Page 35 of Miracles and Marriage
“All this and dessert, too?” Cal asked.
“Chocolate cake.”
“My favorite.”
He couldn’t remember the last time someone had made a cake for him.
Zoe quickly did the dishes while the coffee was brewing. His slow smile when she’d mentioned the cake had her stomach turning somersaults. Once the hot beverage finished brewing, she prepared their cups and plates with generous slices of cake. Carefully carrying them into the living room on a tray, she stopped when she saw Cal lying on the sofa, fast asleep.
She quietly placed the tray on the coffee table and sat on the nearby chair.
“Cal?” she said softly.
There was no response.
Sighing, Zoe picked up her plate and began to eat, watching her husband of two days sleep. Sipping her coffee a few moments later she wondered if she should wake him up to go home, or leave him to get the first sleep he’d probably had in more than forty-eight hours. She opted for letting him sleep. She picked up the tray and took everything back to the kitchen. Putting the cups in the sink and wrapping his piece of cake to keep it fresh, she turned off the light and headed for her room. She had a warm afghan she’d cover him with. She hoped he wouldn’t get cold during the night.
Zoe had no trouble falling asleep. Cal had to be exhausted. He hadn’t slept at all last night. She hoped he was comfortable enough on the sofa.
Zoe had just come from the bathroom the next morning when she heard the knock on her front door. Running to get it before the sound woke Cal, she skidded to a stop when she reached the living room just as he opened the door to Chloe.
“Oh,” her twin said. “I didn’t wake you two, did I?”
“Not at all,” Cal said and opened the door wide.
“Hi, Chloe. What brings you here so early?” Zoe asked, walking over to her sister and giving her a kiss on the cheek.
She looked warily at Cal. He didn’t know how she’d presented this to her sister.
Cal closed the door and leaned against it, looking from one to the other. He let his gaze briefly track down the length of the robe Zoe had donned, but his interest appeared to be more in the similarities of the two women.
“I have a breakfast meeting and swung by to see how things were going. Well, I take it…” Chloe said, flicking a look at Cal. Her smile was sunny.
“Perfect,” he said, pushing away from the door and crossing to stand beside Zoe.
She almost jumped when his hand came up to her nape and gently massaged.
“We haven’t had breakfast yet. Would you care to join us for coffee or something?” he asked.
Zoe wanted to double-check the tie of the robe, to make sure the opening was secured. She felt distinctively at a disadvantage as the only one not dressed in the group.
And his actions were inexplicable. He knew Chloe understood this wasn’t a real marriage unless there was a baby. What was he doing touching her neck until she was shivering with a tingling awareness that thrust out every cohesive thought?
“Coffee would be lovely,” Chloe said, turning to put her purse down on one of the tables.
“I’ll get it started while you go get dressed,” he said to Zoe, leaning over to kiss her briefly.
She stayed in one spot as he easily crossed to the kitchen. Would he know where to find anything? Glancing at her sister’s speculative look, she smiled brightly and dashed back to the bedroom. Things were spinning out of control. What if it hadbeen her parents who had showed up unannounced? Not that they ever had—but they could.
And what was Cal doing? The caress, the kiss. If she dared spend a second apart from the other two, she would sit on her bed and try to figure things out. But with him in that kind of mood, and her sister arriving unexpectedly, which was totally out of character, she dared not leave them alone for longer than it took to dress.
In record time, she returned to the living room. Cal sat at the small table with Chloe, both had a wary look about them. What were they discussing?
“Coffee ready?” Zoe asked, looking at one then the other.
“Should be. One great trait of your sister is her speed in dressing and packing,” Cal said to Chloe.
“She has other great traits,” her twin returned.
