Buch lesen: «Christmas Baby For The Billionaire»

CHAPTER ONE

THERE WERE MORNINGS when a girl just didn’t want to get out of bed, but she had to because a) she had to pee and b) she had to go to work because no one else was going to pay the bills.

Tori closed her eyes, gathered her get-up-and-go and threw off the covers. It wasn’t that she didn’t like her job; she loved it. The Sandpiper Resort was her life. She’d started there doing housekeeping as a teenager and had worked her way up to assistant general manager, overseeing many of the day-to-day operations. Stepping inside the doors each morning felt as much like being at home as entering her own small house, bought just last year.

So even though she was bone tired, despite having slept all night, she flipped on the light switch and turned on the shower. At least the morning sickness had been fleeting, lasting only a few weeks and consisting mostly of inconvenient nausea. Now in her second trimester, she simply got tired more easily. And was in the process of overhauling her wardrobe. Things didn’t fit anymore now that her baby bump had made an appearance.

Thirty minutes later, hair blow-dried and makeup on, she left the house with her decaf coffee in a travel mug and made the five-minute drive to work. It had been mild for November, and she didn’t have to scrape the frost off her windshield this morning, which was a plus. On arriving at the hotel, she stepped inside, inhaling the fresh scent of evergreens. Once Remembrance Day had passed, the Christmas decorations had come out, turning the resort into a fairyland of white twinkle lights and pungent pine and spruce boughs punctuated with gorgeous red and gold bows. She greeted the staff at the front desk with a smile, then stopped at the kitchen to ask for a toasted bagel and some fruit—her usual breakfast fare.

“You need some eggs for the little one, there?” Neil asked, his chef’s hat bobbing. “Mamas need protein.”

She grinned. “When are you gonna stop pampering me?” she asked, taking a sip of her coffee. For a few weeks, she’d been turned off the smell of the brew. Now she inhaled the richness of it and sighed.

“Never,” he replied, his eyes crinkling at the corners. Neil had been working in this kitchen since before she’d started cleaning rooms. Pretty soon his granddaughter would be looking for a summer job.

Eggs did sound good this morning, so she smiled. “You know how I like them,” she acquiesced. “Thanks, Neil. You’re a gem.”

“You betcha.”

Ten minutes later one of the waitstaff brought her breakfast, as well as a glass of milk. “Neil says you need your calcium,” Ellen said, and even though she was younger than Tori, her voice came across as motherly.

“Neil is being overprotective and I love it,” she remarked, smiling up at the waitress who’d joined their team last May. “Thanks.” She unrolled her cutlery from the napkin. “Everything going okay in the dining room?”

Ellen nodded. “Slower now that the leaves are gone and no one really comes for the beach.”

“I know. I’m sorry about the cut hours.”

“It’s okay. It’s a seasonal thing. We all get it.”

“We’ve got some holiday events planned, so if you’re up for working those, I’ll make sure you’re on the list for scheduling.” The ticketed events always meant decent tips, and Ellen’s eyes lit up.

“I’d appreciate that. Thanks, Tori.”

“No problem. It helps a bit when regular hours are short and Christmas is coming.” Besides, Ellen had proved herself to be competent and reliable. Throwing a few extra hours her way was small reward.

Once Ellen was gone, Tori dug into her breakfast. Neil had added cheese to her eggs, and a little parsley…delicious. There were two slices of honeydew and a little dish of fresh strawberries, plus a whole-grain bagel with her favorite topping—plain cream cheese sprinkled with cinnamon sugar.

They really were a family around here, taking care of each other. Which was good for Tori, because it was only her and her mom now. Her mom, Shelley, was a nurse and had taken a job at the hospital in Lunenburg. It wasn’t far away, but after Tori’s father had died of cancer, Shelley had moved into an apartment right in the town for convenience. It put her about fifty kilometers away—close enough for weekly visits.

Tori put her hand on the swell of her belly. Now she was going to have her own family. And she was happy, deep down. The question of whether or not to have the baby hadn’t even been brought up. She didn’t have much family, and now she’d have a baby to love, and he or she would love her in return. Her mother would have a grandchild. Circumstances weren’t ideal, but Tori had started thinking of this pregnancy as a surprise blessing.

