The Boss's Baby Affair (5 page)

In Nick's arms Jennie gave a squawk. The geese slowed. He chuckled. “That's my girl. Give 'em hell!”

Candace frowned, but forced herself to bite her lip and say nothing.

“Look—” Nick took a step forward and pointed “—more ducks.”

Unable to stop herself, Candace hurried up beside him. “Careful, don't drop the baby!”

Nick returned his hand to Jennie's waist, anchoring her securely against him. To Candace's increasing annoyance, he ignored her and murmured to Jennie, “Those are woodland ducks. I used to feed ones just like that in the creek near my grandmother's cottage when I was a boy.”

After a second, Candace's curiosity got the better of her. She knew so little about Nick, and what she'd read in the business newspapers and gossip pages mentioned nothing about a grandmother. It made him seem more human. “You lived with your grandmother?”

“Yes, she was a tough lady with a heart of gold. She never complained when I'd sneak a loaf out of the pantry to feed the ducks, even when times were tight.” Hitching Jennie higher up against his shoulder, he said, “What about seeing if there's anything on the café's menu that's suitable for Jennie?”

Candace waved to the stroller where it stood surrounded by ducks. “I've got a tumbler with diluted juice she can have, and some apple slices…if the ducks haven't gotten to them. We don't need to go to the café.”

“I still owe you a coffee by way of an apology.”

Candace gave him a measuring look “Oh, all right then.” Then realizing he might well be affronted by her lack of enthusiasm, she added, “That would be nice.” And it would have the added bonus of getting them away from the water's edge where Jennie's flock of new feathered friends hovered.

She held out her arms for the baby. Nick hesitated for a fraction of a second, then surrendered Jennie. Candace stepped backward.

“Careful!”

Nick leaped forward as she stumbled. Candace teetered, grabbing at him with one hand, clinging to the baby with the other, her eyes fixing on Nick in fright.

“Jennie!” she pleaded.

For a split second Candace was aware of the solid warmth of his body, the heavy thud of his heart, before the sobs of her own panicky breath drowned it all out, and Nick's arms locked around Jennie. Jennie was safe.

To Candace's horror, Nick started to slide along the grassy bank down to the water, Jennie still clasped in his arms. He landed with a dull splash, feetfirst in knee-deep water.

The baby didn't even squeak. Instead, Jennie was hanging over his arm, reaching for the surface of the lake.

Nick was laughing. “None of that,” he said as Jennie flapped her arms furiously, frantically trying to free herself from his grasp. “No swimming today.”

Candace didn't think it was the least bit funny.

Yet looking down at Nick, water rippling around his suit pants, his Italian shoes totally submerged beneath the lake's reflective surface, she felt a stab of totally inappropriate desire. Jennie had almost landed in the lake, and she was lusting after Nick Valentine?

What was wrong with her?

“That was close!” she said, as her breathing slowed.

Nick chucked the little imp under her chin and Jennie gave him a toothless smile.

“She's fine.”

She forgot that he'd swept the baby to safety. Anxiety and lust coalesced into anger. “It's not funny—she could've fallen in.”

His smile faded. In a blink he was back to the distant, narrow-eyed businessman. “I wouldn't have you drop her.”

She suppressed the flare of resentment at his suggestion that
she'd
almost dropped Jennie, when
he'd
been the one to take the baby out of the stroller in the first place. “You might not have been able to stop it.”

“I would've done everything in my power.”

Nick placed one foot on the bank, Jennie still squirming in his hold. “Hey, stop it, miss. You
will
end up going swimming if you carry on like that!”

“Nick!”

At her warning shriek, Nick glanced up.

“Look out!” Candace was almost incoherent with apprehension.
“The geese.”

He jerked his head around as Jennie's fingers jabbed in the direction of a goose who'd silently paddled up behind them. He swung the baby away, but it was too late. Jennie's wail rent the air.

Rushing to the water's edge, Candace blocked his way as Nick clambered back onto the bank.

Jennie was screaming, her face cherry-red with protest, her hand limp.

