Have Baby, Need Beau (21 page)

“The baby!” Mrs. Broadhurst screeched.

“Good Lord, son, you haven’t…” Mr. Broadhurst swiped at his forehead.

Mimi tossed Seth’s ring at him, along with the book on dating and a copy of the computer notes. The words he’d written about her father taunted her—“Wiley convinced me that I need to be part of my child’s life.”

“We’re not getting married. Ever.”

“But, Mimi. I thought you were starting to care for me.”

“Remember, Seth, I’m an actress.” Mimi grabbed his car keys, slammed out of the house and climbed into his car, not caring if he reported it stolen. It would be just one more charge to add to the charge she’d be slapped with once she finished with her meddling father.

Chapter 18

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S
eth’s first instinct was to run after Mimi, but she’d taken his car, so he was virtually stranded with his parents. And she’d only been
acting?
But why?

Because he’d kept reminding her that they were responsible people who should do what was right for the baby. He’d basically guilted her into trying to make a relationship work.

A relationship she’d made clear she didn’t want.

“At least the girl is showing some sense,” his mother said, digging the knife into his bleeding heart even deeper. “She knows she won’t fit into our lifestyle. And heaven forbid—we’d have to invite her father to the club!”

“Have you discussed alternatives to this pregnancy?” his father asked.

Seth stared at his parents, appalled. His stomach churned at his father’s insensitive, uncaring suggestion. This was his grandchild he was discussing, as if the baby were nothing but a bad investment he could dump without reservation.

“Mother, I can’t believe you pride yourself on good manners and etiquette when you are so rude and arrogant.”

His mother gasped and clutched her chest.

He glared at his father. “And I can’t believe you’d even hint that I would think of an ‘alternative.’ Then again, from the example you two set as parents, I shouldn’t be surprised. At least Wiley Hartwell loves his daughters and isn’t afraid to show it.”

“Son, I don’t know what that tramp did to you,” his father said, “but you’re thinking with your lower anatomy now, not your brain. When a little time has passed, you’ll see we’re right.”

Seth stabbed at his father with his finger, fury in every word. “I will never think you’re right. I love that woman and I intend to marry her.” Her words knifed through him again, the pain still raw. “If my friends don’t like it, then I’ll find new ones.” He lowered his voice to a lethal tone. “And if you or your friends don’t like it, then I don’t need you in my life. And neither will your grandchild.”

“But you can’t even be sure this baby is yours!”

“That’s right,” his father said smugly. “Have you asked for paternity tests? The girl may just be after your money.”

Seth seethed. “The baby’s mine. I don’t have to ask her because I know.” He jabbed his father in the chest again, grinding out every word. “And don’t you ever insinuate anything so vile about the woman I love again.” He hesitated when he realized what he’d just said. It was true. He loved Mimi. He just hadn’t been able to tell her. His father started to speak, but he cut him off, his tone lethal. “Mimi is not the one who’s obsessed with money—you two are.”

His mother gaped. “Well, I never!”

His father’s nostrils flared. “You’ll regret this decision one day. Then you’ll come crawling back to us.”

Seth forced a smile and pointed to the door, indicating he wanted his parents to leave. “The only thing I regret is that I didn’t marry Mimi Hartwell sooner.”

And that I didn’t succeed in making her fall in love with me.

* * *

Hell had no fury like Mimi Hartwell on the warpath. She barreled into her father’s office, ignoring the shocked looks of two of his salespeople. Her heart ached so badly, it had become a physical pain shooting all the way through her. “I have a bone to pick with you, Dad.”

Wiley’s ruddy skin turned as red as his bright crimson jacket. He flapped his hands, signaling his sales staff to leave. “I believe we can talk later, folks.”

The man and woman rushed out, stumbling over each other in their haste, leaving Mimi and her father alone. She tapped her acrylic nails on her father’s desk. “I cannot believe you interfered in my life like that.”

“L-like what?” Wiley stuttered.

“You went over to Seth’s and tried to strong-arm him into marrying me.”

Her father held up a hand as she stalked toward him. “Wait, Mimi, it’s not what you think.”

