Stunned speechless by Beth’s vehemence, Nicole fisted her cold fingers by her side. She was on her own and she had no idea how to handle the disaster that had become her life.
Six
T he back of Nicole’s neck prickled late Wednesday morning. On alert, she swiveled her office chair away from her side desk. Ryan leaned against the doorjamb and observed her through narrowed eyes. Her heart slammed against her rib cage.
“Ryan Patrick to see you,” Lea chirped from beside him.Nicole cut her assistant a dry look and caught the matchmaking glint in her eyes. “I can see that.”
Lea grinned unrepentantly and shrugged. “Sorry, I was stuck on the phone and I waved him through. I knew you were only finishing the pilot scheduling chart.”
How long had Ryan been watching her? Had she done anything obnoxious?
“Thank you, Lea.” Nicole didn’t want to talk to him, but while she could get away with refusing personal visits at work, she couldn’t refuse to see a client, and she didn’t know in which capacity he’d come today. Judging from his tailored gray suit he’d come from work. He looked handsome, successful and rich like so many of the other HAMC clients, but her reaction to him was far from her usual business-only response. He had a way of looking at her that made her feel jumpy, jittery, tongue-tied and feminine.
Pressing suddenly damp palms to her skirt, she rose. “Good morning, Ryan. I wasn’t expecting you until Friday.”
It took a conscious effort to keep her gaze from drifting to his mouth, but that didn’t keep her lips from warming at the memory of a kiss she couldn’t seem to erase no matter how hard she tried.
“The agent has two houses lined up on this side of town. Ride over with me during your lunch hour.”
An order. Not an invitation. His timing couldn’t be worse.
Lea practically jumped for joy. “You’re looking at houses together?”
Nicole winced. “I’m helping Ryan find a place for himself.”
Lea’s face fell. “Oh, I thought maybe you two—”
“Lea, don’t you have supplies to order for an overseas flight?”
Behind Ryan’s back Lea stuck out her tongue. Nicole ignored her and glanced at her watch. “If you’d called, I would have told you I can’t go with you. I already have something scheduled, and I have to leave in a moment.”
Ryan had insisted on being present at each doctor’s appointment. Should she tell him where she was going?
No.
And then she remembered Lea knew. But Lea didn’t know the baby was Ryan’s. Nicole hadn’t dropped that bomb yet. But surely her assistant wouldn’t—
“I want to see the ultrasound video of the little tadpole when you get back,” Lea said. “You said the doctor was going to record it on a CD, right?”
Nicole’s body went cold. She simultaneously wanted to dive beneath her desk and strangle Lea. She prayed Ryan wouldn’t understand the remark. “We’ll discuss that later.”
Ryan straightened and his alert blue gaze probed hers. “You have a doctor’s appointment today?”
So much for keeping secrets. She swallowed. “Yes.”
“You didn’t tell me.”
“No.”
Out of the corner of her eye she caught Lea’s frown as if her assistant had finally picked up on the undercurrents. “Lea, please excuse us.”
Lea didn’t move. Ryan cut her a look and she backed out of the room. He shut the door in her face. “I told you I expected to be included in any doctor’s visits.”
“My attorney says I don’t have to let you into my private appointments. You’re entitled to the doctor’s notes pertaining to the baby and that’s it.”
Without moving a muscle, his demeanor changed completely. He suddenly looked dark, dangerous and fierce, his eyes glinting like ice chips and his face rigid. Not the kind of guy you’d want to meet in a dark alley.
“You don’t want to start a war with me, Nicole.” The quietly uttered words packed more punch than if he’d shouted them.
No, she didn’t want to fight with him and not only because her attorney had cautioned Nicole against causing unnecessary friction. Okay, she might as well admit that if not for the baby, she’d enjoy Ryan’s company. He was smart, attractive and ambitious—all the things she enjoyed in a date. But none of that mattered since she wasn’t looking for a relationship.
She licked her dry lips. “I’ll burn you a copy of the ultrasound video.”
“Not good enough. I want to be there where I can ask questions.”
While she understood his request and admired his dedication to his child, she suspected she’d be an emotional wreck during and after this appointment. Agreeing to have a child and give it away was one thing. Actually seeing the baby growing inside her and knowing it was a part of her and yet it wasn’t hers was another. She didn’t want Ryan to witness any potential meltdown she might have.
She shook her head. “I’m sorry. I really need to do this alone.”
“Not an option.”
That made twice this week she’d heard that phrase. She liked it even less this time. “Ryan—”
“I’m coming with you.”
“What about the houses?”
“I’ll postpone our appointment.”
She could object to him shadowing her, call her lawyer and put the legal wheels in motion to stop Ryan from butting in, but as her attorney had pointed out, a nationally acclaimed fertility clinic’s mix-up between two prominent Knoxville families was the kind of fodder tabloids loved to exploit. She’d lose credibility with her clients if that happened. And considering her family didn’t even know about the pregnancy yet, exposure through the media wasn’t a path Nicole wanted to take. Besides, hadn’t her mother’s affairs garnered enough bad publicity for Hightower Aviation?
