The Mommy Proposal

by Cathy Gillen Thacker

  Nate knew avoiding problems never worked, in business or at home. He wouldn’t pretend otherwise, even to score points with a woman he found more sexually attractive with every second that passed.

  He walked a little farther from the house. “I know I’m not going to hide the truth from him.”

  Brooke sauntered after him, not stopping until they had reached the waterfall in the lagoon-style swimming pool. She looked up at him, bewilderment lighting her eyes. “You’d really tell him you’re unsure about his paternity?”

  Nate wouldn’t enjoy doing so, but the way he saw it, he had no choice. Not if he wanted Landry to trust him. “If and when he asks, yes.”

  Her expression grew troubled. “You don’t know how he would react.”

  Nate was beginning to see how Brooke would react. “Then I guess we’d find out.”

  She blew out a gusty breath. “It could hurt him, Nate.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Being lied to or deliberately misled would hurt him more.”

  The door to the cottage opened. Both boys tramped out, backpacks over their shoulders. “Mom! Camp! We’re going to be late!” Cole called.

  “Why don’t I take them today?” Nate offered.

  Brooke looked at the kids, who both shrugged. She turned back to Nate, gratitude in her eyes. “I’d appreciate the help this morning,” she said.

  “Then let’s get a move on,” Nate told the guys.

  He wanted to spend time with them, and then get back to Brooke.

  BROOKE WATCHED THEM all amble off toward Nate’s Jaguar sedan, then she hit the shower. When she finally headed over to the main house to await the arrival of the moving crew, Nate was just coming down the sweeping front stairs. Since returning from taking the kids to camp, he’d changed out of the casual slacks and shirt he’d put on after his run. In a dove-gray business suit, coordinating shirt and tie, he looked handsome enough to take her breath away. He smelled great, too, she couldn’t help but note as he crossed to her side. As if he’d taken time to slap on some of that leather-and-spice cologne after he shaved. “So what’s happening here today?” he asked.

  Brooke put her hormones on ice and switched to businesswoman mode. “The auctioneer and I are going to do an inventory of everything you’re sending over to be sold. And then the house is going to be emptied out.”

  “Except for my bedroom and the library,” Nate said. His gaze drifted over her as he favored her with a rakish smile.

  Insides humming, Brooke nodded. “Those will remain as is.”

  “For now,” he added. “I’m going to want my bedroom changed out eventually, too.”

  “No problem.” She consulted her clipboard as she pushed away a mental image of Nate lounging between the sheets. It was not something she would likely ever see. She lifted her head again and looked into his eyes. “We’ll just have to sit down and go over what you want.”

  And we won’t think about what I want.

  Which is a man like you in my life.

  Nate glanced at his watch. “How about today?” Pulling the BlackBerry from his suit jacket, he checked the calendar. “Can you meet with me at my office downtown? Say around one o’clock?”

  Brooke tried not to think how good it felt to be standing here with him like this. “Sure.” He was a client, and that was all.

  He flashed a disarming smile and touched her gently on the arm. “Then I’ll see you then.”

  Chapter Six

  “What’s going on here?” Dan Kingsland asked, four hours later.

  Nate paused in the door of the conference room where a private lunch had been set up. Resting beside his place setting was the palette of paint colors Brooke had given him to peruse. Good. Everything was exactly as he’d wanted. Glad his business with his partners had been concluded, he turned back to the guys as he attempted to usher them out. “It’s a lunch meeting.”

  Grady McCabe eyed the china and silver. “You never set out roses for us when you invite us here to dine with you,” he ribbed.

  “We usually get take-out containers and no tablecloth,” Jack Gaines remarked.

  “And you never mix business with courtship,” Travis Carson observed. “So who is this lady who’s prompting you to break your own rules? And where is she?”

  Nate knew the fastest way to get rid of his friends was to tell them the truth and send them on their merry way. “It’s Brooke Mitchell.”

  The guys chorused approval with big grins. “Ah, the home makeover expert,” Travis said.