Mimi picked up a glass paperweight from his desk. Wiley backed farther into the corner, looking afraid she might hit him with it. “So, you’re telling me you didn’t go to Seth’s after you found out about the baby?”

“Well … uh … yes, I went to see him.”

“And you talked about me and marriage?”

Wiley shifted sideways, clutching the lapels of his jacket as if to protect himself from her anger. “Uh, yes, we talked about you and him and … um, that you two should get married.”

“Oh, you think we should?”

“Of course I think you should.”

“Because I’m pregnant, right?”

“Can you think of a better reason?”

“Yes! Being pregnant is the worst reason to get married. Look at you and Mom.”

“Honey, I told you your situation is different. Didn’t your mother come by and talk to you?”

“Yes,” Mimi exploded, “and don’t think you’re getting away with that one, either. How dare you tell Mom my secret without consulting me!”

“She cares about you, honey. She’s your mother.”

“She hasn’t been around enough to care.”

“But she’s a woman and she understands this pregnancy thing better than me. I’ve always tried to be there for you girls, but when you went through puberty and all…” He paused, wiping a drop of sweat from his forehead, then continued, “Sometimes I felt you needed a woman’s ear.”

Mimi’s heart squeezed. “Dad, you … you’ve been wonderful.” Seth’s note ran through her mind.
Every baby needs a daddy
. Seth would make a wonderful father, too.

“And just because people mess up and don’t always do things the way we want them to doesn’t mean they don’t care.” Wiley tried to placate her with his calm voice, the one he always used when he thought her an hysterical teenager. “You don’t want to marry Seth?”

“Of course I do! That’s not the problem.”

Wiley scratched his head, sending his springy hair into wild disarray. “I’m sorry, honey, but I’m not following.”

Mimi dropped into the chair beside her father’s desk. The vinyl screeched beneath her as she squeezed the edges. “Dad, don’t you get it? I don’t want Seth to marry me because he
should
. I want him to marry me because he
wants
to.”

* * *

The next week was hell.

Seth hadn’t eaten or slept and had barely dragged himself to work each day, slogging through his therapy sessions with his patients like a robot. Everywhere he went, everything he saw, reminded him of Mimi. And the family he had lost—not his parents, but Mimi and his child. On the way home, he’d gone to a drive-through hamburger joint and gotten all lump-throated at the sight of a bunch of kids playing on the outdoor playset. And yesterday he’d nearly broken down when Ralph had told him he was taking George to a Braves game.

Would he ever get to take
his
child to a ball game? Teach him or her how to swim?

Would he ever hold Mimi in his arms again? Hear her soft laughter? Feel the energy and excitement for life he felt at her simplest touch?

His head throbbed from worry, his chest ached with loneliness. Hell, he’d never been lonely in his life. He actually used to enjoy being alone; now he hated it. He paced the floor of the unfinished nursery, wondering what to do. He loved Mimi. Desperately, infinitely, soulfully loved her. With all his heart.

Only he’d discovered too late—after she’d walked out the door.

He wrung his hands. He had to figure out where his plan had gone wrong so he could come up with a better one. All week he’d contemplated the theory that Mimi didn’t love him or find him attractive, but their recent bout of lovemaking and the way she’d cried his name in ecstasy made him wonder. She couldn’t have been that good an actress, could she?

No.

Feeling better, he considered other possibilities. Should he go back to the dating book, the Mars-Venus theory, the book on stages of pregnancy?

An engine rumbled and died outside in the driveway, and he jumped. Already agitated, he decided if it was his parents, he’d simply refuse to open the door.

He peeked through the window and saw the whole Hartwell gang emerge from a silver Suburban, one of Wiley’s weekly specials he recognized from his latest ad. He shuddered as Wiley, Alison, Hannah and her new husband marched single file up his drive looking like bounty hunters. He was obviously the prey. Why had they brought Hannah’s husband? In case they needed some muscle?

A fleeting idea crossed his mind—he could pretend he wasn’t home. After all, his car was missing from the driveway. Then again, he’d faced his family’s wrath, so what the hell, he could take on the Hartwells. Although Jake did have about two inches and thirty pounds on him.

Deciding death by the Hartwells might be better than life without Mimi, he swung open the door before the bell even rang. “I guess I should have been expecting you.”

