Tessa spoke into her phone. "Can Gabby babysit on Saturday night?"

Patrick had called her to talk about his appointment and Kristi's invitation. A tingle of excitement reminded her she had forgotten what it was like to socialize as a couple.

"You don't want to send them to your mother's for a sleepover?"

Was he suggesting a sleepover? "I don't think one appointment will make Hannah suddenly like me."

"I told the doctor."

"Told the doctor what?"

"About our secret, so she can help us."

It was too soon to tell anyone. Maybe after her ultrasound. There was so much they hadn't talked about. Did they want to find out if it was a boy or girl? Somehow there were always other things to talk about.

Tessa refocused him. "So about Gabby?"

"I'll ask her. Can we plan to spend more time together over the weekend?"

"With kids or without?"

"Both. Maybe I'll come over on Friday and we can go to the beach together on Sunday."

She agreed, because she wanted to see him more.

Tessa slipped into another summer dress. Patrick insisted on picking her up like a proper date. He arrived with Gabby and looked nice in his shorts and collared Polo shirt. He also smelled intoxicating.

"Did you just shower?"

He nodded. "It was hot mowing the lawn."

It surprised her he didn't hire someone. His time was limited, but he had time to make her body soar the night before. Just looking at his broad chest and narrow waist, she remembered the feel of her hands on his hips and other more intimate places. She was one-hundred percent in lust with him.

She consciously tried not to sound too anal as she gave Gabby instructions to feed the girls and put them to bed. Tessa didn't feel uncomfortable leaving Gabby alone in her house. Hannah would be a different story. She would probably go through her drawers. Not that Tessa had anything to hide, except her prenatal vitamins.

Gabby smiled at her. "We'll be fine. Don't worry. Have fun."

"Thanks Gabs." Patrick kissed her forehead as Tessa kissed her girls.

Once in his car, he turned to her. "I'm proud of you."

"Why?"

"When we first met, you never left the girls."

"Maybe I have a reason to now."

She had changed. Her guilt over the past had lessened. Being with Patrick was turning her into someone new. She wasn't Tess, David's wife. She was older and wiser. She would be a mother for a long time. As her mother would say, it wasn't quantity but quality. The same could be true about dating.

She asked, "Have you spoken to Hannah?"

It disappointed Patrick that Hannah avoided him after work on Friday.

"She didn't say much. Just that Dr. Deb was okay."

"Did you say Dr. Deb?"

"Yeah. Do you know her?"

Tessa nodded. "Her family are my neighbors. Rita is her stepmother. Oh no! You told her about the baby!"

He reached over and squeezed her hand. "She's bound by confidentiality. I couldn't tell you if Rita was in my chair, and she can't tell Rita she sees my daughter."

"She may figure out I'm the one Hannah hates."

"That's good. She'll know you're nice and not the witch I'm certain Hannah has imagined you to be."

As he drove to Kristi's house, Tessa told herself she had no reason to be nervous. Kristi had been kind to her. Patrick knocked on the door, and Tessa held the pie she made. She hardly remembered the Manhattan Tessa, but this one made pie and watched Disney movies.

Kristi came to the door and ushered them in with smiles. Her eyes lit up when Tessa handed her the dessert.

Patrick put up his hands. "I'm a guy. I didn't think to bring anything."

Megan said, "You brought Tessa."

Everyone laughed.

Dan passed out drinks and Patrick accepted a beer. "Only one. I'm driving."

Kristi said, "Tessa will have to stay."

"Don't cause trouble, woman."

Dan laughed. "I'd suffer if I spoke to her like that."

Tessa said, "Gabby's at my house."

Megan said, "The girls will have a blast. Abbie was a little jealous when Chloe had ice cream with Kevin."

Patrick said, "Was Sophie jealous?"

Peter said, "I like you, Doc, but if your son breaks my daughter's heart."

Megan laughed. "Don't listen to him. Ask him if he was in love at Kevin's age."

Tessa was amused. "Were you in love with a girl?"

He smiled. "She had freckles and auburn hair and looked a lot like Sophie."

Megan blushed. Patrick said, "Tell me you haven't been together since you were thirteen."

Kristi coughed.

Megan said, "We have not. I hated him in eighth grade."

The Brenners made Tessa sad because they found true love and it lasted. Her true love was taken from her. She didn't expect to find it again. Maybe something similar would be enough.

The evening flew by with excellent food and conversation. She had an appetite again. The boys came through the house a few times looking for food. They eyed the pie, but Kristi shooed them.

Patrick took out his wallet and handed Kevin a twenty. "Go get ice cream for the three of you."

Kevin said, "What about the girls?"

"Where are they?"

Megan said, "Babysitting at my house. Don't wake up Abbie."

Nick said, "We won't."

Patrick took out a ten. "You can ask them, but I want my change."

He had paid for their dates, but she had never seen him open his wallet as if it was no big deal. Once upon a time, she didn't worry about how much she spent. He had money, and it had been the same with David.

Patrick squeezed her hand. "Are you okay?"

She nodded and smiled. He always sensed when her thoughts wandered. She observed Kristi with her husband. She felt stupid to have been jealous. They weren't as overt as Megan and Peter, but they were as in synch as identical twins. They communicated silently with a wink or a nod.

The party broke up at ten, their young teens' curfew. Ben begged his mother. "Can Nick and Kevin sleepover?"

Kristi looked to Megan and Patrick, who nodded. Patrick said, "You need your toothbrush."

