Читать книгу One-Amazing-Night Baby! - Heidi Rice - Страница 12

COOPER scowled at the Roman numeral clock above his home office filing drawers and bit down as his stomach muscles clenched.

Eleven-twenty on a late autumn day. His surprise visitor would soon be here. Question was … what did Sophie want so many weeks after the event?

Frowning, he pushed out from his high-backed leather chair, rounded his desk, and absently rearranged a stack of depositions he should have finished assessing that morning. Instead, most of the time he’d merely stared at them in a slightly vexed, preoccupied daze.

The hotel had passed on her message asking him to call. Since their brief phone conversation yesterday, when she’d asked to meet with him here, he’d thought of little else. He loathed wasting time, but this morning he’d been dressed by six, had finished his workout by seven, after which he’d achieved nothing more than washing down endless cups of strong black coffee.

He glanced at the clock.

Eleven twenty-one. Nine minutes to go.

‘Cooper, can you spare a few dollars?’

He jumped at the bright voice at his back, and the depositions scattered across the desk onto the floor. He spun to find his sister, dressed in worn low-slung jeans and a luminous pink midriff top. Her cropped blonde hair was styled to perfection. Shoulder propped against his office doorjamb, she munched on a bowl of rabbit food.

His arms folded over his chest. ‘Is that what’s going to fuel your day? A handful of lettuce?’

She was naturally small and lean, but a person needed sustenance—particularly when she was headed off in two weeks’ time on a students’ overseas exchange programme. The provincial city of Aurillac, France, was known for its chilly mornings. A little natural padding wouldn’t go astray.

Paige arched a brow. ‘And you’ve had … how many cups of coffee already today?’

He suppressed a grin. Smart Alec. ‘We were talking about you.’

She mumbled something like ‘bossy-boots’, then issued a put-upon sigh and pushed off the jamb. ‘Marlo and I will have lunch in between shopping, okay?’

His arms dropped to his sides. ‘More shopping?’

She stared at him, puzzled. ‘Why else would I ask for money?’

He scrubbed at his jaw. ‘Sometimes women’s logic frightens me.’

‘I need to upgrade my BlackBerry,’ she explained, setting her china bowl on the sideboard. ‘Treena Allen says mine is two whole models ago.’

He slid his wallet out from his back chinos pocket as he moved towards her. ‘How much?’

‘A debit card might be easier.’

He didn’t flinch. ‘No doubt it would.’

He handed one over, but she handed it straight back. ‘Not this one.’

He grinned. No flies on Paige.

The card boomeranged back. ‘It has a limit, Paige, but a very generous one. I’m sure you won’t run into trouble.’

Knowing she was beaten, Paige succumbed to give a grateful smile. When she craned up, he bent down to accept a kiss on his cheek. ‘Thanks, Coop.’

No big deal. Hell, if keeping his sister’s techno needs in superior shape was the least of their concerns, he wouldn’t grumble. When she started having trouble with boys, then he’d have something to say.

He blew out a long breath. God, he wished their parents were alive, then he wouldn’t need to say things like this old favourite. ‘No talking to strange men while you’re out today.’

Paige groaned and rolled her eyes. ‘Do we need to go through this every single time?’

While he had her attention, he’d slip in another one. ‘And if anyone tries to pull you into their car, you scream and kick—’

‘And run the other way. I know, Cooper. I know.’ She slotted the plastic into her designer handbag. ‘I’m not a baby.’

He placed his hands on her small, vulnerable shoulders. ‘You’re my responsibility, and I take that responsibility seriously. You might not agree with what I say, but there’s only one boss in this house. While you live under this roof I set the rules, and I expect those rules to be obeyed.’ His voice lost some of its sternness. ‘So, remember … home before dark.’

The doorbell chimed. Her expression alive again, Paige sprang around. ‘I’ll get it.’

Heartbeat slamming into overdrive, Cooper strode past. ‘That’s for me.’

Paige sideswiped his arm as she skipped past and overtook him. Naturally he couldn’t let that offence go unchallenged, and he stepped on the gas. Paige crashed against the timber as they both skidded to a stop in the foyer.

