Free Million-Dollar Marriage Merger by Charlene Sands

homeand they’d just finished eating sundaes. “Yeah and you cheated!”
    “I did not. I fight fair. I couldn’t help it that your nozzle got stuck.”
    “You took advantage then and squirted me until I was covered with it. That stuff even got in my hair.”
    “You were sweet from head to toe,” Tony said with a nostalgic smile.
    The memory popped into her head of Tony kissing it off her until kissing wasn’t enough. He’d taken her to his bedroom then, stripped her down and licked every bit of the whipped cream off. They’d made love in the shower, deciding that strawberry sundaes were their favorite dessert.
    “I never have whipped cream without thinking of you,” Tony said, his eyes fixed on hers.
    Her cheeks heated and she inhaled sharply. “That was a long time ago.” What she didn’t add is that the same held true for her.
    “But a good memory.”
    “I don’t think about the past anymore,” she fibbed.
    He watched her intently. “Maybe you should. We had something special.”
    “‘Had’ being the key word.” She refused to let Tony get to her.
    Tony leaned over and kissed her on the lips. “Let’s go,” he said abruptly, taking her hand again. They rode the trolley back and checked out of the hotel. Rena took one last look around, feeling oddly sentimental. She blamed it on her fickle hormones.
    When Rena thought they’d head back to Napa, Tonydrove her to a four-story shopping mall and parked the car. “What are we doing here?”
    He grinned. “We’re getting baby things.”
    “Baby things?”
    “I promised you a fun day, and I figured a new mother-to-be would enjoy picking out furniture and clothes and whatever else the baby might need.”
    “Really?” Tempted by such an elaborate offer, Rena’s heart raced with excitement. Offhand, she could think of dozens of items she’d need for the baby’s arrival, and quite frankly, she didn’t know how she’d manage to pay for all of it. Other than shopping at thrift stores, she was truly at a loss.
    “I haven’t a clue what a baby needs,” Tony said, getting out of the car and opening the door for her.
    “I’m on new ground here, too.” She took his outstretched hand. “We’d always talked about having children, but—” Rena stopped and slipped her hand from his, her heart in her throat. How could she do this? How could she look at cribs and bassinets and baby swings when this was a dream she and David shared together? They’d always wanted a family. The time had never been right. She refused to think of the life growing inside her as an accident, but they hadn’t really planned on this baby.
    Rena ached inside thinking that David would never know his child. He’d never change a diaper, kiss its face or watch it take its first step. He’d never go to a ballet recital or little league game. He’d never know the joy of seeing his child develop into a smart-alecky teen or fall in love one day. David would have been there forhis child. He’d have seen his son or daughter through the good times and the bad, because David was loyal and devoted. He would have made a wonderful father.
    Rena’s legs went weak suddenly. Her body trembled, and she knew she couldn’t do this. She glanced at Tony, her voice a quiet plea. “I’m sorry. I don’t think I’m ready for this.”
    Tony drew in a breath. “Right.” He closed his eyes briefly, and Rena noted genuine pain there. “Okay, we’ll do this another time. When you’re ready.”
    She sighed with relief. “It’s not that I don’t appreciate—”
    “I get it, Rena. I’m not the baby’s father. Enough said.”
    Tony got back into his car and revved the engine, waiting for her to climb inside. She bit her lip and held back tears as she sank into the car. They drove to Napa in silence, Rena glancing at Tony’s stony expression every once in a while.
    She knew in her head that David was gone. He was her past, while this angry man sitting beside her was her future.
    The