Maureen Child - Seductive Revenge

But she hadn’t been wrong at all, Belle thought. The only thing she’d done wrong was get caught.

“Your brothers came to see me this morning.”

“They what?” The change in subject was so startling, it completely threw her off. But a second later, Isabelle gritted her teeth and rolled her eyes. This was her own fault. She had planned to tell her brothers today about Wes being in town. She should have known that they would hear the town grapevine buzzing long before that. Rubbing her fingers against her forehead, trying to fight a headache that seemed to have settled in permanently, Isabelle reminded herself that Chance, Eli and Tyler loved her. They were just being protective. They were looking out for Caroline.

Nope, trying to calm herself down wasn’t working, she thought. She was still furious. “What did they do?”

One corner of his mouth quirked in response to the tone of her voice.

“You think this is amusing?” she asked, stunned at the sudden shift in his attitude.

“I didn’t this morning,” he admitted. “When they pushed their way into my hotel room, my first instinct was to go a few rounds with them. But now, seeing how them interfering really frosts you, yeah. It’s amusing.”

“That’s great,” she said, nodding as her world tipped even farther off balance. “You’re bonding with my brothers. I should have expected that. You’re all so much alike.”

“Excuse me?”

She glanced at him. “Now you’re offended. That’s what I find funny.” Shaking her head, she said, “You don’t even see it. You, Chance, Eli and Tyler are all pushy, domineering, know-it-alls. You think you know what’s best for everyone and none of you are willing to listen to reason.”

“Reason?” he repeated. “I think I’ve been pretty damn reasonable so far.”

“Ah,” she said, lifting one hand. “So far being the key words in that sentence. How do I know you’re not going to suddenly decide to sue me for custody of Caro?” she asked, blurting out her deepest fear. “How do I know you’re not already planning to take her away from me?”

“Because I just found out about her two days ago?” he asked. “I’m good, but even I need more time than that.”

He parked the car in the lot and shut off the engine, and Isabelle shifted in her seat to look at him. “How much time, Wes? How long do I have before you come after me with all of your lawyers?”

Wes shifted in his seat, too, until they faced each other in the closed-off silence of the big car. Outside, people wandered in and out of the store and a few more clouds filled the sky, threatening more of the snow that still covered the parking lot. “Who said anything about lawyers?”

“I’ve been waiting for you to say it,” she admitted. “But just know, if you bring lawyers into it, so will I.”

“Yeah, I know.” He nodded grimly. “So no lawyers. We do this between us.”

Isabelle released a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. For now, at least, she didn’t have to worry about Wes taking her to court. He might change his mind later, but she’d be grateful for today. “Okay, good. So how do we settle this?”

“To start? You get used to me being here. Being with Caroline. I’ll jet back and forth to Texas as needed for business, but I plan on being here. A lot. Don’t fight me on it, Belle,” he warned. “We’ll figure the rest out as we go.”

She didn’t like it. But why would she? Still, she liked this better than the idea of a protracted courtroom drama where they ended up at each other’s throats. That wouldn’t be good for Caro—or for any of them. It went against every instinct she had to let him into her and her daughter’s lives. But the way she saw it, she just didn’t have a choice.

Staring into those beautiful eyes of his, she felt that near magnetic pull that she’d always experienced around him. That was dangerous, but only to her. Isabelle knew she would have to be on guard—and never let him know what he could do to her with just a look. Her reawakened feelings aside, it would be easier all the way around if she could just get through this situation with Wes without slipping back into dangerous feelings.

Wes hadn’t wanted a family—kids. Finding out that she had kept Caroline from him had hit him in his pride, so naturally he’d had to come here. Had to get answers. But it wouldn’t last, she told herself. He’d spend some time here and then he’d go back to his real life and she could return to normal. All she had to do was hang on until Wes remembered that he liked being unencumbered by a family.

“So are we good?” he demanded.

He was watching her, waiting.

“Yes,” she said. “We’re good. For now.” And that was the best she could give him.

“That’s a start,” he said and opened the car door.

* * *

Much later, bedtime was a little crazier than usual. Caroline was fascinated with Wes, and Isabelle couldn’t blame her. When Wes smiled, the female heart melted. Didn’t matter if you were four or eighty-four, the man had a power. For the last five years, Isabelle had assured herself that she was immune to Wes’s charms.

It was a hard thing to discover that she’d been lying to herself, too.

“Another story!” Caroline said, grinning up at Wes. The two of them were sitting on the floor in front of her bed.

Isabelle leaned one shoulder against the doorjamb and folded her arms across her chest. She couldn’t tear her eyes off the man and his daughter. Just like she couldn’t help wondering where they would all be right now if she had told Wes about Caroline from the beginning. Would he have changed? Would he have wanted the three of them to be a family?

Had she cheated all of them out of what they might have had? God, that was a terrible thought and one that couldn’t do the slightest bit of good. What she had to do now was concentrate on the moment at hand and not get lost in memories or dreams of what if.

Wes had a book on his lap, and while he read the story out loud, he also tried to use sign language. The movements were a little clumsy, and he got quite a few of the hand signs completely wrong. Isabelle noticed Caroline giggling a little when Wes read the word bear and signed something entirely different. But making mistakes wasn’t important. The fact that he was trying, that he was going to the trouble to learn ASL tugged at Isabelle’s heart.

“Wes,” Caro said and signed, “read the one about Christmas.”

He feigned dramatic shock. “Christmas is over.”

“Not next Christmas,” Caro argued, with a little giggle that rippled through Isabelle’s heart.

“Three stories is enough, Caroline,” Isabelle said from the doorway, and the girl and her father both turned to look at her. Two sets of eyes the color of the sea in the Caribbean studied her. She saw Wes in her daughter every day, but seeing the two of them together like this, the resemblance was heartbreaking.

She wasn’t blind here. Not only was Wes enjoying this time with Caroline, but her little girl already adored him. Once she found out Wes was her father, that affection would be sealed forever. And again, Isabelle felt that twinge of guilt for keeping them apart.

“Mommy…” Caro dipped her head, looked up and let her bottom lip jut out just enough for a really good pout.

Isabelle laughed in spite of herself. “Not a chance, kiddo. Now get into bed and I’ll tuck you in.”

Dragging herself to her feet, Caro sighed heavily, turned and crawled under the covers, tugging them up to her chin. “Can Wes tuck me in tonight?”

Wow. Arrow to her heart. Shifting a glance to Wes, she saw the pleasure shining in his eyes, and that actually took a bit of the sting out of Caro’s request. She’d never had to share her daughter with another parent before. The joys, the worries, the sleepless nights had all been for her alone. But standing in the bedroom with Wes, both of them looking at the child they’d created together, Isabelle could almost see what she’d been missing. It was more than sharing the responsibilities. It was sharing those secret looks of pride and understanding when their child did something cute. Or silly. Or tender.