Fortune's Secret Child

by Delacorte, Shawna

  A slight frown wrinkled his forehead. “I wanted to be home before he went to bed.”

  “Why?” She admonished herself for snapping out the question too quickly. This was not a time for hostility.

  He stared at her. “Because I wanted to say good-night to my son, that’s why.”

  A hard lump formed in her throat. She tried to swallow it, but was not very successful. She fought to keep the anguish out of her voice, also without much success. Her anxiety gave rise to renewed panic. “He doesn’t know yet, Shane. I realize I should have told him this afternoon, but every time I tried to put the words together, they turned into a jumbled mess in my mind and I couldn’t get them out of my mouth.”

  A hard shiver raced through her body. “Give me time to figure out how to tell him.” She pleaded with her tone of voice as much as with her words. “Please don’t shatter his world.”

  Shane slipped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to his side. His manner was noncombative, his words sincere. “Between Riley’s predicament and our confrontation about Bobby, I’ve had a lot to think about today. Riley’s situation is under control for the moment, so it’s time to handle our problem. Bobby’s a great kid. You’ve done a terrific job of raising him. He’s a boy any father would be proud of—and that certainly includes me.”

  A huge wave of relief washed over her. He’d made a straightforward statement without any recriminations. Was it possible that the crisis had passed? “Thank you. I’m very proud of him.” The words had come out in a whisper. It was the second time he’d told her his feelings about Bobby.

  Her moment of reverie was short-lived, as her doubts and concerns leapt to the surface again. Had she read too much into what he’d said? Was she allowing her hopes and fears to color her judgment? She was scared to death that she would make a mistake, would somehow misinterpret his words and make the situation worse than it already was—if that was even possible. The fully revived tension was almost more than she could handle.

  Shane turned toward her. He heard the renewed wariness in her voice and saw it in her eyes. He had spent a good deal of the afternoon and evening trying to corral his thoughts and emotions as they vacillated between Riley’s arrest and discovering a son he’d never known.

  Anger had surged through him when Cynthia had confirmed his suspicions about Bobby, but the time he’d just spent away from her had given him time to go over the facts in his mind. He vividly recalled the alarm in her voice and the nearly paralyzing fear in her eyes when she pleaded with him not to try to take Bobby away from her. It tore at his heart to see her so distraught. Realizing the depth of that distress and her genuine dread that he might actually try to do such a thing had landed a solid emotional blow to his senses and helped to clear his head.

  He had no one but himself to blame. No matter how angry he was, it always came back to him. In the cold light of reality he could certainly understand why she’d kept his son a secret and why she was so frightened of what he might do. That dark moment when he had chosen to cut her out of his life had grown to such unwieldy proportions that it had reached out and ensnared an innocent little five-year-old boy who didn’t deserve to have this type of controversy in his life.

  He nervously cleared his throat. “I’ve had some time to think about things today—about Bobby and about you.” Her muscles tensed as she started to pull away from him. He held her tighter, refusing to release his hold on her. “I don’t want to fight with you. Please let me finish.” He cradled her head against his shoulder.

  “I’m so sorry for what I’ve put you through. I had no idea how deeply I had hurt you or the turmoil you’ve been carrying around with you the past six years.” He felt her tense muscles begin to relax and became aware of her breathing. It was almost as if she had been holding her breath until that moment. He placed a tender kiss on her forehead. “We’ll take things one step at a time. The first step is my asking you to forgive me for what I did.”

  The elation soared through her body, but the moment was short-lived. Was that all there was? He asked her to forgive him, then everything went back to the way it had been ten minutes ago? That was no good. They still had not resolved Shane’s participation in Bobby’s future.

  Her words were cloaked in caution and her response was tentative. “Okay...suppose I forgive you for walking out on me six years ago. What happens then?”

  He framed her face with his hands. He brushed a loving kiss across her lips, then folded her into his embrace. “Even though I long ago reconciled my conflicts over my dual heritage, I still couldn’t see how any woman would ever fit into the type of life I’d carved out for myself.” He felt her body stiffen. “I was as wrong about that as I’d been about everything else where you and I were concerned.”

  He kissed her tenderly on the forehead. “I thought I didn’t really need anyone, but now I know differently. My life isn’t complete without someone to share the sorrows, as well as the triumphs. I need you, Cynthia. And now there’s Bobby—our son. The two of you make my life complete in a way I never thought possible and fulfill me more than anything ever has.”

  He pulled back far enough to be able to look at her. Her eyes glistened with tears, but the joy that emanated from her face was clear to see. Emotion swelled his heart to the point where he thought it might actually burst from his chest. “I love you, Cynthia. I love you so very much. I was too pigheaded to realize how much you meant to me until it was too late. I allowed you to go once before, but I won’t make that mistake again.”

  She couldn’t contain the tears of happiness that trickled down her cheeks. Her heart filled with the years of unspoken love. “You have no idea how I’ve longed to hear those words. I love you, too. I’ve always loved you.”

  He hugged her tightly. His heart soared on the wings of her love. “I want us to be a family, Cynthia, a real family—the three of us.”

  “Do you mean—”

  “I mean—” a grin tugged at the corners of his mouth “—that you can stop looking at houses.” The grin disappeared as he dropped a soft kiss on her lips. Everything about him turned very serious. “Marry me, Cynthia. Help me make this house a real home.”

  She could barely get the words out of her mouth. “Marry you?”

  “I want us to get married as soon as possible. What do you say?”

  “Yes...yes. Of course I’ll marry you.”

  He hesitated a moment as a frown wrinkled his forehead. “About the wedding...”

  “Is there a problem?”

  “Did you want a big wedding? Maybe we should think about something small and intimate, just the immediate family.”

