The Switched Baby Scandal (A Scandals of San Sebastian Novel) (Entangled Bliss) (14 page)

Taylor turned and opened the car door, bustling Emily inside and slamming the door firmly shut behind her.

“How can we leave her out when’s she’s central to the story?” He gave a good-natured shrug. Taylor took advantage of the moment and yanked open the driver’s door.

“That’s not my problem. Good day, Mr. Shipley.” She slammed the door shut and immediately locked the doors, praying Reece would get there soon.

Shipley knocked on the car window. Taylor ignored him. Someone shouted and pounded on the passenger side of the car.

Taylor jerked to attention, jammed the key in the ignition, and turned the engine over.

“Don’t leave Daddy!” Emily cried.

Taylor looked over. It was Reece. She leaned across the seat and flipped open the lock, letting him in. He was breathing hard, as if he had sprinted the distance to the car.

“Some outing, huh?” He threw the picnic basket, camera bag, and tripod into the back seat beside Emily, then reached back to buckle her into the car seat he had purchased just for his car. “Get us out of here.”

Taylor didn’t need to be told twice.

Chapter Twelve

Late that night, after the girls had gone up to bed, Reece paced the rec room. He was exhausted but couldn’t sleep. First Amendment rights, his ass. He wasn’t going to let anyone from the media get near Emily and Taylor again.

The news crew had completely taken them by surprise. Reece expected the restraining orders and the recent news about the nurse’s arrest to keep them at bay in public, but apparently it had only fueled their desire, made them think he and Taylor had something to hide.

Well, the public didn’t have a right to know. Hell, he didn’t even know what was going on in his own house. His feelings were as mixed up as the day had been. He growled, raking his hands through his hair, and then his gaze settled on the camera bag. Perhaps seeing Emily play would help him relax.

He opened the camera bag and took out the palm-sized camcorder. After plugging in the hookups and dimming the lights, he sat down on the sofa and pushed play. An image of Emily laughing hysterically and falling over onto her side flashed up on the television screen, illuminating the room. He watched her attempt a cartwheel, then jump up and wave at the camera before darting behind a tree.

The camera view switched. It was the three of them eating lunch. He placed two of the red grapes in his eyes and squinted to hold them in place with his brows, then made a funny face. Emily howled with laughter and tried to do the same, the grapes continuously falling off into her lap. She finally popped them into her mouth, then reached over, took one of his grapes, and ate that, too.

It dawned on him as he watched the interaction that Taylor had been staring at him the whole time. He hadn’t noticed it at the park.

She tucked her hair behind her ear before reaching to pluck a grape and eat it.

He saw himself glance at her.

The chemistry between them on the screen was palpable.

Why hadn’t he noticed it when it was happening? Maybe he had. At the time he had just chalked it up to his libido getting carried away. But now he knew it was more, much more.

He replayed the recording again, this time noticing how she subtly leaned toward him, her hand brushing against his leg.

Her touch had zinged through him. He thought it was accidental contact, but could see plainly from his new perspective on the couch that it was anything but.

She’d touched him on purpose.

He blew out a heavy sigh. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, he was falling for her. Taylor had found the one spot where he was still open and somehow found her way into his heart.

Or had she?

He began to second-guess his reactions, comparing them to his initial attraction to Becca. His constant proximity to Becca at the office had sparked his interest. Was this any different, or was he only interested because he hadn’t been satisfied with just one night?

He shut off the TV and sat in the darkness, thinking. He knew that he liked Taylor, but did he love her?

Yes.

No.

Maybe.

Ah hell. He didn’t know. This was different than before—he’d married Becca because she was pregnant—but in some ways dangerously the same. He questioned what he knew, because he really didn’t know anything.

Did she want a permanent relationship with a man? With him?

Was the interest he saw displayed in the video a natural extension of her wanting the best for Emily, or did she want him for herself? More importantly why did
he
want
her
? Was it because of his desire to be in Emily’s life that he naturally extended that desire to Taylor? Or was there something truly meaningful building between them? Hell, he knew he reacted to her differently than he had Becca. But was it love? Reece rubbed his aching temple. This was getting more complicated by the minute.

…

The following week Taylor woke up in the morning feeling lousy. She was exhausted, despite eight hours of sleep, and her breasts ached so badly it felt like someone had stepped on them. She dragged herself into the bathroom and brushed her teeth, hoping the mint would help wake her up.

