Page 9 of Perfectly Matched: Harbor Falls Romance Collection

Suzie fingered a lacey baby bonnet at Marnie Monroe’s new baby boutique, The Purple Pelican, wondering why she was even there. A baby store, of all places. As she and Marnie sat in the cozy corner chatting, Suzie realized she was glad to have someone to talk to about all of this. Marnie had been full of questions about Brad and finally, Suzie spilled the beans—the entire sordid story.

“It’s just not going to work,”

she finally said.

“He wants a family and I can’t give him that.”

Marnie, her eyes wide and her gaze full of compassion, looked up from a pile of baby clothing she was tagging.

“Why not? Don’t you want children?”

“Oh, I would love a child.”

Suzie shrugged.

“But I can’t get pregnant. I came to grips with that years ago.”

“Oh, sugar!”

Marnie moved closer to Suzie and put her arm around her shoulders.

“I didn’t know that. What happened?”

Twice in one week, Suzie fought back tears. Oh hell. Why not let them fall.

“Nothing happened, really, it’s just that I can’t get pregnant. I’ve known ever since I was a teenager that I might have difficulty. I have a bad case of endometriosis and my gynecologist wonders if my ovaries are really producing eggs.”

“Oh sweetie.”

Marnie cupped her cheek in her palm.

“I had no clue. Are you okay?”

Suzie shrugged again and nodded.

“Sure. Or I was.”

She glanced off and stared at the pattern in the carpet at her feet.

“At least I thought I was okay with it.”

“Doesn’t sound that way,”

Marnie said.

“Of course, given the circumstances I would think it would be normal for it to weight heavy on your mind right now. Do you want to talk about it?”

Sighing, Suzie agreed.

“All right. It hasn’t always been easy, especially with Cliff. He was always pissed about my inability, he called it. He said it didn’t matter, that he really wasn’t into kids anyway, and so I took him at his word, but—”

She laughed and shook her head.

“But look at him now. Nice young wife, ripe as a plum, spitting babies out like there is no tomorrow. Oh, and Shelley is pregnant again.”

Marnie’s eyes widened in shock.

“Again? I thought they recently had a baby?”

Suzie nodded.

“They did. In fact, you should get them on your mailing list. Way she’s going, she’ll be spending a lot of money in here. She got pregnant again when baby number one was two months old. She’s about to deliver again soon.”

“That little bitch. How dare she?”

They burst into laughter. Suzie loved Marnie Monroe with all her heart. She was like the sister Shelley never was.

Marnie looked at her.

“So what did Brad say when you told him?”

Suzie hesitated, pretending to inspect the lace on very small dress.

“When I told him what?”

“That you couldn’t get pregnant.”

“I didn’t tell him.”

Marnie remained silent.

Suzie glanced up. “What?”

“You didn’t tell him?”

Tossing the dress aside, Suzie rose and paced a few feet between the store window and where Marnie sat perched on a soft white wicker chair. Stuffing her hands in her back jeans pockets she returned.

“What would I say? Oh, one thing about your plan here, Brad, the big dream of your life? You know, business, family, kids…. Oh, well, the kids part, scratch that if you’re thinking about my participation. I hope you don’t mind if we skip that little piece of your dream.”

She swiped at her nose.

“Besides, he’s too young for me.”

“Pish. You look younger than you are and you’re in great shape.”

“I’m pudgy.”

Marnie laughed and stood.

“You are not. You’re beautiful.”

She placed her hands on Suzie’s shoulders and shook her.

“Now get yourself out of this funk, you hear me? Go tell him what’s going on with you before he turns tail and runs. Because when he’s gone, you’ll up and change your mind and mourn after him for the next thirty years. And as your official newest best friend, I’m here to tell you I don’t need to hear any of that whining for the next three decades. Okay?”

Suzie shrugged and sighed.

“I suppose.”

Marnie hugged her.

“Sweetie? Are you sure you can’t get pregnant?”

She turned to look at her friend.

“I’m sure. Cliff and I never used protection and I never got pregnant.”

She paused; her mouth screwed into a bow.

“Good Lord, I can’t even believe we risked that not being married and all but… Well, you see? No babies for me in all these years. I wonder if that was the reason Cliff was in no hurry to get married.”

Marnie’s eyes flew wide open.

“Oh my God.”

Suzie blew out a breath.

“You think he was putting you off all these years because he really didn’t want to get married because he wanted kids?”

“I do! Well I’ll be spanked! That is the reason why he kept dragging the damn engagement out for all of these years! He was holding out for fresher eggs!”

Marnie scowled.

“The bastard.”

“How could I be so blind?”

