Caught in the Spotlight

by Jules Bennett

  “Sorry.” Mia cringed as she turned to get a pan. “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

  Silence settled in once again as she mixed and poured everything into the baking stone. Once she had the dish in the oven, she wiped her hands on a towel and turned to Bronson.

  “That has to bake for about an hour. Do you want some wine or a drink?”

  “No, I’m good.”

  Mia couldn’t take it another minute. She just had to uncover the truth Olivia spoke of.

  “I know it’s not my place to pry, but I need to know about your ex-fiancée and the baby.”

  Bronson’s eyes turned dark as he jerked his gaze to hers. “No, you don’t. There’s nothing that concerns you.”

  Mia wet a rag and wiped off the counter. She needed a prop for her nervous hands. “Actually, it does involve me, considering you’re hesitant about everything because of your past. Your ex-fiancée is always in the room with us, whether you realize it or not.”

  “Leave it alone, Mia.”

  For once she was not going to back down. “You know all about my life. You know why this baby means so much to me. I want to know why this baby scares you to the point that you can’t even discuss it without tensing up.”

  Bronson came to his feet, running a hand through his stylishly messy hair. “I don’t know why you think now is the time to rehash all this.”

  “I’ve been wondering for a while, Bronson, and today your mother—”

  He jerked around. “My mother? You’ve got to be kidding. Did she tell you I loved that child, that his name was chosen and that I could hardly work for all the anticipation surrounding my upcoming marriage and baby?”

  Mia tossed the rag into the sink. “She just said that—”

  “What?” He threw his arms out to the side. “She said what? That my ex-fiancée was sleeping around behind my back and the baby wasn’t mine? Oh, and did she tell you how I believed the baby belonged to Anthony?”

  Breath caught in Mia’s throat. Anthony the father? That couldn’t be. He loved his wife more than anything and was fighting to save his marriage.

  She placed her palms on the island and stared into his tormented eyes. “Oh, God, Bronson. I had no idea.”

  “No, but you had to push and push until I gave in. Well, congratulations. Now you know my secret.” He muttered a curse. “I don’t know how that wasn’t leaked to the media. They all assumed we split over her losing the baby, that the stress was too much.”

  Mia remembered reading that, hearing those rumors. Now she understood why this DNA test was so important…especially considering the rumors about her and Anthony and after he’d seen them talking in Cannes.

  “That’s why you don’t believe me,” she whispered. “All of that in your past, added to my history with Anthony, has stacked the deck against me and instantly put you on guard. In Cannes, even, you probably thought I was working for the enemy. You slept with me with all these hateful thoughts in your head. I swear, Bronson, I never even entertained thoughts of sleeping with Anthony.”

  Mia turned, holding a hand over her slightly rounded stomach. She didn’t want any of this ugliness to touch her baby.

  “Maybe dinner was a bad idea.” She kept her gaze down, her body facing away from him. She couldn’t look him in the eye right now. Not when she knew so much hurt was swimming in hers. “I honestly didn’t meant to hurt you, to make you relive that nightmare. But I can’t be around someone who believes everything I say is a lie.”

  Bronson’s hands came up to her shoulders. “Dinner isn’t a bad idea at all. I want to spend time with you, Mia. I didn’t mean to yell at you. I just wanted you to see where I’m coming from.”

  Mia allowed those strong hands to turn her around, and she studied those eyes that showed so much emotion. It was probably a good thing he was on the other side of the camera. No way could he ever hide his true thoughts.

  “I see a lot of pain,” she told him, smoothing the line between his brows. “I see a man who wants to hope and is afraid to. If you’ll look back at me, really look, you’ll see we aren’t so different.”

  And then she did something she’d been dying to do—even with the accusations, the lies, the uncertainty.

  Taking control of the situation, she rose on her bare toes and kissed him.

  Ten

  He was toast.

