Her Little Secret, His Hidden Heir(34)

Then they'd discussed having another child. One he would know about and be involved with from the very beginning.

"So," Vanessa prompted. "What's my surprise?" She tilted her head and   shot him an impish grin, one he couldn't resist kissing off her lips.

Breaking away much sooner than he would have liked, he reached into the   back pocket of his khaki chinos and pulled out a folded-over,  full-color  catalog. He let it fall open and held it up for her to see.

"Oh, my God!" She gave a squeal of pleasure and grabbed it up, studying   the front and back covers first, then flipping through each individual   page. "I can't believe it's finally ready. It's wonderful!"

It was The Sugar Shack's very first mail-order catalog, but Marc   sincerely hoped it wouldn't be the last. Since leaving Pittsburgh, he'd   thrown himself wholeheartedly into helping Vanessa build her business.   He still drove into the city occasionally to take care of Keller Corp   affairs, but was content to allow his brother to deal with the daily   running of that company and the family's other major holdings.

In addition to designing the catalog, he'd set up a website for the   bakery and was looking into rental spaces in other surrounding towns   with an eye toward opening more Sugar Shack bakeries in multiple   locations.                       
       
           



       

"I have more good news," he said while she continued to admire the pages of the catalog.

"What?" she asked, lifting her head and looking positively giddy.

He smiled in return, because he couldn't seem to help himself. "Adam and   I finalized an agreement this morning to open a Sugar Shack bakery in   the lobby of the Keller Corp building."

Marc expected her to shriek with joy and throw her arms around her neck, but instead she grew quiet and simply studied him.

"What's the matter?" he asked, cocking his head in confusion. "I thought you would be happy about this."

She nodded. "I am. Everything you've done has been wonderful-more than Aunt Helen and I ever could have imagined."

"But … ?"

Her mouth twisted, her eyes growing concerned. "But I worry about what   your mother will think of you and Adam working together to put my   business in the lobby of your family's company headquarters. And if we   really do move back to the city one of these days the way we've   discussed … "

She trailed off and he could see every one of her doubts playing across her face.

"She already knows," he told her.

Her mouth went slack with shock.

"According to Adam, she's asked about us several times, and he's been   updating her. I don't want to get your hopes up-" he grinned as she   rolled her eyes at the possibility "-but he seems to think she might be   coming around."

Vanessa gave a disbelieving snort and he chuckled. "All right. So she'll   never be the cookie-baking, story-telling sort of mother or  grandmother  we might wish she were, but I think walking away and  cutting her out of  our lives for a while showed her that I'm serious in  my devotion to  you. You're my wife and I won't allow anyone or  anything to ever hurt  you or come between us again. Not even the woman  who gave birth to me."

Stepping forward, she rested her hands and then her head on his chest. "Are you sorry?" she murmured against his shirt.

Framing her face with his hands, he tipped her chin up and met her storm   blue gaze. "Not even a little bit. I don't ever want you to think  that,  okay? You and Danny-" he tipped his head toward their  crumb-covered son  "-and this tiny tyke here-" he pressed a hand flat to  her growing belly  "-are all that matter to me. I haven't closed the  door on rebuilding a  relationship with my mother, but I wouldn't trade  my life now with the  three of you for anything in the world. Do you  understand?"

It took her a second, but she nodded slowly, and he stared into her eyes until he was sure she believed him.

"Good. Then I'll get our little Cookie Monster cleaned up while you go   show your aunt the new catalog. Hopefully it will put her in a good   enough mood that we can ask her to watch Danny for a while this   afternoon."

"Why?" Vanessa asked.

His mouth spread in a wolfish grin and he leaned in to brush his lips   across hers. "Because I'm in the mood for something sweet."

Cocking her head to the side, she narrowed her eyes, giving him a   sultry, seductive look. "Well, this is a bakery. Sweets are what we're   all about."

He gave a low growl at her wicked flirtation and nearly told her how   lucky she was that Danny was with them and the bakery was fronted by   floor-to-ceiling plate glass windows. Otherwise, he would be lifting her   onto one of the countertops and divesting her of her clothes already.

"What I want isn't on the menu."

"So you have a special order?" she asked, batting those lashes until he felt his insides start to boil.

He nodded, mouth gone too dry to respond.

"Lucky for you, and thanks to my very business-savvy husband, we're set   up to take special orders now. You may have to pay extra for shipping   and handling, though."

Lips twitching, he said in a low voice, "That shouldn't be a problem. In case you haven't heard, I'm rich."

She smiled softly and reached up to wrap her arms around his neck. "So am I," she whispered.

And neither of them were talking about their bank accounts.