No Ring Required. Laura Wright

afraid of seasickness, but after popping a couple of Dramamine, she’d hopped aboard and found life on the water rather magnificent.

      After they’d rounded the lake twice, Ivan headed back to the marina. Over the wind and the lapping of the water, Mary called, “This is great! I think your guests will be very impressed, Captain.”

      Ivan grinned at her. “Not just by the gala, I’m hoping.”

      Confused, she said, “I’m sorry?”

      “I’ve decided to take your advice and make this a charity event.”

      Mary nodded. So, the captain did have a soul after all. Shocking, he wasn’t just a Lamborghini-driving playboy. She’d have to tell Olivia.

      “So all the entry fees will go to charity?” she called as Ivan maneuvered around in the marina, approaching the dock at a very slow speed.

      “My financial advisors have told me that this will be a great tax write-off.”

      So he wasn’t exactly Mother Teresa, but at least he had agreed to do something worthwhile. Maybe she wouldn’t mention this to Olivia.

      “Have you decided which charity appeals to you?” she asked him.

      “Cancer’s pretty popular.”

      “True.”

      Ivan slowly entered the slip, then placed the transmission in neutral and let the wind blow the boat back. “But which one to choose?” he called, securing the boat’s front dock line first. “Children? Lung? Breast?”

      Mary removed her life vest and placed it beside her on the bench. “Well, how about the Cancer Research Institute? They pretty much cover it all.”

      “Perfect.” Staring onto the dock, Ivan squinted, then frowned. “Is he waiting for you or me?”

      Mary glanced up, saw what Ivan was seeing and felt her pulse jump inside her veins. Standing there, arms crossed and looking murderous, was Ethan. “That would be for me.”

Six

      Ethan’s body tightened at the sight of Mary walking down the dock toward him. A white T-shirt, pink shorts and bare feet had never looked so dangerous on any woman. Visions swam in his mind, images of soft skin against his mouth and long legs wrapped around his waist, cute round buttocks cupped in his hands. This intense physical reaction was becoming way too famil iar, and he wondered if the only way he was going to get rid of it was to take her to bed again.

      Ethan had known many women in his time, but his need for them had faded quickly. Why wasn’t it the same with Mary Kelley? Why had the desire to taste her, fill his nostrils with her scent, open her thighs and bury himself deep inside her only intensified over time? Was it the baby or something else, something more?

      Her pale-blue eyes mocked him as she came to stand before him, a grin tugging at her mouth. “You are officially stalking me now, Curtis.”

      “Well, one of us has to protect the baby,” he muttered grimly.

      “What in the world are you talking about?”

      He gestured to the water. “Out there on the open water, no life jacket, no nothing.”

      “Open water?” she repeated, laughing. “Come on. This is a lake, calm as a sleeping kitten. There’s no danger here.”

      Ethan eyed the man coming up behind her. “Isn’t there?”

      “Oh, for God’s sake,” Mary said as her sailboat buddy walked by with a smile and a wave. She waved back and called, “I’ll call you on Thursday,” then returned her attention to a very annoyed Ethan. “I was wearing a life jacket, and the captain—he’s just a client.”

      “The captain,” Ethan drawled with derision. “Please don’t tell me that he makes you call him that?”

      Mary regarded him incredulously. “Let’s not get into crazy demands from clients, shall we?”

      “Fine,” he muttered darkly, following her down the dock and toward the parking lot.

      As she dug the car keys from her purse, she asked, “Now, what’s brought you all the way out here?”

      “Do you have a doctor?”

      She stopped, turned to look at him. “Why? Do you have a medical emergency?”

      Her joke was lost on him and he scowled. “Be serious for a second.”

      “I have a doctor, Ethan.”

      “For the pregnancy?”

      Her gaze flickered to the ground then back up, and he wondered if that was too intimate a thing to ask her.

      “Yes, I have a doctor,” she said finally. “A family-practice type thing. Why?”

      He shook his head. “That’s not good enough. You need an Ob/Gyn.”

      Exhaling heavily, she walked away from him toward the lot, but he was on her heels. “I’m serious, Mary.”

      “I’m going to come to your house and take every one of those books away from you. Foot massage is one thing, buddy, but—” she fumbled in her purse again for her keys “—you’re getting way too knowledgeable on Girlfriends’ Guides and Mothering and You, and frankly, it’s making me feel a little weird.”

      Ethan paused. He didn’t have those two books, but he made a mental note to get them. “Listen, I have a client whose wife is Deena Norrison.”

      “Never heard of her.”

      “She’s only one of the best Ob/Gyn’s in the country.”

      When Mary reached her car and still couldn’t find her keys, she looked ready to explode. Undeterred, Ethan continued, “She’s agreed to see you.”

      “I have a good doctor, Ethan,” Mary assured him, her hand stuffed inside her purse again, perspiration beading on her brow.

      “Good is not great, and Deena’s the best. Doesn’t our child deserve the best?”

      “Aha!” Mary held up her keys triumphantly, but her glee was short-lived when she noticed the stern look on Ethan’s face. She sighed. “When is this appointment? This week is swamped for me, and next week we leave for Mackinac Island.”

      “How’s today?”

      “Today,” she repeated, the blood draining from her face.

      “Right now.” He took her cool hand in his. “There’s no reason to be nervous. I’m sure everything is fine.”

      “Now?”

      “I know. Isn’t that great? She’s a pretty cool lady. She’ll fit you in at four. Ultrasound and everything.”

      Mary shook her head. “But—”

      Ethan didn’t give her time to refuse. Once she saw the kid’s heartbeat and heard from the best doctor in the country that everything was just as it should be, she’d relax. “Come on,” he said, gently guiding her toward his car. “I’ll drive.”

      Dr. Deena Norrison’s reception area looked like a photograph straight out of the pages of Victoria magazine. Surrounded by cabbage-rose wallpaper, clients sank down into soft and cushy deep-pink sofas with rolled arms. The love seats and chairs, Mary was certain, had down pillows.

      Mary sat on one of the love seats, her purse perched on the Queen Anne table before her. The scent of flowers was dizzying and made her feel as though she was trapped inside an English garden at the height of summer.

      “Are you okay?” Ethan asked beside her.

      “No. I don’t know.” The deodorant she’d put on this morning