Baby Bonanza

Seven

It was a long night.

As if they’d destroyed the invisible barrier keeping them separate, Jenna and Nick came together again and again during the night. Until finally, exhausted, they fell into sleep just before dawn.

When Jenna woke several hours later, she was alone in the big bed. Pushing her hair out of her eyes, she sat up, clutched the silky white sheet to her chest and stared around Nick’s room as if half expecting him to appear from the shadows. But he didn’t.

Carefully, since her muscles ached, she scooted off the bed, wandered down the hall to her own room and walked directly to the bathroom. As she took a long, hot shower, her mind drifted back to the night before and she wondered if things would be different between them now. But if she thought about that, hoped for it, how much more disappointed would she be if it didn’t happen?

Nick had made no promises.

Just as he had made no promises last year during their one amazing week together.

So basically, Jenna told herself, she’d made the same mistake she had before. She’d fallen into bed with a man she loved-despite the fact that he didn’t love her.

“Oh, man.” She rested her forehead against the aqua and white tiles while the hot, pulsing streams of water pounded against her back. “Jenna, if you’re going to make mistakes, and hey, everyone does…at least make new ones.”

Out of the shower, she dried off and dressed in a pair of white shorts and a dark green tank top. Then she sat on her bed and tried to figure out her next move. The only problem was, she didn’t have a clue what to do about what was happening in her world. This had all seemed like such a simple idea. Come to Nick. Tell him about the boys. Go home and slide back into her life.

But now, everything felt…complicated.

Muttering under her breath about stupid decisions and consequences, Jenna glanced at the clock on the bedside table and noticed the phone. Instantly her heart lifted. That’s what she needed, she realized. She needed to touch base with the real world. To talk to her sister. To listen to her sons cooing.

Grabbing the receiver, she immediately got the ship’s operator, gave them the number she wanted and waited while the phone on the other end of the line rang and rang. Finally, though, Maxie picked up and breathlessly said, “I don’t have time for salesmen.”

Laughing, Jenna eased back against the headboard of her bed and said, “Hello to you, too.”

“Oh, Jenna, it’s you.” Maxie chuckled a little. “Sorry about that, but your babies are making me a little insane.”

She jolted away from the headboard, frowning at the phone in her hand. “Are they okay?”

“They’re fine,” Maxie assured her. “I’m the one who’s going to be dead soon. How do you do this every day? If I ever forget to tell you how amazing I think you are, remind me of this moment.”

“Thanks, I will. So the boys are good?”

“Happy as clams,” her sister said, then paused and idly asked, “although, how do we know clams are happy? It’s not like they smile or whistle or something…”

“One of the great mysteries of the universe.”

“Amen.”

In the background, Jenna heard both the television set blaring and at least one baby crying. “Who is that crying?” she asked.

“Jacob,” Maxie told her and her voice was muffled for a minute. “I’m holding Cooper and giving him a bottle and Jake wants his turn. Not exactly rating a ten on the patience scale, that boy.”

“True, Jake is a little less easygoing than Cooper.” Jenna was quiet then as Maxie brought her up to date on the twins’ lives. She smiled as she listened, but her heart ached a little, too. She wanted to be there, holding her sons, soothing them, feeding them. And the fact that she wasn’t literally tore at her.

“Bottom line, everything’s good here,” her sister said finally. “How about you? How did Nick take the news?”

“He doesn’t believe me.”

“Well, there’s a shocker.”

Jenna rolled her eyes. Maxie wasn’t a big fan of Nick Falco. But then, her sister had been wined, dined and then dumped by a rich guy a couple of years before, and ever since then she didn’t have a lot of faith in men in general-and rich men in particular.

“He took the DNA test, though, and was going to have the results faxed to our lab. He should have proof even he can’t deny in the next day or two.”

“Good. Then you’re coming home, right?”

“Yeah.” Jenna plucked at the hem of her shorts with her fingertips. She wouldn’t stay on board ship for the whole cruise. She’d done what she’d come here to do, and staying around Nick any longer than was necessary was only going to make things even more complicated than they already were.

“I love my nephews,” Maxie was saying, “but I think they’re as ready to see you as I am.”

“I miss them so much.” Her heart pinged again as she listened to the angry sound of Jake’s cry.

“Uh-huh, now tell me why you really called.”

