in the Corps, building a career and a reputation to be proud of. It was all she knew. All she’d ever wanted.
All she had.
Now, that was all threatened. A pregnant, married Marine was acceptable. A pregnant unmarried Marine—particularly an officer—could find herself discharged. Or at the very least disgraced and her exemplary career in ruins. At that thought, Kate winced. If she lost the Corps, she wouldn’t know what to do with herself.
Hell. She wouldn’t even know who she was.
“Kate,” Tom said from across the room, “don’t work yourself up like this. We’ll figure something out.”
She stopped short suddenly and swiveled her head to look at him. One thing she had to make perfectly clear right from the beginning. “You should know, Thomas. Ending this pregnancy is not an option.”
He nodded and gave her a small smile. “I understand.”
“I’m not sure I do,” she countered and started pacing again. She had never given much thought to social issues. Especially the ones that didn’t concern her directly. She’d always been too focused on her career for that. But even Kate had been surprised at the strong, protective instinct that had swelled within her at the discovery of her pregnancy. “I’m a career woman, Thomas. And a firm believer in the ERA. Frankly, I didn’t think I’d feel like this. And I can’t tell other women what decisions to make about their lives. But for me, I’ve discovered that there is no decision to make. This baby is a fact. One that we have to deal with. One that isn’t going away.”
“Good.”
She stopped again, turning her head to look at him. “Good?”
He nodded and moved toward her. “I’m glad you feel that way, Kate. We can handle this. We’ll think of something.”
“We will, huh?” she said, and started pacing again. The sound of her heels on tile echoed on and on in her mind. So stupid. So...irresponsible. How could they have let this happen? They weren’t teenagers. They were supposed to be mature adults. Marines for God’s sake! Her stomach churned uneasily. “Think, you said?” she shook her head. “I hope you have better luck than I’ve had.” She paced right up to the wall and turned for the return trip. Glancing into his dark chocolate eyes, she added, “I’ve known about this for a month now and I haven’t been able to think of a blasted thing.”
“A month?” he asked. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
“It’s not the easiest thing in the world to tell a man, you know,” she snapped, then caught herself. Sarcasm wasn’t going to be a big help here. Throwing her hands up only to let them fall again, she said. “I needed time. To think. To...” pretend it wasn’t happening? she asked silently as her words trailed off.
“Do you want to leave the Corps?” he asked quietly.
“No!” Kate stopped dead, frozen in her tracks. Then she faced him. “Leave the Corps?” she repeated, as if she hadn’t heard him correctly. “I can’t resign. The Corps is my life. As much as it is yours. I can’t—no. I won’t give it up.”
Did her voice really sound that shrill? Or was it just her?
“Well, then,” Thomas said. “That makes things even simpler.”
“I don’t see how.”
His gaze locked with hers. “You know the regulations on pregnancy as well as I do.”
A short breath shot into her lungs and caught. “I know.” Of course she knew. Wasn’t that what had been driving her quietly insane for the last month? Wasn’t that why she was wearing a path in his linoleum? Wasn’t that why she felt like crying, for goodness’ sake?
Another long minute passed in silence. Finally Thomas said, “Then you know what the answer to all this is.”
She held her breath again and absently wondered if all of this breath holding would hurt a baby currently no bigger than a peanut.
“I would be honored if you would consent to marry me, Kate.”
That pent-up breath exploded from her in a rush. Even though she had half suspected he would do exactly this, she was still almost shocked to hear the words out loud.
Marriage.
She should be happy, damn it.
Over the past three years, she’d secretly clung to the hope that one day, he would propose to her. Of course, she had also hoped that a little thing like love would prompt his proposal. Instead, it was duty and responsibility guiding the oh-so-honorable man in front of her.
No orange blossoms, candlelight and soft music for them, she mused. Nope. Marine green and Duty.
Lord, how romantic.
She lifted one hand and rubbed at a spot between her eyes, hoping to ease the throbbing headache centered there.
It didn’t help.
Kate knew he was right. Their getting married was the only possible solution. But her heart cringed at the notion of a dutiful marriage.
How strange. She’d managed to avoid marriage and motherhood all of her adult life. Now suddenly she was jumping feet first into both.
“Kate?” Tom asked, watching as her expressive face displayed each of her emotions in turn. “This is the best way. The only way.”
She nodded stiffly, but he could see she wasn’t convinced.
“Kate, this can work,” he said, walking across the room to her side. Hands on her shoulders, he held her gently but firmly, ignoring the sudden, white-hot jolt of desire that shot through him like a mortar blast. If she accepted his proposal, there would be plenty of time to indulge in the passion they shared. “We like each other. We get along well.”
“Like,” she repeated numbly and crossed her arms in front of her before letting her gaze slide from his.
He cupped her face in his palm and turned her back to look at him. “This will work,” he repeated, warming to his theme. Sure, he’d never intended to get married again. One failure in that department had been more than enough for Tom Candello. And here was another chance to show the world what lousy fathers the Candello men made. Like his own dad before him, Tom had failed at fatherhood. And the thought of another failure wasn’t a pretty one. But this was a special circumstance. Kate was pregnant. With his baby. Their child. He couldn’t let her down.
She needed him.
And for now, that was enough.
On that thought, he suggested, “Think about this as if it’s a Corps assignment, Kate.”
“What?”
“We’re fellow officers. We like each other. We understand each other’s work.”
She smiled sadly. “Not much to base a marriage on, Thomas.”
“More than some people have,” he said, and smoothed her hair back behind her ear.
“And
