Daddy, Unexpectedly

by Lee McKenzie

  * * *

  LUKE HAD BEEN WAITING for a window of opportunity to appear, and that crazy son of a bitch had just flung it wide open.

  “Why is he doing this?” Even muffled against his chest, there was no mistaking the panic in Claire’s voice.

  He held her close, hoped she wasn’t going to cry. He’d never been good with crying women. “I don’t know. He probably doesn’t know, either, although I guarantee he’s cooked up a story to justify what he’s doing.”

  “What should I do? Get a restraining order?”

  “It’s not that easy.” He smoothed her hair, hoping she found it comforting. “To do that, you would have to provide evidence that he’s threatened you or that he poses a threat in some way.”

  “What about my phone records? That would show how often he’s been calling. And then there’s the other night, when he came in here.”

  “The phone calls won’t be enough. He could say those were necessary.”

  Claire pulled back and looked up at him. “Necessary?”

  “I’m not saying they were, but he could argue they were about the divorce, the property settlement and that you’ve been stalling.”

  “Hey, whose side are you on here?” She tried to pull away.

  He kept her close. “Yours, of course, but I’m being realistic.”

  “It’s not helping.”

  “I might have a solution.”

  “Really? What it is it?”

  He hesitated, hoping she wouldn’t be offended, or think he was trying to take advantage of the situation to make a move on her.

  “I’m all ears, Luke.”

  “I could stay here for a bit, at least until you talk to your lawyer and real estate agent and get all that stuff sorted out. Maybe that’s all it’ll take to get Donald to back off.”

  “You want to move in?”

  “When you put it like that, it sounds awfully—”

  “Fast?”

  “Yeah, fast.” Speed-of-light fast.

  She was smiling. “What would we tell people? That we’re a couple? Or that you’re my bodyguard?”

  She was messing with him. He hoped. And exactly which people was she referring to? “Do we need to tell them anything?”

  “I guess not. Unless they ask, and then maybe we should have our stories straight.”

  The plan wasn’t five minutes old and already it was complicated. He hated complicated. He wanted to monitor the activity in the neighboring penthouse, he wanted to be with her and he wanted to keep her safe.

  Right. That didn’t sound complicated at all.

  “Do we need a story? Maybe we just say we’re seeing each other and let people draw their own conclusions. It’s not like I’ll be moving all my stuff in.”

  “And are we ‘seeing each other’? I mean, it’s been less than forty-eight hours since we bumped into each other.”

  And they’d bumped into each other a lot since then.

  “What about your dog?”

  He hadn’t factored Rex into the equation. “My landlady will look after him for however long this takes, and I can still swing by and take him for a run. His nose’ll be out of joint, but he’ll get over it.”

  “You could bring him here.”

  “I don’t know. He’s a big dog. And what about Chloe?” He’d won her over with a catnip mouse. He had a feeling it would take a lot more than that to get her to warm up to an eighty-pound German shepherd with a mild inferiority complex.

  “It’ll be good for her. After I move into a place of my own, I’d like to get a dog. Having Rex here would help her get used to having one around.”

  “I guess it can’t hurt to give it a try.” He could always take Rex back to his place if it didn’t work out.

  “I work from home some of the time, so I could take him for walks.”

  “Rex would like that.” And this could have a plus side. Being nabbed at gunpoint hadn’t discouraged Donald. Maybe the idea of a canine takedown would make him think twice. But the biggest plus was that she’d agreed to let Luke stay. He was in, she had agreed to it without hesitation and she didn’t seem to suspect he had any other motivation for wanting to be here. Not that being with her and keeping her safe weren’t important; they were. But would those things alone have been enough to prompt him to take such a big step, and so soon? Not a chance.

  Now, looking down into Claire’s smiling blue eyes, seeing the trust she had in him, gave a little more edge to the already sharp guilt pangs he was feeling. How would she react if she found out he’d deceived her? She’d boot his ass out of there so fast, he wouldn’t even it see it coming.

