Nick’s eyebrows knitted together, puzzling over my answer. “Why wouldn’t you? There’s an entire world out there beyond Parker ranch, and you’re not even the least bit curious?”
I paused. “I guess I am, but maybe it’s not enough for me to go discover it.”
“Why not?”
“Well, for one thing, I can’t afford it,” I reminded him, the words sounding bitter in my mouth. A man like Nick would never understand what it was like to live paycheck to paycheck. His grandparents had always made sure he never wanted for anything, and as soon as he was old enough to work, he would help people out on neighboring ranches, making enough money to get himself out.
All because he had the kind of ambition and skills necessary to get off the ranch and not have to come back. I admired him for it, but I wasn’t naïve enough to believe that we were the same.
Not even close.
For starters, I didn’t even know who or where my real family was. Of course, there was every chance they were still alive, but I had no way of knowing – and no time or resources to look for them, either.
Besides, I firmly believed that if they’d wanted to seek me out, they would’ve done so by now. So to dwell on it helped no one, least of all myself. As far as I was concerned, the Parkers were my real family, and that was all there was to it.
But it didn’t mean I didn’t wonder about the kind of opportunities I could’ve had, if my life had taken a different turn, that is. In any case, it was strange to lie in bed next to a man whose fortune was rumored to be somewhere in the billions when I had about thirty dollars to my name.
No, money didn’t impress me – but the hard work and discipline put in did. And in spite of my earlier assessment of him, I could tell that Nick was good at what he did. He had a natural knack for the world of business, with its tall gleaming buildings and cold hard cash.
“And the other?” Nick prompted, running his fingers up and down my arm, sensing that finances weren’t something I enjoyed talking about. Thankfully, he was able to pick up on that because the last thing I wanted was to get into a debate about something I couldn’t control.
“Most people travel to find a place where they belong,” I began. “Why would I do that when I belong here?”
He nodded. “I get what you mean, but I guess having that kind of affirmation doesn’t hurt. There’s so much more to life than working from sunrise to sunset and taking care of animals.”
“I know,” I admitted. “But I’m happy here.”
Before he could say anything else, I pressed my lips to his mouth, drawing his bottom lip between my teeth, smiling when his hands moved to my waist, trailing over the curve of my hip. He made a low growling noise in the back of his throat as I rubbed myself against him, allowing my fingers to stroke the full length of him.
In a still-sleepy haze, I pushed the covers off and threw my legs on either side of him. With my arms bracketing him, he pressed his lips to my stomach, gazing up at me with hunger filled eyes.
He grabbed a fistful of my hair and pulled me down, his mouth covering mine completely, a slow burn starting from the tips of my toes and settling in my stomach. I placed my hands on the headboard, offering myself support as I lowered myself onto him. I watched as his eyes grew wide, his breathing coming out in a quiet hiss.
His fingers dug into my hips, shifting to give me better access as I began to move, watching the enraptured expression on his face. His eyes squeezed shut, and he bit down on his bottom lip hard, his hands coming up to fondle my breasts.
I GROANED AND REACHED for the pillow, placing it atop my head. Snippets of conversation grated against my ears, interrupting my dreams, and I grimaced, pressing my fingers to my ears.
What was happening?
A sigh escaped my mouth as I flipped over, reaching for Nick across the bed only to come up empty-handed. I pressed my fingers to the bed, surprised to find that it was still warm. I flipped to the other side and looked at the clock, surprised to find that I still had time before I had to get up.
I borrowed my head further into the pillow, trying to chase the tailcoats of the dream I was having, but the voices grew louder and intrusive. I ran my hands over my face and rubbed my eyes, throwing the covers off.
Nick sounded angry.
I threw my robe on and hurried down the stairs, puzzled to hear another voice I didn’t recognize. Once I reached the landing, I rounded the corner, headed into the kitchen and found a blonde woman standing with her hands on her hips, facing off against Nick, her dark eyes troubled.
