The Boss's Baby Affair(32)

Yet if he did that, he’d be left with the biggest headache of all. Nick wasn’t certain that if he took Candace in every way he dreamed, he’d be left intact. Would the burning passion consume more of his sense of self than he was willing to risk?

Then there was the impact a hot, reckless affair with Candace would have on the baby. Would it jeopardize his relationship with Jennie?

Yet this was hardly the kind of question Nick could bring himself to ask his lawyer.



The call from Apple Orchards Rest Home came just after Candace had fed Jennie her lunch in the garden on a picnic blanket overlooking the ocean.

Candace’s mother had suffered a fall, the kindly rest home director explained, once she’d allayed Candace’s fears of the worst. Nothing was broken—the x-ray had confirmed that. But her mother had been badly shaken.

Candace promised to come at once.

Terminating the call, Candace considered Jennie, who’d crawled to the edge of the picnic rug, her hand reaching for a cluster of tiny white daisies that had sprung up in the immaculately kept lawn.

In principle, today was Candace’s day off. She hadn’t taken time off because she’d wanted to stay close to Jennie in the wake of the confrontation with Nick. To be truthful, despite the confirmation that she was Jennie’s biological mother, an unreasoning fear lingered that if she left the property she might not be able to gain access again.

Candace knew she was overreacting.

Yet it was impossible to forget that bone-chilling moment outside the café when Nick had told her he was taking Jennie home and she could collect her paycheck from his office.

In her mind Candace had seen the tall gates of the Valentine mansion closing to her forever. She’d known it would be impossible to get back into Jennie’s world once she’d been shut out…and that primal fear lingered. Enough for her to have decided against visiting her mother today. But now her mom had taken a fall.

The guilt was hard to shake.

Candace knew Mrs. Busby was more than capable of looking after the baby for a few hours while she checked on her mom. Yet she hesitated. Mrs. Busby had her own responsibilities. Wednesday was the day she planned the week’s meals and did the shopping. Candace hated the thought of throwing Mrs. Busby’s schedule off. Nor did she want to arouse the housekeeper’s curiosity. To raise questions Candace didn’t want to be forced to answer…

The alternative course was to leave Jennie with Alison. But that was quickly ruled out when she learned that Alison had gone with her husband to an urgent meeting. Turning her attention back to the baby, now with a fistful of daisies, Candace considered Jennie. A smear of apple puree on her chin had Candace reaching for a cloth. The baby laughed as Candace wiped it, and love for Jennie swept through her.

There was no other choice. She’d take Jennie with her to check on her mother, because she had no intention of asking her baby’s father for help. Ever since yesterday, she’d been plagued by unwanted images, her body prickling with unwelcome awareness of the man who was starting to consume far too much of her thoughts. He was Jennie’s father, for heaven’s sake. He could never be her lover…

She could not allow herself to need Nick Valentine.





Eight





“Mrs. Timmings is here to see you.”

Nick glanced up at his PA. Alison had been remarkably patient—he’d been expecting to hear from her long before this. His sister had always had an overwhelming interest in his life…and the bombshell he’d dropped about Candace announcing she was Jennie’s mother would’ve been driving Alison crazy.

He knew he should’ve contacted her and told her the outcome of the DNA tests. Alison would’ve expected it of him.

With a mental sigh he said, “I’ll be with her in a minute.”

His sister appeared in the doorway behind Pauline. “Too late. I’m already here.”

Nick mentally braced himself for the scolding to come. “How are you, Alison?”

She settled herself in one of the four chairs arranged around a table in a sunny spot in front of the glass wall looking out over the lake and parklands beyond.

Getting up from the black leather executive chair behind his desk, Nick crossed to the table where his sister sat and pulled out the chair beside her.

“Not good. Richard has received notice from the NorthPark Mall Group that our appliance stores have to move out of all their shopping centers.”

Nick gave her a sharp look, his already overloaded brain whirling with this new setback. But at least Alison wasn’t asking about Candace…or Jennie.

“Have you and Richard defaulted on a payment?” he asked.