Baby Bonanza (9 page)

“I just want to say,” she started, then paused for a quick look around to make sure they were alone. They were, since this end of the Splendor Deck was attached to his suite and not accessible to passengers. “Last night was a mistake.”

“What?” Not what he’d been expecting.

“We shouldn’t have,” she said, shaking her head. “Sex with you was not why I came here. It wasn’t part of my plan, and right now, I’m really regretting that it happened at all.”

Instantly outrage pumped through him. She
regretted
being with him? How the hell was that possible? He’d been there. He’d heard her whimpers, moans and screams. He’d
felt
her surrender. He’d trembled with the force of her climaxes and knew damn well she’d had as good a time as he had. So how the hell could she be regretting it?

More, how could he dump her as per the plan if she was dumping him first?

“Is that right?” he managed to say through gritted teeth.

“Oh, come on, Nick,” she said, frowning a bit. “You know as well as I do that it shouldn’t have happened. You’re only interested in relationships that last the length of a cruise, and I’m a single mom. I’m in no position to be anybody’s babe of the month.”

“Babe of the month?” He was insulted, and the fact that he’d been about to tell her almost exactly what she was saying to him wasn’t lost on him.

She blew out a breath and tightened the already death grip she had on the strap of her purse. “I’m just saying that it won’t happen again. I mean, what happened last night. With us. You and me. Not again.”

“Yeah, I get it.” And now that she’d said that, he wanted her more than ever. Wasn’t that a bitch of a thing to admit? Not that he’d give her the satisfaction of knowing what he was thinking. “Probably best that way.”

“It is,” she said, but her voice sounded a little wistful. Or was he hearing what he wanted to hear?

Strange, a few minutes ago, he’d been thinking of ways to let her go. To tell her they were done. Now that she’d beaten him to the punch, he felt different. What the hell was happening to him, anyway?

Whatever it was, Nick told himself firmly, it was time to nip it in the bud. No way was he going to be tripping on his own heartstrings. Not over a woman he already knew to be an accomplished liar.

Besides, she hadn’t come on this trip for him, he told himself sternly, but for what he could give her. She’d booked passage on his ship with the sole purpose of getting money out of him. Sure, it was for child support. But she still wanted money. So what made her different from any other woman he’d known?

“I’m attracted to you,” she was saying, and it looked like admitting that was costing her, “but then I guess you already figured that out.”

Was she blushing? Did women still do that?

“But I’m not going to let my hormones be in the driver’s seat,” she told him and met his gaze with a steely determination. “Pretty soon, you’ll be back sailing the world with a brunette or a redhead on your arm and I’ll be back in Seal Beach taking care of my sons.”

The babies.

Hers? His?

He wasn’t going there until he knew for sure. Instead, he decided to turn the tables on her. Remind her just whose ship she was on. Remind her that he hadn’t come to her, it had been the other way around.

“Don’t get yourself tied up in knots over this, Jenna,” he said, reaching out to chuck her under the chin with his fingertips. “It was one night. A blip on the radar screen.”

She blinked at him.

“We had a good time,” he said lightly, letting none of the tension he felt coiled inside show. “Now it’s over. End of story.”

He watched as his words slapped at her, and just for a minute he wished he could take them back. Yet as that feeling rushed over him, he wondered where it had come from.

“Okay, then,” Jenna said, her voice nearly lost in the rush and swell of the sea below them, tumbling against the ship’s hull. “So now we know where we stand.”

“We do.”

“Well, then,” she said, forcing a smile that looked brittle, “maybe I should just fly home early. I can catch a flight out of Acapulco easily enough. I talked to my sister earlier and she’s going a little nuts—”

He cut her off instantly. “Are the babies all right?”

She stopped, looked at him quizzically and said slowly, “Yes, of course. The boys are fine, but Maxie’s not used to dealing with them twenty-four hours a day and they can be exhausting, so—”

“I’d rather you didn’t leave yet,” he blurted.

“Why not?”

Because he wasn’t ready for her to be gone. But since admitting that even to himself was too lowering, he said, “I want you here until we get the results from the DNA test.”

Her gaze dropped briefly, then lifted to meet his again. “You said we’d probably hear sometime today, anyway.”

“Then there’s no problem with you waiting.”

“What’s this really about, Nick?” she asked.