Laughing, Cooper swung open the front door.

Sophie stood on the porch, wide-eyed and stiff.

He’d expected her to be glowing, like the last time he’d seen her. But in dark trousers, a white blouse buttoned to her throat and a black cardigan she looked staid and rather pale. Even her long tousled hair looked unfamiliar, tied back in a high, tight ponytail, though it was still super-sexy, with those haphazard spirals on either side.

But he wouldn’t think along those lines. Sexy or not, no encore was permitted. They were as incompatible as oil and water—bedroom activities obviously excluded.

Paige wheeled in front of him and gasped. ‘What are you doing here?’

Cooper squeezed his sister’s shoulder. ‘Paige, don’t be rude.’ No matter if she thought Sophie was a salesperson who’d ignored the sign at the entry gate. She needed her manners. ‘This lady is here to see me.’

Paige squeaked at Sophie, ‘You know my brother?’

Sophie’s eyes shot wider. ‘Cooper’s your brother?’

Groaning, Paige smacked her forehead. ‘Now it’s coming together. Cooper must be the guy you’ve been getting all dressed up for.’

Sophie shrank into her collar and gave an awkward half-shrug. ‘Who said I was getting dressed up for anyone?’

Paige laughed. ‘It’s kinda obvious. All the girls are saying so. It’s like these past weeks you’ve had a makeover. New clothes, hair down—not like today,’ she noted, inspecting the ponytail. ‘Even the way you walk has changed. It’s fantastic!’

Trying to track the conversation, and now hopelessly lost, Cooper held up his hands. ‘Slow down. Someone fill me in on the missing piece of this puzzle.’

Paige spoke over her shoulder. ‘Ms Gruebella is a teacher at Unity.’

Belated colour bloomed in Sophie’s cheeks, but Cooper didn’t allow his expression to let on either way. If a person had to hide a last name, Gruebella was one worth hiding.

And what about that second lot of information?

‘You’re Ms Gruebella from school?’

He’d imagined a fifty-year-old with wiry hair and Victorian morals. Not a desirable goddess of a woman with a voluptuous body, who had left him sated and then instantly craving more. When he lay down at night her unique vanilla scent flooded his imagination. The vision of her reaching for him gripped and didn’t let go. Instead of their night fading, memories had become stronger, until when he closed his eyes to sleep she was all that he saw.

But he needed only to recall those qualities which could not and would not be ignored for sanity to return. Argumentative, ambivalent about marriage and having children. And let’s not forget her impulsive nature. Of course he took full responsibility for making the first move … the second and third, as well. However, the fact remained she’d fallen into bed with him in record time. Outstanding mistress material? Absolutely. But he wanted a wife, dammit. Not sex on the side.

He half wished he’d known the drawbacks before asking her to dance. He could have saved himself some sleepless nights, as well as what promised to be an awkward meeting today if she planned on breaking their agreement and seeing him again. As much as his body might sit up and respond, this time he would listen to common sense and years of field experience. He had enjoyed their time together, but the answer to any future liaisons would be a resounding no.

He knew best, and this was best for all.

A late model black Mercedes glided up and around the paved circular drive lined with soaring pencil pines. Paige’s friend, Marlo Daniels, popped her head out of the lowering back window. Her large freckled nose scrunched. ‘Is that you, Ms Gruebella?’

Paige wrung her handbag and addressed Sophie. ‘You’re not here over anything we’ve talked about, are you?’

Unease looped in Cooper’s gut. He swung a furrowed glance between the two. ‘And just what have you two been discussing?’

Sophie’s face softened and she touched Paige’s arm. ‘I’m here to see Cooper about something else entirely.’

Paige seemed to think it through before she smiled, her teeth straight and white. Those braces had been worth every dime.

‘Okay. But be good.’ In a running skip, Paige headed off towards Marlo. ‘Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.’

As the passenger door closed and the Merc, Mrs Daniels driving, eased off, Cooper swept an arm through the air, ushering his guest in. Damn, she looked hot—

He set his jaw.

