My Surprise Secret Baby (Romance Box Set)

by Lexi Wilson

  Sure, things had been weird between the two of us. We were having a strange, sexual relationship that neither one of us had labeled. But even so, there was nothing happening that would’ve explained the way she’d acted.

  I wanted to know what was going on. But she didn’t seem interested it the slightest in letting me in.

  At around eight-thirty on Monday morning, I spotted Amber arriving.

  It was some relief. She’d been acting so strangely toward me that part of me worried she might no-call no-show.

  “Morning,” I said, speaking to her through the open door to my office. I was breaking my own rule in leaving the door open like that, but I wanted to see her, to be able to say “hello.”

  “Morning, Mr. McQuaid,” she said, her tone friendly but in a professional sort of way. “I was just about to start putting together your schedule for the day.”

  “Good. But don’t email it to me when it’s ready – I’ll want to discuss it with you in person.”

  This got her attention. She glanced up at me, her eyes flashing for a moment with what looked to be worry. She paused, then finally nodded.

  “Sure. Of course.” Then she glanced at the door. “Do you want this open?”

  “Go ahead and shut it. And just come on in when you’re ready.”

  “Of course.”

  She slowly pulled the door shut and that was that.

  I sipped my coffee, going over emails from various clients, along with a few from the Carlyle offices. I needed to be on my game – the next few months were going to make or break Horvath. If I pulled off this expansion we’d be well on our way to becoming one of the biggest names in construction world-wide. We’d blow right past that prick Schwarz and his little city contracts.

  But if not, we’d be just another local firm who’d made a grab for the top and missed. Sure, we’d still be the name for construction in LA. However, there was no way a man like me would be settling for a single town.

  It wasn’t the time at all to be thinking about women. I was starting to remember why I’d all but cut out romance from my life – it was too much of a damn distraction. I’d seen men on the verge of major deals that would set them up for life blow it all at the last minute because they’d managed to get caught up in some romance drama.

  Not a chance in hell I was going to let that happen to me. I was going to keep a cool head, to manage my affairs. And I was going to figure out what the hell was going on with Amber. I was a man who took pride in being able to not be overwhelmed by whatever life threw at me.

  This would be no exception.

  After an hour or so of work, around the time I threw back the last sip of my coffee, a knock sounded at the door.

  “Come in.”

  It opened and there she was.

  And she looked so good it hurt. I hadn’t taken much of a look at her before, being too caught up in my own thoughts. But as she stepped into the office, shutting the door behind her, she seemed like something out of a dream.

  Amber wore a tight pair of slack, just snug enough over her perfect ass to hint at the outline of her thong. Her blouse was fitted, reminding me of her gorgeous body. But she was dressed classy, too – professional and serious.

  And it was that combination of sexy and professional that never failed to drive me wild, every single time. Just the sight of her was enough to make me think about nothing other than taking her right there in my office.

  She cleared her throat, obviously still nervous about whatever was going on between us.

  I wanted to know what it was. But at the same time I’d have to be strategic about how I went about gaining the information. Simply coming out and asking her about it would likely make her back off, feel like she was on the defensive.

  “What’ve you got for me?” I asked, propping my feet up on the desk, gesturing for her to take a seat.

  She pursed her lips before sitting down. In her hands were the printouts for the day’s schedule.

  “Lots of calls with Carlyle,” she said.

  “Stands to reason.”

  “Seems like every member of the board wants to talk with you.”

  “I’m sure they’re all wondering just sort of plans this American CEO has for their company.”

  “And I’ve touched base with them already. I figured you’d want to let them know as soon as possible that you had their needs in mind.”

  I hadn’t told her to do it, but there was no doubt it was the right call. Yet another piece of evidence that let me know she was the right person for the job.

  “Excellent,” I said. “So its phone calls all day?”

  She smiled slightly. “Right. And we’re about ten hours ahead, so they’re going to be talking with you until the small hours of the morning over in the UK.”

  “I don’t blame them – this is going to be one of the largest construction deals in UK history. Lots of work to be done.”

  She nodded. “And I’m here for whatever you need, of course. I’ll be mostly writing emails today, so I’ll be right out there if you want to reassign me for anything that’ll make your day easier.”

  I considered the matter and decided that yes, there was something she could do.

  It was time to at least try to get some answers.

  “Tell me,” I said. “How was your weekend?”

  Her body tensed, and I could tell my words had put her on guard.

  But that was to be expected.

  “It…was fine.” It wasn’t fine. Whatever happened, she was upset about it.

  “Good,” I said. “Glad to hear it. And the week coming up? All looking good for you?”

  “Of course. Well…” She trailed off, as if she’d started to say something but thought better of it.

  “What’s that?” I asked.

  “It’s nothing,” she said. “Don’t worry about it.”

  “Amber, I’ll tell you want I should and shouldn’t worry about.” I was being stern, but she needed it. I wanted to handle this situation delicately, of course, but I was still the man in charge.

  She pursed her lips again. “It’s Jamie. She’s having her birthday and we haven’t planned anything. I’m here to do the job, of course, but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t in the back of my mind.”