Candace reached for the pecked fingers. “Let me see!” Her head bent over Jennie's reddened finger. “Ouch.”

“The skin's not broken.”

His words set a torch to her already frayed emotions. “Don't be so callous!” Nick started to object, but she overrode him. “It's going to need cleaning. Heaven knows what might've been in that bird's beak.”

“The café has a bathroom where you can clean it up, and I've got a first-aid kit with some antiseptic in the trunk of my car.”

Candace glared at him. “I've got a rudimentary first-aid kit in the stroller—enough to deal with this.” She drew a shuddering breath, stunned at how quickly everything had happened—and at the extent of her fear. “Jennie should not have been taken out of the stroller.”

Nick stared at Candace in disbelief. “
Now it's my fault?
She wanted to get out.”

“She could see perfectly well from where she was.”

“You're overreacting,” he said tersely.

A fresh wave of anger flooded her. “She got hurt because of
you.
”

“Oh, please. That kind of thing is a normal part of growing up. It happens.” He was studying her in a way that made her grow tense. “You're shaken up. I'll take Jennie and clean her up.”

What was he getting at? Was he implying she was too emotional to do her job, to look after Jennie? “I'll do it! You can bring the stroller and the first-aid kit.”

To Candace's distress, Jennie's wails grew louder as they stormed along the winding pathway up the rise to the café. The little body huddled against her was rigid with outrage.

 

As he waited for Candace to return from tending to Jennie's pecked finger, Nick couldn't stop thinking about Jennie's puckered-up little face glaring at him accusingly over Candace's shoulder as she'd been borne away.

Candace was right.

Jennie had been hurt.

And he could've—should've—avoided it.

Sometime in the past twenty-four hours he'd connected with Jennie. Nick silently promised himself that in the future he was going to make sure he spent more time with the baby so
innocent of the treachery surrounding her conception. And, as little as he wanted to admit it right now, he had Candace to thank for opening his eyes to the fact that his life—what was important in it—was getting away from him.

By the time Candace and Jennie joined him at the table in the sunny sheltered spot outside the café, Jennie had stopped crying. After Candace secured her in the stroller, the baby lay back and focused intently on the Micky Mouse Band-Aid wrapped around her finger.

Nick winced. “Is it very bruised?”

“A little red. But no bruising—and no blood.”

“That's a relief.”

A black-skirted waitress who'd been hovering while Nick waited took their coffee order. As an afterthought, Candace added a request for biscotti.

“Jennie will enjoy chewing it—the teeth coming through have been niggling her.”

Nick glanced at the baby. The stroller had been angled so the hot February sun didn't fall on Jennie's face, but her eyelids were drooping. “The biscotti might have to wait. She looks sleepy.”

Candace leaned forward across him and a hint of that sexy, spicy perfume wafted over Nick. It was becoming all too familiar—and so was the intoxicating effect her closeness had on his senses. He inhaled slowly and resisted the urge to stroke back the curl that had fallen over her face.

“She's already asleep.” Candace couldn't hide her astonishment. “The shock and tears must've tired her out.”

Nick sensed implied accusation. “It's been a long morning for her—an outing to the doctor, the ride in the car, the fresh air and the excitement of seeing the ducks. It all added up.” He fixed his gaze on Candace, challenging her to mention the mishap with the goose.

Her lips pursed and she sat up straight. “There's something you need to know.”

Folding his arms behind his head, Nick rocked back on his chair and gave her a lazy smile. “What is that?”

“I haven't been completely honest with you.”

His smile disappeared. “What do you mean?”

Nick thought about Candace's alarm when the goose pecked Jennie. It had hardly been the cool composure he would've expected from a nurse. Alison had sworn her references had been top rate. Was she a fraud? Not a nurse at all? Had she taken his sister in? “Don't tell me. Not only are you not a nanny, you're not a nurse, either.”

“I
am
a nurse—I'm fully qualified to take care of Jennie,” she said quickly.

