Rubbing the bridge of his nose, he waited for her to catch up to where he was. His gaze drifted back to the baby who couldn't be more than a few months old cooing on his coffee table. The child didn't seem at all phased to have been dropped into a stranger's lap. No, it was just the adults in the room struggling to make sense of the nightmare they'd stepped into.
"He was just dropped off?" she asked, looking up from the letter.
"Left on my doorstep just as he is now. He must have been marched right past the concierge," Walker confirmed. When he'd gone to answer the door the last thing he'd expected was to find a baby waiting from him. The letter that had been pinned to his blanket offered an explanation that was next to useless.
"‘I've tried to look after him,'" Clara read aloud, "‘but this isn't what I signed up for. You can do more for him than I can. I leave him to you.'"
"It doesn't even say his name," Walker said, waving at the baby. "I don't know what to call him."
"Walker," she breathed.
He flinched from the pity he heard in that one word. He'd spent his life building an empire to ensure he'd never hear that tone again and here it was, back on the lips of the one person who mattered most to him.
Pushing to his feet, he paced around the coffee table.
"What are you going to do?"
He looked back at his oldest friend. Who would have thought when they'd met ten years earlier she'd still be beside him now? He remembered the moment he'd first seen her. He'd been dating her friend and one night his girlfriend had insisted on taking her bookworm of a roommate to a party with them. The inexperienced Clara had dumped a Coke on his shirt for his troubles when he'd gone to check up on her. Instead of being a ball of nerves and apologies, she'd snapped into problem-solving mode, determined to fix the mistake. He'd been in awe of her as she'd ordered the drunk frat boys around her to help her find wet rags so they could clean the spill before it stained. And to everyone's surprise, the boys had snapped to attention and done exactly what she'd wanted.
Her roommate might have called her mousy, but even back then Clara had always been clear on who she was. Though not as outgoing as his girlfriend, there'd been a quiet strength in her that never failed to draw people in. He'd often been jealous of how easily she could make people love her. He might have only made it two years through his degree, but he never counted that time as wasted years. Not when it had brought him Clara.
And now he was about to test their friendship.
"I need help," he said.
She scoffed. "Yeah, no kidding. Let's hope there's a hotline for twenty-four-hour nannies." She leaned down to inspect the baby. "Heaven help us when this kid gets hungry. Is there anything in this place we can give him?"
"You think I keep baby formula around in case of emergencies?"
She shot him a dirty look. "You had time to order a flunky to pick me up. Surely you could send someone out for groceries."
Not a bad idea.
"This is why I need you."
"Because I know the basics of keeping a human alive? Hate to break it to you but I don't think I'm the first one to figure that out."
"No." He strode toward her. "You think of things I don't. I know how to deal with computers, not people."
She shrugged. "You're about to get a crash course."
"Yes, I am." His gaze went back to the baby. "And I need your help."
"I can see that." She sighed. "Okay, I can help you make a list of things he might need. Then we can plot out your next steps." She looked up at him with her wide brown eyes. "This is a far cry from what I thought I'd be doing tonight."
"Tell me about it," he said. "But I need more than a night from you."
She arched a brow, a familiar sight that brought a smile to his face even as his life was falling apart. Yes, this was the right choice. He could navigate this unexpected twist as long as Clara was by his side.
"What exactly do you want me to do?"
His smile turned into a full-fledged grin. "Move in with me."
Chapter Two
He did not just ask me that.
Sure, she hoped at some point her life would move in the direction of living with another person, but not Walker. And not like this.
When she decided to move in with a man she wanted it to be because they never wanted to be apart, not because she had a skill a friend needed. But then again, it's not like her fantasies about Walker ever played out right. She should know by now he never did the expected. No, he was a man who'd marched to his own drummer from the moment they'd met.
And now it looked like he was going to bring his more unconventional practices to child rearing as well.
"I'm not going to be your nanny," she told him, point-blank.
"That's not what I'm asking," he replied. "I'll have a nanny show up first thing tomorrow. What I need is … "
She crossed her arms, waiting him out.
"You," he finished with a shrug. "I don't know what to ask. What to think about or provide. I've never even touched a baby let alone tried to keep one alive for an extended period."
"You realize that time is at least eighteen years, right?"
He ran a hand down his face. "Obviously, I don't expect you to be around that long."
There was no stopping her flinch.
"Dammit, I didn't mean-"
"I know what you meant," she said, focusing on the child rather than looking at him.
"I just need help. Please, Clara. I can't do this without you."
She crouched in front of the baby carrier, studying the little life asleep on Walker's far too expensive coffee table. The tiny boy's face was smooth of worry. Miniature hands fisted as his head lolled against the side of the carrier. She couldn't help wondering if he had the same ice blue eyes of his father.
This is Walker's flesh and blood.
She still couldn't believe it. He'd gone and made a whole new human being.
Without me.
"I can't be a part of this," she said as she rose to her feet. "Of course, I'll support you and help you as your friend, but I can't be your surrogate wife." She shook her head. "It's not fair."
With a last look at the innocent life she was leaving behind, she reached for her bag. She was standing on quicksand, and if she didn't free herself fast, she'd be stuck here playing nursemaid to a child who wasn't hers for a man she couldn't touch.
Get out while you still have your pride.
Lifting her chin, she tried to do exactly that.
"Wait." His fingers curled around her upper arm, stopping her retreat. "Stop. Just wait."
When she glanced back at him, there was a wildness to Walker she'd never seen before. Calm, cool, and perpetually detached, she'd never seen the tech genius sweat. But the thought of her leaving had desperation filling his eyes that rooted her feet to the ground.
"I know it's not fair," he said, pulling her closer. "It's the most selfish thing I've ever asked in my life. It isn't your problem."
"A child isn't a problem," she tried.
"It is for me," he replied. "I never wanted kids. You know that."
"It's a little late for that now."
"I know." His sapphire gaze shifted to his son. "I will do everything in my power to see this baby has the best chance at a good life. But I don't know where to start. Hell, I don't even have his birth certificate. Or a record of whether he's had his immunizations or checkups. And a lawyer. Do I need a lawyer? There are issues here I just don't know how to handle. You practically raised your siblings. You know how to do this far better than I do."
Raised them as a modern-day Cinderella, she thought bitterly. Minus the fairy godmother and the handsome prince.
"I have a life," she said. "A normal, nine-to-five day job."
"We'll arrange for a nanny during the day," he promised. "I can work from home for the immediate future. I rely on my board for the day-to-day operating of the company anyway. You know I've always been happier inventing than managing."
"If you're going to hire a nanny you don't need me."
"I always need you."
Her breath caught as she looked up at him. The hand on her arm burned through the thin material of her shirt.
"I don't even know where he came from or how he ended up on my doorstep," he said, stepping closer till their bodies almost touched. "I need to unravel all of this. Find his mother. Figure out what happened. But you know my world is all numbers. This will be the hardest transition of my life, and I need a partner who will remember to heat up a bottle if I slip."
"But I'm not your partner," she whispered.
"Be one for a little while. I can't do this alone, Clara. We both need you."
She glanced back at the baby. As much as she loved her friend, she'd never known Walker to be able to keep so much as a cactus alive. He wasn't joking when he said he'd need help for this task.