Bianca was right. The second they caught wind that she was pregnant, and the father was nowhere around, her family would start feeling the heat.
“How far along are you?”
Despair swept over her face. “Almost three months.”
London pulled back and made sure she saw the incredulous look on his face. “Three months! And you haven’t said anything?”
Feeling a little flustered, she batted his arm away then moved and took the seat on the couch beside him.
“I’ve only known for a few weeks. I was so busy working on the marketing campaign for the new hotel that I didn’t even notice when I’d missed my period.”
“Didn’t you have morning sickness?”
“A little.” Bianca dragged her knees to her chest and rested Angie Daniels
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her chin on her knees. “I thought it was stress. Collin was worried about his unit being deployed and I guess in the back of my mind I was worried about that, too. Then he started asking me to marry him and as much as I wanted to, I just wasn’t sure if I really…”
she dropped her voice and cleared her throat as if she suddenly remembered who it was she was sharing her personal life with.
“What made you finally decide to agree to marry him?”
She didn’t meet his eyes and the answer became obvious. He nodded knowingly. “When you found out you were pregnant.”
It wasn’t a question, even though she nodded at his statement.
His lips pressed into a grim line. “Does he know that the baby is the only reason why you agreed?”
Slowly, she shook her head. “He doesn’t know I’m pregnant.”
London wiped a hand down his face. “This is great, Bianca, just great! Why the hell didn’t you tell him?”
She hitched her chin high as she pointed down at the photographs. “Considering the evidence, do you really think that would have made a difference?” she barked sarcastically. Taking a deep breath, she added, “I had planned to surprise him on our honeymoon.”
There was a long, strained silence. “So what are you going to do now?”
“Not that it’s any of your business, but I plan to keep the baby.
I’ll just have to raise her myself.” She rose and moved over to the love seat, putting distance between them, and he was grateful.
Her sweet scent was driving him crazy.
She was right. It didn’t concern him. But he’d seen too many women struggle to raise children on their own. He knew she would never have to worry about money, but the thought of her going through the pregnancy alone, not to mention raising a child without a husband bothered him. Her baby didn’t deserve to be the subject of gossip.
“What about Collin? He does have a right to know about his child.”
She snorted rudely. “Just as I had a right to know he was messing around on me! I don’t want to have anything to do with him ever again, and neither will my child.”
He stared across and witnessed the anger burning in the depths 48
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of her eyes. This was the Bianca he knew, the independent woman who didn’t let anything or anyone stand in her way.
“I think raising your child alone would be a mistake,” he said finally. “A child needs a father.” She didn’t respond. “Bianca, I’ve been out in the real world. And a woman can’t teach a boy how to be a man.”
Bianca met his gaze again and her walnut eyes were troubled. He sensed that she wasn’t very confident about raising a child alone.
“That’s what I’ve got three brothers for. Lord, I feel sorry for this baby if I’m having a girl. The three J’s won’t let a boy come within twenty feet of her.” Despite her despair, she giggled, then suddenly stopped, struggling with her emotions. “I can do this.
I know I can. I love kids and I’ve always wanted a family of my own. It’s not quite the way I had planned it, but it will work out.”
London began to pace. He’d never seen this side of Bianca.
He assumed that she was perfectly happy with her demanding job and her friends and her many charitable activities. He knew she read children’s books to students at the local elementary school, but he never guessed that her motherly instincts had kicked in.
“If that’s your choice, then I support you one hundred percent,” he said after a moment, “but before you make your final decision I want you to think about what you’ll be doing.”
Her temper flared without warning. “London, I’m not getting rid of my baby!”
He looked at her and felt a sense of relief to know that she already cared about the little life growing inside her. “Good. I’m glad. I just want you to be sure you realize what you’re up against. I know you’re having a hard enough time worrying about your parents’ reaction.”
“Yes, but I’m keeping this baby even if they threaten to disown me. I’ve saved enough money that I can get by for a while.”
Not to mention the trust fund her grandfather had left each of the Beaumont children and grandchildren. Rumor had it that Roger Beaumont Sr. had left them millions. No, money was not an issue for any of them.
“So what’s the next step?”
“I don’t know. I was thinking of maybe taking an extended Angie Daniels
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vacation and moving out of the country for the next six months.”
She gave a strangled laugh.
“Ha-ha. Nice try.” He moved back over to the couch with one hand tucked in the front pocket of his pants.
She sobered then leaned her head back against the cushion and he watched the worry return to the corners of her mouth and eyes. “I just wish it didn’t matter so much what other people think of me.”
He shrugged. “You care about other people’s feelings and there’s nothing wrong with that.”
Bianca pushed her hair back from her face. “Yes, there is, when it affects a decision I have to make about my life. I should be excited about this baby growing inside me; instead all I can think about is how much I’m disappointing my parents.”
“I really think you should try talking to them.”
She frowned.
“What about your brothers?”
