She didn’t bother to answer him, only raised her eyebrow in return.
He laughed and shook his head. “Okay, so you don’t know me. I’m willing to get to know you. Let me at least take you to dinner. We can talk, get to know one another, I’ll prove my sterling qualities to you and then….”
She almost laughed at that, but the situation was too dire and her body was still on fire for him. “There will be no ‘and then’ during any scenario with you, Damien. And no, I don’t want to get to know you. I thought you were getting a puppy,” she came back. “Why don’t you just pick one out and bring it back to your niece? I’m sure she’ll be thrilled to have one of the dogs. Labs are great with kids as long as the kids are willing to play with them. They’re very gentle and kind, but beware if you live near water.”
His eyes showed his curiosity. “What’s wrong with water?” he asked.
She smiled. “Historically, Lab are working animals, bread to help fishermen. They’re also great at retrieving hunting prey. But they absolutely love water. They will dive into water with careless abandon and will look back at you, begging you to get into the water with them.” She stopped and looked up at him. “Do you have water around your home?” she asked, not wanting to be curious, but unable to help herself. She told herself she was only asking for Dylan’s sake. One day, he might want to know about his father.
“Yes, my home has a pond and other water features. I also have a summer home near the ocean on the Adriatic Sea.”
Jemma grimaced. “Water features as in something nice and beautiful with plants around it?” She was more than a little stunned about the “summer home” idea. She struggled to pay her mortgage each month but this man had a “summer home”.
“The gardener can replace any damaged plants.”
Good grief, the man had a gardener as well? She cleared her throat and looked down, feeling depressed all of a sudden. This man was completely out of her league. Even if they did go to dinner, he would quickly realize that she was country bumpkin while he was city vogue.
She turned away. “If you’re willing to deal with the consequences, then choose whichever you think will suit your niece. Keep in mind though that all dogs are pack animals.” She turned to look up at him, wanting him to understand this point. “When you adopt a dog, that dog considers you his or her pack. You have to treat that dog like you would family.” She watched him carefully, his eyes amused at her warnings. “Maybe your niece would prefer a kitten,” she finally said, irritated that he thought her warnings were funny.
“Adriana is allergic to cats. And I believe she has her heart set on a dog. She’s even chosen a name.”
Jemma thought that was cute since Dylan loved to name the puppies. Every day, each puppy had a new name. “What’s today’s name?” she asked. It always thrilled her when she came across someone who truly wanted a dog and would treat the animal well.
“Maisey, I believe,” he replied and Jemma could see that he was restraining himself from rolling his eyes.
“Is she here?” Jemma asked.
He shook his head. “I travel a great deal. I don’t want her schedule disrupted, so she stays with her nanny at my house.”
Jemma didn’t like the sound of that, but she didn’t want to judge. “A yellow lab would be a great companion for her then,” she said and started walking out of the barn.
She realized that her knees were wobbly and her body was not completely back to normal, but then again, Damien was still here. Her life wouldn’t be normal until he was out of her life again.
“I’ll write you a check,” he said, following her.
Jemma nodded, continuing into her house. As she opened the door, she tried to pretend like her hands weren’t shaking. Jemma quickly realized she should have stayed outside during the transaction. Damien was such a large man, and her kitchen was small. He towered over her and his shoulders were broad, making her kitchen feel even tinier. “The cost is only five hundred dollars,” she told him, moving to the other side of the room.
His eyebrows went up with her claim but he pulled a checkbook out of his breast pocket and scribbled out the amount. “Will you help me pick one out?”
Jemma took a deep breath, wanting to be close to him, to feel the sizzle of his energy, but she also knew that would be dangerous. “I can’t. I have work to do with the horses,” she said.
“How will I know which one is good for Adriana?”
She waved in the general direction of the barn. “I showed you the two that would be good for her.”
He chuckled. “I think you have a sixth sense for the animals, but that does not translate to my skills. As far as I could tell, there were golden balls of fur out there with pink tummies. Other than that, I have no idea which puppies were the ones you discussed.”
