by Susan Meier
“Not at the office.”
“Your place?”
He hesitated again. A horrible feeling washed through him. Was he pulling one of his dad’s tricks? Looking for something in Avery’s past? His intention was to make sure Avery could be trusted, but what if he found something that might make her seem unfit? Would he take her baby?
He stopped himself. There was no reason to get ahead of himself. A woman he barely knew, albeit that she’d been vetted by Waters, Waters and Montgomery when they’d hired her, was having his child. There was nothing wrong with checking up on her. Plus, he couldn’t dismiss what Seth was saying. Their mom was fragile. Their father might have been dead five months, but she wasn’t bouncing back from the loss. They didn’t need a scandal, or worse yet, a thief in their lives right now.
“Have him meet me at my house at about six.”
The feeling rolled through him again. The awful fear that he was becoming his dad. This time, he ignored it.
* * *
As Avery arrived at her office, she closed the door and hit the Contacts button on her phone to call her mom.
She hadn’t been able to sleep the night before. After hours of tossing and turning, she’d realized she’d been lulled into a false sense that she was in control of this situation with Jake because she had a Plan A, Plan B and even Plan C.
But Jake McCallan was much too careful, too smart. Sleeping with her ten times had been one thing. Having her as the mother of his child was quite another. If he hadn’t checked into her past before this, he would be checking now.
And once he did, Plan C would be as dead in the water as Plan A, and Plan B wouldn’t stand a chance.
Still, right now, her priority was to warn her mom.
When she answered, Avery said, “Hey, Mom.”
“Avery! What a nice surprise. What’s up? You never call on a weekday.”
She winced. She didn’t like reopening old wounds, but she wouldn’t let her mom be blindsided. “I have a feeling some people are going to be coming around asking questions about me.”
“You mean like the private investigators who checked into your life when you were hired by the big law firm?”
Avery said, “Yes,” but her heart stuttered. Pregnancy hormones must be making her slow and dull. Jake wouldn’t have to hire a private investigator to check out her past. All he had to do was ask her boss. Pete Waters had investigated her before he hired her. But where Waters, Waters and Montgomery considered it an advantage to employ a woman whose dad had been unjustly convicted—because it motivated her to work hard for their clients—all Jake would see was that her dad had been in jail.
And he could use that.
She ran her hand through her hair and walked to the filing cabinet. There were no windows in her office. Associates didn’t get offices with windows. That was her place. A very small person in a very big world. A world that was quickly spinning out of control.
She squeezed her eyes shut. There was absolutely no way to fight this. “This is a mess, Mom. It’s going to bring up all Dad’s troubles again for you guys.”
“Avery,” her mom said softly. “We live it every day. The whole town knows your dad was in jail but got out when Project Freedom proved he’d been framed. Let someone come and ask questions. We’re fine.”
“Okay.”
“But that doesn’t mean we don’t want you starting your law firm. Your dad went through hell for six years and we don’t want to see that happen to anybody else.”
“Neither do I.”
“And we’re proud of you.”
“Thanks.” She sucked in a breath, blew it out slowly. Her parents being okay with an investigator coming to town solved one problem. But there were thirty others nipping at her heels, things she wouldn’t burden her mom with.
“So...this guy who’s coming to ask us questions...does this have anything to do with the baby?”
She swallowed. She should have known her mom would figure this out. Who else from New York would care about her dad’s past?
“The baby’s father and I ran into each other. He saw I was pregnant and pretty much did the math.”
“And you think he’s going to look into your past hoping to find something he can use to get custody of the baby?”
“He might. Or he might just use it to keep me in New York.”
“Oh.”
Her mother’s hopeless tone caused all of Avery’s fears to rush to the surface. “He could ruin all my plans.”
“Or maybe the two of you could work this out?”
The more she thought about it, the more she doubted it. But to placate her mom she said, “Sure.”
“I mean it.” Her mother’s voice brightened. “All you need is a little trust. In fact, if you told him about your dad so he didn’t have to send a private investigator to Wilton, then he might see you’re an honest person and negotiate a little more fairly.”
Avery laughed. “That is the most optimistic thing I’ve ever heard.”
“Sweetie, he’s going to find out anyway. And if you don’t tell him, it might make him suspicious and maybe even angry that you held such important information back. But if you tell him, it could be your door of opportunity to start some trust between you.”
Her mother sounded so sure that for a second Avery waivered. “I don’t know.”
“Your dad and I aren’t running. You shouldn’t either. Face this head-on.”
If it was anybody else but Jake McCallan, she might be able to cobble together enough optimism to give it a shot. Knowing her mother would keep trying to persuade her if she didn’t at least say she’d consider it, Avery said, “I’ll think about it.”
After some gossip about the flower shop owner, Avery hung up the phone and squeezed her eyes shut. If Jake discovered her father’s past and confronted her, she could come out swinging, quote bits and pieces from the hearings that freed him and defend him.
