Worth the Scandal (21 page)

“You’re not falling for that, are you?”

“Of course not.” She wished she could. It would make life so much easier. But she had to be strong. He would only end up hurting her again and she’d have no one to blame but herself. “I find it hard to believe he’d walk out so easily. He always enjoyed a challenge.”

“You’re going to have to be strong.” Gina paused, letting her words sink in. It was as if she could read Tessa’s thoughts. “For Charlotte, you need to be.”

Tessa closed her eyes and breathed deep. She knew her sister was right. She had to do this, had to protect her daughter. “What if he’s waiting out there? He might want to talk again.”

“Let me grab a taxi and head over there. If he’s outside you can run straight into the car and never have to deal with him.”

“Okay, fine. Call a taxi and be here no later than seven-fifteen. Call me when you get here.”

They hung up and Tessa went into the backroom, thankful business was slow. She couldn’t handle dealing with people now, not with her jittery nerves and her racing heart. Seeing him on the news last evening, she realized there was a very slim chance she’d see him.

He’d somehow found her store and walked right in. As if he’d known she was inside. Had he been looking for her? Had he hired some sort of private investigator and they’d found her?

“Who was that man?” Simone asked as she entered the backroom.

Tessa pressed her lips together before she sighed. “The father of Charlotte.”

“He’s Alexander Worth, isn’t he?”

Tears formed in the corners of Tessa’s eyes, and she dashed them away. “Yes.”

“I thought I recognized him. I spoke to him before I called you over. I had no idea he was Charlotte’s...”

“I used to work for him.” Tessa laughed and shook her head, feeling one hundred thousand times the fool. “We had an affair and then he—he fired me. Accused me of stealing company secrets and told me to get out. He never wanted to see him again.”

“Oh, such a fool.” Simone shook her head. “And you haven’t seen him until just now?”

“Yes.” She nodded, a sob welling up in her throat. She was the one who was a fool. “It was quite the shock.”

“He seems very sad.”

Tessa frowned and wiped the tears from her cheeks. “What do you mean?”

“His demeanor, the way he spoke to me. I saw it in his eyes, heard it in his words. He is a very sad man.”

“He’s a ruthless man who has no problem ruining someone if it gains him what he wants.”

“Oh, dear.” Simone
tsked
. “You are both hurting so much.”

“Of course, I’m hurting. I was in love with him.” The moment the words left her, she knew she was
still
in love with him, however stupid that may be. She burst into tears, unable to mask her overwrought emotions any longer.

Simone drew her into her arms and hugged her, smoothing her hands up and down Tessa’s back. “There, there, darling. It will be just fine. Perhaps you should listen to what he has to say, no?”

“No. I can’t Simone. I let him hurt me once. I’d be stupid to let it happen again.”

“He may be looking for your forgiveness.”

“I don’t think I can give it to him.”

“So you’d rather hold a grudge the rest of your days and deny him his daughter?”

Tessa stiffened. Put like that, Simone made her sound like a cruel, cold-hearted bitch. “He doesn’t care about Charlotte.”

“He doesn’t know she exists. There’s a difference. How can he care about his child when he doesn’t know he has one?” Simone gave her a gentle smile. “You have a daughter together. You need to tell him about Charlotte. He deserves to know.”

Tessa withdrew from Simone’s embrace, her skin cold, her mind numb. “What if he tries to take her from me?”

“Do you believe him that cruel?”

“I don’t know what to think.” He would be angry that she’d hid Charlotte from him, she knew this. Such a staunch believer in tradition and family, he would yank Charlotte right from her arms at the first opportunity. He might declare her an unfit mother with no funds and no expensive nanny to take care of their child since she had to work for a living. “He was terribly cruel to me the last time I spoke to him. I doubt he’s changed.”

“He misses you,” Simone said softly.

Tessa waved a hand, dismissing the comment. “I don’t believe it.”

“He looked rather lost when he talked about you.”

A jolt moved through her. “He talked about me?”

“He spoke of the love he lost. I think he was referring to you.”

