Pregnant With Her Best Friend's Baby. Alison Roberts

surprising that she’d chosen to wear a bright red dress because that was Fizz all over, wasn’t it? Daring as well as confident enough to pull off something so different. Her long, dark hair was hanging loose down her back and she looked gorgeous, Joe decided.

      And so happy...

      No wonder there was a collective sound like people were catching their breath around him. He thought he heard a happy sigh coming from Maggie, too.

      Was she a believer as well? If she was, why hadn’t she already conducted a successful husband hunt? She could have done it years ago and then she wouldn’t have had to worry about the clock running out on her reproductive years. She wouldn’t have had to even think about alternative routes to motherhood and she wouldn’t have tried to involve him when bringing a child into the world was, without doubt, the last thing he would ever contemplate doing.

      The celebrant welcomed everybody as the wail of the bagpipes finally faded.

      ‘You have all been invited to attend today,’ she told the gathering, ‘because you are the family, friends and colleagues of Cooper and Fizz and they want you to witness their commitment to each other and share the joy of that promise.’

      Joe sucked in a deep breath. He wasn’t feeling particularly joyful right now. It was more than awkwardness filling that space between him and Maggie.

      He was angry, that’s what it was.

      Or maybe it was more that he was sad. He let out that breath in a long sigh. He knew that Maggie had heard that sigh because he could feel the sideways glance he received. Turning his head just a fraction, he could catch a reflection of what he was feeling in her own eyes.

      That hint of sadness.

      There weren’t that many things in life that you could be certain of and a true friendship was one of the most precious things there was. Maggie Lewis had been his favourite person to crew with ever since he’d joined the Aratika Rescue Base and the foundations of that trust between them had been rocked the other day. Possibly even damaged beyond repair judging by the aftershocks. All by a few words. There had been more than sadness in that swift glance they had just shared, however. An impression of something else was lingering. Regret? Along with a desire to put things right?

      A flash of guilt threw itself into the confusing mix of emotions that was unsettling Joe right now. It wasn’t as if Maggie had done anything wrong. After all, he’d been the one who’d thrown that anecdote of people using a friend as a sperm donor into the conversation. He just hadn’t expected it to come back and bite him and it had only bitten that hard because it had touched a raw spot.

      He’d overreacted, hadn’t he?

      Cooper and Fizz had written their own vows for this ceremony and the message that was coming through loud and clear was the deep friendship that was the basis of their relationship. The trust. How rare and special it was to find someone who felt the same way about you.

      That was so true.

      Not that Joe wanted to marry Maggie, of course. He had no desire to marry anybody. And he’d never been sexually attracted to her. He could acknowledge that she was a very attractive woman—she just wasn’t his type. They had started out as colleagues and had become friends. Just because Cooper and Fizz had added benefits into their friendship that had taken them to a very different level didn’t mean that his relationship with Maggie was any less valid.

      All too often, in Joe’s experience, friendships could outlast marriages.

      As their friends exchanged a rather passionate kiss to seal their vows and the congregation clapped and cheered, Joe turned his head to find that Maggie was doing exactly the same thing and turning her head towards him.

      This time, the smile they shared felt genuine.

      The friendship was still there and there was an astonishing relief to be found in that knowledge. All they needed to do now was clear the air and sweep away the remnants of that disturbing suggestion of him helping her to achieve her dream of motherhood, and what better place to do that than during a party?

      * * *

      There were photographs against the dramatic backdrop of the cliffs and islands and a spectacular sunset. A live band was setting up for when they were going to provide the music for dancing later on and, in the meantime, there was a great range of wine and beer at the bar and delicious food that wasn’t offered in any traditional kind of wedding breakfast. A spit roast was happening in the courtyard garden with an amazing range of vegetables or salads to accompany it and inside one of the reception rooms of the resort a taco station had been set up on a long trestle table.

      ‘It’s because we loved the taco nights at your place when Cooper was still living with you,’ Fizz told Maggie.

      ‘Yum...’ Maggie had opened the lid of a huge container. ‘That’s proper pulled beef...’

      ‘The taco shells are keeping warm as well.’

      Harrison was already holding a shell and Laura was helping him to add shredded lettuce and grated cheese from the bowls further along the table.

      ‘No tomatoes,’ he told his mum. ‘I hate tomatoes.’

      ‘Sauce?’

      ‘Only tomato sauce, not that hot stuff.’

      Maggie laughed. ‘But you just said you hated tomatoes, Harry.’

      The deep voice right behind her after she spoke made her jump. It also made her heart skip a beat. Good grief...when had she ever been nervous to be in Joe’s company before? But the way he’d looked at her when the ceremony had been getting underway—as if she’d done something completely unforgiveable—had made that tension between them feel like it was rapidly escalating. Mind you, the way he’d smiled at the end of the ceremony, when Fizz and Cooper were having their first kiss as husband and wife, had been a glimmer of hope. So was the amusement coating his words when he spoke now.

      ‘Tomato sauce is different, Maggie. Everybody knows that.’

      ‘Yeah.’ Harrison nodded, although he’d edged closer to his mother. ‘It doesn’t even taste like tomatoes.’

      ‘You can have whatever you want on your taco,’ Fizz told him. ‘They’re the rules today.’

      ‘And I get to stay up late, right?’

      ‘Let’s see how tired you get,’ Laura cautioned. ‘I don’t want you feeling sick tomorrow.’

      ‘I’m not going to get tired.’ Harrison was looking determined. ‘Because I know a secret about what’s going to happen later and I have to be awake.’

      ‘Oh?’ Everybody turned to look at Fizz.

      ‘Can’t say.’ She grinned. ‘It’s a secret. Harry only knows because he did so well with his special job today.’ She glanced down at the wedding ring on her hand. ‘And now I’m going to find a beer and make sure my husband has one, too. Enjoy the tacos, you lot.’

      Joe was right behind Maggie as she loaded salad and cheese onto the meat in the crisp taco shell. They both added sliced jalapeño peppers and chilli sauce.

      Drizzling the super-spicy sauce made Maggie smile. Instead of putting the bottle down again with the other condiments, she handed it to Joe.

      ‘D’you remember the first time we ever worked together all those years ago?’

      ‘When we knocked over the chilli sauce bottle on the table because we were both reaching for it at the same time?’

      ‘And we discovered that there was someone else in the world who like putting hot sauce on scrambled eggs?’

      The softening of Joe’s features told Maggie that he was remembering more than those scrambled eggs. That it had been more than a moment of bonding as new colleagues. The hotter the better had become a private catchphrase and had ended up becoming a kind of code of encouragement. How many times