“I wasn’t asking for your help, just a point in the right direction.”
“Right, heaven forbid I should help you.”
Nick focused his attention on her face then lowered his gaze to her chest and the hint of cleavage her top revealed. He didn’t seem to mind that she’d caught him in the act. He merely sipped his wine and continued to look at her until heat crawled up her neck.
“I appreciate you will—”
“Get your place registered with tour books and guides. You’ll need a Web site. You’ll also need to work out arrangements with other bed-and-breakfasts so that they refer tourists to you if they can’t accommodate them. Initially, I’d say to visit local wineries and make your place known. Carlino Wines will put you on top of our referral list for visitors.” Through tight lips, he added, “Unless that’s against your rules too.”
Brooke took offense to that. “I don’t have rules, Nick.”
He finished off his wine and poured another glass. “Sure you do. You don’t want anything from me.”
“I don’t want anything from any man,” she said, her anger rising. She was sorry she’d asked him for advice. “It’s not personal.”
His brow furrowed. “Is that because of what happened between us in high school?”
Brooke had heard enough. She rose from her seat and took up her plate, unable to hide her annoyance. “Maybe you don’t know this, but there is life after Nick.”
Nick shot up and followed her to the sink. “What is it then? Why are you so damn stubborn? Is it your ex? Did he do a number on you?”
She winced at the mention of her ex. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Hell, maybe you should. Maybe it’ll knock off that chip on your shoulder.”
She whirled around and faced him straight on. “I don’t have a chip on my shoulder. I have a baby to raise by myself and I’m trying my best not to get hurt again. That’s all, no chip, just survival. But you wouldn’t understand that.”
“Yeah, because I’ve got everything I want.”
“Hell, it looks like it from where I’m standing!”
Nick ignored her accusation and wouldn’t let up. “Tell me. What did he do to you, Brooke? Why isn’t he around for Leah?”
Brooke’s defenses fell at the mention of her daughter. Emotion roiled in the pit of her stomach making her queasy. Her heart ached for Leah and all that she’d lost. Dan’s betrayal had cut her to the core, because it meant her daughter wouldn’t know her own father. It meant, when she did tell Dan about his daughter, he might not care to know her. He might abandon Leah, the way he’d abandoned Brooke. And that would be too much to take. Too hard to deal with.
Brooke lashed out at Nick because he was there, and because he’d asked for the truth. “He isn’t around for Leah, because he doesn’t know about Leah! One week before I found out I was pregnant, Dan came to me with the news that he was having an affair. She was pregnant with his child. He left me and the child he’d didn’t know about. And,” she said, her tone and bravado fading, “my beautiful baby girl isn’t anyone’s castaway. She isn’t.” Tears spilled down her cheeks and she let them fall freely, shedding her heartache with each stinging drop. “She’ll never be. And when I tell Dan about her, it’ll kill me if he hurts her the way he hurt me.”
Nick ran a hand through his hair. “Christ, Brooke,” he said in a low rasp.
“I know,” she said, between sobs. She swatted at her shoulder. “Knocked the chip right off.”
Nick closed his eyes briefly, then grabbed her around the waist and drew her into his chest. She wound her arms around him and sobbed quietly while he held her, making her feel safe and protected.
“Damn him,” he muttered. “The jerk.”
“I know,” Brooke replied over and over again. “I know. I know.”
“Want me to have him killed?”
Even through her heartache, she chuckled. “How would you do it?”
“He would just disappear one day, never to be heard from again.”
Brooke nestled into his chest a little more. “I appreciate the thought,” she whispered.
“I’m a helluva guy.”
“Don’t be nice to me, Nick,” she pleaded.
“Don’t be so damn brave and beautiful and sexy.”
“I’m none of those things.” She wasn’t. She was just muddling her way through life, making mistakes and trying to cope the best way she knew how.
Nick lifted her chin and met her eyes. “You’re all of those things, Brooke.” Then he lowered his head and kissed her.
