Claiming the Captain's Baby

by Rochelle Alers

  Mya wanted to tell him she wasn’t Lily’s biological mother, but decided to hold her tongue and leave it up to Giles to explain their connection. “Thank you.”

  “Don’t thank me, Mya. Thank the two people who gave you your exquisite looks.”

  Her smile faded. I would if I knew who they were, she thought. “This is Lily, your granddaughter.”

  Pat stared down at the baby who’d stopped laughing long enough to look up at him. “It’s unbelievable.” He was unable to disguise the awe in his voice. “She’s the spitting image of Skye when she was a baby.”

  Amanda pressed her mouth to the back of Lily’s head. “Speaking of Skye. I called her to tell her about Lily and she says she’ll be here tomorrow to meet her niece.”

  A slight frown appeared between Pat’s eyes. “So, that’s why she asked me to buy a ticket for her to come home. I thought she’d gotten enough of that leech sucking her dry and had come to her senses and decided to leave him.”

  “Please, Pat. Let’s not talk about that now,” Amanda said softly.

  Mya was grateful Amanda wanted to change the topic because the last thing she wanted was to become a witness to what had become a source of contention for the Wainwrights. It was never a good thing when parents or family members did not approve of their children’s choice in a partner.

  A young woman in a gray uniform and white shoes walked into the den. “Mrs. Wainwright. Dinner is ready.”

  Giles approached Mya and took her hand. “I’ll show you where we can wash up.”

  She waited until they were behind the door of a bathroom off the den, then asked Giles, “Did you tell your father about us?”

  He blinked slowly. “He’s knows you’re not Lily’s birth mother, but not much beyond that. He did ask when I was going to marry you, because Wainwright men don’t get women pregnant and not marry them.”

  Mya felt her heart stop and then start up again. “What did you say?”

  “I told him that I hadn’t gotten you pregnant, so that lets me off the hook about having to marry you.”

  She exhaled an inaudible sigh. “That’s good.”

  His eyes grew wider. “What’s good? Me not having to marry you, or you not wanting to marry me?”

  Mya turned on the faucet and then tapped the soap dispenser. What did he expect her to say? That she could never conceive of marrying him? Or that she would consider marrying him but only if she found herself in love?

  “It’s not about me marrying you, because I haven’t given it a thought one way or the other.” She hadn’t thought of it because something kept her from completely trusting him. She was certain he loved his daughter, yet she couldn’t rid her mind that if he proposed marriage his ulterior motive would be to try and convince her to allow him to share legal custody of Lily.

  Giles took a step, pressing his chest to her back. “You wouldn’t do it because of Lily?” he whispered in her ear.

  Mya closed her eyes as the heat from his body seeped into her hers, bringing with it an awareness of the man who had become so much a part of her day-to-day existence. She woke anticipating his arrival and felt a profound loss whenever he took his leave at the end of the day.

  Giles had unexpectedly come into her life, and like the blistering summer heat that did not abate even after the sun had set, everything about him lingered: the firm touch of his mouth on hers when he greeted her, the muscled hardness of his body whenever he leaned into her, the brilliant blue eyes that seemed to know what she was thinking when she’d struggled in vain not to be caught up in the spell of longing whenever she was reminded of how long it had been since a man had made love to her.

  There were nights when she woke in a panic from an erotic dream that made her press her face into the pillow to muffle the screams of pleasure as she experienced long-denied orgasms.

  “No. There’s no way I’m going to allow Lily to become a pawn in a relationship I’d have with any man.”

  “I’m not any man, Mya. I’m your daughter’s father.”

  She nodded. “I know that. But I’d only marry you if I was in love with you.”

  Giles pressed a kiss alongside the column of her neck. “So you would consider me as a potential husband.”

  “Only if I was in love with you,” she repeated.

  He caressed her waist. “What do I have to do to make you fall in love with me?”

