Kitabı oku: «The Heir's Unexpected Baby»

To everyone who has opened their homes and hearts to foster children... you are truly a blessing.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Title Page

About the Author

Dedication

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

Ten

Eleven

Twelve

Thirteen

Fourteen

Fifteen

Sixteen

Seventeen

Eighteen

Epilogue

Extract

Copyright

One

“What are you doing here so early?”

Jack Carson brushed past Vivianna Smith and stepped into her apartment, trying like hell not to touch her. Or breathe in that familiar jasmine scent. Or think of how sexy she looked in that pale pink suit.

Masochist. That’s all he could chalk this up to. But he had a mission, damn it, and he needed his assistant’s help to pull it off.

Wouldn’t life be so much easier if Viv were only his assistant? He’d avoided the unwanted attraction for four years, yet the longer she worked for him, the more difficult that was proving to be. And lately, he’d been having dreams. Okay, fine. Fantasies. And she starred in every single one of them.

How the hell could he even have these thoughts about her? It was flat-out wrong, not to mention unprofessional.

“I need you to use that charm of yours and get more information.” He turned to face her as she closed the door to her apartment. “You’re going to have to dig deeper into the Parkers’ lives.”

Clint and Lily Parker were a young couple who had been killed two months ago in a robbery gone wrong. The perpetrators set the Parkers’ house on fire. The only survivor was a sweet infant named Katie...a baby Viv now fostered.

The burn in his chest was still crippling. Jack wasn’t going down the baby path, not even in his mind. He admired Viv for reaching out and helping a child, as she had so many times over the years. But babies weren’t for him. They never could be if he wanted to keep his heart intact.

“You’re positive the O’Sheas had something to do with that crime?” Vivianna asked, moving around him to head down the hall.

With no option but to follow her swaying hips, he fell in right behind her. He was human, and a guy. Where else could he look but those hips? She always had on those damn body-hugging skirts...he believed she referred to them as pencil skirts. Those curves would be the death of him.

“I know they did,” he confirmed.

The infamous O’Shea family of Boston was always slipping around the law, ignoring the basic rules of human decency. Jack’s main focus in life was bringing cocky bastards like that down. Every time he went against those believing they were above the law, he saw the person who had killed his wife and unborn child...and still ran free.

The O’Sheas might run a polished high-society auction house known around the globe, but he knew they were no better than common criminals. And Jack was about to prove to this arrogant family who was in charge. He would bring them down in a spectacular show of justice. And his ticket was the woman who fueled his every fantasy.

A year ago, Jack had set up the perfect bogus background for Viv. She was working only part-time for the notorious family, but that’s all he needed for her to gain intel.

The FBI had sought him out, needing someone with his experience and resources to infiltrate the O’Sheas. Since Jack was the best in the business of investigating, of course they needed him. That wasn’t vanity, either, just a fact. Jack could get things done when others couldn’t.

The millions he’d made hadn’t rolled in by him sitting back and delegating responsibilities. He’d worked his ass off, throwing himself into his work and opening Carson Enterprises when he got home from Afghanistan ten years ago.

He’d returned to find that he’d lost his entire family while he’d been overseas. What else had there been to live for other than seeking justice anywhere he could?

Since he’d already made a fortune, he often turned down jobs when they didn’t appeal to him. But the O’Sheas were right in his wheelhouse. They had been in talks with the Parker couple about acquiring some of their antiques when the robbery happened. There wasn’t a doubt in Jack’s mind that this tight-lipped family knew what really went down that tragic night.

Viv went into the nursery. Heart clenching, Jack opted to wait in the hall—demons and all that.

He commended Viv for her love of children, the way she fostered with open arms. Over the time he’d known her, he’d seen her with various children, but never an infant. He couldn’t get involved in any of that. The wounds he’d lived with for so long had never healed...probably never would.

Viv stepped back into the hall, Katie’s head resting against her shoulder. “I need to drop her off at the sitter next door and get to work.”

Viv was lucky that her next-door neighbor was a retired teacher and widow. She loved kids and took care of Viv’s foster kids when she was working.

“I’m doing what I can, Jack.” Her eyes held his and he hated how tired she looked. Beautiful, sexy as hell, but still tired. “They’re already suspicious because of the missing data. If I press too hard, they’ll know I’m not who I say I am.”

Jack hadn’t wanted to put her in this position. But he couldn’t back down when he had a job to do. And that job wasn’t staring at the V in her suit jacket as baby Katie tugged at the opening.

A flash of a white lacy bra taunted him, making him want to undo those few buttons to see if the lace...

