Would he be jealous? Angry? She supposed so.

She would be more worried if she wasn't so certain he wouldn't find her. As her mother and Clark had advised her, she hadn't written or called home; she hadn't used her credit cards, though many times she had longed to, and she had kept on the move, not stopping until far from the

D.C. area.

But what if he did find her?

She shuddered, then shook her head, forcing away the fear. Richard would send him packing. He was a lawyer; he knew people who could catch and punish John. He would see to it that John never bothered her again.

A light popped on in the Ryans' house. Julianna straightened, her heart leaping to her throat. A figure moved across the lit window, then another light glowed from behind sheer drapes.

Kate, Julianna realized. She held her breath, hardly able to believe the other woman was only a few hundred feet away.

As Julianna watched, Kate moved from room to room, flipping on lights as she went. Julianna imagined her touching this and that, checking the answering machine, sorting through the day's mail, glancing at the clock and wondering what time Richard would be home.

Just as Julianna wondered. Just as Julianna waited- impatiently, heart thundering in her aching chest.

They both loved the same man.

The truth of that affected her like a shock to her system. She and Kate shared that; it connected them. Just as her unborn baby did. They were bound by something important, elemental and potent. She felt its pull, its power.

In some ways, they were the same person.

One of the upper gallery doors opened. Kate stepped out and crossed to the rail. Julianna strained to see her, though she could make out little but her silhouette.

Julianna tilted her head. Kate was taller than she looked in her photographs. Slimmer. Julianna hugged herself, longing to have her own rail thin figure back. Even though she had only gained nine pounds since becoming pregnant, her body was immeasurably changed. She felt huge in comparison to Kate.

She dropped a hand to her swollen belly, feeling the baby stir, unable to quell the quick kick of resentment she felt toward it. She squeezed her eyes shut, reminding herself that without the baby she wouldn't have found Richard. She wouldn't have the gift that would draw them all together.

But she couldn't fool herself, either. To compete with Kate for Richard, she would have to be firm and lithe. She would have to be sexy.

Kate walked to the driveway end of the gallery and peered over the side, though Julianna couldn't see at what. She moved gracefully, Julianna thought studying the other woman, recalling Kate as she had been in the photos. Fluidly. Everything about Kate Ryan was graceful, classy.

But not cold. No, Kate was warm. Approachable. Julianna had seen that warmth in her photos, her eyes and smile had radiated it. And she had read it in her words- ones about motherhood, love and trust, about life.

Tears stung Julianna's eyes. Kate was a nice person. An emotional one, one who felt things keenly.

Julianna was going to hurt her; what she planned would hurt her. Terribly. Julianna hated that, she did.

She sucked in a ragged breath, forcing back her remorse, the pinch of guilt. It was for the best, she reminded herself. Kate would forget Richard, forget her hurt as she held her baby in her arms, as she watched it grow.

A car pulled into the driveway, its headlights arcing light across the face of the house, bringing Kate briefly into clear view.

Richard. Julianna stood. She brought a hand to her chest, to her runaway heart. It hurt to be so close to him, yet so far. She longed to go to him, longed to feel his arms around her, to hear his whispered greeting in her ear.

What would he do if she approached him? Would he recognize her the way she had recognized him? As his soul mate? The one he was meant to love? To be with?

She sank back to the bench, knowing he would not. He was a man of logic. Of reason and of commitment. Because of his commitment to Kate, he would deny he felt anything for Julianna.

Until he could deny it no more.

Her mother had taught her that no man was ever really married. She had taught her that deep down, in every man, there lurked a need that went unfulfilled. A secret longing so potent, that once realized, they would leave family, country or God to have it fulfilled.

She would find Richard's secret longing. The universe, the benevolent gods, would lead her to it.

A car door, his car door, slammed shut. From the upper gallery, Kate called out a greeting and waved. He looked up and called back to her. The sound of his voice floated on the evening air, reaching Julianna and wrapping around her like a lover's arms.

He came around the front of the house, then stopped suddenly and turned toward the lake. Toward the park, the bench-toward her. She felt his gaze upon her as tangible, as real, as a caress.

She brought a hand to her heart. He sensed her presence. He felt the connection between them. Like a spark of light in the darkness, like heat in a vast, cold wasteland.

A moment later, he disappeared into the house.

Julianna didn't move. Time passed, though she didn't know how much. The cold slipped over and around her, seeping through her coat, then skin, numbing her. As her body ceased to exist, her mind took flight.

She knew what she had to do to win Richard.

She had to become Kate.

It was so obvious. Richard loved his wife. Deeply. Everything about her. It was one of the reasons Julianna had fallen in love with him.

If she became like Kate, a younger, sexier Kate, he would love her, too. He would love her more. He would see that they were meant to be together.

She would watch them, study and learn. And he would be hers.

Smiling at the future she saw unfolding before her, Julianna stood and left the park.

Saturday morning the phone rang, just as Richard was leaving for the gym. "Could you get that, Kate?" he asked. "I forgot my gym bag upstairs, and I'm already running late."

"Sure, hon." She shut off the kitchen faucet and grabbed the dish towel, drying her hands as she crossed to the phone.

"And if it's my mother, she's missed me. I'll call her back later."

Kate nodded and picked up the receiver. "Hello?"

Not waiting to see who it was, Richard hurried from the kitchen. He had a 9:00 a.m. session with his personal trainer, and the man did not appreciate waiting. Nor did he refund lost minutes if a client was late.

Richard grabbed the gym bag from his walk-in closet, quickly checked its contents, then jogged downstairs. He popped his head into the kitchen. "I'll be back after…Kate? What is it? What's wrong?"

Pale, visibly shaking, Kate met his gaze. She opened her mouth as if to reply, but no sound came out.

He crossed to her, heart in his throat. He cupped her elbows and shook her lightly. "Has there been an accident? Kate, has one of our parents-"

"That was Ellen," she whispered, eyes flooding with tears. "We've been…a birth mother…" The tears choked her, and she struggled to clear her throat. "A birth mother…she picked…us."

Richard took a step back, stunned. It couldn't be. They couldn't have been chosen so soon.

Richard searched his wife's gaze, looking for amusement, laughter at having successfully pulled one over on him. He saw neither.

But he wasn't ready.

He fought for composure, for the cool that rarely escaped him. "You're sure we've been chosen? I mean, you're certain it's not that we're just being considered, seriously considered, but not-"

"No, I'm sure. Positive. Ellen wants to meet early next week to go over what to expect."

"But…" Richard dragged a hand through his hair, shocked to realize it shook. "But we only signed on with Citywide, not even two months ago. It's not supposed to happen this fast. They said a year, maybe more. They said-"