One Week in Your Arms by Patricia Preston

still some things about the earth that remained primitive. That was also true of men. She thought of the look in Carson’s eyes as she stood to leave the table.
    â€œI thought I’d check back with you,” Ben said. “Last night you didn’t sound yourself at all. I just wanted to make sure everything’s okay.” Ben. Always the friend and the doctor.
    â€œI’m fine. Really,” she reassured him.
    â€œSo there’s nothing wrong?”
    Oh, there were a million things wrong, but he couldn’t do anything about her situation. “I’m just a little homesick,” she admitted. “I’m in Hawaii.”
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œYeah, it’s just a short trip. A few days.”
    â€œIs Sophie with you?”
    â€œNo. This is a fund-raiser for the clinic.” She was going to hell for lying. “It’s really beautiful here. It’s definitely like the pictures you see in magazines.”
    â€œLucky you.”
    â€œYeah. Lucky me.” She needed to go buy some lottery tickets.
    â€œListen, Kelly and I were talking today about Sophie coming for a visit. We would like to have her come and stay a couple of weeks after the baby is born. I want her to bond with him and him with her.”
    Marla swallowed down the lump in her throat. “Ben,” she managed to say as she looked through the glass dining room doors. She could see Carson, sitting at the table with the Crawfords. Sophie’s father, but not.
    â€œI know two weeks is a long time, but Sophie’s getting old enough now that she can handle the separation. And next year, we’ll come there. Kelly and I are planning to come to Lafayette Falls for a month each summer so we can spend some time with my family. Maybe take the kids to the Smokies and Disney World.”
    â€œYeah. I think that would be great.” Marla tried to keep her voice steady. “I’ll call you when I get home from this trip. Okay?”
    â€œSure,” Ben replied. “Take care of yourself and have a good time.”
    â€œI will.”
    Their call ended, and she remained standing on the terrace for a few moments. When I get home .
    She lifted her phone and tapped the photo app. She gazed at a photograph of her precious daughter. The tension inside her relaxed as she pulled herself together.
    For Sophie, she could do anything. She could hold her chin up and do whatever she had to do to keep the world back home intact. She drew in a deep breath.
    She could survive this trip.
    She could bury regret, sorrow, guilt, and even love deep in her heart.
    So deep they would never surface.

Chapter 9
    T he next morning, Carson rolled over in his bed when he heard his phone buzz. He scooped it off the nightstand and looked at the message from a Blackwell architect who was working on a project in Denver. He yawned and answered the text.
    Overhead, slashes of sunlight poured through the ceiling skylights and across the hand-carved teakwood bed. A plush comforter fell over the footboard. He rubbed his face. Due to the exhaustion of the trip, he’d had a sound night’s sleep. A hurricane could have swept through and he’d never known it.
    He swung his legs over the side of the bed. He sat there for a moment. An old rock song played inside his brain. Kiss was singing “I Was Made for Loving You.” When he heard it on Marla’s phone, it had taken root in his mind.
    He had seen Ben’s name on her phone. “I Was Made for Loving You . ” Ben’s ringtone. “How’s that for a slap in the face,” he muttered as he headed for the bathroom.
    He stepped over his clothes, scattered on the carpet. The large bedroom, decorated in muted gold, brown, and dark red, accommodated a contemporary dresser, armoire, and chest of drawers in an alcove. Adjoining the bedroom was a small den area with armchairs, a television above the mantel of a faux fireplace, wet bar, and a media center