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chance. He wanted this baby. And despite the lies, he wanted Alyssa, too.

So much, the craving was nearly beyond his control. Some part of him was

even perversely pleased with this outcome.

This time, he‟d be better to her. He‟d never let another man touch her.

He‟d never give her cause for regret.

“Something against Tyler or marriage in general?”

Alyssa frowned. “Tyler‟s been my rock lately. I don‟t know much about

his life before he showed up on my doorstep, want ad in hand. But he‟s

solid. Marriage . . . I don‟t think it works. I‟ve seen guys who seem like the

most devoted dads come in for a weekly lap dance, looking for something

extra on the side.”

“Not every man cheats,” Luc chided her.

Alyssa raised a golden brow. “Most.”

“Some,” he corrected. “Women cheat, too.” How would she react to

that statement? With guilt?

She just shrugged. “I don‟t see them in my club every night.”

The line of questioning had netted nothing. Time to change tactics.

“Cheating aside, would you get married? For the baby?”

“To Tyler?” She hesitated a long moment, then sighed. “Maybe.”

Luc sifted through the information, still drumming his fingertips. While

she didn‟t seem enthusiastic about the idea, Alyssa hadn‟t said no. He had

to crush that quickly.

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“I didn‟t come to ruin your birthday. I just . . . thought you should

know.” She rose from the booth again. “I‟ll call you when the baby is born.”

“Wait!” Luc blurted, cursing that she might be playing him like a fiddle.

He still didn‟t know what she wanted, but he had to tip his hand, say or do

whatever necessary to keep her and this baby in his life. “Don‟t go. I‟m

thrilled you‟re pregnant.”

“Really?” She frowned, looking unconvinced. “You‟re happy?”

“Ecstatic. The best birthday present
ever
.” He clenched his fists to

keep from reaching out to her. “I don‟t want you to call me when the baby is

born. I‟d like to be involved in this child‟s life. I want to be there every step

of the way—first tooth, first word, first crush, first date. I also want to be

there for you during your pregnancy.”

Her eyes went wide. “Wha . . . what do you mean? You want to go to

my doctor appointments?”

“Yes. I want to be part of the whole experience. I‟m ready to be a

father. A great father.”
Understatement of the millennium
. “I will not let you down.”

Luc hesitated before saying more. Would his enthusiasm lure her in?

Or make her run in the other direction? A calculated risk. She was afraid,

and he had to be careful.

“Okay.” She nodded, looking slightly shocked. “Thanks. That would be

. . . helpful.”

He planned to be far more than helpful.

“You know, there are advantages to being married,” he pointed out.

“Financial, of course. But children are a lot of work. Having another set of

hands would lighten your load, especially when they‟re sick or up all night,

or you need to work late. And what about safety? It‟s been a concern for

you lately. Having a husband around would add protection for you and the

baby. You‟d rest easier. The baby would have the stability of a two-parent

family, a last name. The love of both a mom and a dad.”

Alyssa froze. “You want me to marry Tyler?”

Damn it! Time to stop this verbal poker game and throw his cards on

the table.

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Shayla Black

Luc stood and leaned toward her, risking all and taking her face in his

hands. Her gaze bounced up to his, and he felt the zing of that poignant

blue all the way to his toes.

When she‟d walked back into his life, he‟d never imagined it would be

to lie to him. Even so, he still wanted her so badly.

“No. I want you to marry me.”

“. . . SO that‟s what‟s up with me.”

It was nearly four in the morning at Sexy Sirens. The club was closed

now, and Alyssa faced Sadie and Tyler, nerves jittery in her stomach.

“The fucker got you pregnant and left?” Tyler screamed, his tense

body leaving no question that he was ready to hit something—preferably

Luc‟s face. “Where is he? I wanna know right now.”

Alyssa sighed. “He didn‟t „leave me.‟ He says he wants to marry me. I

don‟t really know why. The baby, I guess.”

Tyler snorted. “You‟re gorgeous, smart, kind—and you‟re going to

have his kid. Why the fuck wouldn‟t he want to marry you?”

“He also thinks I‟m a whore and may even believe this baby is yours.”

“I wish,” Tyler muttered under his breath.

Still, Alyssa heard. Could she feel any worse? “His proposal shocked

me.”

“You‟re thinking of accepting, even though you threw him out on his

ass last time he was here? After the shitty way he treated you?”

Alyssa bit her lip. She‟d been thinking through that. Being Luc‟s wife

and having his name on the birth certificate would have benefits. Stability.

Money, if anything ever happened to her. Though it might be old-fashioned

of her, she‟d prefer to raise a child with two parents.

Tyler raised a good point, though. All the volatility and mind games she

and Luc had played last time couldn‟t happen again. If she accepted his

proposal, they must be on the same page about that.

But at the end of the day, though it might make her twenty kinds of

stupid, she loved Luc too much to say no.

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Shayla Black

“I‟ll handle it.”

“How?” Tyler snarled. “He practically ran your heart over and left your

for dead last time.”

“I said I‟ll handle it.”

The possibility of losing Luc to his picture-perfect suburban girlfriend . .

. Cold chills didn‟t begin to describe the feeling. Utter fear. Panic. Jagged,

aching sadness.

“This is shit,” Tyler yelled. “Given how badly he treated you, what kind

of father would he be?”

“I think he‟ll be a great one,” Alyssa answered, going with her gut.

“Once he got over the shock of the pregnancy, he seemed really

enthusiastic about the baby. Claimed he wants to be
very
involved.”

