Baby Bonanza

by Maureen Child

  She wrenched herself free and gave him a glare that should have fried him on the spot. Jenna was furious and hurt and embarrassed. A dangerous combination. “That should be perfectly obvious, even to you. I’m leaving.”

  “Because of the redhead?”

  “What’s the matter, can’t remember her name?”

  “I’ve never even met her for God’s sake,” he shouted, shoving one hand through his hair in obvious irritation, “how the hell should I know her damn name?”

  “Stop swearing at me!” Jenna shouted right back. She felt as if every cell in her body was in a stranglehold. Her blood was racing, her mind was in a whirl of conflicting thoughts and emotions, and the only thing she knew for sure was she didn’t belong here. Couldn’t stay another minute. “I’m leaving and you can’t stop me.”

  “Jenna, damn it, the results from the lab came in-”

  Not exactly the way she’d imagined this conversation going, she told herself indignantly. Somehow she’d pictured her and Nick, reading the results together. In her mind, she’d watched as realization came over him. As he acknowledged that he was a father.

  Of course, she hadn’t pictured a naked redhead being part of the scene.

  “Then you know I was telling you the truth. My work here is done.” She grabbed up her sneakers, high heels and a pair of flats and tossed them into the suitcase on top of her clothes. Sure it was messy, but she was way past caring.

  “We have to talk.”

  “Oh, we’ve said all we’re going to say to each other,” Jenna told him, skipping backward when he made a grab for her again. She didn’t trust herself to keep her anger fired if he touched her. “Have your lawyers contact me,” she snapped and marched into the connecting bathroom to gather up the toiletries she had scattered across the counter.

  “Damn it,” Nick said, his voice as tight as the tension coiled inside her. “I just found out I’m a father, for God’s sake. I need a minute here. If you’ll calm down, we can discuss this-”

  “Shouldn’t you be down the hall with Miss Ready-And-Willing?” Jenna inquired too sweetly as she pushed past him, her things in the crook of her arm.

  He shook his head. “She’s getting dressed and getting out,” he said, grabbing Jenna’s arm again to yank her around to face him.

  God help her, her body still reacted to his hands on her. Despite everything, she felt the heat, the swell of passion rising inside to mingle with the fury swamping her, and Jenna was sure this wasn’t a good thing. She had to get out.

  But Nick only tightened his grip. “I didn’t invite her. She bribed a maid.”

  She swallowed hard, lowered her gaze to his hands on her arms and said, “You’re hurting me.” He wasn’t, but her statement was enough to make him release her.

  “Jenna-”

  “It’s a wonder the woman had to bribe anyone. I’m sure the maids are used to letting naked women into your suite. Pretty much a revolving door around here, isn’t it?”

  “Nobody gets into my suite unless I approve it, which I didn’t in this case,” Nick added quickly. “And I hope for the maid’s sake that it was a good bribe, because it just cost her her job.”

  “Oh, that’s nice,” Jenna said as she turned to zip her suitcase closed. “Fire a maid because you’re the horniest male on the face of the planet.”

  “Excuse me?”

  Jenna straightened up, folded her arms across her chest and tapped the toe of her sandal against the floor as she glared up at him. “Everyone on this ship knows what a player you are, Nick. Probably wasn’t a big surprise to the maid that a woman wanted into your suite and for all she knew, you did want her here.”

  He glared right back at her. “My life is my business.”

  “You’re right it is.” She grabbed the handle of her suitcase and slid it off the bed. Jenna didn’t even care if she’d left something behind. She couldn’t stay here a second longer. She had to get away from Nick, off this ship and back to the world that made sense. The world where she was wanted. Needed.

  “And I don’t owe you an explanation for anything,” he pointed out unnecessarily.

  “No, you don’t. Just as you don’t have to fire a maid because she assumed it was business as usual around here.” Jenna shook her head, looked him up and down, then fixed her gaze on his. “But you do what you want to, Nick. You always do. Blame the maid. Someone who works hard for a living. Fire her. Make yourself feel better. Just don’t expect me to hang around to watch.”

