The Kincaids: Southern Seduction: Sex, Lies and the Southern Belle

He glanced over at the sleeping woman beside him. Whatever he and Lily had going on between them was special and, without outside interference from his mother, they would be together for as long as it lasted. Then, when the time came for them to stop seeing each other, he would go his way and she would go hers. No hard feelings and no emotional pain for either of them.

As he lay there patting himself on the back for keeping his life simple, Lily moaned and stirred next to him. He wondered if she was having another nightmare until she sat straight up in bed, threw back the covers and bolted for the bathroom.

“What the hell?” He grabbed his underwear from the pile of clothing on the floor and pulled them on, then knocked on the closed bathroom door. “Are you all right, sweetheart?”

When she failed to answer, he tried the knob. The door was locked.

“Lily, what’s going on?” he demanded.

“P-please go … away,” she said a moment before he heard the sounds of her being sick.

“As soon as you’re able, open the door,” he said, wondering what could have caused the upset.

Retrieving her pink fluffy robe from the closet, every possible reason that might have caused her to be sick ran through his mind as he waited outside the closed door. It couldn’t be a case of food poisoning because they had both had the same thing for lunch and skipped dinner and he was fine. Of course, she might be sick because she hadn’t eaten. Or maybe it was a delayed reaction to learning that her father had been murdered. That coupled with the media circus outside her mother’s place and the fact that the police intended to question the family was enough to cause anyone’s nerves to get the better of them.

When he finally heard the click of the lock being released, he was waiting for her when she opened the bathroom door and after helping her into her robe, walked her over to sit on the end of the bed. “I’ll be right back,” he said, going into the bathroom to wet a washcloth. Returning to the bedroom, he knelt in front of her and patted the cool, damp terry cloth over her cheeks and forehead. “Feeling better now?”

She nodded. “Daniel …” She paused to take a deep breath. “We have to talk.”

“Why don’t you lie down and rest a little more?” he suggested. “We can discuss whatever you like after you’re feeling better.”

“I have to tell you now,” she said shaking her head. “Otherwise, I might lose my nerve.”

Something in her tone caused the hairs on the back of his neck to stand straight up. “What?”

He watched her close her eyes, then she took another deep breath and looked him square in the eyes as she announced, “I’m pregnant.”

“Pregnant.”

A mixture of shock and disbelief coursed through him and it suddenly felt as if all the oxygen had been sucked out of the room. Slowly rising to his feet, he walked over to sit in the chair across the room. Propping his forearms on his knees, he stared down at his loosely clasped hands as he tried to wrap his mind around the single most life-changing word of his life.

“You’re pregnant,” he repeated, knowing he sounded like a damn parrot, but unable to stop himself.

It had been the last thing he expected her to say. Lily was pregnant and there wasn’t a doubt in his mind it was his baby.

“The baby is the reason I’ve been sick in the mornings but ravenous the rest of the day,” she said, her tone a bit unsure. “It’s also the reason I’ve been so tired and have to take naps in the afternoon.”

Daniel opened and closed his mouth several times as he tried to decide what to ask first. Should he question her about when she discovered the pregnancy? Should he ask when the baby was due? Or should he find out how she wanted to handle things? How the hell was a man supposed to deal with something he thought he’d never face?

“How did this happen?” he finally asked when he found his voice. When she gave him a look that suggested she thought he might be a little simpleminded, he immediately shook his head. “Strike that. I know the biology. I’m just trying to figure out when it could have happened. We were always careful.”

“I think it might have been the night after Thanksgiving.” She sighed. “If you’ll remember, we got so carried away we didn’t think about protection until after the fact.”

He nodded. “That was the only time it could have happened. But when did you find out about the pregnancy?”

“The morning of your mother’s dinner party,” she said, sounding a bit hesitant. “I was going to tell you that night after the party, but—”

“Charlotte had her little talk with you first.”

“How did you know about that?” Lily shook her head. “I didn’t say anything.”

“You didn’t have to,” he said, getting up to pace the floor. “After I thought about it, I realized that you had stopped taking my calls and refused to go anywhere with me right after the party. And knowing my mother’s penchant for snide comments and sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong, it all added up. Then, when I asked her about it, she admitted it.” He stopped pacing as a thought occurred. “If we hadn’t run into each other in the lawyer’s office the day your father’s will was read, would you have told me about the pregnancy?”