Christine should’ve been more specific when she had given Daniel her clothing size. She should have said some yoga pants and T-shirts would’ve been fine. That’s what she would’ve packed, if she had gone home.
But even as she thought that, she cringed. Would she really have sat around in this glamorous condominium with this glamorous view next to this glamorous man in her decidedly nonglamorous yoga pants?
What the heck. If he’d paid for these clothes, she’d wear them. And Marie would destroy them, of that she had no doubt. But for at least five minutes she would pretend that she fit into Daniel’s world.
She fixed her face—and danged if her skin didn’t look amazingly dewy with those high-end cosmetics. Then she slid the silk shirt on and was pleased to see her boobs looked great. The pair of embellished dark-wash jeans slid on like second skin. There was even a thick chocolate brown cardigan because, after all, March in Chicago was not any warmer than March in Denver.
She eyed the long flannel nightgown with matching robe. Oscar de la Renta. Even the nightie was designer.
She didn’t know how she would go out there and look at him—or his mother. He had kissed her and she had kissed him back. For a little while, anyway.
What if she were wrong? What if she were looking for a deeper meaning here and there just wasn’t one? Could she seriously take Daniel at his word? She wanted to. Desperately, she wanted to. But every time she felt herself being swayed by his thoughtfulness, by the way he played with Marie—by the way he touched Christine, like she was a delicate thing to be treasured—she would remember the truth of the situation.
She’d gotten pregnant out of wedlock. But he’d made it national news.
So she was wearing designer clothes. That didn’t mean she trusted him. It didn’t mean she wanted him to kiss her again. She didn’t want it and she didn’t need it.
Yeah, right.
From somewhere inside this cavernous apartment, she heard Marie giggling and a soft feminine voice responding. Everything seemed fine, just as he’d promised it would be.
And that was another thing. He hadn’t told her where they were going—other than the generic Chicago. He hadn’t told her that his mother would be here. Not that Christine was complaining about that. Luxury was not only wearing designer clothes, but it was having half an hour to wash her face and get dressed.
It was all so different from her normal life. She pressed the palms of her hands into her temples, trying to get her head to stop spinning.
“Are you all right?”
Christine let out a little gasp. Daniel had appeared out of nowhere to stand in front of her, worry etched on his face. She was instantly aware of him on a different level. A physical level.
“Oh, fine,” she said, trying to sound nonchalant and failing miserably. “Everything about this is fine.”
His suit jacket and tie were gone and he had unbuttoned the top two buttons on his pristine white dress shirt. He had even cuffed the sleeves, revealing forearms that were far more muscular than she expected.
Her gaze slid over the V of his waist. Without the jacket—or the bulky cable-knit sweater he’d worn to church—she could see the shape of his legs. And he had taken off his shoes! Instead of basic socks that matched his gray trousers, he wore socks with wildly colorful paisleys. She felt like she should have noticed those socks earlier.
“Yes, I can tell.” Daniel’s gaze swept over her, warming her from the inside out. “I see the clothes worked. That top suits you perfectly.”
Christine could feel her cheeks burning up at his leisurely perusal of her person. “It really wasn’t necessary to spend that much money on clothes Marie is going to destroy, you know.”
“It was worth it.”
All of her warm feelings took a hard right into embarrassment. Why did he keep doing this? Was it because of the kiss? “Stop.”
His gaze hardened as he took another step closer. “Why can’t you take a compliment?”
Instinctively, she took a step back, which brought her up hard against the countertop. “What?”
“You are a lovely woman and the clothing looks nice on you. I’m trying to compliment you. Not because I’m trying to seduce you and not because I want something out of you.” His eyes glittered with emotion that she was afraid to identify. Lust? Anger? “I like you and I am expressing that in a commonly accepted form. Stop tearing yourself down. You look nice,” he said, leaning in. Less than a foot separated them now. When Christine couldn’t come up with a response, he added with an amused grin, “This is the part where you say thank you.”