  “Damn it, Jenna, I’m not letting you walk out.” He moved in closer and she felt the heat of his body reaching out for her. “I want to know about my sons. I want to talk about what we’re going to do now.”

  Tightening her grip on the suitcase handle, Jenna swung her hair back behind her shoulders and said softly, “What we’re going to do now is go back to our lives. Contact your lawyer, set up child support. I’ll send you pictures of the boys. I’ll keep you informed of what’s happening with them.”

  “It’s not enough,” he muttered, his voice low and deep and hard.

  “It’ll have to be, because it’s all I can give you.” Jenna walked past him, headed for the living room and the purse she’d left on a sofa. But she stopped in the doorway and turned for one last look at him.

  Diffused sunlight speared through the bank of windows and made his dark hair shine. His eyes were shadowed and filled with emotions she couldn’t read, and his tall, leanly muscled body was taut with a fury that was nearly tangible.

  Everything in her ached for him.

  But she’d just have to learn to live with disappointment.

  “Goodbye, Nick.”

  Jenna was gone.

  So was the redhead.

  And he didn’t fire the maid.

  Nick hated like hell that Jenna had been right about that, but how could he fire some woman when everyone on the damn ship knew he had women coming and going all the time? Instead, he’d had Teresa demote the maid to the lower decks and instructed her to make it clear that if the woman ever took another bribe from a guest, she’d be out on her ass.

  Sitting at the desk in his office, he turned his chair so that he faced the sprawl of the sea. He wasn’t seeing the last of the day’s sunlight splashing on the water like fistfuls of diamonds spread across its surface. He didn’t notice the wash of brilliant reds and violets as sunset painted a mural across the sky. Instead his mind continued to present him with that last look he’d had of Jenna. Standing in the open doorway of her bedroom, suitcase in her hand, wearing an expression that was a combination of regret and disappointment.

  “What right does she have to be disappointed in me? And why the hell do I care what she thinks?” he muttered. He’d meant to have her and let her go. It had been a good plan and that’s exactly what had happened. He ought to be pleased. Instead, his brain continued to ask him just why Jenna had been so pissed about the redhead.

  Was she being territorial?

  Did she really care for him?

  Did it matter?

  Then he glanced down at the single sheet of paper he still held in his hand. The fax from the lab in San Pedro was clear and easy to read.

  His DNA matched that of Jenna’s twins.

  Nick Falco was a father.

  He was both proud and horrified.

  “I have two sons,” he said, needing to hear the words said aloud. He shook his head at the wonder of it and felt something in his chest squeeze tightly until it was almost impossible to draw a breath.

  He was a father.

  He had family.

  Two tiny boys who weren’t even aware of his existence were only alive because of him. Pushing up from his chair, he walked to the wide bank of glass separating him from the ocean beyond and leaned one hand on the cool surface of the window. Sons. Twins. He felt that twist of suppressed emotion again and murmured, “The question is, how do I handle it? What’s the best way to manage this situation?”

  Jenna had left, assuming that he
’d keep his distance. Deal with her through the comforting buffer of an attorney. He scowled at the sea and felt a small but undeniable surge of anger begin to rise within him, twisting with that sense of pride and confusion until he nearly shook with the rush of emotions he wasn’t used to experiencing.

  He was a man who deliberately kept himself at a distance from most people. He liked having that comfort zone that prevented anyone from getting too close. Now, though, that was going to change. It had to change.

  Jenna thought she knew him. Thought he’d be content to remain a stranger to his sons. Thought he’d go on with his life, putting her and Jacob and Cooper aside. Knowing her, she thought he’d be satisfied to be nothing more than a fat wallet to his sons.

  “She’s wrong,” he muttered thickly, and his hand on the glass fisted. “I may not know anything about being a father, but those boys are mine. And I’ll be damned if I let anyone keep me from them.”

  Turning around, he hit a button on the intercom and ground out, “Teresa?”

