Authors: Tessa Dayne
“He cheated on me, Daddy. I don’t want a man like that for the father of my baby,” Paige said, reaching for Jonas’s hand.
“You don’t get to make that decision, Paige. You have to tell Darren he’s going to be a father. I don’t like him, never did, but he deserves to know about the baby.”
Paige nodded. “I know you’re right, Dad. But I just don’t know what kind of father Darren will make.”
“Well, that is his problem, yes?”
Paige nodded, wondering how things had gotten so bad with what should have been happy news for her and her family.
“Well, I for one am happy for you Paige. You have always wanted a baby,” Maria said, looking at her father-in-law. “And if Jonas is the man that makes you happy, then I am happy for the both of you. Congratulations.”
William Harper glanced from his daughter-in-law to his daughter. “Maria is right. We need to look on the bright side of this and see the silver lining,” he said.
Paige smiled briefly, holding Jonas’s hand in hers. This had not gone as well as she thought it would. She never dreamed her father would take Darren’s side on this, but he had and now she had a decision to make that would affect not only her, Jonas and her baby, but Darren and the rest of her family, as well.
“You okay?” Jonas asked, concerned over her silence.
“Dad’s probably right. Darren needs to know about the baby.”
Jonas didn’t want the paparazzi stalking Paige or the baby. On the other hand, he did not need Darren interfering in their lives either. “I’ll be right back,” he said, leaning over to kiss her cheek quickly.
Maria slid next to Paige as Jonas left, wrapping her fingers around hers. “I’m so sorry about Marcus. He was out of line.”
“He’s my brother. I disappointed him.”
“Well, I’m his wife and he had best watch his “Ps” and “Qs” or he’ll be sleeping in the dog house. That was no way to speak to you.”
“Thanks, Maria. You have always been so good to me,” Paige said, leaning her head on Maria’s shoulder.
“I am happy for you, Paige. You must love Jonas very much.”
“I do love him, Maria. I thought I loved Darren, but...” Paige said, watching Jonas across the room.
“I understand. He was exciting at first, and then you just fell into a habit.”
“A bad habit, as it turns out. Not just for me either. Darren had a parade of women in and out of our lives and I was just too blind to see it. He wasn’t any happier than I was. I guess we just never could admit it to ourselves.”
“Maybe with the baby coming, you both can be honest with each other.”
“I doubt that, Maria. I have lied to him. I doubt he will be as accepting of the truth now.”
“C’mon, let’s go get a cup of tea. I want to hear all about your trip to New York. I am sure there is a lot to tell. And you can start with meeting Jonas.”
Paige followed Maria into the kitchen and sat at the kitchen table while Maria set the kettle on the stove.
“Maria, can I ask you a question?” she asked quietly.
“Sure. You can ask me anything.”
“When you were pregnant with the boys, did you know right away? I mean, I’m three months and I never guessed. What’s wrong with me?”
“Nothing is wrong with you, Paige. Every pregnancy is different. A woman can be pregnant more than once and they can be all different too,” Maria said, taking two mugs from the cupboard.
“With Adam, I was sick at all times of the day and night. I worked the swing shift at the hospital then and my body could never decide what time it was. With Liam, I was only sick the first three months, and when I got pregnant with Jon, I was exhausted all the time and I craved spicy foods.”
“
Do you remember when Patrice was pregnant with the twins? She was in the hospital for two months, flat on her back so she wouldn’t lose them. And so sick, she needed an IV to keep fluids in her.”
“I should have figured it out, though, right?” Paige asked, twirling her spoon in her fingers.
“You have been working long, hard hours on the Kline account. You have been stressed out with Abner Watkins, and then had a shock finding out about Darren and the other woman. It’s understandable that you missed the signs.”
“I drank a lot…wine mostly. I’m scared. What if I hurt my baby?”
“You call your doctor, get a referral to an OB and we will deal with everything as it happens. You are not alone, Paige. You need to stop beating yourself up. Not knowing you are pregnant happens to women every day. Hell, there’s a television show about women giving birth to babies when they didn’t even know they were carrying a child.”
“So I’m not the worst mother in the world?”
Maria laughed and hugged Paige tight. “No, Paige, you are not the worst mother in the world.”
~*~
Chapter Four
~*~
Darren Armstrong slipped into the library just before closing, and passed by the front desk. He smiled absently at the blond woman behind the counter and headed straight for the public computers. He had seen more of the inside of the library in the last week than he had while he was in school.
He sat at the desk, turned on the computer and waited for it to connect to the Internet. Once he had a strong connection, he went to a search engine and typed in Jonas Barnett. A list of matching web sites came up and he started clicking on them.