  Bronson knew when he’d been waiting on her porch that if she so much as hinted that she wanted physical contact, he’d be all over her. He’d been wanting her for weeks. Not just a kiss, either.

  And her pressing her lips, her body, against his was much more than a hint—it couldn’t get more obvious than that.

  Bronson wrapped his arms around her waist and picked her up, holding her body against his. She’d read into his feelings, his emotions too well, and that scared the hell out of him. He didn’t want to be under her scope—he didn’t want pity.

  He wanted to know if she was trying to trap and destroy him.

  But most of all he wanted to know what she wore beneath her simple black skirt and sleeveless pink top.

  Mia framed his face with her palms and moaned as his mouth traveled from her lips down her neck. She arched into him, sending all kinds of jolts throughout his body.

  “Bronson, we—”

  “Need fewer clothes.”

  He hated the loss of control he had as far as she was concerned. Hated that she had the power to ruin him.

  But right now, Mia’s breathy sighs and pants in his ear clearly overrode common sense.

  “Dinner…”

  He nipped at her lips. “Still has a while and I need you now.”

  Mia’s eyes widened, then softened as a smile spread across her face. “I didn’t think you liked me.”

  Bronson palmed her breasts through her silk top. “I like you, Mia. I still can’t trust that you’re telling me the whole truth, but right now, I don’t give a damn.”

  She started to protest when his mouth settled over hers. He didn’t want to hear excuses or reasons they should not be together. He knew them already and chose to ignore them.

  He slid his hands around to the waist of her skirt and moved the zipper down. She wiggled those mesmerizing hips until the unwanted garment fell to the floor with a whoosh. She pulled the silk top over her head and tossed it toward the breakfast area, leaving her in a sexy, pink, lacey bra-and-panty set. Her rounded belly wasn’t the only sign of pregnancy. Her breasts nearly spilled over the top of the lace.

  “You destroy me,” he muttered before pulling her body back against his. “Utterly destroy me.”

  He devoured her mouth as her hands made quick work of his belt and pants. He kicked off his shoes and stepped out of his pants, then lifted her onto the kitchen island and stepped between her legs.

  “Just to be clear, I’m going to have you again tonight on a bed.”

  Mia smiled, tracing his lips with her fingertip. “Count on it.”

  He pulled her bra cups aside and slid his hands over her bare breasts, pleased when she moaned and arched into his touch. Wrapping one arm around her waist, he pulled her against the edge of the counter.

  “Do we need a…” She trailed off, her eyes questioning.

  “It’s a little late for that,” he told her. “Besides, I’ve always used one and I just had a routine physical. I’m clean.”

  “Me, too. I had complete bloodwork for my prenatal appointment.”

  He smiled, easing into her. “That settles it then.”

  Mia’s arms came around his neck as her hips tilted against his. This woman was becoming a drug in his system that he couldn’t get enough of. Those little moans, the sighs and the way she fit against him only proved to him how much she wanted this. She wasn’t immune to their sexual chemistry.

  He slid into her slowly, wanting this to last, knowing it wouldn’t. He’d desired her, ached for her since Cannes. Wondered if he’d imagined how good they were together.

  He hadn’t. No, those
dreams he’d had every night since were spot-on.

  Bronson shoved aside all thoughts, focusing on the woman writhing in his arms, whispering his name. In no time she shuddered against him, sending him into his own tailspin. He held on to her until they both stopped shaking and silently vowed to make this better later in that promised bed.

  As he eased back, he couldn’t help but wonder how this would affect their…what? Relationship? They didn’t really have a relationship. They’d supposedly made a child, but what should he call what they had?

  Regardless of what this arrangement was called, he knew he wanted Mia again and he had no intention of leaving her house tonight. And the deeper he became involved with her, the more he wanted to trust every word that came out of her mouth.

  Mia poured an after-dinner drink for Bronson and moved into the living room where he’d settled and was flipping through to find a movie, his gloriously tanned broad shoulders and bare chest on display for her to appreciate.

