Ivorie's Surprise [Golden Dolphin] (Siren Publishing Classic)

by Skye Michaels

  When she got to Donnie’s house with the test kits, she went into the bathroom to pee on the device. She came out and held it out to Donnie, who looked at her, then at the plus sign on the stick.

  “Oh, Ivorie. You have some ’splaining to do, girlfriend. What the heck is going on? Wait, I’ll get us some tea, and then I want the whole story. Do not leave anything out.”

  Ivorie gave her the scoop, this time not leaving out any of the details. “The sex was incredible, Donnie. Not like anything I’ve ever experienced before—not that I’m the world’s greatest expert or anything. I mean, sex was always good, it just wasn’t mind blowing like with Drew.”

  Donnie looked like she had been hit by a bolt of lightning. “Ivorie, I can’t believe this. I have been listening to you complain about that man for a year. You have not had one good thing to say about him. And now, you’re telling me that he’s the father of your baby?” Donnie shook her head as though to dislodge a nest of bees in her ear. “Sorry, this just doesn’t compute.”

  “Well, I can’t explain it either. Like I told Jenni, one of the friends I made on the trip, sometimes it seemed like he was two different people. He started out his usual unpleasant self when he arrived at the dock that first day, and then he seemed to change into a normal person. I thought to myself at the time that it was just too good to be true, and apparently, it was.”

  “Aren’t you on the pill?”

  “No, they don’t agree with me. But I can remember only one time when Drew didn’t use a condom.”

  “You know what they say, Ivorie. It only takes one determined little squiggly to get the job done. What are you going to do?”

  “I don’t know, Donnie. I have to think. I’ll do the test again in a couple of days. If I get the same result, I’ll see a doctor. Can you recommend one out here? I don’t want to go back into the city for this.”

  Donnie gave her the name of a good local ob-gyn. They decided that if Ivorie couldn’t have a good, stiff drink, she should at the very least have a double-chocolate walnut brownie.

  They loaded Ivorie’s bike into the back of Donnie’s Range Rover, and Donnie drove her home. Ivorie was thankful when she agreed to stay at the cottage for dinner and overnight. She really didn’t want to be alone tonight. If she was actually pregnant, in less than nine short months she would never be alone again. She’d have Drew’s baby to raise. What a stunning thought! If she had his baby, she would always have a piece of him whether she ever saw him again or not. What a gift that was.

  Ivorie took the test again on Sunday and went to see Donnie’s doctor on Monday. It was official. She was pregnant and due in July! She hadn’t decided whether or not to contact Drew. She was leaning toward not calling him. After all, she was well able financially and emotionally to do this on her own, especially since she knew she would have her grandmother’s love and support no matter the circumstances. The only things she would need from Drew were things that he was not capable of giving her and her child—like a normal life and love. After the things he had said, she was sure he wouldn’t want to know. She had to think about it.

  Chapter Forty-Six

  Drew’s Apartment in The Dakota on Central Park West, New York City, November 5, 2013—Tuesday Morning

  Drew, coffee cup in hand, was pacing in front of the large windows overlooking Central Park, but he didn’t see the stunning view or the wild array of fall colors in the carpet of trees. His mind was on Ivorie. She hadn’t called. She hadn’t written, e-mailed, or sent smoke signals. He was getting desperate. Whatever was bothering her, he hadn’t thought it would take her this long to get over it and come back.

  He called Jenni Turner in Chicago and learned that she had not spoken with Ivorie, but they had e-mailed. “I think she might still be in Southampton at her grandmother’s beach house. I know that’s a special place for her. I don’t have a phone number or anything, just her personal e-mail address, which I suppose you have.”

  “Jenni, please give it to me anyway just in case it’s different than the one in the file. I’m getting desperate here. Do you have any idea why she would disappear like this?”

  “I really don’t, Drew. I thought she was upset that last day on the ship, but she wouldn’t admit it, and she didn’t tell me anything. I don’t like to intrude in something so personal, but do you love her, Drew?”