Before she could even get the toothbrush in far enough to reach her molars, a powerful gag reflex kicked in. Taylor slapped her hand over her mouth and ran to the toilet.

She emerged from the bathroom fifteen minutes later sure of one thing.

She was pregnant.

Her logical mind could deny all it wanted and demand confirmation of her suspicions, but her logic was going to be sorely disappointed by a pee-stick test. Even though they’d used protection, there was always the chance it had failed.

Taylor finished getting ready and woke Emily and prepared her for preschool. She dropped Emily off and went to the office. A mountain of paperwork and e-mails needed to be addressed. By ten thirty she’d already been sick twice. Jane told her she looked like hell. She tried to push through the miserable sensation of being too tired to move, but by lunch she gave up and left to go home. On the way she stopped at the store and picked up a test kit.

She waited on her bed watching the second hand tick slowly around the face of her watch. She went into the bathroom and looked down. Sure enough a blue plus sign stared back at her. Taylor groaned. This was getting much more complicated than she had anticipated.

But even with the complication, her mothering heart skipped a beat in joy. A slow, comfortable warmth spread across her limbs. Taylor looked into the long mirror on the back of the bathroom door and rubbed her flat stomach with a loving hand, turning sideways to look at herself.

She was pregnant—with Reece’s baby.

A kernel of glowing excitement lodged in her heart, before she experienced a sinking feeling.

What was she going to tell Reece?

Nothing.

At least not yet.

For a week, Taylor kept the news to herself. She had stuffed the test into her purse and taken it with her to work to dispose of it. The last thing she wanted was for Reece to find it when he took out the trash.

When she had run to Michael with the news of their baby’s impending arrival, he’d stormed out, gotten drunk, and hadn’t returned for several days before showing up to boot her out of his home. There were dozens of reasons for her to be nervous, and one reason for her not to be—this was Reece, and he was different.

Reece wanted to be a father, enjoyed it from what she had seen. But Taylor could sense even now that Alyssa’s memory clouded his current happiness with Emily.

How much more would another child confuse things? And hadn’t Rebecca’s pregnancy been the reason for their marriage? That was definitely not a good thing. She didn’t want him thinking she was trying to trap him into anything he wasn’t committed to on his own. Perhaps it would be easier to tell him later, when things had calmed down and they were back to some kind of normalcy.

Then again, was there anything normal about all of this? The fact that this baby was Reece’s meant it and Emily were true half siblings, which was a wonderful thing. As an only child she’d never gotten to have siblings and had always yearned for a sister or brother, and now Emily would have that. Part of her was excited at the prospect of having another baby. She loved Emily more than anything and could only imagine loving another child just as much. But there was another part of her, a small part, that was sad, too. Last time she’d been pregnant, she’d never gotten to hold her baby. All of which, when put together, made her more determined than ever to be a good mom to both her children regardless of what happened between her and Reece.

Taylor pulled her hair back into a ponytail as she got ready for their family dinner, which had happened without fail once a week since she and Emily had met Reece. It was obvious that Reece wanted to be an important part of Emily’s life. However, it was also crystal clear that he was uncertain about his relationship to her.

Taylor bit her lip as she added a touch of mascara to her eyelashes. Would he consider marrying her for Emily’s benefit? No matter how she weighed her options, Taylor didn’t feel she could confide in him about the baby until she was sure how he would react to the possibility of marriage to her.

She just couldn’t take any chances of being rejected this time.

Taylor pulled back and looked at her reflection. The ponytail emphasized the darkened circles under her eyes and the slight bit of weight she’d lost to morning sickness. She grabbed the covered rubber band and pulled it off, shaking her hair out. That was better.

If she was indeed going to approach him about marriage, she ought to at least look like a presentable prospect. She changed into jeans and an azure-colored, flowing top that highlighted the color of her eyes and was more flattering all the way around.

Taylor took extra care in selecting dinner, opting for something a little exotic and elegant. The spicy pad thai noodles, steamed broccoli, and grilled shrimp skewers she and Reece would eat were offset by a small plate of fish sticks, cheesy broccoli, and plain rice for Emily.