The way his stomach dropped forced Nick to take a steadying breath. How bad could it be? “Spit it out.”

“I'm Jennie's biological mother.”

Nick blinked. Whatever he'd expected, it wasn't this. It took a moment for him to absorb her statement, and once he'd digested it, the tension in his belly unwound like a compressed spring uncurling and he let out a shout of laughter. “Don't be absurd!”

“I'm not being absurd. I
am
Jennie's mother.”

Nick took in the set of her pink mouth, the sparkle in her eyes—and lust, wholly unwelcome, surged in his groin. Giving her a slow smile, he lowered his voice and murmured, “Do you honestly believe I would've forgotten making love to you?”

“No!” A flush stained her cheeks. “I don't mean you…” Her voice trailed away.

“Yet you claim to be Jennie's mother.”

Disappointment flooded Nick. The woman might look like an angel, but she was the worst kind of fraud. A fallen angel. He didn't know what she was after yet, but Nick was sure he would find out. All it would take was patience—and he'd always possessed plenty of that. He settled down to play her for all he was worth.

“Yes, but—”

“But? You're suddenly no longer so certain?” Nick raised an eyebrow to express his disbelief. As she rushed into speech, he raised a hand to cut her off. “Before you sink yourself any further, you should know that even though I was away on a string of business trips
while Jilly was pregnant,
” he emphasized, “I certainly
never
messed around during my marriage.”

“I'm not implying—”

“Then what are you suggesting?” he asked silkily.

“Jilly is not the baby's mother. I am.”

She spoke Jilly's name with easy familiarity. As if she'd known her…

Nick's eyes narrowed.

Was it possible that the connection between the women was his late wife's lover—Jennie's father? Was that what this whole charade of pretending to be Jennie's mother was all about? This must be what she'd been hinting at when she'd told him earlier that she wanted to talk to him about Jennie.

“So let me get this straight. Are you trying to say that Jennie was switched at birth?” Nick drawled.

“No.”

“What do you mean, ‘no'?”

“I agreed to be a surrogate mom.”

It wasn't possible. Candace had to be lying!

Nick's initial amusement had been replaced by impatience. He knew she was going to lose this battle. The sooner he got this crazy woman out of Jennie's life the better. “Look, I don't have time for this—”

“You don't have time for your daughter's mother?”

He'd had enough. Nick rolled his eyes and rose to his feet. Taking his wallet, he drew out a fifty-dollar bill and a business card. He held them out to her. “For a cab—when you leave. But first go to my office, it's in the block at the entrance. My assistant will have a check ready by the time you get there, together with severance pay. I'll call her now to arrange it.”

Candace made no move to take the card or the money. He shrugged and dropped them on the table. A downward glance revealed that Jennie was still asleep in the stroller. If luck was on his side she'd remain that way until he'd gotten her home and called an employment agency to hire a new nanny—one he'd vet himself this time. If worse came to worst, he'd call his sister.

He wheeled the stroller to the cashier inside the café, greeted her by name and asked her to call a cab. Without question she reached for the phone. Nick smiled and waved to the manager on the opposite side of the coffee shop, and pushed Jennie back out into the sunshine.

“Wait.”

A hand came down on his arm. Nick brushed her off and kept walking, stroller trundling in front of him. About twenty yards down the path, Candace rushed in front of him, blocking his way, and this time she grabbed his arm with enough force to ensure he wouldn't easily shake her off.

Her eyes were intense and angry, spitting smoke. “You're firing me? For being Jennie's mother?”

Nick glared back at her. “I might not have been there at Jennie's birth, but I sure as hell saw that Jilly was pregnant! I'm firing you for being a charlatan…a liar…a fraud. Take your pick. Just count yourself lucky you hadn't raised the issue of money yet or we could've added blackmailer to the list.”

He glanced pointedly down at feminine fingers spread on his arm, but what she said brought his eyes back to her face in shock.

“DNA tests don't lie.”

“Y
ou have a DNA test proving you are Jennie's mother?”

“Not anymore,” Candace said, and felt Nick's forearm tense beneath her fingertips.

