from him.
Yet if she were honest, she had to admit the deeply romantic side of her had secretly wished for so much more, and been disappointed when Teddy hadn’t really planted one on her, even if it was just for show….
The jubilation she had felt then faded, her longtime hope for a baby and family of her very own replaced by uncertainty. Maybe because Amy knew what Teddy didn’t—that she had never been as at ease in the bedroom as everyone else seemed to be. Even her experiences with her ex-fiancé had been severely lacking in the physical side of the equation.
Teddy, on the other hand… Well, he had a rep as something of a player among the women he dated….
Figuring as long as they were being brutally honest, they may as well cover this, too, she said awkwardly, “If we were to try…that…and we didn’t click, it could wreck everything, Teddy.”
The thought of not having him in her life, as her best friend, was unbearable. “I don’t want to risk our friendship, never mind our decision to have a family together, on something that might not pan out.”
Clearly, he did not share her doubts. “Remember the movie When Harry Met Sally?” he asked, flashing a grin her way.
She had dragged him to the theater the previous Valentine’s Day for a revival showing when neither of them had dates and hadn’t wanted to stay home alone feeling sorry for themselves.
“You’re hoping we end up like Harry and Sally,” she guessed, warming to the notion. “Going from increasingly close friends-for-life to soul mates and lovers.”
Teddy nodded and chucked her on the chin. “And you know what?” A speculative smile curved the corners of his lips. He looked at her as if he had never seen a more beautiful woman in his life. “I think deep down you are, too. Otherwise you wouldn’t have married me today.”
Chapter Three
“Too bad about last night.”
Amy gazed quizzically at her sister, Susie. “What do you mean?”
“It was your first night as husband and wife, and one of Teddy’s horses went into labor. That couldn’t have been too great.”
Amy tried not to think about the irony of the situation. She’d only agreed to go home with Teddy to his ranch for appearances’ sake—because she didn’t want to let on to anyone how uncertain she already was about this bargain they’d made with each other.
Oh, she still wanted a baby—his baby.
But as for the rest of it…
A marriage based on friendship was going to be much more complicated than she had figured.
Still, figuring boundaries needed to be set, she had packed an overnight bag with her most unsexy flannel pajamas. Only to end up disappointed that she and Teddy hadn’t even ended up having dinner together.
Never mind how strange it had felt to sleep in his bed—without him—and leave for work this morning, with only a passing goodbye to him, since he was still busy with the new foal.
It wasn’t like this was a real marriage, in the traditional sense. She and Teddy were used to living their own lives, on their own schedules, and having much of their time taken up by the demands of their mutual businesses. More than likely, this was the way it was going to be until a baby came into the picture….
Amy and Susie walked out the back door of the landscape and garden center owned by Susie and headed toward the cargo van Amy used to transport plants.
“You must have felt very let down,” Susie continued. “First, you missed out on the big wedding you always wanted, by eloping.”
Not to mention the thrill of a life-altering romance, Amy thought.
“Then, as if all that wasn’t enough,” Susie said, “your first night as husband and wife was a complete bust.”
Amy opened up the back door of the dark-green truck, emblazoned with the logo for Laurel Valley Ranch.
Deciding changing the subject was a much safer path to take, Amy pointed out, “You were without a husband last night, too.”
The foal had been breech. Susie’s husband—and Teddy’s triplet brother—Tyler McCabe, was a large-animal vet. He had been called out to the Silverado Ranch to help Teddy with the delivery.
“True,” Susie conceded ruefully, watching as Amy set up the loading ramp.
Susie rubbed a hand across her expanding waistline, lovingly protecting the baby inside of her. “But since these days all I want to do is sleep…” Susie walked onto the truck to give a cursory inspection of the red-and-white poinsettia plants and potted baby evergreens Amy was delivering, then signed the clipboard Amy gave her.
“You, on the other hand,” Susie continued with another lift of her brow, “are on what should be your honeymoon.”
Amy tensed. The sounds of heavy machinery reverberated through the chilly late-November air. She knew the source. Several blocks over, a professional tree crew was removing the live oak that had been struck by lightning and crashed through the chapel roof.
The tree was going to be a loss, Amy knew, but the community chapel would be rebuilt. And in some small way, that knowledge filled her with hope.
Amy got out the wheeled flatbed dolly and began loading plants onto it.
Aware her older sister was waiting for an explanation of some sort, Amy shrugged and turned her glance away from Susie’s probing gaze. “My marriage to Teddy isn’t like yours and Rebecca’s.”
Both her sisters were madly in love with the men they had married.
Susie’s expression tightened. She tugged on a pair of leather work gloves and lifted the lightweight poinsettia plants, one by one, being careful not to stress her pregnant body. “So I heard.”
Amy knew the serious illness Susie had suffered as a teenager had left her more appreciative of life than most, and also more sensitive to others’ feelings. Hence, it was no surprise that Susie had picked up on Amy’s anxiety and uncertainty, where her own impulsive actions were concerned.
“And you, too, are worried,” Amy guessed.
“Everyone is—in both families.” Susie watched Amy take the loaded dolly down the ramp to the back door and return with an empty one. “We all know what close friends you and Teddy have been since you were in elementary school together. And we all know how much you both want to be married and have kids.”
Here it comes, Amy thought. “But…?”
Susie loaded plants as carefully and sensibly as she did everything else. Pity shone in her eyes. “I can’t help but think you’re cheating yourselves, not waiting for the love of a lifetime.”
Amy sensed an It’s-Not-Too-Late-To-Chalk-It-All-Up-To-Holiday-Craziness-And-Get-An-Annulment spiel coming on.
So it wasn’t perfect. In fact, far from it. Still, this arrangement she had with Teddy was the key to her getting the family
