Читать книгу Twin Ties, Twin Joys: The Boss's Double Trouble Twins / Twins for a Christmas Bride / Baby Twins: Parents Needed - Raye Morgan - Страница 10

DARCY froze, holding her breath.

“Babies?” Mitch was saying, just the way she’d imagined he would. “What babies?” He looked thunderstruck.

“Darcy’s two little ones, of course,” Mimi said. “The twins. Didn’t you know?”

He turned back into the room. His gaze met hers.

“You’ve got babies?” He said it as though he was sure there had to be some sensible answer to this puzzle, hopefully one he could accept.

“Bring them out, Darcy,” Mimi was urging. “Let Mitch see them.”

She licked her dry lips. This was not the right way to do it. “Uh, they’re sleeping.”

“Already?” Mimi looked skeptical. “You just put them in there. How did you get them to sleep so fast?”

“Magic powers?” she quipped, still hanging on to her last shred of hope.

The sound of a crash came from the bedroom, and hope was gone.

“Noisy sleepers,” Mitch said dryly, his steel-colored eyes penetrating. “I’m guessing your powers aren’t quite what you thought they were.”

Darcy managed a tremulous smile, then turned on her heel and headed for the bedroom to see what had happened. Mimi and Mitch were close behind her. There was no way to stop this now. He was going to see the boys. And what was he going to see when he looked into their blue eyes, so like his own? Was he going to recognize parts of himself staring back at him? And if he did, what was he going to do about it? Apprehension shivered through her.

She opened the bedroom door to reveal a scene of minor chaos. Somehow, Sammy had gotten out of the crib and made his way to the changing table, which he had tried to climb, knocking down the baby powder, which landed on his head. There he sat on the floor, covered with powder and grinning broadly, very pleased with himself. Meanwhile Sean sat in his own crib, looking through the bars at his brother and laughing with a silly hiccuping sound. Sammy tried to clap his hands. He missed, but he did manage to send up a cloud of baby powder, making Sean laugh even harder.

“He climbed out!” Darcy cried, looking at the extra-high bars she’d paid extra for. “How did he do that?”

“Oh my,” Mimi said, shaking her head. “How could one little boy do so much damage in such a short time?”

It took a few moments and Mimi’s help to get things back in order. Darcy murmured a few stern words, then a few more soft reassurances to Sammy as she cleaned him up and then safely installed him back in bed. In the meantime she’d forgotten all about Mitch standing there, watching it all, until she turned and saw him leaning against the doorjamb.

Meeting his gaze, she tried to read what he was thinking from the look in his eyes, but his gaze was hard, hooded. She deliberately lifted her chin. She was proud of these little guys and she wanted to show that.

“Mitch, this is Sammy and this is Sean. My boys.” She made a flourish and waited to see what he would say.

Mitch was numb. This changed everything. Darcy had children. Twin boys. And they looked way too familiar for comfort.

His first thought was that these must be Jimmy’s children. After all, Darcy was living here with Jimmy’s mother. It seemed logical. But there was a problem with that theory. He couldn’t remember exactly what color eyes Jimmy had, but he was pretty sure they weren’t blue. Darcy had eyes that flashed almost ebony. And these little boys had the bluest eyes he’d ever seen—outside of his own baby pictures. In fact, these babies could have been stand-ins for him and his brother.

He turned and looked at Darcy. She looked at him. There was an air of defiance in her face. He felt like he couldn’t pull a breath in all the way.

“We need to talk,” he said softly.

She nodded.

“Why didn’t you want me to know?” he asked her bluntly as soon as they were far enough away from the house to speak freely.

Biting her lip she kept her head down. They were walking between two houses, heading for the open area of scrub pine that lined the canyon that ran just north of the neighborhood. Mimi had agreed to watch the babies for a while, to give them time to take a walk.

“I was going to tell you tomorrow, when we went for coffee,” she said, wishing it didn’t sound like an excuse.

He shook his head, rejecting her statement. “I don’t know, Darcy. You weren’t acting like someone who wanted to come clean.” There was a real flash of anger in his voice. “You don’t contact me for two years. You move to the place you know I’ve sworn I’ll never go to again. When I show up, you act cagey.” He turned to face her. His eyes were troubled and the muscles of his neck stood out like cords. “I don’t buy it. You didn’t want me to know.”

