by Cindy Kirk
“Whatever.” Shane waved a dismissive hand. “How can you be certain the baby isn’t his?”
“He and I, well, we hadn’t been...together in that way since November.” Two bright spots of red dotted her pale cheeks.
“Or so you say.” His gaze bored into hers. “What does Doug do for a living?”
“His name is—” Lia stopped herself midsentence and appeared to refocus. “Why does his occupation matter?”
“Please answer the question.”
“He works for his uncle who has a car dealership.”
Another sharp stab of disappointment lanced Shane’s heart even though the answer was what he’d expected. “Financially it would be a whole lot better for you to pass your baby off as a Fortune rather than the son or daughter of a car salesman.”
Lia’s brows pulled together. “You never told me your last name. I didn’t even know you were a Fortune until you walked into the office yesterday and Sawyer introduced you as his brother.”
Shane made a scoffing sound. “You’ve been working for my brother for over a month.”
“It’s not as if Sawyer keeps family photos around—”
“Our families are well-known in Red Rock. Our pictures are always in the local paper.”
Her chin jutted out. “Not yours.”
“You probably already knew who I was when we got together on New Year’s.”
“Yeah, right,” she said with exaggerated sarcasm. “That’s why I went back to the hotel hoping to find out your last name. Do you have any idea how humiliating it is to be pregnant and not know the last name of your baby’s father? And then to be stonewalled by the hotel staff as if I was some sort of stalker?”
“You went there with the goal of pinning this on me.”
“My goal was to let you know you were going to be a father.”
“Let’s cut to the chase. I assume this is about money.” His heart felt hollow, empty. He’d liked her. Had looked forward to getting reacquainted with her. Never had he expected her to try to shake him down. “If you were in a jam and needed help financially, all you had to do was ask. Instead you lied.”
“I’m not lying.” Tears flooded her eyes. “And I have a job now and one lined up later to take care of me and the baby.”
The waiter hurried over, his gaze discreetly focused on the plates of food in front of them. “How are the salads, sir?”
“They’re fine,” Shane assured him, his tone all business. “Something has come up and we need to leave. You can put the meals on my brother’s tab.”
Lia rose to her feet, dabbing at her eyes with a tissue. They strode through the dining room without touching or speaking.
While waiting for the valet to retrieve the car, she turned to him. Her brown eyes, normally open and filled with good humor, were shuttered.
“I’m going to have the doorman call me a cab.”
“You’re not calling a cab.” Shane forced a conversational tone. “Our discussion is just getting started.”
She didn’t respond but when the car pulled up, she stepped inside. Shane wasn’t surprised. At this point nothing she could do or say would surprise him.
They were almost to her apartment before she spoke again. “I’m not lying. Whether you want to believe it or not, this baby is yours.”
Shane tightened his hands on the steering wheel. He was ready to threaten her with a lawsuit if she kept spouting such nonsense, but a tiny niggle of doubt kept his mouth shut. What if the baby was his?
“I didn’t grow up with a father around.” Her voice shook slightly as she filled the silence. “That’s why I was determined to find you. This baby will need you, Shane. Don’t throw the opportunity away to get to know your son or daughter just because you’re angry about the circumstances.”
He thought of his brother Asher and his nephew Jace. Even when Asher was getting a divorce last year, he’d fought for full custody of Jace. Of course, Lynn had been a nightmare and a totally unsuitable parent.
His gut said Lia would be a good mother. Then again his gut had also told him she could be trusted.
Still, what if she was telling the truth? What if this child she was carrying was his?
“You’ve given me a lot to think about, Lia.” This time Shane kept his conflicting emotions from his voice. “Tomorrow, my day is filled with meetings. Let’s talk more on Thursday. I’ll pick you up at nine and take you to breakfast.”
“I’m afraid that time won’t work.” Lia shook her head, her voice filled with regret. “Thursday is a workday.”
“I’ll clear it with Sawyer,” Shane said. “It won’t be a problem.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
Relief crossed her face. “Then nine o’clock will be fine.”
He wanted to tell her not to count her chickens yet. Tonight he’d figure out his strategy.
Tomorrow, he’d put that strategy into action.
* * *
Shane’s brothers exchanged glances as he finished his story.
Wyatt shook his head. “Odds are the kid isn’t yours.”
“I never would have believed Natalia was capable of something like this,” Sawyer said, a distressed look on his face.
“Sounds to me like running into her on New Year’s Eve may have been a setup,” Asher said quietly.
Shane flexed his fingers and paced the area in front of the living room’s large stone fireplace. “I considered the setup angle. But how was she to know that I’d wander out into the courtyard when I didn’t even know it myself?”
“You said she caught your eye when you glanced into the ballroom,” Wyatt reminded him. “Maybe she hoped if she went somewhere quieter and more private, you’d follow.”
“It’s possible.” Shane raked a hand through his hair. “I can’t believe this is happening.”
Shane rarely swore but right now it fit his mood. Anger. Hurt. Betrayal. The emotions were woven so tightly together it was impossible to say where one ended and the other began.
“What are you going to do if the baby is yours?” Asher asked.
