A Baby for the Billionaire(4)

"Was I just supposed to leave?"

Diane sighed long and slow before saying, "Yes. This isn't your family."

She flinched, old memories of a different time and place flashed through  her mind. One where she stood at a window looking in on a smiling  family that would never open their arms to her …  "I know," she said,  dragging her mind back to the present. "But Walker may as well be. All  we have is each other."         

     



 

"I hate to point this out, but if there is a baby in his life that isn't yours, that belief isn't so justified anymore."

"I said I'd help him for three weeks," she said, ignoring how Diane's  words stabbed through her. "After that, things will go back to normal."

"Clara … "

"Normal," she said more firmly. "I just have to get us through twenty-one days."

"And then what? Four weeks from now he's still going to be a father. That's not a reality that ever goes away."

No, it doesn't. No matter how she spun this, normalcy was in the rearview mirror.

"I can't think long term right now."

"Well damn," her boss said. "Okay, get me that piece this week, and I'll  do what I can to clear your schedule. The paper will survive without  you for a while, and we can figure out how to best balance this. Maybe  you can work remotely."

"Thanks, Diane. I appreciate the help."

"I can't say there's any precedence for a situation like this. Let's  just take it a day at a time. I do want to meet soon and get the full  scoop, though. Preferably with a glass of wine in my hand."

"I'm buying," Clara promised.

"The two best words in the English language. Now I've got to run. Let me  know if you can be in for Tuesday and we'll take it from there."

"Sounds like a plan."

"Good. And Clara, remember one thing."

"What?"

There was a pause before Diane said, "This baby isn't yours."

She hissed out a breath. "I know."

"Good. Then that's all I'll say. Give me a call if you need me."

"Thanks. Will do."

Disconnecting the call, Clara tossed her cell onto the next pillow.  Snuggling back into the guest room's decadent bed she stared up at the  ceiling. It wasn't the first time she'd slept in this room. She kept a  shoebox full of essentials in a corner of the closet for exactly these  occasions. Once, one of Walker's overnight guests had come across it and  demanded to know what another woman's belongings were doing in the room  she'd been staying in. Clara smiled as she remembered it was the woman  who'd been sent packing, rather than her little emergency box.

Pushing herself out of bed, she retrieved her belongings and fished out a  toothbrush and some toothpaste. It was likely a miracle she hadn't  woken to the cries of a baby. She'd set her alarm for only a few hours  of sleep but still, either the child was an angel or Walker had been  trying to keep the kid quiet. She appreciated the consideration, but she  wasn't sure silence was a good sign from a man this out of his element  with a baby.

Hurrying through her morning routine, she shrugged back into her yoga  pants and tank top and went searching for her new roommate.

Padding through the penthouse barefoot, she ran down the stairs to the  lower level and searched through the sprawling open-concept living  space. Not seeing him in either the kitchen or living room, she wandered  over to the towering windows and spotted a sight she'd never thought to  see.

Out on the balcony Walker bounced a baby in his arms as he paced back and forth.

"Please stop," she heard him say as she opened the sliding door. "Please be quiet."

His back was to her, but she didn't need to see his face to hear the desperation edging his words.

"Name your price. A Ferrari on your eighteenth birthday? Done. Just stop crying now."

"I don't think the parenting books recommend bribing your children with European luxury vehicles."

He glanced over his shoulder. "You're awake."

"Yeah. You too by the looks of things. How long have you been up?"

"I don't think I ever went down," he replied.

She blinked. "What?"

"He started crying almost immediately," he said. "I tried to keep him  quiet, so I brought him out here since it was a warm morning. I think we  might have slept a few minutes here or there, but I'm not entirely sure  I didn't hallucinate them."

"Okay. Let's put the tiny life-form down," Clara said, scooping the baby  from his arms. "How about I fix him a bottle and you can get a few  minutes' rest?"

"Are you an angel?"

"If I had a nickel."

She glanced up at his exhausted face and her heart twisted. He was  clearly exhausted yet here he was, doing his best for his child.

He'll be a good dad.

She'd never thought about Walker that way, but it was true. Once he  found his footing, she knew he'd throw himself at this challenge the way  he did everything else. And though she'd never pictured him being a  father, now she saw things differently.         

     



 

Things change. Things you never thought would.

It was a dangerous idea. One that opened a door to possibilities she'd spent years trying not to think about.

Stop it. You're here to be his support. Do your job.

"I'll meet you in the kitchen when you're ready," she said as she turned away.

Holding the baby with sure hands, she left Walker and headed for the  kitchen. Soon the newly bought formula was heating on the stove, and a  strong pot of coffee brewed on the counter.

"What do you think?" she asked the baby, sitting at the high island  table as she waited for their drinks to finish. "Are you going to be a  hellion or are you just adjusting to the change in your world?"

She stared down into wide unblinking eyes.

Eyes the same vibrant blue as his father's.

"Hellion," she murmured, tracing a finger along one soft, chubby cheek.  "You'll be brilliant like your papa, and it will drive your teachers  crazy because they won't be able to keep up. But you'll be fine because  you'll come home and tell all your ideas to your dad, and he will help  you make them a reality."

The baby gurgled a response.

"You'll bat those blue eyes and wrap everyone around your finger. And I'll get to say I predicted it all the first day we met."

Won't I? Fifteen years from now, would she meet the unruly teen the child in her arms would grow into?

"That's a problem for another day," she said, her voice high pitched as she cooed to her charge. "One step at a time."

The timer went off and she went to prep the formula, testing it on her wrist before she offered it to the baby.

"Hungry little thing, aren't you?"

Rocking the infant, she strolled around the kitchen while he fed, making  a mental list of the extras they'd need to buy today. Walker's driver  had done a stellar job getting them through the night, but there was  only so much one could buy at midnight.

"More formula, diapers, baby clothes, toys," she listed off. "We should  get you checked out by a pediatrician, too. I'm sure your father will  hack the hospital system and find the best doctor in the city. Nothing  is too illegal for his little boy, right?"

"Or I could just ask for a referral."

She spun to see Walker making a beeline for the coffee.

"A referral? How blasé. I was trying to convince your son what a badass he had for a father."

"I haven't hacked a government system since our first year of college,"  he replied. "You hit me over the head and told me to stop screwing with  my future, remember?"

"Sounds like me."

"Keeping me on the straight and narrow." He held out a coffee mug to her. Adjusting the baby, she accepted it with relish.

"And look where it landed you," she said.

"Being a single father terrified a loose couch cushion might smother my kid?"

"I was going to say successful billionaire, but that's another way to go."

She sipped her coffee and sighed in pleasure, closing her eyes. Walker  always had the best beans. When she wanted to splurge on coffee, she'd  go to a designer coffee shop and buy a tiny bag of an exotic flavor.  Walker flew the damn things in directly from whatever plantation caught  his fancy.

Yet another reason she often strung late movie-watching nights into  sleepovers. Walker had all the best toys, and she wasn't above using him  for his coffee connections.

"The coffee cake you like is in the fridge."

"I saw," she said with a smile. "Nice perk."

"It's worth my while to keep it stocked for the month."

She opened her eyes, glancing at her friend. Tension radiated from him  as exhaustion lined his face. Unable to stop herself, she crossed to him  and traced a soft finger along his jaw.

"You don't have to do that," she told him softly. "I promised I'd stay  and I will, regardless of how much cake you keep on hand."

A tiny smile tugged the corner of his mouth. "I can't do this without you. Last night proves it."