She blinked hard, tears stinging her eyes and she wasn’t sure why. “Thank you. The clothes are lovely.”
“Closer,” he murmured, putting a hand on the counter on either side of her. She was trapped and that was maybe a bad thing but she desperately wanted it to be good.
Her body pulsed with need and this time, that need wouldn’t be ignored. Especially not when Daniel said, “The clothes are lovely because you make them lovely, Christine.”
She wasn’t strong enough, darn it all. “You’re trying to make me like you.” He moved closer and she put a hand on his chest. It was the first time she’d touched him and, through the fine cotton of his shirt, she could feel the warmth of his body.
In another life, she’d do more than just rest her palm against his chest. The old Christine would still be in the back bedroom with him. The old Christine would’ve thrown herself into that kiss because he truly was her knight in shining armor—well, her knight in a suit, anyway.
But the new woman she was didn’t do that. She didn’t even slide her hand around his waist or pull him in until her breasts were flush against his chest. She just...touched him. It shouldn’t have been a big deal, that touch.
But it was.
His eyes darkened. “I’d like to think I don’t have to try that hard.” Smoothly, he pushed off the counter and put more space between them. He did so in a way that kept her hand from dropping away from his chest. She wasn’t pushing him, but she wasn’t breaking the contact, either. “There’s something about you...” he said, his voice trailing off as he leaned into her touch.
Please say the right thing—something she could believe in.
“But,” he said, going on in a more formal voice, “I understand if you don’t feel the same way after what I did to you two years ago.”
She let her hand fall away as she opened her mouth to try and make sense of the confusion. But at that moment, Marie let out a familiar shriek of, “Mama!”
“Oh,” Christine said dully. “I need to check on her.”
She went to step around him, but he put a hand on her waist, stopping her when she was parallel with him. God, he was so hot—heat radiated from his side, where it was pressed against hers. “Maybe we can talk tonight?”
She should say no. She shouldn’t believe anything he said at this point or at any other point. She shouldn’t agree to being alone with him, especially not under cover of darkness. It was too risky and there was too much at stake. This was all happening far too fast.
But he was looking down at her with those beautiful eyes. He liked her. He had already kissed her. He wasn’t working for her father and she didn’t think he was working for the opposition.
She had tried to be good for two years and what had it gotten her? Hounded by the press and dragged through the mud. Again. Maybe she didn’t want to be good anymore. That had to be the reason she lifted her hand and stroked it over his smooth cheek.
“Okay,” she said in a soft voice. “Tonight, we’ll talk.”
Then she slipped out of his grasp and went to check on her daughter.
* * *
Daniel had a feast of Korean food delivered and opened a good bottle of wine. Christine didn’t even have to clean up—she offered, but he waved her away. He stacked the dishes and threw away the take-out boxes, but he said he had a maid who cleaned up for him. Then Minnie swept Marie up and declared that th
e child needed a bath.
All in all, it was one of the nicer evenings Christine had had in a long time. She sent a text to Sue at the bank, assuring her that Christine was all right. She called Mrs. McDonald, too. She sent a message to her boss, explaining that she’d be back to work in a few days and apologizing for the whole mess.
Between the low-pressure meal and the wine, Christine was able to relax—something she didn’t really allow herself to do anymore. She rarely drank because she was always the responsible parent on duty.
Far removed from the reporters and the daily struggle of caring for her daughter, Christine began to think of this interlude as a vacation. After all, she was staying with a gorgeous man who provided child care and all accommodations—while looking at her with desire in his eyes.
Sooner or later, she would to go back to her decent job at the bank and her daily struggle to get Marie to bed early so Christine could have fifteen minutes to herself before she collapsed from exhaustion.
