The Billionaire's Baby Arrangement (5 page)

“You used the ‘F' word.”

“I did not,” he said adamantly and then it dawned on him. He arched a brow. “Oh, okay. So I said we were friends.”

Brooke turned to leave. ‘I'm not having this conversation,” she said as she stepped into the house.

Damn it. The woman was always walking away. He marched after her. “Sit down, Brooke.”

She stopped in his living room and glared at him. “Is that an order?”

Nick was through being amused. Why he cared to clear the air with her was beyond him. Maybe it was the mood he was in. Maybe it was hearing Rachel accuse him of using her that got to him tonight. Maybe it was because she'd also accused him of not having a heart. Or maybe it's because he thought he'd done the right thing for once in his life and Brooke was punishing him for it.

He shouldn't give a damn.

But he did.

“Hell, Brooke. Cut me some slack. Talk to me.”

Brooke glanced at the sofa and twisted her lips. “I could claim fatigue. I think I feel a dizzy spell coming on.”

“Sit,” he said, keeping his tone light.

She sat down on the sofa and he took the seat across from her. A glass and wrought-iron coffee table separated them. The room was dark but for the dim lamp light from the terrace filtering inside.

Nick waited.

Then Brooke began. “You were the last person on earth I ever wanted to see again.”

“I know that. Now tell me why.”

B
rooke's memories came rushing back of that one night that had changed her life forever. It wasn't what Nick had done but what he hadn't done that had devastated her young heart.

The pounding on the door startled Brooke out of a sound sleep. She raced down the hallway in her nightie, certain that something was wrong. Her mother was visiting her best friend in San Francisco for the weekend and Brooke feared something terrible had happened to her. Why else would someone be pounding on her door after ten o'clock at night?

She hesitated behind the door, until she heard his voice. “It's me, Brooke. It's Nick. C'mon. Open up.” She heard the excitement in his voice and immediately yanked the door open.

He stood in the moonlight, grinning from ear to ear and she came alive right then, as if she'd been an empty
shell until Nick appeared to breathe new life into her. She smiled instantly, his obvious joy contagious. “Nick? What is it?”

He lifted her off her feet and twirled her around and around in dizzying circles. “I did it. I did it. I'm going to the major leagues. I got drafted by the White Sox in the fifth round.”

Before she had time to react, he set her down, cupped her face in his hands and kissed her with such intensity she thought she was still floating above ground. When he broke off the kiss, the hungry look in his blue eyes held her captivated. “Nick, that's great. It's what you want.”

“I know. I know. I'm going to Charlotte to play for the Knights. It's Triple A ball, but if I play to my potential, Coach thinks it won't take long to make it to the majors.”

“Oh, Nick. You'll get there. If you want it bad enough, you'll get there.”

Without his knowledge, she'd gone to a play-off game and watched him play once. He'd been the star of the team. Everyone cheered for Nick when he stepped up to the plate. He'd hit three home runs in that weekend series and the team had gone on to win the championship.

“I came right over to tell you. I wanted you to know. I wanted to share this with you first.”

He'd come to her, before telling his friends? Warmth rushed through her body and when he reached for her again and kissed her, Brooke's world turned upside down.

“I want you, Brooke,” he whispered urgently, bracing her waist and tugging her close. Her legs rubbed against his jeans. “I've always wanted you.”

He lavished kisses on her forehead, her eyes, her nose, her cheeks and then devoured her mouth in another long, fiery crazed kiss that lit her body on fire. “My mom's out of town,” she whispered and Nick wasted no time.

“Where's your room?”

Brooke led him there and stood by the bed. He smiled and in one smooth move, he lifted her nightie and filled his hands with her breasts. The exquisite feel of his palms on her sent a hot thrill through her body. Deft fingers stroked her nipples and she ached for more. When he put his mouth on her, she squeezed her eyes shut from the exquisite, sweet torture.

Nick had her naked on the bed in seconds, then he removed his shirt and joined her. She was glad she'd waited, glad to have her first time be with Nick, the boy who'd been out of her reach for so long. Now, he was here, wanting her.

She loved him with a fierceness that stunned her. His touch sent her spiraling out of control. He kissed her a dozen times, driving her insane with his tongue, as he caressed every inch of her body.

Inexperienced and awkward, Brooke didn't know what to do. What would he expect from her? Should she be touching him back?