The bagel caught in her throat and she took a deep drink of the milk to wash it down along with the unease that kept nagging her when she thought of her decision not to tell the father—at least not yet. Every time she’d determined to say nothing, she heard her mother’s voice telling her that Jeremy deserved to know. The problem was, she agreed with her mom. She wasn’t going to be able to keep this from him forever. She just had to figure out the logistics. The right way.

Jeremy Fisher… What had she been thinking, getting caught up with him last summer? It had been two weeks of sheer bliss, during which time she’d completely lost her head. They’d agreed it was a holiday romance, and boy, had they made the most of their time together. When it was over, he’d gone back to his life in New York and she’d been left behind in small-town Nova Scotia, in a tiny house on the water. And that had been exactly as she’d wanted it. She wasn’t a fairy-tale kind of woman, with dreams of being whisked away to a lavish lifestyle and a happy ever after. Well, she had been, once. She’d been swept off her feet by a handsome man with tons of plans. Riley had seemed perfect on the surface. And she’d fallen for him, hard.

Until she realized he’d been living a double life. He’d showered her with gifts and affection, but behind it all was a history of defrauding people and going into debt. For a long time she’d blamed herself for being so stupid.

She bit into a strawberry and considered her summer affair. Perhaps her “relationship” with Jeremy had been different because from the start there had been no question that it would be anything other than a fling. Indeed, it had been quite out of character for her, considering he was a guest at the resort. But they’d been discreet. And after two years of hard work, losing her dad and feeling alone, she’d given herself permission to enjoy this one thing.

She hadn’t thought there’d be these kinds of consequences.

The power dynamic hadn’t mattered during those few weeks. But it mattered now. Jeremy was a rich, powerful man, and she was…well, not nobody. She had enough self-esteem to give herself that much. But she certainly didn’t have the same clout and resources at her disposal, and it made for a very uneven balance between them.

She shook her head and pushed her plate aside, eager to get to work. The hotel manager, Thomas, was on vacation this week, so it was up to Tori to steer the ship. She spent the morning at her desk, then met with the housekeeping manager and the catering manager about requirements for a holiday function scheduled for mid-December. There was a Christmas wedding planned for the weekend before the twenty-fifth, and another on New Year’s Eve, where the ceremony would actually begin just before midnight so the bride and groom would be the first married couple of the new year. They were making a number of special accommodations for that event, from late checkout the next day to food service at one in the morning. The couple was willing to pay, so the hotel was willing to take their business.

It was mid-afternoon when she got up to do a walk-around, to get out of her office and to talk to staff and see what was happening. It was her favorite time of the day, actually, chatting with the staff, wandering through her second home, caring for it with love and affection. She made a note of a ding in a corner wall that would need to be touched up with paint, and gave a mental check mark to whoever had cleaned the public bathrooms on the lobby level. They sparkled and smelled like the hotel’s custom lemongrass-and-ginger scent. She greeted staff by name and made a few more notes about additional Christmas decorations that could be added to the dining room and small on-site gift shop. Maybe business was slower this time of year, but for those who did arrive for an escape or a special dinner, the hotel would show to best advantage.

She was just returning to the administration offices when the front door blew open, bringing in a smattering of brown leaves and rain; a man was propelled in with them, shaking his arms to rid his coat of water droplets.

She turned to the sound…and froze.

“Tori?”

She’d never known that a person could feel blood rush out of their face, but she felt it now.

No.

No, no, no, no, no.

He couldn’t be here. This was all wrong.

“Jeremy.”

He grinned widely, his thousand-watt smile hitting her right in the solar plexus. Why did he have to be so handsome? “I hoped you’d be here. What’s it been? Four months?”

Four months, three weeks, and five days, she wanted to answer, but nothing came out of her mouth. What was he doing here? And could she escape without him noticing the obvious?

No such luck. At her silence, his gaze swept down, then back up, and his eyes were filled with questions and confusion. Of course, she’d chosen today to unveil her new maternity wardrobe. Her condition was perfectly plain for all to see.