This time she shook her head. “Absolutely not.”
“Then you’re going to have to come up with a plan. I don’t know much about having babies, but I do know that it’s not too much longer before you’ll start showing.”
“The only reason I was marrying Collin was because I was carrying his child.”
His brow rose. “You don’t love him?”
“No, not really. Seeing those pictures, I realized that I am more humiliated than heartbroken. I suspected my feelings for him weren’t that strong, but in order to have a father for my child I was willing to give us a chance. Don’t get me wrong. I am quite fond of Collin, and he is a very caring and compassionate person, but there was something missing in our relationship.” Her eyes rose to meet his. “But I guess that’s no longer important.”
“Nope. I guess it’s not.” He gave her a warm smile. “If you like, I can go with you to talk to your parents.”
“Thanks, that’s sweet of you but this is something I have to figure out on my own.” Momentarily, Bianca closed her eyes again and he watched her lower lip tremble. She wasn’t as confident as she tried to make him believe. “I wish there were some way I could rent a husband for nine months.”
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For You I Do
He chuckled and Bianca opened her eyes, smiled and laughed along with him.
“Sure you can. You’ll just have to find someone else to marry you.”
Bianca suddenly stopped laughing and her eyes grew large with astonishment. “Oh, my goodness! London that’s a wonderful idea. If I can find someone else to be my fiancé, my parents will never know the difference. You wouldn’t know anyone stupid enough to want to do that, would you?”
“Yeah, actually, I do. What’s wrong with me?”
Chapter
8
The words were out of London’s mouth before he realized it.
Now what had made him go and say something like that? he wondered. Guilt probably. What else could it have been? The last thing he needed in his life was a pregnant woman on the rebound.
Especially one he was attracted to.
Bianca was staring at him suspiciously. He raised his eyebrows questioningly.
“You don’t think that you and I should—that we would…”
pausing, she shook her head and gave a half laugh. “No, of course not.” She gave another laugh. “London, you can be a clown when you want to be.”
Insulted, London frowned at her. He hadn’t meant to volun-teer to help her, but now that he had he wondered what was so funny about his proposal.
Bianca didn’t wait for his reply. She rose and headed into the kitchen. Pride refused to let his suggestion go unanswered.
Following her, he stepped into the spacious kitchen to find Bianca pulling out a box of decaffeinated tea from the cabinet.
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“What do you mean, of course not?” he asked as he moved and rested his elbows against the granite countertop.
“Forget, I even said that.” She laughed with a shake of her head, as if the idea were completely ridiculous, he noted with mounting annoyance. “I didn’t mean to laugh but I know you’re not even trying to go there with me.” She dropped a tea bag in the mug, then filled it with fresh tap water.
Folding massive hands over a broad chest, London glared over at her. “And why not?”
Her eyebrows rose slightly as if she were surprised that he’d even ask.
“Why…because…well…” And then she burst out laughing.
London felt his indignation grow. Marriage was the last thing on his mind, yet here he was trying to help her and she had the nerve to laugh at his offer. Fine, he didn’t want to get married, anyway, or did he? No, of course not, yet he felt somewhat responsible for ruining her engagement, although, as far as he was concerned, he had saved her from a disaster.
It wasn’t a totally ridiculous idea. Getting married was not a bad idea at all. It could be a business arrangement. People did that all the time. Bianca, however, did not seem to see the sense in it. Bianca needed a husband, yet she laughed at the idea of marrying him. He tilted his chin stubbornly. Almost every single woman in Sheraton Beach was throwing herself at him, hoping to catch his attention. “Because of what? ”
Bianca’s laughter died away slowly as she suddenly realized that he wasn’t joking. “Because we aren’t right for each other,”
she said. “You’re a…” He raised an eyebrow at her hesitation and she sighed. “You didn’t mean it, did you?”
His silence was her only answer.
Bianca noticed the sober expression on his face and stared wordlessly across the room, almost certain that her expression mirrored her shock. His proposal had caught her completely by surprise. Never in a million years would she have expected him to offer to marry her. Was he for real?
Bianca gazed over at him, taking in the stubborn set of his eyes and his handsome features—a stubborn jaw, a sensual lower lip.
Fitted together, it was an attractive package. Very attractive. She Angie Daniels
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swallowed as she found her body responding to the possibilities.
There was no way she could be married to him and not be tempted to…
“You can’t be serious.”
When she finally turned her gaze back to meet his eyes, he eyed her warily and waited. “I wouldn’t have asked you if I wasn’t serious.”
Pulling her thoughts together, she gave him a critical squint.
“You and I wouldn’t last twenty-four hours and you know it.”
“Why not?” Those two words were layered with a thread of annoyance.
She gave him a dismissive wave as she carried her mug over to the microwave, stuck it inside and set the timer. “I’m too independent and strong-minded. If I’m going to agree to an arranged marriage, it needs to be with a man who’s going to leave me alone for the next six months. Not to mention sleep in the spare bedroom.”
