The Rival's Heir

by Joss Wood

  The woman, in her mid to late twenties, was tougher than she looked and held up well to his barrage of questions. Her credentials were solid and she’d passed the background check with flying colors. She seemed warm, capable and organized, and Jac liked her. Hell, if he had permanent custody of Jac, Joa was exactly the type of nanny he would’ve hired to look after his little girl.

  He liked Joa, he did. It was Carla he had the problem with.

  Judah looked at his ex and while he felt sorry for her, he had to wonder what he’d ever seen in her. She was stunning, sure, but self-absorbed and selfish. He’d stuck around, he suddenly realized, because he knew Carla was no threat to his single status, because he knew that, with her, he’d never be faced with the question of whether he should settle down, whether he loved her enough to commit to her, to plan a life with her.

  That gray-eyed feisty blonde back home was the only one who’d ever managed to make him change his way of thinking.

  Home, he’d used that word to refer to Boston. Was that where his home was now? Judah thought about that for a minute. Home was wherever Darby was. He loved her.

  How the hell was he going to live his life without her?

  He didn’t think he could let Jac go either, not now or ever. She was his, as was Darby.

  They were his girls and he needed to fight for them, fight for this life he’d never expected to want. The house filled with naughty boys and girls; their smart, hot mom who would not only help Judah create buildings but more important, create his life. A life filled with kids, and pets, and love and arguments and fantastic sex—

  “I think it’s time, Mr. Huntley,” Joa said.

  It was. It had been time for the last half hour.

  Judah tightened his grip on Jac and lifted his free hand to grip the bridge of his nose. Handing Jac over was the legal thing to do but it wasn’t the right thing to do.

  Jac was his. And Darby’s...

  God, how could he make this work? What could he say that would allow him to leave with Jac? What argument would work with Carla?

  Judah heard the door to the sunroom open and he saw Luca, Carla’s manager, walk into the room, followed by a young man who looked like... Jesus, was that Jake?

  Judah, keeping a firm hold on Jac, leaped to his feet, his eyes sweeping over his younger brother. Jake looked nothing like the thin, haggard, addicted man he’d last seen eighteen months ago. His dark hair was longer than Judah’s and his eyes were a lighter shade of blue but, thank God, clear of drugs. His face had filled out, as had his body. He looked strong and healthy.

  Relief swept through Judah, then anger. “Where the hell have you been? I heard you left rehab, that you disappeared.”

  He expected Jake to lash back but he just walked toward Judah, his hand held out to shake. “It wasn’t working for me, so I decided to try something else.”

  Jake looked disappointed that Judah didn’t shake his hand but he didn’t say anything, just dropped his hand, then bent at the knees to look at Jac. “So, this is Jacquetta. She’s beautiful.”

  He and Carla were pretty people, what the hell did he expect?

  “What are you doing here, Jake?” Judah demanded. He glanced at Carla, who didn’t look remotely surprised to see Jake. “Will someone tell me what the hell is going on?”

  Luca lifted his eyebrows. “So, those rumors that your brother was in the area weren’t wrong. Apparently—” Luca frowned at Carla “—Carla thought it would be a good idea to let the world think she was having an affair with Bertolli while sneaking off to see Jake.”

  Judah rolled his eyes at Luca and was rewarded with a small smile. His ex and his brother fed off drama.

  “Then my appendix burst, and Jake spent the last two weeks sneaking into my hospital room late at night to see me,” Carla said, sending Jake a grateful look that appeared, holy crap, full of love.

  Oh, God, were these two back together?

  Judah looked inside himself and realized he didn’t care. He only cared about Jac. He glanced down and saw that Jac had fallen asleep in his arms. He couldn’t give her up; he wouldn’t.

  Jake was an addict and while he might be clean now, the chances of him slipping back into addiction were high. As much as Judah liked Joa, he couldn’t put Jac back into a house inhabited by two highly unstable and volatile people.