Marnie smiled and wrapped her arms around Suzie’s shoulder.

“Honey. Maybe it’s because he’s not so great a sperm donor. Or maybe he wasn’t doing things right for you.”

Suzie laughed.

“I love you Marnie Monroe.”

“You better. Now go get things fixed with that man of yours.”

Nodding, Suzie replied.

“You think?”

“I do think.”

Suzie wasn’t convinced. It didn’t feel like the right time and there was so much else to discuss. The baby thing was one issue. The whole hotel mess was something else entirely. Besides, how in the world, knowing what she did now about Cliff, could she even think about heading into another relationship with a man whose dream is kids, family, and the picket fence?

The only thing she had to contribute was the damn fence.

****

The meeting with the architect lasted a lot longer than Brad expected. Again. Dinner would probably be waiting, warming in the oven. Suzie had been great that way for the past few days. Breakfast ready every morning. Dinner waiting at the end of his day. She was a gem and he appreciated it. He had told her not to wait for him if he was running late—which he had been for the past several days—but wished she would ignore his request and be waiting for him anyway, tonight. He needed to see her and spend some time with her. They needed to talk.

Of course, if she were waiting on him in bed, he’d gladly skip the dinner—but that scenario had not happened lately, and he doubted if it would tonight.

She needed space, she told him a few days ago. Brad figured that given how she felt about the whole hotel business, and the way he’d bulldogged his way into her life again, she deserved to feel like her apple cart was upset. He knew she wasn’t prepared to deal with both the possibility of a relationship and the intrusion of the new hotel into her Harbor Falls lifestyle, so he’d backed off for a while. He’d had months to figure things out. She, on the other hand, had not. So he’d give her the time and space she needed, if that was what would make her more comfortable with the entire situation.

His days were busy, though. Good thing. Kept his mind off sex.

Of course, she was always on his mind.

Besides meeting with the architect, a contractor, and the local employment agency, he’d started thinking about marketing. He’d learned that James Martin’s girlfriend, Eliza Kelley, had some fantastic ideas about promotion and he’d met with her about the Harbor Falls Market Square campaign. Eliza was a whiz at technology and had made a commitment to help him build his future website, which excited him to no end.

Things were moving along quite nicely.

He’d asked for and borrowed Suzie’s Mazda for the day because of the paperwork he was carrying around. She was agreeable, saying most of her work that day was in the house. He drove around to the back and parked, looking for signs of her out by the lake or on the deck. A quick glance at his watch told him it was almost nine o’clock. No light shone from her window at the back of the house.

Hm. Had she gone to bed already? He just wanted to talk with her for a few minutes.

In the kitchen he found a note on the cooking island. Dinner in the fridge. Hope your day was good. Talk to you in the morning. I’m pooped.

Frowning, he crumpled the note. He could give her space, but he didn’t expect to be ignored. This was the third night in a row she’d holed herself up in her bedroom.

Was she avoiding him?

Hell. Of course, she was. And this was as much his fault as anything. Tossing the wad of paper at the garbage can, he turned and took the stairs to his bedroom. To hell with dinner.

****

Suzie winced with each step Brad took up the stairs and she jerked in her bed when he slammed the door. She figured she’d pushed it too far, might as well have just shown him to the door and told him to leave. She’d been masterful at neglecting him and she sensed his frustration. She had to come to closure with all this soon, figure this thing out, or Marnie would be right. Brad would turn tail and run faster than a frog on a fly, and the choice would no longer be hers.

Thing was, she didn’t want to lead him on.

But she didn’t want to push him away either.

Her heart and her head were in total conflict and the more she avoided him, the worse the conflict inside her became. On top of that, just having him in her house, under her roof, was nearly too much.

She wanted him. Wanted him like a crazy horny woman and didn’t know what to do with that. Her hormones must be working overtime.

She was afraid, too. Afraid to give herself over to him. Afraid if she made love with him more time it would seal the deal on her heart. And his. Then where would they be?

They’d be stuck in another damn dilemma and she’d have to tell him about her faulty eggs, or whatever…

And then they would be done. Kaput. Finished.

Suzie lay back into her stacked pillows and closed her eyes. At that same moment, her cell phone vibrated on the bedside table. She picked it up.

A text message from Brad. I miss you.

Those three words nearly brought her to tears.

I miss you too, she texted back.

Then what are you going to do about it? Came the immediate reply.

Suzie swallowed. She didn’t text back. She didn’t think. She simply got out of her bed, crossed her bedroom to the door and opened it. There, on the other side, stood Brad, naked as a J-bird and holding his phone. He walked her backward until they tumbled into bed.