The Baby Proposal

Two

Kal sat back in the chair at his lawyer’s office the next day trying to keep quiet. They weren’t here about him. They were here for Lana and Akela. Still, it was difficult to keep his mouth shut about the whole thing.

Lana had met him at the bar late last night, her eyes wild with panic. He’d never seen her like that. He’d forced a shot down her throat, sat her in a chair and made her tell him everything. Until that moment, he hadn’t realized exactly how much Lana had kept from him about her family. He knew her father was a mess, but it seemed her sister was even worse. The thought of Lana’s little niece being with strangers had made his blood boil. He’d only met her once, when Lana had her for an afternoon, but she was adorable, with chubby cheeks, long eyelashes and a toothless grin. Lana had been a fool for that baby, and now the baby was in trouble.

He’d called his attorney right then. When you had a six-figure retainer with Dexter Lyon, you got his personal number and permission to call him whenever you needed him. While Kal had never personally had a reason to summon his attorney from bed in the middle of the night, Lana did, and that was what mattered. He agreed to see them first thing Monday morning.

“It doesn’t look good to be honest,” Dexter said.

“What do you mean?” Lana said. Her face was flushed red and had been since the night before. She seemed to be on the verge of tears every second.

“I mean Judge Kona is a hard-ass. Yes, it absolutely makes sense for you to get custody of your niece. But let me tell you why he’d turn your petition down.” Dexter looked at his notepad. “You’re a dancer. You live out of a hotel room. You keep crazy hours. You’re single. While none of those make you legally unfit to have children, adding them all together makes you a hard sell to the judge.”

Lana frowned. “Well, for one thing, I’m a choreographer. I do stay in the hotel for convenience, but I can get an apartment if that’s what it takes. I am single, but I can afford day care while I’m at work.”

“And at night?” Dexter’s brow went up curiously. “I’m just playing devil’s advocate here. Judge Kona will ask these questions, so it’s best you be prepared for them.”

“I just don’t understand how Lana can be considered unfit when the baby’s actual parents are drug dealers. Even if she was an exotic dancer that lived in a van down by the river, she’d be more fit than Mele and Tua.” Kal was getting mad. He wasn’t used to being told no, especially when he called Dexter. Dexter was supposed to fix things. His reluctance to handle this made Kal more irritated by the second.

The attorney held up his hands in surrender. “I get it. I do. And I’ve gone ahead and filed for temporary guardianship. We’re on the judge’s docket for Wednesday.”

“Wednesday!” Lana looked heartbroken. Kal imagined that if his niece was with strangers, he wouldn’t want an hour to go by, much less a few days.

“There is no such thing as ‘hurry’ in the court system. We’re lucky we got in Wednesday. Look at this time as the opportunity it is.”

“Opportunity?” Lana repeated, skeptically.

“Yes. You’ve got two days to make yourself more fit. Find a place to live. Arrange for a nanny. Buy a crib. If you’ve got a serious boyfriend, marry him. All of that will help the cause.”

Marry him? “Now, wait just a second,” Kal said. He couldn’t be quiet about this any longer. “You’re recommending she just run out and marry someone so she can get custody?”

“Not just anyone. But if she’s with someone serious, it’s a great time to make the leap.”

Lana sat back in her chair and dropped her head into her hands. “Just the way I’d always pictured it.”

Kal didn’t like seeing her like this. She looked totally defeated. He wasn’t about to let her feel that way. “That’s a nice idea, Dexter, but not everyone is in a relationship that can go to the next level on a day’s notice.”

Dexter shrugged. “Well, I figured it was a long shot, but it certainly wouldn’t hurt. Focus your energies on an apartment and a caregiver, then. A nice place too. A studio isn’t any better than a suite at a hotel.” He stood and walked around his desk to lean against it. “I know that it seems like a lot of changes just for a temporary guardianship, but your sister and her boyfriend are in a lot of trouble. It might not be as temporary as you expect it to be.

“Life will get really complicated in a cramped apartment with a small baby after the first few weeks. My house is three thousand square feet, and when we brought our son home from the hospital, it felt like a tiny cardboard box. Baby crap everywhere. Everything is complicated by a factor of ten at least. It takes twenty minutes just to load up the car to run to the grocery store.”

Lana groaned aloud. “Are you trying to talk me out of doing this?”

