His Surprise Daughter : A BWWM Billionaire Romance

by Tiana Cole

  “No.” He shook his head, faster and faster. “No, no, no! Dammit, no!” Turning quickly to her, Caine grabbed her wrists and looked into her eyes. “I lost my phone, or I thought I did but it was only later I realized what really happened,” he murmured.

  Zara frowned and tried to concentrate, but even with the scent of booze, his scent was overpowering. Distracting. “You lost me, Caine.”

  “I know I did! But I’m trying to tell you it wasn’t on purpose.” His eyes connected with hers until she was sure he could see down to her soul, and he sighed. “I lost my phone and my mother’s assistant replaced it, only by the time I realized it was a new number it was too late. You were gone.” Shaking his head, booze heavy breath fanning her face, he tried to explain. “You stopped calling, or so I thought. New number,” he said again as if that explained it all. “So I called the lodge and found out you’d quit. And come to Florida. Only you never called me or tried to find me.”

  She pulled away from him again, this time standing and turning away from him, appreciating the backyard view of the Chugach Mountains in the distance. “I know you’re drunk, Caine, but I came to that big monstrous peach mansion you call a house. I met the viper you call Mother.”

  “What?”

  She turned to him, exasperated beyond belief and tempted to reach for that bottle sitting precariously on the edge of the coffee table. “You heard me. I came to Florida to tell you, only Mommy Dearest was all too happy to let me know that you’d moved on and any attempts to file a paternity suit would bankrupt me and my family.” Zara sucked in a shaky breath, trying hard not to think about the most humiliating day of her life. “You know what? I have to go.” Darting across the living room, she stopped when he spoke.

  “I didn’t know, Zara. When you told me two days ago was the first time I’d heard you had my baby.”

  No. It couldn’t be. “I wrote you a letter, a long one, and stuck it in your mailbox when your mother kicked me off the property.” She rolled her eyes, trying to stop the tears that pressed against the backs of her eyes. “I don’t know what you want me to say. I tried to let you know, I really, really did. The fact that you don’t know is on your mother.”

  “I know.” He sounded so sad her heart went out to him. Those green eyes were glassy but Zara thought she saw tears swimming in there too. “I’m just in shock. I have a…we have a daughter.”

  “You’re drunk, Caine.”

  “Yep.” He fell back with a smile. “She’s going to hate me for not being around. Do you hate me? Will she hate me?”

  Zara smiled and sat beside him. “I haven’t told her anything about you specifically. No matter how much I hated you, or how much you hurt me I never bad-mouthed you. I didn’t want her to hate you.”

  Caine stretched out and laid his head in her lap. “I wanted you more than I ever wanted anything, Zara. It broke my heart when you stopped calling me. I thought you changed your mind about us.”

  Absently, she stroked his soft hair. It was too long and almost curling at the ends. “Me too.” It had broken her heart, and when she found out she was pregnant, she’d been happy. “I was scared about being pregnant but I thought we would just start our plans a little sooner than we planned. So I went to Florida and it was a disaster.”

  “I’m so sorry. I only knew you came because that girl at the lodge was very chatty. I wish I would have known. God, things would have been so different.” He screamed and it vibrated her whole body. “I wasn’t with anyone after I returned to Florida. It was a year before I even dated again. I was broken up over you. Still am,” he said drowsily.

  She continued stroking the strands of his hair while he drifted off to sleep. This was a familiar position, his head on her lap and her hands running through his hair. It brought back some of the good memories from that winter, before things went all to hell. As he fell asleep, she contemplated his words. What if he’s telling the truth?

  If so, did that change anything?

  Zara shook her head slowly but she knew the truth.

  It changed everything.

  ~

  Caine woke up cold everywhere except for his head, which was incredibly warm. It was dark out so he guessed it had been a few hours since he’d fallen asleep. Sucking in a deep breath, he smelled it. Vanilla and cinnamon. “Zara,” he groaned out.