Jenna scowled. “I called to check on my sons.”

“Oh, that was part of it. Now let’s hear the rest,” Maxie said.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Hold on, have to switch babies. Cooper’s finished and it’s Jake’s turn.”

Jenna waited and listened to her sister talking to both of the boys, obviously laying Cooper down and picking Jake up as the infant’s cries were now louder and more demanding. She smiled to herself when his crying abruptly shut off and knew that he was occupied with his bottle.

“Okay, I’m back,” Maxie said a moment later. “Now, tell me what happened between you and Nick.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know exactly what I mean and the fact that you’re avoiding the question tells me just what happened,” her sister said. “You slept with him again, didn’t you?”

Jenna’s head dropped to the headboard behind her and she stared unseeing up at the ceiling.

“Jenna…”

“There wasn’t a lot of sleeping, but yeah.”

“Damn it, Jenna-”

She sat up. “I already know it was a mistake, so if you don’t mind…”

“A mistake? Forgetting to buy bread at the market is a mistake. Sleeping with a guy who’s already dumped you once is a disaster.”

“Well, thanks so much,” Jenna said drily. “That makes me feel so much better.”

Maxie blew out a breath, whispered, “It’s okay, Jake, I’m not yelling at you. I’m yelling at your mommy.” Then she said louder, “Fine. Sorry for yelling. But Jenna, you know nothing good can come of this.”

“I know.” Hadn’t she awoken in an empty bed, with no sign of the tender lover she’d spent the night with? Nick couldn’t have been more blatant in letting her know just how unimportant she was to him. “God, I know.”

“Come home,” Maxie urged.

“I will. Soon.”

“Now.”

“No,” Jenna said, shaking her head as she swung her legs off the bed and sat up straight. “I have to talk to him.”

“Haven’t you said everything there is to say?”

Probably, Jenna thought. After all, it wasn’t as if she was going to tell him she loved him. And wasn’t that the only piece of information he was missing? Hadn’t she done what she’d come here to do? Hadn’t she accomplished her mission and more?

“Maxie…”

Her sister blew out a breath, and Jenna could almost see her rolling her eyes.

“I just don’t want to see you destroyed again,” Maxie finally said. “He’s not the guy for you, Jenna, and somewhere deep inside, you know it. You’re only asking to get kicked in the teeth again.”

The fact that her sister was right didn’t change anything. Jenna knew she couldn’t leave until she’d seen Nick again. Found out what last night had meant to him, if anything. She had to prove to herself one way or the other that there was no future for them. It was the only way she’d ever be able to let go and make a life for herself and her children.

“If I get hurt again, I’ll recover,” she said, her voice firming as she continued. “I appreciate you worrying about me, Maxie, but I’ve got to see this through. So I’ll call you when I’m on my way home. Are you sure you’re okay to take care of the boys for another couple of days?”

There was a long moment of silence before her sister said, “Yeah. We’re fine.”

“What about work?” Maxie was a medical transcriber. She worked out of her home, which was a big bonus for those times when Jenna needed a babysitter fast. Like now.

“I work around the babies’ nap schedules. I’m keeping up. Don’t worry about it.”

“Okay, thanks.”

“Jenna? Just be careful, okay?”

The door to the suite opened and a maid stepped in. She spotted Jenna, made an apologetic gesture and started to back out again.

“No, wait. It’s okay, you can come in now.” Then to her sister, she said, “The maid’s here, I’ve got to go. I’ll call you soon. And kiss the boys for me, okay?”

When she hung up, Jenna didn’t know if she felt better or worse. It was good to know her sons were fine, but Maxie’s words kept rattling around in her brain. Yes, her sister was prejudiced against wealthy men, but she had a point, too. Jenna had been nearly destroyed after she and Nick had split apart a year ago.

This time, though, she had the distinct feeling that the pain of losing him was going to be much, much worse.

Nick had never thought of himself as a coward.

Hell, he’d fought his way to the top of the financial world. He’d carved out an empire with nothing more than his guts and a dream. He’d created a world that was everything he’d ever wanted.

And yet…a couple of hours ago, he’d slipped out of bed and left Jenna sleeping alone in his room because he hadn’t wanted to talk to her.

“Women,” he muttered, leaning on the railing at the bow of the Splendor Deck, letting his gaze slide over the shoreline of Acapulco, “always want to talk the morning after. Always have to analyze and pick apart everything you’d done and said the night before.”

