Surprised by Family: a Contemporary Romance Duet (15 page)

“He’s such an ass.”

“I know.”

Leila reflected on this for a minute, realizing this was in Steven’s character. Even as a boy, he’d always waged futile wars, merely to cause trouble. “Could you give him
something
just to get him off your back?”

Baron gave a half-shrug. “I could, but I don’t know if he’d take it. And I’m not about to let him win. You have no idea how much he hurt Dad.”

She knew he’d hurt Baron too. A lot.

“Oh, Baron,” Leila breathed, pushing a kiss into his shirt. “I’m sorry.”

His arm tightened around her, but he didn’t answer.

She paused, fighting an internal battle over whether to ask the next question. She finally determined it was worth the risk. “What caused the big blow-up that caused him to leave?”

Baron didn’t answer for a long time. Then he finally said, “My dad was old-fashioned. I was the older son, and he always had me in mind to succeed him. He wanted Steven to have a place too, but Steven wouldn’t accept anything but being top-dog. It finally just exploded. Honestly, I’m not sure my dad always treated him…” His voice trailed off.

“Oh. I understand. So he’s taking it out on you, the way he always did.”

“I guess. It’s always been a battle between us, and it never seems to ends. That’s just who we are. I was stupid to think we could ever be family.”

“I wish I could help.

He turned his head to kiss her more fully, but it was tender more than erotic. “I know you do. Thank you.”

“So what are we going to do about your brother?” Leila was never as good at puzzle-solving as Baron, and her mind spun futilely over possible scenarios she eventually rejected as unworkable.

Baron gave her an odd look that turned into an almost poignant smile. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “But we’ll think of something.”

***

“Now don’t stay awake too long whispering,” Leila said, giving Charlotte and Jane a final kiss goodnight a week later.

“We won’t,” Charlotte said earnestly, obviously believing what she said to be true, at least for the moment. “Mommy, can Mr. Baron read us another story?”

“No, sweetie. He already read you two stories. It’s time to go to sleep.”

Charlotte frowned but didn’t grumble. Jane, however, popped her head up. “Mommy, are you going to marry Mr. Baron?”

Leila swallowed hard. She’d hoped to delay this kind of conversation for a little longer. Or a
lot
longer. “We’ve talked about this, remember? Mr. Baron and I are dating, but we don’t know what will happen later on.”

“I think he wants to,” Jane added. “He likes to be around us.”

“Of course he does,” Leila said with a smile, stroking the blond hair off her daughter’s face. “Who wouldn’t like to be around you and Charlotte?”

Charlotte giggled. “Would he be our Daddy if he marries you, Mommy?”

“No, baby. Your Daddy will always be your Daddy.”

“But Daddy doesn’t want to be with us the way Mr. Baron does. He didn’t come when he was supposed to and now we can't go there for Thanksgiving.” Jane was frowning, as if she were trying to think all of these complicated matters through.

“I know that's hard,” Leila said, choosing her words quickly and as carefully as she could. “Your Daddy just has a lot going on right now. He loves both of you so much, and he is very sad not to have Thanksgiving with you.”

She was lying, of course, but those were the kinds of lies she had to tell. For her daughters’ sake. Not her ex-husband’s.

“I guess,” Charlotte said with a dramatic sigh. “I hope Mr. Baron never has a lot going on like Daddy does. I don’t want him to go away.”

“I don’t want him to go away either,” Leila admitted with a little lump in her throat. “But he does have a lot going on, and we have to be very patient and take things slow, just like I said before.”

“Okay,” Jane said.

“I hate taking things slow,” mumbled Charlotte.

Leila couldn’t help but chuckle as she gave them both one more kiss. Then she turned on their nightlight, turned off the other lights in the room, and gently pulled the door closed as she left.

She felt a little off-kilter as she walked down the hall and found Baron at the dining room table, tapping out a message on his smart phone.

He’d worked all day, even though it was a Saturday, and he’d just come over for dinner with them. But he looked almost domestic now, in bare feet with a half-drunk glass of lemonade on the table beside him.

He glanced up when she entered and smiled at her.

She smiled back.

“Do you think they’ll sleep?”

“Yeah. They’re tired.” She nodded toward his phone. “Anything important?”

He shook his head. “Just clearing out some email.”

She was walking over toward him as he stood up. For a moment, they just stared at each other. Baron looked exhausted. He worked too hard. He was under too much pressure. Sometimes Leila was so scared for him, knowing how hard he was trying to do about ten people’s jobs.

Just because his father had done everything himself didn’t mean Baron had to as well. But he shut down any attempt of hers to suggest he delegate some of the work.

“Do you want to stay tonight?” she asked, almost surprised when she heard herself ask the question.

Baron’s eyes were sharp and observant on her face. “Are you sure?”

She nodded, her heart racing for no particular reason. “Yeah. If you want. I’d...I’d like you to.”

“The girls...”

“They’re in bed. They’ll be okay.”

“I don’t want to confuse them. I can leave early tomorrow before they get up.”

She liked that idea, but only because it would save her a potentially awkward conversation tomorrow. “You can if you want, but you don’t have to.”

Baron’s lips tilted up slightly. “I’ll leave early.”

She grinned up at him, feeling happy now and a little bit foolish. “It’s still kind of early. Are you ready for bed yet?”

“Actually, I’d like to take a shower, if that’s all right.”

“Of course. You can use the shower in my bedroom.” She gave an exaggerated sniff. “You do seem a little...ripe.”

He gave her an unpleasant look while she snickered at her own joke.

While he was showering, Leila lounged on her bed and pulled out her tablet to check her email. But before she even pulled it up, her phone rang.