  “Sure she’s not making over you, too?” Dan drawled.

  “Or just making do,” Jack joked.

  Nate winced. “Funny.”

  “Seriously, Nate,” Grady said, “don’t even think about adding Ms. Mitchell to your string of broken hearts. ’Cause if you do, Alexis will have your hide.”

  “Make that all our wives,” Dan warned. “Emily, Holly and Caroline are friends with Brooke, too. They won’t take kindly to you flirting with her, then deciding she’s not The One, either.”

  Nate had been given a bad rap in that regard. “I don’t do that,” he argued.

  More than one of the guys grunted skeptically. “You’re pretty picky,” Grady observed.

  Nate frowned. “I don’t want to invest in the wrong relationship again.” This time he needed to approach love with the same caution and thoughtfulness he managed his business, and connect with the right woman first. Then and only then would he allow himself to get more involved.

  The fact that Brooke seemed like the right woman put him one step closer to his goal of having the loving, supportive family he had always wanted—and never had.

  “Maybe no one told you?” Dan chided. “Women don’t come with any guarantees.”

  Travis held up a hand. “Relax, guys. From what I understand, Brooke is every bit as romance-shy as our pal here.”

  That was true, Nate silently acknowledged. And clearly it was going to make moving forward in his pursuit of her even harder.

  A knock sounded on the door. Looking as gorgeous as ever in a lemon sheath and short-sleeved white cardigan, Brooke stuck her head in. “Am I interrupting?”

  “Not at all.” Grady gave his friends a look that told them to exit ASAP. He turned back to Brooke. “Our meeting is done.”

  But she was not done talking to his pals. She sauntered in and set her leather carryall on the floor next to the table. “I have to tell you guys, One Trinity River Place is amazing. You should be very proud of yourselves.”

  Nate’s partners beamed. “Go on,” Jack urged.

  “Yeah,” Grady teased with his typical “if you’ve done it it ain’t bragging” attitude. “We can take it.”

  An appreciative light sparkled in Brooke’s pretty eyes. “Okay, Grady, you get kudos for putting together the development deal that made the high-rise possible. Dan deserves ’em for designing the skyscraper, Travis for constructing it. And I’d be remiss if I didn’t single out Jack for making sure all communications and electronics are state-of-the-art high tech. And last but not least, Nate—” Brooke paused, her eyes locking with his for an extra long second “—for having a business that is so successful you can afford to house it in a place as luxurious as this.”

  And here Nate had thought she wasn’t impressed with all he had accomplished, building a multimillion dollar company from scratch!

  “Ever thought of going into public relations?” Travis teased.

  Dan winked. “We could use you on our team.”

  Brooke grinned, enjoying the banter and camaraderie with the guys as much as Nate was. Unfortunately, their time together was limited. And when he had the opportunity, he wanted her all to himself. “She has a job,” Nate reminded them. “Which she is trying to do, if you guys would all clear out of here.”

  Hands raised in surrender all around. “We get the hint.”

  Nate shut the door behind his pals after they filed out. “Sorry.”

  For the first time, Brooke seemed to take i
n the details of their surroundings. “I didn’t realize we’d be doing lunch here.”

  Telling himself that was not disapproval in her golden-brown eyes, Nate ushered her toward the table and held out her chair. “It’s an environment that is more conducive to work.”

  WAS IT? BROOKE WONDERED. Looking at the table set for two, in a private room with a spectacular view of downtown Fort Worth, all she could think about was what it would be like to have a date with the handsome CEO.

  Not that he was asking for anything but help with Landry and in redecorating his home, but he had kissed her. And those kisses had stayed with her like nothing ever had before.

  Which was exactly why she shouldn’t allow herself to be distracted this way. Business was business, and this meeting today should be all about his home makeover, she reminded herself.

  Brooke settled into the chair Nate offered. “Then let’s get down to it.”

  He sat opposite her.

  “Have you had a chance to look at the color palettes I gave you this morning?” she asked.