She wanted to enjoy this. More than that, she wanted to enjoy it without having to pay for it later. That was the sticking point. Would all this come back to haunt her tomorrow? That was the question she had to ask as Daniel came to sit beside her on his massive couch. It stretched out for almost fifteen feet—far larger than any regular couch. And it faced the floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out over Lake Michigan. Even as dusk faded into night, the view was amazing.
“She’s in love with that baby,” Daniel said as Minnie carried a squirming Marie, wrapped in a fluffy towel that looked like a duck, into the living room so Christine could see how good her daughter had been. Then they were off again, Minnie singing Korean lullabies and armed with a small stack of brand-new children’s books.
“I picked up on that, it’s true.” There were cookie crumbs on the coffee table and random toys scattered all over the place, but he didn’t seem to mind. Minnie and Daniel cared about Marie.
God, how Christine needed more of that in her life.
To her horror, she heard herself ask, “How come you’re not married? You know your mom would adore grandchildren.”
After a long pause, Daniel said, “We need to talk a little business,” in a voice that was regretful. “If you’re up to it.”
“All right.” Business seemed like a nice way of saying the complete and total collapse of her life. Business, she repeated to herself several more times.
She’d like some more wine before they got down to business, but she hadn’t nursed Marie yet. She needed the closeness with her daughter, the one single thing that was a familiar part of their routine.
“Natalie Wesley will be here tomorrow evening,” Daniel announced into the silence.
“She will?” Christine wasn’t normally the kind to get starstruck but... “Why?”
“I’d like her to conduct a sit-down interview with you where we’re in complete control of the conversation.”
Okay, her heart was definitely pounding. “Is that a good idea?”
The apartment was dark, with only a few lamps lit at the far ends of the couch. Christine could see, but she felt less exposed.
Then Daniel reached over and curled his fingers around hers. It wasn’t the same kind of touch that had led to the kiss earlier—but it still sent sparks of electricity over her skin. “You can’t hide forever, Christine, as nice as it might be for all of us.” She swung her head around at that statement but Daniel went on in a gentle voice, “It’s better to control your narrative than to let someone else control it. You have to tell your own story.”
Hadn’t that been the problem the last time? He’d defined her first. “Do I have to?”
“Absolutely not.” He squeezed her fingers and then slid his hand around so they were palm to palm. “But Natalie and I agree that it’s a good idea. I promise she won’t ask any gotcha-style questions. She’s working up the questions and answers now.”
“The answers? Good Lord, you don’t leave anything to chance, do you?”
He chuckled, a rich sound that surrounded her. “I try not to. I don’t mean that she’ll have a script for you to read from—that wouldn’t be believable. It’ll be more like talking points.”
She mulled that over—while also trying to figure out if she wanted to pull her hand away or not.
She didn’t want to. His hand was warm and heavy, almost a promise of good things to come. She felt safe with him. She had all along, she had to admit. Because if she hadn’t, she wouldn’t have met him in the church, wouldn’t have let Marie grow attached to him and she certainly wouldn’t have let him whisk them away.
She trusted him. If that made her a fool, then, she was a fool. She gave his hand a little squeeze. “Like... I wish my father all the luck in his campaign but I’m far too busy raising my daughter to join him on the campaign trail?”
He turned to look at her, warmth in his eyes. “Yes,” he murmured, the space between them closing, “exactly like that.”
He was going to kiss her again and she was going to let him. This time, she was going to enjoy it, by God.
“Here we are,” Minnie’s chipper voice announced seconds before she came back into the living room with Marie curled against her shoulder. “It’s bedtime for a sleepy little girl, isn’t it, sweetheart?” She sighed and kissed the top of Marie’s head. “And I need to head home.”
Christine and Daniel both jerked back like they were teenagers caught kissing by, well, his mother. “I’ll call the car for you, Mom,” Daniel said, looking completely unflustered while Christine knew her face was burning.
