by Dee J. Adams
“Oh.” She paused and it made him wonder if Kim had already bad-mouthed him—a la Carolyn—to Chelsea. “Okay. Sure,” she said before giving her number.
Wilson scribbled it down. “Great. Thanks. I feel better knowing we can connect.” Chelsea mumbled something similar, but he barely paid any attention before disconnecting the call and heading to his room to pack. He had a seven-hour drive ahead of him. If he waited in the baggage claim area of the airport and watched her check in with the rental agency, he could probably get to the rental lot at the same time she did, once he got his car out of the parking garage and once she caught a shuttle. It was going to be dicey, but it was worth a try. If that didn’t work, he’d find her somehow.
Kim hadn’t said a word about a pregnancy in Arizona, so maybe she just found out. Hell, she hadn’t even mentioned a guy and they talked about both their nonexistent dating lives. She’d just taken a recent trip to California, so maybe this visit had something to do with the baby’s father. Or maybe he was grasping at straws.
Either way, Kim was single and pregnant and this trip to Los Angeles was the perfect chance to get even more reacquainted with his cousin. He’d make her dependent on him, or he’d just take her out of the equation. Because if he couldn’t have that money, then neither would she.
The next afternoon, Leo’s doorbell rang. He hadn’t heard it since he moved in and the high-pitched chime had Stella lifting her head from her spot on the sofa. He opened the door and his heart did that same gallop when he saw Kim.
Two months hadn’t changed his attraction to her. In fact, she looked even more beautiful than before. Loose blonde curls hung around her shoulders and those spectacular green eyes stared at him from beneath long dark lashes. Dressed in a slinky hot-pink top, a form-fitting black skirt and her signature stilettoes, she made him think of cotton candy and sex. Not necessarily in that order.
“Hi,” she said. All cool ice princess. She’d worn the same expression the day they’d first met. Of course, now, he had a good idea why she had that hard look in her eyes. She thought that along with the new house, he’d shacked up with a new woman.
He didn’t bother with a greeting as he leaned against the door frame. “You never listened to my voicemail yesterday, did you?”
Her stony face answered his question. “No,” she finally said. She’d obviously had time to replay their short conversation in her head. He also hadn’t seen her this perturbed since the day he’d met her. If he didn’t know better, he’d think she was jealous. But she was the one who walked away two months ago. The one who told him to go home. So he had. He’d walked away with every part of him hating every second.
Taking her hand, he brought her inside. He’d forgotten how soft her skin was. How many times had he stared at her delicate fingers while watching her at his desk two months ago? “Kim, I’d like you to meet my temporary roommate, Stella.” He stopped in front of the sofa where Stella had gingerly sat up. “Stella, this is Kim.”
Kim’s face melted in a sorrowful pucker as she sat down. “Oh, baby girl. What happened to you?” She eased Stella onto her lap and smoothed her hand over the feline’s head. “Why didn’t you tell me you were talking about a cat?” She shot him an annoyed look before giving her full attention back to Stella.
“I would have if you hadn’t hung up on me.” He loved being right. Mostly because it didn’t happen that often. Especially when this woman was involved.
She eyed him while shifting the cat on her lap. “What happened to her?”
Leo told the coyote tale, not minding that he came off as a real-life hero for once. The E.R. story reminded him of her friend and the last time Kim had been in town. “How’s Stephanie doing? Still in New York with her sister?”
Kim nodded, her gaze softening with the subject. “Yeah. I think she might relocate there. She’s doing better. It’s a long road.”
Stephanie had been kidnapped and nearly sold in a sex slave ring. The circumstances had been bad enough, but discovering her husband was behind the ordeal—mainly to keep her from divorcing him and getting half his net worth—had sent her running back to family.
Sometimes Leo wished he could do that.
“Can I get you something to drink?” he asked, gesturing toward the kitchen.
“No. I’m fine.” She waved him off, then looked him straight in the eyes. “Leo, sit down. I need to tell you something.”