Before Tessa got a chance to ask her what she meant about that, the bell above the door rang, indicating a customer walked in. Simone took care of it, allowing Tessa some time alone so she could compose herself. She went into the tiny bathroom and splashed water on her face, then stared at her reflection in the mirror.

Dark circles shadowed the fragile skin beneath her bloodshot eyes. Her lips were swollen, her nose red from crying. She looked blotchy, horrible. She’d noticed the way Alex’s gaze had run over her body, lingering on her breasts. They were much fuller since she breast-fed Charlotte, and her body was curvier in general.

She’d changed, both outside and in. She wasn’t the silly, stupid girl anymore who fell for all of his lies. She was stronger, braver. Moving to another country, finding a new job and having a baby all in the span of a year did that to a woman.

And she was proud of herself. But a few moments alone in Alex’s presence and he’d reduced her to a blubbering mess.

Straightening her spine, Tessa walked back out into the store and started straightening up for the night. It was nearly closing time, and her sister would be here with the taxi waiting. She could’ve called her own taxi but at least with Gina waiting for her, she had a support system. Someone she could talk to, a shoulder to cry on as they headed back home. And her sweet baby to cuddle too.

The unnecessary expense of the taxi would be worth the heartache of being approached by Alex one more time. He was so determined—if he wanted to talk to her, he would find a way. Not that he’d have any real reason to talk to her, at least in his mind. They were finished.

Through.

Chapter Sixteen

Tessa hurried out the front door of
Mon Amour
, the French woman holding the door open for her as she came onto the sidewalk. The crowds had thinned to almost nothing, giving Alex a perfect view of her looking this way and that just before she jabbed her hands into the pockets of her black coat.

Alex wondered if she could feel his gaze upon her.

A taxi pulled up to the curb and stopped next to her and the back door popped open. Casting one more quick glance around, she hopped into the car and slammed the door.

Moving away from the side of the building, he went to the sidewalk, saw the taxi pull into the crowded street. Waving another taxi down, he jumped into the back seat, offering a curt, “Follow that car,” in French and thrusting a one hundred dollar bill in the driver’s face.

The man nodded and smiled, snatching the bill from Alex’s fingers. The taxi Tessa occupied was easy to find since it hadn’t gained much distance what with the crowded roads and he breathed an inward sigh of relief when the driver pulled in directly behind Tessa’s taxi.

She wasn’t alone. He saw two dark heads from the back window of the taxi. Fear swirled in his gut and a wave of nausea slid over him. What if she’d met another man? What if she’d fallen in love with him and was living with him? It made sense, explained her seemingly spontaneous move to England. The Tessa he remembered was calm and quiet and didn’t seem to be one wont to spontaneous adventures.

Maybe he’d been wrong. Maybe he hadn’t known Tessa whatsoever. For all he knew, she could be a completely different person than the woman he thought he’d fallen in love with.

Frowning, Alex leaned against the seat and glanced out the window. They were getting out of the shopping district now, heading deeper into a residential district and realized the taxi was most likely taking her home.

He would know where she lived.

Damn it, he should call this off and end the chase. He was wasting his time, behaving like an irrational stalker. What good would it do, knowing where she lived if she lived with another? Had given her heart and body to another? If he wanted to torture himself and end up feeling like shit, he was doing a bang up job of it so far.

About to ask the taxi driver to turn around and take him back to his hotel, the car in front of them pulled over in front of a tall building. “Stay back,” Alex said instead, his gaze zeroed in on the car, waiting breathlessly for Tessa to exit.

Anxious to see who vacated the car, he leaned forward, curling his hands along the edge of the seat in front of him. Tessa stepped out first, quickly followed by another woman of similar height, clutching a bundle of pink in her arms.

A baby.

Confusion swamped him and he gripped the edge of the seat tighter. Who was the other woman? And where did the baby come from?

“Wait here,” he commanded, opening the door and climbing out of the car. He strode toward where Tessa stood. She held the baby now, the other woman paying the cab driver.

Cuddling the baby close, her mouth rested at the side of the baby’s head, her eyes half closed as she swung gently to and fro. She was crooning sweet words, he heard her lilting voice murmur. She didn’t even notice his approach.