“I’ll hire me the best damn lawyer and get full custody, just like you did with Jace.” Shane spat out the words. He couldn’t believe Lia had fooled him so completely.
“It’s not easy being a single parent,” Asher warned. “You may want to think twice about suing for complete custody.”
“You guys are putting the cart before the horse.” Wyatt blew out a breath and stood. “The kid probably isn’t even his. Even if she wasn’t on the pill, Shane said he used condoms every time. Right?”
His brother looked to him for confirmation and Shane nodded.
“So, we’re wasting time talking about something that isn’t a concern.” Wyatt cast him a glance. “I assume you have a plan?”
“I’ve got a plan.” Shane’s chuckle held no humor. “Tomorrow, Natalia Serrano will find out just what happens when you tangle with a Fortune.”
Chapter Six
Even though she didn’t have to be at work at eight this morning, Lia still woke at her regular time. She quickly readied herself for the day ahead then stepped to her closet to decide what to wear.
It was a relief that she no longer had to keep her pregnancy a secret, especially when she had so many cute maternity dresses on loan from a girlfriend.
She pulled out a bold orange cotton twill dress that tied under her bust. Though it had little pizzazz on its own, when paired with black leggings and a pair of platform pumps, it popped.
Just like my belly, Lia thought with a smile, curving her fingers under the small mound, which now reached her belly button.
“You’re growing bigger and stronger every day, mi amorcito,” she cooed in a soft, melodic tone. “I feel you move all the time now.”
At her last visit the doctor at the medical clinic had told her that she should start to feel movements from the baby and that it would probably feel like gas bubbles.
Gas bubbles.
Lia wrinkled her nose. “Butterfly wings, not gas bubbles.”
When she’d felt the first wisp of a butterfly wing, she’d sat down and cried. Because the baby had seemed real to her. And because she’d been alone.
A knock sounded and she jumped.
Shane.
This time the quivering in her stomach didn’t have a thing to do with the baby. It had to do with her child’s tall, dark and very handsome father standing on the other side of that door.
Tuesday Shane had been shocked and clearly disbelieving, but she’d expected that initial reaction. Now that he’d had more time to think about it, hopefully he was ready to accept that he would soon be a father.
“I’ll be right there,” she called out, snatching her favorite spice-colored lipstick from the dresser and quickly applying it. Looking her best gave Lia confidence and today she would need it.
A sharp rap at the door sounded, followed quickly by another louder, more forceful knock. Her lips lifted in a rueful smile. She was beginning to realize Shane Fortune was not a patient man.
After peering into the peephole and confirming it was indeed him, she unlatched the chain, flipped the dead bolt and opened the door.
He had on a pair of gray pants and a blue-and-gray button-down shirt. The shirt made his eyes look like the lapis lazuli beads she’d purchased yesterday.
She forced a bright smile, hoping to get the morning off on a good note.
“You look...nice.” His eyes widened then lingered on the belly bump that had been well hidden beneath yesterday’s tunic dress.
“Thank you.” She glanced down at her platform pumps. “I guess I should ask if we’re walking to a café or driving. If we’re walking I probably should change shoes.”
His gaze followed hers. When it slowly lifted, it left a trail of fire in its wake. “We’re driving.”
“Good,” she said. “Because I love these shoes.”
“You like nice things.”
It was an odd comment. Lia lifted one shoulder in a slight shrug. “I’m a woman. Of course I like nice things.”
“Liking nice things the way you do, it’s probably hard for you to live here.” He glanced around the small space.
Lia didn’t like her studio apartment well enough to defend it. She shrugged. “It’s okay...for now.”
“You have aspirations of a much grander scale.”
“I’m ambitious,” she said slowly. Was he worried she wouldn’t take good care of their child? “Like I told you on New Year’s Eve, someday I hope to support myself on my beading income alone.”
He gave a grunt that told her nothing.
“Where did you have in mind to eat?” she asked as he held open her front door.
“I thought we’d take a drive to San Antonio this morning.”
“Why?” Lia pulled her brows together. “There are several nice cafés not far from here. Why would we drive an hour simply to eat?”
He took her arm, holding her gently but firmly on the trip down the stairs. “There’s a place I know on the River Walk that I thought you’d like.”
Lia loved the network of walkways along the San Antonio River one story beneath downtown San Antonio. Lined with restaurants and shops, the two parallel sidewalks connected the major tourist sites in the city. “It sounds like fun. But I assume Sawyer only gave me the morning off, not the whole day. And we’d spend at least an hour driving there and back.”
“Don’t worry about Sawyer—”
“I have to worry about him,” Lia said as she slipped inside the Mercedes sedan. “He’s my boss,” she reminded Shane while he settled himself behind the wheel.
“He gave you the day off.” Shane hit the accelerator and the car leaped away from the curb. “With pay.”
“I couldn’t accept—”
“He knows we have a lot to figure out.” Shane’s gaze remained fixed straight ahead as he pulled onto a roadway that would take them to San Antonio.
“You told him about the baby.” Lia had known this would happen, eventually. She’d just assumed he’d wait to tell his family until after their talk today.
“He’d find out soon enough anyway.”
She thought how nice Sawyer had been to her all these weeks. “How did he react? What did he say?”