A sly smile slid over his lips as he read the highlights of an article he found on a web site for a national tabloid. If there was one article mentioning his whereabouts during the time in question, there was bound to be more. All he had to do was continue searching and he would find the truth.
~*~
Jonas closed the bedroom door and leaned back against the hard wood. It had been a long day, and an even longer evening. His head was pounding and he ached all over. All he wanted to do was crawl in bed and hold Paige.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t since his soon to be father-in-law asked them to sleep in separate rooms tonight. He had wanted to continue on to the cabin tonight, but William had insisted that they wait until morning, since the weather had gotten nasty after dinner.
So here he was, in Marcus’s bedroom, wishing he were anywhere but here. Ryan had stayed as well, and he was down the hall in his own room. The twins’ mother had picked them up and Marcus had driven his own family home. Paige was right across the hall, in her childhood bedroom. All he had to do was slip out and sneak into her room.
No, he would honor William’s request and sleep alone tonight. It was something they both had to get used to eventually as he was leaving for Madrid soon. He had been looking forward to filming
El Dorado
. Now he wasn’t sure, since it would take him half way around the world and out of reach for months at a time.
Sighing, he eased away from the door and slipped out of his clothes. Crawling into bed, he pulled the covers up to his waist. As he lay there, his thoughts returned to Paige and the baby. He had been worried about the family knowing the truth, but after explaining, even Marcus had understood the reasons behind the lies.
As he laid there, his eyes closed, thinking of the future, he heard the door open and close softly. Peeking into the night, he saw a shadow move across the floor.
“Paige?” Jonas moved aside and slid to the wall, allowing her the room to crawl in beside him. He breathed in the fresh smell of her hair and smiled. She had taken a shower before coming to see him. “Your father is going to kill me,” he whispered, wrapping his arms around her.
“I couldn’t sleep,” she said, cuddling close to him, pushing her bottom against him.
Jonas groaned, feeling intense desire rip through him. God, this woman sent him over the edge. He wanted her so badly and yet he was trying desperately to honor his promise to her father.
“Paige? Please….”
When she didn’t answer him, Jonas leaned up on one elbow and looked down at her. She was sound asleep. Shaking his head, he lay back down and gathered her into his arms, pulling her tight against his chest. He could wait one night to make love to her. Tonight he really just wanted to hold her.
~*~
William Harper lay in his bed, a smile on his weathered face. He had heard the bedroom door creak open and her footsteps on the wooden floor, the old boards announcing her destination. As much as Jonas had tried to whisper, he had heard his harsh sounding words in the night, too.
Smiling, he closed his eyes, satisfied with the man his daughter had chosen. He had been shocked with the story that they had told the family, shocked that Darren had treated her so badly and no one knew. He had also been surprised to find his little girl was having a baby, and genuinely touched that Jonas had protected her
He might not show it as often as he should, but he loved Paige with all his heart. If Jonas Barnett was the man to make her happy, then he didn’t care how they met, or even when. It was enough to see the bright smile on her beautiful face, the face of his dear, beloved Elizabeth.
“She picked well, my love,” he whispered to the night. “You would be so proud of her and you would love Jonas. He’s handsome, intelligent, and talented. I know I gave him a hard time, but he stood up to me. I know he will stand up to Paige. He will take good care of her.”
He listened to the silence of the night, the only sound, the wind howling against the house outside. With a smile and pressing his hand to his heart, William Harper closed his eyes, saying goodnight to his wife.
~*~
Jonas opened his eyes, and groaned at the bright light shining in his face. Turning, he found his whole body ached. He also found he was alone. Sitting up, the covers falling to his waist, Jonas scanned the room, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
There was a knock on the door and as he was about to call out for the visitor to come in, it opened. Paige slipped inside, already dressed, with a tray in hand.
“Good morning, sweetie,” she said cheerfully.
“Morning. What time is it?”
“It is almost nine,” she said putting the tray of food on the dresser. “Dad wanted me to let you sleep longer, but I really want to get on the road. I want you all to myself. We will never get that here. So, hop to it!” she cried, yanking the covers off the bed.
“Paige! What if I had been naked under here?”
“I just left your bed not more than an hour ago. If you were naked, I would have known,” she said with a wicked grin.
“You are playing with my life, you do know that? Your father could be right outside that door!” he said, pointing at the opened door.
“And he is,” William said loudly. “Daughter, let the man get dressed in peace!”
Jonas grabbed the covers and yanked them around his waist, scowling at Paige as she laughed her way out of the room. The woman was going to be the death of him, one way or another. As the door closed, he had to laugh. This family was nothing like his, and yet, he felt like a part of it already.