wonderful.”
“Save Mickey Mouse for after you have the kid. Let Simon fire up that jet and whisk you away to someplace romantic. There’s plenty of time for family vacations later.”
Kara grinned. “London? Paris? Italy?” They were all places she’d love to visit, but didn’t think she could ever afford.
Maddie smiled back at her and winked. “Now you’re talking. Think big. Very big. I have a sneaking suspicion that Simon wouldn’t mind a very long honeymoon.”
Kara opened the door and stepped through it, making her way to the front of the clinic with Maddie close behind. Scooping up her jacket from a hook near the reception area, she asked Maddie quietly, “You’re going to have to deal with Sam for my wedding. Are you okay with that?”
Maddie’s spine stiffened visibly as she reached for a file on the reception desk in preparation for her next patient. “Of course. He’s nothing to me.”
Hmm…Kara doubted that. “If you spend some time together you might discover that he isn’t quite the ogre that you think he is. Maybe he’s matured since you knew him.”
Maddie shot her a doubtful look. “Pleeeze! I do read the newspaper and magazines. The man still has a set of horns underneath those golden curls of his. Don’t hold your breath on that assumption. You might pass out, and it wouldn’t be good for the baby.” She followed Kara out the door and into the reception area. “Headed for home?”
Kara slipped her arms into her jacket and zipped the front, a mysterious smile on her face. “Shortly. I have some shopping to do first. It is Valentine’s Day. I need to pick something up and hit a few other stores. I had my lucky penny made into a medallion with a men’s gold chain for Simon so he can’t give it back. The jeweler was able to do it without ruining the integrity of the coin.” The coin collector in Simon would have flinched had she made the rare penny into a piece of jewelry that would destroy the rare coin. “I need to pick it up at the jewelry store.”
“I guess it is Valentine’s Day. I actually forgot,” Maddie answered, her expression distant and slightly sad.
Kara said her goodbyes and slipped out the front door, sending a silent Valentine wish to Cupid for Maddie to find the extraordinary man that her friend deserved.
Chapter 3
Simon paced his computer lab like a caged tiger, knowing the thoughts he was having about Kara leaving him were probably irrational, but he wasn’t exactly feeling levelheaded at the moment. He’d felt better after Sam had left – his brother had talked some sense into his thick head - but after getting a text from Kara telling him that she would be home later than normal, he’d gotten anxious all over again, expecting the worse. He hadn’t been reassured by her responses to his text messages, which had been incredibly vague. The only positive had been the fact that she had sent him a message telling him she loved him.
I love you so much. I’ll be home soon.
Simon stopped pacing long enough to trace the words she had typed in her text message, hoping they would lighten his mood, give him hope. And maybe they would have, but he spotted that damn premarital agreement on his desk out of the corner of his eye, making him grunt with irritation.
Maybe I should have just signed it if it would make her happy. What does it matter? Is a stupid piece of paper really that important? He’d always take care of Kara, regardless of whatever agreement was signed.
Simon snatched up the contract from his desk and flipped the pages. Gritting his teeth, he picked up a pen and signed his name with angry strokes. Slamming the pen on top of the papers, he muttered, “Fine. It’s done. The world isn’t going to end because I signed the stupid thing.” He was never leaving her, and he’d move heaven and earth to keep her at his side. The damn papers could just rot, collecting dust i n some quack attorney’s office, while Simon lived his life with