It wasn’t a consoling kiss, but an all-out Nick Carlino kiss filled with demand and passion. He cupped her face, weaving fingers into her hair and tilted her head to get a better angle, then he kissed her again, his mouth hot and moist and intoxicating. Brooke fell into the sensations swirling down her body in a spiral of heat.
He pressed her mouth open and drove his tongue inside, taking her into a more intimate place—a place Brooke hadn’t been in a long time.
She wanted more. She wanted him but she knew it would have to stop. She couldn’t do this. Not with Nick. Those thoughts turned to mush when he drizzled kisses down her throat and cupped her breasts with his hands. He groaned with need and backed her up against the counter, their bodies hard and aching for each other. His thumbs stroked over her blouse, making her nipples peak, tormenting her with slow circles that sent shockwaves down her body.
It felt good to be kissed this way by Nick, to have him desire her, and she would die a happy woman if he made love to her now. But Brooke thought about Leah again, and the mistakes she’d already made in her life.
Nick would be another one. And she couldn’t afford that luxury.
“No, Nick.” She broke off his kiss, and regretted it immediately, but she was determined to stop him. “We can’t do this.”
He gazed at her with smoky eyes that promised a hot night between the sheets. His hands were halfway up her blouse. He removed them and waited.
“I haven’t had sex in a long time,” she confessed.
“You haven’t forgotten anything.”
She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment. “You’re good at bringing it all back.”
“Somehow I don’t think that’s an invitation.”
“It’s not. It’s an explanation of why I let things get out of control. My life is complicated right now.”
Nick sighed. “Sex doesn’t have to be.”
She breathed in deep and his scent on her lingered. “I’m not ready.”
Nick backed up and gave her breathing room. “When you are, you have an open invitation. You know where my room is.”
She swallowed past the lump in her throat and nodded.
They stared at each other a long moment, then Nick turned away, picked up his keys and walked out the front door.
Brooke stood there, bracing herself against the granite counter, her body aching for completion. She needed the physical act, but she also needed the intimacy of being held and loved and cared for. She wanted the bond and connection that lovemaking at its finest could bring. Knowing she had an open invitation with Nick rattled her nerves and made her imagine things she shouldn’t be imagining.
When Leah stirred, Brooke glanced down to watch her daughter’s eyes open to the world, her blond curls framing her chubby cheeks and a little pout forming on her mouth. She believed with her whole heart that she’d done the right thing by pushing Nick away tonight.
For all three of them.
Six
The week flew by uneventfully. Brooke got into a routine of waking early enough to cook breakfast and get out the door by nine to work at the house. She’d come back to the Carlino estate in the late afternoon to shower and make dinner. All in all it was working out better than she’d hoped.
Nick came and went as he pleased, and she was grateful there was no tension between them. At least not on the surface. They’d share their meals, talk about their day and have a few laug
hs. After dinner, they’d head in opposite directions.
She didn’t think about Nick during working hours, when her focus was on getting the place cleaned up. She had a handyman there during the week, fixing doors and repairing damage to the walls as well as bolstering the railings that wrapped around the house on three sides. The painters were due next week and Brooke had to begin building a website for her project. She could write the text herself, but she couldn’t add photos until the house transformed from the deteriorating Addams Family house to one that looked appealing and inviting. She’d made plans to visit wineries in the area this weekend, reacquainting herself with local vintners and getting the word out about her new establishment.
That would be the hardest part. She’d never felt as though she belonged in Napa and during the night she struggled with old feelings of not being good enough and of not fitting in—only this time, she was able to talk herself out of those nagging thoughts. She’d come a long way since her teen years, having been through some rough patches and learning from them. This was her chance for independence and happiness.
But while she could talk herself out of those old feelings, new feelings had emerged that were harder to keep down. At night, she’d lie across her bed and think about the temptation that lay just a few steps away. Nick had let her know in no uncertain terms that he was available to her if she wanted him. She had an open invitation. And every night since, she’d thought about his offer and him and what it would be like making love to Nick.