Dexter’s eyes widened. “No, of course not. Kids are great. We have four now. My point is that I need you to do whatever you can to make it an easier transition. I have every intention of winning the motion Wednesday. I just need your help to make it impossible for the judge to say no. Every little thing you do can help.”

A soft knock came at the door.

“Yes?” Dexter asked loudly.

His assistant poked her head inside. “I’m sorry, Mr. Lyon, but Mr. Patterson is on line two and he’s very upset. He refuses to speak to anyone but you.”

Dexter looked at Lana, then at Kal. “Do you mind if I take this call in the other room? It should only take a minute.”

Kal nodded and Dexter slipped out the door with his assistant. He couldn’t shake the irritation that furrowed his brow. He didn’t like any of this and he certainly didn’t like this judge. Who was he to impose his value system on others? Lana shouldn’t have to rearrange her whole life for this. There was nothing wrong with the way she lived. She wasn’t a drug dealer or a heroin addict, so she was a step above her sister as a fit guardian, easily.

He wanted to say something, but Lana’s pensive expression gave him pause. He didn’t want to interrupt her. She got the same look on her face when she was working out a dance routine. The whole thing would play out in her mind like a film as she thought it through. If you spoke to her, she’d have to start over from the beginning.

Finally her brown eyes came into focus and she turned to look at him. Her dark hair was pulled into a ponytail today that swung over her shoulder as she moved. While her long, thick hair was beautiful and he often fantasized about running his fingers through it, he knew it annoyed the hell out of her. She kept it long for the show, but if she wasn’t performing, it was usually pulled back from her face. Thankfully that relieved the temptation. Most of the time.

“So I’ve got an idea,” she said. “It’s a little out there, so do me a favor and just go with it for a second.”

He didn’t know that he liked the sound of that. It usually meant trouble where she was concerned. “Okay.”

She held out her hands to count her points on her fingers. “So, obviously my job isn’t going to change and there’s no reason that it should.”

“Agreed.”

“I can find a day care for the days I work with the dancers and a babysitter for the nights of the luau.”

“That’s true. I can also give you some time off, you know. I think you have about two hundred hours’ worth of vacation you’ve never used.”

Lana frowned at him. She seemed to be doing a lot of that lately, and he didn’t like it. He wanted to reach out and rub away the crease between her eyebrows and kiss the pout of her lips until she smiled again. Or hit him. As long as she stopped looking so upset. Instead he kept his hands and mouth to himself.

“While that’s a nice idea, it’s Christmas. We’re super busy. There’s no way I’m taking off the whole month. Besides, if what your lawyer says is true and I have Akela longer than a month or two, I’m going to need my leave for when she’s sick or has doctor’s appointments. No one I know with kids under the age of three has any personal leave accrued, especially if the child goes to day care. They catch all the bugs there.”

Kal hadn’t really thought about that. If this did turn into a long-term arrangement, Akela would take up a huge portion of her time. He felt a pang of jealousy at the idea that he might be losing his best friend for a while. He totally understood, but he wondered what he would do while she was consumed by caring for her niece. “Okay. I just wanted to let it be known that your boss says it’s all right if you have to do it.”

Lana nodded. “Thanks. He’s usually a jerk, so I’m glad he can be reasonable about this.” She grinned for the first time since she’d gotten the call from her sister, and he felt a sense of relief wash over him at last. That smile gave him a little hope, even if it was at his expense.

“A bigger apartment in Maui...now, that’s a hard one. I can’t afford anything like that on the west side of the island. And if I move any farther east, the commute will be awful.”

Real estate in Maui really was ridiculous. He tried not to think about how much he’d paid for the land his hotel sat on. There were so many zeroes in that check that he had a hard time signing it and he had the money. He couldn’t imagine trying to live here on an average income. Lana made good money, but she didn’t make beachfront condo money.

He’d forgotten her old apartment was so small. She’d noted how big the hotel suite was when she moved in, so he should’ve considered that. It felt tiny to him now that he was living in such a huge house. Huge house...that was a thought.

“What about moving in with me?” He spat the words out before really thinking them through.

Lana looked at him, narrowing her almond-shaped eyes. “That would help a lot, actually. Are you sure, though? It’s going to be a major cramp on your bachelorhood to have me and a baby in the house.”

Kal shrugged that off. He rarely had time for anything aside from work this time of year. Plus, if Lana was in the house with the baby, he wouldn’t miss out on his time with her. He’d never admit to his selfish motivations, however. “I’ve got three extra bedrooms just sitting empty. If it will help, I’m happy to do what I can.”

