“Then what?” Conor demanded, changing lanes to avoid a semitruck going twenty miles under the speed limit.
“Did it ever occur to you that it might be personal?”
Conor whistled as his eyebrows shot up to his hairline. “Good lord. It’s a woman, isn’t it?”
Not just any woman, but a sparkling, funny, utterly delightful female who made him second-guess everything he knew about himself.
“Of course not,” Gavin lied. “It was being in Vegas. Everything artificial and garish and frantic. I didn’t want to go in the first place, and I’m damn glad to be home. Give me a good night’s sleep, and I’ll be back to normal in the morning.”
Conor frowned, but kept his eyes on the road. “Fine. Don’t tell me. But you’d better be more convincing when you talk to Mom, because she can sniff out a lie better than a bloodhound.”
* * *
Cassidy covered her mouth with one hand, swallowing hard to keep from throwing up. She sat on the end of a vinyl-covered exam table, her modesty protected only by a thin paper gown.
“Could you please say that again?” she whispered.
Dr. Landau, the man who had been her pediatrician since birth, gave her a look laced with considerable concern. “You’re pregnant, Cassidy. Didn’t you suspect?”
“No, sir. Daddy is finally letting me take on more responsibility at the casino, and I’ve been working crazy hours. I just assumed it was stress. I’m not all that regular anyway.”
The gray-haired, kindly physician had been telling her since she turned eighteen that she needed to find a general practitioner and an ob-gyn, but Cassidy loved Dr. Landau. Where her father bellowed and blustered, Dr. Landau was invariably gentle and professional.
He shook his head, his expression wry. “I’m retiring at the end of the year, Cassidy. I appreciate the fact that you and I have known each other for two decades, but you’re a grown woman and you must find appropriate medical care. You have another person to think about now.”
“How far along am I?” She knew the answer down to a five-hour period, but she wanted to hear it from him.
“About ten weeks, I think. You’ll want to get an ultrasound soon. I can prescribe prenatal vitamins, but I need you to promise me that you’ll call and set up an appointment with an obstetrician. Soon.”
“I will, I swear. I thought I had a stomach virus. I never dreamed...” She trailed off, feeling foolish and alone and frightened.
Dr. Landau frowned. “How long have you been sexually active, Cassidy?”
She shrugged, her face heating. “Just about ten weeks.”
He shook his head. “Isn’t that the way it works? Couples try for years to get pregnant and others who aren’t even thinking in that vein wind up with a surprise on the way. You have options, of course. But you’ll want to discuss those with the father.”
“He’s not really in the picture.”
The doctor didn’t seem particularly judgmental, but Cassidy felt guilty anyway. She’d spent her entire life playing by the rules, and one impulsive night had brought her to this.
Dr. Landau stood. “Go ahead and get dressed. I’ll have my nurse bring in the vitamin prescription.” He paused. “You know I can’t discuss anything we’ve said here with your father. But he’s my friend. And you’re going to need support no matter which way you decide to go. To be honest, you shouldn’t spend another hour working in the casino. Secondhand smoke can be harmful to your baby.”
“I understand,” Cassidy said as panic clawed at her throat. “Thank you for seeing me today.” An era of her life was ending. Though she had considered herself focused and mature and ready to assume the full mantle of adulthood, clearly there were aspects she hadn’t considered.
When the doctor exited the exam room, she put on her clothes and glanced in the mirror on the back of the door. She didn’t look pregnant. She didn’t feel pregnant. She was, however, miserably sick and confused and desperate. What was she going to do?
As she drove home to the elaborate house she shared with her father and brother, her brain ran in circles. She was supposed to stand by her father’s side, preparing to run the business in his retirement. She had trained for that, worked hard for that.
A baby had never figured into the plan. In fact, she had assumed she wouldn’t have children. She knew her father’s traditional values wouldn’t allow him to choose her as his successor if she had a family. He’d think she needed to be with her children. So she had focused on working toward her father’s legacy.
Keeping one hand on the steering wheel, she placed the other flat on her stomach. A new life. A baby. No matter the upheaval in her world, she would never consider terminating the pregnancy. She couldn’t. Clearly Gavin had no interest in a relationship with her since there had been no contact between him and Cassidy since he left.
So only two choices remained...becoming a single mother, or giving the infant up for adoption. Even as she pondered it, a wave of maternal instinct washed over her, bonding her for the first time with the tiny boy or girl growing in her womb.
This child was hers. Hers and Gavin’s, to be correct. The only thing she knew for certain was that she would keep the child. She would have to tell him. Eventually. But not until she had time to get her act together.
After dinner prepared by the housekeeper and served in the formal dining room, Cassidy and her father and Carlo adjourned to the family room. It was an unabashedly masculine enclave, but in one corner sat the Disney toy box that had housed Cassidy’s dolls and such as she grew up.
Carlo was busy on his cell phone. Gianni Corelli lit a cigar and sat back in his overstuffed leather recliner. The smell of the Havana tobacco sent Cassidy dashing for the nearest bathroom to lose the contents of her stomach. When she returned, she was shaking, but moderately in control.
