Caught in the Spotlight

by Jules Bennett

  Her eyes flashed with anger, the first warmth he’d glimpsed since she’d walked into the room. “I can honestly say that this is the first time in my life that I’ve ever met Garrett Winslow.”

  He opened his mouth to disagree then remembered he had never told her his name. Ouch. “I should have told you my real name, but that trip was supposed to be my last escape from everything associated with my family name. I can’t tell you how important it was for me to have you interested in me as a man, not a Winslow.”

  “I’m sure you had your reasons for deceiving me,” she said, not mincing words.

  He couldn’t blame her for her anger. He would have felt the same way. It frustrated him that he didn’t remember much about that last night he’d shared with her except making love to her over and over again.

  “My father died that night.”

  She bit her lip and her expression softened a fraction. “I’m sorry. I’m sure it was difficult to lose him.”

  “In more ways than one. I remember making love with you that night, but—”

  She sprang to her feet, her back ramrod straight. “I really don’t want to talk about that.”

  “I don’t remember anything after I got the call about my father.”

  She took a careful breath and dipped her head as if she’d traveled her own path of pain since then and had no intention of returning. “That’s probably best.”

  “Why?” he asked, moving toward her. “Did you forget me so easily?”

  “You have a lot of nerve asking me that. At least you knew my real name.”

  Frustrated at his inability to reach her, he shoved his hands into his pockets. “I missed you more than you could know. Please—I need the chance to explain.”

  Haley shook her head. “This is too much, too hard for me to take in. If you hadn’t taken over E-Z, then we never would have seen each other again. I don’t want to go back to what we had in Cozumel, even for a few minutes. I can’t.”

  “Why? You’re not married.”

  “No. But I’m committed. If you’ll excuse me, I must go,” she said, and left him smelling the faint sweetness of her perfume. He inhaled deeply. He had the gnawing sensation of wanting more.

  If he listened to her, then he would leave her alone and let her go. She clearly had no interest in him. Seeing her again stirred up long-buried needs and wishes.

  His chest ached with regret. He’d been forced to focus entirely on taking over Winslow when his father had died, and he had known he couldn’t bring Haley into that kind of crisis situation. It wouldn’t have been fair. By the time the worst of the crisis had passed he was a changed man, and he hadn’t been sure she would want him. But now he couldn’t avoid the gut-wrenching loss. Was there any way he could get her to listen to him? Should he even try? Garrett knew that nothing good came easy. He silently vowed not to give up.

  After his last appointment, Garrett joined Bob Stevens for a drink in the hotel lounge. “You’ve done an amazing job,” Garrett said, lifting his glass in a toast. “You built it from the ground up.”

  Bob shrugged and took a sip of his bourbon. “I just hope you won’t cut too many of my employees. They’re the reason the company has succeeded.”

  “I told you we’ll try to let retirements and resignations take up any slack we might find. But you’ve run a tight ship. You shouldn’t be worrying. You should be celebrating,” Garrett said, patting Bob on the back. “You’ve just successfully negotiated the deal of your life.”

  Bob grinned. “I guess I have.” He took another sip of his bourbon. “What did you learn during your employee interviews?”

  “What you already know. They love you, and they’re concerned about losing their jobs.” He paused, seizing the opportunity to get more information about Haley. “Especially Haley Turner.”

  Bob nodded. “She’s got a lot of responsibility on those slim shoulders.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean she’s young. Single mother.”

  Garrett blinked. His gut clenched. “Mother?”

  “Yeah, and she takes both jobs seriously, motherhood and her job at E-Z. The men call her no-man’s land.” He chuckled. “Mostly because she won’t go out with any of them.”

  “So she doesn’t have a significant man in her life?”

  Bob cracked a grin. “It depends on whether or not you count a three-year-old son.”

