Page 23 of Miracles and Marriage
She blinked.
“Sure. I’ll be thrilled. You can come see him or her whenever you want. That’s the whole idea, to have a father who will be there for the baby as he grows up. He’ll want to know you and learn from you and all.”
“Good point. I have a condition of my own,” Cal said.
“You do? Okay. What is it?”
“We get married first.”
Chapter Four
“What?”
Zoe hadn’t expected anything like that.
“We don’t need to get married to have a baby together. I wasn’t necessarily looking for a husband, but a father.”
“I’m not getting someone pregnant again who has complete control over what happens. If we’re married, we both have equal say over the child. Even if we divorce after the baby’s born, I’ll be the father.”
“You’d be the father anyway. I’m not denying the issue. Your name would be on the birth certificate and everything.”
“For what it’s worth, I think you’ll make a terrific mother. And I want to be a part of any child we have from beginning to end. A legal, binding, no-getting-out-of-it connection that everyone in the world will recognize and acknowledge. Think of the baby. Don’t you think he or she would like to have both parents around all the time?”
Zoe swallowed; this wasn’t what she expected. Her mixed emotions surprised her. She felt a warm glow at his compliment, but was startled by his term. For a few days after her doctor’s visit, she’d fantasized about finding someone and falling madly in love in time to have a baby.
She’d known Cal for five years. Yet taking this step seemed like walking a high-wire without a net. She thought she knew him, but he’d been throwing unexpected curves for the last few weeks.
She secretly wanted a man who’d do anything for her, whether she was cranky or happy. Someone to build a life with, make memories with, to grow old with.
He’d come to the cottage to help her when she was ill. He’d tried to help her by introducing her to Mark. And he came from a strong family tie with his uncle.
She’d never envisioned marriage with Jedidiah Callahan. Could love grow? It hadn’t taken much last night to picture them making love. Her idea to escape to the beach cottage was to keep the separate parts of life just that, separate. She didn’t want him a fixture at her apartment. How could she have thought she could just tag some man as it and instantly make a baby?
If it was as hard as the doctor suggested to conceive, they’d have to try more than once. If in the end she couldn’t conceive, she wanted to come out of any relationship with a whole heart.
“So you’re suggesting we marry, have a baby and get divorced—like all within a year?”
“I’m not suggesting anything except if you want me to father your baby, you marry me first.”
Suzanne had really done a number on him, she thought.
“You don’t love me,” Zoe said.
“You don’t love me,” he replied. “I don’t recall you talking about love when you said you would find a man to father your child. Even on that list I made notes on, there was no mention of love. We already know each other pretty well. I’m interested in lots of things. I like sports. I value education. You could count on me being there all his life.”
She closed her eyes for a moment. Cal was a good man. She’d been out on several dates over the last couple of weeks with men she hardly knew. None of them had felt right. Time was so short, could she risk the time to meet another three or four men and find none of them appealed to her? There was always the hope that the next man she met would be the love of her life. But what if he weren’t? Or the one after? Or the one after that?
Could she take a chance on a man she liked and admired? One she didn’t have any trouble picturing kissing her andtouching her and making love to her. One who was strong and focused and terrific father material.
Opening her eyes she stared right into his.
“Okay, then. I guess we have a deal.”
“I promise I’ll do all in my power to keep our child safe and happy,” he said.
Zoe gave a half smile.
“So will I. This will be a well-loved child. If I can get pregnant.”