“Just what I said,” he told her, taking her arm in a firm grip and turning her around. Heat bled up from the spot where his hand rested on her arm. He fought the urge to pull her into him, to dip his head and kiss the pulse beat at the base of her throat. To pull the hem of her shirt up so he could fill his hands with her breasts.

Damn, he was hard and hot and really irritated by that simple fact.

Leading her along the wide walkway, he started for his suite. “We’ve got unfinished business together, Jenna. And until it’s done and over, you’re staying.”

“Maybe I should get another room.”

“Worried you won’t be able to control yourself?” he chided as he opened the door and allowed her to precede him into the suite.

“In your dreams,” she said shortly, and tossed her purse onto the sofa.

“And yours,” he said.

Jenna looked at him and felt herself weakening. It wasn’t fair that this was so hard. Wasn’t fair that her body wanted and her heart yearned even as her mind told her to back away. She had to leave the ship. Soon. In the strained silence, a beep sounded from another room, and she glanced at Nick, a question in her eyes.

“Fax machine.”

She nodded and as he walked off to get whatever had come in for him, Jenna headed for his bedroom. All she wanted to do was get the underwear she’d left in there the night before. And better to do it while he was occupied somewhere else.

Opening the door, she swung it wide just as Nick called out, “It’s from the lab.”

If he said anything else, she didn’t hear him. Didn’t even feel a spurt of pleasure, knowing that now he’d have no choice but to believe her about the fact that he was the father of her sons.

Instead Jenna’s gaze was locked on his bed, and her brain short-circuited as she blankly stared at the very surprised, very
naked
redhead stretched out on top of Nick’s bed.

“J
enna?” Nick’s voice came from behind her, but she didn’t turn.

“Hey!” The redhead’s eyes were wide as she scrambled to cover herself—a little too late—with the black duvet. “I didn’t know he already had company….”

Nick came up behind Jenna, and she actually felt him tense up. “Who the hell are you?” he demanded, pushing past Jenna to face the woman staring up at him through eyes shining with panic.

“Babe of the month?” Jenna asked curtly.

“Look,” the redhead was saying from beneath the safety of the duvet, “I can see I made a mistake here and—”

“Oh,” Jenna told her snidely, “don’t leave on my account,” then she spun on her heel and marched down the long hall toward her own bedroom.

“Jenna, damn it, wait.” Nick’s voice was furious but she didn’t care. Didn’t want to hear his explanation. What could he possibly say? There was a naked woman in his bed. And he hadn’t looked surprised, just angry. Which told Jenna everything she needed to know. This happened to him a
lot.

That simple fact made one thing perfectly clear to Jenna.

It was so past time for her to leave.

God, she was an idiot. To even allow herself to
think
that she loved him. Was she a glutton for punishment?

She marched into her room on autopilot. Blindly she moved to the closet, grabbed her suitcase and tossed it onto the bed. Opening it up, she threw the lid back, then turned for the closet again. Scooping up an armful of her clothes, she carried them to the suitcase, dropped them in and was on her way back to the closet for a second load when Nick arrived.

He stalked right up to her, grabbed her arm and spun her around. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

She wrenched herself free and gave him a glare that should have fried him on the spot. Jenna was furious and hurt and embarrassed. A dangerous combination. “That should be perfectly obvious, even to you. I’m leaving.”

“Because of the redhead?”

“What’s the matter, can’t remember her name?”

“I’ve never even
met
her for God’s sake,” he shouted, shoving one hand through his hair in obvious irritation, “how the hell should I know her damn name?”

“Stop swearing at me!” Jenna shouted right back. She felt as if every cell in her body was in a stranglehold. Her blood was racing, her mind was in a whirl of conflicting thoughts and emotions, and the only thing she knew for sure was she didn’t belong here. Couldn’t stay another minute. “I’m leaving and you can’t stop me.”

“Jenna, damn it, the results from the lab came in—”

Not exactly the way she’d imagined this conversation going, she told herself indignantly. Somehow she’d pictured her and Nick, reading the results together. In her mind, she’d watched as realization came over him. As he acknowledged that he was a father.

Of course, she hadn’t pictured a naked redhead being part of the scene.

“Then you know I was telling you the truth. My work here is done.” She grabbed up her sneakers, high heels and a pair of flats and tossed them into the suitcase on top of her clothes. Sure it was messy, but she was way past caring.