But not too hot to resist. When he made a plan he stuck to it. No detours.

Sophie edged in across the threshold. ‘Small world, big school. There are quite a few Smiths. I didn’t put it together.’

He brushed it off. ‘Totally understandable.’

But her visit today had nothing to do with her being Paige’s teacher—although he was grateful to have heard only stellar compliments regarding the mysterious Ms Gruebella. It made his impaired judgement that night seem slightly less unreasonable.

Passing a cosy sitting room, he automatically cupped her elbow. Even through her shirt’s fabric, the powerful physical response sent lit fuses hopscotching across his nerve-endings. The impulse to linger and enjoy the sensation was crushing.

Inhaling deeply, he let go of her arm and slid his hand into his pocket. Small talk needed to be dispensed with.

He walked in step beside her. ‘So, Sophie, keeping well?’

She swept her heavy ponytail over a shoulder and her gaze connected with his. Ah, yes, he remembered those eyes.

‘Pretty much,’ she replied. ‘What about you?’

He shrugged. ‘Trying to keep out of trouble.’

Without a hint of warning, her legs went out from under her. Whipping that hand from its pocket, he wove, and caught her weight as she buckled.

Finding her feet again, with his help, she patted down her hair and nodded at the marble tiles. ‘Must be a slippery spot.’

He assessed first the floor and then his guest through narrowed eyes. They started off again. ‘I’ll have my housekeeper look into it.’

He opened a door that led off to a secluded patio— his favourite place in the grounds, enclosed by mock-orange shrubs, with a goldfish pond to one side. Cooper often came out here to breathe in the unpolluted air, ingest the clear blue sky, and revitalise his sense of order and control. He needed a double dose today.

Stepping out onto the slate, Sophie trailed fingertips along the border of bright green leaves before she lowered herself onto the calico-padded wrought-iron seat he’d retracted.

After dragging in his own chair, Cooper got down to business. ‘When I received your message from the hotel asking me to call you, frankly, I was surprised.’

She avoided his gaze. ‘I hadn’t planned on calling.’

He waited. Cocked his head. ‘Then why did you?’

He hadn’t changed his agenda; he was looking for long-term. Sophie might have been too sweet to leave hanging on the vine, but he had a goal, and sampling her fruit again did not feature. She’d known that as much as he had.

Uncomfortable, she shifted in her chair. ‘It’s a little difficult to explain.’

Was she waiting for him to make the first move? Suggest they should pick up where they’d left off? It wouldn’t happen. He wasn’t buying. No matter how much her curls taunted him, or how much those plump lips he’d kissed till dawn tempted him.

In fact, the sooner this was out, the sooner she would leave—and the sooner they could both get on with their lives.

Of necessity, he injected a grave note into his voice. ‘I thought we agreed that night that we have different agendas.’

Hands clasped in her lap, still avoiding his eyes, she nodded deeply. ‘Yes. Yes, we did.’

Cooper studied her more closely. Was this evasive, almost shy woman the same fireball who had detonated waves of heat through his blood? She still breathed flames over his skin merely by sitting near, clasping and unclasping the delicate hands that had travelled and aroused every inch of him. She was arousing him even now without touching him.

Brow low, knuckles knocking on the armrest, Cooper tossed an aggravated glance around. This setting was too personal. Too convenient. A more public environment would work best. No car blocked his drive so he assumed she’d taken a cab. They should have a civil discussion somewhere neutral, settle up and square off before he dropped her home. Case closed.

He tipped forward. ‘This is a little awkward. I think we should go somewhere else for—’ He’d almost said for coffee. But there was no forgetting what had happened last time he’d suggested that.

Finally finding his gaze, she filled in the blank. ‘Go somewhere for lunch? I am a little hungry. I missed breakfast this morning.’

His thoughts jumped to Paige and her rabbit food, then his own stomach growled.

Her smile spread. ‘Sounds like you did, too.’

