Falling for the Pregnant Heiress

by Susan Meier

  She knew what love had gotten her mom. Heartbreak and fear. She didn’t think she had any reason to fear Trent but giving in to these feelings would definitely cause heartbreak.

  She slithered her way through the crowd to the dance floor. The pounding beat of the music urged her to move. Which was what she needed to do. Not to escape. Just not to think. Trent eased in beside her and before she knew it they were dancing beside the hot couple again.

  The guy slid his hand up his girlfriend’s neck and pulled her face toward him for an openmouthed kiss.

  Sabrina watched, mesmerized. That would be how Trent would kiss. Sort of commanding with his hand hooking around her neck and pulling her close. But he’d also get right to the point with the openmouthed kiss.

  She took a breath to clear her head of that thought, but as she did the music shifted again. A ballad replaced the pulsing beat. Trent slid his hand around her waist and took her hand. Before she could think to say no, she was in his arms.

  It was so different than anything she’d ever experienced that she almost froze. She caught herself before she missed a step in the dance, but she couldn’t stop feeling. Even the fabric of the suit she’d chosen for him was soft, sensual. His hands were slightly calloused. And when she looked into his eyes, she all but melted.

  He was intelligent, sexy and happy.

  And she was in his arms. Close enough to feel the movements of his body, to savor the feeling of his shoulder under her palm—

  She swallowed hard. They were in Spain because she was on her way to see the father of her child. A guy she didn’t want to marry because she didn’t believe in marriage. She didn’t believe in love.

  And Trent, like her brothers, needed love to heal from the wounds of his lonely childhood. He might not know it, but as much of a planner, analyzer as she was, it was clear as day to Sabrina. She’d witnessed what had happened with Jake and Seth. They floated through life, unhappy, until the right woman helped them face their pain and let it go. That was what Trent needed. And maybe there’d be a third unicorn woman out there who could care for him the way Avery and Harper had healed Jake and Seth.

  She eased out of his arms.

  She wasn’t that woman. She didn’t believe in these squiggly feelings. And even if they existed, her mom had felt them for her dad and she’d married him and been miserable, afraid, for forty years.

  No one, no feeling, was worth forty years of misery.

  * * *

  Trent saw the happiness drain out of Sabrina’s blue-gray eyes. For a good two minutes he’d watched her changing, watched her interest pique and her breath stutter, indicating she was every bit as attracted to him as he was to her.

  Then she’d stopped, frozen, and whatever had popped into her brain, it sucked every bit of happiness out of their moment...

  He fought the disappointment that surged through him. Not just for himself, for her. These feelings might be good, but they were ill-timed. She carried another man’s child. And though she thought Pierre wouldn’t want anything to do with their baby, he might surprise her. Trent couldn’t do anything about their attraction until that situation was settled. For the baby’s sake, he hoped Pierre would want to marry her.

  But if he didn’t...

  That was a question for tomorrow. Tonight, no matter how much he was enjoying this, enjoying her, giving in to their unlikely attraction wasn’t right.

  He stepped back. “I guess we’re ready to go home.”

  She nodded.

  They said goodbye to his friends, who were still all smiles. He was sure they were confused about Sabrina. They knew him well enough to know she was more than just his friend’s baby sister, but his normal dates were tall and thin with wild hair and mischief in their eyes. Sabrina was serious. Beautiful but serious.

  His feelings for Sabrina confused him, too.

  Which was another reason to back off.

  The return trip to his condo was made in total silence. In the lobby of his building, Sabrina gave him a sheepish smile.

  “I’m just tired.”

  No. She’d figured all this out in her head, convinced herself they were wrong for each other and was back to her normal self.

  Which was good. It had to be good. He didn’t want to be the man responsible for keeping her baby from its father. Worse, he didn’t want to be the fourth wheel in a relationship that should only have three: Sabrina, Pierre and their child. He’d already been the extra person in a family. He knew how painful and lonely it was.

  They entered the elevator. The door swished closed and her perfume floated to him. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block it, but all that did was conjure visions of her dancing. Happily dancing. He hadn’t seen her laughing at her brother’s wedding, but she’d been happy tonight. Maybe because she’d been dancing with him?

  He thanked God when the elevator doors opened. His thoughts were going in a very bad direction. Pride over showing a woman a good time was a normal male reaction. Especially a woman so beautiful. Especially a woman who had trusted him enough to wear the dress he’d chosen for her. And a woman who desperately needed a good time.

  But that was all there could be to it.

  They reached the door of his condo. He unlocked it and they stepped inside. She headed back to the extra room but pivoted to face him.

  “Thank you.”

  Disarmed by her sincerity, he tossed his keys in the air and caught them one-handed. “For?”

  “I could say stupid things like the dress or dinner or the fun time dancing, but that would be a cover. I needed to relax. You saw that. You helped me.”

  She said it as if no one had ever helped her before...

  No. She said that as if no one had ever seen her before.

  His heart contracted. No one had seen him most of his childhood. It had taken courage, genius and earning enough money to fund a small country before he’d felt seen, heard. Who would have thought a woman with two brothers who doted on her and a mother who thought the sun rose and set on her would feel alone?

