Surprise Package

“You said yourself you have no idea how to take care of a baby. Besides, it’s illegal to keep a baby that’s not yours.”

“Let’s not get into this tonight. If I don’t hear from the baby’s mother by morning, I’ll locate Tessa and find out what’s going on. If I can’t find her, I’ll take the baby and go in for DNA testing.”

She stared at him, amazed by his decision. Her expectations were that he would either call the authorities at once or have paternity testing done as soon as possible. But it seemed as if he really cared about what happened to this baby. He got to her, weakened her resolve.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but if you’re going to take care of the baby tonight, I’ll stay and help. I just need to go home and change into a sweatsuit.”

“Oh, no!” He grabbed her hand. “If you walk out that door, you’ll never come back.”

He had a point. “Then I’ll need to borrow a pair of pajamas.

His face finally split into a grin. “You’re on.”

He took her hand and led her back to the bedroom, and she had the strange feeling that she might have just been had. Still, a promise was a promise. “Remember, this is only for tonight, Kyle. After that, you’re on your own with this project.”

“One night at a time. That’s all I’m asking. There is one slight problem, though.”

“I’ll bite.”

“I don’t own any pajamas and I only have one bed.”

“Then I hope you have a very comfortable couch. Otherwise you may wake up with a stiff back.”

“If you want stiff, I can give you stiff. All you have to do is ask.”

“While you’re waiting, why don’t you hold your breath and count to infinity.”

He nodded. “I’ll take the couch.”

CHAPTER THREE

“NO, I’M NOT sick, Ellen. I just have a personal emergency that I have to tend to.” Ashley stared at the phone and wondered how she’d gotten herself into this mess. All the work she had waiting for her at the office, and here she was trying to explain to her secretary why she wouldn’t be in today. But there was no telling what would happen to that poor baby if she just walked off and left her in Kyle’s care.

“I hope there’s not anything wrong with your sister Lily’s pregnancy,” Ellen said.

“Lily’s fine. Just look at my calendar and see if there’s anything that can’t be postponed.”

“You have that shoot of the TV ad scheduled for ten. Do you want me to cancel it?”

“No, I called Mark Beall over in Media about that. He’s agreed to handle it for me.” And if he screwed it up, she’d kill him. “Remind him that if he has any concerns, no matter how small, he should page me. That’s one of my most persnickety clients.”

“I’ll tell him, Ashley. And what about Mr. McAllister?”

“What about him?”

“Should I give him your pager number if he calls here for you?”

“Give it to him if, and only if, he says it’s important that he talk to me today or if he pushes for it.” Yesterday she wouldn’t have hesitated to say yes. What a difference a day made—or in this case, a dinner for two. But the RA account was too important to risk getting him all worked up over minor technicalities.

“I’ll take care of everything, Ashley. I just hope there’s nothing seriously wrong.”

“Nothing that won’t be handled in one day. That, I can promise you. If you need me for anything, page me or call me on my cell phone. If I don’t hear from you, I’ll call you this afternoon to see how things are going.”

Once she’d hung up the phone, Ashley crossed her sunlit kitchen, walked to her coffeepot and poured another cup of the strong brew. She usually used cream and a sprinkling of sugar substitute, but this morning she needed a full-strength blast of caffeine. She’d slept very little, stirring with every movement of the baby sleeping beside her. Then she’d gotten up at five to give her another bottle.

In all fairness, Kyle had untangled himself from the sheets on the sofa and padded to the kitchen after her. She’d turned down his offer of help. Not so much that she didn’t need it, but it was incredibly awkward sharing early morning with him, especially with him in his boxers and her in an oversize cotton shirt that she’d confiscated from his closet.

Now she was missing a day of work. This wasn’t her problem, but how could she ignore the needs of a helpless baby? Tessa had to be desperate to leave her daughter with Kyle. Maybe she was dying of some horrible illness or perhaps she was in imminent danger.

Ashley took a long sip of the coffee and tried to remember the face of the woman she’d glimpsed at the elevator last night. She had looked upset. And she had the same dark hair and eyes as the baby. But if she was Tessa Ortiz, and if the baby was Kyle’s daughter, why had the woman waited until now to tell him?

Jumping at the sound of battering knuckles on her door, she set her coffee mug on the table with such force that the hot liquid sloshed from the cup. She grabbed a napkin and wiped the spill from the counter and from her fingers as the pounding started again, this time louder than before. No surprise that when she unlatched the door and swung it open, Kyle was standing outside with the baby in his arms.

“I told you I needed an hour to shower and dress. I have ten more minutes,” she announced.

He gave her a quick once-over. “You look dressed to me.”

“I haven’t put on my makeup.”

“Forget it. You look fine. Besides, we have a problem.”

“There you go with the ‘we’ again.”

“I think the baby is sick,” he said, ignoring her comment.

Ashley studied the baby, a sense of panic stewing inside her. “What makes you think so?”

“This.” Kyle pointed at a disgusting spot on the shoulder of his T-shirt. “She started crying, so I picked her up. I held her on my shoulder the way you did this morning, and she spit milk all over me. Stinky milk!”

“Good going, sweetie!”

“This isn’t funny, Ashley. I think we should take her to a doctor.”

Ashley doubted it, though in all honesty, she couldn’t be sure. What she knew about babies would make a book about as thick as one on Women Who Long to Be Poor and Ugly. “I’ll call my sister Lily. She’s pregnant. She’ll know if spitting up is normal or if it’s serious.”

“How much do you plan on telling her?”

“Just the basics. I won’t even mention that the baby in question came by special delivery. But you might want to tell her more.”

“Why would I?

“When she’s not about to have a baby, she and my brother Dylan operate Finders Keepers, a private detective agency that specializes in locating missing persons. They could help you find Tessa.”

“I’d prefer to handle the search myself.” He paced the floor, still holding the baby, his hair mussed and his chin darkened by whiskers. She couldn’t help but notice how appealing he looked, but then any man with a baby would effuse a certain amount of charm.

She turned away and dialed Lily’s number. Thankfully it was her sister and not her husband, Cole, who answered the phone. The fewer people Ashley had to talk to, the better it would be.

“Lily, how are you?”