Soon To Be Brides. Joan Elliott Pickart

mobile is so cute. It’s a terrific gift for Miss M. and she thanks you, too. Now all we need is that telephone call from Carolyn saying it’s time to pack our meager little suitcaseand get ready to go. Oh, I get goose bumps just thinking about it.”

      “Yep.” Matt nodded. “You know, I think ‘Rock-a-Bye, Baby’ is a waltz, of sorts. Ms. Cunningham, may I have this dance?”

      “Are you serious?”

      Matt closed the distance between them, drew Caitlin into his arms, then began to move her around the center of the room in time to the lilting music. Caitlin stiffened for a moment, then allowed Matt to nestle her close to his body.

      And they danced.

      They weren’t in a huge ballroom dressed in their finery, with chandeliers twinkling above them as a band played. They were in a medium-size bedroom that had been transformed into a nursery decorated in yellow and white and that was waiting for a precious baby to arrive from the other side of the world.

      They danced.

      Not to the music produced by professional musicians in tuxedos, but to the tune accompanied by smiling clowns in brightly colored outfits who were keeping step to the music.

      They danced.

      It was a silly thing to do, yet it was the perfect thing to do, and Caitlin sighed in contentment as she savored the strength of Matt MacAllister, the aroma that was uniquely his, the feel of his tall, solid and nicely muscled body.

      The music slowed, the clowns swung lazily around in their circle, then stopped as the last note played and a silence fell over the room.

      The dance is over, Matt thought. He had to let Caitlin go and step away from her. But, oh, man, she felt fantastic in his arms, so delicate, so feminine, fitting against him as though custom-made just for him. She smelled like flowers and sunshine, and her dark curls had been woven from silken threads.

      He had a feeling…oh, yeah, he knew…that he was going to remember this dance for a very, very long time.

      Slowly and reluctantly, Matt eased Caitlin away from him, then dropped his arms to his sides. He nearly groaned aloud when he saw the dreamy expression on her face, the soft smile on her lips.

      He wanted to kiss her, he thought. She was so beautiful, so womanly, and their dance had been so special and, damn it, he wanted to kiss her.

      Don’t do it, MacAllister, he ordered himself. Don’t even think about it.

      “Well,” Matt said a tad too loudly. “I guess I’d better be on my way.”

      Caitlin blinked. “Oh. Yes, of course, I… Would you like a dish of ice cream?”

      No, Matt thought. He was treading on dangerous ground, his desire for Caitlin liable to be stronger than his common sense. He was going to leave right now, get a solid night’s sleep and be back to normal in the morning. Yes, that was exactly what he was going to do.

      “Ice cream sounds great,” he heard himself say, then glanced around quickly with the irrational thought that he would discover the source of his reply.

      “It’s mint chocolate chip.”

      “Sold,” Matt said. To the jerk who should be walking out the door. “That’s one of my favorites.”

      Why had she done that? Caitlin asked herself as Matt followed her to the kitchen. Why hadn’t she escorted Matt to the door, thanked him again for his help with the nursery, then closed the door on his gorgeous face before she did something else as ridiculous as dancing in the middle of a not-even-here-yet baby’s room?

      That would have been the smart thing to do. But, oh, no, not her. She was now about to share a sinfully delicious dessert with Matt and prolong this unsettling evening even more. Where was her brain?

      Caitlin sighed as she removed a carton of ice cream from the freezer.

      Her brain, she thought, plunking the carton on the counter, had gone south the moment Matt had taken her into his arms. Well, all she could do now was shovel in the ice cream as quickly as possible, plead fatigue, then…finally and overdue…send Matt on his way.

      “I’ll serve that up if you like,” Matt said. “How many scoops do you want?”

      “One.” Caitlin set two bowls next to the carton. “Just one. Small. A small one. I’m going to go check my answering machine for messages while you do that. I’ll be right back.”

      Matt watched as Caitlin nearly ran from the kitchen, then he turned to open the carton of ice cream.

      Caitlin was jangled, he thought. It made him feel a tad better knowing that she had been just as affected by the dance as he had. It fell under misery loves company, or some such thing.

      But if she was struggling with desire as he was, why had she invited him to stay for dessert? He didn’t know the answer to that one. Caitlin was definitely not the type who was inching toward enticing him into her bed after they’d had their snack. Not even close. He knew that, just somehow knew that.

      “Matt,” Caitlin said, rushing back into the room. “Oh, you won’t believe this. Well, maybe you will, but I can’t.” She stopped by his side and pressed her palms to her flushed cheeks. “Can you? Believe it?”

      Matt chuckled. “I don’t have a clue if I can, or can’t, because I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

      “Oh. Yes.” Caitlin patted her cheeks. “I’m going over the edge.” She drew a quick breath. “Okay. I’m fine. There was a message from Carolyn on my machine. We’re leaving Sunday morning for China. This is Thursday, Matt, and we leave on Sunday. Oh, my gosh. I can’t believe this.”

      Matt replaced the carton of ice cream in the freezer, then carried the bowls to the table at the end of the kitchen.

      “Come sit down and have some of this before you either faint, or float away on your happy cloud.” He paused and frowned. “Sunday morning? Whew. I’m scheduled to make a couple of speeches, attend some fund-raising events and… Homer just isn’t cut out for going in there cold. This is very short notice to find people to take my place.”

      Caitlin slid onto a chair at the table. “It’s wonderful notice.”

      Matt settled on the chair opposite her and took a bite of ice cream.

      “Mmm. Great stuff,” he said. “Are you going to be able to sleep tonight? You’re so excited you’re about to bounce off the walls.”

      “I know.” Caitlin smiled brightly. “I can’t stop smiling. In just a handful of hours I’ll be on an airplane winging my way toward Mackenzie or Madison.”

      “Take a bite of ice cream. You’re eating for two now.”

      Caitlin laughed. “That’s true, in a way. I am getting closer and closer to being a mother. Oh, Matt, we leave on Sunday.”

      Matt reached across the table, covered one of Caitlin’s hands with one of his, and smiled at her warmly.

      “I’m sincerely happy for you, Caitlin,” he said. “I really am. Your excitement, joy, is contagious, too. I’m certainly looking forward to seeing Miss M. for the first time, instead of just looking at her pictures. That is going to be quite a moment.” He released her hand and picked up his spoon again. “I’d better polish this off. After all, I’m also eating for two.”

      “Pardon me?” Caitlin said, leaning toward him slightly.

      Matt shrugged. “Well, think about it for a minute. I’m taking the place of your assistant, your girlfriend who flunked roller derby 101. So, for all practical purposes, as I take on the role she would have had during the length of the trip, I become Miss M.’ s…surrogate father.”

      Chapter Five

      The hours until the group was to meet at the airport Sunday morning were filled