  “Yeah?” Her voice was thick with sleep too. She sat up quickly and her breasts brushed against the side of his face. “Yeah. I can’t believe I fell asleep. I need to get home.”

  He sat up too, surprised by how close they were. Even more surprised she’d let him lay on her lap and stroke his hair the way she used to in front of the fireplace. “I can. I drank way too much.” Squeezing his eyes shut, Caine rubbed his forehead. “Thanks for stopping by.”

  She grunted. “You stood me up after asking to meet.” She held up a hand to stop his explanation. “I see why you forgot, but that’s no excuse. I need to go but we can do this again later. When you’re sober.”

  He watched her stand up and smooth out her jeans and sweater. Caine stood too and took in her sleepy eyes and tussled hair. She was beautiful. “I’m sorry, Zara. This isn’t how I handle things anymore but it makes me sick thinking that I’ve had a child all this time and I didn’t know it. Shouldn’t I feel it? Shouldn’t my world feel different with her in it?”

  Her smile was indulgent. “It doesn’t really work like that, Caine.” It looked like she wanted to say more, but she didn’t. “Now that you know, though, you’ll feel it.”

  For some reason that made him feel better. “What am I going to do?”

  “I don’t know, but you’ll figure it out. I really have to go.”

  He walked her to the door and when she turned to face him, Caine couldn’t help it, he pulled her in close and hugged her. Let the warmth of her body and her new curves sink into his. “I’ve missed you, Zara.”

  She squeezed him tight, then let go and walked away.

  Caine smiled. It was a start.

  After Zara left, he showered and made his favorite hangover breakfast. Bacon and pancakes. And he thought about everything she’d told him. Confirming everything he already suspected. Hearing it had been heartbreaking, he remembered that even through the drunken haze. She’d come to Florida to find him and tell him about their child. Zara hadn’t given up on him. On them.

  All the air went out of his chest. Did any of that matter anymore? He’d been so emotional over learning that he had a kid that he hadn’t stopped to think about his life now. The only children in his life were those who needed is medical expertise. Not his love and guidance. Not his protection. He wasn’t sure he could even be that man anymore. Coming home for dinner most nights and sharing tidbits about his day, bedtime stories, scraped knees and homework. He wasn’t that man anymore.

  Was he?

  Caine had given up on the idea of love and family sometime during the year after he and Zara had lost touch. He didn’t want any part of what his parents called a marriage. There was no love between them. What there was—what he knew was between them—was blinding ambition. Deborah Faulkner, formerly O’Keefe of the Texas O’Keefe oil family, wanted nothing more than to be First Lady of the United States. As the only daughter of a prominent family, Deb got what Deb wanted. So she’d taken her trust funds—both of them—and gone in search of the perfect candidate to get her there. Warner Faulkner had no pedigree but he was tall, handsome and charismatic. Deborah hadn’t been impressed with the man without the “right” connections until she found herself reconsidering his date request. She knew then he could talk anyone into anything, including voting for him.

  Which the people of Florida had done on four separate occasions, once in the State Senate and three times to the U.S. Senate. Three years from now, Caine knew his father would run for president. Which was why his mother was so determined to marry him off this year.

  He didn’t want a relationship like that. Sure, he had a trust fund that would keep him in luxury u
ntil he died…and passed it on to Cassia. That was a sobering thought. He couldn’t settle for less, not after experiencing what real love felt like. He’d known he would never feel like he did when he was with Zara with anyone else. So he’d decided that he wouldn’t even try.

  But now, now Zara was here in Alaska. She had their daughter. They could be a family. The three of them could have the family he and Zara had dreamed of having all those years ago. Before Mother turned her away and never said a word. He couldn’t even think of her right now without wanting to make her feel how he was certain she’d made Zara feel. He wouldn’t do it now, but he also wouldn’t let her do that to Zara ever again.

  He’d never stopped loving her. Caine knew that now. He hadn’t given up on love because he didn’t believe in it, but because he didn’t want to settle for any less than what he had with Zara.

  Now was his chance. If he could just figure out how to get past all the damage his mother had single-handedly done to his relationship with her.