“Gwen, sorry we woke you up,” Nick said, apologetically. “You should go back to bed.”
“What’s going on?” I asked, my voice thick with sleep. I tossed the blonde a quick look, noticing her expensive and skin-tight clothes. Perhaps she was some kind of business partner of Nick’s, I thought.
Though obviously not one he liked, since the animosity rolling off of him in waves.
“Brenda was just about to leave,” Nick announced, shooting her a long look. “Weren’t you?”
Brenda crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head. “No, I’m not going anywhere. You can’t pretend this isn’t happening, Nick. I’m carrying your baby, and the sooner you can come to terms with that, the better.”
BOOK FOUR: SECRET OBSESSION
Chapter 1
Gwen.
Something didn’t feel right.
My ears were ringing, the same words repeating themselves over and over, some kind of obscure chant banging on glass, demanding my attention, but I couldn’t react. I was aware of my chest rising and falling, sucking in air like I was desperate, craving it, but it didn’t feel like enough.
Everything was muted, like I was underwater and screaming at the top of my lungs only producing bubbles, little puffs of air that didn’t help anyone, least of all me. Still, I tried, my mouth moving, forming the words, but nothing came out.
I blinked, and the world around me swam back into focus. Instantly, my eyes shifted to Brenda, with her bleached blonde hair, refusing to budge an inch, and Nick standing across from her, looking like he was about to tear his own hair out.
Of their own accord, my eyes trailed down her stomach where I could’ve sworn I noticed a slight bump, but I couldn’t tell for sure. Brenda’s hands slid down to her stomach and clutched it protectively, as if she could shield the baby from the truth.
Nick’s baby.
Nick’s baby.
The sentence kept repeating itself in my head, stuck on repeat like a merry-go-round tune. I swallowed past the lump in my throat and allowed my hands to fall limply at my side, all the energy draining from me in one fell swoop.
“What did you say?”
Brenda cleared her throat. “I said that I’m carrying Nick’s baby. I’m sorry, but who are you?”
I scrubbed my hands over my face, weary. “I work here, and I used to work for Nick’s grandparents before they passed.”
Brenda flicked her hair behind her head. “Okay. Look, no offense or anything, but this is a private conversation.”
Of course.
I wanted to yell at her, or throw something, but she was absolutely right. I should give them both a wide berth of space to process the news, especially Nick who looked like he wanted to keel over and hurl.
In fact, he looked a little green around the edges, disbelief written all over his features. His eyes kept sliding over to me questioningly as if he expected me to have a much more vocal reaction, but I kept it together, hanging on tooth and nail, in spite of the desire to crumble.
“No, it isn’t,” Nick insisted. “Anything you want to say can be said in front of Gwen.”
Brenda spared me a look, her eyes roaming over me, as if I was being assessed for something. She looked unimpressed as she shoved one hand in her pocket, and the other resting on her waist.
“Look, I know this isn’t easy for you to hear, Nick,” she continued, turning her back on me as if I didn’t exist. At that moment
, I didn’t, and I resisted the urge to spin on my heels, climb back up the stairs and pull the covers over me, blocking the outside world.
No, I wouldn’t allow them to do that to me – either of them.
This may not have been Nick’s fault – accidental pregnancies happened all the time – but his reaction left a lot to be desired. He couldn’t even hide the disgust on his face as he looked at Brenda, inching slightly backward.
“But facts are facts,” she added. “And the truth is that I’m pregnant. Now, you can bury your head in the sand if you want, but this is your baby, too.”
“Stop saying that,” he hissed, raking his hands through his hair. It stood up in tufts atop his head, giving him a slightly unhinged look. One eye twitched as he started pacing the length of the kitchen, brushing past Brenda and briefly pausing in front of me before he continued.
I watched all of this with a strange sense of detachment, knowing the longer this went on, the less of a chance Nick and I had. Not that we had much of one to begin with, but with the arrival of Brenda, even that small chance was flickering out, soon to be snuffed out for good.
