The Boss's Baby Affair(53)

“Believe me, I won’t regret this. We can’t be lovers. It won’t work.” She said it with a finality that she hoped was convincing. And prayed he wouldn’t recognize the undertone of desperation in her voice.





Twelve





The throaty roar of the Ferrari coming up the driveway caused the tension that had been lurking in the pit of Candace’s stomach since Nick had made love to her two days ago to tighten another notch.

Run. Hide.

The anxiety that had been gnawing at her resurfaced. You’re not in love with him. Candace sharply pulled herself together. There was no need to run, and she wasn’t retreating to hide in the nursery. She was going to stay seated right where she was—on the carpet of the upstairs sitting room, playing with Jennie.

“You’re losing it,” she admonished herself. “Nick’s home. So what?”

The memory of the time he’d kissed her here in this very place after she’d held the ice pack to his head flashed through her mind. Oh, God. Nowhere was safe from him, from the emotions he aroused in her.

Then Jennie gurgled, and, as always, Candace’s heart warmed.

The baby’s smile put everything in perspective.

She’d done nothing wrong. So she’d slept with Nick Valentine—a foolish mistake. Hardly the love of a lifetime. She had to keep telling herself that. Despite the starbursts of intense pleasure the experience had released, despite the sense of inevitability about what had happened, it was an error of judgment she bitterly regretted.

But there was no reason for it to cause her this much distress.

Except if there were consequences…

Candace told herself there wouldn’t be. It was the wrong time of month. But she’d been reckless. Stupid. It was time to come to terms with what had happened, take the necessary steps to deal with any unfortunate circumstances and move on. She couldn’t allow every thought of Nick to keep causing her heart palpitations.

The only problem was that Nick was making it incredibly difficult to put that night behind her.

Every look, every comment, seemed to be calculated to throw her into a state of confusion, where desire warred with good sense.

Even now, the sound of his footsteps coming up the marble stairway made her pulse go wild.

Nick was coming!

For one panicky moment Candace wished she’d retreated to the nursery when she’d had the opportunity. Then she steadied herself.

Get over it.

But the sight of his grim face knocked her off the frivolous emotional seesaw of her own dilemma.

“What’s wrong?”

Something terrible had clearly happened.

Nick crossed the carpet, tossed a large envelope on the coffee table, and reached for Jennie.

“Nick…” The cold, set expression on his face as he lifted the baby into his arms unnerved her. “What’s happened?”

He turned his head and gazed at her over the baby’s head. There was a blank opacity in his eyes that made her heart stop. “Talk to me,” she said. “You’re scaring me.”

“Desmond—” He broke off, burying his face in Jennie’s neck.

“What about him?” What could his father-in-law have done to evoke this kind of reaction?

“He wants Jennie.”

“What do you mean?” Chills goosed over her skin. “What’s going on?”

“He’s launched legal action.” Nick raised his head and nodded toward the envelope he’d cast onto the table. “He wants custody of Jennie.”

Candace covered her face with her hands. “Oh, my God.” Spreading her fingers, she raised her head and stared helplessly at Nick. “Will he get it?”

“Not while I breathe.” Determination turned his voice to steel. “He has money and power, but so do I. And this time I’m going to fight him.”

“Why is he doing this?”

Nick hesitated, then said reluctantly, “He claims that I am a womanizer, that Jennie is neglected. It appears it was sparked by seeing you with me at the carnival—perhaps he thought I’d defiled his daughter’s memory. That I’d already replaced her…with you.”

That only made her feel so much worse. Because Desmond hadn’t been wrong. By the end of the day she had been in Nick’s bed. Jilly’s bed. Oh, darn… How sordid.

So much for putting it all behind her. It was proving to be impossible.

“Surely he won’t have a case? He’d have to prove you grossly neglected Jennie.” Anyone could see that wasn’t true. Jennie was exploring the buttons of his chest, so at home in his arms that it brought a lump to Candace’s throat.

Nick’s mouth slanted up. “Even you thought that was true at one time.”