Harlequin Special Edition September 2014 - Bundle 1 of 2: Maverick for Hire\A Match Made by Baby\Once Upon a Bride (17 page)

He took a few swallows of coffee as if to fortify himself. “This isn't easy,” he told Kaitlyn.

“Isn't easy, because it's painful to remember?” she guessed.

“Not painful. It was just a rough time. Tina and I never talk about it.”

Erica began to wake up, and he said, “Maybe this should wait.”

“I can't give you any help if this waits. Do you have a bottle? Let's try to feed her. Maybe this time she'll eat.”

“And if she doesn't?”

“Then we'll figure out the next best thing to do.”

Scooping Erica from her car seat, Kaitlyn stood, and Adam moved close to her. So close her gaze went to his lips and she swallowed hard.

“I'll take her,” he said, and that surprised Kaitlyn.

“Are you sure?”

“I fed her all through the night, and tried this morning. I've got to succeed at something about this.”

So Adam Preston wasn't a man who accepted failure. She recognized the same quality in herself. He'd either seen too much of it in his life, or not enough.

The exchange of the baby was awkward. His hand slid close to Kaitlyn's breast. If she could have thought of it as merely a clinical move, it wouldn't have bothered her at all. But everything about this situation seemed personal.

It's not personal,
she chastised herself.

Adam slid his arm around the baby. But when he brought Erica close, his shoulder rubbed Kaitlyn's. At that point, their gazes met.

The room developed a certain buzz, but then Kaitlyn hadn't had any breakfast this morning. A half cup of dark, rich coffee, with lots of caffeine streaming through her veins would be enough to make her feel a little unnerved.

After the baby successfully found Adam's arms again, he brought her up to his face and cooed to her. None of this was contrived. Adam must have figured out Erica liked that last night.

“So you want me to warm the bottle?” Kaitlyn asked, feeling disconcerted. How could a bachelor who serial dated be good at holding a baby? “She seems pretty satisfied right now.”

“You don't mind?”

“I did come to help,” she said with a wink, knowing this was the kind of help he'd expected.

A few minutes later, Kaitlyn returned with the bottle. “If she doesn't take the formula, we might have to change it.”

“I have to go to the store,” he admitted. “She needs a lot of things, and a crib's one of them.”

“Let's get her basic needs settled first, then we can take care of that.”

Kaitlyn saw his brows go up when she said “we,” but she meant The Mommy Club—the community of parents who wanted to help “we,” the all-inclusive “we.” Not a her-and-Adam “we.” The idea of her and Adam together in any way gave her goose bumps.

“I'm going to have to get a rocker,” he decided. “I think she'd like that while she's eating or falling asleep.”

While Erica sucked on the bottle, Kaitlyn said, “You were going to tell me about when you met Tina.”

He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. Then he revealed, “I was fourteen and she was three. My dad was a widower. He met this waitress where he often had breakfast and they ended up getting married. She was a lot younger than my mom.”

“And that made you uncomfortable?”

“It made me realize Dad was going to put all of his attention toward his second family—his young wife and a three-year-old who was as cute as a button.”

“So how did you feel about
her?
” Resentment would have been natural.

But Adam gave her a wry smile. “Tina had these big gray eyes and straight blond hair. When she looked up at you, your heart just melted. I felt like a big brother instantly, very protective. Especially protective when my dad and Jade divorced. Tina was only eight and didn't understand anything that was happening. She'd come to me and cry and cry and cry. That year I'd graduated and I was off to college. I kept in touch with Tina, though. We emailed regularly. She came to visit me now and then with her mom. She had a really tough time again two years ago while Jade battled ovarian cancer. So Tina's been through a lot.”

“It sounds as if you were there to help.”

“When I wasn't there physically, I still tried to support her. There were lots of nights we instant messaged when her mom was dying. Fortunately then I was in a part of Alaska that wasn't too remote.”

“Do you think all of that's caught up with Tina?”

“Possibly. She has a good heart, Kaitlyn. But she's twenty-two...and still young. From what she's told me, Erica's father has left for parts unknown. She's feeling overwhelmed. I've got to find her, bring her back here and get her help.”

