by Nicola Marsh
“You’re sweet.” She turned her face slightly to rest her cheek in his hand. “But you’re right. There’s no future for us. We both have busy careers. We live in different cities. It’s not feasible.”
She kissed his palm and straightened. “How about we make the most of today then walk away happy?”
“I can do that,” he said, but his down-turned mouth and slumped shoulders indicated otherwise. “We have until eleven tonight. Let’s make the most of every minute.”
She clambered on top of his lap, the kimono opening to reveal her nakedness. “What are we waiting for?”
CHAPTER FOUR
Tax time made most accountants break out in hives. Not Adele. She reveled in the challenges of balancing ledgers and issuing documents and ensuring the figures added up.
Chantal had entrusted her with Burlesque Bombshell’s sizable accounts when she was a new accountant just starting out and it was a responsibility she took seriously.
For the last six weeks she’d worked night and day, living and breathing numbers. It kept her busy, focused, and used up valuable time she couldn’t waste mooning over Reid Harper.
He’d broken his promise to end it that day at her place, had contacted her via email and phone several times.
She’d wanted to ignore him but considering what they’d shared that would be petty. So she’d kept her responses chatty and informal and brief. Thankfully he’d been on the road touring California and hadn’t suggested he visit again.
Good. Because she didn’t know if she had the willpower to refuse him.
Logic demanded she sever ties. Emotionally? She was having a hard time getting with the program.
“Double shot latte for my number one accountant.” Chantal breezed into her office and slid the steaming Styrofoam cup onto Adele’s desk. “And I’m taking you out on the town tonight, my treat, as thanks for the stellar job you’ve done with my taxes yet again.”
“It’s my job,” Adele said, as she opened her online calendar for the day. “But who am I to turn down one of your infamous nights on the town?”
“You can’t.” Chantal raised her coffee cup. “Wear something slinky and we’ll party up a storm.”
“Sounds good.” When in fact the last thing Adele felt like doing was boogying the night away at some club while guys cruised them. Tax time had exhausted her and ideally she would love to head home, climb into bed and sleep for a week. “What time?”
“Dinner at eight, then we’ll hit the clubs later.” Chantal snapped her fingers. “I’ll see if Jess wants to join us. She’s in town for a bit before flying out to meet Jack in Sydney.”
Adele liked Jess but the thought of spending time with Reid’s sister, and facing possible questions she’d rather not answer, was enough to have her reaching for her coffee.
As she raised the steaming brew to her lips and inhaled, a wave of nausea hit and she quickly lowered the cup, reaching for her water bottle instead.
“What’s wrong?”
“Skipped breakfast, feeling a bit blah.” Adele took a few sips of water, surprised when the nausea didn’t pass. “Combined with the long hours, no great surprise.”
“Want me to get you something to eat? Bagels with lox? Pancake stack? Eggs over easy?”
Adele almost gagged at the thought of food and rushed for the door, waving Chantal back. She only just made it to the toilet in time, retching up her non-existent breakfast and the limited contents in her stomach.
That would be the last time she ordered sushi for dinner.
Chantal lingered outside the stall. “Sweetie, you okay?”
“Uh-huh.” Dabbing her mouth with toilet paper, Adele didn’t feel okay. In fact, she felt downright terrible, but she had to wind up the final taxes today.
Adele flushed the toilet and used the cubicle walls to lever into a standing position, willing the wooziness to subside. “Rain-check on the night out?”
Chantal studied her through narrowed eyes. “Why don’t you take the day off, finish up the tax stuff tomorrow?”
Adele shook her head and immediately regretted it when pain sliced through her brain. “I’ll do as much as I can this morning then head home early.”
“Okay.” Chantal dampened a piece of paper toweling and handed it to her. “Let me know if you need anything.”
“Thanks.” Adele rested the cool toweling against her forehead and momentarily closed her eyes. “Damn that dodgy sushi.”
“Yeah, that’ll do it to you every time,” Chantal said, her expression contemplative when Adele opened her eyes and lobbed the toweling in the trash.
“What?”
“Nothing.” Chantal patted her shoulder. “Take it easy, okay? And head home if you need to.”
“Thanks, but I’ll be fine,” Adele said, a hint of worry niggling at the edge of her consciousness.
As she headed for her office on slightly wobbly legs, she tried to stem her growing panic. She’d been so engrossed in manic tax time she couldn’t remember when she last had her period.
Oh no… foreboding blossomed as she recalled that fateful day she’d spent with Reid having unforgettable sex.
No condom.
She’d just vomited after smelling coffee.
The pill wasn’t one hundred percent foolproof.
Shit.
She stumbled into her office, collapsed into the seat behind her desk and fired up her computer.
The moment the search engine popped up, she typed in three fateful words.
Signs of pregnancy.
And waited.
Reid had traveled the length of California the last six weeks and he’d had enough.
The campaign may be on the right track but his personal life? On a one way street to Shitville.