He had a point. She did know the animals. “Fine,” she replied with ill-grace. Going right back out there, she led him to the barn once more but stood as far away from him as possible. “Okay, here’s a good little lady,” Jemma said, handing the wiggling puppy to Damien. There was an awkward moment when his hand brushed against her breast during the transfer, but their eyes collided and she pulled back quickly.
Damien held the ball of fluff away from him, trying to not get licked. It was a pointless effort, she thought. That little puppy was going to get him no matter what. The puppy was just too affectionate.
“She’ll do,” he finally said.
Jemma sighed with relief. “Great. I’ll get her shot records.”
Jemma hurried out of the barn, going to her house once more. She pulled the correct records, glancing at the form to make sure that it was properly filled out. When she turned back, she found Damien in the hallway, his eyes captured by pictures of Dylan. Jemma’s stomach muscles tightened, terrified that he would recognize his son in those pictures.
“He’s very cute,” was all Damien said, holding the puppy carefully.
He then turned to face Jemma. “If you change your mind about dinner, call me,” he said and handed her a card with his private cell phone on it.
With that, he walked out of her house, and hopefully, out of her life.
Jemma sat down on her worn out sofa. She should be feeling relieved. She’d dodged a bullet in Damien not realizing that Dylan was his son, but she didn’t feel very good about it. She felt worse, actually.
But if she’d told him about his son, what would he do?
He had a summer house. And a gardener! And a nanny!
What did she have? Puppies and great horse breeding stock. And a lot of cheap land. There was no way she could fight Damien if he tried to take Dylan away from her.
She couldn’t fight him if he tried to take her son. But maybe that was the price she had to pay for keeping Dylan a secret all these years. Okay, so she’d tried to find Damien six years ago and failed. She’d tried desperately hard, driving the streets where the party had been held every night with the hopes that he might be driving around there as well.
She shouldn’t have left that morning. She shouldn’t have been so scared that she’d had to run away. But in her defense, what she’d felt back then was scary! She’d had boyfriends before, but she’d never allowed them to go beyond kissing after a date. So finding herself in a man’s bed was a shocking and humiliating reality.
Despite her reservations, she knew what she had to do. Her parents had raised her to be honest and fair. Granted, the rest of the world didn’t always reciprocate, but that didn’t mean she should lower her own morals.
With shaking fingers, she dialed the number on the card. He answered almost immediately and she shivered when she heard his “Si?” as he answered her call.
The Italian, coming across the line only adding to his appeal, made her stammer more than she’d like. “Damien, it’s me. Jemma.”
“So soon?” he laughed. “You’ve changed your mind about dinner,” he said with satisfaction. “I’m glad.” That Italian accent was stronger now as his voice deepened. “I’ll have a driver pick you up.”
Jemma shook her head, her hand sliding through her hair, messing up what used to be a neat pony tail. “No. I need to talk to you. But I can’t get a babysitter. Can you come back? I know this is an imposition. And it sounds very strange since you just left but I…”
“I’ll be back in five minutes,” he told her and ended the call.
Jemma sighed, tossing the phone back onto the counter, wondering how she was going to break this to him. How could she tell a man that had just bought a puppy for his niece that he also had a son? “Surprise!” she said sarcastically to the air. Her house felt stuffy with all of her worries floating through the small rooms. She almost ran outside but came to a skidding stop when that long, elegant limousine turned the corner onto her driveway. Had it really been five minutes? She wasn’t ready! She needed more time! She couldn’t believe what was happening and turned her back, pacing along the gravel at the top of her driveway.
She had no idea how to tell the man that Dylan was his son. It was strange, crazy. She couldn’t believe that she was in this position. When she hadn’t been able to find Damien so many years ago, she’d accepted that Dylan was her son, that she would raise him alone. And she’d been perfectly fine with that! She’d turned her parents’ vegetable farm into a horse farm and she’d done well enough to support herself and Dylan. So why was she worried now?
She was afraid Damien would take Dylan away from her.