The alarm on her cell phone chimed. If she didn’t leave now she’d be late for her appointment. Being late or taking legal action meant rescheduling, and she didn’t want to wait even one more day to see her—Beth’s baby. She shut off the alarm.
Letting Ryan accompany her was the most expedient choice. Even if she hated it. She sighed in defeat. “You can follow me to the medical complex in your car.”
“And give you the chance to lose me in traffic? No. We’ll ride together.” He withdrew his key ring from his pocket.
Her hackles rose. He might have her backed into a corner, but that didn’t mean she had to go down without a fight. “I’m driving.”
With a shrug he pocketed his keys and opened the door then extended his arm, palm up, to indicate she lead the way. Nicole snatched her purse out of the drawer and marched ahead. His palm pressed her lower back and her pulse jumped. She wished he’d quit doing that—at least until she could numb herself to his touch.
Thank goodness Lea was on the phone, but her eyes rounded as she took in Nicole leaving with Ryan and the familiar placement of his hand. There would be questions later, and eventually Nicole would have to figure out how much she was going to share. Right now she was too rattled to worry about it.
She led the way to her car. Ryan folded himself into the passenger seat. “Nice ride.”
Her pearl-white Cadillac SRX Crossover was both comfortable and roomy. “I have to taxi clients and their luggage around sometimes. As you may have guessed, we deal with high-end clientele. A luxurious vehicle is a necessity.”
He turned off her stereo, silencing the soothing flute concerto playing quietly in the background. “Are Beth and Patrick meeting us at the doctor’s?”
Ryan didn’t need to know about the dissension between Beth and Patrick. Nicole pointed the car toward the medical complex and tried to come up with an answer that wouldn’t lead to more questions. She couldn’t. “No.”
“Aren’t they interested in the kid?”
“Yes. But they’re…today’s not a good day.”
His lips and eyes narrowed. “For either of them?”
“No. They’ll watch the video.”
Ryan’s presence overpowered the interior of her car. She’d never felt this cramped even with four clients packed inside and had never been as conscious of anyone’s scent as she was the subtle hint of his cologne.
Her gaze strayed to the tanned, long-fingered hands resting on his thighs. How would those hands feel on her skin? Her stomach swooped at the taboo question. She shut down that line of thinking…or tried to, but her out-of-whack hormones wouldn’t let her.
“Ryan, I can’t be your CAM. It’s a conflict of interest.”
“One your brother assured me you’d make work.”
“You told him about the baby?” Her voice squeaked.
“No. I told him we were…acquainted. He drew his own conclusions.”
“You mean he thinks we’re lovers.” She shot him an exasperated look. “Torturing me is not going to make this go any smoother.”
“I’m not torturing you. I’m going after what’s mine.”
“I keep telling you. The baby isn’t yours except by a genetic link. You have no more connection to it than any other sperm donor does to his offspring.”
“I have a legal connection. That’s what matters.”
She wasn’t going to win this war of words. The brick office building came into view. Every muscle in her body snapped taut. The ultrasound was going to be hard. Part of her ached to see the life growing inside her. Part of her dreaded it. She parked, but her hands couldn’t seem to release the steering wheel.
“Nicole?”
“We’re here,” she said in as cheerful a voice as she could muster. When his frown deepened she wanted the stupid, unnecessary words back, but she couldn’t unsay them, so she met Ryan’s gaze and tried to emit a calm vibe. From his serious expression she’d guess she received a D minus for her effort.
“Is this your first ultrasound?”
Her fingers remained clenched. Her knuckles looked blanched in the sunlight. “Yes.”
“Let’s do it.” He shoved open his door, exited the car and came around to open her door. When she didn’t get out, he crouched down to meet her at eye level. “The scan won’t hurt you or the baby. You have nothing to worry about.”
Surprise jerked her eyes to his. He was comforting her? “I know it won’t hurt.”
He offered a hand. “Come on. Let’s go see what we’ve made.”
She almost liked him at that moment.
She willed her muscles to loosen and accepted his assistance. His warm fingers closed around hers and tugged her from the car. She found the contact calming which was exactly why she pulled free. She couldn’t afford to lean on him or to trust him. Her legs quivered with each step as she accompanied him to the building, and her voice shook as she gave the receptionist her name.
She sat in a vinyl chair beside Ryan and scanned the room. Several women smiled at him then at her as if they believed them to be a happy, expectant couple. She wanted to correct them. But she didn’t. She noted the rounded tummies of the moms-to-be. That would be her in a matter of months. On the other side of the room a tiny baby slept in a carrier beside a woman who looked both exhausted and exhilarated.