by Judi Fennell
Okay, so how did she go about proving he wasn’t the father?
The bachelor party. All Mindy had known was that the groom-to-be’s name was Brad and he was getting married the next day, so all Jenna needed to do was google weddings on that day within her old town that had a groom named Brad.
It took her less than five minutes.
It only took thirty seconds after that find a picture from the reception and learn that one of the groomsmen was named Bryan Lassiter.
Oh shit. Bryan really could be Trevor ’s father.
Panic set in. What if he wanted custody? What if he challenged her right to be Trevor’s parent? What if he took Trevor from her?
No. That couldn’t happen. She’d do whatever it took to keep Trevor with her.
He wanted to know Trevor though. That much was obvious. All the questions made sense now. Wanting to teach Trevor to throw a ball , Trevor’s ability to throw a ball , o ffering to talk to the teacher on Trevor’s behalf about Michael…
He thought she was t he woman he’d slept with ; t hat’s why he’d been so quick to label her a hooker. Stripper, hooker, they coul d be interchangeable in his mind if he’d slept with her —w ith Mindy.
Bryan thought she was Mindy.
What would he do when he found out she wasn’t?
Her bloodless fingers slid from the mouse . No. That wasn’t happening. He had to think she was the woman he’d slept with. Had to. It was the only chance she had of keeping him from delving too deeply into Trevor’s birth. Thank God only Cathy knew the truth.
When had Bryan guessed? A t the supermarket or had this been planned all along? Had he somehow found out about Trevor and tracked her down ?
Jenna studied Bryan ’s face on the screen and m orphed it one of her mental images of Trevor . Same hair and curls. Same facial structure.
Same eyes.
Oh, God. He was the father. She knew it. And, worse, he knew it.
The question was, what did he plan to do about it ?
***
Bryan tossed his keys on his desk at BeefCake, Inc. Tonight definitely hadn’t gone as planned.
“Yo, Bry, everything okay?” Gage walked into his office.
Bryan swiped a hand over his face. He hadn’t told Gage anything about Trevor or Jenna yet . His partner had enough to deal with with his nephew’s surgeries and his day job , plus running this place, handlin g their expansion , and helping Lara, his fiancée , with their upcoming wedding plans. Br yan didn’t need to add more mess to the one s Gage was already dealing with.
Plus, this was his mess. “It’s been a r ough night.”
“Yeah, well you ought to see the crowd out here. Talk about r ou g h. Not so sure we should stay open every n ight of the week. Maybe go to four days . Ke ep them interested and hungry for the days we are open.”
“And lose out on the dinner traffic? I don’t think s o.”
“Well then, we need to hire some help. Between managing the show, the paperwork , and the expansion, I barely have enough time for my projects and Lara. And guess which one I care most about?”
Bryan didn’t have to guess. Ever since Gage had met “the cupcake lady,” he’d been all about sampling the goods.
Bryan couldn’t blame him. He wanted the opportunity to sample Jenna’s goods, but she’d run out of the restaurant without touching the money.
He pulled the envelope out and fanned the bills with his thumb. He’d worked really hard for this money. A lot of long hours and a lot of dancing. He and Gage had been the only act whe n they’d started out. Now look at them. Big place, dinner crowds, a dozen employees… The place was growing. Gage was right; they did need help.
Jenna.
He’d hire Jenna. She must have been a halfway decent stripper if he’d ended up with her that night. And if she needed practice or different moves, well , he could work on that with her. He and Gage did, after all, work with the dancers on the routines.
Uh huh.
Bryan tucked the envelope ba c k into his jacket pocket. He still didn’t know why she’d run out on him, and if it hadn’t taken Richie such a long time to run his charge card , he would have gone after her. Had thought about doing it, but realized by then that they were t oo strung out to continue their conversation with any sense of rationality. They needed time to cool down.
He didn’t know if he’d ever cool down around Jenna , though . She’d looked gorgeous in that dress and every guy in Tosco’s had noticed .