“So you are lying!”

“I don't have them—they'll be in the doctor's file. One thing I'm not is a liar.” Then she tacked on, “Or a fraud.”

Candace could feel the heat in her cheeks as she belatedly snatched her hand off the fine wool of Nick's suit jacket. Even through the fabric she'd been uncomfortably conscious of the warmth of his body.

She drew a second deep breath, desperately trying to calm herself down. She couldn't let him keep Jennie. He wasn't worthy of being Jennie's—any baby's—father. But it wouldn't help to get his back up.

“Okay, maybe I handled this badly,” she said slowly. “You made me mad.”

“
I
made
you
mad?” He was frowning down at her. “Lady, I'm not the crazy one around here.”

Crazy?
Candace squinted up at him. “I'm not crazy.”

Nick didn't bother to answer. Instead, he wheeled the stroller—with her baby—away. Candace rushed after him. “Where are you taking Jennie?”

“Home!”

“Home? That glossy mansion that's as cold as an icicle isn't a home.” Nick kept walking away from her. In desperation she said, “You're not fit to be Jennie's father!”

At that his shoulders stiffened and he slowed.

Oh, no! So much for trying not to antagonize him. Well, she had no choice now but to soldier on. “Nick, you've been away for the past month, you didn't even return home when Jennie was desperately ill and you know nothing about caring for her. What else could I think?”

He turned. There was a white line around his mouth, and his face was leached of all color. “I've had enough of this. You will never get the chance to take her away—and even if I accepted a word of your insane claim, my first question would be where the hell were you when Jennie needed a mother?”

He'd homed in on the heart of her pain—her guilt. “That's not fair—I had no choice.”

Nick glared. “I still don't believe a word of this.”

Candace hesitated. She'd known from that first heart-in-her-throat moment when she'd met him that her name had meant nothing to Nick. Candace wasn't a common name, yet he hadn't even done a double take when he'd said, “You must be Candace.”

For one wild instant she'd thought he was pretending. Yet even when she'd revealed her surname, his expression hadn't changed. And finally she realized that Nick Valentine had never bothered to find out the identity of his baby's egg donor and surrogate mother. And now he was making out as though he knew nothing about it all…

Jilly had made it clear that he was a busy man, and Candace had slowly pieced together the image of a driven, workaholic
husband who cared more for his multimillion-dollar company than his wife. Jilly had assured her that was all going to change when the baby was born.

Yet Nick Valentine had shown no interest in Candace's pregnancy—unlike Jilly, who'd traveled all the way to the exclusive Namkhet Island clinic to be there while the IVF took place, who'd kept every prenatal appointment once they'd gotten back home to New Zealand, who'd visited Candace every week and bought her treats, and loved showing her photos of the nursery she was preparing for Jennie.

Right from the outset Jilly had explained that Nick hadn't wanted to meet the surrogate…that he wanted to imagine the child as his wife's. Candace had accepted the explanation. She'd so badly wanted to be convinced that she'd done the right thing—even after the stomach-churning second thoughts had started to creep in.

Now she challenged him. “You can't walk away—this is too important. You must listen to me.”

“Okay, you've got my attention…” he glanced at his watch “…for one minute.”

That was better than nothing. Speaking rapidly, she said, “Jennie's a baby. She needs a parent. I gave her to you and Jilly. I
trusted
you to look after her…to love her and—”

“You
gave
her to me and Jilly?” Nick hooted with derisive laughter.

Something wasn't adding up. “You and Jilly needed a surrogate,” Candace said slowly.

“Stop this!” His brows jerked together and glared at her again. “I'm not listening to any more of your crazy creations. My wife was pregnant… I witnessed her debilitating morning sickness, saw the pregnancy develop. Jilly gave birth to Jennie.”

Jilly hadn't been pregnant!

Candace couldn't help herself. “
You're
crazy.” She advanced
on the stroller that he'd let go and grasped the handles. “I'm not leaving Jennie alone with you.”