Kristi said, "We have extras. Of course that's your concern."

"I've seen the result of neglected teeth."

Kristi teased. "Once a dentist, always a dentist."

They left the same time as the Brenners who walked across the street. Patrick drove to his empty house.

"Hannah's curfew isn't until eleven. We have an hour."

"What about Gabby?"

"She's fine."

"What did you have in mind?"

He squeezed her hand. "We can even stay downstairs."

Tessa smiled. That was his way of saying he wasn't looking for sex.

Patrick frowned. "You look tired. I can take you home."

She shook her head. "I want to spend some time together."

"Put your feet up. Relax."

He sat on his sofa and patted it for her to sit next to him. She sat on her hip with her legs curled under her and rested her head against his shoulder. He placed his arm around her, drawing her in. She felt safe and content in his cocoon. Her insides felt warm. It was nice. Maybe better than nice.

Patrick said, "That was the best time I've had as a couple in a long, long time. It's nice because we both knew the Brenners."

"Megan has been a good friend."

"The age difference with their kids will be a lot like yours and the baby."

She wanted to say like hers and Kevin, but held her thought. He chuckled, and she lifted her chin to look at his face. He was gorgeous when he smiled. "What's so funny?"

"The wine was flowing. Both husbands were encouraging their wives. No mystery why."

"Do men really think that way?"

"The ones who've been married a long time do. I was married for over sixteen years. A little mood enhancer never hurt. I don't mean after she was sick. That... that was different."

Tessa had visions of falling into bed happy from cocktails. She hated the way she was, but she loved David.

"How can I compete with sixteen years?"

He sat up and shifted to look at her. "There is no competition." He started to say more, but stopped.

"What?" She felt uneasy.

He leaned over and kissed her forehead. "Being with you in that way is better than I can remember. When we were young and first met, it was heated. God, this is hard to explain. I loved her and when we made love it was special, but um, when I'm with you it's incredible. Hannah's not right, but it's too good not to want."

His candidness dumbfounded her. To lighten the mood, she teased. "Are you saying that to get me upstairs?"

He let out a full laugh. She felt his body shake. "No, sitting here like this is pretty great too. I enjoy spending time with you. I hope I'm not scaring you away."

She shook her head, and they both settled back with her head against his chest and his arm around her. They sat quietly as his rhythmic breathing lulled her. His hand moved up and down her back. She loved the contentment.

His voice was soft. "Tell me a good memory."

Like a flash, she remembered a day she felt similarly. She shut her eyes, willing to keep the tears away. Taking a deep breath, she let it out slowly.

"One snow storm when Maya was a baby, the city shut down. Neither of us went to work. I'm sure David worked some, but the pace of the day was slow. I remember sitting similar to this and watching the snow fall. Maya was happy doing baby things. We felt like a family. It was a perfect day. By the next morning, they had plowed the streets, and we were back to our hectic lives."

She smiled at the memory. Maybe in Patrick's arms it didn't hurt as much.

"That reminds me of our first Christmas in Maine. I had to work through the twenty-third. Then snow cancelled our flight home. We couldn't reschedule until the twenty-sixth. So we spent Christmas Eve and Christmas alone with just our family of five. The girls played, and we ate food from the freezer. Kevin was a baby."

She sighed. "I can't believe we're having a baby."

He pulled her into him and kissed the top of her head. "I never would have picked it, but I'm excited. I should record my words for when he's a teenager and I'm old and gray."

"I heard sixty is the new forty." Patrick would still look gorgeous with gray hair. Tessa wondered what their relationship would be like sixteen years in the future.

She yawned, and he looked at his wrist. "We should go. Hannah..."

"Best not to give her ammunition."

Tessa rested her head on the drive across town. She felt relaxed and sleepy. Patrick held her hand, and the heat spread through her.

As they drove through her neighborhood, he interrupted the silence. "We lived down that street when the snow kept us home that Christmas."

"Really? When did you move to The Point?"

"About six years ago. Erica and Kristi became friends that September. The Brenners were living in town while their house was under construction. We hardly lived in the house before she was diagnosed. Our move gave Erica a loyal friend when she needed it."

"You too." Tessa knew Kristi had helped him go on, like Kelsey had helped her. "You moved to The Point, and I moved from New York."

"I would have been really weird if you bought our house."

"It had to have been bigger than mine."

He nodded, but she could see him thinking. He had probably realized she didn't have room for a third child.

Once in her driveway, he leaned over and kissed her.

"I know we have plans for the beach tomorrow, but when can I see you alone again?"

She smiled. "You know where to find me. Every night at eight, I'm available."

"I'll keep that offer in mind." He used his sultry voice that sent goosebumps up her arms. "Can you send Gabby out? If I walk you in, I might not want to leave. And Tessa, don't pay her. You're my date. I'll take care of it."

"Patrick." She was ready to protest.

"Let me do this. You're carrying my child and I haven't paid for anything, except the Dollar Discount."

"Don't say it! This child can't be the fault of a cheap store."

"Fine. Let me pay my daughter, please."

She nodded and reluctantly pulled her hand from his. She didn't want her baby to be treated like an accident. If only it resulted from love.

When she entered her living room, Gabby smiled. "Did you have fun?"

"We did. Thank you. Your father insists on paying you."

She smiled. "I'm glad he really likes you. You make him happier than he's been in a long time. They were great."

"Thanks," Tessa mumbled, as she ushered Gabby through her basement.

Was it true? Did she make him happy? She was happier when she was with him.