Shane’s hands tightened on the steering wheel but his expression gave nothing away. “He was surprised.”
“Was he angry I didn’t tell him I was pregnant when he hired me?” She hated to press, but she needed to know what she’d be facing when she reported for work tomorrow.
“I don’t believe he’s concerned with that at all.”
Still, the worry bubbling up inside Lia wasn’t so easily assuaged.
“It shouldn’t matter. Marjorie is supposed to be back the end of July and I’m not due until late September.” Lia hoped Shane understood that her being pregnant wasn’t going to affect the job she did for his brother.
He made a sound she took for agreement.
Lia folded her hands in her lap to still their trembling. “So do you want to talk about...things...now or wait until after that first cup of coffee?”
He slanted a sideways glance. “I think any baby discussion should wait until after you’ve seen the doctor.”
“I have seen a doctor,” Lia hastened to reassure him. She certainly didn’t want him to think she hadn’t been taking proper care of herself. “I’ve been going to the Red Rock Clinic monthly since the pregnancy was confirmed.”
As The Fortune Foundation funded the clinic, Shane was well aware of the services it offered. But because of his family’s prominence in the community, he preferred to have today’s business conducted outside of Red Rock.
“I booked an appointment for you later this morning with Dr. Gray, a prominent ob-gyn in San Antonio.”
“That’s nice of you, Shane, really it is. But I don’t have the money to—”
“I’ll pay for it.”
“Not to mention San Antonio is too far for me to go for monthly checkups,” she continued as if he hadn’t spoken.
“Let’s start with this one visit,” Shane said easily. “See what you think of her.”
Lia thought for a moment. Shane getting this appointment for her was really a sweet thing to do. And she was due for another checkup. If she went in for the appointment today, she could have Dr. Gray send the record of this visit to the Red Rock Clinic and then skip her monthly check there.
“If it would make you feel better to have her take a look at me and the baby, I’ll do it.”
“Thank you.”
She leaned over and rested her hand lightly on the sleeve of his oxford shirt. “Thank you for caring.”
The morning sped quickly by. During the drive and over breakfast, Shane seemed to make an effort to keep the conversation light and off the baby. She followed his lead.
Despite the casual chatter, an underlying tension hovered in the air like a dark cloud. Lia told herself Shane was simply concerned about the baby’s health. That once the doctor confirmed all was well he would relax. That the fact he cared enough to make this appointment was an encouraging first step.
Still, remembering the intensity of his reaction to the news of her pregnancy, she couldn’t help but worry he still had doubts.
* * *
The office in Westover Hills had plush carpet and a hushed calmness that was in sharp contrast to the Red Rock Clinic. There were always little ones running around the clinic, shrieking and jabbering in both English and Spanish.
Shane opened the door to the suite and gestured for her to step inside. Several obviously pregnant women sitting in the waiting area lifted their eyes from the magazines in their laps. An appreciative gleam filled their gazes when they saw the man beside her.
When Lia hesitated, Shane placed his hand gently on her back and kept it there while urging her forward across the waiting room.
“Shane Fortune.” He handed a card to the receptionist. “We’re here to see Dr. Gray.”
The receptionist’s gaze flickered over the card. She immediately rose from behind the counter. “Of course.”
Seconds later, the door leading to the exam rooms opened and they were ushered back. “But the other women—”
“Dr. Gray is expecting us,” Shane said in a pleasant conversational tone. “We have an appointment. Remember?”
Lia decided the other women must be here to see the other doctors. There had been a whole list of names by the door, with Dr. Gray’s at the very top.
Instead of being taken to an exam room as Lia expected, they were ushered into an office with a large oak desk, a burgundy leather chair for the doctor and two large chintz wingbacks.
Shane waited until she was seated then sat in the other chair.
He’d barely sat down when the door opened. They both sprang to their feet.
“Mr. Fortune.” The petite brown-haired woman with the bobbed hair and warm smile extended her hand to Shane. “How nice to meet you.”
When the doctor turned to her, Lia found herself struck by the kindness in her eyes. The fortysomething doctor wasn’t old or stodgy as she’d feared. Lia liked her instantly.
“I’m Lia Serrano,” she said as the doctor’s hand closed over hers. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“The pleasure is mine. You look lovely in orange,” Dr. Gray commented. “It’s the perfect color for your warm skin tone.”
Lia began to relax. Perhaps this visit wouldn’t be so bad after all. “Thank you.”
“Please sit down.” She waited for them to sit down before she stepped behind the desk. “We have a lot to discuss.”
Lia cocked her head. “We do?”
The doctor looked at Shane. “Mr. Fortune, when you made this appointment, I assumed she had been informed—”
“Please. Call me Shane.”
The doctor shifted her gaze to Lia. “Did Mr. Fortune, er, Shane, discuss the reason for your visit today?”
Lia nodded.
The doctor appeared relieved. Which made no sense to Lia. Wouldn’t any pregnant woman coming to an ob-gyn clinic expect an exam?
“Good. Even though amniocentesis is a relatively common procedure, it’s not without risk.” The doctor opened her mouth to continue but Lia spoke up.