Neither male paid her much attention. They saw each other at work on and off all day. The evenings were for winding down, though often one or all of them would return to the casino toward midnight to see how things were going.
She wanted to ask Carlo to leave. It was going to be hard enough to break the news to one person, much less two. Her father’s reaction was going to be ugly. But she couldn’t think of any plausible reason to ask for privacy.
Finally, when tension knotted her belly and anxiety dampened her forehead, she blurted it out. “Daddy...Carlo...I have something to tell you.” It took a few seconds, but both men looked up and focused their attention on her face.
Her father smiled genially. “What is it, mia bella figlia? I have had many compliments on your job performance the last two months. I suppose all that fancy education I paid for was worth it.”
Carlo scowled. “I work, too.”
His father gave him a grin. “Of course you do. Mostly coaxing young pretty tourists to try their luck at the roulette wheel. We all have our strengths, son.”
Cassidy could tell that her father’s patronizing tone irked Carlo, but her brother held his tongue. Luckily for him, in a few moments he was going to be out of the line of fire.
“Thank you, Daddy. I’m glad you’re pleased.”
“So,” he said, tapping his cigar in an ashtray. “You have my attention.”
There was really no way to ease into this. She swallowed, feeling nausea swirl in her tummy again. “I’m pregnant.”
In hindsight, perhaps a letter might have been the better choice. Her father’s florid complexion turned an alarming shade of puce. “I will kill the boy,” he said, his dark eyes flashing fire. “Who is he? Who dared defile my baby girl?”
Cassidy wanted to roll her eyes, but she restrained the impulse. Why was this household always filled with drama? “I’m not defiled, Daddy. I’m pregnant. There’s a difference. And he’s not a boy. He’s a man. I made a mistake and now I have to accept the consequences. Bu
t I want this baby. I really do.”
Carlo had been struck dumb, perhaps alarmed by his father’s apoplectic rage. For once, Cassidy’s competitive brother didn’t speak up. Maybe because he could already see the benefits for himself in this situation.
Gianni Corelli got to his feet, his hands clenched in fists. “You will correct this situation,” he hissed.
Cassidy backed up a step. “I don’t know what you mean.” It broke her heart to see the man who had raised her stare with such open antagonism.
“You will go to him,” he said. “Find the bastard and tell him what he has done to you. And you will not set foot in this house again until you are either engaged or married.”
“But, Daddy...”
He held up a hand, his body quaking with fury. “Your dear mother, God rest her soul, would turn over in her grave if she could see you now. You have shamed our home.”
At last, Carlo spoke, surprisingly in defense of his sister. “Take it easy, Papa. This isn’t the Middle Ages. You’re going to have a stroke if you don’t calm down.”
Unfortunately for Cassidy, much as she appreciated her brother’s support, it didn’t help the situation.
Her father held out an arm, pointing at the door. “Go. Pack a bag. Be gone by morning. I will cancel your credit cards. You may use the money in your personal account.”
Cassidy gaped. That would be less than two thousand dollars. Her father hadn’t wanted her to work while she was in school. He’d insisted that she concentrate on her studies. “But I—”
“This isn’t up for discussion, daughter. You will make this right or you will never again be welcome under this roof.”
Cassidy began to cry. Never in a million years had she expected this reaction. She knew her father was old-school and traditional and strict. He had been twenty years older than her mother when they married, and he was very much set in his ways. But he loved his daughter...didn’t he?
Carlo took her arm, steering her out of harm’s way when she was too stunned to walk on her own. His bedroom was first down the hallway. He urged her inside and shut the door. “If you’ll tell me where you need to go, I’ll put a plane ticket on my credit card.” He opened a bureau drawer and withdrew a wad of cash. “This should help. And you can call me if you need more.”
Cassidy sniffed, her emotions all over the map. “Why are you being so nice to me?”
Carlo gave her a lopsided grin. “You’re my sister. Father has pitted us against each other our whole lives, but those things he said to you in there are wrong. I love you, Cass. You’ll get through this. Don’t worry.”
It was a strange and wonderful sensation to feel her brother’s arms around her as she sobbed. She felt a little less alone. A little less desperate. At last, she pulled back and wiped her eyes. “Thank you.”
“Where shall I book a ticket to?”
“Asheville, North Carolina.” She had already studied a map when she had been moping over losing Gavin. Asheville was the largest town of any size near Silver Glen.
“One-way, or with an open-ended return?”
“One-way, I suppose. I have no idea how this is going to turn out. I can’t just tell this guy he has to marry me.”
Carlo tugged her hair as he had when they were kids. “You’ll find a solution. You always do. And besides, your baby daddy may be glad to see you. Who knows?”
Six
Gavin swung the ax with all his might, feeling the reverberation in his shoulders as the sharp blade cleaved the oak log. Beside him lay a three-foot-high stack of firewood that would season over the spring and summer and be ready for his fireplace come fall.
Sweat poured down his back both from exertion and from the heat of the sun in a cloudless sky. No matter how hard he pushed himself, he couldn’t escape the memories that tormented him. His luxurious house high on the mountainside was usually a refuge. Since returning from Nevada, though, it had become a prison.