  He cleared his throat. “You’re probably not going to believe this, but it really was my pleasure.”

  She smiled and caught his gaze with her big blue eyes. “Then maybe you should be thanking me.”

  He laughed because she expected him to. But a million thoughts raced through his brain. A million sensations bombarded his body. He hadn’t felt this connection, this need, with anyone. Ever.

  “I should.” He paused for a breath. “Thank you. I really did have a great time.” He wanted to kiss her so badly his chest ached with it. He wanted to show her she was beautiful and worthy of any man’s attention. He longed for it with a desperation that surprised him.

  But they weren’t right for each other. And if they crossed a line and he hurt her, Seth would shake him silly...and he’d deserve it. But more than that, it would shift the focus of this trip. Maybe cause her to say no if Pierre wanted to expand their relationship because of their child.

  He nudged his head in the direction of the hall, indicating she should go to her room. “Good night.”

  She nodded once. “Good night.”

  He tossed his jacket and tie to the kitchen island then sank into one of the two chairs in the living room. Using the remote hidden in the top of the wooden sofa table, he pressed a button that turned the huge mirror over the fireplace into a big-screen TV. He kept the volume down low enough not to disturb Sabrina and searched for something to watch.

  It was going to be a long night.

  * * *

  Sabrina awakened the next morning feeling unexpectedly refreshed. She didn’t know if it was too soon in her pregnancy for morning sickness, but so far, so good. No puking, no dizziness, no queasiness.

  She showered and dressed in a pair of jeans and a pale blue T-shirt, but didn’t slip her feet into shoes. Trent’s condo was c
omfy. Homey. She padded barefoot to the main living area, telling herself she wasn’t eager to see him. He was a fun guy. He had shown her a good time because that was who he was. She could have been as ugly as a muddy fence and he would have been a good host.

  Because that was how she now saw him. Her host. Nothing more.

  The night before, lying in bed, she’d convinced herself that everything between them was fine. There had been no awkward moment when she was sure he wanted to kiss her. Her pulse hadn’t really skipped a beat when he looked at her, and her heart hadn’t nosedived when she’d realized how good it felt to touch him. He was her brother’s friend, doing her a favor.

  That was even how he’d explained her to his friends.

  All those things she’d thought she’d experienced had to have been one-sided. Otherwise, he would have kissed her.

  Exactly.

  She walked into the empty main area, hoping he stored bottled water somewhere. “Trent?”

  The place was eerily quiet. Kind of like her condo before she raced out for work each morning. Empty. Echoing the sounds of her movements back to her.

  She peered around the kitchen island, down the long row of sage-colored cabinets. “Trent?”

  Well, she certainly wasn’t going back to his bedroom to ask about something as simple as a bottle of water. She checked the refrigerator, found it empty and decided she’d grab her purse and go out to look for a shop that sold water...

  Without the proper currency?

  It was Monday. Surely, she could find a bank.

  She was just about to return to her room to get her purse when the condo door opened. Trent stepped inside, carrying a tray with two paper cups, the kind that usually held coffee, and two bags.

  “The two coffees are for me.” He displayed a bag. “I have water in here.” He nudged his chin toward the second bag. “And bagels and cream cheese in here.” He set everything on the island. “Or, if you want, we can go out for breakfast.”

  “You had me at cream cheese.”

  “Good. Because I’m starving, and we’d wait at least twenty minutes for our food even if we went to one of the restaurants just down the street.”

  She rooted through the first bag and grabbed a water. After taking a long drink, she said, “Thanks. I didn’t realize how thirsty I was.”

  “We danced a lot. I should have thought of that and had water in the fridge.”

  She might have relegated him to the role of host, but there was such a thing as being a demanding guest. A woman with proper manners would not do that.

  “You don’t have to wait on me. I’m fine.”

  “You’re also my friend’s little sister.”

  That reasoning was a good addition to her “host” theory for why he didn’t want to act on the feelings that had pulsed between them the night before, and she pounced on it.

  “Ah. Don’t want to make Seth mad?”

  He laughed as he walked around the center island, bent down and pulled out a toaster. “I’ve never been afraid of Seth.”

  She opened the bagels. “Really?”

  He took two, split them and slipped them into the four-slot toaster. “Really. When we met, he was like a scared puppy. For all the lecturing your father had done, he hadn’t taught Seth anything about the real world. Your brother knew how to do anything that involved money. He just didn’t know how to get money.”

  Sabrina sat on one of the stools across the wide counter from Trent. “What does that mean?”

  “Your brother’s main source of income was an allowance. Anytime your dad withheld it, Seth went into a tailspin.”

  She leaned her elbows on the counter and her chin on her entwined fingers. “So what happened?”

  “I was working as a waiter at a bistro and I got him a job.” He shook his head. “I still remember him standing there, watching everybody, as if absorbing everything. Then he picked up an apron and a pad and pencil and he went to work.”

  “That simple?”