“Why don’t you step into my office?” she asked, pulling herself together. “We can catch up. What brings you back to the Sandpiper?” Her voice came out smooth and steady, thankfully. It wouldn’t do for him to see her discomposed.

She turned her back and started toward the offices, her body trembling. Not just because of the lie of omission he’d caught her in, but because just the sight of him still had the power to turn her knees to jelly.

It had been a very good few weeks, after all. Too good.

She heard his steps behind her and once they were in her office, she shut the door. Staff might be family, but they didn’t need to hear every conversation, and no one here knew the identity of her baby’s father. She and Jeremy had tried to be discreet.

Her office was small, and felt smaller still with him in it. She turned around and faced him, finally, attempting to put up an emotional wall so she could maintain her objectivity. It was harder than she’d imagined. Jeremy had a presence about him that was magnetic. Today he was dressed in a charcoal-gray suit with a precisely knotted tie, and an overcoat that protected him from the cold Atlantic wind. His hair was tousled, as though the ocean breeze had fingers it had run through the strands, making them seem carelessly styled, and tiny drops of rain sparkled on the top. And his eyes… Right now his eyes were the same steel gray as the white-capped waves along the shore. Cold and unhappy. Her tummy turned over with anxiety.

“What brings you back to the area?” she asked, feigning a smile, skirting around him to sit behind her desk. Her tummy was hidden that way…

“Real estate. And I thought I’d look you up again while I was here. I didn’t expect to find you pregnant.”

The blunt statement hit her like a slap. So much for the hope of him not cluing in. It had been a long shot but she’d held out a smidgen of hope that her top might have camouflaged her bump.

She shrugged. “To be honest, it was a surprise to me, too.”

“Is it mine?”

Her stomach plummeted. There was no beating around the bush with him. Never had been. Right from the start, he’d been up front about his attraction to her. He’d been staying in their best suite and she’d checked in on him on the first day to make sure everything was okay. They’d ended up chatting for a long time, about the area and about how different it was from his life in the Big Apple. When he’d invited her out for a drink she’d said yes, and it had been over a pomegranate martini that he’d told her she had the most intriguing eyes of anyone he’d ever met. She’d been charmed…and wooed.

She’d admired his confidence and honesty then, though she wasn’t such a big fan of it at this moment.

For the briefest time, she considered saying no. It would solve a lot. But that simple answer was complicated by the small matter of her conscience. She had already been struggling with the fact that she hadn’t yet told him about the pregnancy. Then there was a certain amount of integrity at stake. There had been no one else. He’d been the only one.

“Of course it is. I don’t…make a habit of what happened between us.”

He regarded her dispassionately. “How was I to know that? And were you ever going to tell me?”

Curse her and her honesty. She held his gaze, determined not to cower. “Eventually. And thanks for that wonderful endorsement of my character. It’s always pleasant to be shamed by your baby’s father.”

He let out a breath and turned away for a moment, before turning back again. His gray eyes were contrite. “I’m sorry. That was uncalled for. It’s just… This is a hell of a surprise, Tori.”

“Yes,” she said, “I’m sure it is.”

“When…how…?”

Tori picked up a pen and played with it, resolving to keep up her appearance of strength. “We both know the answer to that question. Early July, and presumably one of the times we had sex.”

She did not call it making love, though it had certainly felt like that at the time. Her cheeks heated as a memory swept through her. As hokey as it sounded, she had a feeling that she knew exactly when it had happened. They’d spent the day at the beach, splashing about in the water and having a picnic on the sand. And then in the late afternoon they’d gone back to her place and had finished off the day by taking their sweet time with each other.

He’d been a fantastic lover. Gentle, attentive, passionate.

Now, with him standing in her office, at the very least unhappy and very likely angry, those sweet memories were somehow tarnished.

He let out a huge breath. “May I sit?”

She held out a hand. “Of course.” She wasn’t exactly in a position to deny him anything right now, was she? The fears she’d had about him knowing about the baby were all crammed into her brain and she fought hard to ignore them. Perhaps she could put him off somehow, so she could prepare what she wanted to say to him.