Distancing himself from Adele made sense. They’d agreed as much that day at her place. But he’d been a dumbass, calling her, texting her, unable to sever contact like they’d agreed.
Because he had it bad.
The long hours didn’t help. The frenetic pace of meetings and rallies didn’t help. Nothing helped eradicate the memory of Adele.
He’d made a monumental blunder, spending that day at her place. Rather than getting her out of his system, the quality time they’d had together solidified what he’d already suspected.
They were sensational together.
It was more than sex—the best he’d ever had. Quite simply, Adele made him laugh and relax in a way he’d never done.
When was the last time he took a day off let alone spent it with a woman? The last time he’d actually sat down for a leisurely meal, one that didn’t involve business or schmoozing?
He couldn’t remember and it saddened him. He loved his career, had wanted to serve on a senatorial level for a long time, but lately? The gloss had worn off.
Not that he could blame Adele for that but his job dissatisfaction was exacerbated when he spent an amazing day away from the office and started wishing he could do it more often.
“I thought we wrapped up the Vegas investors last month?” Dallon, his PA, didn’t look up from his electronic tablet. The thing was an extension of his arm and Reid often wondered if his obsessively efficient PA slept with the thing.
“Few last minute glitches I want ironed out,” Reid said, hating the lie as it rolled off his tongue.
He prided himself on honesty, hated the stretching of the truth many of his colleagues did as the norm. But the last thing he needed was anyone suspecting the real reason he was in Vegas.
Dallon’s nimble fingers flew over the tablet, typing madly. “Do you need me to sit in on the meetings?”
Reid shook his head. “No thanks, I’ve got it covered. You take the limo, I’ll meet you back at the airport at seven tonight.”
Derrick glanced at this watch and typed the departure time into his tablet. “Four hours enough to wrap up business?”
It better be. Four hours he intended to spend in Adele’s arms.
“Absolutely. See
you at seven.” Reid tapped the glass separating the limo passengers from the driver. “Drop me at MGM Grand, please.”
If Dallon was surprised by Reid’s destination, he didn’t show it. One of the many things he liked about his PA: Dallon’s discretion and absolute trust.
Reid had a feeling Dallon’s loyalty would come in handy if this thing with Adele got complicated. Translation: if she agreed to his proposition that they trial a relationship.
Ideally, he wanted to see her as much as possible but that wasn’t feasible so at this stage he’d settle for what he could get.
Maybe she could spend one weekend a month in LA, he could spend one here? They’d keep it private, because he knew what the muckrakers would say if they discovered where she worked. They’d ignore her occupation and go straight for the sleaze angle. He’d seen it happen before to competitors, the paparazzi desperate to disparage anyone in the political arena.
It was why he’d been so careful with who he dated in the past. Why he’d never let any woman too close. Last thing he needed was to be tainted with a playboy image and that would’ve happened because he’d never had the time to devote to a relationship.
Ironic, now he wanted to make time for Adele, he didn’t want to share her or their relationship with anyone.
He knew she’d see it as selfish but his rationale was simple. The longer no one knew about them, the longer they could preserve privacy and avoid the intrusions that had ruined more relationships than he could count.
Many of his competitors were single and those who were married were dogged by constant rumors of infidelity and worse.
He didn’t want that for Adele.
“You okay, boss?”
As the limo pulled up outside the MGM Grand, Reid nodded. “Why?”
Dallon hesitated, eyeing him with obvious concern. “You’re distracted these days.”
“Lot on my mind.” Reid tapped his temple. “Loads to do in an election year.”
“Don’t I know it.” Dallon glanced at his tablet and frowned. “You wrap up with the investors, I’ll take care of this latest glitch.”
“Anything I need to know about?”
Dallon’s frown deepened as he read something on the tablet. “No. I’ll deal with it.”
“Okay.” Reid breathed a sigh of relief—last thing he wanted right now was to have to do damage control on whatever issue had cropped up. “See you at the airport.”
Dallon absentmindedly nodded and waved him away.
Reid stepped from the limo and waited until it was lost in traffic before hailing a cab. Eager to get to Adele, he slid into the backseat, gave the driver her address and drummed his fingers on his thigh.
The sooner he saw her the better.
Adele stared at the tiny blue cross in disbelief.
The third stick she’d peed on, the same result.
Pregnant.
Shit.
She sank onto the edge of the bathtub and shook the stick. Yeah, like that would change the outcome.
Pregnant.
With Reid Harper’s baby.
Tears burned her eyes as she clutched the stick in one hand and rubbed her belly with the other.
She’d always dreamed of having kids, of having the family she never had, but hadn’t thought it possible. Letting a guy get close enough to father a child would mean divulging her past and she wasn’t prepared to do that.
Guess she’d circumvented the relationship part of her dream and arrived straight in Baby Central.
Good for her, disastrous for Reid.
An illegitimate child would scuttle his campaign before it had begun. Not to mention the little problem of the media digging into the baby’s mother’s past…
No, Reid could never find out about this baby.
She’d had her life ruined by people she cared about, no way would she inflict that on him.
