The noise stopped abruptly. Eyeing him assessingly, Jennie cooed and blew a raspberry.
Nick couldn’t help himself—he laughed, then leaned down and planted a kiss on her plump cheek. It was soft, like a peach. A wave of emotion rushed through him.
What did it matter if she wasn’t his child? No one except he would ever know that Jilly had played him for a fool.
There was no point in maintaining the distance he’d been keeping from Jennie. She didn’t deserve to suffer; after all, she was the only innocent party in the entire mess.
And if he wanted, she could be his. All his.
“You are a hellion,” he said, impressed.
She gave him a gummy smile and capitulated, allowing him to put her into the stroller.
In that moment Nick felt his heart constrict and he fell irrevocably in love.
“You’re also a wicked flirt,” he scolded Jennie as the clip for the restraining strap locked into place.
A movement out the corner of his eye had him lifting his head. Candace was watching them. The look in her eyes was full of yearning, but as she caught him studying her, shutters dropped into place.
It was possible that Candace was as ready as he to take their relationship to its inevitable conclusion. Yet Nick suspected that Candace would want more than simply sex. And while he could never tell her the true reason why he’d held Jennie at a distance, it might help to divulge the precarious position he was in with Valentine’s. It wouldn’t be easy to share that knowledge; he’d always handled his problems by himself, in his own way. He’d never been the kind of man who shared his concerns.
Maybe it was time to let a little of his tightly leashed control slip.
The idea of letting his control slip became even more attractive as Nick followed Candace through the rose-covered archway and down the pathway to the landscaped parklands by the lake. He couldn’t help but notice the pert curve of her bottom under the fitted, narrow black jeans. Her long legs picked up speed when the path dipped as they approached the water’s edge, causing the stroller to roll faster and faster. In the breeze her blond hair streamed like a banner over her shoulders.
When he caught up to her at the edge of the lake, she wasn’t even breathing hard.
“This is a wonderful spot.” She knelt down and pointed at the water. “See the ducks, Jennie?”
At last he’d done something she approved of. Nick couldn’t stop the surge of pleasure.
Jennie was sitting bolt upright, starfish fingers pushing on the arms of the stroller, her eyes wide with excitement.
For the first time since leaving his office, Nick started to relax. This might work. There was still a chance for them…for him and Jennie.
More than a chance.
Resolve set in and Nick’s jaw firmed. He had a responsibility to Jennie. He’d agreed to donate his seed for the baby Jilly wanted, even though he knew, almost to the day, that Jilly had changed her mind. She’d stopped talking about their baby…started talking about her baby. Initially, it hadn’t sunk in that she’d found another donor…a lover. Hindsight was twenty-twenty.
Yet after Jilly’s return from the fertility clinic on the Southeast Asian island of Namkhet, he’d been sure of it. It wasn’t his sperm that had impregnated Jilly….
But Nick no longer cared. All that mattered was the baby leaning forward in the stroller, her eyes gleaming with delight. So vital and full of life. The child everyone believed to be his daughter. He spared a glance at the woman kneeling beside the stroller. Candace had made her opinion clear—he didn’t deserve Jennie. But what did her opinion matter? Jennie could be his daughter…all he needed to do was accept her. He’d already made a start. It was proving to be much easier than he’d ever imagined—and the rewards were pure pleasure.
And little Jennie didn’t know it was a lie. To Jennie he was the only father she’d known.
Nick vowed that he would make it work. He would prove Candace wrong. He was the only family Jennie had.
A pair of black swans glided toward them, long necks gracefully arched. Candace started to smile as Jennie beat her arms up and down and let out a squeak. Even Nick grinned at the baby’s antics.
“Sorry, no food.” Candace spread her hands out as the swans slowed in front of them.
“Look, there are even eels,” Nick said as an inquisitive nose poked out the water. “See?” Jennie was all eyes. “Want to take a closer look?”
Not liking the sound of that, Candace said quickly, “She’s fine in the stroller.”
But Nick ignored her warning and unclipped the restraint. “Come on,” he told Jennie. “I’ll show you.”