Damn it. Get a grip.

She stepped forward, and Jack had to force himself to focus on her face. Which wasn’t a hardship. Viv was part Native American. Her grandmother had been in the Sioux tribe, so Viv had inherited high cheekbones, long, dark hair and deep brown eyes. He’d seen more than one man do a double take her way...and each time, Jack had wanted to throat punch the stranger.

Guilt banded around his chest like a vise. He shouldn’t be lusting after another woman. He’d had the love of his life; she was gone. Gone because he hadn’t been there to protect her or their baby.

Getting drawn to Viv was just a by-product of working together for so long. She was the only woman he associated with, other than his housekeeper-slash-chef, Tilly. He admired Viv because she was strong, with an undertone of vulnerability. Add in her striking looks and perfectly shaped curves and it was only natural he be attracted to her. But he had to keep his emotions beneath the surface where he could control them.

“I’m on your side here,” she told him with a soft smile, pulling him back to the moment. “Why don’t you come over this evening and we can talk more.”

“I have a conference call this evening with some clients in the UK.”

Viv gave a slight nod. “Oh, okay. Then tomorrow? I’ll make dinner and we can figure out our next step.”

Dinner? With her and the baby? That all sounded so...domestic. He prided himself on keeping work in the office or in neutral territory. But he’d come here this morning to check on her...and he couldn’t blame it all on work.

Damn it. The longer this case went on, the more protective he became—the more possessive.

“You can come to my place and I’ll have my chef prepare something.”

There. If Tilly was on hand, then maybe it wouldn’t seem so family-like. Viv often fostered kids who had no place else to go. He had no idea why she’d never settled down and started a family of her own, when it was so obvious she loved caring for children. But that was none of his business. Just because they were associates didn’t mean he had a right to pry into her life. Clearly, she didn’t want to discuss such things or she would’ve brought them up.

“I can do tomorrow,” she told him, her smile widening. “Katie and I would love to get out of the house. I get off work around four, so I’ll pick her up and be right over.”

Jack hadn’t had her over with a child before. On the rare occasions he and Viv got together outside the office, it was usually just the two of them. In the past couple years, ever since he started really noticing Vivianna as more than his assistant, he’d tried to keep their social interactions to a minimum.

“Any requests?” he asked.

Did her gaze just dart to his lips? She couldn’t look at him with those dark eyes as if she wanted...

No. It didn’t matter what she wanted, or what he wanted for that matter. Their relationship was business only. Period.

“Um...no requests.” She shook her head, offered a smile. “Whatever you have will be fine.”

Jack rubbed his damp palms against his jeans. He needed to get out of here. Between that telling look she’d thrown him, the precious baby still sleeping in her little pink onesie and his lack of sleep from working, his mind was throwing all sorts of impossible scenarios at him.

Jack crossed to the door and gripped the doorknob. He glanced over his shoulder as Viv closed in behind him. “Be careful, Viv. I don’t want you to take unnecessary risks.”

She shifted the sleeping baby and tipped her head. “You’ve taught me how to look out for myself. I promise I’ll be fine. See you tomorrow.”

Jack paused, soaking in the sight of her in that prim little suit, holding the baby. Definitely time to go before he forgot she actually worked for him and took what he’d wanted for months. He didn’t need any more heartache or distractions in his life.

* * *

It was finally four o’clock and Viv couldn’t wait to get out of her office at O’Shea’s and go see Jack. Ridiculous, this infatuation she had with her boss. Clichés were definitely not her thing, yet she’d be diving headfirst into his sheets if he gave her the green light.

Sad. She was a sad woman hoping her boss would notice her. Like she had time for a torrid, steamy affair. She was caring for a child, an infant. There was nothing sexy about the haggard, overworked-mom look. But Viv would never give up fostering. She could still be a mother, yet not get too emotionally attached.

The heartache of knowing she’d never have her own children was somewhat pacified, yet the underlying hurt was never too far below the surface. But work kept her busy and her attentions focused elsewhere. It wasn’t as if she didn’t have a full load at the moment.

Viv started at O’Shea’s part-time, which was perfect for her fostering schedule, not to mention that she still worked for Jack, as well. Being single, she had only a handful of people she could count on. Her parents were no longer around and she was an only child. She’d learned some time ago how to be independent, but even so, she needed some help when caring for a child and working outside the home.

Her quirky neighbor, Martha, was an adorable elderly lady who watched Katie most of the time, but when Viv was in a bind, she’d simply take Katie into the office. Well, her office with Jack.