  “I should finish cleaning up the kitchen.” She slipped out of his arms and opened the dishwasher. “Sam and Kristi, my business partners, are coming over. They’re going to help me get the condo ready to put on the market.”

  The place already looked like a show home, and he found it hard to imagine how they would improve on that.

  “I have stuff I need to do, too, so I’ll clear out and leave you ladies to do your thing. I won’t leave until they get here, though.”

  “I appreciate that. I’m not quite ready to be here on my own just yet.”

  He hadn’t wanted to mention Donald again so he was glad they were on the same page. “I’ll bring in the rest of the dishes from the terrace.”

  “Thanks.” She was already rinsing plates and cutlery.

  Outside, Luke loaded glasses, napkins and several other items onto the tray Claire had left on the polished tile counter next to the built-in barbecue. This outdoor kitchen was better equipped than most indoor kitchens. It even had a sink and running water. He’d never seen anything like it. And while this wasn’t the sort of place he’d have pictured Claire living in, it was a reminder that they were from different worlds. He had never really considered buying a place of his own, but if he did, this sure wouldn’t be it. Not on a cop’s salary.

  After checking to be sure Claire was occupied, he glanced over the rail at the street below. The Lexus was gone. He’d known it was Donald’s car because the guy had been standing on the sidewalk next to it while he was on the phone harassing Claire. Luke had another meeting with Wong and the rest of the team early that afternoon, and he’d definitely check with Kate Bradshaw again to see if she’d dug up any more dirt on this guy. For Claire’s sake, he hoped they didn’t find anything, but it sure wouldn’t surprise him if they did.

  Claire’s phone went off as he carried the tray inside and set it on the counter. Not the cockroach, thank God.

  “That’s Sam and Kristi,” Claire said. “They’re just texting to let me know they’re almost here.” She took the tray from him. “I know you have things to do, so you don’t need to hang around. I’ll be fine for a few minutes on my own until they get here.”

  This was an interesting development. “So, you don’t want me to meet your friends? Or you don’t want them to meet me?”

  “Of course I want them to meet you.” She set the tray on the counter, put her arms around his neck, did her best to give him a seductive little smile. “Eventually. I’m just not ready to share you yet.”

  She stopped talking and he watched her face turn pink. Adorable.

  “You’re a pretty little liar,” he said. “Did you know you blush when you’re not telling the truth? It’s cute.”

  The pink turned to red. “Okay, fine. It’s just that this—us—it’s so new, and you don’t know those two.” She rolled her eyes. “Of course you don’t know them. You haven’t met them. What I mean is, they’re both in relationships, really solid ones, and if they meet you now, here, on Sunday morning, they’ll assume you spent the night here—”

  “I did spend the night here.” He probably shouldn’t be enjoying this as much as he was.

  “They don’t need to know that. They’ll jump to all sorts of conclusions and I’ll never hear the end of it.”

  “So you’re worried they’ll take one look at me and tell you to make a run for
it?”

  She laughed. “You really can be a devil, Luke Devlin. You know perfectly well what women think when they see you.”

  He shouldn’t tease her, but who could resist? He lowered his head and brushed her lips with his. “Listen, darling. If one of your friends makes a pass at me, I promise I’ll let her down easy.”

  He loved hearing her laugh. “You’re hopeless,” she said. “But you can stay, as long as you promise to behave.”

  He took her hand in his and drew a cross over his heart. “Oh, I’ll be good. I promise.”

  The buzzer announced her friends’ arrival. Saved by the bell. Initially he had only wanted to stay until they got here so he could be sure Donald wouldn’t have an opportunity to get to her while she was alone. Now he was curious to meet these women, and yes, he would be on his best behavior because suddenly it was important that he make a good impression.

  Chapter Eight

  Claire opened the door to her two best friends and an enormous bouquet. Kristi, holding the flowers, gave her a one-armed hug. Sam, with her trusty clipboard in hand, hugged her with both arms. Then Kristi thrust the flowers into her hands.

  “Oh, my goodness. These are beautiful. I love roses. But what have I done to deserve flowers?”

