Kitabı oku: «Confidential: Expecting!»

Dear Reader

The pre-writing phase of a book is always interesting for me. Usually I come up with my characters first, figure out what their issues and conflicts are, and then I build a plot around them. Sometimes doing so is easy. Sometimes it’s not. The plot for this book fell into the latter category.

Indeed, Logan and Mallory’s story went through so many incarnations before I ever began writing the first chapter that I finally gave up numbering my outlines. What eventually became the synopsis for CONFIDENTIAL: EXPECTING! actually bore the moniker ‘Logan and Mallory Newest Version’.

Thankfully, writing Logan and Mallory’s story proved to be much easier than writing that synopsis.

I hope you enjoy CONFIDENTIAL: EXPECTING! As always, I’d love to hear what you think. You can reach me through my website at www.jackiebraun.com

Best wishes

Jackie Braun

Jackie Braun is a three-time RITA^® finalist, three-time National Readers’ Choice Award finalist, and a past winner of the Rising Star award. She lives in Michigan, with her husband and two sons, and can be reached through her website at www.jackiebraun.com

‘Unlike my heroine, I’d never be able to keep the news of a baby confidential. I think half the free world knew my husband and I were adopting a second child before the agency received our application.’

—Jackie Braun

“I’d like to see you again.”

That stopped her. “You would?” The line deepened between her brows even though she grinned. “To keep an enemy close?”

Logan didn’t smile. “No.”

“Then why?” Her head angled in challenge.

The ball was in his court. He was grimly serious when he said, “Because of this.”

He closed the distance between them as he spoke, and pulled her into his arms before he could think better of it. His mouth found hers before she could mount a protest. Instead, she rose on tiptoe and boldly kissed him back. When he would have ended it she was just getting started, tilting her head in the opposite direction and deepening the contact.

Zip. Zap. Zing.

He wanted her.

Confidential: Expecting!

BY

Jackie Braun

www.millsandboon.co.uk

MILLS & BOON

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For Don and Jean Fridline, who lived a love story. I miss you both.

Chapter One

“IS THIS seat taken?”

Mallory Stevens knew that deep, seductive voice. As best she could, she braced herself before looking up into a pair of smiling gray-green eyes and a face that would have made Adonis seem homely by comparison. It was no use.

Zip, zap, zing!

Just that fast, her hormones snapped to attention and her limbs turned liquid. It was a bizarre reaction, though she’d be lying if she labeled it unpleasant. Nor was it unprecedented. She’d experienced its twin a week earlier when she’d met Logan Bartholomew for the first time.

They’d been in his office, and she’d written it off then as a fluke. She’d been working too many hours. She’d barely slept the night before. She’d gone without the company of a man for way, way too long.

But a fluke didn’t happen twice. When it did, and it involved a member of the opposite sex, it was called something else: attraction.

Mallory sucked in a breath before letting it out slowly between her teeth. She certainly had nothing against mingling with members of the opposite sex. She liked men, but she had a rule about mixing business with pleasure. It was a no-no. Logan Batholomew was business, even if everything about him made her body hum with pleasure.

“You’re welcome to join me, Doctor,” she told him. Though it took an effort, her tone was blessedly nonchalant. She hoped the smile she sent him was the same.

He folded his athletic frame into the chair, managing to look both elegant and masculine. For the umpteenth time in their short acquaintance, she found herself thinking his gorgeous looks were wasted on the radio. He hosted a call-in program that had all of Chicago talking.

“I thought we’d agreed it was just Logan,” he said.

Mallory knew he was wrong. Even though, now that he was here, sitting through the Windy City Women of Action luncheon she’d been assigned to cover held far more appeal, a qualifier such as just didn’t apply when it came to Logan. Everything about the guy was off the charts, from his leading-man looks and tri-athlete physique to the way his show had burned its way to the top of the ratings in a little over a year. It was no wonder he’d been voted Chicago’s most eligible bachelor in a recent poll sponsored by her newspaper.

As a reporter, Mallory reminded herself that she was interested in more than his heart-palpitating appeal and sigh-worthy exterior. She was interested in a story and she smelled one here. Not necessarily the sort that went with his sophisticated cologne and designer tie, and certainly not the trivial one that had landed her in his office the week before.

In her experience, no one was ever as perfect as this guy appeared to be with his Harvard degree and penchant for supporting worthwhile causes. She intended to unearth the skeletons in his closet and then expose each and every one of them. Maybe then her editor would forgive her for the embarrassing faux pas that had the newspaper’s lawyers fending off a libel suit and Mallory writing the kind of general assignment fluff that usually went to the college interns.

“I should thank you for the article you did on my commencement address to the students and faculty at Chesterfield Alternative High School,” he said.

