Her heart sank, and tears burned behind her eyes. The night would bring on so many changes. Rose’s innocent face flashed. For a split second, she thought about bailing. About lying to Adam and sending him packing. In her dreams, Rose was hers, Gram would live forever and they’d be a family.
“Mia?” Adam rose from the floor. She couldn’t put this off any longer. It was time. She had the perfect opportunity to tell Adam about Rose. To lie now would only prolong the inevitable and make things harder than they already were.
“Adam, that’s Olaf. It’s, uh...it’s your daughter’s favorite toy.”
* * *
It took all of her effort to get Adam to sit down at the kitchen table so she could explain. As she filled the coffeemaker, she sensed his gaze boring into her like a pinpointed laser beam and her neck prickled. He kept looking at her as if she were from outer space.
“This is some kind of joke, isn’t it, Mia?”
“No joke. You have a daughter.”
He shook his head. “I’m still waiting for your explanation. You can’t just blurt out I’ve got a daughter and then decide we need to discuss this over coffee, as if we were talking about the weather. Christ, Mia. I’ve had people try to infiltrate my territory and invade my privacy. I admit you’re good. You found a way to get my attention. Even it if did cost you pain and a little bleeding. Hell, you had me fooled. Whatever you want, just spill it out, so we can get this over with.”
Her head whipped around, her eyes burning hot. “I’m not trying to fool you or invade your precious privacy, Adam. And you wouldn’t say that if you knew Rose. That baby is the sweetest thing on this earth.” She simmered down. She so didn’t want to have a confrontation. “We need to discuss this calmly, rationally.”
“How do you know I have a daughter? Who is she to you?”
“She’s...my niece.”
“Your niece?” His voice rose, piercing her ears. He hadn’t expected that, but the truth deserved to be told now.
“Yes, my niece. About a year ago, you spent some time with my sister. Her name was Anna Burkel.”
Adam frowned and darted his eyes away, as if trying to recall.
“She was dark blonde and pretty and, well, you spent one night with her.”
Adam turned back to her and blinked. “She’s your sister?”
Trembling, she poured coffee into mugs and brought them to the table in her small kitchen. Steam rose up and she stared at it a second. All of her mistakes came bounding back at her, and her hand shook as she set the mug down in front of him. “Yes, she was my sister.”
“Was?”
“She died after giving birth to Rose. It was a complicated delivery.”
Adam didn’t offer condolences. He was in shock, staring at her face, but seeing straight through her. “Keep going, Mia. I’m not connecting the dots.”
Her heart pounded. This wasn’t going well. And it was probably going to get a lot worse. “I’ll try to explain. When you met Anna, she was at a low point in her life. She was in love with Edward, her fiancé of two years. They had planned to get married that summer, but then Edward broke it off with her. I doubt she told you any of this, on...on that night.”
He shook his head. “No, she didn’t. I only remember that she looked lonely. I was at an art museum in the early hours, just when it opened,” he said, gazing out the window to the dark sky. “I only make rare visits. But she was there, too, wandering around, and we were enthralled with the same piece. She said something that intrigued me about the artist. She seemed to know a lot about art. We had that in common. We struck up a conversation and ended up spending the day together. Are you saying she got pregnant that night?”
“Apparently.”
“Apparently,” he repeated. “Well, what is it Mia? Yes or no?” He rose from his seat and began pacing. “Are you trying to hustle me?”
“No! Damn it, Adam. I’m not doing that. And, yes, she got pregnant that night.”
“So why didn’t she try to find me and tell me about the baby?”
“Because she didn’t tell anyone she was carrying your baby. She kept the secret from everyone, including her fiancé. She got back together with Edward just one month later and, and...” Oh, man, this was harder to admit than she’d thought. Saying the words out loud made her sister’s deed seem conniving and sinister. What she’d done was wrong, and Mia had been shocked to learn the truth on Anna’s deathbed. But how could she blame her sister now? She’d paid the worst price, dying before she got to know her sweet child.