Lana beamed at him. “I’m actually really glad you said that, because I was just about to get to the crazy part of my plan.”

Kal swallowed hard. She had something in mind that was crazier than moving in together with a baby?

Just then Lana slid off of her chair and onto one knee in front of him. She took his hand and held it as he frowned down at her. “What are you doing?” he asked as his chest grew tight and he struggled to breathe. His hand was suddenly burning up where she held him in hers, the contact lighting his every nerve on fire. He wanted to pull away and regain control of himself, but he knew he couldn’t. This was just the calm before the storm.

Lana took a deep breath and looked up at him with a hopeful smile. “I’m asking you to marry me.”

* * *

Lana looked up at Kal and anxiously waited for his answer. The idea had just come to her and she acted on it before she lost her nerve. It was crazy, she knew that, but she was willing to do whatever it took to get guardianship of Akela. So now here she was, on one knee, proposing marriage to her best friend, who had no interest in ever marrying.

Judging by the panic-stricken expression on Kal’s face, this wasn’t what he was expecting and he didn’t want to say yes. She clutched his hand tighter in hers, noting that his touch strengthened her even when he’d much rather pull away. He was her support, her ideal, her everything. This could work. It had to.

“I’m sorry I don’t have a diamond ring for you,” she started rambling in the hopes of breaking the tension in the room. “I wasn’t planning on getting engaged today.”

Kal didn’t laugh. His eyes just grew wider as he subtly shook his head in disbelief. “Are you serious?” he asked.

“Dead serious. You just said you were happy to do whatever you could to help me get Akela. If we’re married and living together in your big house when we go into court on Wednesday, there’s no way the judge will turn down the request.”

Kal leaned forward and squeezed her hands. “You know I would do anything for you. But married? I never... I mean...that’s kind of a big deal.”

The fact that Kal hadn’t flat-out said no to this whole thing made her love him even more. “It doesn’t have to be a big deal,” she argued. “Listen, I know how you feel about marriage, and I get it. I’m not asking you to stay with me forever or fall madly in love with me. We’re not going to sleep together or anything. That would be crazy talk. I just want this marriage to be for show. We spend so much time together that no one would find it suspect that we’ve quietly fallen in love and eloped. It’s the perfect cover. We get married, stay married as long as we need to to make the judge and Child Services happy. Then we annul it or divorce or whatever when it’s all done. At most, you’ll have to kiss me a couple times in public. That shouldn’t be too horrible, right?”

A flicker of what looked like disappointment crossed Kal’s face for a moment. Lana wasn’t sure what that was about. It wasn’t possible that he might relish the idea of them being man and wife. The thought alone sent a thrill through Lana that she refused to acknowledge, but it was all obligation on his part, she was certain.

After a moment, he took a deep breath and then he nodded. “So we get married, move you into my place and play the happy couple for the general public until Akela can safely return to her parents. That’s it?”

Lana nodded. “That’s it, I promise. If you so much as try anything more than that, I’ll be sure to give you a good slap to remind you who you’re dealing with.”

That, finally, brought a smile to Kal’s face. She breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that he was going to go along with her harebrained plan even though it involved a major life milestone that he never expected to achieve with the kind of woman he’d never lower himself to love.

“So, Kalani Bishop, would you do me the honor of being my fake husband?” she asked again, since he hadn’t truly responded the first time.

He pressed his lips together for a moment, and then he finally nodded. “I guess so.”

“Yay!” Lana leaped into his arms and hugged him close. She buried her nose in his neck, drawing in the scent of his cologne. The familiar musk of her best friend drew a decidedly physical response from deep inside her that she wasn’t expecting with everything else that was going on. Her heart started racing in her chest as she held his spicy male scent in her lungs and enjoyed his arms wrapped tightly around her. No one held her like he did, and there was no one she wanted to hold her more than Kal.

Then she felt him stiffen awkwardly against her. She pulled herself out of the romantic fog she’d let herself accidentally slip into. This wasn’t the reaction of someone who was comfortable with his decision. She drew back and looked at the lines on his face that reflected conflict and shame instead of excitement and confidence. Lana needed to remember that this was all for show. It might be her innermost secret fantasy coming to life, but he was only doing this for her because it was important and they were friends, not for any other reason. She needed to save her physical reactions to him for public consumption or she’d scare him off.

“Are you really okay with this?” she asked.