  “Yes, boss?”

  He folded the DNA report, tucked it into the breast pocket of his shirt and said, “Call the airport. Hire a private jet. I’m going back to California.”

  By the following morning, it was almost as if Jenna had never been gone. She’d stopped on the way home from the airport the night before to pick up the boys at Maxie’s house. She hadn’t been able to bear the thought of being away from them another minute. With the twins safely in their rooms and her suitcase unpacked, Jenna was almost able to convince herself that she’d never left. That the short-lived cruise hadn’t happened. That she hadn’t slept with Nick again. That she hadn’t left him with a naked redhead in his bedroom.

  The pain of that slid down deep inside, where she carefully buried it. After all, none of that had anything to do with reality. The cruise-Nick-had been a short jaunt to the other side of the fence. Now she was back where she belonged.

  She’d been awake for hours already. The twins didn’t take into consideration the fact that Mom hadn’t gotten much sleep last night. They still wanted breakfast at six o’clock in the morning. Now she was sitting on the floor in the middle of her small living room, working while she watched her boys.

  “I missed you guys,” she said, looking over at her sons as they each sat in a little jumper seat. The slightest motion they made had the seat moving and shaking, which delighted them and brought on bright, toothless grins.

  Jake waved one fist and bounced impatiently while Cooper stared at his mother as if half-afraid to take his eyes off her again for fear she might disappear.

  “Your aunt Maxie said you were good boys,” she said, talking to them as she always did. Folding the first load of laundry for the day, Jenna paused to inhale the soft, clean scent of their pajamas before stacking them one on top of the other. “So because I missed you so much and you were so good, how about we walk to the park this afternoon?”

  This was what Jenna wanted out of her life, she thought. Routine. Her kids. Her small but cozy house. A world that was filled with, if not excitement, then lots of love. And if her heart hurt a little because Nick wasn’t there and would never know what it was to be a part of his sons’ lives, well, she figured she’d get over it. Eventually. Shouldn’t take more than twenty or thirty years.

  The doorbell had her looking up, frowning. Then she glanced at the twins. “You weren’t expecting anyone, were you?”

  Naturally, she didn’t get an answer, so she grinned, pushed herself to her feet and stepped around them as she walked the short distance to her front door. Glancing over her shoulder, she gave the living room a quick look to make sure everything was in order.

  The couch was old but comfortable, the two arm chairs were flowered, with bright throw pillows tucked into their corners. The tables were small, and the rag rug on the scarred but polished wooden floors were handmade by her grandmother. Her home was just as she liked it. Cozy. Welcoming.

  She was still smiling when she opened the front door to find Nick standing there. His dark hair was ruffled by the wind, his jeans were worn and faded, and the long-sleeved white shirt he wore tucked into those jeans was open at the throat. He looked way too good for her self-control. So she shifted her gaze briefly to the black SUV parked at the curb in front of her house. That explained how he’d gotten there. Now the only thing to figure out was why he was there.

  Looking back up into his face, she watched as he pulled off his dark glasses, tucked an arm into the vee of his shirt and looked into her eyes. “Morning, Jenna.”

  Morning? “What?”

  “Good to see you, too,” he said, giving her a nod as he stepped past her into the house.

  “Hey! You can’t just-” Her gaze swept over him and landed on the black duffle bag he was carrying. “What are you doing here? Why’re you here? How did you find me?”

  He stopped just inside the living room, dropped his duffel bag to the floor and shoved both hands into the back pockets of his jeans. “I came to see my sons,” he said tightly. “And trust me when I say it wasn’t hard to find you.”

  “Nick…”

  “And I brought you this.” He pulled a small, sealed envelope out of his back pocket and handed it over. “It’s from your friend Mary Curran. She was upset when she found out that you’d left the ship.”

  Jenna winced. She hadn’t even thought of saying goodbye to the friend she’d made, and a twinge of guilt tugged at her.

  “She said this is her telephone number and her e-mail address.” He stared at her. “She wants you to keep in touch.”