“We have to talk.”

“Oh, we’ve said all we’re going to say to each other,” Jenna told him, skipping backward when he made a grab for her again. She didn’t trust herself to keep her anger fired if he touched her. “Have your lawyers contact me,” she snapped and marched into the connecting bathroom to gather up the toiletries she had scattered across the counter.

“Damn it,” Nick said, his voice as tight as the tension coiled inside her. “I just found out I’m a
father,
for God’s sake. I need a minute here. If you’ll calm down, we can discuss this—”

“Shouldn’t you be down the hall with Miss Ready-And-Willing?” Jenna inquired too sweetly as she pushed past him, her things in the crook of her arm.

He shook his head. “She’s getting dressed and getting out,” he said, grabbing Jenna’s arm again to yank her around to face him.

God help her, her body still reacted to his hands on her. Despite everything, she felt the heat, the swell of passion rising inside to mingle with the fury swamping her, and Jenna was sure this wasn’t a good thing. She had to get out.

But Nick only tightened his grip. “I didn’t invite her. She bribed a maid.”

She swallowed hard, lowered her gaze to his hands on her arms and said, “You’re hurting me.” He wasn’t, but her statement was enough to make him release her.

“Jenna—”

“It’s a wonder the woman had to bribe anyone. I’m sure the maids are used to letting naked women into your suite. Pretty much a revolving door around here, isn’t it?”

“Nobody gets into my suite unless I approve it, which I didn’t in this case,” Nick added quickly. “And I hope for the maid’s sake that it was a
good
bribe, because it just cost her her job.”

“Oh, that’s nice,” Jenna said as she turned to zip her suitcase closed. “Fire a maid because you’re the horniest male on the face of the planet.”

“Excuse me?”

Jenna straightened up, folded her arms across her chest and tapped the toe of her sandal against the floor as she glared up at him. “Everyone on this ship knows what a player you are, Nick. Probably wasn’t a big surprise to the maid that a woman wanted into your suite and for all she knew, you
did
want her here.”

He glared right back at her. “My life is my business.”

“You’re right it is.” She grabbed the handle of her suitcase and slid it off the bed. Jenna didn’t even care if she’d left something behind. She couldn’t stay here a second longer. She had to get away from Nick, off this ship and back to the world that made sense. The world where she was wanted. Needed.

“And I don’t owe you an explanation for anything,” he pointed out unnecessarily.

“No, you don’t. Just as you don’t have to fire a maid because she assumed it was business as usual around here.” Jenna shook her head, looked him up and down, then fixed her gaze on his. “But you do what you want to, Nick. You always do. Blame the maid. Someone who works hard for a living. Fire her. Make yourself feel better. Just don’t expect me to hang around to watch.”

“Damn it, Jenna, I’m not letting you walk out.” He moved in closer and she felt the heat of his body reaching out for her. “I want to know about my sons. I want to talk about what we’re going to do now.”

Tightening her grip on the suitcase handle, Jenna swung her hair back behind her shoulders and said softly, “What we’re going to do now is go back to our lives. Contact your lawyer, set up child support. I’ll send you pictures of the boys. I’ll keep you informed of what’s happening with them.”

“It’s not enough,” he muttered, his voice low and deep and hard.

“It’ll have to be, because it’s all I can give you.” Jenna walked past him, headed for the living room and the purse she’d left on a sofa. But she stopped in the doorway and turned for one last look at him.

Diffused sunlight speared through the bank of windows and made his dark hair shine. His eyes were shadowed and filled with emotions she couldn’t read, and his tall, leanly muscled body was taut with a fury that was nearly tangible.

Everything in her ached for him.

But she’d just have to learn to live with disappointment.

“Goodbye, Nick.”

Jenna was gone.

So was the redhead.

And he didn’t fire the maid.

Nick hated like hell that Jenna had been right about that, but how could he fire some woman when everyone on the damn ship knew he had women coming and going all the time? Instead, he’d had Teresa demote the maid to the lower decks and instructed her to make it clear that if the woman ever took another bribe from a guest, she’d be out on her ass.