  ~

  “I don’t want to go to the doctor, Mommy,” Cassia whined early Thursday morning as Zara struggled to get her dressed.

  Cassia wasn’t a whiner so Zara knew her daughter felt worse than she was letting on. “I know you don’t, sweetheart, but Mommy needs to know what to do next to keep you healthy. Safe.” Staring into those green eyes she’d often cursed over the years, she fought a hard battle with tears. “Besides, I thought you liked Dr. Faulkner, you shared your pizza with him.”

  “I do like him, but he’s gonna give me bad news.” A pink bottom lip poked out adorably and then it wobbled. Her baby wanted to cry.

  “It’s not good news, Cassia, but he’ll tell us what we need to do to make it better.” There was only one thing Caine could tell them, that he would be donating a kidney to her. His daughter. She hadn’t told Cassia yet because they already had so much to deal with.

  “What if he can’t?”

  She smiled at the little worrywart in front of her. “We’ll find someone who can. If a spaceship doesn’t take off properly, what will you do?”

  She thought about it, tilting her head to the side and thought. When she had the answer, a smile spread across her small face. “Check everything to make sure it works.”

  “And if you can’t?”

  “I’ll find someone who can?”

  “Exactly. Now get dressed or I’ll pick out your clothes. I believe Grandma bought you a new dress. With ruffles.”

  Just as she suspected it would, that did the trick. “Yuck, Mommy, you’re not funny.” Cassia slid off the bed and grabbed a pair of jeans and her favorite rainbow turtleneck. Armed with socks and an undershirt, she quickly dressed herself. “Ready.”

  “Brush your teeth and meet me in the kitchen.” With a quick nod, she ran into her bathroom and turned on the water.

  Zara made a quick breakfast and they were on their way to the hospital for more tests. The text Caine sent yesterday had been vague but he knew she would show up. For Cassia.

  Sitting in the waiting room with Cassia, who sat reading on her tablet, Zara thought about what she’d learned at Caine’s house last week. He hadn’t blown her off. He hadn’t forgotten about her the minute he was back in Florida with the beautiful people. He did care that she’d been pregnant with his child. He’d been truly affected, she’d seen it with her own two eyes.

  “Cassia Brown,” the same nurse who’d given her the lollipop called out.

  “Right here, Nurse Dottie!” Cassia hopped from her seat and began chatting with the nurse while Zara followed along, happy to see her little girl feeling better. After her vitals were taken care of they were put in an exam room where they waited. “Why are we here again, Mommy?”

  “Hopefully we can find out what’s wrong with you and what to do next. How are you feeling?”

  Cassia shrugged. “Better than last week but not good.”

  Her daughter hadn’t had much energy lately and spent most of her free time reading, doing homework or watching television. Gone was the little girl darting around the house with an unbelievable amount of energy. The only thing that hadn’t changed was her school work. She spent extra time working on it, worrying obsessively that she would fall behind. “Well, then let’s hope Dr. Faulkner has good news for us.”

  A quick rap on the door and Caine walked in wearing a bright smile that betrayed the news she knew he had to share. “Good morning, ladies. How are we feeling?”

  Cassia flashed a big smile. “Okay, Dr. Faulkner, but still sick.”

  He frowned and sat on the stool so he was eye level with the little girl. “Okay, Cassia, tell me how you want this news. Quick and easy, or should I ease you into it?”

  Cassia tilted her head again in thought. “Just tell me, please.”

  Caine nodded. He took a deep breath and released it before grabbing her tiny hands in his. “Cassia, you have kidney disease and you’ll need a kidney transplant. Do you know what that means?”

  She nodded. “You’ll take someone else’s kidney and put it in my body. How did this happen?”

  He shrugged. “We don’t know exactly but in children your age this is just a symptom of something else. Right now I want to try to figure out the underlying cause while we do a bunch of tests to prepare you for the transplant, okay?”

  She nodded. “More blood?”