Fluff, definitely. So much so that the airy advance had wound up buried in the bowels of the Chicago Herald’s Lifestyles section.

“You read it?” she asked, equally surprised that he’d found it.

“All four paragraphs,” came his dry reply.

Truth be told, Mallory had had to pad it with his background to make it that long. God, she missed her city hall beat. Two months of writing nonsense had her feeling like a carnivore at a vegetarians’ convention. She needed meat, the rarer the better, and unless her instincts were wrong, Logan was prime rib.

Angling her head to one side, she said, “So, any truth to the rumor I heard that Doctor in the Know might go national? Or that a certain cable television network has made you an offer for a prime-time program?”

If he was surprised by her questions, it didn’t show. He didn’t so much as blink. Rather, in a bland voice, he inquired, “On the record or off?”

“On, of course,” she replied.

“Well then, no.”

She lifted one brow. “And off the record?”

Logan leaned toward her, close enough that she could feel the heat radiating from his skin. She pictured his mouth, lips barely an inch from making contact with her earlobe when he whispered, “No comment.”

In spite of herself, Mallory shivered. The man was downright lethal, a straight shot of sex outfitted in a suit that probably cost the equivalent of a month’s worth of her take-home pay. She’d splurged on the black pencil skirt and tan fitted jacket she was wearing, but they were hardly designer label. Clearly, she was in the wrong profession, not that she had any plans to change. She loved her job. Until lately, it had been by far the most satisfying and reliable thing in her life. She intended it to be that way again.

Leaning back in her chair, Mallory smiled at Logan. “I’ll find out eventually, you know. Ferreting out people’s secrets is what I do best.”

“I’d heard that about you,” he replied amiably. “In fact, my agent called to warn me to be on my toes before you came to my office for the interview last week. She said you were a regular pit bull.”

“A pit bull, hmm?” Mallory ran her tongue over her teeth.

“Actually, she called you a rabid pit bull.” Logan chuckled as if to soften the description and added, “I hope I haven’t offended you.”

“Offended me?” She exhaled sharply. “Please. I’m flattered by her description.”

“I don’t think she meant it as a compliment.”

“I’m sure she didn’t.” Still Mallory shrugged. “I’ll take it as one, anyway. In my line of work I believe in going for the throat. It’s what yields the best results.”

Her gaze lowered as she said this. Loosen that silk tie and undo the top button at his collar and Logan Bartholomew had one very delicious-looking neck.

“What about outside of work?”

His question startled her from her musings. Mallory’s gaze shot back to his face, where a potent and very male smile greeted her.

“Wh-what do you mean?” She hated that she’d actually stammered like a shy schoolgirl conversing with the football team’s star quarterback.

“What do you do after hours? You know, to unwind?” His expression was just this side of challenging.

“I tend to work late.” Then she went home alone, picking up some takeout on the way to her walk-up half a block from an El stop. Once she’d changed out of her work attire, she usually ate while watching the television before crashing for the night on the queen-size bed in her room. Alone.

“No…boyfriend?” he inquired.

Her eyes narrowed. “Not at the moment.” Though not for two years was closer to reality.

“Hmm.”

“Are you analyzing me, Doctor?” Mallory asked.

“Logan,” he reminded her with an affable grin.

“Yes, but at the moment you’re sounding an awful lot like someone with a degree in psychiatry.”

“Ah.” He grimaced, seemingly for effect. “Sorry about that. A hazard of my profession, I’m afraid. I just find it hard to believe that someone as bright, interesting and, well, attractive as you are isn’t in a serious relationship.”

“Good save.” She said it dryly in the hope of camouflaging the spurt of pleasure she’d experienced upon hearing his compliments.

Bright, interesting, attractive. What woman wouldn’t want to be considered all three, especially by a man who looked like this one?

The servers came around then with their salads and baskets of bread. Mallory selected a hard roll. At their first meeting, Logan’s time had been limited, so she’d only had the opportunity to ask him questions related to the commencement address. Now, under the guise of small talk, she asked him, “What about you? What do you do when you’re not at the radio station?”

“Well, for starters, I like to eat.” He forked up some mixed baby greens that were coated in raspberry vinaigrette.

“Yes, you look it.” Logan was a walking advertisement for physical fitness. If the man looked this good with his clothes on, she could only imagine how he appeared sans his professional attire. The thought had her coughing.

He swatted her back. “Are you all right?”

“Fine,” she managed. “Never better. You were saying something about eating?”

“I like food. For that reason, I learned how to cook.”

Mallory squinted at him. “Learned how to cook as in learned how to work the microwave oven or learned how to cook as in—”

“I know my way around the kitchen,” he inserted. “For instance, tonight I’m planning to grill a marinated flank steak and then pair it with rice noodles and a simple green salad.”

