Deena dabbed the corners of Taylor’s mouth, refolded the cloth and patted Tay’s overheated cheeks. That mothering gesture was something she’d done when Taylor was young. Deena had always taken care of her. Just like Taylor would take care of her own child soon. With or without Royce Knox.
“What happened? Do you have the flu?” Deena examined her closer and then pressed the back of her hand to Taylor’s head. “Not too warm. But you look pale.”
Taylor hadn’t told her mother yet, and evidently Deena hadn’t heard from anyone. Now was as good a time as any. At least Taylor knew her mother would be happy for her.
“I’m having Royce Knox’s baby,” she announced, looking her mother in the eye. “Fish and I aren’t friends right now.” Even the word fish made her stomach toss. She took the towel from her mother as Deena righted herself. Her mother’s face broadcasted five different emotions simultaneously.
Joy won.
“I’m going to be a grandmother? I’m going to be a grandmother! It’s—it’s amazing!” She clapped her hands together. “How far along are you?”
“Nine weeks or so. I’m due November 27.” Taylor allowed herself to smile, too.
Deena’s response was pure and congratulatory. No judgment. Exactly how a mother should react. “Oh! I can make baby announcements! I have the cutest scrapbook paper I’ve been saving. Yellow ducks! Probably not enough for all the people we’ll have to send a notice to, though.” She put her hand to her chin in contemplation. “What if we send half ducks and half bears? A few sailboats? Is that tacky? Oh, who cares!” Deena crushed Taylor into a hug and mentioned again how excited she was to be a grandmother.
An hour later, Taylor and her mother finished their dinner—fish free, thanks to her efficient chef. They turned down dessert, and Taylor passed on the port in favor of a club soda with lime.
Only then did Deena broach the subject of—
“And Royce?”
“I’m not sure yet. He’s probably not sure yet. He’s been very...stoic.” That was a nice way to say he was acting like a horse’s ass. “It didn’t work out between us. Before the pregnancy, I mean.”
“Oh.” Her mother frowned. “You didn’t mention it.”
“I’ve been processing.”
“I understand. You’ve been through a lot.”
Taylor appreciated her mother not guilting her for keeping her news to herself. That small grace was huge.
“I’m not sure how involved Royce will be. When I told him he kept repeating the word ‘okay.’”
Deena clucked her tongue. “Well. You have my support. My undying support.”
“ThomKnox is his firstborn. I should have known better than try and compete. I hope he’ll make room for one more.” She put her hand on her stomach.
“I hope so, too, dear. Your father made room for you. Always.”
Taylor’s heart grew heavier. “He was a good dad.”
“The best,” Deena agreed.
They changed topics, Deena discussing the announcements and when to have a baby shower. They ended up in the craft room choosing scrapbook paper with ducks or bears or sailboats, and also a few sheets with little blue whales with starfish stuck to their bellies.
At one point Deena asked if Taylor would like to move back home. The answer was an easy no way, but she wouldn’t break her mother’s heart by saying so. She instead promised Deena ample opportunities to babysit once Taylor returned to work after maternity leave.
Regardless of Gia’s reaction, Bran’s nonreaction and Royce’s underreaction, Taylor chose to be happy. And if this pregnancy meant sacrificing the man she loved in order to give her son or daughter an amazing life, then that was exactly what she was going to do.
Twenty-Three
The day of the tablet launch had arrived, and Taylor, while nauseous, made her way into the offices only thirty minutes late.
She hadn’t known what to expect on the day of Royce’s first product launch, but certainly not what she walked into. Basically the same office she’d left at five o’clock last night. Most of the staff was in their offices, a few chatting casually in the break room. Even Bran waved a casual hello as she passed by.
Royce’s office was dark but his aggressive assistant was in her chair, sitting guard outside his door. Taylor had seen his office dark a lot lately, but she didn’t expect it today. He should’ve been here brighter and earlier than any of them. Deciding it wasn’t worth the run-in with Melinda, she bypassed his office without speaking.