His mind hurtled back to ‘the morning after’, when she’d taken great pleasure helping him devour chocolate syrup pancakes. They’d been naked, camped out on the rumpled sheets. He hadn’t meant to drip the chocolate sauce on her thigh, though he sure as hell had enjoyed licking it off.

Slanting forward too, she clenched her white-knuckled hands atop the round table. ‘But, Cooper, I really need to speak with you first. I’m not sure I can wait a minute more.’

He battled to keep the vision of her unclothed curves from his head. Not easy. But do-able. He was in control.

She sucked down a breath, but shot it back out on a nervous laugh. ‘This is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to say.’

Her haunted expression … the note of concern in her voice …

The walls of Cooper’s stomach gripped and he slowly frowned.

Was something more at work here than their night together? Was this somehow about Paige after all, and Sophie was reluctant to tell him? Was Paige failing a subject? She’d been struggling with maths, but he’d helped her out. She’d got a B last term.

Paige spoke of Ms Gruebella as a confidante.

Oh, hell.

He forced his mouth to work. ‘Is Paige in trouble?’

Another statistic? A teenage pregnancy?

Sophie chewed her full bottom lip, looking at him from beneath her thick black lashes. ‘Paige isn’t in trouble, Cooper. We are.’

Cooper hadn’t finished expelling a huge sigh of relief before he registered the final part of her answer. A cog turned and he frowned. ‘What did you say?’

Sophie wrung her hands on the tabletop. ‘You know how we didn’t leave the bedroom very much that night … or the next morning?’

Except to go to the couch and the spa bath. There had been that brief time in the pantry, too … He didn’t quite recall how that had happened. Hell, they’d been all over the shop.

She went on. ‘They say condoms are between eighty-five and ninety-seven per cent effective.’

And they’d used a few.

He formed the words to describe the bizarre notion in his mind. ‘We’re pregnant?’

She held up some fingers and a thumb to count. ‘Due in seven months.’

He tried to take it in. His heart was throbbing in his throat. Echoing in his ears. Impossible to believe. This wasn’t in his plan.

She groaned. ‘I know what you’re thinking. You don’t want this complication.’

Complication?

Complication!

She wriggled straighter, truly meeting his eyes for the first time. ‘But I’ve worked it all out. I would never have kept the news from you, but I won’t bother you unnecessarily. You can see the baby whenever you want.’

The other side of the equation popped into mind and he tamped down whirling, exploding disbelief enough to ask, ‘Are you fine with being a mother?’ Last time they’d spoken she’d hadn’t seemed sure.

‘It was a shock at first.’ A small smile played at the corners of her mouth. ‘But, yes, I want this baby very much.’

Well, that had to be good news.

A line grew between her brows. ‘I know you’ll find someone, and soon, who’ll be accepting about this. It’s not the nineteenth century, where we’d keep this kind of situation locked up in a back closet. I’ll get on with my life, you get on with yours, and I’ll make sure the baby and I don’t interfere with your plans.’

He ran a hand through his hair.

Get on with his life? Find someone? As in a wife?

His mind slid left and right like a vehicle skidding on black ice. He needed to get it all straight in his head.

This woman was having his baby. In seven months he would be a father. His child needed its father—not part-time but one hundred per cent. Needed a fully committed mother and father, both. If he knew nothing else, from raising Paige alone he knew that.

The blood drained from his head as he gazed at Sophie—beautiful, sexy, out-for-an-argument, life-is-about-luck Sophie.

His vision blurred and sweat broke out on his brow, down his back.

What the hell could he do? He couldn’t marry her. He couldn’t not marry her either.

Her voice reached him through the haze. ‘It’s a lot to take in, I know. But I’ve looked into it. I’ll take maternity leave. And wonderful childminding options are available for when I go back to work, so it’ll just be a matter of getting settled into a routine.’

He eased out a breath as the news started to sink in. Regaining some balance and strength, he waved a hand. ‘No need for that. You won’t have to work.’ She’d stay at home with the baby. His baby. Their baby.

‘Thank you,’ she said softly. ‘I knew you’d want to help out financially. But I want to go back to work. I won’t give up teaching. It’ll be an adjustment—sure.’ One palm settled over her flat stomach as she smiled. ‘But we’ll be fine.’

