Winning Wyatt (The Billionaire Brotherhood Book 1)

by Floyd, Jacie

  He believed she hated the deceit, but that didn’t excuse the action. “Why did you feel you had to hide the truth from me?”

  “I didn’t want to.” The way she studied the passing scenery instead of looking at him made Wyatt doubt her truthfulness even now. What more could she be hiding?

  “You made it more difficult than it needed to be.” He gentled his tone and reached for her hand. “Did you ever consider that I might have understood?”

  “You’d made your position pretty clear.” She tugged her hand from his grip. “I asked if you ever wanted to have children. You said no.”

  She’d offered this explanation the night before, but it still didn’t seem to fit. “And you let it go at that?”

  Hunching her shoulders, she lowered her head, muffling her next words. “A few months later, I called to tell you I was pregnant, but there had been that trouble with Xander. As I recall, you expressed your gratitude over your childless state with heartfelt eloquence.”

  “You might have guessed that was stress doing the talking.”

  “I did, and as my due date drew near, I called again.”

  “And...? What unwitting idiocy did I utter that time?”

  “You said you were seeing someone.”

  Ah, yes. Kristin. Talk about cross-purposes. “Damn.”

  She trailed her fingers through the sides of her hair, pushing back any tendrils that had dared to escape. “And are you? Seeing someone? It’s none of my business, but some women—most women—wouldn’t take this news lightly.”

  “I’m not seeing anyone.”

  “What about Samantha Davenport? I only saw you with her for a few seconds, but you seemed... close.” Was that jealousy he detected?

  “We’re friends. That’s all.” A prickly feeling of annoyance spread over him. First Regina, then Dylan, and now Kara, had doubted him on this subject. All of them imagined something intimate going on between him and Sam. But they were wrong. Not in a very long time anyway.

  “Really? The way you and I are friends? The way you and Regina are friends?”

  “Yes, exactly like that.” Women he’d slept with in the past, but remained amicable within the present. He’d always considered maintaining cordial relations with past lovers one of his better qualities, but Kara’s tone implied otherwise.

  “Isn’t she the reason you came to New York?”

  “You’re the reason I came to New York. But if I hadn’t agreed to lend Sam some moral support, I might have stayed home and missed all this.” His shoulder leaned into hers as the car exited the parkway. “Why are you returning to the gallery?”

  “It was too crowded last night to give the work a fair critique.”

  “What was your first impression?”

  “Very good. A positive combination of flowing execution and creative images.”

  “I’ve always thought so.”

  She smacked herself on the forehead. “You have some of her work, don’t you? At the cabin and the beach house. I knew it looked familiar, but I couldn’t remember where I’d seen it.”

  “Her style has changed, but these current pieces exhibit the same strong lines and compelling textures as her earlier work.”

  “Yes, but now it’s more vivid, more defined.” Kara mulled over the changes aloud. “More... sensual.”

  Afraid she’d try to attribute that change to him, he pressed the speaker to end the discussion. “Let us off at the front entrance, Monte.”

  “Just drop me off at the corner and go. I’ll take the train home later.”

  “No.” She would soon learn that he couldn’t be dismissed that easily anymore. “I’ll take you back so I can see Sean again.”

  Spending the day in Wyatt’s company was a treat Kara could have done without. He dogged her heels through the Rothschild, adding his insight to Samantha Davenport’s work, and leading Kara through all the rooms to view the other artists on display.

  He was knowledgeable and astute, but being with him in a near-empty gallery was entirely too reminiscent of their first meeting. And constantly relegating her memories to their place in the past wore her out. Especially after her sleepless night.

  At the Rothschild, then back in Connecticut, he was unfailingly polite, as always, dangerously attractive—even more so than he’d been three years ago, if that were possible—and endearingly awkward during moments with Sean.

  Exhaustion pulled at her, but caution about her son’s welfare prevented her from allowing father and son to get too far out of her sight. Despite her constant vigilance, Sean fell face-first when he came off the slide.

