His Baby Deal (The Diamond Club Book 6)

by Elizabeth Lennox

  “And you haven’t thought about me in that way?” he teased. “I can see from the look in your eyes that you have.” His fingers tightened around hers. “I’ve thought of you often in that way, but before you mentioned you wanted to have a baby, I didn’t really acknowledge those feelings. So, if we’re both thinking that way, then why not just explore those feelings and get them out of our systems? Then you can have your baby. I won’t interfere but, I want to provide for your child. Our child,” he clarified, “that you will raise.”

  She thought about that for a long moment, not sure what to say. In the end, she went with honesty. “Jayce, what you’re suggesting is more than slightly tempting, I’ll admit. Because yes, I’ve often wondered what you…how things…well,” she stopped, feeling awkward. “I’ve thought about it.”

  “So, we’re going to do it.” He sat back with a nod, as if the issue were settled.

  “No. Because your friendship is more important to me than anything I’ve ever had in my life.” She turned, her body facing him more fully. “Jayce, when I’ve had a hard day, I sit out here and wait, listening carefully for the sounds of your return. I can’t wait to tell you about it because, as soon as I say the words, the bad day is gone. You listen to me, really hear me, and don’t judge. You just listen and the bad feelings vanish.”

  One of those impressively big, muscular shoulders lifted up slightly. “I feel the same way.”

  She blinked, stunned. “You do?”

  “Of course. When I come home in the evenings, I love sitting here talking with you. When I’m out of town on business,” she heard a slight hesitation with those words, “I miss our conversations. And your smile.”

  Her lips twisted slightly. “My smile?”

  He laughed. “Before two days ago, I wouldn’t allow myself to think about anything else.”

  She pulled her hands out of his and leaned back in the chair. “You really think we can go from being friends, to lovers, then back to being friends again?”

  He took a long sip of his iced tea. “Absolutely. I think it would be great. We’d have the best of both worlds.” His grin widened. “We’ll take it one step at a time. We’re friends now. Let’s move it to friends with benefits, then back to friendship. If we decide that it isn’t working, we’ll talk things through and make adjustments so we don’t lose our friendship.”

  Jessa liked the sound of that. Or maybe she just wanted him to kiss her again.

  “Fine.”

  His eyes widened and she wanted to laugh. Or run and hide.

  “Does that mean you’re going to let me help you?”

  “Yes. But you can’t give me money. I make a good living off my book sales. You don’t need to provide a trust fund for my…um…our baby.”

  “Jessa, I make nine figures a year. I can easily afford to provide for this child.”

  Her eyes widened. “You make that much money?” She looked behind him at his house. It was big, but…not that big! “Why in the world are you living here then? You could live anywhere you wanted!”

  He laughed softly. “I chose this house because it felt right. I don’t need a huge house. It’s just me. What would I do with more space?”

  She stared at him, stunned and more than a little flabbergasted. “I don’t know. Build a bowling alley!”

  “I don’t bowl.”

  She rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean.”

  “Yeah,” he chuckled. “But I like this house. I’ve refinished all of the rooms, restored most of the ornate details, and polished the floors, painted the walls, and rebuilt the cabinets and some of the old pieces of the house that make it unique. Daisy Barnes decorated it for me and she’s really good. The house is more of a home than anything I’ve ever had in my life.”

  Jessa knew that he’d refinished the house himself. She’d enjoyed watching him walking in and out of the house doing the woodwork, keeping his power tools in the backyard to cut down on the dust inside of the house.

  “I like Daisy. She’s amazing. She helped me decorate mine too. I like her husband, Rocco as well. He did a lot of the renovation work in most of these houses.”

  “Good kids too.”

  Jessa nodded, thinking that the conversation was a bit surreal. “Yeah, they are a nice family.” She sighed. “Jayce, is this…?”

  Before she could finish, he stood up, pulled her into his arms, and kissed her. Her hands instinctively went to his shoulders, both to steady herself and to hold him. Too many nights, she’d fantasized about those big, broad shoulders. It seemed natural to touch him there.