Even if I could get past the fact that he fathered someone else’s baby, I was certain that his reaction was imprinted in my mind’s eye and would be coming back to haunt me when I least expected it.
With each step Nick took, I retreated further and further into my shell, walls coming up to keep the hurt out, spears and swords at the ready. Quietly, I kept my eyes on Nick who stopped pacing and turned to face Brenda, his expression resolute.
“Brenda, I don’t know if this is some kind of trick to get me back, but it’s not going to work,” Nick pointed out. “We broke up for a reason, and I haven’t changed my mind.”
“How dare you?” she demanded, her face contorting. “You can’t talk to me like that! Don’t you have any kind of compassion?”
“I do, but I also have common sense,” he replied, anger seeping into his tone. “And, I’m not some idiot who’s just going to take your word for it. Now, get out!”
“Nick,” I gasped, taking a step forward. “You can’t treat her like that.”
He jerked back. “What do you mean? She’s lying, Gwen. Can’t you see that?”
I frowned. “You don’t have any proof that she is. Besides, I’m sure she’s had a long journey, and she needs to rest right now, don’t you?”
Brenda studied my expression before a smile spread across her features. “Yes, I do. It isn’t easy getting here, you know. Thank you, Gwen.”
I didn’t like the way her mouth curled around my name, uttering it like it was some kind of secret weapon, but I pushed through the unease. I knew that if I didn’t, Nick was going to do something he was going to regret.
Right now, he didn’t seem to be thinking clearly.
“You’re welcome to stay, Brenda,” I offered, tasting acid in the back of my throat.
“Like hell she is,” Nick protested. “Don’t say that she is.”
I tugged on his arm, offering Brenda a weak smile. “Would you excuse us for a minute, please?”
Before he had the chance to protest, I yanked with a little more force than was necessary, and he stumbled after me, muttering under his breath, but letting me lead him nonetheless.
As soon as I reached the living room, I released Nick’s arm and shut the double doors, offering us a modicum of privacy. I turned around to find him pacing again, his hands tangled through his hair.
“You can’t ask her to stay,” he argued. “She’s just going to cause trouble.”
“You can’t say that about the woman carrying your child,” I pointed out, dully. I ran my hands over my face, rubbing away the exhaustion that threatened to drag me under. The pain behind my eyelids was starting to blossom, pounding heavily against the back of my skull.
“Allegedly,” he corrected. “Allegedly carrying my child. Look, you don’t know Brenda like I do. When we broke up, she didn’t handle it well at all, so this must be some kind of ploy.”
“To what end, Nick? To get you back?” I pressed, wanting him to admit the truth he was so terrified of owning up to.
“Yes. No. I don’t know. I made it clear that we aren’t getting back together,” he commented. “So, maybe this is her way of getting one foot through the door.”
I’d heard all about women like that, hunters who would stop at nothing till they got what they wanted, including ruthlessly taking down whoever stood in their way and using whatever tricks they had up their sleeves to get what they wanted.
Brenda didn’t seem like the nicest person I’d ever met, but it didn’t make her liar. Besides, I was inclined to believe that a fake pregnancy was one line women wouldn’t cross, no matter what.
Nick covered the space between us and tilted my chin up, forcing me to look into his eyes. “Please, Gwen. Don’t let her fool you. Don’t let her ruin what we have.”
“What we have?” I echoed. “What do we have, huh? Tell me, Nick. What exactly do we have?”
He faltered. “Well... We... I...you know how it is.”
“Actually, I don’t,” I pointed out, searching his face for answers I knew I wouldn’t find. I didn’t even know why I was putting myself through this over and over again, like he was some kind of drug I couldn’t quit — just a small whiff, and I was following him down the rabbit hole again.
“And, we aren’t talking about that, anyway,” I reminded him, gently extracting my face from between his hands. It killed me to pull away from him, to reject his touch when it was the exact thing we both needed, but he had to figure out what was happening with Brenda before we could even begin to explore the idea of an us.
Until then, there was no room for it.