She stopped and stared up at him, mouth open with astonishment. “What are you talking about? You’re the one who stepped out into a crowd in Paris and never looked back. You might as well have stepped off the face of the earth. You certainly disappeared from my life without a second thought. I … I tried for months to find you.”

She paused to steady her voice. She wasn’t going to let emotions take over and the last thing in the world she wanted to do was cry.

“That had to be a very deliberate disappearing act to let you vanish so completely,” she pointed out.

“You knew where I was going.”

“Oh sure. Brazil.” She threw up her hands and started walking again, mostly so she wouldn’t have to look into his eyes. “It’s a big country. But I suppose I could have called up the Brazilian phone company and asked to be connected to that tall, handsome American who went by various names but might have entered the country as Mitch Carver.” She flashed a scathing look over her shoulder. “I’m sure they would have found you right away.”

He sighed, shoving his hands down into his pockets. “Okay, I guess I wasn’t the easiest person to find at the time,” he admitted gruffly, his long stride keeping pace with her quick steps. “But you knew the kind of work I do. You knew I was going to be melting into other cultures. I told you what my life was like.”

“You did. And that’s fine. I can understand that.”

She could understand it on a certain level. But she couldn’t forgive the fact that he hadn’t felt the need to contact her in any way. Had he forgotten her the moment he’d stepped on the plane? Had the time they spent together, time that had changed her life for good, been so meaningless to him? Was she just another woman in a string of affairs? Her heart cracked when she thought that way.

“I understand that you can’t be tied down,” she was saying. “I never really expected that of you. Not while I was sane, at any rate,” she added, letting a note of sarcasm creep into her tone. “And I don’t expect it now.”

He swore softly, shaking his head. “What I don’t get is, what made you so sure …?”

“That they’re yours?” She swung around to face him, her eyes glittering. “I can’t believe you could ask such a thing!”

He stared at her. “Darcy, I didn’t ask it. I can see they’re mine. You don’t have to prove anything to me.”

“Oh. Well, good.” Her cheeks filled with color and heat, but the relief that also filled her blotted out any embarrassment. She hadn’t really let herself formulate the fear, but now she knew she’d been dreading that he would want explanations and promises. And if he had demanded those things, she was ready to hate him.

As if that were possible.

Well, anyway, she’d been planning to be really, really angry. Only now, she didn’t have to be. That left her with an empty space inside, but it quickly filled up with more yearning. She just couldn’t help it. Even when she was angry with him, she couldn’t turn off the feelings that surged in her when she looked at him.

They reached the edge of the canyon and both stopped, looking down at the sharp drop off into wild brush. Mitch’s mind went back for a moment to when he and Jimmy had spent hours in all that wilderness as boys, losing themselves in adventure fantasies. He hadn’t realized at the time that he would grow up to live some of those playacting scenes out in real life. He kicked at a rock and listened as it skittered down the side of the canyon, until it got lost in the underbrush.

“I guess we weren’t as careful as we should have been, were we?” he mused, remembering that for the short amount of time they’d spent together, there had been an awful lot of chances to forget to be careful. Once they’d begun, they’d both been insatiable—probably because they knew they had so little time. What else could have made them so crazy?

“So what now?” he asked gruffly. “Do we get married, or what?” “Oh!”

She let the small word out with so much outrage, he looked up in surprise. He was only trying to figure out what was expected in situations like this. He’d never been here before. Was he supposed to know everything?

“I wouldn’t marry you if you were …” She clamped her lips shut, cutting off the cliché, but they both knew it by heart. She took a deep breath. “Let me put it this way,” she said more carefully. “There are men who are fathers, and there are men who are biological donors.” She glared at him. “We’ll just put you into the latter category, okay? You’ve made your most important contribution. Now all we need from you is health information and maybe an occasional financial donation. And that, only when absolutely necessary.”

He frowned. He didn’t like the way she was putting things, but right now, he hadn’t thought the situation through well enough to know what he wanted to say in rebuttal. Still, he did know he didn’t want to shirk his duty in any way.

“Listen, Darcy, I agree that a marriage between you and me just wouldn’t work out, but I definitely want to help you in any way I can. We need to figure how much money you’ll need and I’ll set up a monthly fund.”

“No!”