Cooper grimaced at the queasy feeling in his gut. One half of him wanted to punch the air with excitement. He’d created a little human being—a son or daughter. After the recent demise of a two-year relationship, he’d harboured niggling doubts that was even possible. But it seemed his ex-girlfriend Evangeline Xiau had been proved wrong. He didn’t fire blanks. Their inability to conceive must have been her issue—which was almost divine justice, given he hadn’t a clue that Evangeline had been trying to fall pregnant until the day she broke it off.

Yet while the man in him rejoiced now, the lawyer wanted to know how he’d escaped one potential trap only to fall into another.

He shook his head at the ground.

He only had himself to blame. He’d had his fun. Enjoyed every moment. No use crying over spilt … Well, no use crying. Fact was he needed to marry a woman who was bound to drive him nuts. He must find a way to make the marriage work. Nothing mattered more. Because no child of his would ever grow up in a single-parent home. His child would not become a statistic.

Reaching across the table, he clasped her hand as a lifeless smile clung to the corners of his mouth. ‘You’re right. We’re going to be fine.’

Clearly relieved, she exhaled. ‘I thought you might hit the roof. You seemed so black and white about things. So needing to be in control …’ She let it go and smiled. ‘So, now that’s out and settled, let’s get that bite to eat. I’m thinking pasta Carbonara with warm crusty bread and chocolate fudge ice cream. Two helpings.’

He’d heard stories about pregnant women. They were known for erratic mood swings as well as cravings. Hormones on top of stubbornness and sparring.

He could hardly wait.

But he’d made his bed. He would be lying in it for a long time to come. He needed to focus on the pluses.

He’d wanted a family. Check.

More than instinct said Sophie would make a good mother. Check.

Paige liked her. Check.

An idea faded up through the fog clouding his mind.

If he kept her busy and satisfied in the bedroom, where they got along best, she might lose the urge to be so objectionable. Happy wife, happy life.

But, first things first. Some arrangements needed to be made.

‘After lunch we’ll visit some jewellery stores.’

Her brow pinched. ‘You’ve lost me.’

‘When two people get engaged, Sophie, they need to choose a ring.’

Eyes wide, she shot to her feet. He pushed up too.

‘Engaged?’ she asked.

Was it truly such a shock? She must have known he’d pop the question. There was little else an honourable man could do.

‘Cooper, I think you’re forgetting something.’

He racked his brains—and then, understanding, took her hands and signed away the rest of his life. ‘Sophie, will you marry me?’

She laughed. ‘Absolutely not.’

Time stood still as he examined her wry expression. He clasped her hands tighter. He was in no mood for her games. This was serious—as serious as it got.

His words were measured, and not to be refused. ‘Of course you’ll marry me. You’re carrying my child.’ He would claim and hold on to it, no matter what it took. They would say their vows, become parents soon after, and everyone would be happy, dammit!

She looked at him as if he’d turned an interesting shade of green. ‘If you’ve forgotten your list, I haven’t. We won’t work together. We both agreed.’

He re-anchored his weight. ‘This changes things.’

‘How?’

‘We have the baby to consider now.’

‘I am thinking of the baby.’

Alternate waves of heat and ice swept over his flesh. ‘This isn’t funny, Sophie.’

‘Am I laughing?’

He found a placating tone. ‘I’ll grant you this is far from ideal. But surely you want your child to have a father.’

‘He will have a father. I just won’t have a husband.’

Teeth clenched, he examined the ground and rubbed his forehead. He was a strategist. He needed a strategy. Winning card first up: something they both agreed upon.

He moved in closer. ‘Stop to consider the obvious benefits.’ He lowered his voice to a sexy growl. ‘Have you forgotten how compatible we are in bed?’

She coughed on a dry laugh. ‘And suddenly sex is supposed to fix things?’

Well, it didn’t make things any worse!

Next. He stood up tall—six-three, last time he’d been measured. ‘I can provide well for the both of you.’

