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Not by me
. . . And didn’t that reality taste bitter? He drummed his fingers on the table again. What the hell did she want him to say? Congratu-fucking-lations?

“I’m . . . um, due June seventh.”

Luc had to give her credit. The math worked in favor of the child being his. Though clearly she’d been fucking Tyler that week as well.

“And . . . you’re here because it’s mine?”

She rolled her eyes. “Whether you believe me or not, you are the only man I’ve had sex with in nearly three years. So yes.”

Luc resisted the urge to laugh hysterically. It was either that or swallow the reality that another man had impregnated the woman he loved and she now lied to his face. His blood pressure rose, and he drummed his fingers faster.

Luc opened his mouth to tell her the child couldn’t possibly be his. Then he stopped cold.
She’s having a baby who needs a father
.

He swallowed hard. His thoughts raced. What if . . . he didn’t refute her? There must be some reason she’d chosen to pin this on him. Did the why matter?

Once, he’d been eager to marry Kimber, despite the fact he hadn’t been in love with her, so he could be a father to the unborn baby she’d thought she was carrying. When Emily departed earlier, yet another chance at fatherhood had walked out the door. Now Alyssa was dropping opportunity right into his lap. And she came with a bonus; unlike Emily or Kimber, he had deep feelings for her. More than he’d ever felt for any woman, lies and all.

Suddenly, he knew exactly what he wanted. He also knew that after the way they’d last parted in Lafayette, he had to play this carefully.

“Say something,” she choked.

Luc hesitated, thinking through his strategy. “Have you told anyone?”

She frowned, then started scooting out of the booth. “If you’re worried I’m going to mess up your new image or screw up your relationship with your girlfriend, don’t be. I don’t want anything from you. I thought I’d just be a decent human being and inform you. Duty done.”

Luc beat her out of the booth and blocked her path. “That’s not at all what I meant. I wanted to know if you’d told anyone in Lafayette.”

Alyssa bristled. “Like Tyler? Why? There’s zero chance this baby is his, so no. I thought I owed you first. When I do tell Tyler, he’ll probably come up with some silly scheme to get married . . .”

Luc’s guts fell somewhere around his toes. Alyssa married to Tyler? The bouncer playing father to this baby? Over his dead body.

“Now that I’ve told you about my pregnancy—” She pushed against his chest.

He refused to budge. Finally realizing that he wasn’t moving an inch, she flopped back into her seat and glared at him.

“Now that I know, we should discuss our options,” he said, sitting again. Luc tried for calm, but his heart raced.

“Options?” she all but shrieked. “I came to inform you in person, instead of taking the chickenshit way out and phoning you. But I’m having this baby. You won’t push your money off on me and persuade me abort—”

“That’s the
last
thing I want!” The thought horrified him.

“Oh.” She looked away. “Look, I’m not asking for anything. It’d be great for the kid’s sake if you wanted to be involved, but if not . . .” She shrugged. “Plenty of single moms do it.”

She was independent and determined enough to go it alone. He admired her tenacity, even as he wanted to shake her.

Luc chose his words carefully. “So you wouldn’t marry Tyler if he asked?”

“I haven’t given it much thought. He hasn’t actually asked; I’m just guessing he might.”

Fairly accurate guess, in Luc’s estimation. Tyler loved her and would latch on to any reason to make her his. Besides, the man could argue the child was his. And he’d be right. Luc wasn’t going to allow Tyler that chance. He wanted this baby. And despite the lies, he wanted Alyssa, too. So much, the craving was nearly beyond his control. Some part of him was even perversely pleased with this outcome.

This time, he’d be better to her. He’d never let another man touch her. He’d never give her cause for regret.

“Something against Tyler or marriage in general?”

Alyssa frowned. “Tyler’s been my rock lately. I don’t know much about his life before he showed up on my doorstep, want ad in hand. But he’s solid. Marriage . . . I don’t think it works. I’ve seen guys who seem like the most devoted dads come in for a weekly lap dance, looking for something extra on the side.”

“Not every man cheats,” Luc chided her.

Alyssa raised a golden brow. “Most.”

“Some,” he corrected. “Women cheat, too.” How would she react to that statement? With guilt?

She just shrugged. “I don’t see them in my club every night.”

The line of questioning had netted nothing. Time to change tactics. “Cheating aside, would you get married? For the baby?”

“To Tyler?” She hesitated a long moment, then sighed. “Maybe.”

Luc sifted through the information, still drumming his fingertips. While she didn’t seem enthusiastic about the idea, Alyssa hadn’t said no. He had to crush that quickly.

“I didn’t come to ruin your birthday. I just . . . thought you should know.” She rose from the booth again. “I’ll call you when the baby is born.”

“Wait!” Luc blurted, cursing that she might be playing him like a fiddle. He still didn’t know what she wanted, but he had to tip his hand, say or do whatever necessary to keep her and this baby in his life. “Don’t go. I’m thrilled you’re pregnant.”

“Really?” She frowned, looking unconvinced. “You’re happy?”

“Ecstatic. The best birthday present
ever
.” He clenched his fists to keep from reaching out to her. “I don’t want you to call me when the baby is born. I’d like to be involved in this child’s life. I want to be there every step of the way—first tooth, first word, first crush, first date. I also want to be there for you during your pregnancy.”

Her eyes went wide. “Wha . . . what do you mean? You want to go to my doctor appointments?”

“Yes. I want to be part of the whole experience. I’m ready to be a father. A great father.”
Understatement of the millennium
. “I will not let you down.”

Luc hesitated before saying more. Would his enthusiasm lure her in? Or make her run in the other direction? A calculated risk. She was afraid, and he had to be careful.

“Okay.” She nodded, looking slightly shocked. “Thanks. That would be . . . helpful.”