“Maybe that would be enough for him,” Tyler argued. “Without

marriage.”

“And maybe not,” Sadie put in. “I learned that the hard way when the

courts let my ex, Kenneth, take little Ben from me because of my past.”

“You can‟t marry Luc because you‟re afraid of what he might do. Hell,

I‟ll marry you. I‟d love to.”

Alyssa closed her eyes. She‟d suspected those words were coming,

and she should rejoice. Having Tyler at her side as the other half of a

parenting unit would look good to the courts, if it came to that.

But she couldn‟t deny that even though Luc‟s proposal had been

practical, it had filled her heart with a hope she wished she could deny.

Tyler‟s only filled her with regret.

True, she could wait and see if Luc was vindictive or possessive of this

baby. If he was,
then
she could always take him or Tyler up on his offer.

But if she was honest with herself, she‟d ached for Luc in the last six

weeks, as if someone had ripped away a part of her soul. There was a

reckless part o f her that wanted t o see i f she could still have that picketfence dream she‟d been clutching to her heart since her world had

shattered at fifteen. And have those dreams with the man she loved. The

only thing that could make it better was if he fell in love with her in return.

If they had their whole lives ahead of them, rather than just a week,

maybe someday . . . If not, they had a child to raise, and that had to be her

first focus.

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Shayla Black

“I appreciate that, Tyler. But I don‟t want you to sacrifice your life for

me.”

“It wouldn‟t be a sacrifice,” he said solemnly. “It would be an honor.”

“You should find someone who loves you and wants to have your

children,” she said gently but firmly. Tyler had to understand that she was a

dead end for him, especially now.

She tossed back the rest of her water, then stood.

“Where are you going?” Sadie asked.

Alyssa‟s gaze fell on Tyler, who was clenching his jaw and judiciously

not looking at her. She‟d hurt him, and guilt hammered her to the core. Why

couldn‟t she love him? He was always there, always kind, funny, interesting

. . . A buddy, but not a lover. Luc was sophisticated, complicated—every

other sort of -
ated
she could think of. They shouldn‟t have anything in

common.

Except . . . it was his focus. Alyssa felt special with him. To him.

They‟d had their share of arguments, but when he took her in his arms or

turned on his tender side, something inside her told her it was right.

She caressed Tyler‟s hard shoulder, a silent apology.

“I‟m going to call Luc.”

“At this time of night?” Sadie looked at her as if she needed her head

examined.

Alyssa shrugged, trying to tamp down her ridiculous giddiness. She

may come to regret this decision, but at the moment, she refused. Not only

did she have a baby to think about, but this was her last chance at the fairy

tale, and she was seizing it. “He said to call anytime. I‟m thinking if we‟re

going to get married, I should tell him.”

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Shayla Black

L
UC straightened his tie and waited near the wall of Bonheur‟s

windows as the sun streamed in golden and bright on this November noon.

The smell of roses and stargazer lilies filled the air, slightly cloying. At the

other end of the restaurant, Alyssa emerged from the shadowed hallway in

white, looking ethereal, elegant—and very nervous.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Deke whispered in his ear.

On the other side of Luc, Sadie, dressed in ice blue, shushed him.

Yes and no. He was still thrilled about the baby, but standing beside

the justice of the peace as Alyssa walked to him through the hush, it hit him

that, as husband and wife, they weren‟t going to have to merely treat each

other with civility, as she‟d demanded. They must also get along day in and

day out. Balance lives. Find common ground. Get accustomed to sharing

space and priorities and feelings. Become good spouses and parents. To

make this work, they would have to build trust.

Could they do that with a marriage based on a big lie? He swallowed.

On the groom‟s side of the room, in the front row, his parents sat, still

holding hands after nearly forty years together, looking uncertain. They‟d

both talked to him about commitment, compromise, honesty, and

communication. He and Alyssa might be committing, but so far, they

sucked at the other three virtues.

When he‟d called to tell his parents that he was getting married in six

days, he‟d leveled with them about his reasons. Since yesterday, his

mother had tried to talk him out of this—twice. He hadn‟t budged. Now,

somehow, he had to make this work.

“I‟m good,” he whispered back to Deke.

Behind Luc‟s parents sat his sisters and their families, a handful of

aunts, uncles, and cousins, Deke‟s wife, Kimber, along with her brothers,

Logan and Hunter, a few of Luc‟s close friends and colleagues. His side of

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Shayla Black

the room was full to bursting, and he could have invited more. Alyssa‟s side

was virtually empty.

Tyler sat in the second row, scowling as if he‟d like to kill someone.

Why the man hadn‟t tried to stop this wedding, demanded parental rights,

or even a paternity test, puzzled Luc. Maybe Alyssa had asked him to step

aside, and Tyler‟s pride kept him from fighting for her. Even so, Luc wasn‟t

sure how the guy was restraining himself. He wouldn‟t. Then again, maybe

Tyler hadn‟t wanted to shoulder the responsibility for his baby.

Jack and Morgan Cole sat behind the bouncer. Some of the other

dancers and restaurant staff were scattered in various rows, dressed in

their Sunday best. The first row, usually reserved for family, sat empty.

Until now, he hadn‟t thought to wonder if her family would be coming.

The fact none had made him hurt for her. At the hospital after Alyssa‟s

attack, Tyler had claimed she had no family. Seriously? Not one single

blood relation who cared enough to see her on her wedding day?

Luc rolled his shoulders and stared at his bride. God, that sounded