“I could do that. There’s a rose garden where Jilly often took photographs, with a sundial in the center. A bench would fit in perfectly. Many people could sit and enjoy the surroundings.”
Desmond nodded slowly. “I might come and sit there myself.”
“Good.” He could tolerate that, Nick decided, rising to his feet. He held out his hand. “I’m glad we’ve resolved our differences.” He only hoped the coming confrontation with Candace was going to proceed as smoothly.
Nick knew Desmond Perry would no longer present a threat to his family.
Candace was reclining on a lounger in the shade under the poolside umbrella, rubbing the fluff that was Jennie’s hair dry after a lunchtime swim in the pool, when she heard the scrape of the sliding doors and looked up.
Her pulse picked up as Nick emerged from the house. He’d left early for work this morning, and Candace discovered that she’d missed him. She’d gotten used to the three of them— Nick, Jennie and her—sharing breakfast on the deck on the sunny early mornings but he’d kept himself away since she’d turned down his proposal.
It had left her feeling restless.
Sitting up, she set down the towel and pulled the T-shirt Jennie wore straight, then checked to see that the sarong she’d donned over her own damp swimsuit hadn’t parted to reveal her tummy or legs. Since she’d made love with Nick, she’d taken great care not to allow any opportunity for those burning moments of awareness to arise.
“She’s a real water baby,” she remarked, stroking Jennie’s head before glancing back up to Nick.
“The signs were always there,” said Nick. He barely glanced at Candace’s scantily clad body as he pulled up a chair from the table arrangement where they ate in the morning. “I need to talk to you.”
His face was stern.
“Yes?”
“Desmond has agreed to withdraw the application for custody of Jennie.”
She couldn’t stop the huge grin that lit up her face. “That’s fabulous news. Nick, I’m so relieved. When?”
“As we speak. My lawyers are talking to his.”
“Oh, I could hug you.” Then she wished she hadn’t added they last bit as his face remained set. Nick didn’t even joke in response. Something was wrong. “There’s more isn’t there?”
“I found Jilly’s journal and I’ve been reading her appointment book.”
He paused.
Candace waited, feeling puzzled at the withdrawal she sensed in him. On her lap, Jennie grew restless.
“Do you know that you’re not named as Jennie’s mother on the birth certificate?”
She frowned at the switch in subject. “You said that when I first told you I was Jennie’s mother. I thought you’d simply never seen it.” It had seemed typical of the remote, uninvolved father she’d pegged him to be. “That can’t be right.”
She didn’t like the way he was watching her, like a dark panther waiting to pounce on the first slip she made. She swung her legs to the ground so that she was perched on the edge of the lounger. Spreading the biggest towel on the deck in front of the lounger, she placed Jennie on it and handed her a teething ring. Immediately, Jennie started to chew.
“You had a midwife at the birth.”
“Yes—Jilly wanted the home experience, she thought it would give you and her a better chance to bond with the baby than a hospital birth, where your involvement would be minimal.” Candace paused. “She even said you’d decided not to be present because you would be overseas. Thinking about it now, you wouldn’t even have known about the birth, right?”
He shook his head. “I didn’t. Jilly told me she was three weeks off her due date, that it would be a good time to take a trip to meet three new suppliers…and on the way home I attended a gardeners’ conference. I thought there was still plenty of time.”
“Oh.” It put paid to another assumption she’d made. “It was fortunate for Jilly the timing worked out.”
“Yes.” He was still watching her, but the flat line of his mouth had softened.
Candace found she was breathing easier. “When you failed to turn up at Jennie’s birth, I started to grow truly worried about what kind of father you would be. I told Jilly I wished I hadn’t signed away my right to stay in contact with the baby after the birth. Jilly was quick to point out that she’d always made it clear that you didn’t really want to know about the surrogate, that you wanted to pretend the baby was Jilly’s. But I couldn’t understand how any father would want to miss such a momentous occasion.”