  He was about to tell them that he was taking Jac, that they could fight him for custody, when Jake surprised Judah by walking over to Carla and dropping to his knees in front of her. She looked at him, defiance in her eyes.

  “Carla. You need to make this decision, babe.”

  Judah looked at Joa, who lifted her eyebrows, seeming to be as confused as he was. He turned to Luca, who just shook his head, silently asking him to wait. Okay, he would wait, but not for long. In five minutes, he would be walking out with Jac—maybe with Joa, too—and to hell with the consequences. Though a spell in an Italian jail for kidnapping didn’t appeal, it was a risk he was willing to take.

  “Honey, we’ve spoken about this,” Jake quietly stated. “When you told me that you spoke to Judah, I thought you discussed the possibility of leaving her with him, not him bringing her back.”

  What. The. Hell? Judah didn’t understand any of this. It sounded like they were talking about letting him leave with Jac. Letting him have Jac...

  Carla bit her lip. “But people will think I am terrible, that I gave up my daughter.”

  “They’ll think you handed your daughter over to her father and I’m sure Judah will allow you visitation rights.”

  “But you’re her father!” Carla wailed. “You and I made her!”

  Jake stood up and looked down at her, love and regret on his face. “Honey, you and I, we’re not good for her. We’re not what she needs. We’re too broken, too damaged... That’s why we understand each other so well. If Jacquetta stays with us, we’ll just raise another broken soul and I’ve caused enough damage to enough people. I don’t want to do that anymore.”

  Jake turned to Judah and in his brother’s eyes, he saw the child who’d adored him, the boy he remembered. “You were a better father, a better man as a twelve-year-old than both Dad and me put together. You were incredible and still are today... I both love and hate you. I love you for looking after me, I hate you for leaving, although I understand why you did it.”

  Judah swallowed down the emotion. “You do?”

  Jake’s eyes radiated understanding. “You needed a life, Judah. The one you were living, looking after me, was killing you. I made my own choices, I knew better, even at thirteen, to not do the things I did, but I did them anyway. Possibly to force you to come back.”

  “Jake.” His brother’s name on his lips was a plea for forgiveness.

  “It’s okay, Judah, it really is. You weren’t my father, you were not responsible for me. When I’m sober and clearheaded, I understand that. I don’t understand it when I’m using.” Jake sighed. “I’ve been clean for a few months, but the temptation is always there, and I can’t guarantee that I won’t slide again. Carla is addicted to attention, to her career, to herself.”

  Carla shrugged. “He’s right.”

  “Neither of us are remotely adult enough, responsible enough, to raise a child. We won’t ever be,” Jake quietly stated. He nodded at Luca, who walked over to the desk. “Luca has papers, signing over full custody of Jacquetta to you. Will you take her? Will you raise her, as you did me?”

  Judah felt his heart slam into his chest. He wanted to say yes, to grab what they were offering and run.

  “What if you change your mind? What if you want her back? What then?”

  Luca spoke. “It’s ironclad, I made sure of it. If you sign, they relinquish all rights to her. You can refuse visitation rights. You can bar them from having any contact with her until she’s an adult. I don’t expect you to take my word for it. We ca
n send the documents to your attorney and have him examine the legalese if you are in doubt.”

  Judah looked down at Jac’s downy head, her red cheeks and perfect mouth, and suddenly realized that without her, without more kids, he would become as self-absorbed as his brother, as Carla, as addicted to his work and lifestyle as they were to drugs and attention. He’d designed and built fantastic buildings all over the world, but they were bricks and mortar, cold steel. They had no soul.

  He’d made the choice earlier to live his life differently, but this conversation with his brother cemented his resolution to do exactly that.

  Of course, he’d take Jac. He’d love her and any other kids he and Darby were lucky enough to have. He would be a good dad. Even his messed-up, currently sober brother thought so.

  It was now time to be a great dad—the dad, the man, Darby needed him to be.

