Dad In Demand

It had been just like old times—comfortable, enjoyable. So what if he couldn’t help noticing how soft her skin looked in the moonlight? Or the way her eyes sparkled when she laughed?

She looked up at him over the lid of the music box. “It’s beautiful,” she whispered in that throaty whisper that sparked visions of her lying on satin sheets. Quickly, ruthlessly, he deep-sixed the dangerous image.

“I’m sorry it’s late,” he told her.

“Don’t be silly. You were out of town for my birthday. I know that. And you really didn’t have to buy me anything. I got the most gorgeous bouquet of flowers from all the Fitzpatricks.”

Sean shrugged, his gaze riveted to the fingers lazily stroking the silver latch on the music box. “The flowers were from my family,” he said dragging his eyes up to her face. “I wanted to give you something from me.”

“I…thank you.”

The friendly sass that had been in her eyes all evening gave way to a soft yearning that made his blood heat. Desire, tucked safely away throughout dinner, sneaked out, tempting him. Sean tightened his grip on the glass in his hand and stood. “How about some more wine?”

“No, thanks,” Katie told him, and carefully placed the music box on the table amid the nest of wrappings. Then she stood and went to him. Reaching out, she stroked his cheek. “Thank you, Sean,” she whispered, then pressed her mouth to his. It was a simple kiss, over almost before it began, but it sent desire shooting through him like heat lightning. “I’ll treasure it always.”

She backed away, retreating until she came up against the swing and sat down. Not until she’d pushed off on her back foot and set the swing to swaying was he finally able to untangle his tongue.

The silence stretched between them for several awkward moments, then Katie cut him a narrow-eyed glance. “You know, Fitzpatrick, it just occurred to me that this dinner and that music box might actually be a bribe.”

“A bribe, huh?” he said, welcoming the teasing and the break in tension that came with it. “And just what would I be bribing you for, Malloy?”

“Well, knowing what a sneaky man you are, maybe you thought that if you plied me with a great dinner, let me stuff myself with that sinful cake and gave me such a fabulous gift, that maybe I’d let you off the hook about doing the investigations for me like you promised.”

“The thought never crossed my mind.”

“That’s good. Because I’m not letting you off the hook, pal.”

Try as he might, he couldn’t sustain the light humor. “Katie, about this baby business—”

“Tonight when you lit the candles on the cake and told me to make a wish, do you know what I wished for? I wished that by this time next year, I’d have a baby. I know you don’t agree with this, Sean, but as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted that package. You know—husband, wife, babies—a family. A psychologist would probably say it’s because I didn’t have the family I wanted as a child with my parents divorcing, my stepfather cutting out on us and stuff. And they’d probably be right. But I always knew that someday I would have a family like…well, like yours.”

She tore at the napkin in her fingers. “Well, it hasn’t happened, and it isn’t going to—at least not the husband part of it. But I still want the babies, Sean. Sometimes I think it was because I wanted to have children so much that I talked myself into thinking I was in love and getting engaged twice. I think I wanted to get married so I could become a mother.”

It broke his heart to hear the sadness in her voice, to see it in her eyes. Family was something that he’d always taken for granted, and it was something that Katie had never really had. Sean put down his wineglass. “Honey, I understand what you’re saying. But—”

“You don’t agree with me on this. I know that, and I understand. Really, I do. But I know what I’m doing, Sean.”

Frustration knotted like a fist in his stomach. “You’re a young woman, Katie. You deserve more than stud service from some guy who’ll be happy to get you pregnant and then more than likely split on you. You deserve the whole shebang—love, marriage, babies, white picket fences.”

“You’re talking about fairy tales. I stopped believing in them and in Prince Charming a long time ago.”

“Maybe you just haven’t found your prince yet.”

She gave him a smile that was meant to be cocky, but came across as impossibly sad. “Believe me, I’ve kissed my share of frogs, even got engaged to two of them, remember? But not one of them ever turned into a prince. I don’t want—no, I refuse to put my life on hold and wait for someone who probably doesn’t exist.”

There was an aching loneliness in her voice that ripped at him. “Whatever happened to that little girl? The one who believed in knights and fairy tales and magic?”

“She grew up.”