He tussled with her and the stroller jerked.

“You're going to wake Jennie,” she warned.

“If you think I'm going to let some deluded woman kidnap my daughter, you can think again.”

“I have no intention of kidnapping her. I'm coming with you back to your home. I'm not letting Jennie out of my sight—and if you think you can brush me off, think again. I'll walk up to every customer in this garden center and tell them I'm your baby's mother and you're trying to pay me off.”

He went very still. “Don't threaten me. I'll call the police.”

“You think I'm bluffing? Do you really want to stage a scene here…and get the police involved?”

“We'll finish this discussion at the house.” Nick gave her a killing glare, and Candace knew she'd won a temporary reprieve.

 

The drive back to the Valentine mansion passed in Arctic silence.

Once the tall, imposing electronic gates swung soundlessly shut behind them, Candace started to lose her nerve. What if Nick Valentine truly was crazy? What had she done to put herself—and Jennie—at his mercy?

The Daimler came to a stop behind a Lexus parked in the circular driveway edged by clipped boxwood hedging. The evidence that someone else was at Nick's house eased Candace's apprehension.

It would be okay; they would get this sorted out, she reassured herself. But whatever happened she wasn't abandoning her baby to Nick's negligent care. He might have all the money in the world, but she'd seen firsthand what kind of parent he was. She wasn't leaving Jennie alone with him.

A glance into the backseat showed that Jennie was still
sleeping. By the time Candace had gathered up the diaper bag at her feet, Nick had the rear door open and was carefully taking the baby out of the car. Watching him, Candace had to shove aside the momentary doubt that he was the uncaring, crazy man she knew him to be. Mr. Busby, Nick's chauffeur and handyman, had arrived and taken the stroller out of the trunk, and was carrying it up the white marble stairs to the front door.

Nick followed, cradling the baby. Jennie's mouth twitched in her sleep.

Mrs. Busby was standing inside the front door. “Mrs. Timmings is in the living room.”

Relief filled Candace. Alison Timmings was a sensible woman—even if her brother was crazy.

“I'll take Jennie to the nursery.” Nick's stare dared Candace to argue with him. To Mrs. Busby he added, “Tell my sister I won't be long, please.”

“Nick?” In the archway that opened into the living room appeared the tall brunette that Candace had first met when Jennie was admitted to hospital while Nick was away. “I heard your voice. I tried your office, but Pauline said you'd left hours ago. Where have you been?”

Without waiting for an answer, Nick's sister came toward them, her high heels tapping on the marble tiles. She smiled a greeting to Candace before making a beeline for the baby in Nick's arms. “Hello, sweetheart.”

Jennie woke and smiled at Alison, holding her short arms out wide.

Her aunt swept her up in a swarm of cooing sounds. Jennie immediately clutched a handful of pearls and thrust them into her mouth.

“Looks like she's teething, Nick.” Alison rescued her necklace from the baby.

“It would appear so.” He moved closer. “Here, give her to me.”

“I'll take her.” Candace came up on the other side of his sister.

“Thank you, Candace.” Alison surrendered the baby gracefully. For a moment Candace thought Nick was going to object to her having possession of the child, but then his sister was saying, “It's not like you to swan out of the office.”

“Hardly swanning—although we did see some black ones after I met Candace at the doctor's office for Jennie to be checked out.”

“You took her back to the doctor? Is anything wrong?” Alison asked at once, glancing to Candace for a reply.

“No, Jennie's fine,” said Candace soothingly. “She was restless last night, running a bit of a temperature, so I wanted to make sure there was no resurgence of the infection.”

“You're so good to her.”

“Thank you.” She smiled at the other woman. “I'll take Jennie upstairs so you two can talk.”

“Not so fast.” Nick moved to obstruct her. “I'm not letting you go anywhere until we've finished our discussion.”

What he meant was
I'm not letting you out of my sight,
Candace thought rebelliously.

His sister must've thought the same thing. “Nick, you're being rude—and you're frightening Candace.”

