A Tricky Proposition. Cat Schield

it came to picking sides, Jason would choose Ming every time. In some ways, she was more like family to him than Evan. Jason had certainly shared more of himself with her. “Don’t you think Ming will be upset if she finds out you and her sister are dating?”

      Before Evan could answer, Jason’s cell began to ring. With Ming’s heart in danger and his brother in his crosshairs, Jason wouldn’t have allowed himself to be distracted if anyone else on the planet was calling. But this was Ming’s ringtone.

      “We’ll talk more about this later,” he told his brother, and answered the call as he exited. “What’s going on?”

      “It’s Lily.” There was no mistaking the cry for help in Ming’s voice.

      Jason’s annoyance with his brother flared anew. Had Ming found out what was going on? “What about her?”

      “She’s moving to Portland. What am I going to do without her?”

      What a relief. Ming didn’t yet know that her sister was dating Evan, and if Lily moved to Portland then her relationship with her sister’s ex-fiancé would have to end.

      “You still have me.” He’d intended to make his tone light, but on the heels of his conversation with his brother moments before, his declaration came out like a pledge. “Do you want to catch a drink and talk about it? We could continue our earlier conversation.”

      “I can’t. Terry and I are having dinner.”

      “Afterward?”

      “It’s been a long day. I’m heading home for a glass of wine and a long, hot bath.”

      “Do you want some company?”

      Unbidden, his thoughts took him to an intoxicating, sensual place where Ming floated naked in warm, fragrant water. Candles burned, setting her delicate, pale shoulders aglow above the framing bubbles of her favorite bath gel. The office faded away as he imagined trailing his lips along her neck, discovering all the places on her silky skin that made her shiver.

      “Jason?” Ming’s voice roused him to the fact that he was standing in the elevator. He didn’t remember getting there.

      Damn it. He banished the images, but the sensations lingered.

      “What?” he asked, disturbed at how compelling his fantasy had been.

      “I asked if I could call you later.”

      “Sure.” His voice had gone hoarse. “Have a good dinner.”

      “Thanks.”

      The phone went dead in his hand. Jason dropped the cell back into his pocket, still reeling from the direction his thoughts had gone. He had to stop thinking of her like that. Unfortunately, once awakened, the notion of making love to Ming proved difficult to coax back to sleep.

      He headed to his favorite bar, which promised a beer and a dozen sports channels as a distraction from his problems. It failed to deliver.

      Instead, he replayed his conversations with both Ming and Evan in his mind. She wanted to have a baby, wanted Jason’s help to make that happen, but she’d decided against it before he’d had a chance to consider the idea. All because it wouldn’t be fair to Evan if he ever found out.

      Would she feel the same if she knew Evan was dating Lily and that he didn’t care if Ming got hurt in the process? That wouldn’t change her mind. Even if it killed her, Ming would want Evan and Lily to be happy.

      But shouldn’t she get to be selfish, too? She should be able to choose whatever man she wanted to help her get pregnant. Even the brother of her ex-fiancé. Only Jason knew she’d never go there without a lot of convincing.

      And wasn’t that what best friends were for?

      Fifteen minutes after she’d hung up on Jason, Ming’s heart was still thumping impossibly fast. She’d told herself that when he’d asked if she wanted company for a glass of wine and a hot bath, he hadn’t meant anything sexual. She’d called him for a shoulder to cry on. That’s all he was offering.

      But the image of him sliding into her oversize tub while candlelight flickered off the glass tile wall and a thousand soap bubbles drifted on the water’s surface …

      “Ready for dinner?”

      Jerked out of her musing, Ming spun her chair away from her computer and spied Terry Kincaid grinning at her from the doorway, his even, white teeth dazzling against his tan skin. As well as being her partner in the dental practice and her best girl friend’s father, he was the reason she’d chosen to become an orthodontist in the first place.

      “Absolutely.”

      She closed her internet browser and images of strollers disappeared from her screen. As crazy as it was to shop for baby stuff before she was even pregnant, Ming couldn’t stop herself from buying things. Her last purchase had been one of those mobiles that hangs above the crib and plays music as it spins.

      “You already know how proud I am of you,” Terry began after they’d finished ordering dinner at his favorite seafood place. “When I brought you into the practice, it wasn’t because you were at the top of your class or a hard worker, but because you’re like family.”

      “You know that’s how I feel about you, too.” In fact, Terry was so much better than her own family because he offered her absolute support without any judgment.

      “And as a member of my family, it was important to me that I come to you with any big life-changing decisions I was about to make.”

      Ming gulped. How had he found out what she was going to do? Wendy couldn’t have told him. Her friend knew how to keep a secret.

      “Sure,” she said. “That’s only fair.”

      “That’s why I’m here to tell you that I’m going to retire and I want you to take over the practice.”

      This was the last thing she expected him to say. “But you’re only fifty-seven. You can’t quit now.”

      “It’s the perfect time. Janice and I want to travel while we’re still young enough to have adventures.”

      In addition to being a competitive sailor, Terry was an expert rock climber and pilot. Where Ming liked relaxing spa vacations in northern California, he and his wife went hang gliding in Australia and zip lining through the jungles of Costa Rica.

      “And you want me to have the practice?” Her mind raced at the thought of all the things she would have to learn, and fast. Managing personnel and finances. Marketing. The practice thrived with Terry at the helm. Could she do half as well? “It’s a lot.”

      “If you’re worried about the money, work the numbers with Jason.”

      “It’s not the money.” It was an overwhelming responsibility to take on at the same time she was preparing for the challenge of being a single mom. “I’m not sure I’m ready.”

      Terry was unfazed by her doubts. “I’ve never met anyone who rises to the challenge the way you do. And I’m not going to retire next week. I’m looking at the middle of next year. Plenty of time for you to learn what you need to know.”

      The middle of next year? Ming did some rapid calculation. If everything went according to schedule, she’d be giving birth about the time when Terry would be leaving. Who’d take over while she was out on maternity leave? She’d hoped for twelve glorious weeks with her newborn.

      Yet, now that the initial panic was fading, excitement stirred. Her own practice. She’d be crazy to let this opportunity pass her by.

      “Ming, are you all right?” Concern had replaced delight. “I thought you’d jump at the chance to run the practice.”

      “I’m really thrilled by the opportunity.”

      “But?”

      She was going to have a baby.