‘You can do that without tying any knots.’

This had gone on long enough. He set his fists low on his hips. ‘I’m not arguing with you. This is non-negotiable.’

She shook her head, bemused. ‘It’s started already.’

He held off from rolling his eyes. Here we go. ‘What’s started?’

‘Having your boundaries and opinions and decisions forced upon me. I have my own mind, Cooper. I have my own dreams. And they’ve never included saying yes to a loveless marriage.’

That last sentence echoed his deeper conviction entirely—but they no longer had the luxury of dreams. ‘We need to make this work for the baby’s sake.’

‘It would be a mistake to even try.’

He would convince her. He would make her see. ‘I’ll make it work.’

‘Just like my parents thought it would work for them?’

His patience warped and creaked. Heart pounding against his ribs, he tried to keep his voice even. ‘What about your parents?’

‘My father and mother only married because they were having me. My dad was determined to do the right thing. My mother hadn’t meant to get pregnant but, seeing she was, she decided my father was it. But they weren’t in love, and love certainly didn’t grow.’ She pivoted away towards the mock-orange bushes. ‘As far back as I can remember I’ve been the mediator. I thought if I found the right guy and lived happily ever after, somehow I could make their mistake half-right.’

His throat swelled. His parents had cherished both him and Paige. ‘I’m sure they don’t think of you as a mistake.’

She slid him a look. ‘I’m talking about them getting hitched for the sake of their child.’

He rolled a shoulder back. ‘What if they’d married and been happy?’

Her grin said she was unconvinced. ‘What if we just agree to disagree?’

Not an option. He needed time to work on her. Some leverage. Anything.

A lightbulb went off in his head. ‘I have another idea.’

‘Does it involve food? Because that’s the only one I’ve liked so far.’

‘We’ll have a trial run.’ Until, that was, he convinced her to be sensible.

Her slim nostrils flared. ‘You’re crazy if you think I’d get married simply to see if we should divorce.’

No, no.

Seeing a light at the end of the tunnel, he ran his hands down her arms. ‘I’m talking about living together.’

He read her eyes, the subtle change in body language at his touch. She was considering it.

But eventually she waved her hands and stepped back. ‘Not interested.’

He shoved his hands in his pockets to stop himself from shaking her. ‘Just for one moment can you stop being difficult? Surely you want to give our baby a chance at having a conventional family.’

Her green eyes glistened. ‘People can start out with the best intentions. Doesn’t mean there’s a rainbow on the other side. You know that.’

Right. He’d go for the jugular. ‘Think of it as an experience. Let’s say a three-month experience that could make a difference to the person you love most … your child.’

She stared at him for a long, torn moment.

‘Three months?’

She was cracking. Good. And, if by some miracle she’d forgotten how their sexual chemistry sizzled, now he would fully remind her.

He drew her near, and the desire they’d shared before plumed in the pit of his stomach. His heart began to beat another rhythm as he remembered the way her limbs had felt twined around him, how she’d murmured his name over and over after he’d tipped her over the edge. He needed her to remember too, to convince her to do this his way. The only way.

Pulling her in by her shoulders, he didn’t kiss her, but rather drank in the lines of her face with his gaze—smooth skin, kissable lips, eyes he still wanted to drown in. He couldn’t see that ever changing.

Gradually the tension bracing her body eased. She didn’t return his embrace, but neither did she push him away. ‘Cooper, where on your list is love?’

His blood stopped flowing before he assured her, ‘As of today I have a new list.’

Her mouth twisted to one side. ‘If that’s supposed to make me feel any better, it doesn’t.’

‘Then let’s try this.’

With great purpose he lowered his head and kissed her, with equal measures of tenderness and meaning. A shower of electric impulses zapped over his skin. Down below, his blood began to stir and heat. For a moment he was back in that room with Sophie in his arms and tomorrow a million light years away.

He needn’t worry about luck. If the way her body quivered and pressed against him now was anything to go by, he had more than enough ammunition to succeed.

Because failure was not an option. He wasn’t accustomed to losing, and before long Sophie would learn to accept that.