  “I, uh, thanks.” She took the envelope.

  He looked at her, hard and cold. His pale eyes were icy and his jaw was clenched so tightly it was a wonder his teeth weren’t powder. “Where are they?” he demanded.

  Her mouth snapped closed, but she shot a look at the boys, jiggling in their bouncy seats. Nick followed her gaze and slowly turned. She watched as the expression on his face shifted, going from cool disinterest to uncertainty. Jenna couldn’t remember ever seeing Nick Falco anything less than supremely confident.

  Yet it appeared that meeting his children for the first time was enough to shake even his equilibrium.

  Walking toward them slowly, he approached the twins as he would have a live grenade. Jenna held her breath as she watched him gingerly drop to his knees in front of the bouncy seats and let his gaze move from one baby boy to the other. His eyes held a world of emotions that she’d never thought to see. Usually he guarded what he was thinking as diligently as a pit bull on a short chain. But now…Jenna’s heart ached a little in reaction to Nick’s response to the babies.

  “Which one is which?” he whispered, as if he didn’t completely trust his voice.

  “Um-” She walked a little closer, her sneakers squeaking a bit as she stepped off the rug onto the floor.

  “No, wait,” he said, never looking at her, never taking his gaze off the twins, “let me.” Tentatively, Nick reached out one hand and gently cupped Jacob’s face in his big palm. “This one’s Jake, right?”

  “Yes,” she said, coming up beside him, looking down at the faces of her sons who were both looking at Nick in fascination. As usual, though, Jacob’s mouth was open in a grin and Cooper had tipped his little head to one side as if he really needed to study the situation a bit longer before deciding how he felt about it.

  “So then, you’re Cooper,” Nick said and with his free hand, stroked that baby’s rounded cheek.

  Jenna’s breath hitched in her chest and tears gathered in her eyes. God, over the past several months, she’d imagined telling Nick about the boys, but she’d never allowed herself to think about him actually meeting them.

  She’d never for a moment thought that he would be interested in seeing them. And now, watching his gentle care with her boys made her heart weep and every gentle emotion inside her come rushing to the surface. There was just something so tender, so poignant about this moment, that Jenna’s throat felt too
tight to let air pass. When she thought she could speak again without hearing her voice break, she said, “You really were listening when I told you about them.”

  “Of course,” he acknowledged, still not looking at her, still not tearing his gaze from the two tiny boys who had him so enthralled. “They’re just as you described them. They look so much alike, and yet, their personalities are so obvious when you’re looking for the differences. And you were right about something else, too. They’re beautiful.”

  “Yeah, they are,” she said, her heart warming as it always did when someone complimented her children. “Nick,” she asked a moment later, because this was definitely something she needed to know, “why have you come here?”

  He stood up, faced her, then glanced again at his sons, a bemused expression on his face. “To see them. To talk to you. After you left, I did a lot of thinking. I was angry at you for leaving.”

  “I know. But I had to go.”

  He didn’t address that. Instead he said, “I came here to tell you I’d come up with a plan for dealing with this situation. A way for each of us to win.”

  “Win?” she repeated. “What do you mean ‘win’?”

  Shifting his pale blue gaze back to hers, his features tightened, his mouth firming into a straight, grim line. A small thread of worry began to unspool inside of her, and Jenna had to fight to keep from grabbing up her kids and clutching them to her chest.

  Only a moment ago she’d been touched by Nick’s first sight of his sons. Now the look on his face told her she wasn’t going to be happy with his “plan.”

  “Look,” he said, shaking his head, sparing another quick glance for the babies watching them through wide, interested eyes, “it came to me last night that there was an easy solution to all of this.”

  “I didn’t come to you needing a solution. All I wanted from you is child support.”

  “Yeah, well, you’ll get that.” He waved one hand as if brushing aside something that didn’t really matter. “But I want more.”

  That thread of worry thickened and became a ribbon that kept unwinding, spreading a dark chill through her bloodstream that nearly had her shivering as she asked, “How much more?”