  “Yes, Jenni, I do. I couldn’t admit it until I was faced with losing her. All that stuff with Eugenia made me a little gun shy. I’ve got to find her and make this right, whatever this is.”

  “If I hear from her again, I’ll try to find out what I can and let you know anything I can without breaking a confidence. That is one stubborn woman.” Drew could hear a tone of admiration in Jenni’s voice.

  “She is, but she’s the one I want.” He had finally come to the realization that that was the truth. He wanted Ivorie with a need that was crushing the breath from his chest.

  “Well, then I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you. Good luck.”

  He had given her a week to get a grip. It had been a week since he left the ship in Key West. He had to do something. His intimate study of Ivorie’s personnel file had yielded limited information. He hadn’t known her middle name was McKenzie. That was an odd name, but apparently it was a family name. He decided to research the name McKenzie in Southampton and came up with a Barbara McKenzie who owned a house on the beach. Some more digging in the public records revealed that she had owned it with her husband, Michael, for over twenty years. Michael McKenzie had died ten years ago, but it seemed that his wife was still alive. Apparently, she also owned an apartment on Park Avenue in the city at the same address that was on the tax bill for both properties. He was pretty sure this was the Barbara McKenzie who was listed as Ivorie’s next-of-kin in the firm’s files. He tried to call her, but there was no answer. He left a message, but knew he couldn’t count on hearing back from her.

  He called the parking garage and had his Porsche brought around from the garage to the rear entrance. He thought he would just take a little spin out to the Hamptons and see what he could find out. He called the office and told Ms. Winthrop that he had some personal business to take care of and would not be in today. That was unprecedented, and he could imagine her arched eyebrows as she hung up the phone. He had been making an effort to be more pleasant in the office since his return from vacation. He had greeted several employees with “good mornings” only to see the puzzled looks on their faces. It had made him more determined to make some changes, and he had tried to take a more reasonable tone in his requests and not be as demanding. He had even asked about one of his attorney’s children. That guy had left his office with a stunned look on his face after mumbling that they “were fine, thanks.”

  Drew programmed the address of the McKenzie residence in Southampton into his GPS—God, he loved GPS—and took off for Long Island. As he drove, his mind was going a mile a minute, but not nearly as fast as the Porsche. He needed to find Ivorie. He hoped she would be at the beach house when he arrived and that he could find out what the problem was. He hoped it was something he could fix. He damn well would fix it.

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  Southampton, Long Island, New York, November 5, 2013—Tuesday Afternoon

  The GPS guided Drew effortlessly to the front door of a gray, shingled beach cottage, neither large nor ostentatious, but pleasantly homey. A colorful wreath of fall leaves hung on the front door and a basket of gourds graced the front porch. He got out of the low-slung car and walked up the pathway to the front door. He raised the knocker and let it fall three times. Nothing. He decided to walk around the back of the house where he could hear the surf breaking on the beach. The call of the gulls was raucous and the smell of the sea air brought back memories of his own boyhood days spent on the North Shore with his parents and sister.

  When he rounded the corner of the house, he looked down the beach and saw a lone figure walking just above the tide line. It appeared to be a slim woman. He
r head was down, and she kicked through the sand with what looked like a bag around her neck. She wore jeans and a denim jacket with the collar pulled up. Her long, blonde hair blew in the breeze. It had to be Ivorie. He walked down the wooden walkway over the dunes toward the beach. When he got to the sand, he kicked off his loafers, pulled the collar of his jacket up around his ears, and headed into the wind after the lone figure who was a hundred yards ahead of him. He knew she wouldn’t hear him over the surf, so he just concentrated on catching up to her.