Even his demanding work, normally a stimulating and distracting challenge, failed to keep him from thinking about her. Young, sassy, exuberant Cassidy Corelli. She had bewitched him. There was no other explanation. And though he knew for a fact that a man couldn’t become a husband without a license and other legal considerations, he couldn’t erase the memory of standing in front of an altar and promising to love, honor and cherish. It had been a silly, dangerous game.
The ax glanced off a knot in the wood, narrowly escaping the toe of his boot. This was not a good time to lose focus.
A half hour later, he called a halt. After a shower and a sandwich, he was prepared to hole up in his office and work until he was tired enough to sleep without dreaming.
He was in the kitchen smearing peanut butter over a slice of wheat bread when the doorbell rang. Frowning, he wiped his hands on a dish towel and headed for the front of the house. His hair was still damp, and he wasn’t wearing a shirt, but it was probably a delivery person of some sort.
When he swung wide the door, his hand clenched the edge of the frame until his knuckles turned white. “Cassidy. What are you doing here? How did you find me?”
She looked like hell, to be honest. Her skin had lost its glow and her beautiful eyes were dull with fatigue. Even the sheen of her wavy dark hair was dulled. At her feet sat a small rolling suitcase. The simple navy knit dress she wore was sleeveless in deference to the weather. Over one arm she carried a khaki raincoat.
“May I come in?” she asked.
The words were polite and proper. Not in the least intimating that the two of them had once upon a time been naked together. He wanted to grab her up and smother her adorable bow-shaped lips with wild kisses, but his innately suspicious nature kicked in.
“Of course,” he said, stepping back.
Cassidy’s gaze landed on his chest and danced away. She was careful not to touch him as she slipped past him into the formal living room. “Thank you.”
He indicated a chair. “Have a seat.”
It was disconcerting as hell to realize that he was hard already. Just from looking at her. Hopefully the heavy denim would disguise his ill-timed response. He didn’t know why she had come, but judging by her expression, it wasn’t to have another round of crazy, impetuous sex.
She put down her purse and bag and sat in silence, her gaze cataloging the contents of the room. He tried not to notice the way a single curl tickled her chin. “Is this a social visit?”
At last, she looked at him. Her teeth sank into her lower lip. Small graceful hands twined in her lap. “Not exactly.”
“How are things going at the casino? With your father...and your job?”
“Great. Or they were.” Now she appeared stricken.
Rubbing a hand across the back of his neck, he sighed. “I don’t mean to be rude, but you’re confusing the hell out of me. I thought we were ships that passed in the night. You made it very clear that you were focused on your work and on getting ahead of your brother. You never gave me any indication that you wanted to see me again.”
Tears welled in her beautiful eyes. “I’m pregnant, Gavin.”
* * *
She saw him turn white. Any burgeoning hope that he might be glad to see her shriveled and died. “Say something,” she said.
“Are you telling me you think I’m the father?”
Her stomach turned to stone. “Of course that’s what I’m saying. You were there, Gavin. You know I was innocent.”
The skepticism in his frigid stare cut deep. “That was weeks ago. Doesn’t mean there hasn’t been someone else in the meantime.” He paused, his expression going from disapproval to grim suspicion. “Have you forgotten that we used protection every time?”
She sat there stunned, gaping at him. The man who had made love to her in a Las Vegas hotel room with such tender passion had nothing in c
ommon with this hard-eyed stranger. She’d naively thought he might be glad to see her. Her throat was so tight she couldn’t speak for several long seconds. But she lifted her chin and met his gaze bravely. “Except for that time in the hot tub. Remember?”
From the flicker in his eyes, she could see that he did. But the memory did nothing to soften his stance. Despite the fact that he had been sexy and funny and wonderful and irresistible when he had claimed her beneath the swirling water that night, he was anything but at the moment.
When he said nothing, she held out her hands. “Why would I lie about this?”
“Maybe you found out that the Kavanaghs are wealthy. Maybe you wanted a free ride.”
“My father has enough money to buy and sell Silver Glen several times over.”
“Then why are you here?”
His stony gaze made her angry. “I thought you might want to know that you were going to be a father. It seemed like important information. But if you don’t give a damn, I’ve wasted a trip.”
She leaped to her feet, feeling like a naive idiot. The knight in shining armor who had rescued her in a Vegas alley had nothing in common with this antagonistic man.
Before she could reach the door, he blocked her exit, inserting his big, intimidating self between her and the escape route. “Wait.”
One word. Flat. Unemotional.
She pulled up short. “I know this isn’t something you wanted, Gavin. If I’m being brutally honest, I didn’t want it, either. But I’m pregnant, and I’m not going to make an innocent child pay for my mistakes.”
Something about the line of his jaw softened. “Is that what I was to you? A mistake?”
“What would you call it?”
He rubbed a hand across his chin, for the first time betraying a hint of rueful self-derision. “Momentary insanity?”
They stared at each other, the past vivid and alive. In his eyes she saw the truth of what he wasn’t saying. He remembered all too well. Just as she did. The laughter and intimate touches they had shared. Hushed groans. Wild cries of pleasure. Sated, drowsy satisfaction in the aftermath.
Twins on the Way Page 6