But there was nothing to analyze, he reminded himself. He’d had her, just as he’d planned, and now he was through-also as he’d planned.

Of course his body tightened and his stomach fisted at the thought, but that didn’t matter. What mattered was that he’d had Jenna under him, over him, around him, and now he could let her go completely. No more haunted dreams. No more thinking about her at stray moments.

It was finished.

Scowling, he watched as surfers rode the waves into shore while tourists on towels baked themselves to a cherry-red color on the beach. Brightly striped umbrellas were unfurled at intervals along the sand, and waiters dressed in white moved among the crowd delivering tropical drinks.

So if it was finished, why the hell was he still thinking about her?

Because, he silently acknowledged, that night with her had been unlike anything he’d experienced since the last time they’d been together. Nick wasn’t a monk. And since he was single, he saw no problem in indulging himself with as many women as he wanted. But no woman had ever gotten to him the way Jenna had.

She made him feel things he had no interest in. Made him want more than he should. That thought both intrigued and bothered him. He wasn’t looking for anything more than casual sex with a willing woman. And nothing about Jenna was casual. He already knew that.

So the best thing he could do was stay the hell away from her.

Better for both of them. He pushed away from the railing in disgust. But damned if he’d hide out on his own blasted ship. He’d find Jenna, tell her that he wasn’t interested in a replay of last night-and now who was lying? Turning, he was in time to see Jenna walking toward him, and everything in him tightened uncomfortably.

In the late-morning sunlight, she looked beautiful. Her blond hair hung loose about her shoulders. Her tank top clung to her breasts-no bra-and his mouth went dry. Her white shorts made her lightly tanned skin look the color of warmed honey. Her dark blue eyes were locked on him, and Nick had to force himself to stand still. To not go to her, pull her up close to him and taste that delectable mouth of hers again.

She hitched her purse a little higher on one bare shoulder and tightened her grip on the strap when she stopped directly in front of him. Whipping her hair back out of her eyes, she looked up at him and said, “I wondered where you disappeared to.”

“I had some things to take care of,” Nick told her and it was partially true. He’d already fired the band that had refused to clean up their act, hired another one and was expected at a meeting with the harbormaster in a half hour.

But he’d still been avoiding her.

“Look, Nick-”

“Jenna-” he said at the same time, wanting to cut off any attempt by her to romanticize the night before. Bad enough he’d done too much thinking about it already.

“Me first, okay?” she spoke up quickly, before he had a chance to continue. She gave him a half smile, and Nick braced himself for the whole what-do-I-mean-to-you, question-and-answer session. This was why he normally went only for the women who, like him, were looking for nothing more complex than one night of fun. Women like Jenna just weren’t on his radar, usually. For good reason.

“I just want to say,” she started, then paused for a quick look around to make sure they were alone. They were, since this end of the Splendor Deck was attached to his suite and not accessible to passengers. “Last night was a mistake.”

“What?” Not what he’d been expecting.

“We shouldn’t have,” she said, shaking her head. “Sex with you was not why I came here. It wasn’t part of my plan, and right now, I’m really regretting that it happened at all.”

Instantly outrage pumped through him. She regretted being with him? How the hell was that possible? He’d been there. He’d heard her whimpers, moans and screams. He’d felt her surrender. He’d trembled with the force of her climaxes and knew damn well she’d had as good a time as he had. So how the hell could she be regretting it?

More, how could he dump her as per the plan if she was dumping him first?

“Is that right?” he managed to say through gritted teeth.

“Oh, come on, Nick,” she said, frowning a bit. “You know as well as I do that it shouldn’t have happened. You’re only interested in relationships that last the length of a cruise, and I’m a single mom. I’m in no position to be anybody’s babe of the month.”

“Babe of the month?” He was insulted, and the fact that he’d been about to tell her almost exactly what she was saying to him wasn’t lost on him.

She blew out a breath and tightened the already death grip she had on the strap of her purse. “I’m just saying that it won’t happen again. I mean, what happened last night. With us. You and me. Not again.”

“Yeah, I get it.” And now that she’d said that, he wanted her more than ever. Wasn’t that a bitch of a thing to admit? Not that he’d give her the satisfaction of knowing what he was thinking. “Probably best that way.”