  Mya rinsed her hands and then reached for a guest towel from a stack in a ceramic tray. “Just be you,” she said cryptically. She dried her hands, dropped the towel in a wastebasket, then turned to see confusion freezing his features. “What’s the matter?”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  She winked at him. “You’re a very bright guy. So figure it out.”

  Giles caught her around the waist. “That’s not fair.”

  “What’s not fair?”

  “You teasing me.”

  Mya stared up at him under lowered lashes. “All I’m saying is don’t change, Giles. I’ve gotten to like you a lot. But you flip the script, then it’s not going to go so well with us.”

  Giles’s expression hardened. “Please don’t compare me to your ex-boyfriend.”

  “I’m not. Malcolm is who he is, and you are who you are.”

  “Does this mean I can kiss you? Really kiss you?” he whispered as his head came down.

  His mouth covered her before she could form an answer, her lips parting under the tender onslaught that left her shaking from head to toe. This kiss was different from the others because it was as if he was staking his claim. In that instant, she had forgotten all of the men who had ever kissed her as she returned Giles’s kiss with a hunger that belied her outward appearance. Her hands came up and cradled his strong jaw as she tried to get even closer.

  Then, without warning, it ended. Mya did not want to believe she was cloistered in a bathroom in Giles’s parents’ home allowing him to kiss her with wild abandon. And she also felt uncomfortable because it was the first time Giles had acted on his lustful stares. Maybe it was because he was more confident in New York being with his family, while she viewed herself as the outsider despite the elder Wainwrights welcoming her with warmth and open arms.

  “Please open the door, Giles.”

  He released her and pushed open the door. “Wait for me.”

  Mya nodded. She noticed he was breathing as heavily as she, which meant they both were affected by the kiss.

  She waited for him to wash and dry his hands, then followed him along a narrow hallway leading to the rear of the house. Mya smothered a gasp when he opened a door to a backyard garden with trees, bushes with late-blooming fall flowers, a man-made waterfall and tiny white string lights entwined with ivy within the framework of a pergola. A table with seating for four was covered with hemstitched linens, crystal stemware, china and brass candelabras. Pat seated Amanda after she placed Lily in a high chair between his chair and his wife’s.

  Giles pulled out a chair, seating Mya before he claimed his own next to her. “Don’t look so worried,” he whispered in her ear. “My mother has more than enough experience raising her children and now occasionally babysitting her grandkids.”

  Mya forced a smile. She wasn’t aware her concern for Lily had shown on her face. She realized there would come a time when she would have to let go of her daughter, but knew it wasn’t going to be easy.

  Amanda smiled across the table. “Mya, I hope you and Giles will let Lily stay with me while you two take some time for yourselves while you’re here, and I want to spend as much time with her before you go back to West Virginia.”

  “Of course,” Mya said reluctantly, when Giles nudged her foot with his under the table.

  “What about when you go into the gallery?” Pat asked Amanda.

  “Not to worry, darling,” Amanda crooned. “I’m taking off for as lo
ng as Giles and Mya are here. By the way, when are you going back?”

  Mya shared a look with Giles. “We plan to stay until at least the thirtieth.”

  “Bummer,” the older woman said between clenched teeth. “I was hoping you’d stay for Halloween because I always take pictures of the kids in their costumes. Last year, both of Patrick’s boys were dressed like pumpkins.”

  “Maybe next year,” Giles said, “that is if it’s okay with Mya.”

  Mya nodded. “We’ll definitely think about it.”

  “Is that a promise?” Amanda asked.

  “Of course,” he replied.

  “We’ll be back again for Thanksgiving,” Mya added.

  “What about Christmas?”

  Mya smiled. “We’ll be here for Christmas.”

  She was actually looking forward to celebrating Christmas in New York City. It had always been her wish to eat roasted chestnuts from street vendors while strolling along Fifth Avenue to check out the gaily decorated department store windows. She also planned to have Giles take a photo of her and Lily in front of the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center.

