Page 24 of Miracles and Marriage (Making a Family #5)

Zoe washed her face, dried it with paper towels and finger combed her hair.

She looked at herself in the mirror. She’d tell people she was feverish if anyone saw her between here and her car.

Trying to act calm, she walked from the rest room to her office, gathered her purse and jacket and fled.

The few people she passed in the hallway were too intent on their own concerns to speculate about her.

She drove to her apartment. It was midafternoon on a Thursday. She never left work early unless she was seriously incapacitated. What did she do now?

The flush of pleasure that swept through her when she remembered Cal impatiently sweeping the folders off his desk caught her by surprise. Okay, analyze it. She liked it. She more than liked it.

And she was amazed he’d ever do such a thing. It didn’t fit with her image of the hard-edged security man.

But then it hadn’t fit her own image. She wasn’t the kind of woman to have wild sex on an office desk. She couldn’t believe it.

She took a quick shower, changed into warm slacks and a sweater and began cleaning her apartment. Good therapy, plus she wanted it to look nice if Cal came by after his debriefing.

By seven she had to concede he wasn’t coming.

It was after ten and Zoe was in bed when the phone rang. She knew who was calling.

“Hello?”

“We just finished. It’s too late to come over and I’m beat. Want to go to the beach this weekend?” Cal said.

She could hear the background noise of the street.

“You’ve been there for a long time.”

“It’s not my crisis, Protection, Inc. got involved peripherally. But once the president heard of the situation, he called in some experts. I had to go over everything more than once. They don’t like it, but that doesn’t change the facts.”

“About?”

He sighed.

“I’m so tired I forgot. Let’s say a minor glitch in Brussels and leave it at that.”

“How about we go to your place in Richmond, this weekend. That would be more practical.”

“And you are a practical woman, right?”

“Yes.”

“Think of me before you go to sleep,” he said and hung up.

As if she’d think of anything else.

Emily called Zoe the next morning right after she arrived at work.

“Cal wants to know if you are available to attend the concert at Kennedy Center tonight. He has season tickets and finds he can attend tonight’s performance. It’s the music of John Williams. He said if you can go, he’ll pick you up at seven and to plan to have a late supper afterward.”

“Tell Cal thanks. I’ll be ready.”

Zoe loved attending performances at the Kennedy Center.

It gave her a chance to dress up. Since Cal rarely saw her outside of the office in the past, everything she had would be new to him.

Too bad. She’d have loved an excuse to splurge on a new dress.

Still, she was saving her money for her precious baby.

Even a night at Kennedy Center wouldn’t sway her.

Cal knocked on her apartment door promptly at seven.

“You look lovely,” he said when she opened the door.

Zoe wore a long burgundy velvet dress, with a high collar. She’d arranged her hair swept up and pinned with glittering combs. A bit more makeup than she normally wore complemented the deep color of her gown. She felt stylish and feminine with the glittering jewelry that complemented the outfit.

“Thank you.”

She was pleased he thought so. She might not be able to compete with his model-gorgeous girlfriends, but she did dress up nicely.

“Sorry for the short notice. I have season tickets and often give them to employees or clients, but had saved these for tonight. I like his work. If I had been home from Europe earlier, I’d have invited you earlier,” he said.

“I had no other plans, so this is a special treat.”

A date. They had made love several times, been married a month and she counted this as their first real date.

Did Cal realize that? They’d had several meals together, but he and various staff members often had meals together when discussing business. Those didn’t count.

She even felt as shy as a first date.

“Ready?”

She handed him her coat and he helped her put it on.

In moments they were speeding toward the glittering Kennedy Center.

Lighted at night it looked like a huge confection, its reflection doubling in the Potomac River.

Columns marched around the building. Despite its huge size, it looked light and magical with all the illumination.

Valet parking took care of the car. Zoe loved mingling with the others who had come to hear the music. Glitter and dazzling displays of jewelry had her gazing around in awe. Conversations ebbed and flowed, laughter rang out.

“It’s always the same, yet unexpected and wondrous,” she said, holding Cal’s arm. “I love coming here.”

“You’ll have to let me know what you want to see and I’ll keep those tickets,” he said as they moved through the groups chatting and greeting acquaintances.

Cal spoke to a couple on his right, introducing Zoe to the McGillroys.