“Not happening,” he snapped. “No real man would even consider that. If you’re my wife, I plan to be your husband, which means you would be sharing my bed.”
Her stomach churned at the possibility. At the heat in his eyes, she quickly turned away. “No way. I will never give my heart to another man.”
“I didn’t say anything about your heart.”
Bianca swallowed at the intensity of his gaze. And wondered why on earth he was making this discussion so difficult. “I do not wish to marry a man unless he understands that it is strictly a business arrangement. I’ll even pay him if I have to. The marriage would be in name only. He sleeps in one room and me in the other.”
London chuckled. “He is not going to agree to that.”
“For the right price he will.”
She turned and he couldn’t speak from staring. Through her snug T-shirt, he could see her body was already changing.
Studying her carefully, he realized that her small breasts were fuller and more generous. Now that she was pregnant, he bet he could fit one in the palm of his hand.
Within seconds, his body betrayed him. Bianca was the best thing he’d ever laid eyes on. Staring at her, desire hardened the 54
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flesh pulsing between his thighs. London forced his gaze back up to her face, lingering on the tempting curve of her lower lip before returning to her mesmerizing walnut-colored eyes. He couldn’t speak, so instead he drank in the sight of her.
Bianca was oblivious to him as she fussed with the sugar bowl. Finally, the bell on the microwave went off and she carefully removed her mug. “London?”
“Huh?”
“You weren’t really serious about getting married, were you?”
He clamped his teeth together and forced a deep breath. “Yes, I am,” he replied after recovering his voice.
A smile trembled on her lips. She was clearly surprised and flattered by his offer. Even if it was for all the wrong reasons.
“You just feel sorry for me.”
He gave a snort. “Feel sorry for you?”
“Because I’m pregnant by a jerk.”
Feeling more at ease, London crossed his ankles, and leaned back against the counter. “Bianca, my offer of marriage was sincere. Feeling sorry for you is the last thing you would ever allow a man to feel. You’re too strong a woman for that. I am confident that everything will work out for you.” He waved her worries aside. “You are one of the most headstrong women I have ever met. You’re definitely no pushover. I’m simply offering you a solution. Not because I think you need help caring for your baby, but because I know how important it is to you to protect your baby and your family from scandal.”
Capturing her questioning gaze and holding it with his, he continued, “I know this is not at all how you had it planned, but you’re in a bind and I think this arrangement could work if you’d let it. We can get married and live together until the baby is born.
Once you’re settled, you could file for a divorce. Hell, I’ll even say it was my fault that our marriage didn’t work.”
Bianca’s heart wrenched as she considered what he offered.
Lowering her head slightly, she took a deep calming breath. The playboy was not at all father material, but she was certainly grateful for London’s willingness to help her.
A tense silence enveloped the room. London was the first to say something.
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“So what do you say, Bianca?”
As he spoke her name, it became a caress, one that sent shivers of warning down her spine. She looked up again and blushed pro-fusely when she caught him staring. She half turned, stood there for a moment, utterly speechless as the room seemed to shrink in size. It reminded her of when she was seventeen and she thought she
was madly in love with him. Back then, London only had eyes for Tiffany Spires. Now, his steady gaze was focused intently on her. She shivered. Realizing that she was holding her breath, she exhaled and hot air gushed from her lungs.
Bianca drew herself up sharply. This would not do, it simply would not do. London was a friend of hers and she was supposed to be in love with another man. Of course, she was still feeling the sting of Collin’s betrayal. That was the only excuse she had for feeling this…this vulnerable. It didn’t help that London was staring at her with hunger burning from the depths of his eyes.
Her skin heated, and she was tempted to order him out of her kitchen and push him out the front door. Besides, it wouldn’t work between them. London Brown loved women and she had sense enough to know there was no way he could stay committed to her for a year without feeling tempted to mess around.
Then she would be back at square one, right where she started.
If that was the case, she might as well just marry Collin. At least no one around here knew him or his reputation. But then there was that determined look in London’s eyes that told her that London was a man of his word and that was what almost made her almost willing to take a chance. Having him by her side would make dealing with her parents so much easier. The only problem was that there was no way she could protect her heart for that long a time. She had run away from him before, but if she agreed to marry him there was no way she would be able to control her feelings, especially now that she was pregnant and her hormones were all out of whack.
As if he knew that she was considering his offer, London closed the distance between them and there was nowhere for her to go. Her eyes met his and held. She shivered uncontrollably, ripples of something she shouldn’t feel for London shimmering through her body. He clasped her gently at the waist and pulled 56
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her into the circle of his arms. His breath was so close to her nose that his lips actually brushed it. She was stunned speechless.
“We would be good together,” he said as he backed her hips against the counter.
Her mind unable to actually grasp what he had said, she leaned into him, her breasts rising and falling quickly. “I…uh.”
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