The passion they experienced in the kitchen in those few unguarded minutes had been two-sided. She’d opened up to Nick and bared her soul to him and he’d understood her pain. He’d approached her not from self-fulfilling lust, but from shared desire. Each night, as she turned down her covers and crawled into bed, she’d secretly wished Nick was beside her and as the nights wore on, it was getting harder and harder to sleep knowing what she craved, if just in body, was so close to her.
And yet, never further out of her reach.
That afternoon, Brooke stopped work early, deciding Leah needed a break from the drudgery of the old house. As much as she wanted to accomplish her tasks as soon as possible, she never wanted to lose sight of Leah’s needs. She’d stopped off at the store and bought Leah a turtle-shaped inner tube and a two-piece pink bathing suit. Leah loved water, her bath time being one of her favorite activities. Today, they were going for a swim in the Carlino pool.
“Oh, don’t you look sweet in your new suit,” she said as she dressed her daughter on Nick’s big bed. She adjusted the straps on Leah’s two-piece swimsuit. “There, all set.” Leah giggled and kicked her legs up. “Let’s go. Mr. Turtle wants to take you for a ride.”
Brooke wore her own two-piece suit covered by a sundress. She grabbed the already inflated turtle—a bad move on her part, she should have blown it up downstairs—picked up the diaper bag full of towels, sunscreen, bottled water, Leah’s hat as well as her diapers, then lifted Leah up in her other arm. “Here we go, little girl.”
She made it out the door and headed toward the staircase, balancing baby and everything else in her arms, precariously.
“Need some help?” Nick strolled out of his bedroom and didn’t wait for an answer. He slipped his hands into the straps of the diaper bag, taking it from her, then lifted Mr. Turtle off her shoulder. “Did you load the diaper bag down with lead?” he asked.
“Not quite,” she said, and a chuckle escaped. “It’s just a girl thing. Thanks.”
Nick followed her down the stairs. “I take it Leah likes water.”
“We’ll see. She’s never been in a pool like this before.”
“Really? This I’ve got to see.”
“What are you doing home?” she asked matter-of-factly. It was his home and he could come and go whenever he pleased, but Brooke was really looking forward to having this special time alone with Leah. And if she were honest, she didn’t really want to parade around in her swimsuit with Nick looking on. Her body wasn’t perfect, not in the way Nick was accustomed to seeing a woman—she had stretch marks still in the process of fading that never really bothered her until now.
Suddenly, the idea of using the Carlino pool lost its appeal, but she couldn’t back out now without looking like a complete idiot. Besides, Leah deserved some splash and play time.
Suck it up, Brooke.
“I only work half a day on Friday. It’s a guy thing,” he said with a wink. “Maynard wiggled out of our tennis game, claiming he had a patient in need.” A wry grin spread across his face. “A likely story. He didn’t want to get beat again.”
“Yeah, and owe you any more favors like treating me for free.”
Nick only smiled.
Once they reached the pool, Nick set her things down on the chaise lounge. The day was gloriously warm, the sky a clear blue and the pungent scent of new grapes nurtured on the vine filled the air.
Brooke laid out her towels on the chair, then set Leah down and lathered her with sunscreen before plunking a pink bonnet on her head. “I called Dr. Christopher today and she said Leah could be out in the sun for thirty minutes as long as she was protected.”
Nick took a seat in an adjoining chaise lounge and spread his legs out. He was dressed in slacks and a white button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up. “You’re a good mother,” he said and she waited for the punch line, but when none came she realized he’d meant it.
“Thank you.” She stepped out of her flip-flops. “I never thought I’d be a single mom.” She shimmied off her sundress and let it pool down her legs. Then stepping away, she reached down to pick up Leah and the turtle tube.