He nodded to a beautiful woman with one of the junior congressmen from Wisconsin.

Zoe wondered if she was one he used to date.

She fit the profile—slender, beautiful and exquisitely attired.

The dress Zoe had been so happy with now seemed conservative in comparison.

“A bit too much skin for the Kennedy Center, I’d say,” he murmured when they were past.

“I thought men liked to see skin.”

He glanced at her.

“On the right woman and at the right time.”

She couldn’t have written anything more perfect to say.

The music was wonderful. She enjoyed the entire program. Cal had been attentive, holding her hand during much of the performance. Which, given all they’d done together, shouldn’t have been the big deal it was.

Zoe could hardly listen to the music. Her entire body was tingling from that connection. Her senses swam with awareness and desire. She wanted to drive back to his place and make love all night.

After the show, he drove to a small restaurant near the Mall. It was dark and intimate. Zoe was charmed he’d thought of it for their late dinner.

The ma?tre d’ seated them in a small alcove, with enough light to read the menu, yet with a definite romantic overtone. She glanced at Cal. The man constantly surprised her. She never thought of him as being romantic.

“This is lovely,” she said.

He nodded, reading the menu.

“A friend recommended it. It could do with a bit more light.”

So much for romance, she thought with a wry sigh.

After they ordered, Zoe sipped her iced water. She wasn’t drinking wine tonight—not until after the baby came—if she should be so lucky.

What to talk about? Not work. Nor their odd relationship. Did she and Cal have anything else in common?

“I need your help,” he said.

“Oh?”

“The house Uncle Hal and I lived in was built in the 1920s. He upgraded it when he bought it but that was thirty years ago. I’m not much into that kind of thing.

I like the way your apartment feels, so can you do something with the house before I try to rent it out?

I thought we could go room by room when we’re there, deciding what needed to be done.

I’ll make sure the electricity and plumbing is up-to-date, but I draw the line at figuring out paint colors. ”

“I’d be happy to.”

Cal nodded. That was taken care of. He’d hoped she’d agree.

He knew to build a team, people had to share a common goal.

He’d thought about it a lot in his downtime in Europe.

He and Zoe weren’t a team yet, though they did share one common goal.

But he wanted more. A project they both could work on would do the trick—at least he hoped so.

“It’ll probably take a while,” he cautioned.

“I hope we can do it in a few weeks. You don’t want the house to remain vacant too long, at least that’s what Chloe is always saying. We can scope out the project this weekend, make a time schedule, list items to have repaired or replaced. Did you want to do the work yourself or hire someone?”

“Do it myself?”

Cal hadn’t thought about that. He remembered hot summer days when he and Uncle Hal had painted the entire downstairs. The walls hadn’t been touched since, if he remembered correctly.

She watched him. Did she think he couldn’t do it?

“You’d help, too?” he asked.

“Sure. I could get Chloe and Gabe to join in, I bet. If you really want things done fast, we could invite the entire Blackstone family down one weekend. With thirteen of us working, fourteen counting you, we’d sweep through in a day.”

“Let’s start out with you and me.”

The plan was to build something together, not whip through the project.

“Besides, I thought you weren’t going to tell anyone about our marriage.”

“I wouldn’t have to tell them anything about that, only say a friend needed help.”

“We’ll see.”

She laughed.

“You’ll make a perfect father. That’s what my folks say when they are stalling and will eventually say no.”

He liked the sparkle in her eyes and the sound of her laughter. It surprised him when she grew serious a moment later.

“It doesn’t bother you, keeping our marriage secret, does it? It’s not that I’m ashamed of it or anything.”

He shook his head.

“I understand you don’t want aftereffects if we don’t succeed. It’s fine, Zoe. Don’t worry about me.”

She bit her lip and gave a halfhearted nod.

“It’s hard not to,” she said.

What did she mean by that? He was used to taking care of himself. If anyone needed to be worried about it was her. He hadn’t liked the up-close impact of the pain she experienced each month. He hoped she could get pregnant soon.

The waiter brought their meal and as they began to eat, they discussed plans for the house.

When Cal reached Zoe’s apartment, he found a parking place and withdrew a small bag from the trunk before opening her door.

She eyed the suitcase and then looked at him.

“Staying over?”

“This is the time, right?”