  Wyatt, standing beside him at the time, scooped him off the ground and brushed him off. “You okay there, buddy?”

  Of course he wasn’t okay. He’d taken a fall. At the very least, he needed comforting. Kara grabbed him into her arms. His little face started to pucker. “Oh, my God! He’s bleeding!” She pulled a tissue from her pocket and placed it under his nose before rushing toward the house. “Hurry, let’s get him inside.”

  In the bathroom, she removed his jacket and hat, then ran cold water and dampened a cloth.

  “What can I do to help?” Wyatt leaned against the doorframe with his hands in his pockets, but she spared him only a quick glance.

  “Nothing. I’ll take care of it.”

  After the crisis had passed and Sean had been tucked in for his nap, Kara’s hands began to shake, and her stomach turned over in delayed reaction. As she and Wyatt returned to the family room, she put a hand on her heart and breathed deeply, fighting tears that threatened to flow.

  Wyatt looked at her oddly. Empathy flickered across his face just before he reached for her. Encircling her in his arms, he offered the comfort she needed. “Sean’s fine.”

  She took a moment to calm herself against his broad chest then pulled away. “But it could have been serious. I’m not letting him near that slide again.”

  “Why? He wasn’t afraid or upset. He didn’t break anything or need stitches.”

  “No-o.” His observation sent annoyance crawling over her skin like a platoon of ants. How dare he question her about something as important as Sean’s safety? “I can’t have him getting hurt.”

  “Of course not.”

  Since he agreed with her, Kara didn’t know why she couldn’t let the matter drop. “I should have been more careful.”

  “You were being careful. We both were.”

  “Not careful enough.”

  He dropped his eyelids and studied her from beneath his lashes. “How careful would that be?”

  “Careful enough so he wouldn’t get hurt.”

  “I see.” He checked his wafer-thin Gucci watch. “How long will he sleep?”

  “An hour or two.” Kara moved about the room, straightening pillows, aligning books on shelves, and putting toys in their proper place. His gaze followed her closely. The perusal ratcheted up her general level of irritation. “You must be ready to take off.”

  “In a minute.” He took her hand, led her toward the couch, and waited for her to sit. He dropped into place beside her.

  “Now, what?” She fidgeted, but he remained silent. “If this is about you moving in here, you can just forget it.”

  “We both need more time before we decide anything about Sean. I’m going to Atlanta in the morning for a meeting with Mother and Allie.” His expression brightened. “While I’m there, I’m going to tell them about Sean.”

  The thought of Wyatt’s autocratic mother knowing about Sean filled Kara with dismay. Who knew how much the Iron Butterfly would try to influence Wyatt regarding his claim to her second grandchild? Kara sprang up and headed for the kitchen. “Could I get you something to drink?”

  “No.” He encircled her wrist as she tried to pass by him. “Sit down.” He nodded toward the place she’d occupied seconds before. “Please.”

  With a sense of impending doom, Kara did as he requested. She knew with a certainty that she wouldn’t like anything he had to s
ay.

  “Do you have any pictures of Sean I could take with me to show them?” He nodded at a photo collage on the wall.

  “Sure.” If that was all he wanted, she wouldn’t mind complying.

  He rubbed his chin and hesitated. “Or you and Sean could go with me so they can meet him in person.”

  “No!” Revulsion propelled the word out of her mouth.

  He lifted an eyebrow in his Master-of-the-Universe way. “Then they’ll probably want to come here to see him. I don’t suppose you like that idea any better.”

  Recalling the scene she’d made at Rosalie Maitland’s home during her only meeting with the woman, Kara shuddered. “I’ll try to accustom myself to the possibility.”

  “They’ll have a lot of questions for both of us. Many of which I don’t know the answers to.”