How many of them had sampled her goods?
He scrubbed his face. God, he was going to drive himself nuts thinking like this. But, seriously, how could she do it? How could she let any man into her body for money? Didn’t she have any self-respect? Any sense of responsibility to her son—their son?
Or maybe that sense of responsibility was exactly why she was doing it. It wasn’t as if he was helping out with the bills.
“Bry , any chance you can cover the rest of tonight? I want to get home in time to see Connor before he goes to bed. His surgery is tomorrow.”
Now Bryan felt like a double ass. He’d known when Connor’s surgery was; he should have volunteered to cover for Gage tonight instead of chasing down an underpriced hooker who’d borne his son.
God, his life was spiraling down the tubes faster than it had when he’d destroyed his ankle in that last championship game.
“Yes. Go. Give my love to Lara.”
“I’ll give my love to Lara and thank you to find your own woman.” Gage flipped one of their signature bow tie key chains at him. “Don’t forget to lock up.”
Bryan waved him off, envying him. Why couldn’t Jenna be a baker? A teacher? Hell, even if she worked at a fast food restaurant, he’d be thrilled. Something other than what she was.
Tanner poked his head in. “Intermission’s over. You want to do the announcement?”
“Nah, you go ahead. Consider it a promotion.”
Tanner grinned. “Good. I expect a pay raise.”
“You get something raising out there and I’ll consider it. Go. Gi ve the gu e sts a show.”
“We always do.”
Bryan sat back in his chair. Tanner and the guys—and now the women—they did put on a good show. He and Gage prided themselves on that. That this wasn’t a sleazy joint like the town council had been worried about. But not every revue was like BeefCake, Inc. He and Gage had worked for one in college before they, entrepreneurs that they were, struck out on their own. They’d made twice the amount of money and got three times as many chicks. Back in the day, it’d been all about bragging rights.
But they were adults now. Wer e focused on making a business so people like Tanner and Markus and Carlos had a good place to work and the clientele got a high-class show.
Maybe that was all Jenna needed. The chance to make some real money without having to resort to selling herself. And she could work nights when Trevor had gone to sleep. Hell, he’d sit at her house himself and babysit. He could do paperwork anywhere.
Speaking of which… Bryan picked up the stack of invoices and P.O.s and new hire paperwork. He really hated this part of the job. So did Gage, but since he was doing the renovation, Bryan had taken this nightmare on.
Maybe he’d hire Jenna to handle that. It’d be worth ten grand to him just to not have to do it.
He exhaled and started sorting. Whatever he decided to do about Jenna, he better do it soon if he wanted to enjoy some of his son’s childhood. Trevor wasn’t getting any younger.
Chapter Eleven
The next morning, Jenna handed Cathy a bottle of water in her kitchen after relegating her with the whole nightmarish mess. “What am I going to do, Cath ?”
Cathy tapped the bottle against her lips and leaned against the back door, her turn to keep watch on the boys who were playing Dinosaur Wars on the kiddie table in the backyard. “You’re going to have to sleep with him.”
“I’m going to have to what ? This is what you come up with?” Jenna continued paci
ng across her kitchen floor as she had during the last ten hours. Ten sleep-deprived hours.
“At the very least, you’re going to have to pretend you’re Mindy .”
“I know, but how? I don’t look a thing like her and she was younger than me.”
“Jen, i f he doesn’t remember her well enough to know that you ar e n ’t her, he’s not going to remember her age. Or anything else about her. Which can only work to your favor. I mean, lord knows what she did with him that night.”
“And neither do I.”
“So it’s not a problem. You can make up whatever you want. He won’t deny it if he doesn’t remember it. And if he does… put it down to the alcohol. People black out all the time.”
Yeah, there was an image she wanted Bryan to have of her. “There has to be some other way. I mean, I do have the adoption papers.”
Cathy shook her head. “He’s the biological parent who never terminated his rights, and if he’s got an extra ten grand hanging around to give you to sleep with him, you can bet he’s got more where that came from. He does have that club, you know. No, you have to pretend to be Mindy. At least Trevor looks like you.”
