More Than a Millionaire (The Hightower Affairs #1)(25)
Author: Emilie Rose

Jacqueline Hightower looked down her nose at her oldest daughter. “That is my grandbaby Nicole is carrying, and Ryan Patrick has no idea how dangerous a pissed off Hightower can be.”

Trent sat forward in his chair. “We’ll go after him with both barrels, Nicole.”

Nicole’s vision blurred and tears burned hot trails on her cheeks. She might lose her baby, but she wouldn’t have to go through it alone. She’d have her family beside her. And while she’d always wanted the Hightowers to be closer, this wasn’t exactly what she had in mind.

“Flowers for you,” Lea said from Nicole’s doorway late Monday afternoon.Nicole looked up. A large arrangement of mixed blooms in shades of peach, cream, orange and yellow completely obscured her assistant’s torso. “They’re beautiful.”

Lea set them on the corner of Nicole’s desk and turned to go without her usual fifty questions. That was odd, but Nicole let it go. Lea had been tiptoeing cautiously since Nicole had given her the full story two weeks ago.

The sweet fragrance of the blooms filled Nicole’s nose as she searched for a card. Who had sent them and why? It wasn’t her birthday. She hadn’t done anything to warrant an extravagant thank-you from a client. Nor was she the type of woman who regularly—if ever—received flowers from an admirer.

Perhaps Beth had sent them as an apology?

She couldn’t find the card. “Lea, did you take the card?”

“I have it.”

Ryan’s deep voice brought her head up with a jerk. Her stomach and pulse fluttered wildly. She hadn’t heard from him in two weeks, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t been constantly in her thoughts.

He strolled in wearing a black suit, pale yellow shirt and another one of his geometric print ties, this one in greens, blacks and yellows. The man liked his lines which was not surprising since he drew buildings for a living. The small white envelope he held between his fingertips explained why Lea hadn’t been pawing through the blooms. She’d known who had the card.

Nicole folded her arms. “My lawyer says I’m not supposed to talk to you.”

The slow, sensual way Ryan’s intense blue gaze rolled over her reminded her of the night in his bedroom. Beneath her conservative navy suit her skin flushed and dampened. She sank back into her chair, exhaling in a futile attempt to ease her tension.

“Then you must not have talked to her today.” He shut her office door, enclosing them in a mouth-drying intimacy. She wasn’t ready for this.

“What do you mean?”

“Your sister and brother-in-law have dropped their custody suit. This is between you and me now.” He offered the card.

Nicole reluctantly accepted it. She hadn’t liked anything he’d given her to read thus far. She slipped the seal and pulled out the plain white folded square. A brass key fell out and clattered onto her desk.

Your new address, he’d written in bold script, followed by a Knoxville street address.

She searched his serious face. “What does this mean?”

“You claimed the house was perfect for raising a family. I bought it. For you.”

She shook her head. “Me? I don’t understand.”

“We both want what’s best for our child. I want you to raise our baby in that house.”

Raise our baby in that house. Her heart thumped harder. This sounded too good to be true. She must have misunderstood. “I still don’t understand. Why are you doing this, Ryan? What’s in it for you?”

“No one will love our child more than you. Consider custody and the house my gifts to the baby. To both of you. The deed will be in your name as soon as you sign the papers.”

He circled her desk and leaned forward to plant his hands on the arms of her chair, trapping her with his body and those mesmerizing blue eyes. He bent his elbows until his face was level with hers.

Nicole tilted back her head. Her mouth watered. She dampened her lips, wanting his kiss. How could she still want him after what he’d done? And did she dare trust him? Was this a trick? It had to be.

His eyes tracked the sweep of her tongue, but he didn’t move any closer. “There’s a catch.”

Her brain slowly caught gear and shifted forward. Of course there was a catch. “What kind of catch?”

“I want to live there with you.”

He wanted to live with her? She shot backward, rolling the chair out of his reach and bolted to her feet. Pain and disappointment vied for supremacy. “Is this another sneaky, underhanded way to get your father to leave you Patrick Architectural? How low will you go, Ryan?”

He clenched his fists by his sides. “I screwed up. I had tunnel vision. My father has been nagging me for grandchildren for years. I decided to give him exactly what he asked for. I saw the brass ring and nothing more.