  When he lifted his head up slightly, checking her reaction, she still couldn’t think.

  “Shouldn’t we think about this a bit longer?” she asked, even as her fingers slid down his shoulder to his chest, touching him in places she’d never expected to get to feel.

  “Probably,” he replied, his hands moving under her tee shirt and pulling her closer. She could feel that interesting part of him against her stomach. She’d done that to him!

  His phone rang and he sighed, pulling back. “Hold that thought,” he said as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. “Yeah?” He listened for a long moment, absently letting his hand drift up and down her arm. Did he have any idea how good that felt? Jessa tried to hide the shiver that went through her, but his eyes narrowed on her and she could tell he knew.

  “Fine. I’ll take care of it,” he snapped, then ended the call. “I have to go take care of something,” he told her, pulling her in close. “You still have some concerns. I’m not going to pressure you into anything, but how about if we kiss more often?”

  Another gulp and she looked up into his eyes, hopeful but trying to hide her eagerness. “Kiss?”

  “Just kiss,” he affirmed. “Kiss and keep on talking. You tell me your concerns and we’ll talk. If you still want to go to an anonymous donor, then I’ll drive you to the place and sit with you during the whole process. I’ll even be your birthing coach.” He grinned down at her and her heart did a twisty little twirl. “What do you think?”

  She licked her lips, unconsciously leaning into him. “Kissing would be good,” she whispered. “And talking. Yeah, talking.”

  Chapter 4

  “You’re slacking off,” Oz announced as he walked into Jayce’s office, Ryker right behind him.

  Jayce didn’t reply, still focused on his conundrum. “What would you say if a woman told you that she wanted to get pregnant?” he asked his brother and best friend as they sat down in the chairs in front of his desk.

  “I’d say you need a new box of condoms,” Oz replied.

  Ryker, always a bit more intense, leaned forward. “Who wants to have a baby?” Oz lifted his hand and Jayce snorted while Ryker just ignored the other man. “You don’t count,” he told Oz.

  “Why don’t I count?”

  Jayce tossed a ball at his brother. “Because you’re nauseatingly happy with your new wife and excited about her being pregnant. By the way, have you found homes for the puppies yet?”

  Before Charlotte and Oz had met, Charlotte had adopted an adorably ugly bulldog that helped as an emotional support dog for her patients. As a therapist, Charlotte found her severely nervous or wounded patients opened up more easily with Bart, her bulldog, snuggled up with them. Oz had found a small puppy tied to a tree, half-starved and terrified, on the side of the road. He’d adopted the ball of fluff, nursed her back to health, and she’d grown into a cheerful, gigantic ball of fur, sweet eyes and a sloppy, pink tongue named Betty. Betty and Bart had taken one look and several butt sniffs at each other, and had fallen in love. Oz and Charlotte had tried to keep Betty and Bart apart until their “fixing”, but love prevailed. Charlotte and Oz now had a litter of puppies that…well, one could say they were cute now, but no one knew what they might grow into. Bart’s mashed up face and Betty’s crazy fur…it could be an interesting mix.

  Oz leaned back, crossing one leg over his other knee. “Charlotte is struggling with let
ting them go. She has to inspect potential families and their homes before she’ll let Betty and Bart’s babies go to anyone,” he explained

  “They are what…six weeks old now?”

  “Yeah. Betty is ready to start weaning. But Charlotte still coddles her, so the process isn’t happening quickly.”

  Jayce tapped a pen against his desk, contemplating an idea. “So, none of them have been adopted yet?”

  Ryker stared at Jayce. “This has something to do with the pregnancy question,” he realized.

  Jayce shrugged. “I’m not committing to anything yet. Just asking questions.”

  Oz looked at Jayce, then at Ryker, confused. “Who wants to get pregnant? And why do you care? Is it your baby?”

  Jayce waved the pen in the air. “This is all theoretical. Just answer the question.”

  “If I weren’t married to the woman, I’d say no,” Oz replied.

  Ryker pondered for a moment. “Why does she want to get pregnant?”

