“I know,” she said abruptly. “You’re doing a good deed and you don’t want an instant family. You’re not interested, and buddy, neither am I.”
She turned on her heel and walked off. He watched her stop to fight off a dizzy spell before climbing the stairs. He waited until she made it up to the second floor before looking away and smiling. Now he remembered why he liked her so much. She wasn’t afraid to speak her mind and tell him off when she thought he needed it.
Three
Brooke lay in Nick’s bed as fading sunshine spilled through the window. She’d never been one to sleep away the afternoon, but the doctor ordered rest and she would do anything to get out of the Carlino house as quickly as possible. So with Leah sleeping in her little playpen next to her and Nurse Jacobs in the adjoining room, Brooke punched the pillow and placed it under her head then forced her eyes closed.
But rest wasn’t coming easy. Her little episode with Nick down by the pool played over in her mind. Stupid, Brooke. You let him kiss you.
Nick Carlino wasn’t lacking in the kiss department. He knew what he was doing and always had. He was sexy down to the bone. Even with a dozen internal warnings screaming at her to back away from Nick, the second his lips touched hers, magic happened.
Foolishly, she’d gotten lost in his touch and taste, wanting more. More comfort. More reassurance. More magic. But Brooke wouldn’t let the need inside her grow. She might have had a weak moment, but she’d be on guard now.
She took slow deep breaths, calming her nerves and letting all the tension ooze out of her body. The events of the past twenty-four hours had finally caught up to her. Her head ached less and less and sleep seemed possible now.
Nick left his group of friends at the window booth in the Cab Café, and headed her way. The minute Brooke spotted him approaching the counter her heart skipped some very necessary beats. Every time he came into the café with his friends she wanted to run and hide.
She wasn’t one of them. The baseball jocks and their cheerleader girlfriends had their own exclusive club. Their friendliness ended with casual hellos. They wouldn’t let her inside their circle, even if she wanted to be let in. She worked at the Cab Café and wore a purple and white uniform with an apron decorated with lavender grapes. She lived on the wrong side of town.
“Hi,” Nick said, straddling the stool in front of her.
“Hi. What can I get you?” Brooke asked, as she passed him to set down coffee and a slice of peach pie for a customer.
“Would love a vanilla shake, but I’m in training. Just a lemonade.” He smiled.
“You got it,” Brooke said, trying not to stare at him. Nick Carlino had a set of dimples that made mush of her brains. “How’s the team doing?”
“We won last night. I hit home run number twelve.”
Brooke poured his lemonade and slid the glass over. “Is that a record?”
“Not yet, but I’m getting close. You should come to the games.”
“I, uh, thanks. Maybe I will.” Brooke had to work on the weekends. That’s when they were the busiest. But Nick didn’t know about things like that. He came from the privileged class and she doubted he knew anything about sacrifice or paying the bills.
“I hope so.” He stared into her eyes so long, heat traveled up her neck.
Why did he care if she came to his baseball games? “I’ll try.”
He sipped his lemonade. “How’d you do on the trig test?”
“Got an A, but I sweated that one. You?”
“You beat me, Brooke.” His blue eyes twinkled with mischief. “I don’t like to lose.”
It was official now. It wasn’t just her brain melting—her entire body turned marshmallow-soft hearing him say her name. “Try studying. I hear it’s a sure way to ace a test.”
Nick chuckled and rose from the stool, taking the last sip of his lemonade. He laid down some money on the counter. He was a good tipper for a high school student. She moved on to her next customer at the counter and Nick walked away. When he reached the middle of the café, he turned back around and caught her eye one last time. “I’ve got a game tomorrow at three.”
She nodded her acknowledgment just as the Victors’ head cheerleader, Candy Rae Brenner, slipped her hand into Nick’s and pulled him along, giving Brooke a dismissive look.
The dream startled her awake. But it wasn’t a dream—it was a real memory. Brooke hadn’t thought about that day in a long time. She didn’t know why that particular scene entered her dreams, but it must have to do with the fact that she’d hit Nick’s car and was sleeping in his bed.