In her own office, Taylor opened her email and settled in for the day, expecting a meeting alert on her calendar for upper management. There wasn’t one, but there was a calendar announcement that alerted her to Royce’s absence.
He wasn’t coming in at all today?
That was insane. The first product launch of his career as CEO and he bailed? Barring open-heart surgery, she couldn’t imagine he’d skip work today. She might question the state of his romantic heart, but she doubted the actual organ was in anything less than working order.
At that moment, someone rapped on her closed office door.
“Come in.”
A pretty blonde stepped inside.
“Addi. Hi.”
Addison averted her eyes for a moment before meeting Taylor’s. “Do you have a moment?”
“Of course.” Taylor stood and rounded her desk.
“I won’t be long, I just...wanted to apologize.” Addison folded her hands primly in front of her periwinkle-blue dress. “I’ve been awful to you and I’m not quite sure how to make up for it. You might not think I was awful, but it’s how I define awful for myself. I’m happy for you. For you and your baby. I don’t want there to be any ill will between us.”
Taylor smiled softly, moved. “I owe you an apology, too. I didn’t mean to embarrass you when I pointed out that you and Bran looked good together.”
“Oh, don’t—That’s not—” Addison dismissed Taylor with a quick shake of her head. “Anyway. Thank you for the birthday card and flowers. Belatedly. And congratulations on your pregnancy. Also belatedly. You can count on me if you need anything. I liked it better when we got along.”
“Me, too.” Taylor liked Addison and was glad there wouldn’t be any further discomfort where the two of them were concerned. Plus, points to Addi for addressing the elephant in the room. Taylor hadn’t been that brave.
Addi wished her luck on the product launch and left, but before Taylor could shut the door, in walked Gia, with an uncharacteristic look of chagrin decorating her face. Without a word, Gia wrapped Taylor into a hug. It went on for nearly a minute. Taylor hung on to her best friend for purchase and tried to keep the tears at bay. She succeeded, but only because Gia pulled away before emotions overtook her.
“So, I’m a horrible person and I owe you an apology.” Gia shrugged matter-of-factly.
“False,” Taylor replied. “Your timing is curious. Is there a line forming out there or something?” If so, Royce should be at the front of it—the only person in it, in fact.
“I’m thrilled for you. I was upset that I had to hear about my niece or nephew from Royce instead of my best friend, but that was on me, not you. I shouldn’t have been so cool toward you.”
Taylor noticed her friend’s distance, but Royce was Gia’s brother. This entire situation had to have been hard for her, too.
“Royce is your brother. I understand your loyalty to him.”
“I’ll always choose you.” Gia smirked, and even if it wasn’t 100 percent true, it was still nice to hear. She chewed on her lip for a second before asking, “Have you spoken to Royce today?”
“No. Why?”
“No reason,” Gia answered quickly.
“Do you know why he opted to take off on launch day?” Taylor asked, her suspicion rising.
“I don’t.” Gia’s eyes
were shifty, her lips buttoned tight.
“Maybe I’ll check with Bran. God knows Melinda won’t give me any information.”
“Good idea,” Gia said, not offering any details. “I have to go. It’s not every day we launch a new tablet.” She rushed out of the room.
That was strange. And the second time in as many minutes that Taylor had been approached by someone who wanted to make amends.
Taylor followed her out, heading to Bran’s office next. “Do you also have an overdue apology for me?”
“Sorry, toots. We covered that already.” He winked. He wasn’t wrong. There was nothing between them but a solid friendship, one she treasured.
“Why is Royce out? I know you know.”
“He’s at home.” Bran looked her straight in the eye. “Called me this morning and said he was taking off the rest of the week.”
“The rest of the week?”
“Yep, left his cell phone here and everything.”
“It’s his first product launch!” Had Royce gone crazy? This was the most important release of his career, and if not the most important ever at least the most important right now.