Oh, she “worked” at O’Shea’s, but that was only a cover created by Jack to get her on the inside, up close and personal. Her real employer was one sexy, rich investigator who couldn’t move beyond his heartache to see there was still life out there.

If it wasn’t work, he wasn’t interested...which was the only reason he’d shown up so early at her house yesterday morning. The man had been through so much pain in his life, it was no wonder he was married to his job. He’d lost his mother when he’d been around nineteen, then he’d seen battle in war. His wife had been killed and he’d never known who his father was... Viv knew just enough details for her heart to break for him, but she wished he would try living again. She’d love to be the one to show him that not everything was harsh and cold...if he would only let her in.

Viv headed toward the back office of O’Shea’s. Laney, the youngest O’Shea and the only female sibling, was out front dealing with a potential client. Since they had discovered some information had been leaked to the Feds, at least one member of the infamous family was here at all times...which made Viv’s snooping a tad more difficult, considering she was here only about twenty hours per week.

Circling the antique desk that had been assigned to her in the office, she opened the top left drawer to find a pen. She wanted to jot down some items she needed to pick up from the store or she’d forget.

Katie was teething and the nights were getting longer and longer. Poor baby. She’d lost her parents and now she wasn’t sleeping. Viv wanted to comfort the sweet girl while she was in her care.

All kids that came into Viv’s home were precious, and they were all hard to say goodbye to. But Viv stayed strong for them. With this being her first baby, she worried how much more difficult it would be, both emotionally and logistically. She already had a demanding schedule, but she couldn’t turn away this poor orphan who’d just lost both parents.

At the moment, Katie needed more pain reliever for her swollen gums, and Viv was out of nearly everything. Grocery shopping wasn’t high on the priority list right now. Saving kids, helping Jack, trying to get Jack to notice her as more than a friend...would he ever? Her to-do list seemed to grow by the day.

Vivianna reached inside her desk for a pen and a slip of paper. She’d used this particular desk since coming here a year ago. During that time she’d earned the trust of the O’Sheas, and occasionally felt guilty about her act, but she wasn’t naive. She’d heard the rumors around Boston. Anyone who delved into the art or auction world knew who the O’Sheas were. The terms mafia and mob seemed to follow them wherever they went.

Something brushed the top of her hand. Viv jerked back, bent down, but didn’t see anything inside the drawer. If there was a spider in there tickling her skin there wouldn’t be enough antibacterial gel to kill those horrendous germs.

She quickly reached back in for her pen and paper. And once again something brushed the back of her hand.

Viv reached for her cell phone and shone the light inside the drawer, fully expecting to see a family of hairy tarantulas.

When she bent down, she saw a sliver of paper sticking out...from the top of the drawer? Since Viv had used this desk for so long, she had no idea what that could be.

She listened. Laney and the client were still talking. Viv’s desk sat in the corner, away from them, so the coast was clear. Pulling her chair over, she took a seat and bent to examine the underside of the desk. How had she not noticed anything before?

Gripping the paper between her thumb and index finger, she tugged slightly. When it eased out further, she noticed some cursive writing she couldn’t identify. Pulling a bit more, she felt something give. Putting her phone inside the drawer to shine upward, she reached with both hands. The board was loose.

Viv pulled slightly, careful to not make too much noise, but Laney and the client were now laughing. Perfect.

The board was a bit of a struggle, but it came loose. And a small book fell into the drawer.

Viv stared, curious about where it had come from and who’d hidden it in the desk. She quickly grabbed her purse from the bottom drawer and slid the book inside. She’d have to look at it later.

Grocery list forgotten—she could worry about that later—Viv grabbed her things. She belted her wrap coat and quickly hoisted her purse up onto her shoulder as she headed out the back door. The bitter wind cut right through her, but she was anxious to get to her car.

Once she settled into her older model car, Viv turned on her heated seat, locked the doors and pulled the small leather-bound book from her purse.

It didn’t take her long to realize she’d struck gold. The author of this journal was none other than the late Patrick O’Shea. The patriarch of the Boston family Jack was hell-bent on bringing down. The family she’d been infiltrating for a year.

As she skimmed the pages, she knew when she got to Jack’s house he’d devour this thing. She couldn’t wait to get this to him, to show him she was valuable and actually had something concrete they might be able to use.

She flipped another page, then froze as she read the entry. Her blood chilled as each word sank in. There was no skimming this one. In fact, she read it twice to make sure she wasn’t seeing things.

Heart in her throat, she knew there was no way Jack could ever see this journal. Everything he’d wanted to bring down the family was here...including the fact that Jack was Patrick’s illegitimate son.