She glanced at Leah beside her, all rosy cheeks and dark blonde curls wrapped into a sweet sleeping bundle. Leah made everything possible. She held her mama’s heart in those tiny little hands.
Concentrate on her, Brooke. Forget about Nick. And the past.
But Brooke couldn’t do it. The dream had been so real, so vivid that it triggered more memories of Nick. Those next few weeks entered her mind with stunning accuracy.
“You didn’t come to the game.” Nick caught up to her as she walked down the hall past the chemistry lab. School was out and she had a long walk home.
She glanced at him. Tremors of excitement erupted inside and she felt queasy from the turmoil stirring her stomach. Why was he walking with her? “I had to work. You know, some of us have to earn a living.”
“Little Miss Attitude today, aren’t you?”
“Me?” She pointed to her chest then realized her mistake. Nick’s gaze followed the direction of her finger and he studied her chest. He raised his brows and stared some more. It figured she’d be wearing a tank top that revealed a modest amount of cleavage today.
She scurried past him but he caught up to her. “Hey, are you working after school?”
“Why?” she asked, curious what he wanted with her. “Need a study buddy for trig?”
Nick laughed. “Hell no. I’m getting a passing grade, that’s good enough. As long as I keep my grades up, I’m on the team.”
“And that’s all that matters?”
Nick was a sure thing for the major league draft. The entire school rallied around him. He was the golden boy who earned okay grades and had a batting record that brought the scouts out in droves.
“For me, yeah. I’m not going to college. And I’m not working for my old man. It’s baseball or nothing.”
He had dreams, Brooke thought, and he’d probably attain them. He was after all, the golden boy. While Brooke faced community college and working to help her mother pay the bills, others would be off pursuing a life that would mean something important to them.
“So, are you working or not?”
“Later tonight I am,” she answered.
“I’ll drive you home.”
She was ready to say no thanks, but then she looked into Nick’s midnight blue eyes and hope swelled in her chest. Her heart wanted to say yes, but her brain got in the way. “Why?”
“Why what? Why do I want to drive you home?”
She furrowed her brows and nodded.
“Maybe I’m going that way.” Then he leaned in closer and lowered his voice. “Or maybe I like you.”
She laughed, thinking that would be the day, and looked away.
Nick moved in front of her so she had to face him. “Brooke?”
He said her name again in a tone that sounded sincere and…hopeful. It was the hopeful part that swept through her like a hurricane, obliterating all rational thought. She nodded and smiled. “Okay.”
His world-class dimples emerged, stealing her breath. “C’mon, my car’s in the parking lot.”
Those last weeks in June before graduation were a combination of highs and lows. Whenever Nick didn’t have practice after school, he’d drive her home and they’d sit on her front porch and talk about everything and anything. She’d learned a lot about his childhood, his baseball dreams and when he spoke of his mother, it was with fondness and love. Each day, Brooke had fallen more and more in love with
him. It was a young girl’s fascination, but the feelings she had for him were real. He’d never asked her on a date or tried to kiss her, which contradicted his reputation. He’d dated every popular girl on campus, Candy Rae being the latest in the string. Rumor had it that they’d broken up and Nick had alluded to it, but one thing he didn’t talk about with Brooke was other girls.
She’d resigned herself to the fact that she was Nick’s “friend” who lived on the other side of town. When prom came, Brooke had waited, but Nick never said a word, so she accepted a date with the busboy that worked with her at the Cab Café. She’d shown up in a dress she’d splurged on from her meager savings. Her mother, who had a great sense of style, had curled her hair and helped with makeup. When she spotted Nick at the dance with Candy Rae her heart sank. Though Nick had never promised her a thing, she felt hopeless and dejected, but was determined not to take it out on poor Billy Sizemore, her date. They’d danced and danced, and took pictures under the corny grapevine arbor inside the hall where the prom was held.
She came out of the ladies room and was instantly grabbed by the waist and pressed against the wall of a secluded corner by the bathroom. “Nick? What are you doing?”