“And she pretended that the kid was his?” Adam’s lips twisted into a snarl. She didn’t think his handsome face could ever appear ugly, but right now it did.
She nodded.
He stopped pacing and closed his eyes as if absorbing it all. “I’m not convinced the child is mine. How can you be so sure?”
“Because my sister was dying when she confided the truth to me, Adam.”
“And?”
She bristled. “If that’s not enough, Rose has your eyes.”
“What does that mean?”
“How many children do you know have silver-gray eyes?”
“I don’t know many children, Mia.”
Now he was being obtuse. Yes, it was a lot to lay on him and she hadn’t planned on his finding out this way...accidentally. It would’ve been much better if she could have confessed the truth to him during a long soulful talk, the way she’d hoped.
“How old is the baby?” he asked.
“Rose is four months.”
His hands went to his hips. He might’ve been a gunslinger, eyeing his opponent. He stood ramrod stiff and ready to do battle. “Four months? The child is four months old?” He paced again, moving briskly, and she imagined his head was ready to spout steam any second. “So what was all this about?” He gestured to her apartment, the couch where she’d come undone in his arms and all the rest, by making a circle with his hand. “Were you trying to soften the blow? Because, Mia, you’re good. I’d say you’re a pro.”
The “pro” comment had her walking up to him, her nerves absolutely raw. “Don’t insult me, Adam. Bullying doesn’t work on me.”
She’d been called many names in high school after her father had sullied the Burkel name. It had hurt her beyond belief. She’d felt dirty and shamed. Mean-spirited folks aimed their disgust and revulsion at her entire family, instead of the one person who’d actually been guilty of hideous crimes. James Burkel deserved their distrust, but not the rest of her family. They’d been innocent victims, as well.
From that day on, Mia had vowed not to allow anyone to bully her again.
“You sure had me fooled.” And then Adam’s eyes widened and he pointed a finger at her. “Did you plant that broken bottle on the beach, just to meet me?”
“Don’t flatter yourself, Adam. I was trying to meet you, yes, that’s true, but I wouldn’t bloody myself. That was an accident.”
“But it did the trick, didn’t it?”
Oh man. She couldn’t deny it. “Yes, it served my purpose.”
“And that was to what? Screw me, as many ways as you could. And I’m not talking about sex, but honey, after tonight, if the shoe fits.”
Fury blistered up and her hand lifted toward his face. He stared her down, and she dropped her hand, not because she was afraid of Adam, but because she didn’t approve of physical violence of any kind. There had been one too many slaps to her mother’s face by dear old dad for her to ever want to repeat that behavior.
He sensed her displeasure and backtracked a little. “I apologize for that. But just tell me why you waited for four months and why, when we first met, you didn’t immediately tell me about Rose?”
“For one, my sister died before I could get much information out of her. She told me your name and that you were an architect. Do you know how many Adam Chases there are in the United States? Logic had me narrowing it down to a handful of men, but then I found a recent picture of you...which, by the way, wasn’t easy to
find. You’re not exactly press happy, are you?” She didn’t expect him to answer. It was common knowledge that he was a recluse, or whatever kind of label fit a man who didn’t like people or being out in public. “When I saw a picture of you, and homed in on your eyes, well, then I knew it had to be you.”
“What else?”
“Nothing else. Isn’t that enough? I was right. You were with my sister.”
“What about this Edward guy? Does he still believe the baby is his?”
An exhausted sigh blew through her lips. This had been a trying day, and her emotions were tied up into knots. “No, Anna left it up to me to tell him. He didn’t believe me at first and I understood that. He didn’t want to believe it. He had already bonded with Rose. When the DNA test came back, he was devastated. He’d lost Anna, and then to find out Rose wasn’t his... I’ve been raising Rose ever since.”
“Where is the baby now?”
“With my gram.” Taking her eyes off Adam, she glanced at the wall clock. “I have to get her soon. She’ll be fast asleep.”
“I want to see her, Mia. Tomorrow morning. First thing.” It was the first time Adam Chase barked an order at her.