  “Really?” she asked, setting his drink on the glass side table. “A movie?”

  He eyed her. “We can start one, but if you try seducing me, I reserve the right to turn it off.”

  Was he actually going to stay? Did he want to play house? Mia was so confused by his actions because they contradicted his words. She didn’t want to play games, didn’t want to wait around until he decided where they stood. She just didn’t have the emotional stamina for it.

  “We need to talk,” she told him, sitting down beside him. “I’m all for what happened before dinner, but I have to be honest—I’m not looking for a fling, Bronson. I think there could be something between us if we could just be honest with each other and not keep this so shallow.”

  His hand froze on the remote before he laid it down on the table. “I’ve told you I can’t offer more to a woman, Mia. I just can’t. You know why.”

  “I know what happened in your past,” she retorted. “Let go of it and move on. Let those wounds stay covered and stop reopening them.”

  He turned his head and sighed. “Mia, I’m not looking for happily-ever-after. I used to, but that’s gone. Now I’m focused on work, and I have more than one project going. What I have to offer is minimal.”

  Meaning sex. Mia placed a hand on his arm. She knew he was softening—she’d seen it in the doctor’s office when he’d heard their baby’s heartbeat. She also knew their chemistry was amazing. So many elements to make for a wonderful family if he would just open his eyes to the possibility.

  Patience. She had to learn patience if she wanted to forge a family with Bronson. And if the compatibility wasn’t there, then she’d let it go. But she had to try. Her heart had already gotten entangled with him.

  Mia started unbuttoning Bronson’s dress shirt, which she’d thrown on before dinner. One by one his eyes traveled the path of her fingers.

  “Then I’ll take what you have to offer,” she told him, shrugging out of the oversized shirt. “But I won’t stop trying to make you happy and to show you how good we could be together.”

  She came to her feet, allowing the garment to slide down her arms and puddle on the floor. With a quirk of her brow, she walked from the room, knowing he’d follow.

  She wanted him in her bed. She wanted to pull him just a bit deeper into her personal space. Little by little, she wanted him to realize that she meant business. Seduction came in all forms and Mia planned on using them all to get her man.

  The couch rustled and she didn’t have to turn to know he was only steps behind. She padded down the hall into her master bedroom. The evening sun glistened in her high windows, casting a pale glow onto her bed.

  By the time she’d removed her mound of silk throw pillows and turned, Bronson stood in the doorway, gloriously naked. Mia extended her hand, inviting him to join her.

  He closed the space between them, taking her hand in his. And as they came together, Mia knew in her heart this is where she was meant to be, where they were meant to be.

  Bronson kissed her with so much passion, so much hunger, Mia nearly wept with anticipation. There was no way this man could be so giving and caring and only have physical feelings for her. She refused to believe it.

  Grasping his broad shoulders, Mia eased down onto the bed, pulling him with her. She sank into the duvet, reveling in the delight of his weight on top of her.

  He pulled up as if to move. “The baby?”

  “Is fine,” she assured him. “You’re not hurting either one of us. I like you here.”

  Gently, he eased back down, trailing kisses over her face, her neck, her collarbone. Mia slid her hands up and down his muscular back as she lifted her knees.

  In one smooth, toe-curling move they were one. Mia held tight to this man she was coming to care about more and more. She knew it wasn’t a stretch to say she was falling in love with him.

  Perhaps that was just the baby situation talking, but she didn’t think so. He was caring, though cautious. He was loyal to everyone in his life and expected the same in return.

  She’d tried to steel herself from falling for Bronson. Good Lord, considering his past, she didn’t blame him for having trust issues. But that vulnerability beneath his alpha exterior had her melting, and she could see, could feel, that he was coming around. If he truly didn’t believe her, he wouldn’t be with her so much. And if she didn’t think he had feelings for her—beyond sexual feelings—she wouldn’t let him sleep with her.

  Mia would prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that she wasn’t lying about her feelings for him or about the baby.