  A son. Haley had given birth to a son while he’d been busy proving himself to all the doubters at Winslow Corporation. He couldn’t help feeling another punch of loss. He also couldn’t prevent his mind from doing the math. He had shared one amazing night with Haley four years ago. One amazing night where they’d been careful. The child couldn’t be his. Could it?

  Five

  Haley’s heart was still racing when she climbed into her car and fastened her seat belt. Turning on the ignition and backing out of her parking space, she struggled with a dozen emotions. He had recognized her and he still wanted to see her. Oh, heaven help her. Even though she was furious, looking at Garrett had brought back a longing she’d been certain was dead. Even though she had walked, practically run, from the office, part of her had wanted to stay and hear his explanation. It had taken so little to fan embers she’d thought were cold.

  She couldn’t help wondering how his life must have turned upside down when his father died. She wished she could have been there for him, comforted him. Life could have been so much easier if they’d had each other for the good times and the bad. She shook her head in disgust at herself as she pulled into the day-care parking lot. It still shouldn’t have taken him four years to contact her.

  She strode through the doors of the childcare center and caught sight of Jake. A surge of anger raced through her. For so long, she’d hoped and dreamed Garrett would come to her. She’d given up that foolish dream when Jake had taken his first steps. She couldn’t allow herself to go back to that pain and uncertainty.

  After driving home and closing the door of their small house behind her and Jake, Haley squeezed her son’s little body. Her mind continued to race. Her instinct was to take Jake far, far away and hide. She’d worked so hard to build a good life for the two of them that she didn’t want any disruptive intrusions. Plus, she knew that if Garrett ever saw Jake, he would want him. He wouldn’t be able to resist the child that bore such a strong resemblance to him. And Haley didn’t have the money to fight a custody battle.

  Jake giggled and squirmed. “Mommy, that tickles.”

  Still trying not to panic, Haley took a deep breath and smiled. “Tickles? You think that tickles? What about this?” she asked, and lightly worked her fingers over his rib cage.

  Jake laughed uncontrollably, and the sound of it soothed her fears. Haley had learned long ago that Jake’s laughter had great medicinal qualities. In fact, she’d call it magic. She stopped tickling him and dropped a kiss on his forehead. “Do you want to walk Sparky before or after dinner?”

  “Before,” he said, his eyes lighting like firecrackers. “And after.”

  She laughed and ruffled his hair. “Okay, let me change my clothes.”

  The doorbell rang, and she automatically turned to open the door. Garrett stood on her front porch.

  Her heart fell to her feet. She closed the door partway, but felt Jake wrapping his arms around her legs to crane his neck to see. “Who is it, Mommy? Who is it?”

  “Someone from my office,” she murmured, her panic returning full force. “Go to your room.”

  “But Mo-om,” he protested.

  “Go to your room,” she said in a voice that brooked no defiance. She bit her lip at the hurt expression in his eyes, but she couldn’t let Garrett see him. After Jake shuffled to his room, she stepped out onto the front porch.

  Her heart hadn’t stopped racing since she’d seen him in the courtyard. She’d dreamed of this for years, constructed wild fantasies and excuses for why he’d never called her. Amnesia or a kidnapping had been her two favori
tes. But after Jake had been born, she’d gradually snuffed out the embers of those dreams, and she didn’t want Garrett stirring them again.

  “I can’t talk with you now. I’m busy,” she said.

  “We have to talk,” he said, emanating a determination that made her want to run and hide. “There’s too much that’s been left unspoken for too long.”

  “That wasn’t because of me.”

  “I know,” he said, sighing. “It was because of me and my situation. I think we would both feel better if I had a chance to really explain.”

  Her stomach tightened and she shook her head. “I can’t talk right now. I have other commitments.”

  “Your son,” he said.

  Haley’s heart stopped. It took a full moment for her vocal cords to work. “How did you know?”

  “Bob Stevens mentioned that you had a young son, that you’re not married and you don’t date,” he added meaningfully as if he were referring to their previous conversation.

