The Surprise Triplets. Jacqueline Diamond

dark for long. Had she broken up with the father? Or was the prospect of introducing him to her ex-husband uncomfortable?

      Edmond half hoped the guy was a bum with body odor. Maybe that’s the real reason for the nose clips. At the ridiculous notion, he smiled.

      “You find this funny?” she asked.

      “I was just...” He shook off his reflections. “We live in the same community.”

      “Your choice, not mine.” Her low tone bordered on a growl.

      “You gave your permission,” he reminded her.

      “Not for you to relocate to Safe Harbor, only for this job. I’ve never been vindictive.”

      “That’s true.”

      “Then do me a favor and...” Halting, she paled, and sucked in several quick breaths.

      “Are you okay?” Edmond leaned across the desk. “Shall I call someone?”

      “What I need is tea.”

      “I’ll get it.”

      “Never mind.”

      This was ridiculous. “We aren’t enemies,” he said. “Melissa, tell me what I can do.”

      “I don’t want your help.” Were those tears in her eyes? “And it’s just a touch of morning sickness. Gone already.”

      Perhaps, yet her distress troubled him. “You’re sure?”

      “Yes. And if I change my mind about the tea, I’ll ask Caroline.”

      Damn, she was hardheaded. “Surely we can find common ground and give each other a break,” he said. “I’ve been dealing with family matters...I could use your insights. And in your situation, you shouldn’t be too quick to reject an offer of friendship.”

      He’d phrased that badly, he saw when her chin lifted defiantly. “I have plenty of friends. What do you mean by ‘my situation,’ anyway?”

      “You haven’t mentioned the father.” Oh, hell, he was making matters worse. “Not that it’s any of my business.”

      “There is no father.”

      She hadn’t fallen in love with another man. That discovery brought some comfort, but Edmond also found it disturbing. How desperately she must want a child to undergo insemination by an anonymous donor.

      She was awaiting a reaction to her statement. If she expected reassurances, he had to disappoint her. “Is that fair to the child? Fathers matter.”

      “I have guy friends,” she told him. “Guys who think kids are precious.”

      “Friends aren’t family.” Nor did she have any other family, unfortunately. Her parents had died years ago, and her younger brother had drowned as a toddler.

      “Lots of women raise children alone,” Melissa flared.

      Edmond was glad the color had returned to her cheeks, even though it was an angry red. “In any case, nothing I say matters. Your baby is your priority now.”

      “That’s right.”

      They’d reached an impasse, and the end of this conversation. Edmond didn’t offer to shake hands, which might force her to rise. “I’ll see you on Saturday.”

      “You’re determined to attend the wedding?” she asked tightly.

      “As I said, I already accepted.” If she could be stubborn, so could he. On the spur of the moment, he added, “I’ll be bringing a plus one, by the way.”

      “Suit yourself.” She faced her computer, dismissing him.

      In the outer office, Edmond paused at Caroline Carter’s desk. An attractive young woman with a smooth dark complexion and a romance novel partly visible on her lap, she regarded him brightly. “Yes, Mr. Everhart?”

      “If you wouldn’t mind, my... Melissa could use some tea. Her stomach’s bothering her,” he said.

      “I’m on it,” she responded. “And welcome to Safe Harbor.”

      “Glad to be here.” He exited into the main-floor hallway, where he was engulfed by the chatter and bustle of personnel heading for the cafeteria. Despite the flat lighting and the smell of antiseptic, he liked this place. The air hummed with the enthusiasm of people dedicated to their work.

      It had been a rocky meeting with his ex-wife. But they’d accomplished an important task: clarifying that they stood as far apart as ever.

      * * *

      EVERY MINUTE CLOSER to lunch, Melissa felt nearer to starvation, and today’s cafeteria special had been posted as chicken enchiladas with guacamole, a favorite of hers. Nevertheless, her friends would spot her frayed emotional state the moment she sat at their table, and she wasn’t ready to field questions.

      Why was Edmond so stubborn about the wedding? And why had she overreacted? She hadn’t intended to demand that he skip it.

      When he’d observed that pregnancy suited her, a wall inside her had started to crumble, and his strong presence had reawakened a longing to lean on him. What an absurd idea, and yet he’d been her rock after her parents’ sudden deaths in an accident, and she needed someone to talk to right now.

      But when he’d pushed her away, it stung, revealing a vulnerability Melissa had believed long vanquished. How could she still have feelings for the man who’d broken her heart?

      Considering his dismissive attitude toward fatherhood, he had a lot of nerve, criticizing her decision. Is that fair to the child? Fathers matter. As if she hadn’t taken that into consideration.

      In fact, she’d been reluctant to undergo artificial insemination. Melissa had questioned how she would explain to a child later that its father had no involvement, indeed no awareness of its existence.

      Then a couple of in vitro clients to whom she’d grown close had faced a dilemma. After bearing healthy triplets, they’d been left with three unused embryos. Due to a difficult pregnancy and with three children to raise, they’d decided against another pregnancy. Instead, they’d resolved to donate the embryos.

      Recalling an earlier conversation with Melissa, they’d offered the little ones to her. With her, they’d insisted, they wouldn’t worry because they had confidence she’d be a wonderful mother. But they’d also been in a rush to settle the matter and told her if she didn’t seize the chance immediately, they’d select another recipient.

      Her physician, Dr. Zack Sargent, had noted the potential physical complications of a multiple pregnancy but, in view of her general good health, he’d given his approval. When she’d solicited the opinions of her housemates and a few dinner guests, Anya’s fiancé, obstetrician Jack Ryder, had said that frozen embryo transfers at Safe Harbor had about a fifty percent success rate. That statistic reinforced Melissa’s assumption that at most she’d bear twins.

      She’d also received enthusiastic support from Karen. Divorced and in her early forties, her friend had no plans for children of her own but loved being around babies. Another housemate, male nurse Lucky Mendez, had advised Melissa to follow her heart instead of obsessing about everything that could go wrong. Only ultrasound technician Zora Raditch had been dubious, but then, Zora had accidentally become pregnant with twins after having breakup sex with her faithless ex-husband, so her opinion of men and maternity was understandably jaundiced.

      It had felt like fate. Then all three embryos had taken. And now here I am, hurting because the man I used to love won’t accept me the way I am. What a waste of energy.

      Annoyed at her weakness, she picked up the phone and put in a call to Rose’s Posies. As her wedding gift to Jack and Anya, she was providing the bouquets for the bride and for two flower girls, as well as for one of Anya’s sisters, who was flying in from Colorado to serve as maid of honor.

      The