“Have you thought about the possibility that she won't be coming back?”

“No.” His firm denial said he'd make sure she came back, one way or another.

“Adam.” She had to put this as gently as possible. “If your sister doesn't want to be a mother, you can't force her to be.”

His determination was evident in his expression. “I can't force her to be, but I can set things up to make it easier for her to
be
a mother. Apparently, I haven't done enough, and I intend to remedy that. But right now I have a baby to take care of.”

He took the bottle from the baby's mouth and raised her to his shoulder to burp her, but she didn't burp. She spit up and started crying.

If Adam thought he could learn to be a substitute dad in twenty-four hours or even a few days, he was sadly mistaken.

Chapter Two

A
half hour later, Kaitlyn walked beside Adam through the department store. She'd offered to come along because even the best parents sometimes had difficulty juggling a baby and shopping. However, whenever she got within a foot of him, chemistry seemed to snap, crackle and pop between them.

Just like that night at Raintree Winery.

Jase and Adam had been talking. She'd been on her way to speak to Jase's wife, Sara, when Jase had called to her and introduced Adam.

When she'd lifted her gaze to Adam's—

Something had happened that had made the air buzz between them. Maybe that buzz had drowned out her good sense. Or maybe since her divorce had just become final, she'd had something to prove—that she was still attractive and desirable.

They'd talked for a half hour while they tasted one Raintree wine after another. Yes, she had to admit she'd flirted with him. What breathing woman wouldn't have? He was Mr. Tall, Dark and So-o-o Sexy.

The event had become more crowded and they found it hard to hear each other, so they'd wandered down the hall and settled in an office with a long burgundy leather couch. Adam had closed the door so they'd have privacy...to talk.

They
had
talked. Mostly about sites Adam had seen in his travels as an environmental geologist...how she'd been homeschooled before it had become more common because she'd been academically ahead of all her peers, gone to college at sixteen and fought her way through med school because she was younger than everyone else. But her determination and dedication paid off. And then—

Adam had said, “I never expected to meet a woman like you tonight.”

In her professional life, she was confident. But her divorce had shaken her personal confidence in so many ways. And to hear that from Adam's deep voice—

“You're beautiful, sexy and dedicated to what you do.”

Her ex-husband had considered that dedication a flaw, especially at the end of their marriage. “Thank you,” she'd murmured, never taking her gaze from his.

That's when he'd kissed her, and she'd responded as if her life had depended on it.

The kiss expanded, catching both of them in its web. They kissed again and again. She'd hardly noticed Adam unfastening her blouse. His hand on her breast had been so arousing. She'd unbuttoned his shirt, felt his hot skin and springy brown hair. When his hand ventured between her thighs and cupped her, she'd reached for his belt.

But then she'd heard voices in the hall. Gazing up at Adam, she'd glimpsed the hungry desire in his eyes.

“What's wrong?” he'd asked.

She'd panicked. She was almost naked, lying under a man she didn't even know!

She'd slid away from him, scrambled to a sitting position, avoided his gaze and buttoned her blouse. “I can't do this. I should never have let this happen!”

And then she'd bolted, leaving Adam sitting there. She'd rushed out of the winery, wondering what in blazes had gotten into her, wondering why she'd been reckless when she'd never done anything like that before.

Now Kaitlyn hurried to keep up with Adam's long strides to the baby department. In the year since she'd met him at the winery, she'd thought about him. But she hadn't had any means of contacting him in a remote location.

When Erica made a noise, Adam stopped and looked down at her as if...as if he cared.

Could this bad boy—after all, she'd researched him after their “encounter”—who traveled the world, really care about an infant? An infant who wasn't even his?

Glancing up at her, seeing that she was watching him, Adam looked disconcerted. Then his expression changed, and he didn't look disconcerted as much as he looked determined. “We should talk about what happened the last time we were together.”

Uh-oh. Maybe his mind
had
been wandering in the same direction. “This isn't a good place,” she said calmly. Her heart sped up, and she knew she didn't want to have that discussion at all, let alone
here.

His jaw set and his gaze was just a little too penetrating. “That's an excuse—I'll settle for it for now, at least until we get everything we need for Erica.... What do we need?”

