by Leah Vale
Harrison held up a hand and shook his head. "I don't expect you to wake him." He stepped around the table toward her, making a squishy sound with his shoe.
Juliet looked down and blinked when she saw his right leg was soaked from the ankle down. The cuff of his olive slacks and brown leather loafer were darkened with river water. She couldn't help but feel a small surge of empathy. There probably weren't any stagnant, ankle-deep puddles in front of his country club. He looked as uncomfortable and out of place in her world as she would in his.
He shifted again. She quickly looked up from his feet to his eyes when he continued, "I also wanted to make sure you were all right."
Juliet continued to helplessly return his stare. While concern showed plainly on his face, his initial wariness gave way to some other intense emotion swimming in the depths of his dark-green eyes. She was at a loss to name what she saw there. He looked different from when he'd been telling her about his mother's death. There'd been no mistaking the agony he felt then. Her own heart had answered in kind.
Whether he wanted to be or not, this was a man capable of deep feelings. And a true knight to his mother on her deathbed. But whatever motivation he had now, she wouldn't let him or her family sway her way of thinking.
Nathan was hers.
Even if her stupid body wanted to belong to Nathan's daddy.
Harrison held his breath as he watched Juliet's lush brown eyes study him as if he was a Picasso. She looked horrified and intrigued all at once. She also looked like she'd been crying again.
Harrison silently swore to himself. Her pain touched him, affected him,
the same way her pleasure had. Never in his life had a woman's passion so heightened his own. It was like she had somehow slipped under his skin with the first touch. He needed to either protect her in order to protect himself or learn to shut her out.
Unfortunately, neither would be easy.
"Are you all right?" he asked, repeating his question.
She let out an exasperated breath. "What do you think?"
"I think we need to talk," he stated firmly.
"Talk," her mom butted in. "Yes, that's what we need to do. We all need to sit down here and talk till we come up with an agreement that will resolve this little situation."
Juliet ground out, "Nathan is not a situation, Mom."
"He most certainly is, missy," her mother hissed. "And if you're not in
the mood to cooperate, you can march yourself back up those stairs where you came from."
"Oh, so now you're going to start parenting me?"
Harrison interrupted before things got completely out of control. "I need to talk to Juliet. Alone." He reached a staying hand toward Juliet. She sidestepped away as though he'd offered her a snake. "I really drove up here tonight to see my...to see Nathan and to talk to Juliet. Just Juliet."
He pulled back his hand and took a step toward her. She swayed away but held her ground, her expression guarded. Again he marveled at her strength of will. And liked it a lot. Few people were willing to stand against him. It was a wonder her family hadn't broken her. The inane thought struck him that she was like a beautiful rosebud in a bouquet of milkweeds.
Patting down her extremely curly, dark-brown hair and practically batting her equally dark eyes at him, Juliet's mother said, "Well, as her mother, I feel it's only right that I do the negotiating-"
Harrison clenched his jaw to keep from gaping. Before he could restate his intentions, Juliet cut her mother off first.
"Negotiating?" she cried. "There isn't going to be any negotiating! Nathan isn't some used car you're trying to unload, he's my son. Mine! Not this...this guy's. He isn't Nat's father!"
Everyone spoke at once.
"Aw, get off it! What do you think we are? Retards?"
"Now, you look here, missy!"
"Juliet." Only Harrison's voice seemed to register with her, so he continued, "It's clear to me now that no one is going to decide anything at this moment. The situation is too overwhelming-for both of us- to try to change anything right off."
She looked away and crossed her arms in front of her full breasts, drawing his gaze despite his intentions. One more part of her he hadn't quite been able to forget. She had fit so perfectly in his hands his palms started to itch for want of the contact again.
"There's nothing to change. He isn't yours," she grumbled belligerently, drawing his attention from where it shouldn't be.