  Jayce sighed. “A…friend of mine suggested going to a sperm bank to get pregnant. She said something about her biological clock ticking and the sound increasing. I don’t know,” he explained, tossing his pen on to the desk.

  “Why the hell would she go to a sperm bank? Why can’t she just pick up a guy in a bar and get the deed done?” Oz asked.

  “Because she wants to be more selective about her child’s attributes?” Jayce suggested, as if that were the most obvious answer.

  “Don’t let her do it,” Oz replied, relaxing back in his chair.

  “How old is she?” Ryker asked.

  “I think she’s about thirty.”

  He nodded his head. “That makes sense. Women start to worry around that age.”

  “About what?” Jayce demanded, frustrated by the possibility of Jessa worrying about anything. And a bit panicked, if he were being honest.

  “Getting pregnant after thirty-five has risks. There’s a chance of problems, for both the mother and child.”

  Oz and Jayce stared at Ryker, astonished that he knew so much. He stared at his friends, shrugging. “What? I read!”

  Both men laughed, but Jayce leaned forward. “So you’d be okay with a…friend of yours going to a place like that?”

  “Hell no!” Oz replied. “I’d be furious if Charlotte went to a sperm bank.”

  “Why?”

  His grin was arrogant and charming at the same time. “Because I can do a better job, as is evidenced by the fact that you are going to be an uncle in a few months,” he replied.

  “It’s also more expensive,” Ryker added.

  “The forms the men fill out could all be lies,” Jayce continued.

  “It’s less fun,” Oz grinned.

  Ryker offered a rare smile with that one. “I have to agree there,” he said. “Imagine thinking about how your child was conceived and having to say that it was from a vial or syringe or whatever it is that places like that use to inject the stuff.”

  Jayce laughed. “Point taken.” He sighed, rubbing his face. “I also can’t discount the very real possibility that the child would need a father at some point in life.”

  “Every child needs someone who can be the Voice of Doom,” Oz agreed.

  Ryker nodded. “Besides, I just know that I would love and care for my children better than anyone else could. I wouldn’t want some other man doing it for me.”

  Oz slapped the man on the shoulder. “So, no chance of you earning a few extra bucks by adding in your DNA to a sperm bank that will eventually impregnate an anonymous woman?”

  “Not that way,” he replied, leaning back in the chair. Turning to Jayce, he shook his head. “Convince her not to do it,” Ryker urged.

  Jayce agreed, but didn’t explain that he wanted to be the father. And that he wanted to do everything the old fashioned way. He’d made progress with Jessa last night and…damn, just thinking about that kiss, not to mention how soft she’d felt…. He could still feel her silky skin under his fingers! She was so erotic when she kissed! Her body had literally wrapped around his. It had been so smoking hot last night, holding her like that!

  He rubbed the back of his neck as they discussed the business at hand. There was nothing old-fashioned about this situation. Old fashioned meant meeting a woman, dating and getting to know her, deciding if they both wanted to spend the rest of their lives with each other. Man proposes, woman accepts. They walk down the aisle and, after a few years, talk about having a baby.

  This situation with Jessa seemed completely backwards. She’d given up on dating and Jayce couldn’t really blame her. Some of the men she’d gone out with…they’d been pretty bad. He still chuckled at the idea of chicken soup all over the asshole’s bed though. That had been a good one.

  “Jayce! What do you think?”

  Jayce tuned back into the conversation, clearing his mind of chicken soup, beds, and Jessa. “What?”

  Oz stood up with a disgusted huff. “You’re useless,” exasperation dripping from his words and stalked out of Jayce’s office.

  Ryker stood as well, frowning thoughtfully. “Is she special to you?” he asked, his harsh voice sounding almost tender.

  Normally, Jayce would offer a flip answer and that would be the end of it. He might joke with Ryker and they’d meet for beers later, blowing off the conversation as a simple idle chat. But in this situation, he couldn’t joke. Jessa was…different.

  “Yeah, she’s special.”

  “I thought so.” He turned to leave. “Special women shouldn’t get pregnant on a doctor’s table,” he called out. Then stopped at the doorway, turning back to face Jayce. “Unless…” he grinned, then shook his head. “Never mind.”