“No,” he said, ever honest, “but I’m going to do it anyway. For you.”

His words nearly brought tears to her eyes. She leaned in to hug him again and spoke softly into his ear. “Thank you for being the best friend a girl could ever have. I owe you big-time.”

Kal chuckled, a low rumble that vibrated against her chest and made her want to snuggle closer to him. “Oh, you have no idea.”

The door of the room opened again and Lana pulled away from Kal to turn to Dexter. “We’re getting married,” she announced before he could change his mind.

Dexter looked at Lana, then curiously at Kal and his pained expression. “Excellent. Shall I draw up a prenup? I presume that assets won’t comingle, and everyone keeps what they have going into the union?”

“Sure,” Lana said. Part of her thought that Kal might balk at the idea of a prenuptial agreement, but she wanted him to have that protection. She didn’t want any of his stuff and she wanted to make sure he knew it. “I don’t want him getting his hands on my old-school hi-fi system.”

Kal turned to look at her. “Your what?”

“It has a turntable. Records are cool again.”

He just shook his head. “Draw something up and we’ll come back to sign it in the morning. We’ll get married tomorrow afternoon assuming the wedding pavilion at the hotel isn’t booked. That should be good enough for the judge, right?”

“The two of you married and living in that big new house...oh yeah.” Dexter nodded enthusiastically. “Then you’ll just have to put on a good show for Child Services when they come for home visits. If you can pull this off, it will make my job ten times easier.”

“Okay,” Kal said, pushing up from his seat. “We’ll see you in the morning, then.” He reached out for Lana’s hand, something he’d never done before. “Come on, honey. We’ve got a lot of plans to make if we’re going to get married tomorrow afternoon.”

Lana twisted her lips in amusement. The stiff way he said the words was proof enough that he was really uncomfortable with the situation but was too good of a friend to say no. She didn’t say anything, though. Instead she took his hand and they walked out of the attorney’s office together.

They were silent until they got back to the car. Kal had parked his F-type Jaguar convertible in the shade on the far side of the parking lot. Lana had always loved Kal’s car. It was the kind of vehicle that motor-heads fantasized about. Lana drove an old Jeep without doors, so this felt superluxurious. As she climbed in beside him and looked around this time, however, she realized they had an issue.

“Kal?”

“Yeah?” he asked as he started the engine and it roared to life.

“You drive a two-seater convertible and I drive a Jeep Wrangler without doors or a roof.”

Kal pulled the car out of the parking lot and onto the main highway. “And?”

“And...I don’t think we can put a car seat in either of those.”

“Hmm,” he said thoughtfully as they went down the highway. “You’re probably right. It’s never something that’s mattered before. I’ll have someone bring a car over. I’ll lease one for as long as we have Akela. What do you think is responsible enough? A minivan? An SUV with all the airbags? Or would you rather have a sedan of some kind?”

She hadn’t really thought that far ahead, as evidenced by this predicament. “Not a minivan. That’s all I ask. Other than that, as long as it has a backseat I can put a car seat in and will protect her from the elements, I think I’m good. Thank you.”

“No problem.” Kal looked past her toward the shopping center they were coming up on. “Since we’re discussing the ways we’re completely unprepared for marriage and parenthood, I think we need to make a pit stop.”

Lana held on as he whipped the car into the parking lot and came to a stop outside a baby supercenter. She’d only set foot in it once, to buy a baby shower gift for Mele. “I don’t know what we need yet. I’ve got to go by Mele’s apartment and see what she has.”

Kal shook his head and turned off the car. “No, you don’t. We’re getting all new stuff. Come on.”

Lana leaped out of the car and jogged to catch up with him. “Are you serious? I can’t afford to buy all new baby things.”

Kal pulled his dark sunglasses down his nose to look at her with an expression that could’ve melted a woman’s panties right off. Lana had learned early on that when he looked at her that way, it wasn’t smoldering, it was irritation.

“You’re not buying it. I am.”

She suspected he might say that. “This is too much, Kal,” she complained. He simply ignored her, going into the store ahead of her. “Kal!” she finally shouted with her hands planted on her hips.

He stopped and turned around to look at her. “What is the problem?”

She narrowed her gaze at him. Women she’d had as friends over the years had asked her how she could be friends with a man as hot at Kal and not want more. While she convinced herself she didn’t want more, she used this as exhibit number one: he was stubborn as an ox. “It’s too much.”