“This is a good night…being with you,” he whispered, nibbling on her throat. His softly spoken words abolished her insecurities.

His hand traveled lower, his fingers seeking her warmth, and electric shocks powered through her body. She stiffened from the new sensation. She'd never felt anything like it, the intimacy of the act, the way he knew how to find her most sensitive spot and stroke her until she was breathless and mindless.

The sensation built and built and she arched and moaned until only little cries of ecstasy escaped her lips. Wave after wave of release shattered her and Nick stroked her harder, faster, drawing out her orgasm, his eyes dark and filled with desire. He murmured soft words but she didn't hear
him, didn't recognize what he was asking until she felt the last tiny wave leave her.

“Are you protected?” he asked again.

And she looked at him and shook her head. “I don't have, I mean I don't—”

He stood up and reached into his pocket, then something stopped him. She'd never forget the look on his face, the way he studied her as she lay naked on the bed.

“Nick?” Dread beat against her chest and her stomach coiled.

He stared at her and blinked. His gaze roved over her again and this time she truly felt naked and strangely alone. Then the unthinkable happened. Nick shook his head, closing his eyes to her and taking deep breaths. “I can't do this, Brooke. I'm gonna have to leave.”

“Nick?” Panicked, Brooke lifted up to reach for him.

To her horror, he backed away, as if repulsed by her touch. “I gotta go, Brooke. I can't. I'm sorry.”

Mortified, Brooke watched him grab his shirt and walk out of her bedroom.

 

“Brooke?” Nick asked, glancing at her intently.

Sudden anger strangled the words she wanted to say to him. She wanted to blast him with full guns and then walk out of his house and forget she ever laid eyes on him again. But she bit back her remarks and calmed down to a rational level. “You hurt me, Nick. That night. The night you got drafted.”

His sharp breath was audible. “None of that was supposed to happen.”

That's all he had to say? He'd broken her heart and left her shattered, wishing that she'd been enough for him. The girl from the right side of town. The girl he'd want to take
out on a date and introduce to his family, the girl who didn't work at the local diner and sewed her own clothes.

She'd dared to hope, but that hope had been crushed.

She wasn't even good enough to have a one-night fling with. He'd rejected her and left her lying there, exposed and vulnerable and humiliated.

“How do you think I felt when you walked out on me?”

“You should have been relieved,” Nick said in earnest, and she wanted to shove him in the chest again.

“Relieved? How can you say that? You…you led me on. You came to my house that night with one thing on your mind.”

“Things shouldn't have gone that far, Brooke. I realized that and I walked out before we made a mistake.”

“A mistake?” Inwardly she cringed. Now she was a
mistake.
This conversation was going from bad to worse and Brooke wanted to scream out in frustration.

Nick leaned forward, bracing the back of his elbows on his knees. “You were special to me, Brooke and—”

“I was your good buddy,” she spit out.

“No, you were the girl I wanted the most and the one I couldn't let myself have.”

Brooke shook her head. “I don't get it. Your memory must be failing you. Age does that to a person. You must be old before your time.”

“You see,” Nick said with a grin. “You're clever and feisty and pretty. Listen, I may have had a reputation back then—”

“Similar to the one you have now,” she butted in.

“R-right. But I didn't want to lump you in with the other girls I dated.”

“You never
dated
me. Are you going to tell me that's because I was so special?”

“I was afraid of you.”

“What?” Brooke sat back in her seat, thunderstruck. Nothing he said was sinking in, but this,
this
was too ridiculous to even consider. “Big, bad Brooke.”

“Sweet, special, smart Brooke,” he said.

Her anger rose. His compliments meant nothing to her. “Stop! Just stop, Nick,” she rushed out. “Why don't you just admit the truth! I didn't measure up to the other girls in your string. You got me naked and decided you could do better. Isn't that what really happened? I was inexperienced and I don't know, maybe I wasn't doing the right things and you—”

“Let me get this straight,” he said, between clenched teeth. “You're angry because we didn't screw like rabbits all night long? Here I was trying to be noble, to do the right thing, and you're upset because I didn't take your virginity?”

“I cared about you,” she said, raising her voice. “I wanted it to be with you.”