  When he was about twenty yards behind her, he called out. “Ivorie…”

  * * * *

  Ivorie turned with a start at the sound of a voice she had not expected to hear again and certainly not here on the beach at Grammy’s house. How the heck did he find me? She was perplexed and unsettled. She didn’t know what to say to him. Oh, God. He looked wonderful in the threadbare, pale blue jeans, black turtleneck sweater, and beat-up, old black leather bomber jacket. He had at least a day’s beard scruff on his face, and his wavy, light-brown hair was ruffled by the wind. His stormy hazel eyes were lit with golden sparks. Shit! He looks furious. This does not bode well. For heaven’s sake, he’s barefoot. Does he think he’s still in the islands? Even now, I can’t help but worry about him. How sad is that?

  “Hello, Drew. I didn’t expect to see you here. I know I neglected to send my resignation letter, but I’ve…” Annie poked her tiny head out of the carrier and started to bark like mad. Ivorie put her hand in the carrier and petted her. “It’s okay, Annie, shhhh now.”

  “Is that all you can say? Hello, Drew? What the hell were you thinking—just dropping off the face of the earth without a word. Didn’t you think I might worry? Be concerned? Act like a human being?” He was clearly mad as hell.

  “No. I wasn’t expecting you to act like a human being. That’s not usually how you act, so when you do it’s unexpected.” She could see she’d hit a nerve. He looked upset. Hurt? Well, he can damn well be upset. After the things he said about me….

  “Why did you leave, Ivorie? I’ve been frantic worrying about you. I thought if I gave you some time, you’d come back to me. I can see that wasn’t going to happen. I’m not leaving here without an explanation, and I hope I’m not leaving here without you.”

  “Well, then I guess you’re not leaving here because I have no intention of giving you an explanation or leaving with you.” She turned around and started back down the beach. She didn’t expect him to follow, but he did.

  He tried to grab her arm, but she shook him off. “That’s not going to do it, babe. I want to know what’s going on with you.”

  “Annie! Quiet! Don’t ‘babe’ me, Drew. After the things you said, I’m not your ‘babe.’” She continued down the beach, but he kept up with her, just looking at her in bewilderment.

  “What do you mean? What things I said? You’re not making sense.” He really did look bewildered, not to mention furious.

  She swung around to face him. “I heard you talking to someone on your deck that last morning. You said I was a convenience, a delusional maniac.” Her heart hurt just thinking about how he had sounded, the laughter in his voice. She cringed inside, knowing she had made it so easy for him to use her, as though she had no pride in herself. Well, he was in for a surprise there. She had plenty of pride, buckets in fact.

  “What are you talking about? I never said anything like that about you.” He shook his head and stared at her.

  “I heard you, Drew. When I came in to bring you some more slip pages for the Riverstone contracts. You were talking on the phone. I didn’t mean to listen. I just didn’t want to interrupt you. I think you were talking to Jamie Devereau, at least I hope you were, because I would hate to think you said those things to someone at the office.”

  It looked like light was beginning to dawn behind his eyes, and he looked even more furious. He grabbed her arms and began to shake her. “You idiot. I was talking to Jamie. We were talking about the office setup on board, which I said was convenient. We were also talking about Eugenia, who I said was a delusional maniac.” Ivorie tried to back away from him, but he wouldn’t let go of her arms. “I guess you didn’t stay long enough to hear me tell him that I had strong feelings for you.”

  She didn’t know what to say or if she could believe him, but the look on his face was just outraged enough to make her think he might be telling the truth. If he was, she had made an enormous error. She wasn’t ready to believe him yet, though. This was Andrew Blessingame after all, not some normal person.

  “How could you think I would say things like that? You have to know how I feel about you…”

  “How in God’s name would I know how you feel about me? Just because we had amazing sex? You never said anything about what would happen after the trip was over. You never said what you felt at all. Guess what! I’m not a mind reader, and my crystal ball is in the shop. For that matter, I still don’t know how you feel. Except angry. That much is pretty clear. What’s the problem? Don’t like having your convenient situation messed with?”

  “How can you even say that?” He shook his head in disbelief.

  “I trusted you enough to try the BDSM thing even when I wasn’t sure I wanted to. I trusted you, Drew, but you couldn’t or wouldn’t trust me with your feelings. I needed and expected more from you after how close we had gotten on the ship. You let me down.”