"Jeez, Jules," Willie groaned, and slapped a hand over his grubby, backward baseball hat. "What's with you? I can't believe you're going to let Natter miss out on havin' a guy like him for a dad."
Harrison narrowed his eyes on Willie. "What do you mean, 'a guy like me'?"
"Hell, just the fact you're standin' here screams decent guy. Most fellas would have turned tail and run the second they were given an out."
Harrison folded his arms over his chest. "I don't agree. I think most men want to be a part of their children's lives." Not to mention Juliet's. He nearly groaned. No. He didn't want to be a part of any woman's life right now, he reminded himself for the millionth time. He wanted to run his company and be a father to his son. End of story.
Willie laughed and shook his head. "Man, do you live in a soap opera, or what?"
Harrison turned the question on Willie. "Would you walk away from a child of your own?"
He didn't even take the time to think about his answer. "Like spit on ice."
It was Harrison's turn to shake his head. Not taking responsibility wasn't an option. "That shows how different we are."
Readjusting his shoulder against the refrigerator, Willie looked Harrison over from head to foot then started to chuckle. "You have no idea."
Remembering he was talking to the wrong person, Harrison turned back to the only one who mattered and uncrossed his arms. "Juliet, please. I told you before, I have every intention of being an integral part of Nathan's upbringing. I refuse to walk away from him."
Willie straightened up from the fridge. "Hey, a DNA test would prove you're the dad."
With a perplexed look her mother asked, "A what?"
Instantly recoiling from the thought of running blood tests on his baby, Harrison shook his head. "I don't think there's any need for clinically establishing paternity."
Willie made a noise and scratched his head through his baseball hat. To his mother he explained, "It's a test that would show Nat's his. You know, like those spit tests they use on AMW."
Harrison frowned. "AMW?"
Willie gave him appalled look. "America's Most Wanted. Man, you really are out there."
Visibly paled, Juliet insisted, "I won't agree to it."
"You might not have a choice, Jules."
Tired of the interference, Harrison sent her brother a look that made him hunker down into the nearest chair.
In a much less harsh tone her mother said, "Stop fighting it, Julie. If you think for a second, you'll know this is for the best."
Maybe the woman did care a little for Juliet's feelings.
Juliet sniffed and threw out a hip. "You didn't stop righting when you were in my shoes."
"That was your grandpa's doing. I would have gladly let the state take you. I had my hands full already with your brother, here."
Harrison sucked in a breath at the older woman's cruel words. So much for caring for Juliet's feelings. "Well, it's a good thing I'm more like Grandpa than you, now, isn't it?" Juliet said, her pain so clear on her face he wanted to gather her in his arms and make everything better.
She glanced at him, and he willed her to understand that he wasn't the enemy. It didn't work. She raised her chin in defiance. While he admired her tenacity, her refusal to cooperate was wearing thin.
"Don't you worry none about her," Willie offered. "If we need proof Natter's yours, I'll make sure you get it."
"Willie!" Juliet gave her brother a horrified look. "If anyone can do it, Willie can," Juliet's mother said with a permed nod, not even batting an
eye at betraying her daughter. "They're real close."
Harrison could barely suppress a snort. He doubted either of them knew a thing about Juliet. And if he wanted to convince her to move to his estate, he knew he'd have to find a way to get close to her, himself. Looking at her mother and brother, he said, "I think this is something that Juliet and I should work through together. Alone."
Without giving her time to protest, Harrison took Juliet's hand and pulled her into the dim store.
The way her hand fit so perfectly within his registered in his brain and the need to gather her in his arms nearly overwhelmed him. But he hardened his heart with determination. They would end this nonsense and they would end it now.
He rounded on her. "You realize, don't you, that I can find a way to prove Nathan is mine? Your family is more than willing to offer him up to me."
"He isn't theirs to-"
"And you won't admit he's mine, either. That leaves me with only one choice. Do you really want to put Nathan through a paternity test?"
