The Switched Baby Scandal (A Scandals of San Sebastian Novel) (Entangled Bliss) (10 page)

Even though she was reminding herself of all the reasons why this was a good idea, Taylor’s grip on the steering wheel tightened as she passed through the open gates into Reece’s drive. All the good intentions in the world couldn’t subdue her anxiety at moving under a man’s control. Taylor took a deep breath and blew it out.

This is just a short visit. We’re only staying long enough to get away from the media. This is just a short visit. Reece isn’t Michael. He isn’t my dad. We can leave whenever we want.

Emily’s eyes were bright with excitement. Taylor chose to focus on that.

Reece appeared at the door as she parked the car and he began opening Emily’s door and unbuckling the car seat.

“Hi, sunshine!”

Emily cocked her head to one side and sized him up with a glance. “Are you really my daddy?” she asked bluntly.

Taylor lay her head down on the steering wheel and wanted to curl up into a ball. She turned her head enough to catch the questioning glance Reece threw at her.

“Now that was a very special secret. Did you figure that out all by yourself?” he asked, his tone neutral.

Emily hopped out of her car seat and avoided his touch as she clambered out of the car with her bear and zebra. “No. And I don’t like that you and Mommy kept it a secret, especially when it was about me.”

The little girl lifted her chin and attempted to stalk past Reece, but he grasped her by the shoulder.

“Emily…”

She stopped, but she didn’t turn around. Taylor opened her door and walked around to crouch in front of her daughter, but Emily refused to make eye contact.

Taylor was concerned. Even in her terrible twos Emily had never avoided her completely as she was doing now.

Reece released his touch on Emily. “I think we’ve all had a very tough day. How about we go inside and have some chocolate milk and graham crackers?”

Emily turned and looked up at him. “I want to have chocolate milk, but I’m still mad at you.”

Reece shrugged, but Taylor could see that Emy’s words had pierced him to the core. “Well, that’s okay. The last time I heard, you could still drink milk even when you were angry, so I guess that will work.”

Emily nodded and then looked Taylor head-on, a flicker of anger still smoldering in her brown eyes. “Excuse me. I’m going to have chocolate milk.”

Taylor wanted to crumple. She’d never had Emily all-out snub her like this before and it wounded her. She felt like she was losing everything that mattered to her: her child, her freedom, her life. She eased aside and let Emily walk past her.

Reece’s hand came down warm and reassuring on her shoulder. He gave her a slight squeeze, then moved his hand to her elbow to help her up from the ground. The touch was meant to be supportive and friendly, but it was electrifying just to be near him.

“Hey. Don’t worry, she’ll get past this. There are just a lot of things changing all at once. Give her some time to adjust and it will all smooth out. We just happen to be handy targets for her anger at the moment. No one likes feeling left out, and I imagine that’s precisely what she feels like we did.”

Taylor sniffed and glanced up at him. “Not only an attorney but a child psychologist, too?”

He grinned, but his eyes still held the sting of Emily’s rebuff. “Nah. But I’ve been around enough of them in court to explain this.”

She moved away from him, uncomfortable with the response his touch elicited and fearful that perhaps she’d gone about telling Emily the wrong way, screwing things up for all of them in the process. Taylor unlocked the trunk of her car. “Look, I’m really sorry. She was just asking questions and wouldn’t stop, so I told her. You…I—we didn’t want it coming from someone else, right?” She pulled out Emily’s small suitcase.

Reece reached past her and hauled her suitcase out. He tried to take Emily’s case from her hand, but she held on to it.

“I can take care of this.”

He locked his gaze with hers. “Taylor, we’re supposed to be in this together for more than just responsibility. I’m here for support, too. It might have been easier if we’d both been there. But it had to come out sometime, so don’t beat yourself up about it. She’s going to be fine and so are we. Now, how about some chocolate?”

Taylor gave him a small smile and hugged Emily’s case a little closer. “I don’t think chocolate milk is going to cut it tonight.”

Reece’s grin got bigger. “That’s why I had Gino bring over a chocolate tiramisu before you got here.”