“He’s not okay. And if you don’t know why, then you never really knew my brother.”
Well. She certainly didn’t appreciate that.
“Maybe you should go check on him.”
She folded her arms over her breasts. “Did he ask you to tell me that?”
“Nope.” They had a miniature standoff.
“He’s mad at me,” she guessed. “Is he not showing up because he’s mad?”
“Nope.” Bran’s eyebrows raised.
“Is he sick?” The calendar didn’t specify that he’d taken a sick day, but maybe he didn’t want anyone to know.
“Sort of,” Bran answered, his tone gentle. “Not the way you think, though. He’s sick about a lot of things.”
“He’s not the only one. Morning sickness is my new BFF.”
Bran stood and came to her. “I’m sorry things have been strained between you two. I’m not sure Royce knows what to do with so much change this quickly. And before you challenge me on it,” he said when she opened her mouth to offer another me too. “I know you’ve had a lot of change, too. You should know that when Royce came over to break up with you, I might have encouraged him to do it.”
“What?”
“Unintentionally,” he added. “I was concerned you two weren’t on the same page. That you were developing feelings for him. I was also pissed off at him for not telling me he was named CEO the second he found out. It was immature.”
“And you blacking his eye wasn’t?”
Bran smirked. “That was an accident.”
“Uh-huh. I’m not allergic to lilies, by the way. I just don’t like them.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah, ‘oh.’ You don’t know everything.” But as much as she wanted to lay into Bran for his contribution, she couldn’t. “Not that I blame you. The decision Royce made was ultimately his. You can’t make that man do anything he doesn’t want to do. He chooses what’s most important to him.”
Bran smiled at that—an out-and-out grin. “You’re exactly right. He prioritizes those he loves. You know, I could actually use your help. Can you go to him? Remind him how important it is for him to be here today? I’d hate for him to wreck the role of CEO now that he has it. You have a better chance of convincing him to come in than I do.”
“I don’t know...” Bran was her friend. This company was important. But what good would it do for her to go to Royce’s house if he didn’t let her in?
“You’re the COO. Second in command,” Bran reminded her. “There’s no one else.”
“Low blow.” Bran knew how much this position meant to her. She wasn’t willing to shirk on her responsibilities any more than she would let Royce do it. “Fine. I’ll do what I can to flush him out of hiding. But you owe me.”
“I owe you,” Bran agreed, palms up in surrender.
Royce could blow up his personal life but she wouldn’t allow him to take ThomKnox with him. This company meant too much to him—to all of them—and she wouldn’t be the reason, even inadvertently, that the CEO didn’t do his job.
Twenty-Four
In Royce’s driveway, Taylor gaped at the sheer amount of boxed furniture sitting in the open garage. A desk, chair and several bookshelves in flat-pack boxes, leaned in a stack on the wall opposite Royce’s sports car.
She walked through the garage and into the house, where she found more boxes, packing foam peanuts scattered over the floor and discarded plastic. One box showed a photo of a bassinet, another box contained a playpen, and yet another, a high chair.
She picked her way around the mess, through the living room and past the couch where she and Royce had first made love. And then toward one of the back hallways where she heard what sounded like an electric drill.
Followed by a very loud swearword.
“Royce?” she called, but the drill was whirring again, her voice lost under the sound. She followed the noise to one of the back bedrooms, and found him sitting on the floor, the remnants of what might have been a crib, if he were handier with a drill, lying around him like giant matchsticks. He looked up at her, visibly stunned to see her there.
He wore a gray T-shirt and light blue jeans, his hair in disarray, she guessed from pushing his fingers through it. She didn’t think she’d ever seen him like this. The T-shirt and jeans, sure, but never disheveled. Never with dark pockets under his eyes suggesting he’d been up all night worrying, and never with naked, pained vulnerability reflected in his eyes.
“Taylor.” There was enough shock in his voice that she knew Bran had told her the truth. Royce hadn’t been expecting her.