Shit. He knew that tone. He may not have known Kim long, but he knew her well enough to hear bad news before she spewed it. It made sense, didn’t it? Bad luck came in threes. His movie had been shelved, he’d lost all his worldly belongings and now this…whatever Kim had to tell him.
Taking her advice, which so far had always been right on the money, Leo sat on the chair across from her. Was it more financial shit? He thought they’d tackled all his financial issues. What else could it be? “Hit me,” he said, with more confidence than he felt.
She stood and started pacing in front of him, her heels muffled by the taupe carpet. He’d never known her to pace before either. Seemed very out of character for her. She usually tackled problems head on with her business savvy and sharp mind. Of course, watching her ass in the fitted black skirt that hugged her curves in a man-eater way took his mind off the impending dilemma. The way her bright pink top draped over her full breasts didn’t hurt either.
He’s missed her. He’d missed her smart mouth and her take-charge attitude. Mostly he missed having someone to confide in. Someone to listen. Though she’d judged him when they first met, somehow they’d struck up a friendship and ultimately she’d saved his ass…financially speaking. Then she’d stolen part of his heart.
“It can’t be that bad,” Leo said, focusing on her face. Staring at her ass would only get him into trouble.
“I guess that depends on your definition of bad.” She faced him and Leo’s heart stalled in his chest. She was about to drop a bomb. He felt it in his gut. Clenching her hands in front of her, she looked him straight in the eye. “I’m pregnant.”
Whoa!
Everything shut down before clicking back into function mode. If there was one thing she could’ve hit him with that would knock his lights out, that was it.
“Wow. That’s, that’s… Why are you tell—” The words died on his tongue as the implication hit harder than the original news. He stood up. Sat down. Stood up again. “Are you saying you’re pregnant and I’m the father?” Pretty dumb as far as obvious questions went, but she’d thrown him off.
More like over a cliff.
She swallowed hard and nodded, watching him closely.
He ran a hand through his hair and strode past her, taking over the pacing as his mind spun in a thousand directions at once. She couldn’t be pregnant. He couldn’t be a father. There was no way in hell he could do it. “Are you sure?” he asked, turning toward her. The mix of frustration and sympathy warred in her eyes and irritated him.
“I’m sorry to surprise you with this. Trust me, it was a surprise to me too.” That was the frustration.
“I haven’t seen you in months. How far along are you? Are you sure it’s—” He cut himself off at the narrowed gaze she leveled at him. “We used protection,” he reminded her, his own frustration making an appearance.
“Apparently, either not soon enough or it failed.” She had more steel in her voice now, more like the Kim he’d first met in his accountant’s office two months ago. Two fucking months ago. How could she be pregnant after a couple of encounters? Granted he felt like he knew her and they’d certainly gotten close, but…
He didn’t want kids for so many reasons. None of which she knew. “This is too surreal.”
She sat on the sofa. “Tell me about it.” Her confidence sputtered a little and the fear she must have been feeling bled through in her words.
In their two short month relationship, she’d taught him a lot about humility. Or maybe going broke had done that. Maybe selling off all his possessions had done tha
t. But she’d stressed the importance of looking at all angles of every situation. Put yourself in someone else’s shoes and try to see how they’d feel. So he did. He put himself in her shoes, a single, pregnant woman. She must be fucking terrified.
His initial reaction embarrassed him. Of course he was the father. She wouldn’t be telling him otherwise. But it didn’t change the fact that he couldn’t have kids. Yes in the physical/literal sense, since obviously he could have kids, but he couldn’t deal with having kids. There was too much room for error. Too much could go wrong and they could wind up like his sister, Megan. He couldn’t watch his own children end up like his sister. It would break him.
“Have you got a plan?” he asked. Because maybe she didn’t want to be pregnant.
“Kind of,” she said, not making eye contact. She exhaled hard and stood in front of him. “I’ve decided to have the baby, but want you to know that I don’t expect anything from you. I know how you feel about parenting and I don’t plan to force you into anything. I’m happy to sign an agreement to that effect if it makes you feel better.”