And because she had grown up, she knew not to read anything into the sexual voltage that kept zinging between her and Sean. Oh, it had always been there on her part. It was pretty hard not to have fantasies about a man like Sean. But fantasies were all that they were. She’d gotten used to feeling that heat suck low in her belly every time he was near her, and she’d gotten good at hiding it from him. So what if he seriously kissed her a time or two—she was too smart to let that romantic heart of hers start spinning fairy tales again. Sean wasn’t interested in her in that way. He was simply being a good friend.

And it was out of friendship, she knew, that he was still trying to talk her out of her plans to have a baby thirty minutes later.

“I don’t like it, Katie,” Sean told her as he paced to the end of the deck. “Not one bit.”

“You’ve made that pretty clear—more than once already.” Katie released a weary sigh. “But whether you like it or not doesn’t matter. I’m going to do this-with or without your help. Just tell me whether I need to find someone else to handle the investigations or not.”

“I said I’d do it, didn’t I?” he snapped, coming to a halt in front of her. “Where’s the list?”

She retrieved the slip of paper from the pocket of her shorts, unfolded it and handed it to him. He glared at the names a moment, then straddled the chair next to her. “All right. Tell me everything you can about each of these guys.”

A glass of wine later, Katie leaned back against the patio chair. “That’s about it. At least, it’s everything I know.”

Sean scowled at the notes he’d made next to the names on her list, then glanced up and fixed her with stormy blue eyes. “It’s not a hell of a lot—especially considering what you’re planning. The longest you’ve known any of these guys is six months.”

“Sean,” she said, a warning in her voice.

“All right. All right.”

“Is it enough for you to work with?”

“I guess it’ll have to be, won’t it?”

She refused to justify her decision to him again. Besides, even if she were to try to explain, she doubted Sean would understand. She didn’t want to be disappointed again or to be the one to disappoint. So, why couldn’t Sean accept that? “Can you do the investigations with the information I’ve given you? Or do I need to try to get social security or driver’s license numbers?”

“And suppose I do need those things, how did you plan to get them? By swiping wallets like you threatened?”

Katie flinched at the derision in his tone. Hurt, angry, she snatched the list from him and stood. “Just forget it. I was right yesterday. I never should have asked you to help me in the first place.”

“Aw, hell!” He caught her by the wrist before she’d taken two steps. “I’m sorry,” he told her.

When she didn’t reply, he sighed. “Give me back the list,” he urged, holding out his hand. When she didn’t respond, he plucked the sheet of paper from her fingers. But instead of releasing her, he led her over to the swing and sat down. When she remained stiff and unyielding, he said, “Come on. Sit with me. Just for a minute.”

She continued to stand. So he tugged, pulling her down beside him. Then he set the swing in motion. “A lot of the stuff in an investigation like this is basic, and I’ll be able to get a good part of what I need from public records,” he explained. “I’ll access most of the data with my computer. The internet is amazing. I’ve also got some contacts with the DMV and the police department that I can use to check for driving violations, complaints, outstanding arrest warrants, and stuff like that.”

Hearing him talk about arrest warrants and police records sent a chill of uneasiness down Katie’s spine. She brought her free hand to her throat. She couldn’t imagine any of the men she was considering as a father for her child or for that matter any man she even dated, being a criminal. True, she hadn’t known them long and only dated them casually. But each man had been a gentleman with a responsible job and had been a pleasant and companionable date. Each claimed to like children, and from the talks and discussions that they had shared, she’d learned that each man shared her views about raising a child. In short, on the surface each candidate appeared to be ideal daddy material.

Sean jammed the slip of paper into his shirt pocket. “I’ve got enough here to get started, so I don’t want you to even think about playing Mata Hari. Okay?”

“All right.”

Shoving off with his foot, he gave the swing another push and sent them swaying in a slow, languid motion. Still holding her wrist, his thumb moved in small, lazy circles over the inside of her wrist, causing her pulse to scatter. The sun had long since slid from the sky. Stars dotted the heavens, creating thousands of pinpoints of light. Moonlight spilled over the deck, enveloping them in its soft glow.

“H-how long will it take you to run the background checks?” she asked, and nearly cringed at how husky her voice sounded.

“The basics won’t take long at all. But making inquiries about a man’s character, especially discreet ones, isn’t always easy or fast.”

“I know what I’m asking isn’t easy,” she said, turning her head to look at him.