He pulled out the guest chair, then shrugged out of his coat and laid it over the back before sitting. He leaned forward onto his knees, resting on his elbows. Tori bit down on her lip. It wasn’t fair that he was so handsome. His brown hair and strong chin were reminiscent of JFK Jr., to her mind, but instead of his eyes being a rich brown, they were gray and heavily lashed. And right now they were looking at her with something like accusation and disappointment in their depths.

“I’m going to be a father,” he said, his voice rough. “You’re halfway through your pregnancy… When were you going to tell me?”

Her hands shook so she folded them on top of her desk. “I don’t know. I was waiting for the right time, and I’ve been going back and forth about it every day.” She figured honesty was the best policy here; Jeremy would see through any attempt to mollify or placate him, and he’d definitely sense a lie.

His voice hardened. “I have a right to know.”

This was the hard part. Just this morning she’d come to work like any other day. There was comfort in that. More than anything, Jeremy transported her out of her comfort zone and she struggled to find her feet in order to deal with this conversation.

She met his gaze again. “Our circumstances are a bit unique, you know. We had a fling. We live far apart, in two very different worlds. And I have no idea how to structure a co-parenting arrangement with someone who is, in many ways, a stranger.” She took a breath. “You have resources I don’t and I would lose in any sort of power struggle if you made a play for custody.” There. She’d said it. No sense beating around the bush.

He sat back then, the questions in his eyes replaced by… Could it be? He was hurt by her last statement. Or at least offended. Her pulse was hammering so hard right now she couldn’t quite trust her observations.

“Do you really think I’d do such a thing?”

She sat up straighter. “As I said, we don’t really know each other, do we? It wasn’t a chance I was willing to take. I’d die before letting someone take my baby away.”

Jeremy tried to breathe through the cramping in his chest. He’d been looking forward to surprising Tori today. Work had brought him back to the area on behalf of a client and he’d imagined reigniting the flame that had raged between them last summer. Truthfully, he hadn’t been able to get her out of his head, and this work trip on Branson’s behalf had given him the perfect excuse to get her out of his system once and for all.

Instead he’d found her carrying his baby. The pregnancy shook him to the core, but the veiled accusation he’d just heard…that was a real gut punch.

He was a straight shooter and liked to think he was a good man. But right now he held back the words forming in his brain and those already stuck in his throat. Because he was confused, and angry, and another emotion he couldn’t quite place. Hurt was part of it. And maybe disappointed. It was just a mess.

With his child stuck in the middle.

This was his worst nightmare. A family, kids—a wife, even—were not on his agenda.

“We used protection,” he said numbly.

“Which isn’t a hundred percent reliable. We were pretty careful, but…” Her hazel eyes met his. “Not careful enough, I guess. Believe me, this was not planned.”

His suit jacket felt too tight, and his tie strangled his throat. But he kept his hands firm on the arms of the chair. His gaze stole to her midsection again, though most of it was hidden behind the desk.

His child. With a woman he barely knew, someone with whom he had simply enjoyed a few weeks during a summer trip. And he’d come here with the sole objective of hooking up with her again. He ran his hand over his face.

He should have known that someday his behavior was going to land him in trouble. That eventually his casual approach to relationships would come back to bite him. No words of I love you, no commitments, no strings. That was how he liked it. And even though he’d enjoyed his time here, a few states and an international border had made Tori Sharpe seem like a perfectly safe…distraction.

He wasn’t really a player, but he’d classify his approach to romance as…cavalier. His best friend Cole called him a serial dater. Branson had silently agreed with the assessment. He hadn’t had a relationship that had lasted over a month since college.

He let out a breath and tried to relax his shoulders. “Okay. So the news is out now, like it or not.” He pinned her with his gaze. “And I have no idea what to do.”

The lines in her face softened. “That’s okay. I do. I don’t expect anything from you, Jeremy. I’m not going to come after you for exorbitant amounts of child support or anything. I’m going to raise this baby right here. I have tons of friends I can count on, and my mom is here, and we’ll be as happy as anything. I’ll even sign papers if you want.”

No child support? No contact? And raising the baby in this small town that was nearly dead in the off-season?

“Anything but that,” he replied.