“It is,” she said, but her voice sounded a little wistful. Or was he hearing what he wanted to hear?

Strange, a few minutes ago, he’d been thinking of ways to let her go. To tell her they were done. Now that she’d beaten him to the punch, he felt different. What the hell was happening to him, anyway?

Whatever it was, Nick told himself firmly, it was time to nip it in the bud. No way was he going to be tripping on his own heartstrings. Not over a woman he already knew to be an accomplished liar.

Besides, she hadn’t come on this trip for him, he told himself sternly, but for what he could give her. She’d booked passage on his ship with the sole purpose of getting money out of him. Sure, it was for child support. But she still wanted money. So what made her different from any other woman he’d known?

“I’m attracted to you,” she was saying, and it looked like admitting that was costing her, “but then I guess you already figured that out.”

Was she blushing? Did women still do that?

“But I’m not going to let my hormones be in the driver’s seat,” she told him and met his gaze with a steely determination. “Pretty soon, you’ll be back sailing the world with a brunette or a redhead on your arm and I’ll be back in Seal Beach taking care of my sons.”

The babies.

Hers? His?

He wasn’t going there until he knew for sure. Instead, he decided to turn the tables on her. Remind her just whose ship she was on. Remind her that he hadn’t come to her, it had been the other way around.

“Don’t get yourself tied up in knots over this, Jenna,” he said, reaching out to chuck her under the chin with his fingertips. “It was one night. A blip on the radar screen.”

She blinked at him.

“We had a good time,” he said lightly, letting none of the tension he felt coiled inside show. “Now it’s over. End of story.”

He watched as his words slapped at her, and just for a minute he wished he could take them back. Yet as that feeling rushed over him, he wondered where it had come from.

“Okay, then,” Jenna said, her voice nearly lost in the rush and swell of the sea below them, tumbling against the ship’s hull. “So now we know where we stand.”

“We do.”

“Well, then,” she said, forcing a smile that looked brittle, “maybe I should just fly home early. I can catch a flight out of Acapulco easily enough. I talked to my sister earlier and she’s going a little nuts-”

He cut her off instantly. “Are the babies all right?”

She stopped, looked at him quizzically and said slowly, “Yes, of course. The boys are fine, but Maxie’s not used to dealing with them twenty-four hours a day and they can be exhausting, so-”

“I’d rather you didn’t leave yet,” he blurted.

“Why not?”

Because he wasn’t ready for her to be gone. But since admitting that even to himself was too lowering, he said, “I want you here until we get the results from the DNA test.”

Her gaze dropped briefly, then lifted to meet his again. “You said we’d probably hear sometime today, anyway.”

“Then there’s no problem with you waiting.”

“What’s this really about, Nick?” she asked.

“Just what I said,” he told her, taking her arm in a firm grip and turning her around. Heat bled up from the spot where his hand rested on her arm. He fought the urge to pull her into him, to dip his head and kiss the pulse beat at the base of her throat. To pull the hem of her shirt up so he could fill his hands with her breasts.

Damn, he was hard and hot and really irritated by that simple fact.

Leading her along the wide walkway, he started for his suite. “We’ve got unfinished business together, Jenna. And until it’s done and over, you’re staying.”

“Maybe I should get another room.”

“Worried you won’t be able to control yourself?” he chided as he opened the door and allowed her to precede him into the suite.

“In your dreams,” she said shortly, and tossed her purse onto the sofa.

“And yours,” he said.

Jenna looked at him and felt herself weakening. It wasn’t fair that this was so hard. Wasn’t fair that her body wanted and her heart yearned even as her mind told her to back away. She had to leave the ship. Soon.

In the strained silence, a beep sounded from another room, and she glanced at Nick, a question in her eyes.

“Fax machine.”

She nodded and as he walked off to get whatever had come in for him, Jenna headed for his bedroom. All she wanted to do was get the underwear she’d left in there the night before. And better to do it while he was occupied somewhere else.

Opening the door, she swung it wide just as Nick called out, “It’s from the lab.”

If he said anything else, she didn’t hear him. Didn’t even feel a spurt of pleasure, knowing that now he’d have no choice but to believe her about the fact that he was the father of her sons.

Instead Jenna’s gaze was locked on his bed, and her brain short-circuited as she blankly stared at the very surprised, very naked redhead stretched out on top of Nick’s bed.