But to tell Jake herself? To explain that her dad had been framed by a coworker with a sick wife, who could have freed him the day his wife died but waited until his own death to admit to his crime? To tell Jake about weeks and months of waiting for hearings, about having her dad’s old boss oppose a new trial, about the worry that Paul Barnes had bribed the judge? It would be one of the most vulnerable moments of her life. She was a fighter, not a beggar.
But her mother was right. Jake was going to find out. And soon. If she could humble herself to explain this to him, it might be the beginning of trust between them.
Then maybe she could use Plan C. Once she told him about her dad, reminding him of the field day the media would have could show him how difficult having her baby in his life would be.
It was risky. But as her mom had said, he was going to find out anyway.
She got to work to take her mind off everything. An hour later, her private cell phone rang. She glanced down, saw the caller was Jake and squeezed her eyes shut before she answered.
“Good morning, Jake.”
“I’d like to finish our discussion from last night. How about dinner tonight at 4 Charles Prime Rib?”
She blew her breath out in a quiet stream. She didn’t want to cause an argument, but if she was going to tell him about her dad, she didn’t want to go to a restaurant. Especially not some place where anyone could see them and where paparazzi hung out at the entry, waiting for celebrities. One look at the pregnant belly on Jake’s date and the photographers would go nuts taking pictures.
“Maybe a coffee shop would be better? Someplace low-key.”
A few seconds passed in silence. He clearly wasn’t thrilled to have her change his plan.
“I just don’t want to run into the photographers who hang out in front of those ritzy restaurants you like.”
He sighed. “Okay. How about that small coffee shop up the street from your
condo?”
“Great. That would be great.”
She hung up the phone equal parts grateful for the opportunity to talk to him and terrified at the thousands of ways this discussion could go wrong.
At nine o’clock, she strode up the still busy street to the brick building housing the coffee shop where she was meeting Jake. Large windows fronted the well-lit establishment. The place was crowded with chatting people hovering at the bar on the left, or lounging at one of the curved booths with cushioned seats.
She stepped inside, glanced around and found Jake in the back, at one of the compact wooden tables for two. Disciplined Jake wouldn’t waste the space of one of the big comfy booths, no matter how much she would have loved to sink her tired body into those cushions right now.
Convinced her mother was right—with the addition of Plan C—and ready to have the discussion, she walked up to the table. “Hi.”
He rose. Nice-fitting trousers and a pale blue dress shirt outlined muscles created in the gym. Her mouth all but watered. But she told herself to settle down. Not to salivate over how good-looking he was, or to realize how easily she could unbutton that shirt and feel all the fabulous muscles of his chest.
Her breath shivered and she took a quiet drink of air to steady herself. “I see you went home to change.”
“I had some time.”
Something about the way he said that set her warning signals to high alert. But before she could say anything, he asked, “Can I get you a coffee?”
She shook her head. “I’ll have a bottle of water. I can’t drink coffee. Another unfortunate side effect of pregnancy.”
“Another?”
She sure as hell wasn’t going to tell him that pregnant women were easily aroused or that just looking at him had made her want to rip his shirt off. “You’d be surprised what happens to a body when a woman is pregnant.”
He walked away and she settled herself on the seat across from his while he went for her water.
Setting it on the table in front of her, he asked, “So did you have morning sickness?”
She opened the bottle. “Horribly.”
“But that only lasts the first trimester, right?”
He’d done some homework. More proof that if he didn’t already know about her dad, he would soon.
“Yes. But some things bring it back.”
“Like what things?”
“You’re going to laugh, but certain toothpastes just about kill me.”
He caught her gaze as he sat across from her. “Really?”
“I went through four brands before I found something I could brush my teeth with.”
He laughed.
She rolled her eyes. “Consider yourself very, very lucky that your part in creating this baby was a lot more pleasant.”
He laughed again and Avery said a silent prayer for strength. She’d never seen him this comfortable or relaxed. There might never be another chance as perfect as this to tell him her father’s story.
She sat up straighter, pulling together all her confidence—
“Why if it isn’t the lovely and talented Jake McCallan.”
Avery’s head snapped to the right and she saw the pretty blonde who’d walked up to their table.
Jake groaned. “What do you want, Sabrina?”
The blonde smiled at Jake. “Nothing.” She slid a glance at Avery. “I just rarely see you anywhere but the office and dinner once a week at Mom’s. And with company too.”
Jake shook his head. “Avery, this is my sister, Sabrina. Sabrina, this is Avery Novak. She works at Waters, Waters and Montgomery.”
Sabrina extended her hand.
Avery froze. His sister just happened to be in the same coffee shop where they’d planned to meet twelve hours ago?
Shell-shocked and confused, she took the hand Sabrina extended. Social convention dictated that she rise, but then she’d expose the baby bump. And it wouldn’t be long before everyone in his family would know she was pregnant. And once the news was out, it would really be “out.” They’d tell their friends. Everyone would know. There’d be no way to ease him out of the picture. No way for him to quietly disassociate himself from her.