  “Think of them as an early housewarming present,” Kristi said.

  “And an overdue good-riddance-to-Donald gift.” Just like Sam to shoot straight from the hip.

  Kristi jabbed her with an elbow. “Be nice.”

  Sam grinned. “I am. You’d know that if you heard what I really wanted to say.”

  As always, these two were a breath of fresh air, and their visit was exactly what she needed right now. Usually the steady one, she now needed someone else to keep her grounded.

  “Come in. Luke’s here, just leaving, actually, but I’d like you to meet him.” Then she dropped her voice to a whisper. “And be nice...both of you.”

  “Oooh.” Sam and Kristi bumped shoulders and exchanged looks.

  “Of course we’ll be nice.”

  “We’re always nice.”

  Luke had his jacket on and was leaning against the island when Claire led them into the kitchen. Chloe had jumped onto the counter and was brushing the side of her face on his shoulder. The little flirt.

  The smile he gave Claire would have had her shedding some clothes if they were alone.

  “Luke.” She was having difficulty breathing, as if she’d just run up a flight or two of stairs. Or ten. “These are my friends and co-owners of Ready Set Sold. Sam is our carpenter, and Kristi is the interior decorator.”

  The smile he gave them was disarming but in a completely different way. The handshake he shared with Sam was brief and businesslike, a little reserved, even. Claire could see she was quietly assessing the man.

  With a nod, Sam stepped back. “Good to meet you.”

  Claire took a quick breath, unaware she’d been holding it.

  Kristi was all smiles. She shook Luke’s hand for far too long to be strictly professional but not long enough to send the wrong message. “Very nice,” she said. “To meet you. Very nice to meet you.”

  “Pleasure’s all mine,” he said. “I wish I could stay but I understand you ladies have work to do, and I have a meeting this afternoon myself.”

  Kristi all but giggled, and even Sam was getting soft around the edges.

  “I’ll walk you out.” Claire shooed the cat off the counter and reached for his sleeve.

  He caught her hand in his, briefly held both it and her gaze hostage, then slipped his arm around her. “Good plan. Sam, Kristi,” he said over his shoulder. “I hope I see you again soon.”

  “Oh, yes.”

  “Absolutely.”

  “For sure.”

  “Soon.”

  Like a pair of silly schoolgirls. And who could blame them?

  At the door, Luke turned her into his arms. “Your friends are watching,” he said, low enough that only she could hear.

  “I figured they would be.”

  “Okay, just as long as you know.” And with one hand on the back of her head and the other on her butt, he drew her into an intimate embrace and a kiss that really wasn’t meant to go public.

  “I’ll call you about dinner,” he said after he lifted his head. “And...” He glanced up at their audience and smiled. “And that other thing we talked about.”

  He let himself out, and left Claire with lots of explaining to do.

  Sam and Kristi both rushed into the foyer, grabbed her by the arms and hauled her back to the kitchen.

  “Oh. My. God.” Kristi sounded very much like Jenna, her fourteen-year-old daughter. “I... I’m...”

  “I think what she’s trying to say is, wow,” Sam said.

  “Holy handsome hunk of wow,” Kristi added.

  Claire knew she was sporting a foolish grin and she didn’t care. Kristi’s description summed him up just about perfectly.

  Sam urged her onto a stool and stepped back to look at her. “That was some kiss.”

  “Those were some abs,” Kristi said. “And pecs, and—”

  “He was wearing a jacket,” Claire reminded her. “And a shirt. You did not see abs and pecs.”

  “Didn’t have to. That man’s got it all...abs, pecs, biceps. Don’t even think about telling us otherwise. We won’t believe you.”

  “I wouldn’t dream of it.” She couldn’t have kept the smug out of that reply if she’d tried. He was pretty much perfect in every possible way.

  Kristi slid onto the next stool. “Now let’s have it, and don’t you dare spare a detail.”

  “No way. You know the Ready Set Sold rules. Business first, chitchat later.”

  “Evil taskmaster.” Sam set her clipboard on the counter, leaned on her elbows and groaned. “I think we can make an exception, just this once.”