“No, we’re talking about my crazy ex,” Nick mumbled, frustration seeping into his tone. “I can’t believe she would just show up here like this.”
“Can you blame her? She’s probably scared,” I observed, tilting my head to the side. “Try to understand this from her perspective. She’s pregnant with a baby she probably doesn’t want, and to top it off, you’re turning her away.”
Put together like that, of course Nick would seem like the bad guy, but I knew it couldn’t be further from the truth. In truth, Nick was just reacting the way a caged animal would, trapped and desperate for a way out.
I half expected him to gnaw on his own hand to get himself out, anything but face the reality of where he was, and the change that was about to happen. It was clear that Nick was just scared and lashing out.
Every cruel word that fell from his lips was just his way of handling it, albeit poorly, and my heart went out to him and ached to comfort him, but I knew that I shouldn’t.
“You can’t ask her to stay,” Nick repeated, clinging to that statement. “This isn’t your ranch.”
I reeled back as I’d been slapped, my mouth pressing into a thin line. “Well, it’s not yours, either, is it?”
Nick exhaled. “I didn’t mean it like that, Gwen. I just... God. This is so fucked up. I’m sorry. I don’t know what to do.”
“She should stay,” I suggested. “It’s the right thing to do.”
“But she’s a gold digger,” he sputtered, a vein popping in his neck. “I don’t know how you can’t sense how fake she is, but I guess she’s just good at pretending. God knows I certainly fell for it, but she is bat shit crazy.”
“It also seems like she’s carrying your child,” I reminded him. “So, you need to figure out how to deal with that.”
With that, I took a step towards the door, my hands pausing atop the knob. I forced myself to take a deep breath, in through the nose and out through the mouth, envisioning something happy.
“She’s just a gold digger,” he mumbled, weakly. “I wish you’d see that.”
“Maybe I will,” I murmured. “But I’ve got a job to do.”
“Gwen,” Nick whispered.
I pretended not to hear him as I walked past Brenda, racing up the stairs until I reac
hed my room, my heart pounding against my chest. With a dull ache in the center of my chest, I changed into my regular work clothes. I was startled when I found my cheeks wet.
I touched my fingers to my cheek and sighed, taking a quick glance at the mirror. Compared to Brenda, I wasn’t exactly killing it, nor was I likely to be. Nick was more likely to end up with a woman like her, anyway.
Maybe this was fate’s way of speeding the process along and saving me the heartache.
Chapter 2
NICK.
Shit.
Out of all the titles I had coveted, and all the ones I chased after relentlessly, father wasn’t one of them. I’d dreamed of being a CEO and a millionaire, even a boyfriend, with the right person, of course.
However, none of those scenarios included an unwanted and unnecessary pregnancy. As it was, Brenda was the last person on Earth I wanted to have a baby with. Out of all the exes it could’ve been — and I had plenty — she was the absolute worst.
Conniving, manipulative and self-centered, I couldn’t even imagine why she would want to have a baby to begin with. As far as she was concerned, all it would do was ruin her body and take up her time.
No, this had to be some kind of elaborate hoax, although Brenda wouldn’t let up, insisting that she was in it for the long haul, with dollar signs in her eyes. The more she threw herself at me, forcing my hands upon her belly, the more I saw Gwen retreat further and further into her shell until she was a virtual stranger.
Granted, my attitude towards the whole issue wasn’t helping, but I wasn’t going to beat about the bush and pretended I wanted any part of this, much less a starring role in what was suddenly a soap opera.
I didn’t want kids, but it didn’t mean I wouldn’t love the baby if it were mine. Someday, but today wasn’t that day, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that Brenda was playing me, hoping to milk as much money as she could for our child.
The problem was that I had no idea what to do or how to even begin to fix this entire mess. Try as I might, I couldn’t look at Brenda without seeing the future she was taking away from me, yanking it out from underneath me without any remorse.
Secret Series: A Stealthy Billionaire Romance Box Set Page 10