“I’ll have to make arrangements. I’m expected at work, but I’ll be there.”
“See that you are. Who watches the baby when you’re working?”
“I do. She’s too much for my gram all day. I take her to the shop, and she’s pretty good. She takes naps. And some days I work part-time or work from home. She’s my little mascot.”
“You never explained why it took you so long to reveal this little secret. Why didn’t you just come out and tell me about her?”
His eyes locked in on her, and it was clear he wouldn’t let her off the hook. She could tell him she was charmed and mesmerized by him. But that would only compound the problem. Her palms began to sweat. “You’re not going to like it.”
“I’ve liked nothing about his evening, so why stop now?”
Ouch, another sharp blow. She felt something for Adam Chase, and it hadn’t been one-sided. But that was beside the point. “Rose is precious to me. She’s all I have left of my sister and she’s an amazing, beautiful, smart baby. I’d die for her, Adam. I couldn’t just turn her over to a stranger. I had to get to know you as a person.”
“Those nosy questions you kept asking me.”
She nodded. “But you gave nothing away about yourself. I mean, other than you’re a brilliant architect and you’re pretty handy with a first aid kit.”
A low guttural laugh crept out of his mouth. The sound made her skin crawl. “You’ve got to be kidding? You were judging me? If Rose is my baby, where do you come off not telling me immediately?”
She had to make him see her logic. Certainly, he wouldn’t condemn her for her actions. He had to see she had the baby’s welfare at heart. “It’s only because I was trying to protect Rose. Think about it, Adam. All I knew about you is that you had a one-night stand with my sister. That doesn’t make you father material. I had to make sure you weren’t—”
“What? An ax murderer? A criminal?” Blood rose to his tanned cheeks.
She nodded slowly. “Well...maybe,” she squeaked. “I had to know you weren’t a jerk or a loser or something.”
His eyes widened.
Stop talking now, Mia.
“So you made yourself my judge and jury? Did I pass your test? I must have...since you practically let me—” His eyes roamed over her disheveled dress. “Never mind.” He pushed his fingers through his hair. “I can’t believe this.”
“I was going to tell you tonight. I had it all planned, but then we kept getting interrupted.”
“If I hadn’t stepped on that toy, I might never have learned the truth.”
“That you have a daughter?”
“Whether this child is actually mine remains to be seen. I meant I would’ve never found out what a liar you are.”
He grabbed his jacket from the sofa and strode toward the front door. Handling the knob, he stopped and stared at the door, refusing to look at her another second. “Bring her over in the morning. If you don’t show, I’ll come for her myself.”
“We’ll be there, Adam.”
He walked out, and the sound of the door slamming made her embattled body jump.
So far her “daddy test” plan was an epic fail.
Five
Adam gazed out his bedroom window to view overcast morning skies. His eyes burned like the devil. He shut them and flopped back against his mattress. “Ow.”
Hammers pounded away in his skull, but he’d have to ignore the rumble. He had more pressing things to think about than his hungover state. He’d had too much mind-numbing vodka last night. In just a few hours, he’d come face-to-face with Mia again. The conniver. The liar. The woman who’d deceived him for days. He’d let down his guard, just like he had with Jacqueline, and look how that had ended. He’d given her his heart and trust and shortly after, she’d broken it off with him, falling madly in love with his brother instead. Nice.
He pinched the bridge of his nose and filled his lungs with air.
And now Mia claimed he’d fathered her sister’s child. He didn’t trust Mia D’Angelo as far as he could toss her. But the baby was another matter. If she was his, he’d make things right. Last night, before he’d taken to drink, he’d put the wheels in motion to find out his legal rights in all this. And to find out who Mia really was.
He remembered more and more about the night he’d shared with Anna. It had been on the anniversary of his sister’s death, some twenty years ago. He’d gone out, because staying in always made him think too hard about Lily and then the guilt would come. So he’d escaped to the museum and had met an equally lonely woman and they’d had a nice time. Nothing too earth-shattering, and, afterward, they’d both agreed it was best not to see each other again. No phone numbers were exchanged. They’d barely known each other’s names. It had been an impetuous fling.