“It’s ThomKnox’s first launch day with you as CEO. What are you doing?” she asked.
“I could ask you the same thing.” His smile was crooked as he gestured with the drill. “I’m putting together a crib. Trying to put together a crib.”
By the looks of it, he wasn’t doing a very good job.
“I’m a shitty carpenter.”
“Why are you putting together baby furniture?”
His eyebrows pulled together. “Because we’re having a baby.”
We.
The fault line in her heart was quaking, like she might achieve a ten on the Richter scale from whatever he said next. Falling apart wasn’t an option. Nothing had changed, not really. Sure, Royce had bought baby furniture, and was having some sort of breakdown given he was assembling it instead of going to work, but that only proved he’d decided to take responsibility for being a father. It was good news, but it didn’t change their relationship.
Though none of his behavior should surprise her. She hadn’t expected him to deny responsibility for his own child. Maybe he’d just needed time to process.
“Now it’s your turn,” he said. “What are you doing here?”
She glanced around the room—at the torn box and Styrofoam, the miscellaneous pieces and a well-wrinkled instruction book. What was she supposed to say?
“It’s okay. I should probably go first anyway.” He straightened from his crouched position and set the drill aside. He was taller than she remembered him. More capable.
It was her heart that reached out first; the love she felt for him still so prevalent. She hadn’t been at his side for over a month. One long, miserable month while she’d decided how to handle a pregnancy on her own—without him. How to handle her life without him. It was proving much harder than she’d imagined.
“So, I was wrong. That’s the gist of it,” he said, sliding his hands into his back pockets. “My priorities were out of order. I thought ThomKnox came first. I thought loyalty to my family came next—my father, my siblings.” He shook his head sadly. “You, Taylor, are the one who comes first. I�
�ve never... This is embarrassing...” He trailed off for a moment. “I’ve never been in love before. I’ve always been the practical one. The responsible one in my family. Love seemed frivolous. An indulgence. I never gave myself breathing room because I didn’t want to let everyone down. It was the role I gave myself, I suppose.”
She didn’t know how she managed a response, but she did. “You were the one with the legacy.”
“Yes.” He took one step closer to her. “It took me a longer while to realize how wrong I was about that. You, Taylor Thompson, are my legacy. You are the love of my life. I can’t celebrate any ThomKnox milestone without you. We made a baby. It’s a miracle.” His smile was bright, like the sun coming out after a long rain. She’d never seen him so happy.
“It is pretty incredible.” She felt her lips tip into a smile of their own.
“I should’ve reacted better when you told me. I just... I had no idea what to do. I was overwhelmed. But now I’m not. Now, I know.”
“You know?”
“Yes.” He gripped her biceps. “I want to make a life. With you. ThomKnox is important, but I can work from home sometimes if you need me to be with the baby while you’re at the office. You don’t have to shoulder this alone. I don’t want you to be alone. Hell, I don’t want to be alone. I want you here, with me. In this house. In my life. In my bed.”
Oh, how she wanted that, too. Was her dream of a family and Royce loving her too finally coming true?
“That’s what the office furniture is for. So you can set up an office wherever you like. If that’s at home with our baby, then that’s where your new headquarters are. And if you’d rather return to the office, well, then I’ll stay home with our son or daughter.”
Our son or daughter. That phrase opened her up and laid her bare. How could she say no to the man she loved? He was inside her, still—he’d been a part of her this entire time. Royce was saying not only that he wanted this family, but that he would sacrifice his own legacy to support hers.
“Our paths have always been laid out before us, Taylor. But we don’t have to walk the path our fathers intended. We can still honor them, whether they’re here or not.” He gave her arms a gentle squeeze, tender emotion shining in his eyes. “We can do the job we were put on this planet to do. Mine isn’t, as I previously believed, to be CEO. My job is to love you. I’m going to make up for failing at that. I swear.”
His Forbidden Kiss Page 15