his panic he mentally went through the sequence of what needed to be done before they got to the hospital.

“I’ll get your clothes,” he murmured. The moment the contraction appeared to have stopped he raced back into the bedroom and returned with her things.

He helped Halley get dressed, her returned sense of modesty making her grip the towel shut despite the fact that Alec was sliding her underwear up to her hips. She didn’t release the towel until Alec dropped her dress over her head. How many new husbands helped their bride get dressed before their wedding night? Alec wondered as he placed Halley’s shoes beside her feet so she could slide them on. If someone else had been in this situation Alec would have found it hilarious. As it was he gritted his teeth.

When Halley had to stop three times on their way to the car Alec became worried that they wouldn’t make it to the hospital in time. As he drove he wasn’t encouraged by the way her fingers wrapped around the arm rest and never seemed to relax. But then that could have been partly due to his driving since he treated every stop sign and red light he came to as a suggestion.

Finally they made it and as he wheeled Halley toward the maternity ward in a wheelchair thoughtfully provided by an orderly. Ahead, he recognised the midwife waiting for them. It was with great relief he passed Halley over.

Instead of being left to fill in paperwork as he had expected the midwife asked him to follow them. Alec did so and found himself in a delivery room where another midwife came and helped Halley onto the bed. Not knowing what to do, he went to Halley’s side while the midwives placed a sheet over Halley and gave her an examination.

“Do you want me to go?” he whispered, in two minds about doing so. With everything else going on they hadn’t discussed whether he would have a role while the baby was being born.

“Stay,” Halley hissed out as she grabbed his hand.

“Ms Clarke, is the pain worse in your back or front?” the new midwife asked as she unfolded a sheet over Halley’s thighs.

“It’s worse in her back and she’s Mrs Barrington now,” Alec answered, unable to help himself. “We got married this afternoon.”

“Congratulations,” both midwives said warmly then continued with their various tasks.

Halley’s hand gripped his fingers tightly and Alec could see his own fingers turning white under the pressure. He hoped that meant that she approved of his interference because the midwife was already changing the details on the wrist band she had just printed out.