“Just wanted to say hello.”
“Hello,” she droned without emotion.
The dimples of doom came out and Brooke had an uncanny urge to touch her fingertip to one.
“You look amazing.” His gaze swept over her hair, her dress, her body and then he looked deep into her eyes. “You have incredible eyes. It’s the first thing I noticed about you.”
Nick was deadly handsome and so near, she could hardly breathe. What she couldn’t figure out was why he was torturing her.
“I didn’t want to bring Candy Rae here,” he confessed. “The fact is, she made me promise months ago.”
“And you don’t break your promises?”
“Try not to. Her mother called my father last week to make sure I’d follow through. He put the old Italian guilt on me.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
He looked at her quizzically. “You don’t know?”
She shook her head.
He reached out to touch her hair, his gaze flowing over her face. A long moment passed and then he bent his head and kissed her.
Brooke couldn’t believe this was happening. His lips were just like she imagined, amazingly warm and giving, a prelude and a promise of more to come. Brooke had waited so long for this, for him, that at first she just remained there enjoying the sensations rippling through her, frozen like an ice sculpture and melting a little at a time.
He wrapped his arms around her and she found herself immersed in Nick Carlino, his touch, his scent, his body pressed to hers. And she was through holding back. She returned his kiss with everything she had inside. He kissed her again, his mouth more demanding now, and a wild sort of frenzy built. Lust combined with the love she held in her heart for him and everything else faded from her mind. He parted her lips and drove his tongue into her mouth. Sensations whirled and she let out tiny gasps as he devoured her, his desire overwhelming.
Overhead, an announcement rang out calling for the last dance.
“I’ve got to go,” he said with a low rasp. He backed away from her but the regret in his eyes bolstered her spirit. Things had gotten out of control. Wonderfully so and she knew that when she went to sleep that night, her dreams would be of Nick.
Nurse Jacobs entered her room to take her blood pressure and temperature. Brooke waited patiently, sitting upright on the bed, while the older, sweet-faced woman removed the cuff and took the digital thermometer out of her mouth.
“All looks good, Mrs. Keating. Your blood pressure is normal and so is your temperature. How about the dizzy spells?”
She’d told the nurse once already not to call her Mrs. Keating. She hated the reminder of her marriage. “It’s Brooke, remember? And I had a slight dizzy spell earlier, but nothing for a few hours.”
The nurse looked pleased. “The rest is doing you good. Now, if I could get you to eat something. Mr. Carlino said that dinner would be ready at six. Are you up to going downstairs or shall I bring food up to you?”
“Oh, no. That’s not necessary. We’ll go down.”
Leah began to stir and she knew her baby had enough of napping. She’d want some stimulation and learning about these new surroundings would satisfy her curiosity. Brooke would take her outside later to get some air as well.
“She’s a good baby and a good sleeper.” Nurse Jacobs smiled at Leah. “My children weren’t good sleepers. I tried everything, but they were determined to keep their mom up most of the night. But they were good kids after that. Didn’t give me a wink of trouble as teenagers.”
“I guess you can’t ask for more than that,” Brooke said, suddenly curious about the nurse. “Are they grown now?”
“My son is finishing up college at Berkeley. My daughter, she’s the older one, is married and I’m hoping she’ll make me a grandmother one day.”
Brooke thought about her own mother. She’d had a tough life and was finally married again and living in Hawaii with her new husband, a widower and former naval officer with a kind heart who thought the sun rose and set on her mother’s shoulders. Brooke was glad of it and though they missed each other, she knew her mother would spend some extended visits with them once Brooke and Leah settled into their new home.
“My mom is really crazy about Leah,” Brooke said. “We saw her last month and—”
Leah fussed, letting out a complaining cry. Brooke stood up to go to her, but the room spun instantly and she reached out for the bed to steady herself. She closed her eyes until the feeling passed.
Nurse Jacobs was beside her quickly and braced her around the waist. “You stood up too fast,” she said softly. “Move slow and make each step deliberate. How’s your head now?”