At the baby section now, Kaitlyn pointed to a big box on the lower shelf. “You need a swing.”

He looked at her as if she were crazy.

“Really,” she assured him. “Erica fell asleep in the car. That means she likes motion. So if you want any peace, you should give her motion.” She pointed to the picture on the box.

Adam crouched down to look at it more closely. The overhead lights glimmered on russet strands in his hair, thick dark hair she'd run her fingers through. His shoulders were wider than the box he was studying. Those shoulders had felt tautly muscled under her hands. He was so long-waisted, with a runner's legs. He'd told her he jogged wherever he happened to be. She remembered the pressure of his lower body on top of hers. His jeans fit him too well. Although his shirt was loose, as he crouched down like that, examining the box, it molded to his back.

Although it had been over a year, she hadn't been able to dismiss the picture of the two of them entwined in each other's arms. It had haunted her dreams.

He grabbed one of the boxes, easily lifted it, and stowed it on the bottom of their cart. “It doesn't look too complicated. In fact, it makes me wonder if the company should make them for adults.”

She couldn't help but smile at the wryness in his tone. “I've often thought I'd like a swing on my front porch. That's if I ever have a front porch.”

“Where do you live now?”

“I rent a town house—no maintenance, no upkeep, no porch.”

He studied her as if he were searching for meaning under her words. “I suppose you're not home much.”

“If I'm not at my office, I'm doing volunteer work for The Mommy Club. That doesn't leave spare time to plant a garden.”

“I know what you mean,” Adam said. “But sometimes I wonder what normal life would be like.”

“Normal?”

“Yeah, you know. A nine-to-five job, leisure time in the evenings, regular weekends. If I had a normal life...if I hadn't been out of the country...” He motioned to Erica. “Maybe I would have seen what was happening with Tina.”

The work he did for a private consulting firm out of Sacramento sounded important. The night they'd met, he'd explained that he traveled the world doing research helping countries put in water systems. Before...before they'd ended up in each other's arms on that couch.

Pushing that memory aside once more, she took this opportunity to get firsthand knowledge of his life. “You come and go as you please. You travel to exotic places. That would be hard to give up.”

“Yes, it would,” he admitted. “I don't like to feel trapped, tied down, tethered to one place. That brings back memories of—” He stopped, and she could see he wasn't going to go on.

What did he run from in his mind? What kept him on the move? Searching for something that would satisfy him? She knew what would satisfy
her,
yet it seemed impossible and out of her reach.

Gazing down at Erica, she suddenly wondered if she should adopt a child. Why not forget about relationships and the marriage part.

The silence between them grew awkward, and Kaitlyn reached for a contraption hanging on a hook. “This is something else you need.”

“I'm afraid to ask what it is,” he said in a wry tone.

She looked at Erica and saw that her eyes were wide-open. “It's as good a time as any to try this out.” She gave it to Adam and said, “Hang this part around your neck.”

Adam did as she suggested, looking wary.

Scooping Erica from her car seat, Kaitlyn placed her in the sling, close to Adam's chest. She had to touch his chest and that reminded her of touching it once before. When her fingers brushed against him, the look in his eyes said he remembered, too.

“I can get it,” he decided, taking a step away from her. “Now that I think about it, I've seen women wearing these.”

“Daddies, too,” she assured him. “That keeps Erica close to your body heat, and she feels more secure.”

Their eyes met. She remembered
his
body heat, feeling secure, but so much more, too.

“Kaitlyn!” She was never so glad to hear her name called.

She knew the voice, and it was a welcome relief, interrupting the too-knowing moment between her and Adam. She turned and saw her friend Marissa Lopez strolling down the aisle, her one-year-old sitting in the basket kicking his legs.

She gave them both a wide smile. “Hi, Marissa.” She went over to Jordan and tickled his tummy. “And how are you, big boy?”

He grinned at her and stuck a finger in his mouth. Kaitlyn had babysat Jordan many times. “What are you doing here?”

“I needed diapers again,” Marissa added, brushing her black curls away from her face.

Kaitlyn introduced Adam and said, “Marissa works at Raintree Winery.”

“Jase is your boss?” Adam asked.

