The Billionaire's Daddy Test

by Charlene Sands

  “Fine,” he said. “You feeling all right?”

  She’d had a hot night of sex with the handsomest man on the beach and all she could do was nod and answer, “Yes.”

  He blinked, stood there a few seconds and then closed the door.

  Mia knocked her head against the pillows. What was that all about? Damn him. Why was he so closed off?

  Was he not a morning person? How would she know—he never talked about himself. He didn’t let anyone in. And what made her think he would ever let her in? Just because they’d satisfied their base needs last night didn’t mean he would actually confide in her about anything.

  She refused to think of last night as a mistake, but a little voice inside her head told her that very thing, over and over.

  Where they went from here was anyone’s guess.

  Grabbing the baby monitor, she rose from bed and walked to the bathroom. She used a dimmer switch to adjust the lighting just so, and set the controls on the whirlpool tub. The jets turned on with a blast and bubbles rioted around the oval bathtub. She lit a few scented candles and soon vanilla and raspberry flavored the air, the flickering flames reflecting off the water. She was never one to pamper herself, but today luxury was called for. With luck, the baby would sleep another hour or two.

  It would give her time to come to grips about her strong feelings for Adam Chase.

  The genius recluse.

  * * *

  Adam stood at the edge of the veranda, his foot atop the stone border, gazing at Mia and the baby playing a game at the water’s edge. The baby was smiling and every so often a breeze would carry Mia’s animated voice to his ears as she played toe-tag with the incoming waves. He sipped coffee from a steaming mug. How had his life gotten so complicated?

  He’d woken up early this morning to find Mia gone from his bed. He’d wanted her there last night. And this morning, he’d wanted to wake to the sweet scent of her luxurious body, to see her hair splayed across the pillow. He’d wanted to trail kisses across her soft shoulders and whisper good morning to her.

  He’d worried that he’d been too rough with her, too forceful, too demanding of her body. When he found her gone from his bed, he’d worried that he’d hurt her. Thoughts of last night flashed before his eyes. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind that he’d given her pleasure, but how much was too much? And had it been a stupid, mindless mistake, to take his daughter’s aunt to bed? Carnal desire aside, he didn’t want to ruin things between them. Mia would be in Rose’s life forever.

  “Here Adam—take this to Mia.” Something was shoved into his free hand. He hadn’t heard Mary come up behind him, and he looked down at the wicker basket he now held.

  “What is it?”

  “Mia’s breakfast. Yogurt and granola, toast and juice. She has the day off, but she didn’t eat anything this morning. There’s some other things in there, too, if you’d like.”

  He gazed at Mia again. She’d taken a seat on a blanket under one of his multicolored umbrellas, the baby propped in her arms. “No, I’m good right now.”

  Mary relieved him of his coffee mug. “Go on now. Take her the basket. I know you want to.”

  Mary’s eyes twinkled. He nodded. “Fine, if you want to shirk your duties.”

  “That’s me—always finding my way out of doing work around here.”

  Mary was the best housekeeper he’d ever had. She’d been with him since before he’d come to Moonlight Beach. He wouldn’t want anyone else taking care of his home.

  “Fine. Shirker.”

  “I’ll be eating bonbons on the sofa in you need me,” Mary said as she walked away.

  “Smart aleck,” he muttered and stepped onto the beach barefoot.

  It was a short walk to where Mia had planted herself. He supposed she’d want to have the talk. Adam hated those “what happens now” questions that he couldn’t answer. Since Jacqueline, the women he’d been with had been few and far between, but almost all of them wanted to know where they’d stood with him after a night of sex.

  Once he reached the blanket, he crouched down, setting the basket next to Mia. “Here you go. Compliments of Mary. Breakfast.”

  Mia turned to him, her sunglasses shielding her eyes. She removed them and glanced at the basket. “That’s very nice of her,” she said and finally looked at him. Her eyes were a gorgeous shade of rich green, reminding him of morning grass on the pastures in Oklahoma. He was struck silent for a second. “I’ll thank her when I go in,” she said.