Damn. She had no idea why she thought she could trust him. The minute he was out of her sight, he’d probably told his entire family. Worse, he hadn’t warned her that he’d told them. How could she explain her dad’s situation to him and think he’d listen? Think he’d keep it to himself and give her what she wanted? He wouldn’t. Let it come out in court, at a custody battle, where the evidence could speak for itself.
Or maybe it wouldn’t.
Maybe his lawyers would twist it the way Paul Barnes had gotten the DA to twist the evidence of her father’s innocence into a story of a coworker who’d only confessed after he was dead to get his friend out of prison.
Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!
She couldn’t deal with this right now. Especially not in front of his sister.
She popped out of her seat, grabbed her purse and turned away from the table. “We’ll talk another time, Jake.”
Her pulse pounding, she raced out the door and into the hot first-day-of-September evening. She couldn’t believe how this situation kept spiraling. Anger poured through her in waves. If she couldn’t trust Jake not to say anything to anyone until they had their situation resolved, how could she trust him with anything?
A hand caught her arm, slowed her down, then stopped her.
It had to be Jake.
She spun to face him. “Now what? Would you like me to sit with a reporter from the New Yorker and give an interview? Maybe we can get ABC to put us on Good Morning America?”
“Will you stop? I didn’t tell her to come here!”
“You expect me to believe it was a coincidence?”
“It was! And you’re being stupid. It was my sister for God’s sake. Not a girlfriend.”
“I would have much rather that she’d been a girlfriend!”
He stepped close. “Really?”
He smelled spicy and male and all her pregnancy hormones popped. She ignored them. “You can date anybody you want.”
“I’m about to be a father. I want to settle one life crisis at a time. I don’t want to date anybody.”
“Well, you might as well, because you and I are oil and water. Our lives clash. Even when we try to get along, we fight. We’ll never get a custody agreement hammered out. We’re going to end up in court.”
“Because you intend to be stubborn?”
“Because I had a plan!” Three plans, actually. And all three had failed. “You don’t believe this about me, but I love plans. I love order. Just because I don’t say it with a calm, rational voice, doesn’t mean I—”
He caught her by the upper arms and hauled her against him, and for twenty seconds they stared into each other’s eyes. Warmth coursed through her. Her breasts met his chest. Their baby bumped against his stomach.
A million emotions flashed through his blue eyes. She was pretty sure his intention had been to stop her tirade by kissing her. Then he’d felt the baby bump and frozen.
Except for those eyes. Every emotion from confusion to fear to happy surprise and anger raced through them.
CHAPTER THREE
JAKE DROPPED HER ARMS then stepped back, away from the temptation of Avery’s mouth.
He couldn’t believe how desperately he wanted to kiss her. He’d caught her arms to shut her up, but staring into her eyes he’d remembered her fire and wanted to taste it again. Then he’d felt the baby—his baby—and his brain had scattered in a million directions.
“Well, that was interesting.”
“Not really.” She shrugged. “You said yourself we both prolonged our relationship because we were so hot in bed. We’re accustomed to touching each other. And whe
n we touch, sparks fly.”
“That’s about the size of it.” He took another step back. Not wanting to talk about the myriad feelings racing through him when he’d felt the baby bump, he said, “It really was a coincidence that we ran into Sabrina.”
She took a breath, then looked away as if thinking it through. Her long red hair shimmered when her head moved, and he struggled not to reach out and touch it. Not to reach out and touch her, if only in amazement that she carried his child. But that was wrong. A weakness he couldn’t afford with her.
When she caught his gaze, the anger was gone from her eyes too.
“We’re both just a little too edgy right now. Not sure of each other or how to handle this situation. We’re going to have to be more careful about where we meet next time.”
“Should we meet in one of our apartments?”
“No. We should meet in mine. We never know who’s lurking in the bushes outside yours. And—” She held his gaze with an intensity that might have scared another man but almost made him laugh. He had no doubt why Pete Waters considered her his top associate. That stare could terrify any witness and probably some judges.
“No more touching on public streets.” She looked around then glanced back at him again. “We don’t know who could have seen that.”
He said, “Sure,” as she turned and walked away. The way she could so easily leave, snatching control out of his hands again, sent a wave of annoyance through him. “I notice you didn’t say anything about touching on private streets. Maybe alleyways. The lobby of your building.”
She didn’t turn around, didn’t acknowledge anything he’d said, just kept striding up the street.
A laugh escaped. She might not have turned, but she’d heard him. He’d seen the way her spine straightened. God help him, but he’d needed the validation that he still got to her, still had a little bit of control. Even if it was only teasing her.
When he pivoted to return to the coffee shop, he almost plowed into his sister.
“Mom is going to have a cow.”
All the fun of teasing Avery instantly evaporated.
Sabrina’s face fell. “You are going to tell her, aren’t you?”