Emily McKay - Baby for the Tycoon

“We’ll even play along,” Claire added in. “Anything you need from us, you’ve got.”

“But when you’re off playing house together, just be very careful.”

For a long moment, Wendy had no idea what to say. She turned away from their careful scrutiny and walked over to the bassinet where Peyton lay sleeping.

She thought about the conversation she’d had with Jonathon before they’d signed the prenup. Apparently, he wasn’t the only one who thought she was in danger of falling in love with him. And here she’d thought she’d hid her attraction to him so well over the years. Was she really so transparent?

Glancing back at Kitty and Claire, she forced a perky smile. “Look, I admit Jonathon is a great guy. I’ve always thought so. But I know his dating history probably better than either one of you. I know he doesn’t open up easily. I’m not going to make the mistake of falling in love with him.”

Claire and Kitty exchanged nervous glances, seeming to have an entire conversation with just their eyebrows.

“What?” Wendy demanded after a second, crossing back to the sofa to get a better view of their unspoken exchange.

Claire kept her mouth shut.

But it was Kitty who admitted, “Actually, it’s him we’re worried about.”

Wendy sank back to the sofa. “You’re worried about Jonathon? Falling in love with me?”

Claire nodded.

“Not me falling in love with him, but him. Falling in love.

With me.”

Kitty gave an elegant wave of her hand. “Obviously we don’t want to see you left brokenhearted either. But you’re a smart woman. Very practical. We just assumed you can look out for yourself.”

“But you’re worried that Jonathon, the brilliant, analytical CFO is going to get his feelings hurt?” Wendy fought back a giggle.

“Well,” Claire hedged. “Yes.”

Wendy looked from one woman to the other, her amusement fading. “You’re serious?” They nodded.

“I know that Jonathon seems…” Claire trailed off, searching for the right word.

“Detached,” Kitty provided. “Ruthless.” Claire glared her into silence. “You’re not helping.” “Like a heartless bastard,” Wendy offered quietly. “Yes!” Kitty agreed.

“But he really isn’t,” Claire said quickly. “Don’t forget, I’ve known him longer than you have.”

Which was technically true. Claire had grown up in the same small town as Matt, Ford and Jonathon. “But you’re younger than he is. You didn’t even go to school together.”

“We overlapped some,” Claire argued. “And I’ve seen him in love. Senior year, he was…” she trailed off, apparently struggling to convey the full force of his emotion. “He was just head over heels in love. Crazy in love with this girl. He would have done anything for her.”

“Who was she?” Wendy found herself asking.

Claire hesitated. “Just a girl at school. Kristi hadn’t grown up in Palo Verde. Her parents were divorced and she moved there to live with her dad her sophomore year.”

“And they dated?”

“A little.” Then Claire shrugged. “I think mostly he just chased her. She flirted a lot. He was completely determined to win her over. Any grand gesture you can imagine an eighteen-year-old guy making, he made it. Flowers, jewelry. The whole nine yards.”

Flowers and jewelry? She knew he didn’t have a lot of money growing up. He’d once told her he’d started saving money for college when he was twelve. She couldn’t even imagine the man she knew taking money out of his precious college fund to buy gifts. For a girlfriend.

“Once,” Claire said, leaning forward and warming up to the story, “she told him that her mother always bought her birthday cake from the same bakery. She’d grown up in San Francisco. So for her birthday, the guys made a road trip out to San Francisco to buy her a cake. On a school day. They got in so much trouble.” Claire chuckled for a second. Then seemed to realize how much she’d revealed about herself. Her blush returned as she sank back against the sofa.

“You were a little bit of a stalker, weren’t you?” Kitty asked, grinning.

“I had a crush on Matt. That’s all.” Then she smiled smugly. “Besides, he eventually came around.”

“I’ll say.” Kitty bumped her shoulder against Claire’s in easy camaraderie.

“So what happened?” Wendy asked, unwilling to leave the thread of Jonathon’s story dangling. “Why did they break up?”

“That’s the thing.” Claire gave a little shrug. “I’m not sure they were ever really together. And not long after the birthday cake thing, she moved back in with her mother. Jonathon was…”

“Heartbroken,” Kitty supplied.

“No.” Claire frowned thoughtfully. “He was just never the same.” She gave her head a little shake, as if she was returning to the present. “But I know it’s still there, buried inside of him. The capacity to love like that.”

Claire and Kitty exchanged another one of those pointed glances and Wendy felt a stab of envy. This girl he’d loved, Kristi… Wendy had never been loved like that. Kitty and Claire, that’s what they had with their husbands. But no one had ever felt that way about Wendy.

She pushed herself to her feet. “I don’t think you have to worry. He doesn’t love me. I’m sure of it.” She forced a bright smile. “You can go home and rest assured that I’m not going to crush his delicate heart beneath my boot heel.”

“It’s not just you we’re worried about.” Kitty stood also and looked across the room to the bassinet. “What about Peyton?”

“What about Peyton?”

“Have you ever seen Jonathon with Ilsa?” Kitty asked.

“I—” Then she broke off. Remembering that she had, once, seen him holding Ilsa. Right after she’d been born, Wendy had brought flowers by and Jonathon had been there, an expression of pure wonder on his face as he held the baby.

She nodded, rubbing at her temple, trying to dispel the tension headache that was spiking through her head. When had this all gotten so complicated?

“He’s fantastic with kids,” Kitty was saying. “He adores Ilsa. He’s been bugging us to have another one in fact.”

“And if you are getting married just to fool your family,” Claire said. “And he falls in love with you or that darling little girl, how do you think he’s going to feel when you end the marriage?”

“I—” What could she say to that? She’d never imagined Jonathon might fall in love with her. The idea was preposterous. But Peyton? Yeah. She could imagine that. And if they really were married for two years—it might take that long—then he’d have plenty of time for Peyton to wrap him around her tiny finger. She looked up at Kitty and Claire and found them watching her expectantly. “All I can say, is that when… if we get divorced, I wouldn’t dream of keeping him away from Peyton. If he wants to see her, that is. From this moment on, I’ll think of him as her father. Just as I think of myself as her mother.”

Jonathon as a father. The idea was… so foreign. So odd. Yet, she knew in her heart that Kitty and Claire were right to warn her. He was doing this amazing thing for her. She didn’t want him to get hurt because of it and she would do everything in her power to make sure he didn’t. She only wished she was half as confident in her ability to protect herself.

After a long moment, Kitty stood and gave a dramatic sigh. “Very well, then. I suppose there’s only one thing left to do.”

“What’s that?” Wendy asked, hesitantly. Kitty’s face broke into a smile. “Welcome you to the family.”