  Haley swallowed over a lump of fear. “Then you understand why I can’t—”

  She broke off when she heard the sound of Jake’s racing footsteps and the click of canine paws on the hardwood floor behind her just before the door swung open. “Mommy, Mommy, Sparky needs to tinkle!” Jake tugged at the hem of her dress.

  Haley felt herself turn to ice. She saw Garrett drink in the sight of his son and knew in that moment that her life and Jake’s would be forever changed. And not necessarily in a way that she would like. “Take him to the backyard, sweetie,” she managed to say, then watched Jake drag Sparky to the rear of the house.

  Her heart hammering in her head, she fidgeted with her hair. “As you can see, we’re kind of busy, so—”

  “He has your eyes,” Garrett said, stepping toward her. “He has your green eyes.”

  She couldn’t produce a word with him so close, so she nodded.

  He tentatively lifted his fingers to a strand of her hair. “But not your hair.”

  “Right,” she said in a voice she wished weren’t so shaky. “He won’t be called carrot top in school.”

  He gave a half grin, then his eyes turned serious. “Where’s the father?”

  Right here, she thought and fought a stab of hysteria. “He didn’t want to hang around.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “But we’re fine without him.”

  Garrett nodded, his intense gaze belying his smooth tone and casual stance. “When was your son born?”

  “He’s almost three-and-a-half years old,” she reluctantly admitted, knowing she couldn’t hedge. She was desperate to end the conversation and the terrible awkwardness between them. “I really need to—”

  “Is he mine?”

  Haley’s heart stopped. She’d wanted to avoid those three words more than anything. She forced herself to breathe. He stood there, so strong, so confident. What she wouldn’t have given to have his shoulder to lean on during just a moment or two of the most lonely times in her life. But she’d been forced to handle it alone, and she and Jake had survived just fine.

  “He is mine. I went through nine months of pregnancy, childbirth and weeks of colic by myself. Jake is mine.”

  “But someone is his father, Haley.”

  She shook her head. “No. I can’t talk with you right now. You lied to me about who you were, had a one-night stand with me—”

  “It wasn’t a one-night stand,” he said, his jaw tightening with anger.

  “How many nights was it?” she asked sarcastically, hearing her voice crack at her remembered shame. “One. You promised me you would call me and you never did.” She bit her lip, fighting tears. “My little boy wants to take the dog for a walk, and I don’t want to have to explain why Mommy is upset, so you need to go.”

  Garrett’s gaze held a world of pain and confusion. Some crazy part of her wanted to comfort him despite what she’d been through because of him.

  Haley had to collect herself and have time to think. It had taken her a long time to stop wishing that Garrett would magically reappear in her life. Now that he had, she was shaken clear to her bones.

  “I’ll go,” he said, and the lethal determination she read on his face frightened her. “But I’ll be back.”

  Six

  Garrett was more nervous than he’d been in years. He’d persuaded Haley—or more accurately speaking, twisted her arm—to meet with him at a local diner.

  It took three phone calls for Haley to speak to him for more than thirty seconds. Garrett admitted that showing up at her house had been a mistake. He hadn’t intended to upset Jake, but he’d been knocked sideways by seeing Haley again and learning he had fathered her child. He promised neutral territory, but he had to see her. They had to talk.

  He’d suggested cocktails in the evening. She’d countered with coffee on Saturday morning. He couldn’t remember a takeover that had involved more dicey negotiations. He couldn’t remember a meeting that had been more important to him.

  She breezed through the door of the diner dressed in jeans that faithfully followed her curves and a T-shirt that failed to hide the slight bounce of her breasts, with her hair pulled back in a low ponytail.

  She may not have dressed to impress, but Garrett couldn’t stop looking at her. He hadn’t realized how much he’d missed her. She tossed a quick smile at the waitress, then searched the room. As her gaze met his, her smile fell, and he felt the pinch of loss. There had been a time when her face lit up whenever she saw him. He stood when she arrived at the table.