She was cringing inside. How was it that he didn’t understand that his offer was so hurtful she could hardly bear it—that it was even worse than his halfhearted mention of marriage that seemed so easy to brush away? That it was so obvious he just wanted to get the hell out of here. She closed her eyes, but only for a few seconds. She couldn’t let herself weaken.

“I will take some help because I’m going to need it,” she said, her voice rough as she tried to rein in her emotions. “But only enough to make sure the twins are okay.” She drew in a deep breath. “But help is one thing. Taking over my life is another.”

“Who said anything about taking over your life?”

She stared down into the canyon. “Those who give money always end up seeking control. It’s human nature.”

And then she wanted to bite her tongue. Why was she being so testy? This bristling edginess between them seemed so strange. They’d never been this way with each other before. In the old days, when he’d hardly glanced her way, she’d watched from afar, thinking he was the most wonderful thing in the world.

And then there had been Paris. The attraction between them had been immediate and explosive—a match being struck and igniting into instant flame. The joy of being together in that beautiful city, the ecstasy of the love they’d made in that narrow bed in his tiny hotel room, walking together down the wide boulevard and watching the dawn arrive over the spires and treetops of the sleeping city—it had all been a magical fantasy that she would cherish forever.

But that was then. This was reality, where they were giving each other scathing looks and tight-lipped smiles and acting as though they could barely stand to look at each other. What had happened? Was it just because of the babies?

She tried to imagine what it would have been like if there were no children, if he’d come back and found her much the way he’d left her. But no, it wouldn’t be very different. Even without the babies, there was still the fact that he’d walked off and forgotten all about her in a few short moments after that weekend. And she’d been able to think about nothing else—until Jimmy’s accident took center stage in her life. After all, when their eyes had first met in that washroom, there had been no spontaneous burst of joy between them. To the contrary, there had been an instant antagonism, an instant wariness—and it hadn’t been just her.

Face facts, Darcy, she told herself bitterly. He’s a love ‘em and leave ‘em guy who doesn’t particularly care to find the ones he’s left turning up on his doorstep. That much is obvious.

“Who knows about this?” he was asking.

“That you are their father? Nobody.” She shrugged. “Nobody but you and me. And I think Mimi is probably figuring it out as we speak.”

He nodded. “Okay. Do you want to leave it that way?”

No, of course she didn’t. But what else could she say? She turned so that he couldn’t see her face.

“I guess so. Especially since we’re going to be working together. I think it would be best, don’t you?”

He nodded again.

She looked back at him. “You might want to tell your parents.”

His handsome face registered surprise. “Why would I do a thing like that?”

“They’re grandparents and don’t even know it. Don’t you think they have a right to know?”

Slowly he shook his head. “They have nothing to do with my private life.”

“Oh.” She searched his face, puzzled by his attitude. His tone was so bitter. “I’ve met your father. I think he’s a very nice man.”

“Most people do.”

She rolled her eyes, just a little. “I see. Those who don’t know him like you do.” “You’ve got that right.”

She frowned, shaking her head and searching his face for clues. “What did he do to you, Mitch?” she asked gently.

Something hard flashed in his gaze and he grimaced. “We’re off topic,” he said. “We were talking about the fact that you had two kids who are part mine and you didn’t tell me about it.”

She lifted her chin. “No. We’re talking about the fact that I had two kids who are part yours and you wish I hadn’t.”

He stared down at her. How could he deny what she’d just said? It was true. She’d dropped a bombshell on him and he hadn’t recovered from the impact yet. He really wasn’t sure what he thought.

But one thing he knew for sure—babies or not, life-changing news or not, antagonism or not—he still wanted her like he’d never wanted any other woman. Every time he looked at her he felt that same pull, an attraction so strong, so deep, that it seemed almost physical. She drew him like a magnet. He longed for her, ached to hold her, hungered to feel that open, unrestrained response she’d given him in Paris. And yet, that seemed to be more and more impossible every moment. He could almost see the gulf widening between them. He hated that, but he had no idea how to stop it.

He’d been in a state of denial. He realized now that he’d felt this way for a long time. He’d dreamed about her on cold, empty nights in the Himalayas, seen her face in the reflective glass of windows on the streets of Brasilia, thought about her when he was alone and when he was in crowds. She’d been haunting him for two years. No wonder he’d finally had to come back.