  Judah stepped over to the desk, pulled the document toward him, grateful it was written in English and contained the minimal amount of legal speak. It was as Luca said, a full-custody agreement, signing over Jac to him.

  Not hesitating, Judah grabbed the nearest pen and dashed his signature across the page. He stared down at his scrawl, the thought hitting him that he now had a daughter.

  He loved her. With all his heart.

  He had his child, all he needed now to make his life complete was his woman.

  Meet me at the northeast corner of the neighborhood in an hour. I’ll bring coffee.

  Why?

  Don’t be late, Judah’s next text stated.

  Darby accepted that she and Judah were unconventional, that their entire relationship was odd, but she didn’t understand why Judah insisted on seeing her before breakfast on Monday morning. Why they had to meet at this deserted, undeveloped part of the neighborhood was beyond her. Darby pulled her car up next to Judah’s SUV and shook her head.

  Snow covered the ground and the windchill factor dropped the temperature to just above freezing, but Judah stood on top of the slope to her right, hatless, his hands shoved into the pockets of his heavy jacket.

  Why was he here? Why was he standing there looking cold but determined? Why wasn’t he in New York, as he said he’d be?

  Despite hot air blowing from her heater, Darby shivered. There was little point in talking—to be together, one of them had to make a major life-changing sacrifice for the other—so wasn’t it better just to go their separate ways?

  Talking wouldn’t find a solution... There was no solution.

  Darby saw Judah pull his phone out of his pocket and seconds later, hers rang. Darby stared down at her phone, shaking her head. If she got out of the car, she’d run up that hill and throw herself into his arms and tell him she didn’t want to lose him. She loved him. She’d do anything—have his babies, not have his babies—to have him in her life. They’d be happy, for a year, two, maybe four. Then the doubts would creep in, then resentment and regret. They’d end up hating each other.

  No, it was better to walk away now, while there was still love and respect.

  Darby took one last glance at Judah and told herself to put the car into Drive, to leave. Her phone dinged with an incoming text and she looked down at the lit screen.

  Five minutes. Please?

  Not giving herself any more time to think, Darby switched off the engine and opened the door. The cold slapped her in the face, but she forced herself to leave the car, instantly burying her face in her cashmere scarf.

  This was ridiculous. If Judah wanted to talk, why couldn’t they have a conversation back at the house or in her office over coffee? She was already miserable, she didn’t need to be cold, as well.

  Darby walked up the hill, glad she was wearing flat boots with a decent grip. If she fell on her butt, she would be even more unhappy than she already was. And she was plenty unhappy...

  When she reached Judah, he held out his bare hand, which Darby ignored. She stared out over the incredible view of rolling land. It had been years since she’d been up to this remote area. The architect in her noted that the plot of land had a helluva view. She knew Noah had plans to develop this area at some point. She remembered him saying something about retaining this land for very exclusive high-end buyers. Hopefully, she might, with her connection to the developer, be asked to design one or two of the houses.

  But that was for the future, the future without Judah.

  “Care to tell me why I am freezing my butt off?” Darby demanded, her tone as cold as the air swirling around them.

  God, he looked so big and warm and wonderful. How was she going to stand watching him walk out of her life again?

  “Noah is prepared to sell this land.”

  So?

  “To me. I made him an offer and he accepted,” Judah quietly stated, his voice low and slow. “I know exactly what I’d build here.”

  He had a client, someone Noah had recommended no doubt. Maybe Judah wanted to consult with her again. She could be his point person while he took on bigger and better projects all over the world.

  No.

  He’d have to find another local architect. In order to survive him leaving her life, he needed to leave her life. Utterly. Completely.

  Darby had zero interest in the property or any of Judah’s plans. Thinking of a future free of Judah felt like a red-hot dagger rhythmically plunging into her gut. “I can’t work with you, Judah. Yes, being associated with you is wonderful for my career, but it hurts too much knowing there’s no way for us to be together.” Darby gestured to her car. “Can I go now? I’m freezing.”