  “Where’s Jake?” he asked.

  “Susan, a friend from the office, is watching him. She adores him.” She smiled. “Everyone adores him.”

  “Including you,” he said.

  Her smile grew. “I’m the worst.”

  “Or in his case, the best,” he countered.

  She thought about that a moment. “Maybe.”

  The waitress took an order for coffee and left. Silence hung between them.

  He cleared his throat. “An apology would be so inadequate that it would be ridiculous.”

  She looked down and laced her fingers together on the table. “An apology for what?”

  “For not telling you my real name and for not calling you.” He paused while the waitress delivered their coffee. “Growing up as a Winslow, I never knew if a woman wanted me for my family name. I didn’t know if I could trust you. You were almost too good to be true. By the time I realized you offered me the real thing, it was too late. I stayed up all night last night trying to think of a way to make it right for you.”

  “And you can’t,” she said, lifting her gaze to his. “You can’t change that you lied to me about who you were. And you can’t change that you never called me.”

  He so wanted to capture her hands in his and hold her. “What did you do when you found out you were pregnant?”

  “I panicked. I tried to find you, but you didn’t exist. I had wild fantasies that you would reappear,” she said, smiling sheepishly.

  “How wild?”

  “You had amnesia and had forgotten my name, but in my dream, you suddenly remembered and couldn’t live without me.”

  He chuckled but felt a stab of sadness at how close she had come to the truth.

  “I felt stupid and foolish. I knew better than to get involved with someone during a trip to Mexico. When I found out I was pregnant, I was so scared.” She blinked her eyes at memories he wished he could take away. “I was afraid I would lose my scholarship,” she said, shaking her head.

  “You didn’t, did you?”

  She shook her head. “My grades suffered a little one semester, but I did okay.” She took a sip of coffee. “It was hard realizing that the time you and I shared meant so much more to me than it had to you, but that’s water under—”

  “That’s where you’re wrong,” Garrett said, unable to allow her to continue thinking that. “It may look that way because I didn’t call, but I thought about you. I just didn’t feel like I could drag you into my
situation. When my father died, there was a fight for power in the company, and people were counting on me to come through. I was dragged through the mud and every day was a new crisis. By the time it was all over, I wanted to call you but figured too much time had passed.” He shrugged. “I thought you’d moved on, and I wasn’t the same man who walked the beach with you in Cozumel. I didn’t know if you would feel the same way about me. But I never forgot about you. Never.”

  She bit her lip. “It looks like you did come through for the corporation,” she said.

  “But not for you. Or me. Or Jake.”

  “I don’t mean to be unkind, but we’ve done okay without you.”

  “Maybe,” he conceded. “But I’m realizing I haven’t done so well without you.”

  Her eyes widened in surprise, and he felt a quick electrical awareness come and go between them. She bit her lip. “Our chance is over. Too much has happened.”

  His gut tightened. Something inside him wouldn’t accept her words, but he knew now was not the time to fight her. “But what about Jake?”

  She shot him a guarded glance. “What about him?”

  “Are you going to deny that I’m his father?”

  “I won’t deny that you made a deposit, then left,” she said crisply.

  “Don’t you think there will come a time when he will want to know his father? I’m sure you’re a fabulous mother, but even you must know that he would need a father.”

  She sighed. “Jake is a great kid, and he deserves the very best. That’s why I don’t go out much. I want to find the very best man possible for him.”

  Garrett struggled with his pride. “What about his natural father?” he demanded.

  She looked at him and shook her head helplessly. “I don’t know how to say this nicely, but I’m not sure you’re good father material. You may be loaded, great-looking and good in the sack, but you haven’t always told the truth. You haven’t kept some important promises, and you’re a workaholic. I want somebody who is interested in Little League, soccer, telling bedtime stories and willing to trade cocktail parties for Disney movies. You, on the other hand, are obsessed with building the Winslow empire to new heights, no matter what the personal cost is, and are known as the executioner.”