The foursome strode in, looking somber and angry as they congregated in his den.

“I suppose Mimi talked to you.”

Wiley rubbed the back of his neck, looking chagrinned. “Well, I’d say she talked at me. Didn’t much like my interference.”

“We waited all week, hoping you and Mimi would work things out,” Alison said.

“I don’t know how.” Seth realized he sounded pathetic. He was supposed to be the shrink, the one with the answers, yet he didn’t have a clue.

Wiley shrugged. “We’re talking about my baby girl here and her future.”

“And our sister and niece,” Alison said. “Or nephew.”

“It’s important,” Hannah said. “Grammy Rose wanted to come, but we didn’t have time to go get her.”

Seth turned to Jake with a curious look.

“I’m here as a referee, just in case,” Jake said with a twitch of a grin that made Seth relax slightly. At least he had an ally of sorts—Jake hadn’t come to stomp on his face. He’d obviously suffered the skepticism of the Hartwell gang before.

“So what exactly happened with Mimi?” Hannah asked.

“Yeah, she’s been miserable all week.” Alison stalked toward him. “Crying her heart out.”

“What?” Hope bubbled inside him. Hannah arched a brow. “You think that’s something to smile about?”

Wiley stepped forward, his hands fisted.

“No, I… It just gives me hope. I didn’t think she cared.”

“She’s in love with you, you big buffoon,” Alison said.

He glanced at Hannah for confirmation. Her other eyebrow shot up. “Tell us your side.”

Seth shifted and jammed his hands into his pockets. “Everything seemed to be going fine until that morning I showed her the nursery.”

“You’ve already fixed a nursery?” Alison asked.

“Well, not all the way,” Seth explained. “But I have catalogs on furniture and supplies, and I’m researching the best kind of car seats.”

Hannah rolled her eyes. Jake took a seat and folded his big arms as if settling in for a show.

“Safety’s important,” Seth protested. “I want our baby to have the best, and it takes time to study consumer reports.”

Alison shook her head. Wiley rubbed his neck again. Hannah pressed a hand to her temple. “Forget the consumer reports. Tell us what you said when you proposed.”

Seth chewed the inside of his cheek, feeling more exposed than he had in those ridiculous bikini briefs.

“Word for word,” Alison ordered.

Seth searched his memory. “I … I told her I wanted us to get married. That I had everything planned, that we could live here or move if she wanted, then I showed her the baby’s room.”

Alison gave him a sympathetic look. Wiley clucked. Jake spread his big hands on the chair ends and shook his head.

“What? What’s wrong with that? I took her on a date every night. I even bought books on romance and highlighted things to do. But in the end, she didn’t want me.”

“How can men be such idiots?” Alison said.

Hannah silenced her by slicing her hand through the air. “I just have three words for you, Seth, and I want you to listen carefully.”

He closed his mouth. He supposed he could use some advice.

“I love you.”

“What?” Hannah loved him? What about her husband?

She repeated the words, slowly, as if he were a child. “I love you.”

He stabbed his thumb into his chest, his knees shaking. “You love me? But … but it’s too late for us, Hannah. Like you said, we’re just friends. I love Mimi now and our baby.” He chanced a panicked glance at Jake, expecting him to leap up and kill him any second. “And what about him?”

Hannah rolled her eyes again. Alison and Wiley looked at him as if he was stupid. Jake actually chuckled.

“I don’t mean I love you, Seth. I mean, that’s what you should have told Mimi.”

“But I … I did.”

“You said those words?” Alison asked.

Seth thought back to every thing he’d done to win Mimi. The dates, the flowers, the great sex, the planning of the baby’s room. “I … I guess I never actually said the words. I showed her, though. I thought that was enough.”

Hannah smiled sympathetically. “Sorry, Seth, it’s not enough. Women want the words.”

Alison nodded. Wiley and Jake looked glum, but they nodded as well.

Seth bobbed his head. “All right. I’ll call her.”

The Hartwell clan shook their heads in unison.

“Not good enough?”

“Nope. You’ll have to do it in person,” Alison said.

“Yeah, and it may take some doing to convince her, since you botched it the first time,” Hannah said, a trace of disgust in her voice.