  She grimaced at the reminder. “You said—”

  “I know what I said.” His impatience caused her to blink. “And I know what we agreed. If I regret that I didn’t know the truth sooner, it’s largely based on the time I lost with my child and that you had to go through all of this alone. Obviously, you chose to do so for reasons of your own. Now it’s my turn to choose what I want to do from here.”

  Kara held her breath as she waited for an ultimatum. When he didn’t issue one, she revealed a faint but futile hope. “I don’t suppose you’re going to just go away and leave us in peace, are you?”

  “Not a chance in hell. I plan to see an attorney about establishing a legal claim to paternity, with a view to setting up child support and visitation rights.”

  “All of that?” Indignation steeled her spine. “Based on one night of passion? Why don’t you ask for my life’s blood instead?” In a very real sense, that’s just what he was asking for. Didn’t he realize that, or didn’t he care?

  “I’ve been thinking about that night of passion.” He spoke in a detached, measured tone, in marked contrast to Kara’s distress. Distrusting his studied air, she willed her pulse to slow down. “The way you just happened to forget your birth control pills. Right before you brought up the subject of parenthood.” Resting his elbows on the chair arms and steepling his long aristocratic fingers, he speculated aloud. “Wasn’t that a bit coincidental?”

  “Not really.” She refused to let him put her on the defensive. If he had questions, she’d answer them like a mature adult, not like some needy unwed mother without hope, or help, or her own resources. “We hadn’t been together for a few months. I’d been considering the idea of having another child ever since I returned to New York.”

  “Are you admitting that you planned to come to Atlanta to get pregnant?” His steely glance seemed to bore into her, into the deepest, darkest recess of her heart where all her guilty secrets burned.

  “I didn’t plan it, no. Not in the way you describe it.”

  “Then you describe it.”

  “When I came back from California and realized how much I wanted another child, I knew that if wanted to go through some type of pregnancy, the sooner I got off the pill, the better.” She shrugged. It seemed like a sensible decision at the time.

  “Some type of pregnancy?” he repeated. “What the hell does that mean? How many types of pregnancy are there?”

  She ran through the list.“Artificial insemination. In vitro fertilization. In utero fertilization. All of them require a sperm donor of some sort.”

  “A sperm donor?” His amber eyes flashed fire at the clinical term. “And I was the lucky choice? Should I be grateful I got to make the donation in person instead of in a cup?”

  She cringed. The passion of that night couldn’t be reduced to the kind of clinical procedure under discussion. “You know it wasn’t like that.”

  “Then how was it?” He used a sharper tone than she’d ever heard from him before.

  “When I was investigating pregnancy—” she hesitated over the correct word “—options, you called and asked me to come to Atlanta. It was after you contacted me that I realized you were everything I was looking for in a father for my child. I intended to ask you if you were interested in the—” again she searched for an inoffensive term “—project. But you know what happened when I got there.”

  “Yes, I do.” He smiled briefly and a sensual light flared in his eyes. “We have a history of making love first, asking questions later. That night was no different.”

  Her throat that had gone dry from the heated memory. “I tried to bring up the subject without making you suspicious as soon as I became aware of the possible consequences.”

  “And I told you I didn’t want children. Didn’t that give you pause?” He was turning the whole conversation into an inquisition, for crying out loud.

  “Of course it did. That’s why I told you I’d forgotten my pills. So you’d know we needed to use protection for the rest of the week. Naively, I hoped the one time—two times—” she corrected herself with a blush “—wouldn’t matter. When the first pregnancy test showed positive, I knew your Maitland sense of responsibility would make you feel obligated to us whether you wanted a child or not. Like it has.” That explanation was as close to the truth as she planned to get.

  “Or were you afraid I’d realize you didn’t have the guts to ask me for what you really wanted?”

  He deserved answers, but enough was enough. She refused to let him bully her to get them. “If you think siring a child is all about somebody wanting or taking something from you and not about receiving anything in return, you’re more of a self-centered egotist than I imagined. And it’s absolutely no wonder you have trouble maintaining inter-personal relationships.”