Sitting at the desk in his office, he turned his chair so that he faced the sprawl of the sea. He wasn’t seeing the last of the day’s sunlight splashing on the water like fistfuls of diamonds spread across its surface. He didn’t notice the wash of brilliant reds and violets as sunset painted a mural across the sky. Instead his mind continued to present him with that last look he’d had of Jenna. Standing in the open doorway of her bedroom, suitcase in her hand, wearing an expression that was a combination of regret and disappointment.

“What right does she have to be disappointed in me? And why the hell do I care what she thinks?” he muttered. He’d meant to have her and let her go. It had been a good plan and that’s exactly what had happened. He ought to be pleased. Instead, his brain continued to ask him just why Jenna had been so pissed about the redhead.

Was she being territorial?

Did she really care for him?

Did it matter?

Then he glanced down at the single sheet of paper he still held in his hand. The fax from the lab in San Pedro was clear and easy to read.

His DNA matched that of Jenna’s twins.

Nick Falco was a father.

He was both proud and horrified.

“I have two sons,” he said, needing to hear the words said aloud. He shook his head at the wonder of it and felt something in his chest squeeze tightly until it was almost impossible to draw a breath.

He was a
father.

He had
family.

Two tiny boys who weren’t even aware of his existence were only alive because of
him.
Pushing up from his chair, he walked to the wide bank of glass separating him from the ocean beyond and leaned one hand on the cool surface of the window. Sons. Twins. He felt that twist of suppressed emotion again and murmured, “The question is, how do I handle it? What’s the best way to manage this situation?”

Jenna had left, assuming that he’d keep his distance. Deal with her through the comforting buffer of an attorney. He scowled at the sea and felt a small but undeniable surge of anger begin to rise within him, twisting with that sense of pride and confusion until he nearly shook with the rush of emotions he wasn’t used to experiencing.

He was a man who deliberately kept himself at a distance from most people. He liked having that comfort zone that prevented anyone from getting too close. Now, though, that was going to change. It had to change.

Jenna thought she knew him. Thought he’d be content to remain a stranger to his sons. Thought he’d go on with his life, putting her and Jacob and Cooper aside. Knowing her, she thought he’d be satisfied to be nothing more than a fat wallet to his sons.

“She’s wrong,” he muttered thickly, and his hand on the glass fisted. “I may not know anything about being a father, but those boys are
mine.
And I’ll be damned if I let
anyone
keep me from them.”

Turning around, he hit a button on the intercom and ground out, “Teresa?”

“Yes, boss?”

He folded the DNA report, tucked it into the breast pocket of his shirt and said, “Call the airport. Hire a private jet. I’m going back to California.”

By the following morning, it was almost as if Jenna had never been gone. She’d stopped on the way home from the airport the night before to pick up the boys at Maxie’s house. She hadn’t been able to bear the thought of being away from them another minute. With the twins safely in their rooms and her suitcase unpacked, Jenna was almost able to convince herself that she’d never left. That the short-lived cruise hadn’t happened. That she hadn’t slept with Nick again. That she hadn’t left him with a naked redhead in his bedroom.

The pain of that slid down deep inside, where she carefully buried it. After all, none of that had anything to do with reality. The cruise—Nick—had been a short jaunt to the other side of the fence. Now she was back where she belonged.

She’d been awake for hours already. The twins didn’t take into consideration the fact that Mom hadn’t gotten much sleep last night. They still wanted breakfast at six o’clock in the morning. Now she was sitting on the floor in the middle of her small living room, working while she watched her boys.

“I missed you guys,” she said, looking over at her sons as they each sat in a little jumper seat. The slightest motion they made had the seat moving and shaking, which delighted them and brought on bright, toothless grins.

Jake waved one fist and bounced impatiently while Cooper stared at his mother as if half-afraid to take his eyes off her again for fear she might disappear.

“Your aunt Maxie said you were good boys,” she said, talking to them as she always did. Folding the first load of laundry for the day, Jenna paused to inhale the soft, clean scent of their pajamas before stacking them one on top of the other. “So because I missed you so much and you were so good, how about we walk to the park this afternoon?”

This was what Jenna wanted out of her life, she thought. Routine. Her kids. Her small but cozy house. A world that was filled with, if not excitement, then lots of love. And if her heart hurt a little because Nick wasn’t there and would never know what it was to be a part of his sons’ lives, well, she figured she’d get over it. Eventually. Shouldn’t take more than twenty or thirty years.