  But as pleasure consumed her, a niggling thought invaded her mind. She was lying, and that lie did involve Anthony.

  Bronson took Mia’s hand as he led her into the doctor’s office for the ultrasound. The test was delayed for a week because the ultrasound tech had been ill, which irked Bronson, but here they were and Mia was fifteen weeks pregnant. He’d seen the little stars on her calendar hanging by the fridge. Every Thursday had a star with a number. He knew Mia was excited about the baby. And he hated to be pessimistic, but he had to rein in his own excitement until he knew for sure where he stood.

  A part of him screamed that she was not lying, would never lie to him. But another part kept butting in and reminding him of the last woman who claimed to be carrying his child. Why couldn’t he separate the two in his mind?

  They took a seat in the private waiting room until it was their turn, which wasn’t very long. As they went into the ultrasound room, Bronson helped Mia step up onto the table.

  “Good afternoon,” the tech said, coming in right behind them. “Feeling okay, Mia?”

  Mia nodded. “Morning sickness has been gone for about a month, and I’ve never felt better.”

  The tech smiled as she laid Mia back and pulled her shirt up to her bra. “You’re into your second trimester. Most women have a huge burst of energy during this time. No cramping or anything?”

  “Not anymore.”

  Bronson stood beside the table, and when the tech put the scope on Mia’s stomach and pointed to the screen, his heart literally constricted. He grabbed Mia’s hand as he looked at the small, beating heart.

  “I’ll take some measurements to be sure of the due date, but it looks like your baby has a nice, strong heartbeat.”

  Bronson looked down to Mia, who was staring at the screen with watery eyes. “That’s so amazing,” she whispered.

  The tech tapped a few buttons, moved the scope and tapped some more. “You’re exactly fifteen weeks and one day. Looks like your due date is Valentine’s Day.”

  Good Lord, that seemed so far away. This was just the start of September.

  “A Valentine’s baby?” Mia asked. “How appropriate, since I love her so much already.”

  The tech laughed. “We can schedule your next appointment for one month out and at that time we’ll see if we can determine the sex of the baby. Assuming you want to know.”

  Mia looked to Bronson. “I’d like to. Would you?”


  The sex? That would make this child all the more real to him, but as he glanced up at that little beating heart, he knew he was already sucked in. This baby was real and, he hoped, his.

  “I’d like that,” he said.

  Mia’s smile spread across her face. Between seeing this child and spending so much time with Mia lately, he was starting to fall into a role he wasn’t sure he was ready for. And he was beginning to see Mia as the honest woman his mother had always claimed she was.

  The tech wiped off the gel she’d put on Mia’s slightly rounded belly. “The receptionist will make that appointment on your way out.”

  Once they made the appointment and left, Bronson settled Mia in the car.

  “Would you like to go out for a late lunch?” he asked.

  “I’d love to, but I’ve got so much I need to do. Can you just drop me off at the main house?” she asked.

  Disappointment speared through him, not something he expected. “Sure.”

  Mia stared down at the glossy black-and-white pictures the tech had given them. “I don’t know that I’ll get much done today. I may just have to look at our baby.”

  Our baby. He was getting used to those words.

  “If you show those to my mother, I guarantee nobody will be working.”

  “I wasn’t sure you’d want me to show them.”

  Bronson spared her a glance, hating how he always saw uncertainty in her eyes. “She knows we went.”

  He didn’t want to admit that his mother had no doubts about this child’s paternity. How could the woman be so sure? Granted Mia never gave him reason to doubt her. But in his mind the black mark against her was her relationship—whatever it may be—with Anthony Price.

  “It’s okay, Bronson. I don’t mind keeping these to myself. I understand that you don’t want her to get attached yet.”

  Mia’s words sent an ache through him. He knew she wanted to share her excitement. After all, she really had no one else in her life.

  And that right there was all the more reason for her to try to trap him into a family.