When the back door to the limousine opened and Damien stepped out, she could barely breathe. She wanted to scream at him to go away, to just leave them both alone, but she couldn’t. It wasn’t right. She should have been honest with him as soon as he’d seen Dylan. She’d been afraid Damien would recognize his son but now, needing to tell him the truth, she felt like she was going to throw up.
Damien looked like he was going to take her into his arms but she stepped back, her terrified eyes looking up at him. “Dylan is your son,” she blurted out. Then waited.
She watched the reaction in his eyes, wondering when the anger would explode. But the eyes didn’t change much. “My son?” he asked, amusement lacing his reaction. “How nice.”
Jemma blinked. “That’s it? That’s all you have to say?”
Damien shook his head. “What would you like me to say?”
Jemma stood up straighter. Her shoulders relaxed and her face broke out with a smile. “You’re not angry?” She looked at him distrustfully. “Why aren’t you angry? You just discovered that you have a son that you’ve never met.” With that statement, she tensed again. “I tried to find you. I drove around for hours every night after I got off from work trying to find you.” Her hands were fists by her side and she braced herself once again for his anger. “I shouldn’t have left you that morning. Goodness, there shouldn’t have even been a morning! Or a night! I should never have left with you that night! It wasn’t like me to do that.” She looked up at him, blushing since she remembered when he’d discovered that she’d been a virgin. “Anyway,” she said, pretending like her face wasn’t in flames, “what’s in the past is over. And I understand if you are angry with me. But don’t take it out on Dylan. He doesn’t deserve any of this. He’s a good kid and he doesn’t ask about you now, but he might. And I won’t know what to tell him but since you drove up, I’ve come to realize that it is possible to…”
She stopped, shook her head when she realized that she was rambling and closed her mouth. Looking back up at him, she waited for his reaction.
He didn’t look angry. He looked amused. “Jemma, if you need money, just ask. I’m a very generous lover.”
Jemma pulled back when he started to reach for her again. “Lover? No…” she stopped and ran his words through her mind. “Money? Why would I want money?”
Damien looked around, noting the fence that needed mending, the roof that surely had leaks and the tiny house that he wouldn’t even use as a storage shed. “Are you saying you don’t need money?”
Jemma shook her head. “No. I’m fine. We’re not rich, but we manage.” She still didn’t understand his reaction. “You’re not angry?”
He laughed. “Of course you need money. But you don’t need to pretend that your son is also mine. I think we could care for each other quite well without the other issues.” He started to take her hands in his. “Let’s just talk through the details.” He took her hand and moved her towards the fence-line, his eyes scanning for the horses, impressed with what he saw. The house and fence might be in poor repair, but the horses and puppies in the barn were in excellent health. He loved riding and knew excellent horse-flesh when he saw it. “I can even help you with the running of this farm.”
She pulled her hand away. “I don’t need your help. And I definitely don’t need your money, Damien. If you’re not interested in knowing your son, then fine. I don’t care.” But she did! Unexpectedly, she really, really did!
Jemma couldn’t believe how hurt she was, both at his assumptions that she wanted money as well as him assuming she was lying. Goodness, what kind of woman did he think she was?
That wasn’t fair, she admonished herself. Perhaps the women he dated were more mercenary than she could understand. That didn’t mean she liked it, but it would definitely explain his cynicism.
Jemma took a deep breath. “That’s why I called you back here,” she said with both relief and disappointment.
He was surprised. “That’s all?” He moved closer but stopped when she stepped back as well. “Jemma, you don’t have to be embarrassed. I understand.”
Jemma laughed, suddenly feeling relieved. “I have no clue what you understand, Damien, but I don’t want your money. I don’t even need you in Dylan’s life. He’s a great kid and I can handle things all on my own.”
Damien’s eyebrows drew down lower over his eyes. “You’re serious? You really think that your son is mine?”
She shook her head. “No, Damien. I’m saying that you donated the sperm. Dylan is my son.” She crossed her arms over her chest and glared up at him. “We’re perfectly fine on our own. I only called you back because I needed to be honest with you.”