More Than a Millionaire / The Untamed Sheikh: More Than a Millionaire / The Untamed Sheikh

“Not good enough. I want to be able to address questions as they arise and see the ultrasound scans.”

Any child would be lucky to have a parent so interested. If only hers had been, but her father had been too busy with his gambling buddies.

“I’ll check with my doctor, but I think she’ll agree to meet with you. I also want to make sure Beth and Patrick are comfortable with your intrusion.”

Not that either of them had attended her appointments thus far. Their absence had surprised Nicole. But maybe the obstetrical appointments were painful reminders of Beth’s inability to conceive.

“They’ll have to deal with it. Get used to it, Nicole. I will be a part of this child’s life with or without your voluntary consent. And I won’t be parked in the waiting room at the doctor’s office. I’ll be right by your side during every examination.”

Chapter Four

Ryan’s audacity astounded Nicole. He was backing her into a corner, and she really didn’t like it.

She could feel her muscles tensing, her heart pounding and her hands trembling. She silently chanted her three P’s. Her mantra didn’t have its usual calming effect. The urge to tell him to go to hell nearly overcame her good manners, but volatile reactions never solved a problem. They only exacerbated the situation, and alienating him was the last thing she needed to do.

“You can’t impose on my private doctor’s appointments.”

“Would you like to bet on that? Your exams are also my child’s exams. I have the right to make sure you’re following doctor’s orders and not endangering my kid.”

She crumpled the cloth napkin in her lap and her toes curled in her shoes. “I would never do that!”

It took everything Nicole had to rein in her temper. For Patrick and Beth’s sake, for her baby’s sake, she had to find a solution—a peaceable solution. She excelled at finding ways to make the impossible happen at work. Wasn’t she known as the go-to girl? But compromise ideas were scarce now.

She’d learned that whenever a problem was this complex it helped to break it down into manageable increments and address each component separately. She needed time and distance away from Ryan to get her thoughts in line.

Carefully pushing her chair back from the table, she took a deep breath and then rose to her feet. “Thank you for lunch, but I’d like to leave now.”

He stood more slowly. “You haven’t finished your lunch.”

“I don’t think I can eat another bite. Morning sickness.” More like man sickness.

“It’s not morning.”

“The baby doesn’t wear a Rolex.” Ryan did—an expensive gold model like her father had gambled away at a casino. She remembered the screaming match that had ensued when her mother found out.

“I’ll drive you.”

She dropped her napkin beside her plate. “I’d rather call a taxi.”

“We haven’t finished our discussion.”

She couldn’t possibly remain polite in his company. “There’s no need. Please have your physician fax your health records to my office.”

“Mine?” His dark eyebrows winged upward.

“Yes. Yours. As you pointed out, I—we have every right to know if this baby will inherit something from you that might affect the pregnancy or delivery.”

“I told you I was healthy.”

“And you expect me to take the word of a stranger?” She threw his words back at him, and then smothered a wince.

That wasn’t nice, Nicole.

But maybe if he realized how ridiculously intrusive he was being then he’d back off.

“I’ll take care of it. But I’m not calling a cab for you. I brought you. I’ll take you back.” His inflexible tone and rock-hard jaw warned her arguing would be a waste of time.

Some battles weren’t worth fighting. As long as she won the war—and she would win—she could concede this one. “Fine. Lead the way.”

“Before you go, I have one more request.”

Her insides snarled into a tense knot at the calculating glint in his baby blues. Her control was already teetering on the edge. One teensy shove and she’d lose her temper.

“If you find my home unsuitable, then help me find another one.”

She blinked and swallowed, not liking the direction of his thinking. “Why would I do that? And why would you want me to?”

“Because we both want my child to be raised in a safe environment.”

My child. The words raised her hackles, her temperature and her heart rate each time he said them. But at the same time, she couldn’t help but be impressed that he cared enough to make the effort to provide a better environment. “A real-estate agent would be more knowledgeable.”

“Without a doubt. I’ll engage one to find the houses, but she won’t have a personal stake in my decision. You might as well know I intend to sue for sole custody, but worse case scenario, I’ll end up sharing with Beth and Patrick. Either way, I’m looking for a safe place, and I know you have a vested interest in my selection.”

He’d certainly laid his cards on the table. And while part of her respected him for his honesty, the other hated knowing his strategy.

Her lawyer had confirmed the courts would be unlikely to deny him some form of connection. If the worst case scenario he mentioned came about, the child’s welfare came first. And she’d rather her child live anywhere than here in a place where his or her safety would always be at risk.

“I’ll help you find a house. But don’t believe for one minute that equates to me accepting the inevitability of you as a parent to my—this baby. You are not parent material.”

One corner of his mouth quirked up with stomach-flipping, breath-catching effect. “Guess I’ll have to prove you wrong.”

“Is that your latest floozy?” Harlan Patrick spit the question from the opposite side of Ryan’s desk.

Ryan glanced at the photo lying on the top of the open file he’d composed on Hightower Aviation. He’d printed the professional shot of Nicole from the Hightower Web page. The photographer hadn’t managed to catch the fire in her aquamarine eyes or the golden glints in her light brown hair.

He wasn’t ready to share his surrogacy plan with his father yet or discuss how it had gone wrong. “I don’t sleep with every woman I meet.”

His father snorted in disbelief. He’d always believed the worst of his son—probably because until recently Ryan had given him reason to. Ryan had spent a lot of time acting obnoxious as a kid hoping his mother would get sick of his shenanigans and send him back to his father, but his strategy hadn’t worked. By the time he’d gone off to college the rebel pattern had become a habit.

But his partying and rebelling days were over. And while he would never deliberately deceive anyone, he wasn’t above letting his father’s tendency to jump to conclusions work in his favor for once.

Nicole Hightower was exactly the kind of woman his father wanted him to marry. Ryan had no intentions of marrying anyone, but if his father saw him and Nicole together and believed there might be a long-term relationship in Ryan’s future, then he wasn’t going to correct him. At least not now. There would be ample time for that later—after his father handed over the presidency of Patrick Architectural.

“Her name is Nicole Hightower. She’s a client services manager for Hightower Aviation Management Corporation.” He removed Nicole’s picture from the file, laid it to the side of his blotter and passed the folder to his father. “We should consider fractional ownership or leasing a plane from HAMC.”

“Why? So you can have another damned expensive toy? My God, Ryan, you risk your neck with no thought to who will take over Patrick Architectural if you kill yourself.”

The repetitive lecture that had launched Ryan’s current campaign set his teeth on edge.