At last she said, “What are we going to do?”
We?
Nick stared at the woman sitting, legs outstretched, on the floor beside him, while their baby inched forward half crawling, half sliding as she tried to reach for a brightly colored ball. The firm hold of Candace’s hand warmed him.
“It’s not your problem,” he said automatically.
Her eyes sparkled. “Of course it’s my problem. I’m Jennie’s mother. You’re not going to leave me out in the cold on this.”
“It would weaken Desmond’s crazy suit to announce that Jennie is not Jilly’s child—she’s yours.” It was a dangerous move. And it would give Candace an advantage that he would never be able to regain. Still, it might be a risk worth taking. “That way Desmond can claim no biological tie with the baby.”
“It will cause a scandal.”
“I don’t care.” But he hadn’t thought about how it would affect her, and he discovered that he didn’t have any desire to see her hurt or humiliated. “Will it matter to you if I announce it to the world?”
“Of course not!” A luminosity lit her gray eyes that made her more beautiful than ever. “I can think of nothing more wonderful than being publicly branded as Jennie’s mother.”
The moment of truth had come—if he announced that she was Jennie’s mother, there would be no going back, there’d be no more talk of her leaving…
When she’d first told him that she was Jennie’s mother, he’d wanted her out of the baby’s life at all costs. But she’d called to something deep and dark and primitive in him, something he didn’t fully comprehend.
All Nick knew was that he wasn’t going to let her go.
The decision he’d come to the night he’d lost his senses returned from where he’d buried it at the back of his consciousness…it was a plan. A plan that might even work.
Thinking about it, he realized it was a team solution. We. He was starting to like the sound of that.
“Then marry me,” he said simply.
“What?”
Her eyes darkened with disbelief.
“If you marry me, then as her biological parents we will be able to show any judge that living with us is the best solution for Jennie. Together we will refute any evidence that Desmond might choose to present that Jennie is neglected. She has a father and mother who love her, and a safe and secure home. What more could any child need?”
And best of all, not only would he get to keep Jennie… Candace would never be able to leave.
“It’s the best solution for Jennie,” said Nick.
The best solution for Jennie? If she married him, Candace knew she would get hurt. Marrying a man she was falling in love with, living with him day by day, but never loved by him in return…
It sounded like hell on earth.
In her shock she couldn’t think of anything logical to say, so she stated the obvious. “I’m not the kind of woman a man like you marries.”
“What is the kind of woman a man like me marries?” One dark eyebrow arched up. “Someone like Jilly?”
Help.
“She’d be better suited to be your wife than me.”
“I have to disagree.” One of his hands let hers go and he cupped her face, his thumb stroking her jawline. “I don’t think anyone would make a better mother for Jennie than you would.”
Her insides melted.
“You might even already be pregnant with a sister or brother to Jennie. I didn’t use protection the other night—or are you on the pill?”
Unfair.
“No, I’m not. But it’s highly unlikely…I’ve already worked it out. So don’t feel you have to marry me for that reason.”
“I don’t have to do anything. But marrying me will be the best thing to do.”
Why was he suggesting this? Nick had spent seven years in a loveless union . Last time he’d been trapped into it. This time he was volunteering it of his own accord. What was he thinking by proposing such an arrangement?
The answer came to her at once.
He was doing it for Jennie.
Nick was prepared to sacrifice himself. Out of his love for his daughter.
For Jennie.
Candace glanced down at the baby playing obliviously with blocks…and her heart ached. Tears pricked at the back of her throat. She’d come here to work as Jennie’s nanny because she’d been convinced that Nick was neglecting her baby. She’d known he didn’t love Jennie with the same depth of emotion that she did. She’d been ready to take Jennie away.
Now he’d just proved conclusively how much he loved their daughter.
Drawing a deep shaky breath, Candace returned her attention to the man who had turned all her assumptions about him upside down. “But what about you?” It was a cry from her heart. She didn’t want him to give up so much for his daughter. “It’s certainly not the best solution for you—you’ll be trapped in a marriage you don’t want all over again.”