He planned to be far more than helpful.

“You know, there are advantages to being married,” he pointed out. “Financial, of course. But children are a lot of work. Having another set of hands would lighten your load, especially when they’re sick or up all night, or you need to work late. And what about safety? It’s been a concern for you lately. Having a husband around would add protection for you and the baby. You’d rest easier. The baby would have the stability of a two-parent family, a last name. The love of both a mom and a dad.”

Alyssa froze. “You want me to marry Tyler?”

Damn it! Time to stop this verbal poker game and throw his cards on the table.

Luc stood and leaned toward her, risking all and taking her face in his hands. Her gaze bounced up to his, and he felt the zing of that poignant blue all the way to his toes.

When she’d walked back into his life, he’d never imagined it would be to lie to him. Even so, he still wanted her so badly.

“No. I want you to marry me.”

“. . . SO that’s what’s up with me.”

It was nearly four in the morning at Sexy Sirens. The club was closed now, and Alyssa faced Sadie and Tyler, nerves jittery in her stomach.

“The fucker got you pregnant and left?” Tyler screamed, his tense body leaving no question that he was ready to hit something—preferably Luc’s face. “Where is he? I wanna know right now.”

Alyssa sighed. “He didn’t ‘leave me.’ He says he wants to marry me. I don’t really know why. The baby, I guess.”

Tyler snorted. “You’re gorgeous, smart, kind—and you’re going to have his kid. Why the fuck wouldn’t he want to marry you?”

“He also thinks I’m a whore and may even believe this baby is yours.”

“I wish,” Tyler muttered under his breath.

Still, Alyssa heard. Could she feel any worse? “His proposal shocked me.”

“You’re thinking of accepting, even though you threw him out on his ass last time he was here? After the shitty way he treated you?”

Alyssa bit her lip. She’d been thinking through that. Being Luc’s wife and having his name on the birth certificate would have benefits. Stability. Money, if anything ever happened to her. Though it might be old-fashioned of her, she’d prefer to raise a child with two parents.

Tyler raised a good point, though. All the volatility and mind games she and Luc had played last time couldn’t happen again. If she accepted his proposal, they must be on the same page about that.

But at the end of the day, though it might make her twenty kinds of stupid, she loved Luc too much to say no.

“I’ll handle it.”

“How?” Tyler snarled. “He practically ran your heart over and left your for dead last time.”

“I said I’ll handle it.”

The possibility of losing Luc to his picture-perfect suburban girlfriend . . . Cold chills didn’t begin to describe the feeling. Utter fear. Panic. Jagged, aching sadness.

“This is shit,” Tyler yelled. “Given how badly he treated you, what kind of father would he be?”

“I think he’ll be a great one,” Alyssa answered, going with her gut. “Once he got over the shock of the pregnancy, he seemed really enthusiastic about the baby. Claimed he wants to be
very
involved.”

“Maybe that would be enough for him,” Tyler argued. “Without marriage.”

“And maybe not,” Sadie put in. “I learned that the hard way when the courts let my ex, Kenneth, take little Ben from me because of my past.”

“You can’t marry Luc because you’re afraid of what he might do. Hell, I’ll marry you. I’d love to.”

Alyssa closed her eyes. She’d suspected those words were coming, and she should rejoice. Having Tyler at her side as the other half of a parenting unit would look good to the courts, if it came to that.

But she couldn’t deny that even though Luc’s proposal had been practical, it had filled her heart with a hope she wished she could deny. Tyler’s only filled her with regret.

True, she could wait and see if Luc was vindictive or possessive of this baby. If he was,
then
she could always take him or Tyler up on his offer. But if she was honest with herself, she’d ached for Luc in the last six weeks, as if someone had ripped away a part of her soul. There was a reckless part of her that wanted to see if she could still have that picket-fence dream she’d been clutching to her heart since her world had shattered at fifteen. And have those dreams with the man she loved. The only thing that could make it better was if he fell in love with her in return.

If they had their whole lives ahead of them, rather than just a week, maybe someday . . . If not, they had a child to raise, and that had to be her first focus.

“I appreciate that, Tyler. But I don’t want you to sacrifice your life for me.”

“It wouldn’t be a sacrifice,” he said solemnly. “It would be an honor.”

“You should find someone who loves you and wants to have your children,” she said gently but firmly. Tyler had to understand that she was a dead end for him, especially now.

She tossed back the rest of her water, then stood.

“Where are you going?” Sadie asked.

Alyssa’s gaze fell on Tyler, who was clenching his jaw and judiciously not looking at her. She’d hurt him, and guilt hammered her to the core. Why couldn’t she love him? He was always there, always kind, funny, interesting . . . A buddy, but not a lover. Luc was sophisticated, complicated—every other sort of -
ated
she could think of. They shouldn’t have anything in common.

Except . . . it was his focus. Alyssa felt special with him. To him. They’d had their share of arguments, but when he took her in his arms or turned on his tender side, something inside her told her it was right.

She caressed Tyler’s hard shoulder, a silent apology.

“I’m going to call Luc.”

“At this time of night?” Sadie looked at her as if she needed her head examined.

Alyssa shrugged, trying to tamp down her ridiculous giddiness. She may come to regret this decision, but at the moment, she refused. Not only did she have a baby to think about, but this was her last chance at the fairy tale, and she was seizing it. “He said to call anytime. I’m thinking if we’re going to get married, I should tell him.”

L
UC straightened his tie and waited near the wall of Bonheur’s windows as the sun streamed in golden and bright on this November noon. The smell of roses and stargazer lilies filled the air, slightly cloying. At the other end of the restaurant, Alyssa emerged from the shadowed hallway in white, looking ethereal, elegant—and very nervous.