“After my ex-wife’s betrayal I swore I’d never let anyone or anything matter that much again. But I was wrong. I’d never met anyone like you, Nicole. Someone who always put others first. Someone who gave even though it ripped her heart out. I didn’t trust it. I didn’t trust you. Now I do.”

He stepped closer. She backed up.

“You’re always doing for others. When was the last time someone did something for you?”

She put the chair between them. “Taking care of others is my job.”

“That’s professionally. I meant personally.”

“I can take care of my needs.”

“Then it’s about time someone spoiled you. Let me be that someone. Teach me how.”

She didn’t dare believe that tender look in his eyes. It had to be fake, another go at hoodwinking her. “Ryan, what are you trying to pull?”

He extracted a thick business-size envelope from his jacket and she rolled her eyes. Déjà vu. The return address from her attorney’s office caught her eye. “I asked Meredith Jones to let me deliver this personally.”

Her attorney would never have trusted him with anything that could hurt her. Nicole snatched the envelope from his hand and ripped it open. She recognized Meredith’s handwriting on the short notepaper clipped to a thick sheaf of papers.

Nicole,I’ll go over the legalese with you later, but the gist is, Ryan Patrick has signed papers granting you sole custody of the baby you carry. He’s waived all parental rights if, but only if, you raise the child. He would like visitation, but is not forcing the issue.

Details later, but this is legit.Congratulations, Mommy.

Meredith

Mommy. Nicole clutched the papers to her chest and searched Ryan’s face. “What about Patrick Architectural?”He shrugged. “I’m damned good at what I do. If my father chooses to sell P.A., then I’ll move on. I can join another firm or open my own.”

“Why, Ryan? Why walk away from something that matters so much to you?”

He inhaled then exhaled slowly. “Because your generosity blows me away. You’re the only woman I’ve ever met who never asked ‘What’s in it for me?’ I’ve fallen in love with you, Nicole.”

Her heart stuttered then lurched into a wild rhythm. She was afraid to believe the emotion thickening his voice and the love she saw in his eyes. She couldn’t handle getting her heart broken again.

Her lips quivered. “Don’t try to manipulate me with lies.”

He flinched. A nerve in his jaw twitched. “I deserve that. But I have never lied to you except by omission. The passion we shared was real. I know I hurt you. I’d like the chance to make it right. I’m hoping you’ll eventually find room in that generous heart of yours for me.”

He pushed the chair aside and dropped to one knee. “I want to marry you, Nicole, raise a family with you and spoil you like you’ve never allowed anyone else to do. But mostly, I want the chance to love you. And I want you to teach me how to be as giving as you are.”

She couldn’t speak. She ached so badly for what he said to be true. When the silence stretched between them he paled, bowed his head. A few seconds later he nodded and rose stiffly.

“The house and baby are yours. No strings attached. I would like to be as involved in your life and our child’s as you’ll let me. But if you can’t handle that, I’ll accept your decision and keep my distance.”

He turned and strode toward the door, and it was as if he’d taken her heart and all the oxygen in the room with him as he walked away. She’d never felt so empty. She hadn’t hurt this much when she’d realized she’d lost Patrick. Like she couldn’t breathe. Like her legs wouldn’t support her. Like her world would end without him in it.

This body-consuming craving, the necessity to keep him close was love.

What she’d felt for Patrick had been a tepid imitation. And loving more than once didn’t make her weak, like she’d always thought her mother to be. Love gave her the strength to try again until she got it right. And this time she had the right man. Ryan. If she didn’t let him get away.

“Ryan, don’t go.”

He stopped with his hand on the doorknob and slowly pivoted. His face looked drawn and composed, as if he’d donned a mask. But hope flickered in his eyes, and it was that trace of emotion he couldn’t hide that told her he wasn’t lying about loving her and not just their child.

“I want everything you said. With you. Only you. I love you. And I want to raise this baby—our baby—with you.”

Love softened his entire face and his tender smile made her eyes burn with happy tears. He quickly closed the distance between them and swept her into his arms and off her feet. He buried his face in her neck and hugged her with almost rib-cracking strength as if he never wanted to let her go.

He drew back, met her gaze and slowly eased her back onto her feet. “On one condition.”

She stiffened.

“You start putting yourself first for a change, because you’re the one who matters the most to me.”

“I’ll see what I can do, but I might need your help fulfilling that request.”