  “This is all so sudden. You haven’t given me a chance to think about it at all. Do you have a preference?”

  “With Isabelle’s wedding coming up and all the preparations well under way, I wouldn’t want to upstage that.”

  Cynthia nodded in agreement. “You’re right. Besides, it’s not like we’re a couple of kids who are just starting out in life.”

  “What would you say to applying for our marriage license in the morning, then having an intimate little ceremony in two weeks for just the immediate family?”

  She smiled at him. The love that swelled her heart matched the love in his eyes “I think that sounds perfect.” A moment of uncertainty clouded her features. “I still need to tell Bobby that you’re his father.”

  “I think we should tell Bobby together—first thing in the morning.” He rose from the couch, then tugged on her hand until she was on her feet. He scooped her up in his arms and started walking toward the stairs. “But for now, what do you think about seeing if we can create a little brother or sister for him?”

  She snuggled in his arms and closed her eyes. A contented smile played across her lips. “I think that’s an excellent idea.”

  Shane carried her up the stairs and down the hall to his bedroom. Unlike all the other times they had made love, this time the passion and the heated desire were enh
anced by their commitment of love and a lifetime together. He framed her face with his hands and gazed lovingly into her eyes.

  “I never fully understood what was missing from my life. No matter how many things I took on, there was always a gaping hole that needed to be filled. Always the drive and the success, but never the fulfillment—until now.” He brushed a tender kiss across her lips. “I love you, Cynthia. I love you so very much.”

  She closed her eyes and allowed the soft sensuality to wash over her. “I’ve always loved you. I think I—”

  The emotion overwhelmed him to the point where he couldn’t contain it. His mouth came down on hers, claiming it as his own as he allowed his love to flow between them. He caressed her shoulders, trailed his hands down her back, then pulled her hips tightly against his. Their tongues meshed together in a rush of desire.

  Pieces of clothing fell quickly away as they tumbled onto the bed entwined in each other’s arms. He pulled her on top of him, then slid his hand over her creamy smooth skin, from her shoulders as far down as he could reach. He recaptured her mouth. Everything about her excited him beyond his ability to comprehend it. A low groan somewhere between pleasure and need rumbled from his chest.

  His touch left her nearly breathless, and his kiss took the rest away. She straddled his hips as he slowly entered the core of her femininity. A shudder passed through her body when his hard length reached the depths of her being. She gasped and fell forward, her body pressed against his as they remained joined as one. It was a union that had never had more meaning than it did now, a union born of love. He grasped her hips, urging her into a slow rhythm that quickly escalated as their passion took control.

  Shane rolled her onto her back, carefully preserving the physical connection between them. The moist heat of her sex closed tightly around his rigidity. He thrust forward, his movements more urgent with each plunge. It would be difficult to tell whose breathing was more ragged as each gasped for air. Her legs wrapped around his hips, and she arched to meet each of his strokes with the same urgency.

  Time had no meaning. Nothing existed for them at that moment other than the deep love they shared. It was as if the past six years of turmoil and loneliness had been erased with one magic wave of a wand, taking with it everything bad and leaving only the good. A moment later the building ecstasy exploded with a force more powerful than either of them had ever known.

  Cynthia gasped as the convulsions started deep inside her and quickly spread through her body. She completely gave herself to the rhapsody that invaded every part of her consciousness. She barely had enough breath to utter in a husky whisper, “I love you, Shane...very much.”

  As if hearing those words was the only thing standing between him and the final moment of gratification, he held her tightly in his arms as he gave one last deep thrust. A shudder traveled through his body, followed by hard spasms of release. He fought to bring his breathing under control and find his voice.

  “You are my life, Cynthia. I don’t want to ever lose you again.”

  Cynthia handed the small bridal bouquet to Isabelle, who had accepted with pleasure when asked to be the maid of honor. She held out her hand, which Shane clasped lovingly in his. They turned to face the minister. The small chapel was filled with immediate family. Kate Fortune sat in the front row, making no attempt to hide an expression that said she knew more than she was saying about how and why Shane and Cynthia had gotten together again after six years.

  Bobby stood next to Shane. His chest was puffed out and his face beamed with pleasure. He looked very grownup wearing his first suit. It was an exact duplicate of Shane’s charcoal gray pinstriped suit. He’d been so excited when Shane had asked him to be his best man. He held the wedding ring tightly in his hand.

  The minister intoned, “Do you, Cynthia McCree, take this man...”

  The squeeze from Shane’s hand sent a loving flow of energy through Cynthia’s body. She was still having a difficult time believing all this was true. Less than two weeks ago it seemed as if her entire world had collapsed around her. And now everything was perfect. She had never been happier. She returned Shane’s squeeze, letting him know how much she loved him.

  “Do you, Shane Lightfoot Fortune, take this woman...”

  Shane still had difficulty believing everything that had happened. In a couple of minutes the culmination of all his desires would be realized—a wife he loved very much and a boy he was proud to call his son. They would be a family, a real family. He’d never been happier.

  “By the power vested in me by the State of Arizona, I pronounce you man and wife.”

  Shane pulled Cynthia into his arms. “I love you, Mrs. Fortune. I love you very much.”

  “I love you, too. We’ll have the rest of our lives together.”

  Bobby tugged on Shane’s sleeve. “Where are we going on our honeymoon, Daddy?”

  Cynthia and Shane looked at the eager little face staring up at them. “Well, son—” Shane tousled Bobby’s hair and grinned at him “—I think we need to have a man-toman discussion about this.”

  Special thanks and acknowledgment are given to Shawna Delacorte for her contribution to the Fortune’s Children: The Grooms series.

  ISBN: 978-1-4603-1124-0

  FORTUNE’S SECRET CHILD

  Copyright © 2000 by Harlequin Books S.A.

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