Taylor nibbled at her lip. It was very thoughtful of him. How he knew that it would be the perfect thing to soothe her—and that he cared enough to do something for her, not just for Emily—surprised her. “Thank you.”

He shrugged. “Hey, it was no troub—”

“Not for the chocolate, Reece. Thank you for being all right with this, even though it hurts and for us being here.”

He gave her a quick nod. “When I say there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you two, Taylor, I mean it.”

After chocolate milk, a bit of tiramisu, and a soothing cup of hot tea, Taylor bundled Emily off to the guest bedroom they were going to share. She tucked Emily in, sang her their nightly lullaby, and watched Emily’s eyelids grow heavy and finally flutter shut. Carefully and quietly she climbed in beside her little girl, listening to her smooth, even breathing as she stared at the ceiling.

It had been a long time since she’d slept in a bed other than her own. Having Emily beside her helped. She’d refused Reece’s offer of another room for herself, saying it would be better for Emily if she were close by, which was true. But it was just as true for herself. Emily’s warmth and presence helped calm the fears tightening within her chest.

So much of what had gone wrong in her last relationship had started the moment she’d left her own place to move in with Michael. She remembered him going through her suitcases and her closet, pulling out what he didn’t like and getting rid of it. Sure, he gave her his credit card to go get new things, but then he also went shopping with her, told her what he liked and expected her to buy it. At first it had seemed like such a small thing, but she knew better now.

At least Reece hadn’t touched her luggage except to bring it into the room. And when she’d refused another room and told him she wanted to share with Emily, he’d shrugged and gone along with that, too. So far, he wasn’t anything like Michael. Taylor just hoped it stayed that way.

For the first three weeks they stayed at Reece’s home, Taylor was on edge. News vans were becoming a regular sight outside the gates and in the parking lot of her business, but so far they’d only yelled questions at her and Reece, not taken more pictures of Emily. She woke in the mornings, waiting for things to get worse, for Reece to become demanding, for Emily to beg to go home. But it never happened. Slowly, it began to settle in that this time things were different.

She still took her daughter to preschool in the mornings, a new school they’d chosen near Reece’s home. He still picked up Emily in the afternoons and spent them reading to her, playing multiple games of Candy Land and Chutes and Ladders, or swinging on the porch swing he had installed for them on the back patio, completely secure from prying eyes.

The added help with Emily gave her time to pick up the bits and pieces that had fallen through the cracks at work and had caused her to fall behind on several design proposals for clients. Reece had even let her take over the living room as her own home office, where her sketches, books of fabric swatches, and paint chips went undisturbed. She’d had Jane take over most of the day-to-day activity at her office, just to avoid running into the media when she could.

Her little girl actually seemed to be flourishing in the new arrangement and was happier than she had ever seen her, now that she was speaking to both of them again. Having both parents seemed to give Emily a balance that she lacked before.

In some small way, it hurt to know she couldn’t give Emily everything a child needed. When this was all over and the need to protect her from the media died down, they would move back to the condo. She was sure Emily would be disappointed. Taylor was even becoming accustomed to hearing Reece move about in the house and found his presence comforting…and distracting.

At night they ate together, like the family they could have been had the situation been different. Reece would say good night and let her tuck Emily into bed. She had seen the longing look in his eye to be part of their little ritual, but was touched by his willingness to leave them time alone as mother and daughter.

That night, as she finished singing to Emily, Taylor felt the odd weight of someone watching her. She leaned over and gave her baby a final kiss good night and looked behind her to see him standing in the doorway, his shoulder resting against the jamb.

Taylor gently pulled the covers over Emily’s shoulder and tiptoed to him. She put her finger to her lips, then pointed out into the hall. Reece nodded.

…

They walked in silence until they came to the rec room upstairs. Taylor walked past the old, upright player piano and sank into the overstuffed fawn-colored leather sofa. Reece went to the wet bar and snagged a diet soda out of the mini-fridge for her and a microbrew for himself.

He handed the ice-cold can to Taylor and watched as she shut her eyes and set it against her forehead for a moment before opening the can to take a drink.

She had to be exhausted, but even now was intoxicatingly beautiful. He sat down beside her. “You have an incredible voice.”

