For the Sake of Their Son (The Alpha Brotherhood #5)(12)
Author: Catherine Mann

Lucy Ann stared down into the amber swirl of her juice glass. “Is it so wrong to want an ordinary life? I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, but normal, boring, well, I’ve never had that. I crave it for myself and my child, but it feels so unattainable.”

“That’s a tough one, isn’t it? These men are many things, but normal—delightfully boring—doesn’t show up anywhere on that list.”

Where did that leave her? In search of what she couldn’t have? Or a hypocrite for not accepting Elliot the way he had accepted her all her life? She ran from him. As much as she swore that he pushed her away, she knew. She’d run just as fast and hard as he’d pushed.

“Thank you for the advice, Hillary.”

Her friend sighed. “I’m not sure how much help I’ve been. But if you need to talk more, I’m here for you. I won’t betray your confidences.”

“I appreciate that,” Lucy Ann said, and meant it, only just realizing how few female friends she’d ever had. Elliot had been her best friend and she’d allowed that to close her off to other avenues of support.

“Good, very good. We women need to stick together, make a sisterhood pact of our own.” She winked before ducking toward the stroller. “Little Eli is adorable, and I’m glad you’re here.”

Lucy Ann appreciated the gesture, and she wanted to trust. She wanted to believe there could be a sisterhood of support in dealing with these men—even though she wouldn’t be married to Elliot. Still, their lives were entwined because of their child.

A part of her still wondered, doubted. The wives of Elliot’s friends had reached out initially after she left, but eventually they’d stopped. Could she really be a part of their sisterhood?

“Thank you, Hillary,” she said simply, her eyes sliding back to Elliot standing with his friends.

Her hand moved protectively over to the handle of her son’s stroller, her throat constricting as she took in the gleaming good looks of her baby’s father. Even his laugh seemed to make the stars shimmer brighter.

And how frivolous a thought was that?

She definitely needed to keep her head on straight and her heart locked away. She refused to be anyone’s obligation or burden ever again.

* * *

Elliot hoped Rowan and Mariama’s marriage ceremony would soften Lucy Ann’s mood. After all, weren’t weddings supposed to make women sentimental? He’d watched her chatting with his friends’ wives and tried to gauge her reaction. She knew them all from her time working as his assistant, and seeing this big extended family connected by friendship rather than blood should appeal to her. They’d talked about leaving their pasts behind countless times as kids.

They could fit right in here with their son. A practical decision. A fun life.

So why wasn’t she smiling as the bride and groom drove away in a BMW convertible, the bride’s veil trailing in the wind?

Shouldering free of the crowd, Elliot made his way toward Lucy Ann, who stood on the periphery, their son in a stroller beside her. Even though he’d arranged for a nanny who’d once worked for a British duke, Lucy Ann said she couldn’t let her son stay with a total stranger. She would need to conduct her own interview tomorrow. If the woman met her standards, she could help during Eli’s naps so Lucy Ann could keep up with the work obligations she hadn’t been able to put on hold. The encounter still made Elliot grin when he thought of her refusing to be intimidated by the very determined Mary Poppins.

He stopped beside Lucy Ann, enjoying the way the moonlight caressed her bare shoulders. Her hair was loose and lifting in the night wind. Every breath he took drew in hints of her, of Carolina jasmine. His body throbbed to life with a reminder of what they could have together, something so damn amazing he’d spent eleven months running from the power of it.

Now, fate had landed him here with her. Running wasn’t an option, and he found that for once he didn’t mind fate kicking him in the ass.

Elliot rested his hand on the stroller beside hers, watching every nuance of her reaction. “Are you ready to call it a day and return to our suite, or would you like to take a walk?”

She licked her lips nervously. “Um, I think a walk, perhaps.”

So she wasn’t ready to be alone with him just yet? A promising sign, actually; she wanted him still, even if she wasn’t ready to act on that desire. Fine, then. He could use the moon and stars to romance her, the music from a steel drum band serenading them.

“A walk it is, then, Lucy dear,” he asserted.

“Where can we go with a baby?”

He glanced around at the party with guests still dancing along the cabana-filled beach. Tables of food were still laden with half shares of delicacies, fruits and meats. A fountain spewing wine echoed the rush of waves along the shore. Mansions dotted the rocky seashore, with a planked path leading to docks.

“This way.” He gestured toward the shoreline boardwalk, all but deserted this late at night. “I’ll push the stroller.”

He stepped behind the baby carriage. Lucy Ann had no choice but to step aside or they would be stuck hip to hip, step for step.

Five minutes later, they’d left the remnants of the reception behind, the stroller wheels rumbling softly along the wooden walkway. To anyone looking from the looming mansions above, lights shining from the windows like eyes, he and Lucy Ann would appear a happy family walking with their son.

Tonight more than ever he was aware of his single status. Yet again, he’d stood to the side as another friend got married. Leaving only him as a bachelor. But he was a father now. There was no more running from fears of becoming his father. He had to be a man worthy of this child. His child with Lucy Ann.

She walked beside him, the sea breeze brushing her gauzy dress along his leg in phantom caresses. “You’re quite good at managing that stroller. I’m surprised. It took me longer than I expected to get the knack of not knocking over everything in my path.”

He smiled at her, stuffing down a spark of anger along with the urge to remind her that he would have helped in those early days if she’d only let him know. “It’s just like maneuvering a race car.”

“Of course. That makes sense.”

“More sense than me being at ease with a child? I’m determined to get this right, Lucy Ann, don’t doubt that for a second.” Steely determination fueled his words.

“You used to say you never wanted kids of your own.”