  “I agree,” Kristi said. “This is just too delicious to postpone.”

  Claire gave them a firm head-shake. “No way. We never made that exception for either of you. Not when we found out you and AJ were long-lost lovers,” she said to Sam. “Not when Kristi told us she and Nate were fake dating, either, and we’re not breaking the rule for me.”

  “Fine.” Kristi pretended to pout. “But if I have to work, I’m going to need a cup of tea.”

  “Of course.” Claire slid off her stool and walked around to the kitchen side of the island. “Sam, I’ll make you some coffee.”

  “Oh, um, no thanks. Unless you have decaf.”

  Sam drinking decaf? That never happened. Claire eyed her suspiciously as she filled the kettle, and noticed Kristi was doing the same.

  “What’s up with you?” Kristi asked.

  “Nothing.” Sam shrugged to support her claim, but her cheeks turning pink suggested otherwise.

  “Oh. My. God.” Kristi clapped her hands together. “You’re pregnant!”

  Still feigning innocence, Sam eyed the package on the counter. “Are those bagels?”

  Claire switched on the kettle. “Sam? Are you?”

  Now completely red in the face, Sam grinned. “We are. AJ and I decided to keep it to ourselves until we were through the first trimester, just in case—”

  Claire and Kristi rushed at her from both sides and then they were group-hugging and shedding happy tears.

  “I can’t believe you kept this from us!”

  “When did you find out?”

  “How far along are you?”

  “Three months,” Sam said, laughing and crying at the same time. “We just told Will this morning that he’s going to have a baby brother or sister.”

  “How did he take it?”

  “Is he excited?”

  “He asked if we were getting another dog, too. He says the baby should have a puppy of its own, but we really think he just wants another dog.”

  “That is too funny,” Kristi said. “And I am so, so happy for you.”

  “Me, too. AJ must be thrilled.”

  “Beyond thrille
d,” Sam said. “He’s been to all my doctor’s appointments with me, and he was there for the sonogram last week. Oh, that reminds me. I have it with me.” She retrieved it from under the sheets of paper on her clipboard.

  Kristi went misty-eyed. “Oh, I want one,” she said as she gazed at the mottled grey image.

  “Have you and Nate talked about it?” Sam asked.

  “We have, and we’ve decided to wait. We’ve just blended our two families and it’s going really well. Jenna’s crazy about her new little sisters and the twins absolutely adore her, but it’s still a big adjustment so we’ll hold off a bit before we add a baby to the mix.”

  Somewhat reluctantly, Claire accepted the photograph when Kristi handed it to her. She had been trying not to think about her own predicament, but Sam’s news brought it all back in a rush. Now, suddenly feeling a little light-headed, a little queasy, even, she backed herself onto a stool and sat down. It’s just nerves, she told herself. This was way too soon for morning sickness, or so the doctor said.

  The boiling kettle snapped her back to the present. “Teatime,” she said. “I’ll make you a decaf, Sam. And a latte for myself.” Better make that a decaf latte, she thought. Just in case.

  “I still have my eye on one of those bagels,” Sam said. “You won’t believe the appetite I have these days.”

  “Help yourself. There’s cream cheese in the fridge.”

  There was no missing the looks exchanged by her friends.

  “Bagels and cream cheese?”

  “In this kitchen?”

  “Do you think we’ve somehow stumbled into a parallel universe?” Sam asked Kristi.

  “Knock it off, you two. Luke brought them.”

  “Makes sense. You can’t expect a man with a body like that to live on rabbit food.”

  “I’ll have you know I’ve lost two pounds.” She’d gone into the bathroom and weighed herself that morning while Luke was still in bed, and she was practically giddy about it.

  “Good for you.”

  She opened a cupboard, took out mugs and plates. “To be honest, I’m not sure how it happened. I’ve been starving for weeks and haven’t lost an ounce. This weekend I totally fell off the wagon, haven’t been watching what I’ve been eating, and I’m down two pounds. Two point two, to be precise.”