Expecting the Playboy's Baby (7 page)

Patrick stared down the length of her body. She felt conscious of her thick thighs, and she tugged the shirt down.

“What’s the matter?” she asked.

Did he wish she was someone else?

She couldn’t read anything from his expression.

“Nothing.
Take a seat. I’ll be finished with our lunch soon.” He pointed at the end of the counter. Without argument, she sat down and waited for him to finish.

He placed a plate filled with chicken salad and bread in front of her. “I’m not an expert cook, but I can put a salad together in no time.”

Patrick joined her with his own plate of food. She noted his plate was filled with more food than hers.

“Thank you,” she said.

“How was your shower?”

“Wonderful. It felt really nice.” She took a bite of chicken. “Thank you,” she said, adding the last for something to say.

“Stop saying thank you. It’s unnecessary.”

She felt his gaze on her, which only made her nervous.

“Will you stop staring?” she asked.

“Why? I like what I see. Are you hormonal or something? Is that why you have an attitude?”

Jennifer glared at him and then stopped. “I don’t know. I’m freaking out.”

“Why?”

“I’m pregnant, and I don’t really know you, at all. I’m scared, and my parents are forcing you into thinking you want to marry me. Not to mention what the whole world is going to think about you marrying me.”

He stopped her tirade when he placed his hand over hers. “Stop talking.”

She closed her mouth. Patrick took her hand within his. He placed a kiss to her knuckles and then stared at her for several minutes.

“I don’t care what the rest of the world thinks, Jennifer. I care about what you think. How you’re feeling. The rest of the world can go to hell. No one will force me to do something I don’t want to do. Your parents are not forcing me to do anything. I want to marry you.”

“Because of the baby,” she said. The first time a guy wanted to marry her, and it was because she was the one carrying the package.

“No. I want to marry you because I like you. I’ve never been open with another woman before, Jennifer. You’re different, and you’re not like any other woman.”

“Great, we’re marrying because we like each other.”

He dropped her hand. “I think liking each other is a pretty good start. Could you even imagine being married to me and hating my guts?”

She shook her head. Patrick was right.

“We know nothing about each other,” she said, biting her lip. Her argument sounded pathetic.

“Ask me any question you want. I’ll answer it.”

She stared at him. Patrick picked up his fork and began eating.

“Okay, I’ll start. How many guys have you slept with before me?” he asked.

She paused with a piece of chicken perched in front of her lips.

“You’re asking me that question?”

He nodded. “Yep, how many guys have you slept with? I want to know who I’m up against.”

Jennifer tried to stop the blush filling her cheeks.

“
Erm
, can we talk about something else?” She moved her salad around the plate.

“That many?”

She shook her head. “No. I’ve had one guy. That’s all.”

He stopped, and she felt his stare right down to her soul. She dropped her head and concentrated on her salad.

“One guy?
That’s it.
One?”
Patrick held up his index finger.

“Don’t make a big thing out of it. Yes, one guy and then I found out he was only doing it to try to keep me out of the way so his friend could be with Linda. It was humiliating, and I never wanted to repeat that experience of being that. I’ve not slept or had sex with another man again until you. You broke my six year fast.” She might as well put it all out on the table. He should know who he was marrying.

He took her hand. “I thought you’d have at least five or something.”

“No. I’ve had two men, and that’s including you.” She pulled her hand away not wanting him to touch her.

“You’re a passionate woman, Jennifer. You shouldn’t be afraid to show it.”

She tucked her hair off her face and stared at him. “How many women have you slept with?” she asked.

“Enough to know you don’t want the answer.”

Shrugging her shoulders she went back to her food. “This tastes good.”

“Can you cook?” he asked.

“Yes. It is one of the few things I actually like to do.”

“Where did you learn?”

She smiled.
“Cookery shows and books.
Linda is my tester, and she thinks I’m pretty good. I haven’t killed her, obviously, and she’s never had food poisoning.”

 
He chuckled. “I’d love for you to cook for me sometime.”

“I imagine I’ll have plenty of occasions to cook.”

His gaze drifted down to her stomach. She saw the arousal fill his eyes as he stared at her stomach. “Do you have any idea how turned on I am? I made you pregnant the first time we were together.”

