Free The Marry-Me Wish by Alison Roberts Page B

into the room again now and she was holding a baby in her arms that was as quiet as the one Mac was holding. She stood beside her husband. Hadthe babies been fed and changed already or had they only needed a cuddle from their parents to settle? Not that it mattered. They were content and their parents stood close enough for their bodies to touch. They were the picture of the perfect family and suddenly David could see that picture through Anne’s eyes. Could see the babies she had given birth to but had to distance herself from.
    How much harder would it be to have to stay in the same house?
    â€˜I have an idea,’ he heard himself saying aloud. His words held the confidence of a brainwave and it was no surprise to find three sets of adult eyes focusing on him. He couldn’t not say it now.
    â€˜Anne could come home with me.’

CHAPTER FIVE
    G OOD grief!
    Had David really said that?
    Anne stared at him, her lips parted but there were no words available to emerge. Her brain felt fuzzy. Short-circuited in some way by that simple statement.
    Come home with me
    Could it be that simple? Did he want her back? Enough to compromise the dreams he’d had for the future? How good would that be, to have David in her life again? And her career uninterrupted. And a little nephew and niece to include in their world. It was going to be enough for her to have that extended family. Maybe it could be enough for David, too?
    No. Of course it couldn’t. The stupid, romantic fantasy was just an indication of what a basket case she was at the moment.
    â€˜No,’ she said aloud into the stunned silence.
    Julia was biting her lip. She looked up at Mac.
    â€˜It’s a big house,’ David added. ‘And I’m working pretty long hours. I’d be around but she probably wouldn’t even see that much of me.’
    â€˜She’? They were talking about her as if she wasn’t there. Mac was actually nodding at what David had said. ‘Be more peaceful than our place,’ he said. ‘And it would only be for a few days.’
    Anne tried very hard to keep any tremor out of her voice. ‘So I’d be by myself in a big house. And that would be better for me how? I could go to a hotel. I’d have plenty of peace and quiet that way. Room service as well.’
    â€˜You wouldn’t be alone at my place,’ David said.
    He said it so calmly. As though she shouldn’t be surprised. But she was. More than surprised. She was shocked. David was sharing his house with someone. Another woman? Entirely plausible. It had been more than a year after all. How many men went that long without finding a companion? Especially when they were pushing forty and they’d made no secret about their need to find a life partner that shared their dreams.
    David was still talking. With an effort, Anne tuned back in.
    â€˜â€¦coming and going all day. The guest suite is private enough but there would certainly be company, or assistance, if it was required.’
    Anne tried to fish missing clues from her head. Words that had floated past without being listened to while she dealt with that shock. He’d mentioned builders. Decorators. Gardeners perhaps?
    Yes. He was talking about a restoration job on his property. Contractors. Julia didn’t seem to be listening any more than Anne had been. She was looking at her sister and as Anne met her gaze, she was drawn into the close connection they had always had. The ability tocommunicate without words so easily. And this was such a familiar pattern of reassurance. Julia was worried. More than that. In that glance, Anne realised she hadn’t been hiding her confusion about the babies as well as she’d thought. There was an awful lot riding on how she handled this.
    I understand, she signalled silently with a tiny smile. But everything’s going to work out just fine, you’ll see.
    â€˜What do you think, Annie?’ Mac was looking just as