  The baby stared at him, her lower lip jutting out and trembling. Her pout broke his heart all over again. What would it take for Rose to accept him?

  “Mind if I join you?” he asked.

  She hesitated for longer than he would’ve liked. “No, be my guest.”

  He scooted onto the blanket on the other side of the baby. He hated that he had to keep his distance from her to keep her happy. Maybe he should keep his distance from Mia, too.

  Too late for that.

  “You weren’t hungry this morning?” He looked into the basket and found a dish of vanilla yogurt topped with granola and raisins, pastries, a bottle of orange juice and fruit.

  “Not really. I had coffee.”

  “Yeah, me, too.”

  He watched the waves bound in and out. Her silence unnerved him. Had he done something wrong? Other than the obvious, making love to a woman he had no right making love to.

  Her hair was pulled into a ponytail that extended to the middle of her back. She wore black shorts and a pretty white scoop-neck tank with a glittery pink tiara painted over her chest. Mia looked delicious in anything she wore.

  “You didn’t stay the night with me,” he said finally. It had been on his mind all morning. “Why?”

  He braced himself for her answer. While he knew darn well they shouldn’t be entering into an affair, hearing her put a halt to it wouldn’t be welcome news. He couldn’t imagine not touching her again. She was under his roof and so darn beautiful; it would be the greatest test to his willpower to keep away from her.

  “You didn’t ask me to.”

  His mouth nearly dropped open. “I figured you’d know that I’d want to wake up with you.”

  “Adam,” she said, sighing. “Are we really going to have this talk?”

  This talk? The talk? “Well, hell yeah, we should talk. Don’t you think so?”

  “I don’t see the point.”

  He clenched his teeth. “You don’t see the point?”

  “It’s weird, Adam. That’s all. You and me, after what happened between you and my sister. Are you making comparisons? Did I measure up?”

  He blinked, obviously surprised. “Mia, what’s going on between you and me has nothing to do with that. Well, indirectly it does, since if Rose wasn’t born, I wouldn’t have gotten to know you. What’s done is done, Mia. I can’t change the past. Is that why you’re upset?”

  “No, Adam. That’s not it.”

  “Then what is it?”

  Their voices were raised, and Rose’s lips began to quiver. Her face flushed red, a precursor to crying that he’d come to recognize. Mia scrambled to her feet, taking the baby with her. “It’s nothing,” she said, her voice lower and steady for the baby’s sake. “Nothing whatsoever. I’m going inside. The sun’s getting too hot for the baby.”

  A few scattered rays of sunlight beamed through the clouds, hardly enough heat to warrant taking the baby inside. He rose to his feet. “Wait a minute, Mia. Don’t leave. We need to figure this out.”

  “Is that an order?”

  He sighed. He hated that she played the martyr. If she was confused, well, so was he. But what they shared last night, all night, was pretty damn amazing. “It’s a request. What’s gotten into you today?”

  “You, Adam. You’ve gotten into me. How does it feel not having your questions answered? Not knowing where you stand? Not good? Well, welcome to my world.”

  Crap. He stood there mystified, watching her walk away.

&
nbsp; What on earth did she want from him?

  And when he figured it out, would he be able to give it to her?

  * * *

  “I can’t believe my son didn’t tell me about this little one, the minute he learned he was a father,” Alena Chase said to Mia.

  Mia sat next to Adam’s mother on the sofa, with Rose seated comfortably on her lap. Alena’s birthday celebration was set for six o’clock that night, and Adam had picked up his mother early to give her the news. He was off somewhere now, speaking to Mary and the catering staff.

  Alena had a pleasant voice that hinted at her southern beginnings. Her eyes were a brilliant blue-gray very similar to Adam’s, and she wore her thick white hair curled just under her chin in a youthful style. Her face was smooth for a woman her age and only crinkled when she smiled. There were plenty of smiles. She absolutely glowed around Rose. Mia could relate. She’d thought she might feel threatened by yet another Chase laying claim to Rose, but she didn’t feel that way about Alena.