A knock at the door sounded loudly. “It’s Mary. I brought you something to make you feel better.”
“Come in.” He sat up. His head was splitting like an ax to logs. The tomato drink flagged with a celery stem popped into his line of vision. “I thought you might need this.”
How did she always know what he needed?
“I saw an empty Grey Goose bottle on the counter and figured this might be a welcome sight this morning.”
“Thanks. It’s exactly what I need.”
She handed him the glass. “Bad night? Or an extremely good one?”
He took a sip. “Might be a little bit of both. Take a seat.” He gestured to the chair by the window. “I have something to tell you. We’re going to have two visitors today...”
Two hours later, Adam walked out of his bedroom showered and dressed in a pair of jeans and an aqua-blue polo shirt. He was too keyed up to eat breakfast and his head-shredding hangover didn’t allow his usual morning swim. Instead, he grabbed a mug of coffee and wandered outside. He walked to the outer edge of his stone patio and gazed at the steady waves pounding the shore. He sipped coffee, staring out.
The last time he’d thought about fatherhood, he was getting ready to ask Jacqueline to marry him. He’d fallen hard for her and thought they were in tune with one another. So much so, he’d wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. But life never turned out as expected. He’d been shell-shocked when Jacqueline broke it off with him. Shortly after, he’d accidentally found out she’d fallen in love with Brandon.
There’d be no marriage. No family with Jacqueline for him.
As it turned out, Brandon hadn’t lasted long with Jacqueline. She’d left him three years later, after a tumultuous relationship, and finally married a college professor. She was living a quiet life on the East Coast now. His mother had given him the scoop, though he kept telling her it wasn’t any of his business anymore.
Now his every thought revolved around being a father. A chill ran down his spine thinking of all
the ways his life would change after meeting Rose. But first and foremost, he had to find out if she was his daughter.
Mary’s voice from behind startled him. “Adam, they’re here.”
He pivoted around to see Mia holding the baby in her arms. Behind them, long sheer drapes flapped gently in the breeze, fanning around them as if framing the Madonna and her child. He held his breath; his limbs locked in place. They both wore pink, Mia in a long flowery summer skirt and a pale blouse. The baby, wrapped in a lightweight blanket with only her face peeking out, had sandy-blond hair. That was all he could see of her as he stood a good distance away. Mia gazed at the child she held, her eyes filled with love and adoration, and the sight of her again packed a wallop to his gut. She didn’t look like the conniving liar he’d pegged her for last night. But he wouldn’t be fooled again. Too much was at stake.
This could be a scam. Mia could be a gold digger. Maybe she’d conjured up all of this after learning about the fling he’d had with her sister. The baby might be an innocent pawn in the sick game she was playing. Remember that, Adam.
His gaze went to Mary, standing near them, her hand on her heart, her light eyes tender on the baby. “I’ll take it from here, Mary. Thanks.”
“Yes, thank you, Mary.” The women exchanged a glance.
“She’s precious.”
“Yes, she is,” Mia responded.
“I’ll leave you two to talk it out.”
Adam waited for Mary to leave. Then he set the coffee mug down and strode the long steps toward them. Mia cradled the baby possessively, holding her haughty chin up, suddenly defiant. What did she think he’d do, wrestle the baby out of her arms and banish her from his house forever?
He faced Mia and swiveled his head to see the baby’s face. Soft gray eyes, circled with a hint of sky blue, looked up at him. Adam’s heart lurched. Oh, God, she did have his eyes.
“This is Rose.”
He nodded, his throat tight.
“She was born on May first.”
Mia unfolded the blanket, showing him her chubby little body outfitted in a frilly cotton-candy-colored dress. Ruffles seemed to swallow her up. Her little shoes and socks matched her dress. “She weighed seven pounds, seven ounces. She’s almost doubled her birth weight now.”
The Billionaire's Daddy Test Page 6