Her mouth watered. “Just for you?”

“Most likely.”

“I’m impressed.” And she was. “I’ve never gotten much beyond boiling water, which is actually pretty handy considering it’s one of the most important steps in making macaroni and cheese.”

“From a box,” he acknowledged. “There are other ways, you know.”

No, she didn’t know. In her albeit limited experience, all that was necessary was to bring the water to a boil and add the elbow noodles. When they were cooked, she drained the water, drizzled in a quarter cup of milk and stirred in the packet of a dry, cheeselike substance. Voilà. Dinner.

Logan was saying, “I’ve found cooking to be a surprising release for my creative energy.”

She found his admission surprising, as well, but as secrets went, well, news that Chicago’s new favorite son liked to play chef in his off hours wasn’t likely to score Mallory many points with her editor.

So, she asked, “What else do you do in your spare time? I know you don’t frequent the hot night spots.”

She’d checked.

“I’m a little old for that.”

“Thirty-six isn’t exactly ancient.” Especially when it came packaged in broad shoulders, narrow hips and topped off with a full head of gorgeous sandy hair.

The shoulders in question rose. “Night clubs aren’t really my thing.”

They weren’t Mallory’s, either. Sure, she liked to dance, sip a cocktail and have a good time every now and then, but she’d long ago grown out of the meat-market scene so many of the city’s hottest spots promoted. These days when she went out it was usually with a former college roommate for margaritas at a little Mexican restaurant that was one step above dive status.

“So, what is your thing?” she asked.

Logan said nothing for a long moment. Rather, he studied her with a gaze that was both challenging and assessing. Which is why Mallory found herself holding her breath until he finally replied, “I like to sail.”

The air whooshed from her lungs. “Sail. As in boats?” Mallory couldn’t help feeling disappointed. Unless he was going to tell her he kept narcotics in the hold this revelation was as newsworthy as the tidbit about playing chef.

“Is there any other kind?” He was smiling. “My parents had a catamaran when I was a boy. I loved being out on it. So, I bought a thirty-one-footer a few years back. I take her out on Lake Michigan as often as I can. Even so, the season’s just too damn short here.”

Mallory didn’t consider herself to be the romantic sort, yet she had no problem picturing Logan standing on a teak deck, manning the helm of a sailboat as the Chicago skyline grew small at his back and the deep aquamarine waters of the great lake beckoned.

“Sounds nice,” she said in a voice just this side of wispy. Good Lord, what was wrong with her?

“It is. Especially first thing in morning. There’s nothing like sitting on deck, drinking a cup of coffee and watching the sun crest the horizon.”

Mallory swallowed. Focus, she coached herself, when her mind threatened to meander a second time. “You make it sound like you sleep on your boat.”

“I’ve been known to. It’s peaceful out there, you know? None of the city noise. Only lapping water and the occasional cry of gulls.”

She thought about the El train that rumbled past her apartment at regular intervals. As far as she was concerned, what he spoke of was heaven. That was before she pictured him clad in…hmm…what did the good doctor wear to bed? That question brought another one to mind.

“Do you sleep there alone?” When his brows rose, she amended her query. “Who do you go sailing with?”

Logan’s laughter rumbled, deep and rich, dancing up her spine like a flat stone skipping over water. “Are you asking if I’m involved with someone?”

She cleared her throat, kept her tone reporter-neutral. “A lot of single women who read the Herald are dying to know just how eligible of a bachelor you are.”

“It’s that damned poll.”

“Yes,” she said dryly. “Every man in Chicago wishes he were so lucky as to find his name on it.”

“Do I have you to thank for my…providence?” he inquired.

Mallory shook her head. “I wasn’t part of the Lifestyles team then.”

He was undeterred. “But are you one of them? You know, the voters, those women interested in my personal life?”

“Not a voter, no. But you bet I am interested in your personal life.” She pulled a pen and slim notepad from the purse hanging over the back of her chair. “So?”

Some of the good humor leaked out of Logan’s expression when he said, “I didn’t realize that you were sent to this luncheon to cover me.”

Was that censure she spied in his gaze or disappointment? Mallory didn’t like seeing either one, but neither was she willing to back down. “Rabid pit bull,” Logan’s agent had called her. Well, she’d earned the reputation for a reason.

“Sorry. Hazard of my profession. And I can’t help thinking you make a far more interesting story than the winner of this year’s Action Award.” She tilted her head in the direction of the head table. “You’re a local celebrity, Logan. Homegrown, selfmade and very successful. You’re also a bit mysterious. Other than where you earned your degree and some of your vital statistics, not much is known about you.”

He folded his arms over his chest. “I like my privacy.”

