Dani Wade - Son Of Scandal

“I wasn’t drunk,” he said quietly.

“Which leaves only one alternative.” Turning away, Ivy pressed her hand hard against her stomach. The chaotic emotions rushing through her did not help her morning sickness at all. Though why they called it that, she’d never know. Hers was more like morning, noon and night sickness.

“Are you okay?” Paxton asked, his voice sounding closer. Sure enough, a quick glance confirmed he was on his feet and halfway around the table already.

“No,” she snapped. She breathed slow and deep, in through her nose, out through her mouth. So far the only things she’d found that helped when the nausea hit at its random times were to keep very still and stay calm. This situation wasn’t conducive to either.

“Besides, there are other issues to consider.”

“Like what?”

She realized he wasn’t going to let her get away with not answering that question. But her brain was seriously on strike right now. Thinking things through wasn’t her strong point. All she knew was that anything she said about her family could potentially do a lot of damage.

Not just for herself and any custody battles she found herself in, but also for Jasmine. Even though her sister had a fiancé with clout now, the news of the Harden sisters’ true heritage could break her event-planning business if the McLemores decided to go after her.

“I can’t... I can’t talk about that right now. My stomach—” She hated to use illness to get herself out of this discussion, but at least this overwhelming sickness came in handy for something.

“Okay,” he conceded.

But she had a feeling she wasn’t getting off easy. Suddenly he stood before her with his legs braced and his arms crossed over his chest.

“But remember,” he said, “I can’t fix what I don’t know.”

“I’m not sure this can be fixed.” Ivy gasped against a wave of nausea. “I just...I need time.”

“We don’t have an infinite amount of that left.”

She glanced up to find him facing her, big body braced, arms crossed over his chest, causing his dress shirt to strain over smooth muscle. He opened his mouth. Then closed it. All while staring at her.

“What?” But she was almost afraid to ask. Paxton wasn’t the type of guy to be at a loss for words.

“Did you do this on purpose?”

Wow. Ivy swayed. Or did she? Maybe it just felt that way with her mind reeling. She really had been delusional to think he might feel anything for her...hadn’t she?

Her chest was too tight with hurt for her voice to come out more than a whisper. “Is that really how you see me?”

His answer was too matter-of-fact for her liking. “No. But people can hide a lot.”

Just like he had. He’d hidden a lot of suspicion behind caring, hadn’t he? “There’s nothing I can say to convince you that I didn’t deliberately get pregnant, Paxton,” she said with more resignation than conviction. “That’s gonna be a problem, isn’t it?”

“Probably.”

* * *

She doesn’t look so fierce in her sleep.

Paxton stared down at Ivy as she rested on the sofa in the Hardens’ front parlor. Her tousled hair looked the same as it had on the morning that he’d left her in his bed, but her face was thinner now. A slight frown rested between her brows, as if she couldn’t get comfortable, even in her sleep.

Uneasy with the softening of his emotional defenses, Paxton forced his gaze away from her to the surrounding room. He took in the antique furniture mixed with a few well-worn pieces and lots of soft feminine touches. The living space seemed well used and designed for comfort, while respecting the past.

“She’s plumb tuckered out all the time,” the older woman the sisters called Auntie said as she came up beside him.

Paxton glanced over at her, unease filtering through him. “Is this level of sickness dangerous? I don’t remember either of my sisters having this problem.”

Sierra rarely got sick at all. Janine had spent the first three months throwing up every morning, then she was fine the rest of the day. But they were both very emotional—conversations could turn into minefields without warning.

“Oh, it isn’t dangerous,” Auntie said with a wave of her hand. “As long as we keep enough food in her, she and the baby will be fine. Not comfortable, by any stretch of the imagination. But safe.”

Paxton suppressed a smile. “Good to know.”

“It’s all been rough on her—” Auntie went on, shifting slightly “—between the sickness, how this all came about and getting used to the idea of bringing a new life into the world. That’s a lot for a girl to take in.”

Paxton was well aware. “I bet.”

“She’ll be a good mama, though. You’ll see.”

Finally Paxton let his gaze return to the sleeping beauty. He knew Ivy to be capable, efficient, eternally prepared for any number of clients’ demands. The night of the masquerade, he’d discovered just how passionate she could be. The last thing he’d wondered about her was what kind of mother she’d be.

Guess he better start considering the possibilities.

That’s not why I’m here. Paxton shook his head slightly. He’d spent the night vacillating between sheer panic and endless questions. Not the joy that he’d felt each time his sisters had announced their pregnancies.

He’d realized immediately after leaving yesterday that he’d taken the wrong tack. Letting their emotions take control wouldn’t get them anywhere. Especially not him. It was the first time he could remember his emotions overtaking his logic so completely. A scary place for him to be.

So he’d returned this afternoon for a bit of reconnaissance. His best option for moving forward and answering his own questions about this whole situation was information.

Information about Ivy outside of their professional exposure to each other. Information about her family and the environment the child would be born into. That way he could make decisions and plans based on what he thought was best.

This situation wasn’t ideal. It was what it was. He just needed a plan of action.

He forced his gaze away. Focus on the plan. Not on the woman.

“Thank you for having me,” he said, turning up the wattage on his smile as he glanced back at Auntie. Just as he had yesterday, he’d noticed her limp as she’d led him from the front door, into the parlor. She had the pinkish complexion of health, but also the slight droop of exhaustion in her expression. Even this early in the evening.

“Oh, these girls keep me busy,” she said, “but it makes life happy, you know?”

“I do, indeed. My family is a big part of my life also.”

And he was not looking forward to hearing their thoughts when they found out he’d gotten his assistant pregnant. Definitely not what they’d had in mind when they urged him to start a family. Of course, it wasn’t what he’d had in mind, either. Family had been the last thing he’d been thinking about when he’d taken Ivy to bed that night.

“I love having a big family,” Auntie was saying, “Even though they came to me later in life. Do you have a big family?”

Paxton smiled and chatted about his two sisters and all his nieces. He truly loved his family, even when they were driving him crazy. He’d always been close with his siblings and his parents and grandmother. As the only grandson, they had high expectations for him and his future family. Almost as high as he had for himself.

Having a baby with Ivy didn’t fit into the plan. His stomach twisted as he imagined their disappointment. But regardless of whether this baby fit his stringent requirements for having children, the baby existed. Paxton was not the kind of man who could simply walk away.