  “I liked them all.”

  And I like you. But she was digressing again…. She forced herself to return to business. “That’s not exactly the response I was looking for.”

  After they exchanged smiles, Nate gestured. “I can’t make a decision about something like that.”

  He seemed genuinely lost at sea. Brooke leaned toward him and soothed, “You probably have stronger opinions than you realize.”

  The lift of his black brow said he doubted it.

  She brought out a notepad and pen. “Describe a space you really like,” she suggested.

  Mischief turned up the corners of his lips. “The caretaker’s cottage. Since you made it over, it’s very…I don’t know.” He struggled visibly for the correct terms. “Serene…calming…yet cheerful and homey.”

  “I started with a neutral base—the sand-colored paint that was already on the walls. Added durability and texture with the washable denim slipcovers, and brought in splashes of color with the rugs, bedcovers and other accessories.”

  Nate thought a moment. “Let’s do the same thing in the main house.”

  “Sounds good. Any colors you truly detest?” She struggled not to notice how sexy and self-assured he looked.

  “Orange and purple. Lime green.”

  Same with me, she thought. Although she had done spaces in those colors for clients. “What about styles of furnishings?” she asked crisply.

  “Nothing dainty,” he specified. “Everything should be comfortable and kid friendly.”

  Got it. Brooke made another note. “What about your bedroom?”

  Nate shrugged, not the least bit interested. “We’ll do that last,” he said. “But you should probably talk to Landry about what he wants and get started on his bedroom right away.”

  And now for the bad news… “I tried last night,” Brooke said with a wince.

  Nate tensed. “And…?”

  As much as Brooke wanted to protect Nate, she couldn’t. If he was going to help Landry adjust, he had to know where things stood. She put down her pen and reluctantly shared, “He told me not to worry about it. He didn’t think he’d be staying with you for long. He said bunking in the guest cottage was fine.”

  Nate’s face registered the same disappointment Brooke had felt at the time of the exchange.

  “He’ll come around.” She reached across the table and briefly squeezed Nate’s hand. Fingers tingling from contact, she took a deep breath and sat back, counseling gently, “You have to give him time. In the meantime, it might help if he went to see his great-grandmother.”

  The brooding look was back on Nate’s handsome face. “I think so, too. I offered to take him this morning, when I was driving the boys to camp.” His lips compressed. “He declined.”

  Brooke played with her fork. “Maybe it shouldn’t be an option.”

  An unreadable emotion appeared in Nate’s blue eyes. “That was my first instinct,” he admitted slowly. “And then I got to thinking, we’re already forcing him to do so much. Maybe Jessalyn is right. Maybe Landry shouldn’t see her again until he accepts the reality of the situation and settles in a bit.”

  “And maybe,” Brooke countered equably, “what he needs is to see her, so he’ll finally understand this is all for the best.”

  Nate’s BlackBerry buzzed. He glanced at the screen. “Percy Dearborn is waiting to see us.”

  Brooke lifted a brow, confused.

  “He’s an intellectual-property lawyer—the best in the area.”

  She did a double take. “Excuse me?”

  The CEO was back full force. “I assumed you wouldn’t have time to find someone, so I made a few phone calls this morning.”

  As if it was the most natural thing in the world to do for a woman you’d just become acquainted with and kissed…

  Nate leaned back in his chair and forged on. “I told him the situation and he offered to represent you and your late husband’s estate in the plagiarism claim being made by Iris Lomax. It’s important we go on the offense here.”

  Memories of similar situations surfaced. “This isn’t your situation to manage!”

  His eyes narrowed. “You need help.”

  Brooke had been trying not to think about that. Dealing with Iris’s sudden reappearance in her life had been disturbing enough. “Then I’ll find it on my own,” she insisted. “Have you hired anyone?” Nate pressed.

  “No, but…”

  Determination tautened his jaw. “Do you want Cole to see this played out in the newspapers?”

  Brooke flushed. “Of course not.”