  He reared back in his seat, as if Kara had fired a blowtorch at him. “I don’t have trouble with inter-personal relationships.”

  “Hah!” She sprang to her feet and emphasized each point with a wag of her finger. “Haven’t you ever wondered why you live two thousand miles away from all the people you care about?” Her growing irritation urged her a step closer to him. “Why you try to keep order in everyone’s lives without sharing any part of yours? And why you invite strange women to live with you with the understanding they can leave anytime they want, as long as they leave with no regrets or recriminations? Talk about convenient!”

  By this time she stood directly in front of him, leaning forward until they were nose to nose. “I may have been wrong not to tell you the truth, but I did not get pregnant as the result of any diabolical scheme to produce the secret love child of the great and powerful Wyatt Connor Maitland.”

  Tension danced in the air around them, and she expected Wyatt to blast her with a tirade of his own. Instead, he seemed to purposely relax his shoulders and wrap his hand around the finger that jabbed him in the chest. He pulled it to his mouth, pressed a kiss to her palm, and gave her a crooked smile. “I guess you told me.”

  Sheepish after her long-winded assault, a blush crept up her cheeks. But she was more embarrassed at the way her pulse raced beneath his touch than anything else. She forced herself to stare him down until he released her hand. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said most of that.”

  “We’re always so careful about what and how much we say to one another, it’s probably good to clear the air. It’s easy to agree to the concept of ‘no recriminations’, but after three years of misunderstandings on both sides, it’s hard not to have any.”

  “Maybe so.”

  “And I’m sorry if I was wrong about your motives.” Before Kara could decide whether or not to accept his apology, Sean’s voice boomed at them from the baby-com. Wyatt stood and headed for the stairs. “Oh, boy! He’s awake. Let’s go get him.”

  After Sean had been played with, fed, bathed, and put to bed for the night, Kara handed Wyatt a thumb drive.

  “The date and his age are noted on each photo.”

  “Thanks, I appreciate this.”

  “Well...”Maybe airing their differences had been good for them, but an unfamiliar awkwardness they’d never experienced before h
eld them in its grip.

  Reaching for his coat, Wyatt stilled, and their eyes connected with a long look. “Kara...”

  In the name of self-preservation, she stepped back.

  He cleared his throat. “There’s something else we need to talk about.”

  “Not now.” She held up her hands in protest. “Please, not anything else today. I don’t think I can take anymore.”

  “Fine.” The muscles of his jaw twitched. “If you don’t want to hear about it tonight, I’ll forward you the article from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Monday.”

  She studied him. He looked uncomfortable, almost embarrassed. Unpleasant suspicions trickled down her back.

  “All right. Tell me.”

  “Wyatt Enterprises is making an announcement that might be of special interest to you.”

  Her hand went to her throat. “You’re not making a public announcement about Sean, are you?”

  “No. That’s strictly personal. This is about the company. I’d like to explain it to you before the press release, but I can’t put off the announcement any longer.”

  “And it concerns me?”

  “The family set up a charitable foundation in the name of your son, Adam Enderley. Its sole purpose is to benefit children and families in situations similar to Adam’s and yours.”

  Kara couldn’t form a coherent thought. Slowly, she sank onto the bottom step of the stairs. “What? Why? How? Does your company think this makes amends for their part in my son’s death?”

  “No. You saw the company report. Neither National Package Delivery nor my family feel we’re to blame for the accident. But in the tragedy, two lives were lost. Several others were destroyed.”

  As he spoke with assurance and sensitivity, Kara saw a rare glimpse into the business and compassionate sides of Wyatt’s complicated personality.

  “I intend for it to be directed toward helping children whose lives are unexpectedly in jeopardy due to automobile accidents. We can help either through financial assistance or with special medical needs like long-term care or rehabilitation. We can help with funeral expenses if needed. We’re also offering you the opportunity to be part of the decision-making team.”