While he wasn't exactly sure how the procedure was performed, just the thought of willfully putting his little boy through any sort of pain or discomfort made his chest very, very tight. Since he had no intention of ever letting his son be hurt, he had to convince Juliet that he knew what he was talking about.
He put his hands on his hips and leaned toward her. "It's not some spit test, you know. Nor will they simply prick his heel or finger. They'll use a needle."
The possibility made his heart constrict until he had to force the words out. "They'll stick a needle into our baby's tiny arm, into his delicate, unsuspecting skin, and take vials of his blood. Vials. Just in case they have to run duplicate tests if one of us appeals, you know. All because you won't admit I'm his father. Why, Juliet? Why won't you admit that I'm the only man you've ever been with?"
Her brown-and-gold eyes went wide and shimmered as though he'd been peeking in her diary.
The spark of possessiveness she'd ignited in him
roared to life like a fire caught in a backdraft. "I haven't forgotten that I was your first," he whispered thickly. "I know in my gut that what Willie says about you is true, that you haven't let another man near you." He raised a hand and skimmed her soft cheek with his knuckles. "It's true, isn't it?"
Her nod was so slight he would have missed it if he hadn't been touching her face.
"For Nathan's sake, admit I'm his father."
Juliet's heart lodged in her throat and nearly strangled her. She struggled to ignore the torturous pleasure the simple touch of his fingers on her cheek sent through her and stared hard into his mossy eyes, appearing black in the dim light. Try as she may, she couldn't find the sort of underhandedness a corporate bigwig like him must be capable of. All she saw was the truth in his words.
He was right. She couldn't bear to have Nathan deliberately hurt. No matter the cost to herself. With pain, her family's betrayal, and anger at her own foolishness heating her face, she turned away from him. Away from his touch and the pleasure she didn't want to feel. "Okay, I admit it," she whispered. "You're Nathan's father."
"Thank you." His gratitude sounded heartfelt.
She couldn't meet his eyes. She didn't want to see the gloating or thrill of victory where she had once seen the promise of something wonderful.
His deep voice washed over her in the near darkness, drowning her. "I suppose I should go for now. We can talk some more tomorrow."
She shrugged noncommittally. Seeing how she had just laid down her last weapon against him, it didn't matter. She was as good as road kill beneath the wheels of her dream on a bike.
As Harrison went to his car, he didn't feel the elation or thrill of victory he'd expected to feel once he convinced Juliet to tell the truth. Rather than climbing in right away, he stood for a moment, his elbows propped on his Porsche's roof, and stared out across the highway to where he knew the river flowed.
What he did feel was the quiet, calm certainty of having done the right thing. Being the best father he could possibly be to his son was definitely the right thing. And helping Juliet along the way wouldn't be a bad thing, either. A little atonement could do a lot of good.
Now all he had to do was convince her that moving to the Rivers estate was not only the right thing but the only thing to do.
He unlocked the driver's door and was opening it when Juliet's mother hailed him from the rickety little balcony.
"Oh, Harrison," she called in a molar-grinding falsetto. "Your son is awake and has convinced his mother he needs a snack. I'm sure Juliet wouldn't mind if you joined them."
Knowing darn well she would mind, he hesitated.
Her mother rushed to add, "It'll just be the two of you. I need my beauty sleep, and Willie's shows are on. I thought you might like to spend a bit more time with your son." She said the words like they were the magic ones.
They were.
He slammed his car door shut and started toward the store. "Yes, I would," he said, then went into the store.
He passed through the dark living room just as Willie switched on the television, and Harrison noted once again the clutter consuming the place. The door to the brighter kitchen was bracketed by twin, waist-high stacks of old newspapers he hadn't noticed before. Apparently recycling trucks didn't come this far up the river road. Or maybe no one ever set the papers out.
Either way, he couldn't help but narrow his eyes a little more. While he knew Juliet's life would be turned upside down, he was growing more and more convinced that she and their baby couldn't continue living like this.
Their baby.