“My sweet baby girl. Did you miss your mommy today?” The words finally reached him.

Stunned him.

Devastated him.

Alex stilled. The baby belonged to Tessa.

“Is she mine?”

She jerked her head up, her gaze meeting his. Eyes wide and full of fear, she swung away, clutching the baby close as she hurried toward the building’s entrance.

He followed after her, catching up with her easily. She was halfway in the building’s tiny lobby and he was right behind her, grabbing hold of her by the coat and tugging her to a halt.

“Is she, Tessa? Is that our baby?” He didn’t know what to think, how to act. Could it even be possible? The baby didn’t look any older than six months. If he calculated the time right then yes, indeed that baby could definitely belong to him.

So why wouldn’t she tell him?

“She’s my sister’s.” Her voice trembled and she kept her hand over the baby’s face like she didn’t want him to see her. “Go away, Alex. You have no business being here.”

“If that baby is mine then hell yes, I have every reason to be here.” He curled his fingers around her arm and pulled, trying to get her to drop her hand away from the baby’s face. Something told him she was lying. She’d never been a good liar and instinct told him the baby belonged to him.

Which meant he had a daughter. That he hadn’t been there from the first infuriated him. Tessa had stolen those moments—and when the truth came out, he would make her pay.

Fury gripped him tight. She didn’t say a word, just tried to jerk out of his touch as best she could. The baby started to fuss, and she shushed her. “You’re lying.”

Wild eyes met his. She looked scared out of her mind—and she should. “Let go.”

The sister walked in at that precise moment, the expression of horror on her face vivid. The similarities were there and Alex didn’t have a doubt she was Tessa’s sister. But he didn’t believe for a second the baby belonged to her. “Leave her alone,” Tessa’s sister said.

He ignored her. “Let me see the baby, Tessa.”

She shook her head furiously and finally tugged out of his hold. “No.” She started up the stairs, the movement jostling the baby in her arms and she started to cry. “Sssh, Charlotte. It’s okay.”

Alex’s head reeled. Charlotte? His grandmother had been named Charlotte. Everyone knew this. It was part of the Worth Luxury family history. “You named her after my grandmother.”

The sister had followed her up the stairs and gave her a frantic push. “Go, Tessa. Don’t listen to him.”

“Why did you do that?” It touched him, despite his anger. That she still thought of him enough to name their child after the woman who had meant more to him beside his mother. His grandmother had always been there for him and his brothers when they were growing up. He’d adored her.

“Gina named her.” Tessa nodded toward her sister. Keeping the lie up. She went so far as to hand the now-calm baby to Gina but she started to wail all over again. “It’s just a coincidence.”

He glared at the sister who juggled the baby uncomfortably. She kept her eyes downcast, her cheeks were ruddy and still the baby continued to cry. The look of guilt was unmistakable. “Tessa, tell me the goddamn truth. Is the baby mine?”

She took Charlotte from her sister’s arms and the baby immediately quieted. Soothed by her mother no doubt. “Fine. You want the truth? Yes. The baby is—yours.” She choked on the last word, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Alex leaned against the wall and stared up at the three females who had just rocked his world completely. His body, his mind went numb, slowing down, shutting off. She’d confirmed it. He’d heard the truth come from her lips but still it was difficult for him to comprehend.

He was a father. He had a daughter. And he’d already missed out on so much.

Too much.

Tessa’s entire body shook. She clutched Charlotte close, winced when the baby grabbed a hunk of her hair and tugged. She deserved it. The pain, the punishment and this was only scratching the surface. What she did was wrong, she’d known this from the start but at first she’d been too angry to think he’d care to know he was going to be a father.

Once realization had sunk in, she thought about contacting him. But he probably would’ve believed her looking for money. He probably would’ve called her a liar and demanded a paternity test. He might still.

But there was no mistaking it. She’d never been with any other man. Charlotte was his.

“Why don’t we take this upstairs where you two can talk?” Gina suggested, the only voice of reason in the cramped entry of their apartment building.

“No.” Oh, his voice was so cold. “Tessa, I want you to come back with me to my hotel. Bring the baby with you.”