  “I think it’s taken Adam a while to come to grips with it himself,” Mia said. She didn’t come to his defense for any reason other than to keep Alena’s feelings from being hurt. Leave it to Adam to let two weeks go by before he told his mother the truth. “I think he wanted to surprise you for your birthday.”

  Alena took Rose’s small hand in hers and gave it a little shake and then stroked the baby’s soft skin over and over. “Such a sweet surprise. I can’t even fault Adam—I’m too happy about becoming an instant grandmother today. It’s the best gift in the world. Now I have my entire family here for my birthday.”

  Brandon sat down and scooted close to Mia, his arm resting behind her on the back of the sofa cushions. “That’s just what you wanted, right, Mom?”

  She nodded, her gaze never leaving Rose. “Yes. Just what I wanted.”

  Alena hadn’t judged her. She hadn’t asked a lot of questions, either. She wondered how much of the true story she’d gotten from Adam when he’d picked her up this morning. Adam, the great communicator.

  Mia had made a special point to keep her distance from him all week. She couldn’t out and out ignore him, because he expected to see the baby, but she’d found excuses to work later than usual at First Clips every day. There were a dozen good reasons why she needed to avoid him, but the main one popped into her head day and night and wouldn’t leave her alone.

  She was falling for him.

  And that was a disaster in the making.

  Adam walked into the room and all eyes turned to him. He took in their cozy scene on the sofa, his gaze lifting to Brandon’s arm nearly around her shoulders. His nostrils flared a bit, and a tic worked his jaw. Surely, he didn’t think that she and Brandon...

  He took a seat opposite them, his back to the ocean, and spoke to his mother. “All is set for the party tonight.”

  “That’s fine, son. I can’t wait to introduce this little one to my friends.”

  Adam nodded. “She’ll steal everyone’s heart.”

  “She looks so much like Lily did at this age,” his mother said, her eyes misting up.

  Adam stared straight ahead, not saying a word. His throat moved in a giant swallow. On a Richter scale of curiosity, Mia registered the highest magnitude. Adam’s life was one big mystery to her.

  “Sorry Adam, I know you don’t like to talk about Lily, but it’s just that I feel she’s—”

  “Mom, she looks more like Adam, I think.” Brandon intervened, giving each of them a glance.

  “Actually, the baby has her mother’s nose and mouth,” Mia said softly, gazing at the baby in her arms. Her heart lurched. “She looks a lot like Anna.”

  Alena blinked, and then lowered her head. “Oh, dear. I’m sorry if I’m being callous.” She seemed genuinely contrite. “I’m sure Rose has many of your sister’s features. That poor girl, losing her life that way. You must miss her terribly.”

  “I do. Every day. We were close.”

  “I’m so smitten with the baby, I can hardly think straight. Can you forgive me?”

  Mia nodded. “Yes. Of course. I understand.”

  Mary walked into the room to announce that lunch was being served on the veranda outside. It was her cue to escape the tension surrounding Adam’s family. There seemed to be many unspoken words between them. “Rose needs a diaper change and a nap before the party. I’ll take her upstairs now.”

  “I’ll bring up your lunch if you’d like,” Mary said.

  “Oh, that’s not necessary. I’m not very hungry. I’ll come down later and eat something.”

  Mary tilted her head, a note of disapproval in her expression.

  “I promise,” Mia said. “I’ll eat something in a little while.”

  Mary let it go with a nod. It was sweet the way Mary mothered her.

  She made her escape to their rooms upstairs. It would be a big day for Rose, and she really did need a nap. She took one look at the baby making clicking noises and searching with her mouth for the bottle Mia had forgotten to bring up. “Oh, baby. What a dummy your auntie is.”

  “Is this what you’re looking for?” Mia jumped and turned to Adam. He gestured, holding Rose’s bottle. “It’s ready to go. And, no, you’re not a dummy. Maybe you’re a little too anxious to get away from my family, though.”

  Mia’s shoulders slumped. “Was I that obvious?” Adam looked a little worn around the edges. His face sported stubble, his eyes appeared sleep weary and not every hair on his head was in place. He looked approachable, normal, but still hot enough to heat her blood.