Since Reece was picking Emily up from school, Taylor decided to wait for them in the kitchen. Her nerves were getting the best of her. She got up and sat back down in one of the breakfast bar stools at least three times before taking a deep breath.

She’d never proposed before. Her mind stopped, numbed by the thought.

Is that what she was doing?

Her hands suddenly turned cold, and her heart beat uncomfortably against her ribs.

The door opened and they walked in. It was too late to rethink this now. She and Reece had reached a point where their relationship had to be resolved somehow.

She managed to choke down a few bites of dinner past the large knot of anxiety in her throat. She watched Reece and Emily talk, happy that they seemed content to leave her out of the dinner conversation. Perhaps she was rushing into this. She didn’t need to, did she?

The baby.

Soon enough, Reece would be able to tell she was pregnant and he’d feel obligated to marry her, just like he had with Rebecca. Taylor cringed. Forcing him to relive his past was the last thing she wanted to do. Although he hadn’t shared much, she’d seen how deeply the past had wounded him.

Reece loved Emily. Emily needed her father and her mother. That was logical. That made sense.

Everything else she felt welling up inside her was neither logical nor made sense. Perhaps it was hormones. At least she hoped that was the reason she felt so uncertain yet determined to do this.

Reece lifted the curtain of her hair, peeking beneath it. “Hello? Is anybody in there?”

She smiled wanly. “Sorry.”

“Emily has asked to be excused. She wants to go and watch the cartoon DVD Edith sent today in the mail. Can she?”

Taylor nodded. Her pulse sped up again as he left the room, leaving her heart to beat in her throat.

He returned minutes later after settling Emily down in the rec room.

When he sat down beside her, goose bumps prickled her skin.

“Hey, what’s wrong? You’re pretty far away tonight.”

Taylor bit her lip. “Nothing. Just thinking—a lot.”

“What about?”

“Marriage.” There she had blurted it out. She waited for him to faint or get angry, but he just rested his elbow on the table.

“What about marriage?”

“Would you consider it? I mean—with me?”

Reece went into a coughing fit and pounded his chest with his fist.

Great. Just great. Strike one.

His eyes were watering when he looked up at her. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”

Strike two.
Embarrassment suffused her skin with heat. “I asked if you’d have any objections to marrying. Me—for Emily’s benefit, of course.”

Inwardly, she groaned.
Could I have stumbled around that any worse?

She glanced back up at him and his posture shocked her. He was rigid and stunned as though she had slapped him hard across the face.

“Reece, are you all right?”

“Yeah…fine.”

“You don’t look fine.” The man looked like he’d swallowed a goldfish, and not one of the cracker variety that Emily liked.

He looked away from her.

Strike three.

A sense of dread burned down the back of her throat and lodged in a knot in her chest. The small, downy hairs on her neck rose up.

He was going to say no. She could feel it.

She considered bolting from the table before he could say anything, but tucked her hair behind her ear and forced herself to stay planted in her seat to wait for his response.

He looked her in the eye.

“It’s kind of sudden. Don’t you think?”

She shook her head slowly, the pit in her stomach beginning to boil with embarrassment and anger.

“No. I was thinking mainly about Emily. It’s a practical solution that could make it easier for all of us.”
Including the baby.

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table and steepling his hands.

“See, the thing is, I’m not sure that’s the best thing for all of us. I rushed into things before—married because it was the practical thing to do. I just want to take some time to think this through. At this moment it’s not an option for me.”

Her throat ached in anguish. “You’re saying no.”

“No, I’m saying I’m not sure.”

A blind rush of fear, anger, and hurt hit her chest, pounding in furious waves. She couldn’t do this. She couldn’t tell him about the baby now. If she did, there was every chance it would be the last straw in an overwhelming emotional load for him. He would shut her and Emily out of his life, just like Michael had. She’d have done the very thing she promised never to do—hurt her little girl by letting a man back out as a daddy.

She clenched her fists and stood up abruptly.

“Forget I mentioned it.” Her words were barbed.

He reached out to grab her. “Taylor, come on. Sit down.”

She was shaking now and afraid to let him see the fear that threatened to consume her.

“No. Seriously, forget I mentioned it. I kind of thought we had something to build on, but then I made that mistake once before. So if you aren’t ready for a relationship, that’s fine, but if that’s the way it’s going to be, I can’t stay here any longer.”