  * * * *

  Drew was stunned. He had never thought that she would be feeling insecure or that his lack of verbalization would hurt her. Of course not. It was just more of the same thing. He didn’t think how his actions or words, or lack of them, affected other people. He was trying to change, but it was hard to undo the habits of many years.

  He hung his head. He had a lot to make up for, but he wasn’t done with her yet. He looked directly into her eyes. “Why the hell didn’t you come to me? Ask me about it? Kick my butt? Give me hell then and there?”

  “I was just so horrified. I didn’t know what to say or do. I just needed to get out of there, away from you.”

  “I know I didn’t say ‘I love you,’ but I thought I showed you with my actions. Apparently not, and for that I apologize. You are more important to me than I can convey with words. Right now, I’m pissed as hell, but I love you, Ivorie James. I hope you’ll give me another chance to prove it to you.” He was sick on the inside. What if he couldn’t convince her to give him another chance? He gave himself a shake. He wasn’t giving up, and failure wasn’t an option.

  She looked confused. “I don’t know, Drew. Too much has happened, and a lot of things are going on…”

  “Can’t we talk about it? I want the chance to change your mind.”

  She looked down. “Your feet must be cold. You’ll get sick. Let’s go into the house, and I’ll make a pot of coffee. I guess we can talk, but I’m not giving any guarantees.”

  * * * *

  Ivorie was confused. She didn’t know what to think about Drew’s declaration. He loved her? All she knew for sure was that his misstep with Eugenia Cartwright had damaged his confidence in his judgment. She didn’t know if he had enough confidence in her to overcome those feelings of inadequacy. They walked back to the house in silence, and Drew picked up his shoes at the base of the beach stairs. They went into the house through the mudroom entrance. She put Annie down on the floor and turned to Drew. “I’ll put on that coffee. Sit down at the kitchen table. I’ll bump up the heat for a few minutes till you warm up.”

  “Thanks. Can I use your bathroom to clean up?”

  “Sure, right down that hall.” Ivorie was glad to have a few minutes alone so she could think. What should she do? She wasn’t ready to tell him about the baby. She had to be sure of his feelings for her first. She had to decide if she could gamble not only her own future on trusting him, but her child’s as well. It was a big decision, and she wasn’t sure she was ready to make it.

  When Drew returned to the kitchen and sat down at the table, he said, “This
is a great little house. It looks like a family home, not just a summer place.” He had a strange look on his face, and she didn’t know what he was thinking.

  “I pretty much grew up here. I spent all my summers here with Grammy and Grampy. They raised me. My parents were always going off on some new adventure or trip. Africa, Asia, Tibet, India—anyplace far away appealed to them until one time they just didn’t come home. We don’t know what happened to them.”

  Annie was sniffing around Drew’s legs, but every time he looked at her or tried to pet her she barked. “Sorry about Annie. She’s a pocket tiger, very protective and more than a little mouthy.”

  “Sort of like her owner?” Drew grinned at her, making her think of all the times she had smart-mouthed him on the ship. She had to admit that after she got to know him, she’d had little mercy in pointing out his many shortcomings. Maybe a little payback was in order. Finally, Annie settled down at his feet and just watched him. She wasn’t won over yet, but she was slowly moving closer and closer to his foot.

  Ivorie brought him a cup of black coffee and put one loaded with cream on the table for herself. “Can I get you some cookies or a sandwich?” When he indicated he was fine, she continued. “Okay, here we are. What do you want to talk about?” She wasn’t going to make it easy for him.

  She watched him take a mouthful of the hot coffee while he obviously tried to put his thoughts in order. She let him take his time. “I was aware early in our trip that I was developing strong feelings for you that went beyond the ‘amazing sex,’ but I realized after Eugenia and Frank snatched you in the market that it was more than that. Unfortunately, after the mistakes I made with Eugenia, I didn’t have a lot of confidence in my own judgment or my feelings anymore. That wasn’t your fault, and I’m sorry I hurt you because of that.”