Bound By The Baby

“You have a lunch break, don’t you?”

“I eat on my lunch break. And put up my feet. And relax. It’s good for the baby.” Ha! He couldn’t argue that point.

He crossed his arms. “I also want your doctor’s name and number. When is your next appointment?”

“In three weeks. I was just there last week.”

“Make an appointment for us to see him together this week.”

“Her. My obstetrician is a she.” No wonder she hadn’t told him yet about the baby. Subconsciously she’d known he was sexist and paternal and accustomed to having someone jump at the snap of his fingers. Well, not this someone. “When things are more settled with us, I’ll make that appointment.”

“Then I’ll go without you. I have questions.”

“Which she won’t answer without my permission.”

“A reasonable person wouldn’t have any problem sharing the information I need as the father of this child.”

What was left of her patience went up in smoke. So now she was witless? She’d tried to be understanding, she really had. “I’ll drop off the paperwork tomorrow on my way to work,” she said, then walked past him a few feet before stopping and turning back.

“Here’s a hint to getting to know me, Devlin. Try talking to me. With me.” She went down the stairs and out of the house. It would take thirty minutes to drive to the Sterling. Time enough to calm down before starting work.

He just needed time, too. She’d been able to come to terms with the baby and all the changes it would entail. So would he.

She hoped.

Dev watched her drive off. She didn’t burn rubber to get away, didn’t even speed, but he knew she was angry. He didn’t blame her.

While no one would accuse him of being easygoing, he wasn’t usually a jerk. He’d also never been responsible for a pregnancy before. But he was now—to a woman he knew only sexually.

He shoved his fingers through his hair, clasped his hands at his nape and blew out a slow breath. Exhaustion was too mild a word for what he was feeling. He hadn’t slept a minute last night.

He’d made this trip—this forced trip—with the intention of firming up a plan to redirect his career. He’d reached a point where he could afford to take some risks, was willing to risk what he’d earned. He planned to get out of the family business, where he’d been stagnating, a realization brought home to him when he received the letter in January that would send him to Lake Tahoe for the month of May.

He needed to be his own boss. He had achieved huge success for the bank, beyond what his father or grandfather had done before him. Now he wanted individual success, not just financially but personally. He’d been aiming toward it all his adult life. But how could he take that risk now, with a child to provide for?

And a wife.

That much he’d decided during the night. Nicole would marry him, period—even though his lawyer had tried to talk him into waiting until the child was born.

Maybe he was being a fool. Maybe it was old-fashioned and inflexible, but some values were ingrained too deeply to be ignored, like not wanting his child born out of wedlock.

Sometimes Dev felt constrained by the conservative label he lived with, personally and professionally. But when people entrusted you with their money, they expected someone who might take a few risks, but only calculated ones. Losing someone else’s money was a direct path to career suicide.

His expertise was in commercial real estate investments, and he had a reputation for having the Midas touch, even with his hands tied by the bank’s board of directors some of the time. Another reason for him to go off on his own.

Dev climbed two flights of stairs to the loft. When he’d wandered through the house during his sleepless night, he’d come upon the well-equipped office on the top floor. He’d also discovered a corkboard on the wall onto which photographs were tacked, all reminders of a time when his life had been carefree. During college he’d been required to have good grades and establish lifelong contacts. Beyond that, his parents asked little. Until he graduated. Then everything changed.

Dev hadn’t looked too closely at the photos last night, having too much on his mind to clutter it with the past. But as he glanced at them now, he realized he didn’t know much about any of the men portrayed anymore. He remembered a remarkable camaraderie, but he couldn’t pick out one as a best friend at the time, except Hunter. Maybe Ryan…

He turned his back on the past and put himself squarely in the present again by sending an e-mail to his lawyer asking him to fill out the form for Nicole and fax it back, then he grabbed a cup of coffee and headed onto one of the decks overlooking the lake. The direct heat of the sun turned the chilly air bearable. He sat on a lounge chair and watched the boats make their way across the expanse of water.

As exiles went, Lake Tahoe was more than palatable. He’d intended to spend some of his time setting up his career move and some exploring the region, maybe throw in a little gambling now and then.

He hadn’t counted on…Nicole. In the past few months he’d wished for more information to go on to find her, but she had seemed to be a tourist, like him. A couple of times during their night together he could’ve sneaked a look at her wallet and learned more about her, but he’d resisted. They’d had a tacit agreement that they would share that night only, each of them easing an unspoken need.

But she had dropped into his mind since then, memories of her lush body tantalizing, her lips soft and hungry. She hadn’t hesitated, hadn’t just taken, but had given in ways he’d dreamed about since. A true partner, physically.

He’d wondered why she cried but figured she would tell him if she wanted to. She didn’t. Nor had she yet.

What could have been so horrific that she would forget she should’ve insisted on using birth control? She was obviously intelligent.

He could say the same thing about himself, of course. It was stupid not to have taken care of the protection. Stupid. Which only proved how much Hunter’s letter had affected him that day.

He should’ve just stayed home and gotten drunk instead.

Four

A couple of minutes before eight that evening, Nicole glanced across the lobby and saw Devlin leaning against a column, watching her. Although seeing him so suddenly startled her, she wasn’t really surprised, having anticipated his showing up at some point.

When she clocked out she didn’t try to avoid him but walked over to where he stood. “Did you get some sleep?” she asked.

“Yes. How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine. I guess you’re here to walk me to my car again.”

“You guessed right.”

“And follow me home.” She didn’t know why that comforted her, but it did. She’d calmed down significantly since she’d left him earlier in the day. They were both stuck in the same pool of quicksand. It was up to them to help each other out of it.

Plus she’d decided it was kind of nice not to be figuring things out alone anymore.

“I want to pick you up and drive you to work and back from now on.”

Temptation reared its hopeful little head. They could spend time together…. “There’s no need,” she said.

“I know. But I think you’d like it, too.”

How did he see inside her like that? He’d done so from the beginning, from that moment in the elevator. “We’ll talk about it later.”

“How about dessert somewhere?” he asked, switching gears easily.

“I’m not hungry, thanks.”

“Then keep me company while I eat.”

“What’s this about, Devlin?”

“Conversation. Getting to know you.”