Those unspoken words sent the now familiar, intense surge of possessiveness through him. He wouldn't allow her to push him away. He'd convince her to let him take her home with him where he could care for them both. Then everything would be right with his world again because he would be back in control.
A loud sniff brought his attention to the kitchen, and he stepped into the room. Juliet sat at the table, squirting great globs of Cheez Whiz on crackers to the immense delight of their toddler on her lap. Harrison watched for a moment in fascination, having never actually seen the orange stuff before.
As if sensing his presence, her gaze jumped to his and her expression turned guarded. "Why are you still here?" She handed Nathan a freshly topped cracker which he promptly began to strip of the cheese with his little tongue.
In a soft, nonthreatening voice Harrison replied, "Your mother caught me as I was leaving and said Nathan was up. She thought I might want to spend a little time with him tonight." He took a step toward the table."I do."
She gave a mirthless laugh. "And here I was thinking you'd decided to demand I hand over your son to you right now." She gripped Nathan tightly to her, belying the sarcasm in her tone.
Harrison moved to stand in front of the table, struggling to dispel the image of the newspaper stacks from his mind. "Why would you think I'd do something like that?" What had he done to make her distrust him so? Besides never coming back to see her and threatening her with tests. Guilt and regret pricked at him in a way a needle never could. But coming back right after that first time wouldn't have solved anything. She would have still been pregnant, their lives still irrevocably changed.
"Why would I-" she started, then sputtered, "Because you're a bazillionaire and I'm...I'm-"
"White trash," Willie casually supplied for her from the doorway behindHarrison.
Juliet's face turned crimson. "I am not," she denied throatily.
Willie chuckled. "Well, you sure as heck ain't no deb."
Harrison slowly turned to him, on the brink of doing her brother serious damage. "Would you mind giving us some privacy?" he grated out, balling his hands into fists at his sides. One of these days he was going to have to hit his baby's uncle.
Willie innocently raised both brows, then nodded. "Oh. Sure, sure. No problem. I just need to get a brewsky, then I'll leave you two kids alone." He sauntered over to the refrigerator and re
trieved a can of beer, then headed back toward the living room. "I'll be in here watching the tube if you need me." He saluted them with the silver can and disappeared through the door.
Harrison turned back to Juliet. The expression on her face drew him to the chair closest to her. He wouldn't have thought someone could look any more hurt than she had when Willie and her mother had supported doing the paternity test, but the look she wore now spoke of a much deeper sorrow.
"Juliet," he softly entreated, but she ignored him by studiously replenishing the Cheez Whiz on the cracker Nathan had licked clean and held out for her with a noisy, incomprehensible demand. The trembling of her hands made Harrison's chest unbearably tight.
He instinctively reached out and covered her hand. Her skin was icy cold. God, how he wanted to hold her and warm her. Just the thought of her in his arms raised his own temperature and brought his body to life. "Juliet, I'm sure I don't have to tell you that your brother is a jerk."
She shrugged as if it didn't matter, but her chin began to tremble, too.
"You are not-" he couldn't make himself say the reprehensible words thatso clearly hurt her "-any of the things Willie says. You are a strong, courageous, beautiful woman who has done the best she could considering-" he glanced at Nathan's sweet face then at the cracked glass of the kitchen window "-your circumstances."
Her lifestyle was so different from his. But would her reaction to his reappearance in her life have been any different if she had grown up with the same privileges he had-if she were wealthy, too? Would she have touched him so deeply?
He pulled in a breath and forced himself to be honest. The answer was, Probably not. Because she wouldn't have been the same person. She wouldn't have been able to show him the simple peace of life when he'd so desperately needed it. Though, he knew without a doubt that no matter where he encountered her, his body would always want her. The electricity that sparked between them was undeniable. Too bad it had to be denied.
He fixed his gaze on her again, but she still wouldn't look at him. "You know, there's nothing all that great about being a debutante, either."