The Tycoon's Charm: The Tycoon's Paternity Agenda / Honor-Bound Groom

She realized her jaw had fallen and closed her mouth so forcefully her teeth snapped together. Adam was watching her, waiting for her to say something.

Finally she managed, “I…I’m not sure what to say.”

“So we’re clear, I’m not asking for your permission. Or your approval. Out of courtesy—since it’s Rebecca’s child, too—I felt I should tell you what I plan to do.”

He wasn’t the kind of man to do things as a “courtesy.” He did nothing unless it benefited him. She was guessing that he’d consulted a lawyer, and his lawyer had advised him to contact Becca’s family.

“I also thought you could give me some advice on the best way to break the news to your parents,” Adam added, and Katy was too dumbfounded to speak. As if losing their daughter wasn’t heartbreaking enough, now they would have to live with the knowledge that they had a grandchild out there with a father who was too busy to even give them the time of day? How could he even think about doing this to them? And then to ask her help? Was he really so arrogant? So self-absorbed?

“My advice to you would be don’t do it,” she told him.

He looked confused. “Don’t tell them?”

“Don’t use the embryos.” She was so angry, her voice was actually shaking. “Haven’t my parents been through enough? I can’t believe you could be selfish enough to even consider putting them through this.”

“I would be giving them a grandchild. A part of their daughter would live on. I’d think that would please them.”

“A grandchild they would never see? You really think that’s going to make them happy?”

“Why would you assume they wouldn’t see the baby?”

Was he kidding? “I can count on one hand how many times you and Becca came to visit the last three years of your marriage. My parents were always making the effort, and in most instances you were too busy to make the time for them.” She became aware, by the curious stares they were getting, that the volume of her voice had risen to a near-hysterical level. She took a deep breath, forced herself to lower it. “Why not get remarried and have a baby with your new wife? You’re a rich, handsome guy. I’m sure women would line up to marry you. Or you could adopt. Just leave my family out of this.”

Adam’s voice remained calm and even. “As I said, I’m not asking your permission. This meeting was simply a courtesy.”

“Bull,” she hissed under her breath.

Adam’s brow rose. “Excuse me?”

“I’m not some simple, stupid country girl, Adam. So please, don’t insult my intelligence by treating me like an uneducated hick. I’m here because your lawyer probably warned you that my parents could fight this, and you want to avoid any legal entanglements.”

His expression darkened, and she knew she’d hit a nerve. “Your family has no legal rights over the embryos.”

“Maybe not, but if we decided to fight you, it could drag on for years, couldn’t it?”

His brow dipped low over his eyes, and he leaned forward slightly. “You don’t have the financial means to take me on in court.”

Not one to be intimidated, she met his challenge and leaned toward him. “I don’t doubt there’s some bleeding-heart attorney out there who would just love to take on a case like this pro bono.”

He didn’t even flinch. Did he know she was bluffing? Not only did she know of no attorney like that, she didn’t think her parents would ever try to fight Adam. They would be miserably unhappy, but like Becca’s defection from the family fold, they would accept it. And learn to live with it. They didn’t like to make waves, to cause problems, which is why they allowed Becca to drift so far from the family in the first place. Had it been up to Katy, things would have been different.

Adam’s expression softened and he said in a calm and rational voice, “I think we’re getting ahead of ourselves.”

“What do you even know about being a parent?” she snapped. “When would you find the time? Have you even considered what you’re getting yourself into? Diaper changes and midnight feedings. Or will you hire someone to raise the baby for you? Leave all the dirty work to them?”

“You don’t know anything about me,” he said.

“Sad, considering you were married to my sister for seven years.”

He took a deep breath and blew it out. “I think we got off on the wrong foot here.”

Actually, what she had done was reverse the balance of power so that now she had the upper hand. It was the only way to deal with men like him. A trick Becca had obviously never learned.

“Trust me when I say, I have given this considerable thought, and I feel it’s something I need to do. And I assure you that both you and your parents will see the baby. My parents are both dead, so you’ll be the only other family the child has. I would never deny him that.”

“And I’m just supposed to believe you?”

“At this point, you really don’t have much choice. Because we both know that the chances of finding a lawyer who will represent you for free are slim to none. I’ve been in business a long time. I recognize a bluff when I see it.”

She bit her lip. So much for having the upper hand.

“I’m not doing this to hurt anyone, Katy. I just want a child.”

But why did it have to be Becca’s child? “We may not be as rich as you, but we can still fight it.”

“And you would lose.”

Yes, she would. But she could put up one hell of a fight. And put her parents through hell in the process. Not to mention decimate them all financially.

The sad fact was she had no choice but to accept this. She was going to have to take him on his word that they would see the baby. What other recourse did she have?

“Can I ask who the surrogate will be?”

He was gracious enough not to gloat at her obvious surrender. “I’m not sure yet. My attorney is looking at possible candidates.”

She frowned. “How will you know they’re trustworthy?”

“They’ll go through a rigorous interview process and background check. If they’ve ever been arrested, or used illegal substances, we’ll know about it.”

But there was no way to know everything. Katy watched the national news and knew situations like this had a way of going horribly awry. What if the woman smoked, or did drugs while she was pregnant? Or took some other physical risk that might harm the baby? Or what if she decided she didn’t want to give the baby up? Would it matter that it was Rebecca’s egg?

Or even worse, she could just disappear with Rebecca’s child, never to be seen again. For Katy’s parents—and probably Adam, too—it would be like losing Rebecca all over again.

“What if you think the woman is trustworthy, but you’re wrong?” she asked him, growing more uneasy by the second.

“We won’t be,” Adam assured her, but that wasn’t good enough.

She took a swallow of her coffee, burning her tongue. If she let him do this, she could look forward to nine months of being on edge, worrying about her niece or nephew’s safety.

There was only one person she trusted enough to carry her sister’s baby. It was completely crazy, but she knew it was the only way. The only good way. And she would do whatever necessary to convince him.

“I know the perfect person to be the surrogate,” she told Adam.

“Who?”

“Me.”

Two