Taylor gave him a wan smile. “Thanks.”

“Do you sing to her every night?”

“Um-hm. Have since the day she was born.”

Reece felt his gut flex against the invisible punch. It was only a week until the girls’ birthday. One week, and once again he would ache uncontrollably as he recalled the sweet child he would never see reach another birthday. He took a swig of the beer, hoping it would ease some of the pain settling deep down in his stomach.

“What are we going to do for their—I mean, Emily’s birthday?”

Taylor laid a warm hand lightly on his arm. The touch was comforting. “It still is
their
birthday. It always will be.” Her lip trembled and Reece watched as glistening tears welled up in her eyes and slid in shiny, little paths down her cheeks. “I’m just so sorry I never got to be there for one of Alyssa’s birthdays.”

She started to sob. Reece felt helpless, the pain was too deep for both of them. He pulled Taylor into his arms and held her as her body shuddered and jerked with her crying.

Reece focused on Taylor, stuffing his pain back as he concentrated on her. He was keenly aware of every curve of her body and the warmth of her, but also knew that all he could offer at the moment was a shoulder to cry on. He stroked her back until the sobs grew further apart and Taylor’s breath became even again. She looked up at him. Her eyes were swollen and her nose red. He cupped her head in his hand and brushed the pad of his thumb over her cheek.

“I miss her, too, but part of her is always here.” He took her hand and laid it over his heart. Her lips tipped up in a sad smile.

The desire to kiss her increased. Reece mustered every shred of control he had and resisted his inclination. She leaned toward him, her lips barely parted and her eyes misty and soft, making temptation overwhelming.

Reece nuzzled her cheek, inhaling the sweet, floral-and-vanilla scent of her silky skin. Then he gently kissed her. She felt warm, delicate, and soft beneath his touch. He could taste the lingering sweetness of the soda on her lips. Taylor wrapped her hand around his neck, her fingers rubbing against his skin, and the rush in his blood began to build. She snuggled closer, her breasts softly pressing against his chest. The sensation nearly lifted him up off the couch.

Reece deepened the kiss, delving into her, their kiss turning from innocent to intimate. Taylor made a little noise in her throat that sped up the pounding in his veins. His hands slipped beneath the edge of her sweater and glided up along her ribs, feeling the dips and hollows of her form beneath his questing fingers.

She leaned into his touch and moved so his hand connected with the silky fabric and whispery lace of her bra. He gently caressed the edge of the soft swell with his thumb. She shivered. Reece fought off his desire to feel her naked against him, to feel her surround him.

From the hall a small cry broke the spell that held them. Taylor yanked away from him. “It’s Emily.” In an instant she had darted out of the room and was gone.

Reece took a long drag of air to calm down. His painful erection reminding him that he hadn’t slept with a woman in over a year. Why was that? Why hadn’t he been able to even look at another woman?

Becca.

For all the lack of passion between them, the bonds of friendship and fidelity were strong enough to keep him blinded…until now. But even the passion wasn’t enough to make him forget Becca completely. He wasn’t ready to replace her…or Alyssa.

He heard Taylor’s soft lilting voice singing to Emily. He took a deep breath and heaved himself off the couch, picking up Taylor’s half-finished can of diet soda and his beer bottle. There was just something about her that stripped away all sense of time and place for him. When she looked at him with those baby blues, it was just the two of them. Okay, he amended to himself, the three of them. Emily was definitely part of this equation, no matter how he added it together.

Taylor reappeared about ten minutes later. She gave him a cautious smile and tucked the swing of blond hair back behind her ear.

“Did you want the rest of your Diet Coke?”

“No, thanks.”

He looked into her eyes. They were glittering with unspoken but familiar emotions. There was definitely an attraction between them, but too many things stood in the way. Big things that weren’t easy to hurdle over. Custody. Her past. His past. Emily’s future.

“You are something else, you know that,” she said, her voice hushed and admiring.

He grinned. “And I’ve never met a woman like you.”

“You will, soon enough.” Taylor gave him a teasing smile.

“What am I not getting here?”