She stood. “I usually nurse her at night,” she said, holding out her arms. Marie leaned toward her and Christine let her daughter’s heavy body ground her in reality. “If you’ll excuse us. Minnie, thank you so, so much. This has been a wonderful evening. Will we get to see you again before we go back to Denver?”
“Oh, I hope so.” The older woman’s eyes lit up. “I have something to do tomorrow morning but I’d love to come back over in the afternoon?” She looked longingly at Marie and Christine knew she hadn’t been wrong. Minnie Lee had grandbabies on the brain. “You two could go out, do something fun. Miss Marie and I will be just fine.”
Daniel cleared his throat and, finally, he looked embarrassed. “Mom, that’s not a smart idea right now. We’re trying to keep Christine out of the public eye. But,” he went on before his mother could respond, “Natalie will be here tomorrow evening to interview Christine and it’d be a huge help if you could entertain Marie for us during that.” He turned to Christine. “Wouldn’t it?”
She would have sworn there was a hint of pleading in his tone, a need to keep his mother happy. “It would be wonderful,” she agreed, patting Marie’s back.
Minnie clapped her hands. “Is three okay? I could cut one meeting short...”
“No,” Christine said quickly, “three is fine. She’ll probably be waking up from her nap by then.”
“Wonderful.” Minnie moved as if she wanted to hug Marie—and, by extension, Christine—before pulling to a stop. “Tomorrow, then.”
Christine nodded and carried Marie back to where the portable crib had been set up. That man had even had a glider delivered. Everything she needed had appeared out of thin air. Clothes, food—compliments. Sincere, dangerous compliments.
He was, in a word, perfect.
God, she hoped she wasn’t about to make a fool of herself.
Ten
“I’m exhausted. I might just turn in,” Christine said, already moving down the hall.
Of course she was. It’d been a day. But that didn’t make him any less disappointed that she wouldn’t be back out—where they would finally be alone. “That’s fine. Get some sleep.”
The moment Christine was out of earshot, his mother rounded on him. “Dae-Hyun,” she said, using his Korean name and that particular tone of voice that made him feel like he was six. “Why haven’t you told her?”
“About what?”
They both knew
what. His mother shook her head and Daniel had to force back the uncomfortable feeling that he had disappointed her. “About you. Does she know who you really are?”
If he had less self-discipline, he’d throw his hands up in frustration. But he had a lot of self-discipline. “That’s not some deep mystery, Mom. I’m the former political campaign operative who ruined her life.”
If there were one person in the whole world he couldn’t fool, though, it was his mother. Only Minnie could cut through the crap with one well-placed look. With a sigh of resignation, she stepped closer and patted him on the cheek. “There is more to you than that. And more to her than just a woman whose life you ruined.” Her eyes twinkled. “She’s the first woman you’ve ever shown your home to—as far as I know,” she said before Daniel could say the exact same thing. “You can’t tell me that’s just because you’re trying to make up for what happened before.”
He wasn’t going to win an argument with his mother. Especially not when there was a distinctive chance she was right. So Daniel leaned down and kissed his mom on the cheek. “Thanks for your help today. We’ll see you tomorrow?”
She notched an eyebrow at him. “You can’t avoid the truth forever, you know,” she said softly in Korean. Then she went to get her things.
He saw her out. He wasn’t avoiding anything. He wasn’t. He was a full-grown man who was helping to manage one business and keeping tabs on another. He ran his business interests and protected his family members. He...
He’d never brought a woman back to his place. The few times he had taken a lover—he was no saint—he had arranged for five-star hotels.
Damn it, he hated it when his mother could see right through him.
Because there hadn’t been a single good reason to bring Christine back here. He could have gotten her a penthouse suite and had all the clothes and things for her daughter delivered there. He could have stayed there as well, if that was what she’d been comfortable with.
But that’s not what he’d done. He’d brought her straight here, straight to his mother.
What had he done?
Billionaire's Baby Promise (Mills & Boon Desire) (Billionaires and Babies, Book 79) Page 10