  Amanda pressed her palms together. “You have to spend the Christmas week and New Year’s with us. Christmas is when the entire family gets together for what becomes somewhat of a never-ending party. The New Year’s Eve ball is always a fund-raiser. The family underwrites the cost of the food, drinks and entertainment for folks with deep pockets to donate to the year’s designated charity.”

  Mya sat straight. “Who selects the charity?”

  Giles rested a hand over Mya’s. “Those who sit on the Wainwright board of directors, who all happen to be family members. This year, they selected the World Vision’s water project for Kenya. We’ve committed to match whatever we raise for the evening.”

  Suddenly she saw his family in a whole new light. They were using their wealth to help make the world better for those less fortunate.

  Mya’s attention shifted to several waiters pushing carts with covered dishes onto the patio. She smiled as Lily babbled incessantly while patting the high chair tray. Amanda had asked whether Lily was lactose intolerant because she’d planned to blend macaroni and cheese for the baby. She confided to the child’s grandmother that Lily was a joy to feed because the baby wasn’t a picky eater.

  “Do you eat like this every time you get together?” Mya asked Giles quietly as waiters set out the food. The table was covered with cold and hot dishes ranging from sushi, tuna tartare, daikon and carrot, lobster and crab salads to pasta with a variety of sauces and grilled glazed pork spareribs, Cornish game hens and eggplant.

  “Yes.” Giles picked up and held the platter of sushi for Mya. “Mom says she likes to be eclectic when it comes to planning a dinner. In other words, a little something for everyone.”

  “Does your mother cook?”

  “Yes. In fact, she’s an incredible cook—like her granddaughter’s mother.” Giles punctuated the compliment when he kissed her hair. “She ordered in tonight because she wanted to get the house ready for us.”

  His disclosure caught Mya slightly off guard. “I thought you were going to stay in your apartment.”

  “Not tonight. Tomorrow you can decide what you want to do.”

  She gave him a sidelong glance. “What’s on our agenda?”

  He lifted his shoulders. “Not much. I’ll probably pop into the office to check in with Jocelyn, and after that, I’m all yours.” Giles paused. “Maybe I’ll call my cousin Jordan and see if we can stop by and see his new baby.”

  “I’m going to call my editor and if she has the time, we can share lunch before we go back.”

  “Are you guys talking about doing something together?” Amanda asked. “Because Pat and I don’t mind babysitting if you want to have some alone time.”

  Mya shook her head. “I...I don’t want to impose on—”

  “Don’t say it,” Amanda warned, interrupting her. “It’s not as if you asked us to look after her. We’re offering. And once Skye gets here I’m willing to bet you won’t get to see your daughter again until it’s time for you to leave.”

  Giles draped his free arm over the back of Mya’s chair. “Just make certain you don’t spoil her so much that she’ll be off schedule and not want to sleep at night.”

  Amanda glared at him. “I did raise three children, so I believe that qualifies me to look after my grandbabies.”

  Mya rested a hand on Giles’s shoulder. “Let it go,” she whispered. She didn’t want Giles to get into it with his mother about Lily. She planned to give Amanda a detailed schedule for the baby’s nap and mealtimes.

  “Don’t argue with your woman, son, because you’ll only lose.”

  Amanda glared at her husband. “Stay out of their business, Pat.”

  “I’m not getting into their business, Mandy. I’m just trying to give him some sage advice.”

  “Advice they probably don’t need,” Amanda retorted.

  Giles picked up a sushi roll with a pair of chopsticks. “Dad’s right. I’ve learned not to get into it with Mya because I usually end up losing.”

  Mya’s eyebrows lifted, questioning. “Usually?” she teased. “You always lose.”

  Pat grimaced. “Oh-kay,” he drawled. “It’s time to drop that topic.”

  Mya agreed when she said, “How often do you dine alfresco?”