The power of genetics, thank God. “But I didn’t take the money.”
“Why not?”
“Because…” Jenna had berated herself all night for not snatching up that envelope. Legal battles cost oodles of money. “Because I don’t know if I can do this.”
“What other options do you have?”
Not a one if Bryan decided to push it. She could deny his paternity all she wanted but one cotton swab with a home test kit and that’d be it .
Cathy pointed the water bottle at her. “See? You have to do it. Or you’re going to lose Trevor .”
That was the problem. There wasn’t anything she could do. Even if she took the money, he’d already reported her for being a hooker; taking the money would only give credence to his argument.
“I’ll just tell him it’s all a misunderstanding. That I thought he wanted a tutor, not a hooker.”
Cathy sipped the water, her gaze back in the yard. “That ought to fly .”
“Why won’t it? I t’s the truth. Sort of. I didn’t know that he thought anything different ’til Sarge told me about the report.”
“Okay, fi ne. You tell him you’re a teacher not a hooker and he’s going to start investigating you. It’s not going to take too much digging to find out that you’ve never stripped in your life so you can’t be the woman he slept with, and he’ll go after Trevor .” She looked at Jenna again. “Is that really what you want? I thought you’d do anything for that little boy?”
“That’s not fair.”
“All’s fair in love and war. And child custody. What do yo u want, Jen? Fairness or Trevor ?”
There was no question.
Cathy opened the back door. “Are you okay , guys ?”
“Yes. Trevor just knocked my dinosaur into the tar pits .”
“Does he need a bandage ?”
“Nah. He’s tough. Like me and Daddy.”
Jenna couldn’t hide the slice of pain that word evoked.
Cathy caught it. “Take his money, Jen. You need a good attorney . Ten grand will go a long way toward getting one. Besides, then you’ll have him on the hook. He’ll have hired a hooker.”
“Not if I don’t have sex with him.”
“Now that’d be a damn shame. You might as well get all the perks of his big misunderstanding. And having gotten a look at him, I bet that’s not the only thing that’s big .”
Jenna rolled her eyes. “Seriously, Cathy, do you never not think about sex?”
Her friend rubbed her belly. “You can ask that when I’m pooching out like a cantaloupe? How do you think I got in this condition?”
“I am not sleeping with him.”
Cathy shrugged. “Suit yourself, but h e’s already reported you to the police, so the re’s a record. And then you were seen out with him.” She un twisted the cap to her water bottle . “And there is… you know. Past history. Mindy’s , I mean , which he thinks is yours .” She raised the water bottle to her lips . “Plus ‘you ’ nev e r told him about Trevor .”
“I didn’t know—”
“Which isn’t really a good recommendation for custody . Let’s face it, unless you work with him, you’re going to get screwed.”
“Well what you’re suggesting will get me screwed, too.”
“Yeah, but that’s the good kind.”
Jenna sat at the table. Part of her had to admit that she wouldn’t mind the physical part —if it were anything other than a subterfuge. As for the other part—“I’m not a hooker, Cath , and I can’t pretend to be one.”
Cathy took a swig of her water . “You’ve done okay so far.”
“Yeah, but that’s because I haven’t had to sleep with him.”
“Would that really be a hardship?”
Problem was, it wouldn’t. And she didn’t need any more complications in her life.
The front doorbell rang.
Speak of the devil… “Cath , what am I going t o do?”
Cathy re-capped her water bottle . “I wish I had the answers, Jen. You really need to talk to a lawyer. Until then, string him along.” She stood up . “I’ll take the boys for the morning.”
“I’d love that, but Trevor ’s counting on Bryan playing with him again . He’s not going to want to go w ith you.”
“So tell him Bryan couldn’t make it.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe it. The Bryan Lassiter . Father of your child and the bearer of ten grand for sex. Be still my heart.”
“He’s just a man, Cath .”
