Pregnant by the Maverick Millionaire(17)

       
           



       

It would be easier if he could.

As for her carrying his child...

He'd always been ambivalent about having children. As a child, his  family situation had been dysfunctional at best, screwed up at worst.  He'd been an afterthought to his parents and when his mom died, he'd  been nothing more than a burden to his head-in-the-clouds father.  Practicality had never been his dad's strong suit and, teamed with a  wildly impulsive nature, having a ten-year-old was a drag. A kid  required food, clothes and schooling, and sometimes his dad hadn't  managed any of those. To his father, Kade had been a distraction from  his art, a responsibility he'd never signed on for.

Kade felt his jaw lock as the realization smacked him in the face: his  child would be a distraction from his own career and a responsibility  he'd never signed on for.

Like father, like son.

Except he wasn't his father and he refused to follow in the man's  footsteps. It was his condom that broke; Kade was as responsible for the  pregnancy as Brodie. He took responsibility for his actions, both in  his business and in his personal life. He faced life like a man, not  like the spoiled child he'd frequently thought his father to be.

And, for some reason, he couldn't get the image of Brodie, soft and  round with pregnancy, out of his head. He could see a child sleeping on  her chest; he wanted to watch her nursing. Dammit, he could even imagine  himself changing a diaper, running after his toddler on a beach,  teaching the boy to skate.

For the first time ever, Kade could imagine being part of a family,  working for and protecting his family. Having his own little tribe.

It wouldn't be like that, really. Of course it wouldn't. Nothing ever  worked out like a fairy tale, but it was a nice daydream. He and Brodie  weren't going to have the dream but they could have  something...different.

He could share the responsibility of raising their child. Taking  responsibility meant paying all the bills their child incurred. From  pregnancy to college and beyond, he'd supply the cash. Kade hauled in  some much-needed air. Cash was the easy part. He had enough to  financially support hundreds of kids. The notion of being a father had  him gasping for air. Being a dad. Because there was a difference; he  knew that as well as he knew his own body.

He couldn't be like his father...

Kade never half-assed anything. He didn't cut corners or skimp on the  details. He worked. And then he worked some more. He worked at his  friendships; he worked at his career. He gave 110 percent, every time.

And he'd give being a dad 110 percent, as well. His child would not grow  up feeling like a failure, like an afterthought, like a burden. He  wasn't going to perpetuate that stupid cycle.

And if Brodie didn't like that, then she'd better get with the program  because that was the way it was going to be. He wasn't going to be a  husband or a long-term lover, but he'd be a damn good father and, more  importantly, he'd be there every step of the way...





Seven

Brodie placed her heels on the edge of the Adirondack chair and rested  her chin on her knees, the expansive view of the Florencia Bay blurry  from the tears she refused to let fall. She was used to being alone.  She'd made a point of it. But for the first time in nearly a decade she  felt like she could do with some help. Just a shoulder to lean on,  someone to tell her she could do this, that she was strong enough, brave  enough.

She wanted a pair of arms to hold her, someone else's strength to lift  her, a little encouragement. This was the downside of being alone,  Brodie realized. When you'd consistently kept yourself apart there was  no one you could call on. She'd made this bed and now she had to sleep  in it.

Alone.

Well, this sucked. Brodie shoved the heels of her hands into her eye  sockets and pushed, hoping the pressure would stop the burning in her  eyes. That she wanted to cry was utter madness. She was pregnant, not  dying. She was financially able to raise this child and give it  everything it needed-she had to stop calling it an it!-and this  situation didn't warrant tears. If memories didn't make her cry, then  her pregnancy had no right to. She was stronger than that.

Brodie straightened her shoulders. So she was going to be a single  mother, big deal. Millions of women all over the world did it on a daily  basis, a lot of them with fewer resources than she had. Stop being a  wuss and get on with it. Rework those plans; write a list. Do something  instead of just moping!

She needed to see a doctor and she needed to contact her lawyer. She  needed to stop thinking about stupid Kade Webb and the fact he'd accused  her of scamming him.

The jerk! Oh, she so wasn't going to think about him again. From this moment on he was her baby's sperm donor and nothing else.                       
       
           



       

She simply wasn't going to think about him again.

"Brodie."

Brodie looked up at the clear blue sky and shook her head. "Seriously?"

No one, not God, the universe or that bitch karma, answered her. Brodie  reluctantly turned her head and watched Kade walk across the patio  toward the other Adirondack chair. Without saying a word, he sat down,  rested his forearms on his thighs and dropped his hands between his  knees. Simon sat near the edge of the stairs and barked at a seagull  flying over his head.

Kade had come straight from the beach, Brodie realized. Sand clung to  his feet, which were shoved into expensive flips-flops, and clung to the  hair on his bare calves. He had nice feet. Big feet. He was a big guy,  everywhere.

And it was his everywhere that had put her into this situation. She scowled. "What now, Kade?"

Kade turned and looked at her. "I don't want to fight."

"That's fine." Brodie dropped her legs and pointed to the stairs. "So just leave."

"That's not happening, either." Kade calmly leaned back and put one  ankle onto his opposite knee. He rolled his shoulders and looked around,  taking in the wood, steel and glass cabin and the incredible view.  "This place is amazing. Do you own it?"

She had some money but not enough to own a property like this. "Poppy's."

Why was he here? Why was he back? Was he going to take more shots at  her? She didn't think she could tolerate any more this morning. She felt  nauseous and slightly dizzy and, dammit, she wanted to crawl into his  arms and rest awhile.

Huh. So she hadn't wanted just anyone to hold her, she'd wanted Kade's  arms around her. And she'd called him a moron? She took the prize.

"What do you want, Kade?" she asked, weary.

"Are you okay?" Kade waved in the direction of her stomach, his brown  eyes dark with-dare she think it?-concern. "I mean, apart from the whole  being-pregnant issue?"

"Why?"

"You just look, well, awful. You're like a pale green color. You've lost  weight and you look like you haven't slept properly in a month."

Nice to know she was looking like a wreck. Especially when the  description came from a man who graced the front covers of sports  magazines.

"Do you need to see a doctor? Maybe they could run some tests to check if there is something else wrong."

"I'm fine, Webb. I'm pregnant. I puke, a lot. I don't sleep much because I've been stressed out of my head!"

"Stressed about telling me?" Kade asked, linking his hands across his flat stomach.

Brodie stood up and went to the balustrade. "Partly. But that's done so...feel free to leave."

Kade didn't look like he was going anywhere anytime soon. He just held  her hot gaze. "I'm sorry I reacted badly." His smile was  self-deprecating and very attractive. "Not my best moment."

"Yeah, accusing me of trying to trap you was a high point," Brodie said, looking toward the beach. "Apology accepted. You can-"

"Go now? Why are you trying to get rid of me?"

"Because I have stuff to do! I need to call my lawyer, see a doctor, plan mine and the baby's future!" Brodie cried.

Kade stood up, walked over to her and touched her cheek with his fingers. "It's not going to be like that, Brodie."

"Like what?" Brodie whispered.

"I know you think you are going to do this alone-because, hell, you like being self-reliant-but I'm in it for the long haul."

"What?" Brodie demanded, thrown off-kilter. What was he talking about?

"I am going to be this baby's father in every way that counts."

Brodie looked at him, aghast. What was happening here? "Wha-at?"

"You're going to have to learn to be part of a team, Brodie, because  that's what we are, from this point on." Kade tapped her nose and stood  back, his stance casual. But his eyes, dark and serious and oh, so  determined, told another story.

"I don't understand."

"I am not going anywhere. We're in this. Together."