The CEO's Baby Surprise

“Jury?” She echoed the word in disbelief. “And what does that make you? The judge? Can you actually hear yourself? Of all the pompous, arrogant and self-important things I’ve ever heard in my life, you take the cake. And you really do take yourself and the significance of your opinions way too seriously.”

He didn’t like that. Not one bit. She watched, fascinated as his eyes darkened and a tiny pulse in his cheek beat rapidly. His hands were clenched and suddenly his body looked as if it had been carved from granite. And as much as she tried to fight it, attraction reared up, and heat swirled around the small room as their gazes clashed.

Memories of that night four months ago banged around in her head. Kissing, touching, stroking. Possession and desire unlike any she had known before. There had been a quiet intensity in him that night, and she’d been swept away into another world, another universe where only pleasure and a deeply intimate connection existed. That night, he hadn’t been the rigid, unyielding and disagreeable man who was now in her living room. He’d been tender and passionate. He’d whispered her name against her skin. He’d kissed her and made love to her with such profound eagerness Mary-Jayne’s entire mind and body had awakened and responded in kind. She’d never been driven to please and be pleasured like that before.

But right now she had to get back to hating him. “I’m going to get changed and go for a walk to clear my head. You know the way out.”

He didn’t move. And he looked a little pale, she thought. Perhaps the shock that he was going to be a father was finally hitting home. But then she remembered that he didn’t believe he actually was her baby’s father, so that probably wasn’t it.

“We still have things to discuss.”

“Not for another...” Her words trailed off and she tapped off five of her fingers in her palm. “Five months. Until then, how about you treat me with the disdain that you’ve clearly mastered, and I’ll simply pretend that you don’t exist. That will work out nicely for us both, don’t you think?”

Of course, she knew saying something so provocative was like waving a red cape at a bull. But she couldn’t help herself. He deserved it in spades. And it was only the truth. She didn’t want to see him or spend any more time in his company.

“I don’t treat you with disdain.”

And there it was again—his resolute belief in the sound of his own voice.

“No?” She bit down on her lip for a moment. “You’ve admitted you had me investigated and just accused me of being a fortune hunter. Oh, and what about what you said to me on the phone when I was in South Dakota?” She took a strengthening breath. “That I was a flake who dressed like a hippie.”

His eyes flashed. “And before you told me to go to hell you called me an uptight, overachieving, supercilious snob, if I remember correctly.” He uncrossed his arms and took a step toward her.

“Well, it’s the truth. You are an uptight snob.”

“And you dress like a hippie.”

“I like to be comfortable,” she said, and touched her head self-consciously. “And I can’t help the way my hair gets all curly in the humidity.”

His gaze flicked to her hair and she saw his mouth twitch fractionally. “I didn’t say a word about your hair. In fact it’s quite...it’s...it’s...”

“It’s what?” she asked.

“Nothing,” he said, and shrugged. “I would like to know your plans.”

Mary-Jayne stared at him. “I don’t have any plans other than to have a healthy baby in five months’ time.”

He looked around the room. “When are you leaving here?”

“Audrey’s back in two weeks. I’ll go home then.”

“Have you told your family?”

She shook her head. “Not yet.”

“Have you told anyone?”

She met his gaze. “You.”

His expression narrowed. “And since she didn’t mention it while you were throwing up in her garden, I’m guessing you haven’t told my grandmother, either?”

“Just you,” she replied, fighting the resentment fueling her blood. “Like I said. Incidentally, Daniel, if you’re going to disbelieve everything that comes out of my mouth, it’s going to be a long five months.”

He grinned unexpectedly. “So you do know my name? I don’t think you’ve ever used it before. Well, except for that night we spent together.”

Her skin heated. She remembered exactly how she’d said his name that night. Over and over, whispered and moaned, as though it was the only word she’d known.

“Like I said, you know the way out.”

He didn’t budge. “We still need to talk.”

“We’ve talked enough,” she said tensely. “You don’t believe me and you need a paternity test. And you think I’m after your money. Believe me, I’ve got your message loud and clear.”

“You’re angry because I want proof of paternity?”

He actually sounded surprised. Mary-Jayne almost laughed at his absurd sense of entitlement. “I’m angry because you think I’m lying to you. I don’t know what kind of world you live in where you have this compulsion to question someone’s integrity without cause, but I don’t live in that world, Daniel. And I would never want to.”

She spun on her heel and left the room, barely taking a breath until she reached the sanctuary of the main bedroom. She leaned against the closed door and shuddered.

It’s done now. He knows. I can get on with things.

She pulled herself together, changed into sweats and sneakers and loitered in the room for more than ten minutes to ensure he’d be gone.

She strode into the living room and then stopped in her tracks. The room was empty. He’d left. As if he’d never been there.

A strange hollowness fluttered behind her ribs. She was glad he was gone—arrogant and disbelieving jerk that he was. She was well rid of him. With any luck she’d never have to see him again. Or speak to him. Or have to stare into those smoky gray eyes of his.

She could go home and have her baby.

Simple.

But in her heart she knew she was dreaming to believe he’d just disappear from her life. She was having his baby—and that made it about as complicated as it got.

* * *

When Daniel woke up he had a crick in his neck and his left leg was numb. It was dark out. He checked his watch: six-forty. He sat up and stretched. When he’d left her condo, he’d walked around the grounds for a few minutes before heading back to his own villa. Once he’d sat down, the jet lag had hit him with a thud. Now he needed coffee and a clear head.

He got to his feet and rounded out his shoulders. The condo was quiet, and he walked from the living room and headed for the kitchen. He had to refocus and figure what the hell he was supposed to do for the next five months until the baby came into the world.

The baby.

His baby...

I’m going to be a father.

Maybe?

Daniel still wasn’t entirely convinced. Mary-Jayne potentially had a lot to gain by saying he’d fathered her child. He wasn’t naive and knew some people were mercenary enough to try to take advantage of others. He remembered how devastated Caleb had been when he’d discovered the boy he’d thought was his son turned out to belong to his then girlfriend’s ex-husband. And Daniel didn’t want to form a bond with a child only to have it snatched away. Not again. Losing Simone and their unborn daughter had been soul destroying. He wasn’t going to put himself in a position to get another serving of that kind of loss.