Marissa nodded with a wide smile. “Yes. More than that, really. He and Sara have become good friends.”

“I met Jase when we crossed paths in Africa a few years ago.”

“That's when he was photographing children in refugee camps?” Kaitlyn asked.

Adam nodded. “I was in the area with a humanitarian group that was trying to bring safe water to some of the villages.”

Erica gave a little cry, and Marissa came over to her. “What a sweetie. Is she about two months old?”

“About,” Adam confirmed. “She's my sister's baby. I'm taking care of her for a while. The Mommy Club sent Kaitlyn to give me a few instructions.”

That was one way of putting it, Kaitlyn supposed.

“The Mommy Club's been a lifesaver for me, too,” Marissa told him. “I'm a single mom and they've been a great help. We all try to give back when we can. Sara is watching Jordan while I volunteer at Thrifty Solutions, The Mommy Club thrift store, tomorrow night.”

“I'm there on Monday evening,” Kaitlyn said.

Adam eyed Jordan. “Is he walking yet?”

“Oh, yes, and running. He helps me get my exercise every day.”

They all laughed and Adam shook his head. “I've learned respect for all new moms.”

Marissa checked her watch. “I have to get going. I had the morning off because I worked some long hours last week. But now I have to take Jordan to day care and get to the winery.” She studied Adam and Erica. “Good luck. If you have Kaitlyn advising you, you will be okay.”

After a hug for Kaitlyn, she wheeled her cart away.

“So she's a single mom?” Adam asked reflectively as they watched Marissa walk away. He was trying to put himself in his sister's place, trying to imagine what she'd been thinking and feeling before she'd left.

“Yes, she is.”

“And you became friends because of The Mommy Club?” He'd imagined The Mommy Club was mostly a group of women looking out for each other. It was a nice concept really.

“We did.”

“I don't see how you have time for it all.”

“I think we all make time for what we want to do.”

He wondered if The Mommy Club filled a need Kaitlyn had to help and nurture. What did that need come from? He found he was awfully curious about her and wanted to know.

He pointed to a portable crib. “I guess I'll get one of those, too. I can donate it to The Mommy Club when Tina returns. I'm sure she'll be back before the week's out.”

Kaitlyn stood a little closer so their conversation was private. “It could be longer than a week. If your sister is in the throes of postpartum depression, she might need a doctor's help to emerge from it.”

Adam's brow furrowed. “How am I going to get her help when she won't answer my calls?”

“All you can do is hope that she contacts you soon.”

“I have to do more than hope. I'm supposed to be on a plane to Thailand in a month.”

Erica started crying, and Adam's arms went around her with a protective gesture, but it didn't help.

“If you're tense and upset, it can affect her. Babies pick up moods.”

He exhaled, took Erica out of the sling and laid her in her car seat. “Maybe she's hungry again. Let's get what we need and head back to the condo.”

Taking care of Erica was complicated enough. Tackling the vibrations between him and Kaitlyn added to the unnerving situation.

Once he had everything he needed for his niece, Kaitlyn would be out of his life once more.

* * *

Back at Adam's condo, Kaitlyn watched Adam as he held and walked Erica and readied a bottle with the new formula she'd chosen. Four hands were better than two in this kind of situation.

She asked, “Would you like me to feed her?”

He shook his head. “No. I have to learn how to do this and do it right.” He took the bottle from Kaitlyn, their fingers brushing. They avoided each other's gazes, and he went to the living room, this time sitting in the armchair.

And to her dismay, he was still as sexy as could be—a six-foot-two, broad-shouldered, handsome man feeding a baby intently. Her heart gave a little trip. Erica was greedily sucking on the nipple, and Adam looked as if he'd conquered the world.

“If this formula is better suited to her, she might start sleeping for you,” Kaitlyn assured him.

“That's an awfully big ‘if' and ‘might.'”

“There are never any guarantees with babies.”

“How come you don't have a slew of your own? You seem to really love children.”

The stark sincerity in his question took her breath away. Usually sure of herself, right now, she didn't know how to answer him.

He must have realized something was wrong, because he looked up from the baby, and his gaze met hers. “Kaitlyn?”