Boom, boom, boom. One-two punches all the way around. “You’ve decided,” he said, his anger building slowly from a hell storm in his gut. “Did you ever think that the decision isn’t strictly up to you alone? Maybe I’ve got a say in this too?”
Her eyes widened. He’d surprised her. Good. She thought because she knew his finances inside and out that she knew him too, and nothing could be farther from the truth. He had every right to feel the way he did about having children and bringing them up in the world. She didn’t own the right to make this decision completely by herself.
“Actually, since it’s my body, you don’t really have a say. I choose what happens to me.” The deadly calm tone should’ve warned him, but he didn’t care.
“You can’t have this baby, Kim.” He shook his head because she’d obviously put a lot of thought into it, but that didn’t matter. She didn’t know what she might face having his baby. “I’m sorry. You can’t.”
Her jaw tightened and she stood taller. “I’m sorry you think you can tell me what to do, Leo, but you can’t. I told you you’re off the hook so don’t worry about it.” She headed to the door. “I think it’s best we end our business dealings as well. No sense of having any contact with each other now that I know how you feel.”
Bullshit. Leo grabbed her arm and spun her around. “Nope. Not that fast. You don’t get to tell me how this plays out. You don’t think I have something at stake in this?”
“What? The tabloids? Your precious reputation, which by the way sucks and has for a lot of years. You know after we met and I got to know you, I really didn’t understand all the stories the press ran about you. You seemed nothing like what they made you out to be, but I think I’ve finally gotten a taste of the real Leo.” She clenched her jaw. “It’s too bad,” she said softly. “I liked the other guy better.” She spun on her heels and marched toward the door.
Leo kept right on her tail. “You’re right about one thing. You don’t know me or my reasons, but I’m serious. You can’t have this baby, Kim. It’s a bad idea.”
“Bad for you?” She threw over her shoulder as she reached the door. “I don’t see why. You don’t have to participate. You wouldn’t even know if I hadn’t said something to you, and now I’m wishing I hadn’t.” She grabbed her purse from the entry table and opened the door.
“Would you just wait a minute?” he said, stopping her again with a hand on her arm.
She faced him. “Why? What’s the point? Look, just so you know…I didn’t plan for this, but everything happens for a reason, right? I got pregnant, so maybe I’m supposed to have a baby. Do I wish I wasn’t going to be a single mother? Maybe. But I’m not ready to toss away a shot at motherhood when I don’t know if I’ll get the chance again.” She stood defiant. He didn’t have a chance in hell of convincing her otherwise.
Would it matter if he told her about the fucked up genetics in his family? Would it make a difference to her either way?
“Kim, I have my reasons, okay. Obviously it matters to you that I know or you wouldn’t have made the trip.”
“Having the right to know doesn’t give you the right to decide what I do. Those are two different things.”
“What if…” God, how did he say this?
She tilted her head a fraction. “Yeah? What if what?”
“I don’t know. What if something is wrong with the baby? You know how expensive a baby is? And if something’s wrong then you’re expenses just double or tripled or quadrupled.”
She straightened up to her full height and the fire in her eyes blasted him. “Gee. That’s a nice thought. Scare the shit out of me while I’m pregnant. Nice going, Leo. Good-bye.” She spun and walked out the door. Her world-class ass shaking right out of his life for good.
So she thought.
Chapter Five
The sting of hot tears burned Kim’s eyes as she cranked the engine of her gray midsized rental and backed out of the steep driveway. “Son of a bitch,” she seethed, spinning the wheel hard on the narrow road. “You cannot and will not tell me what to do, asshole.” Shifting into drive, she hit the gas and lurched forward.
She’d played a lot of scenarios in her head, but none of them had turned out like this. Why did he have to be such an asshole about it? The first curve came up fast and she hit the brake to stay on her side of the road.