“And I didn't want to use you. Damn it, the one time I do the right thing I get kicked in the ass. Listen, Brooke. I wasn't sticking around. At that time, my life, my future was baseball. I was leaving the next week for the minor leagues. And yeah, you scared me, because of all the girls I'd been with you were the one girl who could tie me down. The one girl I'd miss when I took off. It wouldn't have worked. I didn't want to hurt you. I never meant to.”

“But you did,” she said quietly. “You devastated me, Nick. I never heard from you again. Ever.”

I was deeply in love with you.

She opened up to him, finally confessing what she'd held back all these years, “Just think of all the worst things you think about yourself, your secret innermost thoughts that nag at you day after day, that you're nothing, not
pretty enough, not smart enough, not wealthy enough, not
anything
and to have those very thoughts confirmed by the one person in the world who can change your opinion. You leaving me there that night confirmed the worst about myself.”

Nick came around the coffee table to sit beside her. From the dim lights, she could see into his eyes, the sorrow there and the apology. He didn't try to touch her, but those eyes penetrating hers were like the tightest embrace. “I'm sorry. I thought I did the right thing for you. I've never been one to hold back when I wanted something, but what I did that night, it was for you. I wanted you, Brooke. But it wouldn't have been fair to you.”

Brooke had clung to her perceptions about Nick for so long it was hard to let them go. She wanted to believe him and release the bitter feelings that had only dragged her down these past years. She wanted to be done with it. She had a future to look forward to now with Leah. Finally she resigned herself to accept Nick's claim as the truth as he saw it. “Okay, Nick.”

It still didn't make up for the months of anguish she'd experienced or for the heartache of loving someone like Nick, but she realized it was finally time to move on.

“Okay?” Nick said. “We've cleared the air?”

She nodded. “Yes.”

And they sat in silence for a long while, just absorbing the conversation.

“I think I'm well enough to leave tomorrow,” Brooke said finally. “I've got a new life waiting for me.” She rose from the sofa. “I should go.”

Nick nodded, but his response left room for doubt. “We'll see.”

 

Brooke dressed Leah in a blue-and-white-polka-dotted short set with a ruffled collar and bloomers. She combed
her hair and hummed the
Sesame Street
song, laughing as Leah's stubborn curls popped right back up the minute she put the brush down. The morning seemed filled with promise. She'd had a lot to absorb from her encounter with Nick last night and she'd slept on it, waking this morning with a better attitude and ready to put the past behind her.

“It's gonna be a good day, baby girl,” she said, lifting Leah up and twirling her around. A wave of light-headedness hit her and Brooke stopped and let it pass, clutching her child tight. “Your mommy is pushing her luck,” she whispered.

Nurse Jacobs entered the room, dressed and ready to take over. “Time to take your vitals,” she said to Brooke.

Brooke complied, having her blood pressure and temperature taken. When the nurse finished her exam, she gave her a reassuring smile. “You look well-rested.”

“I'm feeling much better today.”

“You got dizzy just a second ago.”

Brooke didn't think she'd seen that. “Stupid of me to spin Leah around. I won't do that again. We're going down for breakfast.”

“Okay, I'll hold Leah on the way downstairs.”

“Actually, I'd like to hold her.”

Nurse Jacobs narrowed her eyes and debated until Brooke added, “You'll be right by my side. We'll go down together.”

Once it was all settled, they headed to the kitchen. They heard cupboards being opened and slammed shut and curses being muttered by Nick in hushed tones. The odor of burnt toast filled the air. Brooke walked in with Leah in her arms, took one look at the kitchen in disarray with greasy
frying pans on the stovetop, blackened bread in the toaster and Nick, dressed in a pair of jeans and a white T-shirt that hugged his male frame, looking frustrated and out of sorts.

Brooke immediately grinned. “I didn't feel the tornado this morning. Did you, Leah?”

The baby looked at her quizzically.

Nick cast Brooke a quick glance. “Carlotta's got the morning off, not that she cooks anyway, but at least she can boil water and make toast. Looks like I can do neither.”

Brooke took in the state-of-the-art appliances and fully functional workstation. “It's a great kitchen. You don't have a cook?”

“Not since my father passed away. The cook retired and we've managed without her up until now. Tony's gone and Joe spends his time at the office or with his fiancée. Which leaves me. I've been fending for myself, not very well I might add, interviewing a little, but no one's worked out.” He picked up the phone. “I'll call for delivery. What would you ladies like for breakfast?”