  Jayce blinked after his friend in stunned silence, then roared with laughter. “A bit kinky, but none of my business,” Jayce commented turning to his computer.

  Chapter 5

  Jessa watched Jayce watch the waves rippling gently against the shoreline thoughtfully. She should go down and talk to him. Instead, she hid here in her kitchen, frozen by indecision.

  She’d gotten no writing done again today and hadn’t gotten much sleep either, too preoccupied with Jayce’s audacious suggestion. Have sex with Jayce? Have his baby? Not just an anonymous man’s baby, but Jayce’s baby! Good grief! Sex with Jayce! Jayce’s baby! Yowsa! Craziness! There was no way she could have sex with that man. He was so far out of her league! He was underwear model hot. She was mousy, shy, introverted to the point of not even managing to go out into the world some days. Jessa had to force herself to go out more often than not. In fact, she did all of her grocery shopping and errands on Monday or Tuesday, because there weren’t as many shoppers in the grocery store. She drove into Louisville for any of her other shopping needs, just so she wouldn’t run into someone from town and have to talk with them! After church, she slipped out the side doors, so she wouldn’t have to greet or speak with the minister!

  It wasn’t that she disliked the townspeople or the minister. They were all lovely people. And when she socialized with them, she had a wonderful time. It was just…she didn’t need social interactions.

  Jayce was tall and powerful. He had people over at his house all the time. She had no idea who they were, but they were big men. Sometimes, there were limousines in front of his house and men who looked like security surrounded the grounds. The men arriving at Jayce’s house looked just as big and muscular, but exotic somehow. Not scarier. No one could look more scary than Jayce.

  But she wasn’t afraid of him. Not physically anyway.

  Grabbing a diet soda from the fridge, she sighed, lifted her chin in the air and…took a deep, cleansing breath. Then another, hoping to steady herself then…

  He was watching her. How in the world could he see her from this distance? She remembered the other night when her microwave had pinged and he’d turned his head. Did he have ninja ears? And ninja eyes? No. He couldn’t see her. But when she stepped back again, trying to blend into the shadows, Jessa saw h
is lips curl slightly.

  Darn it! He could see her!

  With a huff of impatience, she stomped to the door and pushed it open, glaring at him from her patio. When he raised his glass of tea in greeting, she huffed a bit more. It was just a defense mechanism, but he couldn’t know that.

  “I hope he doesn’t know,” she grumbled under her breath as she stepped down the stairs and walked across the lawn to the lakeside deck.

  “What don’t you want me to know?” he asked when she approached.

  Startled, she frowned. “Um…nothing.”

  He was already sitting down in one of the all-weather chairs, and he leaned forward with interest. “You’re nervous. Why?”

  How in the world could he know that? She stood there, shifting her weight from foot to foot, debating on how to answer him. “I’m not nervous,” she lied.

  He lifted an eyebrow at that. “Jessa, I won’t hurt you.”

  Looking down at her unopened can of soda, she tapped at the tab with one fingernail. “I know you’d never hurt me.”

  “So, what’s the problem? We talk just about every night.”

  Jayce watched with increasing concern as her shoulders slumped in defeat. “Jess, talk to me. The only way we can make this work is if we’re open and honest with each other.”

  Her chocolate brown eyes were wide and filled with a fear he didn’t like. He loved her eyes! They were expressive and beautiful with startlingly long lashes, large and tilted up at the edges. Sort of a cross between an owl and a cat. When she smiled, her eyes smiled with her. When she was concerned about something, or disagreed with his point of view, those gorgeous eyes warned him that she was going to zing him. Damn, he loved her eyes. He could imagine her eyes telling him exactly what she wanted from him in bed. All he had to do was suggest something and watch her eyes to know if she might like his idea.

  But right now, her eyes were worried, which made his gut ache. Not good!

  “Talk to me,” he urged when she sat there in silence.

  When she finally lifted her head, his gut eased. The worried expression was gone, replaced with determination which caused certain parts of his body to tighten!