  Nate rose and moved around to pull out her chair. “Then I suggest you meet with Percy and get his advice on how to proceed.” He touched her shoulder gently. “You can give me hell later.”

  Brooke glared at Nate. “We will talk about this,” she promised.

  “Of that,” Nate said drily, “I have no doubt.”

  Brooke spent the next half hour answering Percy Dearborn’s steady stream of questions. Finally, he put down his pen. “I do not think the court would find you personally liable, given the fact that you were in no way involved in the writing, preparation or submission of the manuscript, which was all done by your late husband prior to his demise. The estate, however, could be found liable, if the proof of theft that Ms. Lomax alleges does exist. Because you did follow through on getting the work published, as your late husband wished.”

  Brooke’s throat tightened with dread. She folded her hands in her lap, glad she had Nate sitting beside her to offer support. She looked at the distinguished attorney. “What do you suggest I do?”

  “I’d like to meet with Ms. Lomax and her lawyer, get a look at her proof, and if that holds up, see if we can’t come to some kind of settlement before a lawsuit is filed and the matter becomes public.”

  Brooke relaxed slightly. “What about the university?”

  “I’ll talk to Phineas Rylander as soon as we know what the situation is.”

  “Thank you.”

  “It’s no problem.” The attorney stood and put his laptop computer back in the carrying case. “That’s what we lawyers are here for. To help straighten out messes like this.”

  Brooke shook his hand, then waited while Nate walked him out.

  She was standing at the window in Nate’s private office, looking down at the Trinity River, when he returned. “Okay,” he said, bracing his hands on his waist and pushing back the edges of his suit coat. “Let me have it with both barrels.”

  Why did he have to be so reasonable? Brooke wondered. It was charm like his that had gotten her into hot water in the first place.

  “I get the fact that you like to manage things,” she told him quietly, “but we need to be clear about something. You are never to jump in like that and take control of my life again.”

  NATE KNEW THE PRUDENT thing to do was simply to agree with Brooke. Unfortunately, he could not do that in good conscience. H
is integrity required he be honest with her. “If I see you making a mistake, hiding from the truth, I’m going to speak up.”

  “There’s a difference between speaking up and telling me I’m wrong, and going out and hiring a lawyer for me.”

  Knowing he had to touch her or go crazy, Nate tucked his hand in hers and rubbed a thumb over the back of her hand. “I told you last night I would help you find someone to handle this for you.”

  Color highlighted her elegant cheeks. “I expected you to ask around and give me some names,” she blurted. “Not actually set up an appointment with Percy Dearborn without speaking to me first.” She paused, her silence filled with a mixture of disappointment and disillusionment. “I get that you were trying to help, but that was over the line, Nate.”

  He felt like he had when he was a kid and his parents were unhappy with him, despite the fact that he had done his level best to accomplish whatever it was that needed to be done.

  And yet he knew the depth of his protectiveness would have been unwarranted, had he not been so interested in Brooke. “Point taken,” he said finally, aware that he was rushing her and shouldn’t be. “I should have consulted you first.” Should have adopted a gentler, more patient approach.

  Brooke peered up at him. “Why does my dilemma matter so much to you anyway?” she queried softly, searching his eyes.

  Nate brushed a strand of hair from her cheek and tucked it behind her ear. “I didn’t want to see you and Cole get hurt. I could tell from the look on your face that all you wanted to do was ignore the threat and wait for the trouble to blow over. And I know from personal experience how badly that always turns out.”

  Looking as beautiful as she did vulnerable, Brooke gave him a quizzical glance. Her encouragement prompted him to continue. “On some level I knew there was more going on with Seraphina and Miles Lawrence than she said, but I had a lot of reasons for not dealing with the situation the way I should have.” Nate recited them wearily. “I was busy building my business. We were engaged. I loved her. I didn’t want anything getting in the way of our marriage.”

  Brooke tightened her fingers around his. “Don’t tell me you blame yourself for what Seraphina did,” she murmured.