“Uh huh. You keep telling yourself that, Jen. I met him. Sans shirt. He’s more than just any man.” She opened the back door. “Bobby ! Trevor ! Pack up the T-rexes. We’re going to the par k!” She looked back at Jenna. “You’ve got about two hours to work this out before I have to drop Bobby at the sitter’s and Trevor back here. You can figure something out.”
The question was, what?
Chapter Twelve
Once Cathy had the kids safely out of earshot, Jenna took a big breath and opened the door. “Bryan. Come in.”
“Is Trevor here?”
Those violet eyes of his mocked her, standing out in stark relief by the chest-hugging black t-shirt that only made the violet brighter. “I thought it best if Cathy took him while we finish what we didn’t start last night.”
Bryan ditched the duffel inside the door and slid past her into her home. “You didn’t take the money.”
“And I’m not going to.”
He spun around. Hmm, she’d surprised him. Score one for her.
“But you need it.”
“I’ve done fine without your money before and I’ll do fine again.”
“But how will you support yourself? Trevor?”
“Bryan, you seem to be under the impression that I’m in dire straits. I’m not. I’ll support us t he same way I always have.”
“But I don’t want you to , Jenna .”
“Oh? And what gives you the right to dictate my life?”
“Trevor.”
“I’m doing this for Trevor.”
“Yeah, he’s going to thank you for that when he grows up and figures it out.”
“Trevor knows what I do .”
Bryan’s mouth fell open. “Please tell me you don’t let him watch.”
Oh for Pete’s sake. Did he really think she’d expose a child to the world’s oldest profession ? I f she were doing what he thought she was doing , that is . What kind of brainless twit did he take her for?
Ignoring the fact that her argument was based on a misunderstanding perpetuated by a lie, Jenna made up her mind. She couldn’t, in good conscience, let him think she was a hooker, but let ting him think she was Mindy might be the only way to prevent him from taking Trevor . Or, as Cath y had said, at least give her time to find out where she stood in this mess.
Didn’t
mean she couldn’t toss something back in the suspicious , hardheaded idiot ’s face . “Sometimes, ye s , Trevor does watch. He likes to .”
His hang-dog expression was beyond priceless. Worth way m ore than ten grand .
“And sometimes I let him help.”
Now he was gaping like a fish and she was trying not to laugh .
“But most of the time when I’m working, he’s sleeping . I can’t really do my job if I have to watch him. Plus, my students find it distracting.”
Bryan surged to his feet and paced across her living room, kicking colored wooden blocks out of his way. Trevor wasn’t going to like that. That structure , lopsided though it’d been, was his football stadium. Where he and Bryan were going to play football sometime.
Her heart tightened at the thought. For Trevor’s sake she had to find some way to allow Bryan in to his life.
But Bryan never had to know she wasn’t Trevor ’s biological mother. She was his mother in every other way because like a mother—lion, bear or human—she’d do whatever necessary to protect him. And keep him .
“I can’t believe this.” Bryan raked his hand through his hair and turned to face her. “You actually let him watch ? Why hasn’t child protective services been out here? Or do you keep all your ‘students’ so happy no one complains?”
He’d actually finger-quoted students . Jenna wanted to laugh. Where did he come off being so self-righteous and deciding he knew what was best for any one? He was the one who’d slept with a stripper in the first place. My, h ow pride did go before the fall.
“I’ve never had a complaint from any of my students. Most of them are more than satisfied with my performance.” She was actually enjoying dripping the innuendoes all over the place .
“That’s it.” Bryan shoved both hands to his hip s . “I’m sorry, Jenna, but I can’t let th is continue. If you don’t stop, I’ll make you.”
And now for the coup de grâce . “You’re going to stop me from teaching? Why? What do you have against high school English?”
“How can you even ask that? It’s not like i t’s a subject in schoo—” His hands fell to his sides . “What? What did you say?”
She bit her lip to stop the laughter. “I asked what you have against high school English . Shakespeare not do it for you? Or did The Scarlet Letter scar you for life?”