  “As often as I can,” Amanda said. “Once all of the kids were gone, Pat and I talked about selling this place because it’s much too big for two people.”

  “Do you use the entire building?”

  “Not anymore. Once Patrick and Giles left, we rented the second-and third-story apartments to doctors, because New York Hospital is within walking distance. But I didn’t like being a landlord, so when their leases were up, we decided to use the entire building for out-of-town friends and family. My brother and sisters have thirteen children and at least sixteen grandchildren among them. Whenever they come down from Boston, it’s like summer camp with babies underfoot and kids running up and down the stairs.”

  Giles smiled. “Don’t let Mom fool you. She loves it when the house is filled to capacity.”

  Amanda nodded. “He’s right. When Pat and I were first married, we’d planned on having six children.”

  “What made you change your mind?” Giles asked his mother.

  “I didn’t realize how much work went into child rearing. I grew up with a nanny, so I never saw my mother frazzled or overwhelmed. And because I missed that close contact with her, I decided early on that I’d be a hands-on mother. I had your brother and you came along eighteen months later, and now when I look back, I know I was experiencing some postpartum depression. That’s when I decided to wait at least five years before getting pregnant again. I felt my family was complete because I had my sons and a daughter.”

  “And now we have two grandsons and a granddaughter,” Pat said in a low, composed voice.

  Mya managed to conceal a smile when she pretended interest in the food on her plate as Amanda recalled some of the tricks her sons had played on her. They would hide in one of the many closets in the town house and wait for her to search the entire building to find them.

  Amanda wiped away traces of mac and cheese from Lily’s chubby cheeks. “I was almost at my wit’s end when I decided to turn the tables on them. One day when they left for school, I had a workman come in and change the doorknobs on all of the closets. When they realized they needed a key to open them, it put an end to their disappearing acts. So if Lily is anything like her father, then she’s going to be quite a challenge.”

  Mya nodded. “Thanks for the advance warning.”

  “I wasn’t that bad,” Giles said, in defense of himself.

  “Not bad, just mischievous,” Amanda countered. “Even though I love being a mother, it still doesn’t compare to bei
ng a grandmother. You’ll see, Mya, once Lily’s married and has children.”

  “That’s not going to be for a while,” Mya said.

  “That’s where you’re wrong because they grow up so fast that you’ll wonder where the time went. I preach that to my son Patrick and thankfully he’s taken my advice and spends a lot of his free time with his boys.”

  “That’s something I didn’t do with my kids,” Pat admitted. He met Mya’s eyes. “I let work consume me and by the time I left the office, my children were in bed. It was the same in the morning. I was up and out before they sat down to breakfast. I know I can’t make it up with my children, but I promised Mandy that it’s going to be different with the grandkids.”

  I have to learn that being a father is a lot more than offering financial support. Now Mya knew what Giles meant. Although his father had financially supported his family, it was the emotional support he had withheld.

  “None of us grow up knowing how to parent,” Mya said in a quiet voice. “We learn on the job. I’ve read a lot of books on child rearing, and there’s no definitive blueprint for becoming the perfect mom or dad. Lily has her own little personality and there may come a time when we’re going to be at odds with each other and I’m going to have to accept that. It’s different with girls than boys because of hormones. Once we were teenagers, my sister and I weren’t very nice to our mother or each other, but that didn’t mean we didn’t love one another. My mother admitted she went through the same thing with her own mother, so she waited for us to come to our senses.”

  Giles set down his fork. “Even though I’m a newbie when it comes to being a parent, I have no doubt Mya is going to make me a better father.”

  “Don’t be a fool and let her get away from you,” Pat said to his son.

  “Patrick!” Amanda admonished. “Why are you interfering?”

  “I am not interfering. I’m just stating a fact.” Pat pointed at Giles. “If you let Mya get away—”

  “Enough, Dad,” Giles said, cutting him off. “Mya and I will be together for a long time.”