“I have my reasons,” she mocked as she took another curve, tears leaking down her cheeks. “Well, I have reasons too, dickhead. You’re off the hook so why should you even care.” She swiped at her cheeks and immediately grabbed the wheel when she couldn’t control it one handed. She took two more curves, gripping the sluggish wheel tightly in her hands. “What the hell?” A sharp turn came up and the wheel barely responded. “Oh shit,” Kim breathed as she slammed on the brakes. The car skidded on gravel, maybe left over remnants from a hill slide because of the earthquake a month ago. It didn’t matter because the car just kept going and she had no way to turn. No way to avoid the guardrail that loomed straight in front of her or the massive drop that lurked behind it.
Jump!
Self-preservation kicked in. Kim unbuckled her seatbelt, opened the car door and jumped before impact. The crash exploded next to her as she hit the gravel road. The car went airborne and over the cliff while a deafening roar of adrenaline filled her head. Gravity yanked her in the same direction as her car and Kim skidded, out of control, scrabbling for hold as she slid. A second later, her legs went over the edge and she was falling, still trying to grab something, anything to hang onto. She caught a ledge for a couple of seconds, but lost it and dropped onto another ledge and bounced. Still grappling for something, she caught a thick bush and held on to the body of it, her heart slamming against her ribs, her breathing harsh.
Brittle branches poked against her torso and shredded her shirt, but she was still breathing, still alive, so she counted it as a win. “Don’t look down. Don’t look down,” she muttered softly. She looked up. At the distance she had to somehow climb to save her stupid ass.
She shifted to find purchase with her legs and the bush threatened to give way. “No, no, no.” Hot tears clouded her vision. She couldn’t die. The baby inside her depended on her. Maybe if she went sideways and got a foot on the flat rock protruding from the mountain, she could leverage herself up. But any type of movement might yank this bush out even faster. Indecision and fear kept her completely still despite all those branches poking mercilessly into her torso.
“Kim!” Leo! The panic in his voice matched her shit-in-the-pants fear.
“Leo! I’m here!” The roots of the bush slowly came loose from their hold. “I don’t have much time. This bush is about to drop me.” Don’t look down. She didn’t want to know how far she had to fall. The longer she waited, the less chance she had of this damn shrubbery holding her.
“Hang on! I’m coming!”
Rocks whizzed pas
t her and she didn’t look up. The bush dropped her another six inches as more roots popped out of the mountain. He wasn’t going to make it in time.
Kim kicked her right leg sideways to get a swing going. It was the only way she’d reach that ledge. The bush didn’t like the new distribution of weight and told her so with another lurch. Her high pitch scream cut the silence. With a fresh burst of adrenaline, Kim tried one more shot at the ledge. She swung her leg up and caught the edge, hanging horizontal and parallel to the canyon bottom. More roots yanked from their spot in the mountain wall as the bush slowly pulled out completely. A scream tore from Kim as she started to follow it down.
Strong hands snagged her left arm and she reached up blindly with her right and grabbed onto Leo’s bicep with everything she had.
“Gotcha,” he huffed, dragging her up his body until she was tightly against him.
She had no idea how he managed it and didn’t care. She held on, breathing hard, every inch of skin burning with cuts and scrapes.
“Easy, easy,” he soothed. “Let’s try and move over to that ledge you were aiming for,” he said, his voice calm, cool and in control. He sounded just like the action hero he played in the movies. With her nose buried in his neck, she caught the mouth-watering, spicy scent of him.
Shaking uncontrollably, Kim opened her eyes. Leo had a rope wrapped around his chest. He moved sideways the couple feet necessary to reach their little ledge and together they got their balance, hugging the mountain like sap on a tree.
Leo manipulated them so he was behind her, keeping her safe between him and solid rock. “I’ve got you. You’re not going anywhere.”
Under normal circumstances, Kim might have enjoyed the scenery, the beauty of the rock and the green vegetation scattered within dry brush, but the only thing on her mind was moving air into her stricken lungs. Her teeth chattered too loudly for her to talk. She should’ve been relieved, not freaking out, now that she was safe.