  This was a good sign. She didn’t protest, which meant she wasn’t all that on guard about letting me in with whatever was going on.

  “She’s turning nine, right?”

  “Right. And I’ve just been so busy with work and all that I haven’t had time to even think about it. God, I feel like such a terrible mother.”

  I smiled. “Don’t worry about it. Just help me power through this week, and I’m sure it’ll work itself out.”

  She gave me a curious look, as if knowing I had something on my mind.

  “Like I said,” she went on. “I’m here to do the job. Don’t worry about me slacking off or anything like that.”

  “I can’t imagine worrying about that. Anyway, thanks for checking in. I’ll keep you in the loop with whatever goes on today.”

  “Sounds good.”

  With that, she smiled before getting up and leaving the office. My eyes stayed right on her ass, savoring the sight of her gorgeous body as the door shut behind her.

  Jamie’s birthday. There was no way I was going to let work prevent Amber from celebrating that.

  And I was determined to help out.

  Chapter 25

  AMBER

  I hadn’t been sure what to expect when Nick had told me I didn’t need to drive to work on Friday. The week had gone by in a blur, and as much as I’d wanted to keep some professional distance from him, I kept finding myself being won over by his charm.

  “OK,” I said as we left the office. “What’s this all about?”

  “It’s a little surprise.”

  “Is it a work thing?” I asked, knowing it wasn’t. “Because I think I’m about ready to mentally check out for the weekend.”

  “Not a work
thing. But I did want to say you’ve been doing a kick-ass job this week. Carlyle’s thrilled with how on-top-of-things we’ve been since agreeing to the collaboration. And I made sure to tell them I wouldn’t have been able to do it if I didn’t have the best assistant a CEO could ask for.”

  The doors to the elevator slowly shut, and I couldn’t resist a blush taking hold of my cheeks. Despite everything that had been going on, the job meant a great deal to me. I’d gotten my first paycheck, and when I’d deposited it in my bank account I’d nearly cried, knowing that I’d finally be able to provide for Jamie and Nan without having to strip in the process.

  So, his words were no small thing.

  “But,” he said. “I was curious about the Jamie situation.”

  “The Jamie situation?”

  He nodded, the elevator going down. “Have you figured out what you want to do for her birthday?”

  “Honestly, not yet. And I feel like such a terrible mother. Isn’t the whole point of a job supposed to be that you have the financial space to be there for your kid and make them happy on days like this?”

  He half-smiled as the doors opened. “And that’s why I asked you to let my driver pick you up today.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  We made our way through the parking garage, the air cool, our footsteps echoing off the concrete walls.

  “I’m going to take you back to your place today, and while we’re there we’re going to talk about this birthday situation.”

  “Wait, what? Nick, you don’t need to take care of any of that. “

  “Of course I don’t have to. The point is that I want to. And besides, you haven’t had a chance to plan out the birthday because you’ve been so busy with work. It’s the least I can do – consider it a bonus for a good first couple of weeks.”

  Part of me was still apprehensive about it all. And I had no doubt part of his motivation was to try to figure out what was going on with my personal life – especially with regards to him.

  Maybe he deserved it. After all, the more I’d thought about what had happened with the package, the less likely it seemed that he had anything to do with it. Why would he go to such lengths to…what – confuse me?

  It was Marcus – it had to be. My thinking Nick was behind it had been nothing more than why way of pretending the situation wasn’t as serious.

  But it was. Marcus was out of jail, and he knew where I lived. It was only a matter of time before he found me.

  The conversation went on once we were in the car.

  This time it was my turn to speak up.

  “Listen,” I said as he pulled out of the garage and onto the streets of LA. “I…haven’t been fair to you.”

  “Oh yeah?” he asked.

  “Yeah. There’s been…something going on with my personal life. And I unfairly got upset with you about it.”

  “Is it anything you want to talk about?”

  The answer was “yes.” Truth be told, the more I thought about the Marcus situation the scarier it seemed. My ex was out of jail and looking for me. A man like Nick, with his resources, would be able to help – no doubt about it.

  But it was a part of my past that I wasn’t exactly proud of. And what was I supposed to say? “Hey, boss? You know my little girl? Well, just so you know, her dad’s a biker who I got knocked up by and married. And we’re still technically married, just FYI. Anyway, he got out of jail and he might be coming around the office. Just a heads-up.”

  It was totally insane. What if it made Nick think differently of me? What if it made him decide that I wasn’t the kind of person he thought I was? Or what if he felt like it made me too much of a liability? After all, what CEO wanted a secretary who had a time bomb of a personal life, one that might go off at any moment?

  I had to keep it to myself for now.

  But at the very least, I could let him know I wasn’t upset with him.

  “Amber?” he asked.

  I shook my head and came back to the moment, realizing I’d zoned out thinking about it all.

  “It’s…just personal life stuff. I don’t need to get you wrapped up in it. But it’s not cool how I acted toward you, especially after everything you’ve done for me. Do you forgive me?”

  He didn’t hesitate for a moment before nodding his head.