Ignoring his sister's interjection, he gave her a mean stare. “She's not frightened enough.”

“Nick!”

Even as Alison objected, Candace's heart sped up. She hugged Jennie tightly. “I'm not going to back down on the truth. You don't scare me.”

Alison glanced from Candace to her brother. “What truth? Anyone care to fill me in about what's going on?”

“Candace claims she's Jennie's mother.”

Nick's dismissive tone set Candace's teeth on edge. She still couldn't swallow that he hadn't known. “Claims? You
know
I'm Jennie's mother! You contracted me to donate the eggs
and share my womb so you and Jilly could have the child she so desperately wanted.”

“Contracted?” Nick gave a snort. “Why would I want to do that?”

Candace gave him a cold stare over the baby's head. “Because you and Jilly were unable to have your own child.”

He stared. His features tightened. “IVF worked successfully for Jilly and me.”

Jennie shifted restlessly in her arms and Candace unsuccessfully ducked her head sideways as Jennie grabbed a handful of her hair. When she'd extracted the strands from Jennie's hands she said, “Be honest. Jilly told me all about the struggles you were having—that IVF wasn't working. That's why the two of you decided to look for an egg donor, someone who could carry the baby for her. Which, of course, is where I came in.”

Now both Nick and Alison were staring at her as if she'd grown two heads.

“What?” asked Candace. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“It's true that the IVF didn't work in the initial attempts.” Nick appeared to be picking his words with care. “But then Jilly tried a new procedure at an overseas clinic.”

“What my brother is trying to say,” cut in Alison, “is that Jilly was pregnant.” With her arms she mimed a swollen belly. “Very pregnant. She gave birth—to Jennie.”

Candace gaped at them both.

A vision of Jilly clad in black leggings and a belted long cardigan floated through her mind. Jilly had been reed slim when she'd excitedly assisted the midwife at Jennie's home birth in the cottage, and bore absolutely no resemblance to the rounded belly Alison had mimed.

Hitching Jennie higher against her shoulder, Candace said slowly, “That's not possible, because Jilly was
never
pregnant.”

Alison stared at Nick and raised an eyebrow.

“She's crazy.” Nick shrugged. “I've been saying exactly the same thing as you, Alison, but she won't let go of her delusion that Jilly was never pregnant—that
she's
Jennie's mother.”

Confusion clouded Candace's brain, making it feel wooly. Was it possible that Nick Valentine and his wife had pulled off a spectacular deception, fooling even their own families that the baby was Jilly's? Had they gone as far as to fake Jilly's pregnancy? Placed padding beneath Jilly's clothing to fool everyone—even Alison? That was crazy!

Candace struggled to put her chaotic thoughts in order.

What would be the point of such a massive deception? Nick was a wealthy man, and Jilly had made it clear that Candace could name her price for her kindness, though, of course, Candace had refused all Jilly's generous offers. It was, after all, illegal in New Zealand to be paid to be a surrogate. She'd done it because Jilly had been so desperate. As a pediatric nurse, Candace had never met a woman more deserving of a baby. Her heart had gone out to the other woman as they'd become friends.

“Perhaps Mrs. Busby could make us all a cup of tea. I'll see to it.” Alison cast her brother a look that Candace couldn't interpret. “I'll also call the doctor just to check that Jennie is really going to be okay.”

Had Alison decided that Candace was unhinged? Was that the reason for the secret exchange of glances, for the call to the doctor?

“Yes, by all means let's call the doctor.” Candace pressed a kiss on top of Jennie's downy head, then lifted her lashes and gave Nick her most dulcet smile. “And while you're at it why don't you call Jilly's doctor to clear up once and for all the small matter of who really is Jennie's mother. Ask for a copy of the DNA report that was done once the pregnancy was confirmed.”

 

“The DNA report?”

Nick stared at Candace in disbelief. Was she going to persist with this? Of course there was no DNA report. An urge to snatch the baby out of her arms overwhelmed him. He quashed it. To do so would reveal how deeply her mad claims were unsettling him. Far better to play it cool.