  Caine smiled. “Among other things, yes. This is just so we have all the information possible so when it’s time to give you the new kidney, we are prepared for anything.”

  Zara’s heart felt full watching father and daughter talk so seriously about her health. They were so similar she was amazed he hadn’t seen it sooner. Then again, he hadn’t known it was a possibility. “Is there any possibility that the underlying cause could affect her transplant?”

  Caine’s green eyes were serious. Sober. “No. Since this is a familial donation, the only thing that can affect it is her health or the donor’s health.”

  She sagged in relief. “Does this mean…?”

  “It means we have a lot to talk about. Later.” He turned back to Cassia. “Are you ready to be my little guinea pig?”

  She giggled and nodded. “Do I get a lollipop if I’m brave?”

  Caine tilted his head the same way Cassia did when he was deep in thought. Or pretending to be. “I’ll have a think about it, alright?”

  Cassia fake pouted, but again, she nodded and stuck out her hand. “You have a deal, Dr. F.”

  Caine took her hand and helped her from the table. “Let’s go to the lab. Is Mom coming?”

  Zara waited, letting her daughter decide if she wanted her there.

  “You can come, Mommy, but don’t baby me. I’m brave. Okay?”

  Zara held up her pinky. “I swear it.”

  A tiny pink wrapped around hers and they shook on it. She looked up at Caine. “Dr. F, don’t you think my mommy is beautiful?”

  “Cassia!”

  “I sure do, Cassia.”

  Her daughter giggled.

  Caine smirked.

  Zara groaned.

  Chapter 7

  “Thanks for agreeing to meet with me.” Caine gave Zara his best smile as they were seated in a corner booth of his favorite Italian restaurant in Anchorage. They served giant bowls of pasta with steaming red sauce he couldn’t get enough of, and it was intimate enough that they could have a real conversation without worrying about ear hustlers.

  “No problem,” she answered politely. Despite their easy camaraderie in the hospital a few days ago, she had reverted back to a distant sort of politeness. “There are things I guess we have to talk about.”

  Gee, don’t sound so excited about it. “That’s part of why I wanted to meet away from the hospital.” Their waitress stopped at the table, batting her eyelashes in his direction while ignoring Zara. “We’ll have a bottle of the ruby cabernet, thanks.” He hadn’t meant to sound so short but the damn woman was rude as hell.

  Zara held back a smile. “Still turn
ing heads everywhere you go, I see.”

  “Not the right heads,” he grumbled. Ever since she’d come back into his life, Zara had given no indication she wanted to rekindle what they once had. Now that he knew more of the story he understood it, but hadn’t the truth changed her feelings at all?

  “I’m sure your mother has plenty of candidates lined up for you the moment you leave Alaska.”

  Leave? Is that what this distance was about? She thought he would eventually go back to the mainland and leave Cassia behind? That made Caine mad, but it also hurt. “I’m not going anywhere. Much to Mother’s consternation.” He told her all about the many attempts to get him to visit Florida for one social function or another. “It’s always something and she never lets up. I guess I can’t blame her, though, after you I pretty much did whatever my parents wanted.”

  Zara’s head tilted to the side and those smart brown eyes assessed him, took in everything piece of information she could before reaching a decision. “You became a pediatrician, not a surgeon.”

  He gave a sardonic smile that she remembered. “And don’t think it wasn’t a huge fight, because it was. They threatened to cut me off if I didn’t change my specialty.” It had been comical actually, the way their threats only left them frustrated and struggling with their new reality.

  Almond-shaped eyes went round in surprise. “That didn’t sway you?”

  That pulled a laugh from Caine. “No, but before you have visions of my noble gesture, you should know I have a one hundred million dollar trust fund from my grandparents. Grandpa saw how the future would play out and wanted to make sure I made my own decisions.” He was grateful for his grandfather’s foresight because it had finally allowed him to take a stand when it mattered.

  “Wow. Rich people.” She shook her head and Caine was sure he detected a hint of amusement in her voice. “At least you get to practice the type of medicine you want.”