He meant too much to her.
Yeah, they’d hooked up twice. Two freaking times and she already felt like she’d known him forever. She’d never been a romantic and usually scoffed at chick flicks and novels, but her connection with Reid defied logic.
“Pregnant,” she murmured, wrapping her arms around her middle and holding on tight.
She’d wanted a definitive reason to sever contact with Reid before she fell any deeper.
Never in a million years had she imagined a baby would be it.
She stuffed the pregnancy test along with the other two she’d done back in its packaging, opened the cabinet and hid it behind a bunch of obsolete make-up. Like hiding the evidence would make it any less real.
“A baby…” her palm splayed over her flat belly as she glanced down.
In eight months she’d have a distended, huge stomach, stretch marks, swollen ankles and resemble a beach ball.
Her lips eased into a small, smug smile.
She could hardly wait.
CHAPTER FIVE
An hour later, the pounding on her front door jolted Adele out of her reverie. It had been rather fun standing in her spare room and envisioning cream walls, a lace-edged bassinet, antique cot, change table and cute zoo animal mobiles hanging from the ceiling.
Casting her nursery dreams aside for a moment, she padded to the door and opened it.
“Surprise.” Reid’s lopsided, goofy smile made her heart contract as he stepped inside without waiting to be asked. He swept her into his arms, spinning her around until she felt a tad nauseous. Which brought the pregnancy back into sharp focus and how having him show up unexpectedly only complicated things.
She savored the bliss of being held in his arms, all too aware it would be the last time.
“I know I should’ve called but it was a last minute thing.” He slowly lowered her to the ground, her body sliding against his in exquisite contact. “I need to discuss something with you.”
“Sure.” She allowed herself the luxury of cupping his cheek, imprinting the feel of stubble prickling her palm. So many things she wanted to remember about this great guy. “Come on through.”
She stepped away and he snagged her around the waist. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”
“What—”
His mouth swooped on hers in a ravishing, soul-destroying kiss that left her panting and clinging to him when their lips finally parted.
“That’s better.” He traced her bottom lip with his fingertip, the tenderness in his eyes making her throat clog with emotion.
Had to be the pregnancy hormones.
She managed a tremulous smile as he followed her into the lounge. “Drink?”
“No thanks.” He sat and patted the empty spot on the sofa next to him. “Let’s talk.”
Adele didn’t like talking. Talking could lead to blurting truths she needed to keep hidden.
“Okay.” She sat, biting her bottom lip when he grasped her hand like he’d never let go.
What she wouldn’t give to have a guy like Reid light up whenever he saw her, want to hold her hand, want to stare at her like she was the best thing he’d ever seen.
A futile wish yet whenever she was with him, he made her dream the impossible dream.
“What’s up?” He touched her cheek, his fingertips trailing down to capture her chin. “You look tired.”
“Tax time at work takes it out of me,” she said, glad part of what she had to tell him today was the truth.
He searched her eyes, his probing stare disconcerting. When he looked at her like this, she could swear he could see right down to her soul and the secrets she hid there.
“You need to take it easy.” His mouth quirked into a wicked smile. “Especially with what I’ve got planned.”
Adele’s toes curled into the carpet. Would she have the strength to send Reid away before having sensational sex one last time?
It wouldn’t make their parting any easier and considering she wanted to make a final break, it wasn’t fair on either of them.
“Look, there’s something we need to discuss—”
Her heart stalled. Surely he wasn’t angling for more than a fling?
He slid a finger between his collar and tie, loosening it. “Here’s the thing. I can’t get you out of my mind. My work’s suffering. My employees think I’m nuts. And I don’t care.”
Shock widened his eyes a fraction, as if he couldn’t quite believe he’d said that. Made two of them.
He blew out a long breath. “What I’m trying to say is, I want this thing between us to be more. More than just sex.”
“You want a relationship?” she blurted, and he grinned at her audible disbelief.
“Yeah, I do.” He grasped her other hand and squeezed them both. “Not that it’s going to be easy. It’ll involve snatched weekends together whenever I can get away. And lots of patience from both of us. But I want to make this work.”
He slid closer to her. “What do you think?”
Adele couldn’t articulate half of what she was thinking, starting with how she would give anything to agree to his startling proposal and ending with what the hell could she say to send him away without making him hate her in the process.
So she settled for a semi-truth. “I think you’re amazing—”
He whooped, tugged her onto his lap and hugged her tight. She squeezed him back, rapidly blinking to stem the threatening tears.
“But I can’t do this.”
Reid stilled and pulled away, staring at her in disbelief. “But I thought—”
“Ssh, let me finish.” She placed a finger against his lips as she clambered off his lap. “This is important.”
When she took a seat opposite, out of touching reach, his lips compressed into a thin, hard line.
“You’re a great guy and I’d like nothing better than to be in a relationship with you, but we can’t.”
He opened his mouth to respond and she held up a finger. “You’re a politician. I work at a burlesque venue. Do the math.”