But that didn’t make any sense. He hadn’t known she’d be here. He shook his head, rejecting that random thought. And yet …

Now, suddenly, the woman who obsessed him was the mother of his children. That brought him up short. What was he supposed to do with that? Emotions were churning inside him but he needed to sort them out. He wasn’t sure what he thought, what he felt. He needed a little time to think it all over.

“Listen, Darcy,” he said, turning to head back toward the house. “This has really knocked me for a loop. I can’t seem to put together a coherent thought right now. I need some time.”

She nodded. They walked back in silence, the crunching of the rocks beneath their feet the only sound. A cool breeze was kicking up, slapping her blond hair against her face. She shivered and drew her arms in close. As they came back in front of the house, she turned to him. Despite everything, she longed to have him love the boys the way she did. Maybe, if he got to know them …

“Do you want to come in?”

“No.”

She drew back, startled at his abrupt tone of voice.

“No,” he repeated, deliberately sounding gentler this time. “I think I’d better go. I’ve got to think about this.”

She nodded, but her heart sank. He seemed to read her disappointment in her face, because he hesitated and added, “Darcy, you know I’m not used to this yet. You’ve had two years to get used to it. I’m just starting down that road.”

“Sure,” she said. “I understand.”

He raked fingers through his hair and looked at her with a half smile. “Do you? That’s good. Because I sure don’t.”

She could have used a sharp retort against him but she didn’t. Something in the lost, bewildered look in his eyes stopped her. He really had been sent into a tailspin and needed to right himself before they talked more. She could see that. So she nodded when he said, “Goodbye.”

“See you tomorrow,” she said simply.

She watched him get into his car and start down the driveway. She stood where she was until he was out of sight.

“Why me?” she whispered to whatever power in the universe might be listening. “Surely there are others who deserve to be tortured much more than I do.”

This was all so disturbing, but she thought she understood him to a point. Yes, she understood his need for time to think, but there was something she didn’t understand. Or, maybe she understood it too well and just didn’t like it. He didn’t want to come in and see the babies again. Maybe he would never want to see them. That thought was like a knife through her heart. How could he turn his back on those two sweet babies?

And yet, what did she expect him to do? Oh sure, he could write a check and pretend that took care of everything. But what else did she want from him? It wasn’t even clear to her yet. Something was bruised deep inside her and she tried to figure out just exactly why. She was hurt and disappointed that Mitch was acting like he didn’t want the babies, but this was more. This had to do with his reaction to her.

Maybe it was for all she’d lost. She wasn’t that girl anymore, that open and loving woman who’d clung to him and made love to him so freely, so full of joy. That girl was gone forever. She could no longer do things just because she wanted to. She had two little babies to care for. She had to take them into account before she did anything at all.

So maybe that was it—a sense of mourning for the lost Darcy of old.

“Whatever,” she muttered to herself. “Good riddance, anyway.”

But her eyes brimmed with tears. “Has he gone?” Mimi asked as she came back into the house.

“Yes,” Darcy answered. “Thanks for taking the babies for me. Are they down?”

“Yes indeed, and sleeping soundly. They were all worn out from their escapade.”

Darcy smiled.

“Mitch is such a nice fellow,” Mimi went on, bending to pick up a toy lodged halfway under the couch. “He was always one of my favorites of Jimmy’s friends. Even with that mother of his.”

“His mother? Do you know her well?”

“Not well, but of course we had to deal with each other over the years, our sons being friends and all.” She stopped and considered, head to the side. “I always had the feeling that she wished Mitch would find someone else to spend his time with, someone from the wealthy neighborhood they lived in. But that could have been my imagination, I suppose.”

Darcy nodded. “I had a similar feeling the day I tried to talk to her about getting in touch with Mitch.”

“Oh. I see.”

She saw everything and knew everything. Darcy shook her head, half laughing. “Oh, Mimi, the answer is yes, Mitch is the father of my babies.”

Mimi shook her head, looking bemused. “Well, come on into the kitchen and have a cup of tea with me,” she said, “and tell me all about it. This is a story that’s been a long time coming, so it better be good.”

Darcy laughed lovingly as she turned to follow her friend. She knew Mimi was still disappointed that she and Jimmy hadn’t clicked romantically, but she was bighearted enough to want the best for Darcy anyway. And for the babies.

“It’s a fairly short story,” she warned. “But I’ll see what I can do to embellish it for you.”

“You do that,” Mimi said approvingly. “And I’ll brew the tea.”