  Judah’s hand on her shoulder stopped her from walking away. “I’d build something long, something with glass and wood and steel.”

  Judah turned her so she faced the snow-covered fields and the woods at the end of the property. Darby knew that, on a clear day, they could see the sea.

  “We’d wake up to this view every morning, but I’d give it not much more than a passing glance because all my attention would be on a gray-eyed blonde with messy hair, thanking God that she’s in my life.”

  Darby stepped away from him, tipping her head back to look into his blazing eyes, blue fire in his pale face.

  “What did you say?” she quietly asked, her heart slamming against her rib cage.

  “I’d try to cop a feel, get you half-naked, but I’m pretty sure one of our kids would demand our attention before I got to the fun stuff. We’d argue about whose turn it is to get up and deal with our brood, but I’d go just because you smiled at me. Just because I’d be so damn happy to have you, to have our kids, to have our life.”

  Darby heard the sincerity in his voice, could see her dreams in his eyes, but she held up her hands, yanking herself out of the spell he’d put her under. “Judah, don’t. Please don’t.”

  “Please don’t what?” Judah asked, still not touching her, his eyes still connected with hers.

  “Don’t show me the dream I so desperately want but can’t have,” Darby whispered.

  Darby felt Judah’s hand on her cheek, his thumb stroking her jaw. “I’m offering it to you, Darby, all you have to do is take it. We can build our dream house here, fill it with kids. Don’t walk out of my life, Darby. Stay and live your dream.”

  He still didn’t get it. “I don’t want it to be my dream, Judah, I want it to be ours. I want you to want that, too, but you don’t!”

  Judah looked at her for a long moment before a tiny smile lifted the corner of his lips. He pointed to a huge oak, its thick branches now devoid of leaves. “I want to hang a tire swing from those branches for Jac, take her tadpole hunting in the creek behind the house. I see her catching lightning bugs in that field.”

  He spoke as if Jac would be a permanent part of his life. “What are you trying to tell me, Judah?”

  Judah rubbed the back of his neck, looking frustrated. “Okay, I’m obviously
not explaining properly. I want to build a house here, on this land, with you. For us and Jac. And any other children we might have. I’ll still have to travel but you and our kids can come with me. If you stay behind, I’ll make damn sure I’m back within a week, ten days. I want you to carry on working, with me or by yourself, I don’t care.”

  Darby looked at him, poleaxed.

  “I want your dream, Darby. The house, the kids...you. It all starts and ends with you.”

  Darby ignored the white-hot bolt of joy hurtling through her and focused on Judah’s eyes. There was no hesitation there, no fear. He was telling the truth. He wanted the life he’d described. He genuinely wanted what she did.

  But before she could fall into the happiness he promised, Darby still felt the need to warn him about what he was getting into. “Judah, my fertility issues... It’s not going to be easy.”

  Judah clasped the back of her neck and rested his forehead on hers. “Sweetheart, it might take some time, and cash, for us to have kids but I’m a hundred percent committed to the process. I will do whatever it takes for you to carry your own baby. This is a journey we are now on together. I promise you we’ll find a way.”

  He’d mentioned Jac. Did that mean he wanted to fight for her? How? Was that even possible?

  Before she could ask, Judah spoke again. “Until we manage to get you pregnant, I have another little girl who desperately needs a mom.”

  Darby stepped backward, slapping her hands to her cheeks. He’d hinted at having Jac, but she hadn’t wanted to believe that was a possibility. Losing Jac had hurt almost as much as losing Judah.

  “You have Jac? You can get her back? When? What’s the plan?”

  Judah smiled, his face full of love. “The plan is that I tell you that I love you, ask you to marry me and after you say yes, we’ll head back to the house, where I strip you naked and have my way with you. Or you can have your way with me, I’m not picky.”

  Darby grinned.

  “After a couple of hours of loving you, we’ll head over to Callie’s and drag our daughter out of her sticky fingers.”