When she finally glanced at Nick, she found he’d put on sunglasses, which was a good thing because now she couldn’t see his eyes measuring her. Thankfully, her suit wasn’t a bikini thong. She’d picked out a more conservative two-piece suit, yet there was more skin exposed than she’d like Nick to see.
“I like the suit,” he commented immediately.
It suddenly got ten degrees warmer under the direct sun. “I, uh…it’s nothing special.”
“Leah could be a model for Baby News in that pink getup.”
Oh, he meant Leah. Now, Brooke wanted to die of mortification.
She turned away and took her first step into the pool. The water felt cool enough to be refreshing, but warm enough to enjoy.
“Brooke?”
She tossed the turtle into the water and watched it land with a little splash in the shallow end. Then she turned to face him, holding Leah close in her arms.
“Your kid looks cute, but I was complimenting you.”
“Let’s just leave it at, Leah looks cute.” Brooke took another step in, and then another. Normally, she wasn’t the wait and see type of swimmer—she loved to dive in and feel the unexpected shock of the water, but of course she couldn’t do that now. Once she got in up to her waist, she splashed water on her daughter’s legs. Leah bent down to touch it. Her chubby fingers reached out again and again and Brooke had to cling onto her tight for fear of dropping her.
Nick sat forward, straddling the lounge, and tipped his sunglasses down. “She’s fidgeting again.”
Brooke tossed her head back and laughed. “Now I’ve got you saying words like fidgeting.”
Nick smiled and those dimples popped out and caught sunlight. “I guess you do.”
He leaned back in his lounge, getting comfortable as Brooke finally managed to get Mr. Turtle to accept Leah’s weight. Once she was sitting on the floatation device comfortably, Brooke breathed easier. She pushed Leah around and around, her daughter’s big smiles and cackles of delight warming Brooke’s heart.
Then a thought struck and she hated to ask, but she also hated to miss this moment. “Nick, a big favor? Since it’s Leah’s first time in a pool, will you take a picture of her?”
He narrowed his eyes as he made his way over. “Depends, what are you feeding me tonight?”
“Anything you’d like. Name it.”
“I’ll let you know later. Where’s the camera?”
“In the diaper bag.”
Nick sorted through her things and came up with the camera. She didn’t have to instruct him how to use it—he seemed knowledgeable. He asked for smiles, and Leah obliged immediately, staring straight at Nick. He bent down close to the steps and clicked off a few shots.
“You look hot,” Brooke blurted, noticing beads of sweat on his brow.
Nick cast her a charming grin. “I’m taking that as a compliment.”
“You know what I mean,” she said, spinning Leah around on the tube again.
“Do you swim?” he asked.
Brooke glanced with longing at the long kidney-shaped pool. “Like a fish. I’m a good swimmer.”
“Hang on. I’ll be right back.”
A few minutes later, she heard a quiet splash from behind and turned toward the deep end. Nick swam underwater the length of the pool and came up just inches from her and Leah.
Leah’s eyes rounded and she clapped her hands with glee when she saw Nick. He patted her on the head and she followed the course of his hands, watching his every move with fascination. “I’ll watch her for a few minutes. Take a swim.”
“You don’t have to do that.” Brooke stood close enough to Nick to reach out and touch the droplets of water trickling down his chin onto his chest. His dark hair was pushed off his face and she noted a small scar cutting into his forehead she didn’t know he had. It was just enough of a flaw on a perfectly handsome face to make him look dangerously sexy. Brooke figured it safer to take him up on his offer than stand in the shallow end drooling over a well-muscled hard body.
“Have at it, Brooke,” he commanded, pointing to the water. He grabbed hold of the turtle tube and gently pushed it through the water. “The kid and I will be just fine. When you get done, I have a favor to ask you.”
“Ah, that makes more sense. You have an ulterior motive.”
Their eyes met with amusement.
Brooke turned to kiss her daughter’s cheek. “Watch Mommy swim.”
The Billionaire's Baby Arrangement Page 9