Her pulse leaped in her throat. “It’s a bit archaic, but I can see why you’d like that. You feel all manly.”

“No, it’s like you were supposed to be the woman I was with.”

“You’re talking funny, Patrick.”

She watched him shake himself.

“You’re right. I’m not making much sense.”

****

His cock was thick with need. Didn’t she have any idea how sexy she looked in his shirt? Patrick wanted to bend her over the table and fuck her hard. Her body was to die for. He knew he could sink himself inside her warm heat and never want to leave.

She’d taken over his world within a matter of moments.

He thought about her answer to his question. She’d only been with one man. He didn’t like her being with anyone else but him. Whoever the jerk had been, he’d wipe her memory of him. He felt possessed with the need to prove to her he was worth her time. The baby she was carrying was a godsend to him. He wanted her and the baby.

“The food is pretty good. The chicken is great.”

“I had it left over from last night,” he said. “I hate wasting food.”

She smiled. “I’m the same. I love trying to find new ways to cook with it.”

If he’d said that to any of the other women he’d been with they would have wrinkled their nose. Half of the women he had dated survived on a celery stick. They never appreciated cooking.

He leaned over the counter and took her hand.

“I’m not going to make a run for it,” she said.

“I know. I’d catch you before you made it out of the door.” He smiled at the blush that filled her cheeks. She looked so damn charming.

“For a playboy, you sound quite possessive.”

“What did I tell you, Jennifer? Don’t believe everything you read about in the news.”

“I’ll remember that.” She laughed. Patrick loved the sound and wanted to hear her laugh more often.

“Do you want a drink?” he asked.

“Water will be fine.”

He went and got an orange juice for himself and a glass of water for her.

Sitting down, he picked up his fork and started eating.

“Your parents are not going to leave this alone, Jennifer,” he said.

Patrick had known from the moment he saw the headline of her throwing up that this was not going to go away easily. He didn’t want it to go away.

She nodded her head. “I know. Does your father, I mean, do your parents know about it?” “Yes, they want to know what we’re going to do about it.”

“They left the decision up to you?” She looked up at him. He saw the shock in her eyes.

“No, they didn’t leave it up to me. I know what they’re going to try to do,” he said.

“I don’t know what you mean, Patrick. I’m a little lost.”

Taking a deep breath, he stared into her beautiful lost eyes. She really was a lovely woman.

“Our parents have been working on a business deal together. They want to expand their operations, and the
Dixon
and Thompson names would be unbelievable.”

The tears filled her eyes as she realised what he was trying to say.

“A marriage between our families would be perfect. So, our incident has given them a bigger opportunity to expand?”

“Yes.”

“Was that night planned?” she asked.

He’d known she’d come to that conclusion. The moment he’d gotten off the phone with his father he’d thought the same way. “After talking with my dad I thought the same thing about you for a second.”

“You think I was there to seduce you?”

“Don’t sound so shocked. You’d be surprised how many women have tried that.” He felt defensive. The incredulous tone in her voice affected him. He wasn’t that bad a catch.

“I’ve never thrown myself at a man because my parents wish it, Patrick. I’m not that kind of woman.”

Patrick squeezed her hand. “It was a lucky coincidence between us, Jennifer.
Nothing more.
We met, and there was a lot of chemistry.”

She nodded her head. “We’re all acting a little crazy.”

“Look at me,” he said.

Her gaze met his.

“I want you to listen to me, and don’t interrupt. I’ve got an idea that could suit us all.”

“I’m listening, Patrick.”

Licking his lips, he allowed the idea to form and sink in. “What if we don’t get married, at least not right away? I know our parents want us to get married, but we don’t have to do as they say.”

She remained quiet for him to continue.

“We’ll be together, Jennifer. I’ll want you to move in here with me, and we’ll make a go of it. We’ll see if we can be together, and then when the baby is born or before—it’s up to you—we can get married then. What do you think?”

“Our parents wouldn’t allow it.”

“Our parents can go to hell. This is our future. Mine, yours, and the baby’s future we’re thinking about.”

“The media will have a field day with this,” she said.

“Do you really care what a load of papers say about us?”

She shook her head.

“If we do this then you can’t go with any other woman, Patrick. If you go with someone else then the deal is off.”

“Baby, with you here there is no other temptation.”

“We’re really doing this?” she asked.