Brooke glanced at her. Everything began to clear. “Better.”
“Let me get Leah for you. Have a seat and I’ll diaper her and bring her to you so you can nurse her.”
Brooke did as she was told. The sooner she recovered, the better. She didn’t want to be beholden to Nick for anything more. She already owed him for the damages to his car and for room and board, not to mention for the private nurse he’d hired to care for her. Brooke vowed to pay him back once her establishment started making money.
An hour later, Brooke had showered, changed her clothes, put a little blush on her pale cheeks and felt human again. She dressed Leah in a sundress and sandals that matched her own—a gift from Grandma “for her two girls,” her mother had written on the gift card. Thankfully, her mom was provided for now and could spend money without pinching pennies and she’d lavished so many wonderful things on Leah.
Brooke smiled.
“That smile looks good on you. Feeling better?”
“Much. I’m ready to go down for dinner.”
“I’ll take Leah, if you can manage the stairs.”
“I’ll help Brooke down,” Nick said, standing in the opened doorway and nodding at the nurse. He wore a black Polo shirt that displayed lean muscles and tanned olive skin. His pants were beige, expensive and fit his frame perfectly.
“I can manage.”
Nurse Jacobs touched her arm. “Let him help you, Brooke. Just in case.”
Brooke hesitated, but now wasn’t the time to be obstinate. “Well, okay.”
Nick waited until they reached the top of the staircase before putting his arm around her waist. She felt the gentle pressure of his touch all the way down to her toes. If nurse Jacobs only knew what a dizzying effect Nick had on her, she wouldn’t have encouraged this.
“I’m glad you decided to come down for dinner. I thought you were still annoyed at me from before.”
“I’m not in a position to be annoyed. You’re being very…gracious.”
“So out of character for me, right?”
“No comment,” Brooke said, but she smiled and Nick didn’t s
eem to take offense.
Once they made it down the stairs, Nick led them to the terrace where a table was set under a slatted patio roof held up by stone columns. “We’re between cooks right now, so I ordered in. You’d end up back in the hospital if I tried my hand at cooking.”
“That’s fine, thank you,” she said, then reached for Leah. “Come here, pretty baby.” She kissed Leah’s cheek the minute Nurse Jacobs handed her over. She settled Leah onto her lap. The baby was still groggy from her long nap.
The housekeeper, Carlotta, made a big fuss over Leah, offering to hold her while Brooke ate her meal, but she kindly refused. She still hadn’t gotten over the accident and what could have happened. She wanted Leah near and she’d eaten this way, with Leah on her lap, dozens of times. It was a ritual that she’d soon have to break. Leah was growing in leaps and bounds and would need a high chair soon.
Carlotta made sure they were served and wanted for nothing. Brooke was amazed at how hungry she was, satisfying her growling pangs with shrimp salad, pasta primavera and creamy pesto chicken. She ate with gusto as Nick and her nurse conversed about growing up in Napa. Nick was a charmer and by the end of the meal, her middle-aged nurse was surely smitten. Every so often, Nick would catch Brooke’s eye and they’d exchange a glance. Heat traveled through her body even as she pretended not to notice his effect on her.
Carlotta served a decadent Italian dessert catered from a restaurant Nick’s family owned. The oozing lava cake exploded with melted chocolate the minute Brooke touched her fork to the center. Leah grabbed at her fork with her chubby grasp and a spray of liquid chocolate splattered onto Brooke’s chest. The baby giggled and swiped at the confection again, tipping it over.
“Leah!” Brooke shook her head as she glanced at her freshly stained white blouse and the puddle of chocolate her child made on the table.
Carlotta and her nurse rushed into the kitchen to repair the damage, leaving Brooke alone at the table with Nick.
“Look what you’ve done to Mommy.” Leah giggled again and Brooke had to smile, unable to feel any anger at the situation. Though she imagined she looked a total mess now. “You’re getting me all chocolately and—”
The Billionaire's Baby Arrangement Page 4