  “Only to me.”

  “It’s not your family, Adam. It’s me. I feel...out of place. I know nothing about them, and I have no idea what you’ve told them about me.”

  “They know only what they need to know about you. All good things.”

  “You didn’t tell them the entire truth?”

  He cracked a rare smile. “Mia, really? You think I’d want them to know how I really came to meet you? What purpose would it serve?”

  He was right and it eased her mind that he’d protected her from his family’s mistrust and scrutiny.

  “So they know nothing about how I—”

  “No. They know you had trouble finding out who I was and that once you found me, you immediately told me I had a daughter. That’s all they need to know.”

  “Okay, but I did what I did only because—”

  “I know your reasons, Mia. No need to rehash them.”

  Adam set the bottle down beside the diaper changer and glanced at Rose. Mia had her diaper off and was cleansing her bottom. Adam reached for a diaper and opened it, his eyes, as tired as they appeared before, now beamed with love for his daughter. It transformed his whole face, and Mia would never tire of seeing that adoring expression on Adam. She lifted the baby’s legs up a few inches, and Adam slid the diaper underneath her soft-cheeked bottom.

  “We’re becoming a well-oiled team,” Adam said. “I’d like to think so anyway.”

  Mia finished diapering her and sat down on the glider. The baby latched on to the bottle instantly, guzzling the nipple and taking long pulls of formula.

  Adam sat down on the floor beside the glider, watching her feed the baby. It was becoming a ritual, Adam waiting for the time when the baby slept, so he could hold her for precious moments and put her down into her crib.

  Only minutes later, the bottle was sucked dry and the baby’s eyes had drifted closed. When Mia nodded to Adam, he helped her up and the hand he’d placed on her shoulder sparked a riot of emotion. He hadn’t touched her for days and she’d hoped to be immune, but that night of shared passion was never far from her mind. She’d done a good job of keeping her distance from him since, yet her body responded to him like no other man she’d ever met before. Drawing in her lips, she nibbled on them and sighed.

  “Here you go.” Carefully, she handed Rose off to him and walked out of the room. It was his special time with his daughter and Mia could grant him that. At any other pa
rt of the day, Rose didn’t want to have anything to do with her father.

  Mia was standing at the window in her room watching the tide roll in, when she heard a knock on her door. She turned to find Adam there. “Do you have a minute?”

  “Is Rose down?” she asked.

  “Sleeping like an angel.”

  “Shouldn’t you be having lunch with your family?”

  “I’ll go down in a few minutes. My mother never tires of being with Brandon.”

  There it was again, spoken with no sarcasm, yet Adam’s choice of words was very revealing.

  “Come in.”

  He approached her and for a few seconds was quiet, standing by her side watching the surf curl into waves that beat upon the shore.

  “What is it, Adam?”

  He sighed and his gaze flowed over her. “It’s you, Mia. You’re doing your best to avoid me.”

  “I won’t deny that.”

  His brows lifted as if he didn’t expect her to be so blunt. “Why?”

  Did he really want to have this conversation now, on the day of his mother’s party? “Let’s just say I don’t find you...” She stopped. Was she really going to say she didn’t find him appealing, attractive—she wasn’t into him? Yeah, right. And the sun didn’t rise in the east every day. “You and I aren’t compatible.” She shrugged. That would have to do.

  “Liar.”

  “What?”

  “We’re very compatible. In case you’re forgetting that pretty fantastic night together. I’m having a hard time forgetting it. And I heard no complaints from you that night.”

  She blushed. “I mean outside of the bedroom.”

  “How so?”

  “Adam, you’re a recluse. Not only do you hide inside your house—you don’t engage with people. You’re closed off. You give nothing of yourself away, and I already have trust issues with men. So, you see, it’s impossible. Besides, there’s Rose to think about.”

  “Leave Rose out of this. What do you mean, you have trust issues?”

  “Something’s clearly eating at you, and you won’t tell me what it is.”