  “Of course I do,” he said. “But as long as you know that you can come to me for anything. OK?”

  I smiled and nodded. “I appreciate it.”

  We drove on, eventually pulling into my driveway.

  “Wait,” he said, his forehead scrunched in thought. “You told me that Jamie’s crazy about prince-and-princess stuff, right?”

  “Sure.”

  “Hmm.” He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, a thought occurring to him.

  “What’s on your mind?” I asked.

  “Just…something I’m thinking over. Let’s go.”

  Before I had a chance to say anything else, he killed the engine and got out. We went to the front door and I opened it up for him. Nan was there with Jamie, both of them seated at the kitchen table doing her homework.

  “Mr. McQuaid!” shouted Jamie, her eyes lighting up as she burst from her seat and rushed over to the two of us.

  “Hey, princess!” he said as Jamie threw her arms around his legs and gave him a tight hug.

  I had to admit, the sight of her going so ga-ga over him was pretty damn heart-warming. She wasn’t the kind of little girl to get so quickly comfortable around male authority figures like that. Considering her dad left her the way he did, I couldn’t blame her.

  And more than that, it seemed like Nick was crazy about her, too.

  Too bad about all the other confusion in my life.

  “Good to see you, Nick,” said Mom, coming over and giving him a hug.

  Hell, even Nan liked the guy. And she’d never been into any guys I’d ever dated. Granted, the guys I’d been involved with were typically losers of various stripes, not powerful CEOs with hearts of gold.

  “Good to see you too, Mrs. Wax.”

  Nan smiled and clasped her hands together. “Why don’t I get everyone some iced tea – get this weekend off to a nice start?”

  “Sounds lovely,” said Nick.

  The four of us went to the kitchen table, Nan setting down four glasses of iced tea.

  “So,” said Nick. “I hear someone’s having a birthday this weekend.”

  Jamie’s eyes lit up. “Yeah, it’s me! How did you know?”

  He smirked at her. “When a special girl like you has a birthday, everyone knows about it.”

  She giggled. “You’re lying. But that’s funny.”

  “Anyway,” he said. “Did we have any big plans for the celebration?”

  Jamie’s expression fell.

  “Not really. I didn’t really tell anyone because I didn’t know if we were going be able to afford anything this year.”

  “That’s no good,” said Nick. “A little girl’s ninth birthday as one of the most special days there is. You’ve got to do something.”

  “I know,” she said, clearly bummed about the whole thing.

  And I felt like the worst parent in the world.

  “Well, I’ve got an idea,” said Nick, a smile on his face. “How would you like to be a princess?”

  She was confused, but intrigued. “What kind of princess?”

  “Whatever kind of princess you want to be! Because I’m thinking that right now, we go on vacation.”

  “What?” I asked, totally surprised. “Vacation? Where?”

  “The happiest place on earth, of course – Disneyland!”

  Chapter 26

  NICK

  “Wait, what?”

  Amber was so surprised it was almost comical.

  And that had been the idea. Once the thought occurred to me to take the family to Disneyland, I wanted to keep it a secret, to be able to burn their shocked faces into my memory.

  Mainly, however, I wanted t
o see Jamie’s face light up with excitement.

  “Disneyland?” Amber asked. “You can’t be serious.”

  “Of course, I’m serious,” I said. “We can go right now.”

  “Yes!” shouted Jamie. “Let’s do it!”

  “Are you sure about this, Nick?” asked Nan. “You want to take her to Disneyland?

  “I want to take all of us to Disneyland,” I said. “And I don’t want to wait another minute. It’s Jamie’s birthday, and she deserves a weekend to remember.”

  Jamie looked like she was on the verge of shooting out of her seat like a rocket. She was so thrilled it was like she’d lost the capacity to speak.

  “Wait a minute,” said Amber, closing her eyes and waving her hands in front of her face. “How is this even possible? Don’t we need to, you know, make plans for this? Like reserve tickets and all that?”

  I didn’t want to say what was really on my mind, which was that when you had as much money as I did, there was no need to worry about stuff like “waiting in line.”

  It seemed a little too on-the-nose.

  “I’ll take care of it all. Traffic’s probably going to be kind of a mess right now, so I can think of a better way to get there.” I turned to Jamie. “You ever ridden in a helicopter before?”

  However excited she was before, now she looked positively on the verge of exploding.

  “A what?” she asked. “Like a real helicopter?”

  “Nick,” said Amber. “This is too much.”

  “Is it?” I asked. “Because I’m thinking she deserves a birthday to remember.”

  Amber appeared to give it some thought.

  “Can we…can we talk about this for a second?”

  “Sure,” I said. “Let’s go out back.”

  “I’ll stay here with the kid,” said Nan. “Make sure she doesn’t totally flip her lid.”

  Amber and I went out to the back porch, the evening air cool.

  “I don’t know if this is a good idea, Nick,” she said.

  “Why not.” I asked. “Looks like we’re already got Jamie’s stamp of approval.”

  “It’s just…I feel like you’re doing something that I can’t make up for.”