When she saw Rick’s number on the screen, she was tempted not to answer, but she overcame that immature impulse and picked up the call on the second ring.

It was not a good conversation, and the knowledge that Baron was just beyond the bathroom door made her even curter with her ex-husband than she normally would have been.

Her impatience rose quickly, and when she heard the shower turn off, she snapped out in a low voice, “Listen, Rick. You’re the one who canceled on their Thanksgiving plans. You don’t get to have the girls for Christmas. I don’t care how much you want to impress your girlfriend with your daddy act.”

She wished she hadn’t let the last comment slip out. It sounded bitter and petty, and she didn’t like to think of herself that way.

She interrupted Rick’s objection by saying, “The answer is no. We’d arranged for them to be with me for Christmas. I’ve already made plans, and I’m not going to change them at this point.”

She was sitting up on the bed ramrod straight and almost shaking with annoyance. When she saw the bathroom door start to open, she said, “We can talk about it later if you want, but I’m not going to change my mind.”

Returning Rick’s reply with a brusque, “Goodbye,” Leila disconnected the call.

Baron stood in the doorway of the bathroom with a towel slung around his waist.

Trying to brush away the unpleasant conversation, she gave him an exaggerated leer. “Don’t you look good enough to eat.” He did. His body was gorgeous, the strong lines and rippling muscles masculine and powerful and incredibly sexy.

He frowned, his eyebrows drawn together. “What was that?”

Leila made a dismissive gesture and placed her phone on the nightstand. “Nothing. I’m trying to decide whether I need a shower too.”

Baron’s frown deepened. “You aren’t going to tell me about the phone call?”

Feeling irritable and jittery, Leila wished he would just let it go. “It was nothing. Just an annoying talk with my ex. Nothing important.”

“It obviously bothered you.” He came into the room and sat down on the side of the bed, the towel sliding dangerously low on his hips. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing. It’s just...nothing.” She got off the bed. “I think I am going to take a shower. Do you mind?”

He didn’t answer. Just stared at her with that same frown.

“I’ll be quick.”

She closed the bathroom door behind her with a sigh. Baron wasn’t happy with her, but she just didn’t want to get into all of that with him.

It upset her. And embarrassed her a little—made her feel self-conscious about how stupid she’d been to fall for Rick to begin with. Things were going so well between her and Baron and the girls, and she didn’t want anything connected to her ex-husband to get in the way.

The stuff with Rick was high-maintenance, and she was trying hard to be low-maintenance with Baron.

He had enough high-maintenance stuff to deal with already.

She took a quick shower without getting her hair wet. Then she dried off and pulled on a pair of cotton pajama pants and a white tank top.

She’d been thinking of wearing something sexy, but now she wasn’t in the mood.

Baron was working on his phone again when she came out of the bathroom, but he immediately laid it aside and turned around to face her.

He didn’t speak. Just looked at her with that same frown.

She let out an exasperated sigh. “Come on, Baron. It’s not a big deal. Can’t you just drop it?”

“Maybe it’s not a big deal, but I’d like to know what’s going on. Or at least why you feel you can’t tell me about it.”

He was annoyed now. She could tell by the chill in his voice. He didn’t get flustered and irritable like she did. He just got cold.

“You don’t have to get grumpy about it,” she complained, slumping down onto the bed. “It’s just my ex being an ass. It’s nothing for you to worry about.”

Baron just looked at her.

“Fine,” she groaned, relenting, not having the energy to be as stubborn as he was. “He wants the girls for Christmas.”

Baron’s expression changed. His frown grew darker. “He can’t do that.”

“I know! I told him that. But he’s acting all pouty, like he never gets to see them. But
he
was the one who didn't come visit them here when he was supposed to, and he was the one who canceled Thanksgiving with them.  Now he’s trying to guilt
me
about not letting them go.”

“You have nothing to feel guilty about. If you’d arranged to have the girls for Christmas, then you shouldn’t have to rearrange all your plans just because he changed his mind.”

“I’m not going to rearrange my plans. I’m not about to give them up for Christmas just so he can...” She trailed off, wishing she hadn’t started that thought.

“So he can what?”

When she didn’t answer right away, he gave her that look again. She made a face at him. “Has anyone ever told you you’re obnoxiously stubborn?”

To her surprise, he let out a breathy laugh. “Not to my face.”

His amused, affectionate tone eased a lot of her jittery angst. She leaned against the pillows and smiled at him. He was still looking quite yummy, dressed in nothing but the towel.

“Why do you think he wants the girls for Christmas?” he asked.

“I don’t know, but I think he wants to act all domestic with his new girlfriend.”

“You don’t think he really wants to spend time with them?” His tone was matter-of-fact—not accusatory or incredulous.

“I don’t know. I just don’t know. Maybe he does, but it seems so easy for him to just turn off his interest in them. They’re my whole world. I can’t imagine life without them. While he seems to function fine without them, only wanting them when it’s convenient for him.”

Baron didn’t respond. Just moved beside her so he was lounging against the pillows on the bed too.

“How can he not want to be around them all the time?” she asked hoarsely, finding it impossible to imagine and hating Rick for even the possibility of his not loving her babies the way he should.

“He’s an idiot.”

She turned to look at Baron with a jerk of her head. He was glaring at a spot in the air like he could wring its neck.

For some reason, the fact that Baron was obviously so irate at Rick’s failures as a father eased the tension in Leila’s chest.

Baron was just as baffled and just as angry at the thought of anyone not appreciating the girls as she was.

He loved them.

Thinking back, she realized that not once since he’d met Jane and Charlotte had Baron not done what he told them he would do, not shown up when they were expecting him, not followed through on his word.