“Yes, and readers like to invade it.” Mallory angled her head to one side. “It’s good public relations to toss them a bone every now and then. You know, since they’re the ones who tune in to your radio program and all.” Going for the jugular, she added, “In a very real sense, you could say you owe your success to them.”

“Well, when you put it that way.” A smile spread slowly across his face. Lethal, Mallory thought again, as her hormones popped around inside her like the numbered balls in a bingo machine. She found herself actually leaning toward him, drawn the way a moth is to a flame. And so it came as little surprise when heat began to spiral through her.

“Well?” Was that her voice that sounded so breathless, so damned eager?

“I’m not…in a relationship.”

She moistened her lips, leaned back. “Ah.”

What exactly did that mean? Men, she knew firsthand, defined relationships differently than women did.

“Any other questions?” Logan asked.

Mallory had dozens of them, and the man, her prime-rib ticket to workplace redemption, was offering her the opportunity to ask them. Unfortunately, with him looking at her in that assessing way, her mind had gone blank. She shook her head slowly, thankful when their entrees arrived and saved her from appearing tongue-tied, which, for the first time in her professional life, she was.

They ate their rubber chicken and overcooked rice pilaf in virtual silence; all the while Mallory recalled his mention of grilled marinated flank steak. It was almost a relief when the servers cleared away their plates and the award program began. Except that, as the president of the women’s club blathered on about the recipient’s many virtues, from the corner of her eye, Mallory spied Logan watching her.

What on earth was he thinking?

Logan studied Mallory. He’d meant it when he’d told her she was bright, interesting and attractive.

Attractive. Hell, she was downright lovely with all that rich brown hair framing an oval face that was dominated by the most amazing pair of big dark eyes he’d ever seen. Despite her physical beauty, it was her personality that captivated him. He liked smart women. The smarter the better. Add in pretty and, well, it was a lethal combination as far as he was concerned. Mallory certainly hit the mark. That in itself was a problem.

Logan had met her kind once before, years ago. He’d fallen hard at the time, so hard he’d almost made it to the altar, ready and willing to promise his undying love and devotion. A month before their nuptials, however, his fiancée had called off the wedding. Felicia had claimed to need time and space. She’d needed to think, to reflect. What became clear was she hadn’t needed him. She married someone else.

It had been nearly a decade since then. Logan had heard from her only once, just after her wedding. She’d sent him a letter, the postmark read Portland, Oregon. In the brief note, she’d asked him to forgive her, but even if he’d wanted to, he couldn’t. She’d included no forwarding address or phone number. He’d taken the hint. He’d been wary of commitment ever since.

That didn’t mean he didn’t like women or spending time with them. It just meant he didn’t let things progress into anything serious.

He glanced over at Mallory. She was scribbling down notes, seemingly absorbed in the award recipient’s less-than-exciting speech. As he watched her, his interest, among other things, was definitely piqued.

Rabid pit bull.

Logan’s agent had been adamant that he should steer clear of this particular reporter. Mallory had a reputation for ruining people, Nina Lowman insisted. Maybe it was the masochist in him that considered her reputation a challenge. Besides, he could handle himself around reporters. He’d been doing it enough since his radio call-in program had staked out the top spot in the ratings.

So, as the luncheon wrapped up, Logan leaned over to Mallory and asked, “Since turnabout is fair play, I have a question for you.”

“Oh?”

“What are you doing later this afternoon?”

She blinked, before her eyes narrowed. Why was it he found her suspicion sexy?

“Filing a story. Why?”

“How long will that take?”

“For this?” Her lips twisted, showing her distaste. It wasn’t the first time he wondered why a reporter with her reputation had been sent to cover a minor story. “I need a couple of quotes from the winner, a quote from someone on the award committee and to tap out a couple of paragraphs summing up why the winner was selected.”

“In other words, you could write it in your sleep,” he concluded.

She rewarded his blunt assessment with a smile. “Once I do a couple of brief interviews it should take me half an hour, tops. Why?”

Logan was playing with fire, which wasn’t like him. While he liked challenges, he wasn’t one to take unnecessary risks. Still, he heard himself ask, “Have you ever seen the city from the water?”

“No,” she said slowly.

“Well, if you want to, I dock my sailboat, the Tangled Sheets, at the yacht club. I’m planning to take her out around five.”

Something flashed in her dark eyes. Interest? Excitement? Briefly he wondered whether it was the reporter or the woman responsible for whatever emotion it was. To his surprise, he found he didn’t care.

“Which yacht club?” she asked.

Logan wasn’t willing to make it too easy for her. So he stood and, giving her a salute, walked backward a few steps toward the exit.

Just before turning he called, “You’re a reporter, Mallory. If you really want to meet me, you’ll figure it out.”