  “Oh, he dropped trays and spilled a drink on a guy’s head—”

  She gasped. “Spilled a drink on a guy’s head!”

  “In fairness, a customer in a hurry bumped into his elbow.”

  “Oh, that’s funny!”

  “You’re not supposed to get funny from the story. You’re supposed to see how hard he tried.” Trent shook his head. “No, I think what you’re supposed to see is that your brother didn’t think himself too good for work. He was eager to make his own way.”

  “That’s why we didn’t see him for two years?”

  “You didn’t see him because he was tired of being humiliated and embarrassed by your dad. He’d have gone to see you or your mom in a heartbeat, but he wanted no part of your dad.”

  “He hadn’t seen Dad in years when he passed.”

  Trent’s voice softened. “Your dad hurt him a lot.”

  “I get that.”

  “And what about you?”

  “What about me?”

  “How did you fare with your dad?”

  The bagels popped out of the toaster. As Trent pulled them from the little slots, Sabrina found knives in a drawer beside the sink and opened the cream cheese.

  “My dad thought I was adorable. My mom capitalized on that. She taught me to be prim and proper.” She took one of the bagels from Trent and began to slather it with cream cheese. “Very polite. Mannerly. It served me well.”

  Trent said, “Served you well?” before he took a bite of his bagel.

  “As long as I never did anything wrong, he didn’t yell at me or snipe at me or boss me around.”

  “Couldn’t Seth and Jake have done that?”

  “They weren’t as cute.”

  He laughed. “I’m serious.”

  “So am I. I was an adorable child. Jake was all arms and legs and Seth didn’t grow out of his baby weight until he was twenty. But also, they were guys. My dad wanted them to grow up tough and ruthless.” She met his gaze. “As he was.”

  “And instead he turned them in the other direction.”

  “Jake was a maybe for a while. He might not have cheated or lied as our dad had but he was a hard-nosed businessman.”

  “Jake? The guy who melts every time Abby looks at him.”

  “It’s why Avery didn’t want to marry him. Why she was afraid to let him have a part in raising Abby. He didn’t see anything but work, didn’t care about anything but the McCallan legacy.”

  He finished the first half of his bagel. “Your family certainly has some tales.”

  “And we don’t hide it. Hiding things was what my father did. So we’re very open about our lives.”

  “Except Sally McMillan.”

  She snorted. “Sally’s the exception. Otherwise, my work wouldn’t be judged on its merit.”

  He grabbed the second half of his bagel. “I get it.”

  “Do you?”

  “Well, as much as I can. I didn’t grow up surrounded by maids and drivers. We didn’t have to worry about the people who worked for us carrying gossip out to the street.”

  “There was more to it than that.” She slowly spread cream cheese across the second half of her bagel. “My dad had a temper. We all just tried to stay out of his way.”

  He took a sip of coffee. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to diminish what happened in your penthouse.”

  She shrugged. “You didn’t. We all ended up fine. Even my mother.”

  “That’s good.”

  She smiled and nodded but looking into his dark eyes, she remembered that everything from his not-so-happy family hadn’t worked out. Oh, he had money and brains—genius—but he was alone.

  “Anyway, the point of all of this was to explain that your brother and I grew very close while living together and working together. It started off as me and my
friend Clark, then Clark brought in Seth. Then after a year or so Harper moved next door and Clark fell for her like a ton of bricks and spent all his spare time at her apartment. Then it was just me and Seth hanging out, working together, going to school. I taught Seth some street stuff. He taught me about investing and saving. And we both landed on our feet. I think of him as more than a friend. I think of him as a brother.”

  She considered that for a few seconds. “You think you owe him.”

  He bobbed his head in agreement. “Yes.”

  “He thinks he owes you and Clark.”

  “He owes Clark because none of us would have had a place to live if Clark hadn’t come directly from the Midwest with enough money for a month’s rent and a security deposit.”

  “But he owes you for the street smarts.”

  He laughed. “And he paid me back by teaching me things—and introducing me to the right people—after getting all three of us a job in an investment firm right out of university.”

  “Why didn’t you throw in with Seth and Clark when they started their own investment firm?”

  “They were conservative.” He laughed devilishly. “I wanted to roll the dice.”

  “Lucky for you.”

  “Yes.” He took another drink of coffee. “So what time do we leave for the ranch?”

  She glanced down at her jeans and shirt. “I’m ready now.”

  He spread his hands accommodatingly. “So am I.”

  “Let’s clean this up and we can head out.”

  “I’ll clean up. You go get your things.”

  She rounded the island and pushed his hands aside when he reached for the bag of bagels. “Don’t be silly. I can clean up.”

  * * *

  He watched her make short order of tying the twist tie around the bagels and storing them in a drawer as he tucked the extra water into the fridge and wet a paper towel to wipe off the countertop.

  Understanding wobbled through him. It was as if she went out of her way to let people know she wasn’t pampered or spoiled. Seth and Jake hadn’t had to do that because stories of their father’s abuse had rippled into Manhattan’s folklore. But Sabrina had been the adorable little girl. The one their father had doted on.