Chapter Nine

I’m sure it’s nothing, Eth,” Gage said as they ran up the walkway of his father’s gray stone bungalow. They were playing a round of golf and got the call about Liz on the seventh hole. Thankfully, Dr. McBride’s girlfriend Karen, a nurse, had been invited to the shower. Ethan thought it was a good sign that she hadn’t called an ambulance. Then again, she didn’t like his mother very much.

“I shouldn’t have let her campaign with me.”

“Stop beating yourself up. Liz loves going out on the stump,” Gage said, as they reached the front steps.

“Where is she?” Paul asked Karen, who met them at the door, his voice gruff and edgy.

Her brow furrowed. “On the couch in the living room. She’s fine, Paul,” she called after them.

The thirtysomething redhead wouldn’t be happy about Paul rushing to Liz’s side. She would’ve been less happy if she’d witnessed Paul’s reaction when they got the call. He’d been as worried about Liz as Ethan. Under different circumstances, his obvious concern for Liz would have had Ethan and Gage high-fiving each other.

At least forty women were crowded into the great room with its high-beamed wooden ceiling. They parted to let Paul, Ethan, Gage, and Richard by. Lily, in a flowered bathing suit, ran over to grab her father’s hand. “Daddy, Auntie Skye’s having a baby, and Nana Liz fainted.”

Several groans met Lily’s announcement. Ethan suspected one might have come from him. He felt like he’d been sucker-punched. Which was stupid. He knew she wasn’t the woman for him. But the thought that Skye was pregnant with another man’s baby… No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t stop himself from searching the room for her. “Holy hell,” he said under his breath when he caught sight of her standing in the corner in a yellow polka-dot bikini.

“Geezus,” Gage said, and Ethan turned to give him an are-you-kidding me look. “What? I’m married, not dead.”

Ethan ignored him and blocked the Sports Illustrated image of Skye from his mind as he reached the couch. He stood beside Paul, who crouched at Liz’s side and took her wrist between his fingers. She had a white cloth folded on her forehead and looked a little wan, but nowhere near as bad as Ethan had feared. Claudia, who sat on the arm of the couch, looked worse than his mother. “Mom, what happened?”

Both women stared at him with betrayed expressions on their faces. What the hell? “I need to talk to my son,” his mother said, attempting to swing her legs off the couch.

Ethan reached for her at the same time as Paul. “You’re not going anywhere until I say so. Your pulse is erratic,” Paul said, letting go of her wrist to open the black doctor’s bag he’d dropped at his feet.

“Your girlfriend said I’m fine.”

“She’s wrong. You’re not fine. You have mitral valve prolapse.” He held up a hand. “No, I’m tired of you dismissing it and carrying on like you’re in your thirties. You need to start acting your age and—”

Aw hell, Ethan thought as he caught Gage’s eye. His best friend gave him a here-we-go look.

“Evelyn, tell me my nephew didn’t just say what I thought he did,” Nell muttered from somewhere in the crowd.

“You have some nerve telling me to act my age, Paul McBride. You’re the one getting it on with a woman who is young enough to be your daughter.”

“Now, Lizzie, I’m sure the doc meant nothing by it.” Richard rubbed Liz’s arm. “You just relax, darlin’. I’ll take you home as soon he’s checked you out.”

“Do you mind giving me some room here, Richard?” Paul said, his gaze narrowed on the other man.

“Sure thing, Doc.”

Paul went to place the stethoscope beneath Liz’s sweater.

His mother pushed him away. “You are not putting your hands under my top.”

“For God’s sake, Liz. It’s not like I’m trying to cop a… Look, if you don’t let me check you out, I’m taking you to the hospital.”

Ethan tried to stay focused on his mother, but he kept getting distracted by thoughts of Skye. Given how much of her knockout body the yellow scraps of material revealed, she had to be in the very early stages of pregnancy. He wondered who she’d been sleeping with and when.

The gnawing in his gut that had started when he first heard the news increased with a vengeance. Unconsciously his gaze once again searched her out. She glanced his way, gave him a startled look, then quickly averted her eyes.

“Ladies, let’s give them some privacy,” Gage said, taking control of the situation. As he started to usher the women to the backyard, Nell walked by and leaned past Paul to pat Liz’s leg. “She fainted when she thought Skye was having your baby,” Nell informed Ethan.

“Nell,” his mother grumbled, “I didn’t faint. I had a weak spell, that’s all. And I really need to talk to—”

“Hold it. What did you just say, Nell?” He must have misunderstood her. He scanned the crowd of women heading toward the patio doors for Skye and spotted Madison and Vivian Westfield hustling her out of the room.

“Skye.” Ethan took off after her. From behind him he heard Nell say, “But she’s gay and had the artificial thingamajig done.”

Like hell she did. “Stop right there, Skye. You’re not going anywhere until we talk,” he said just as she reached the front door.

“Ethan, do not use that tone of voice with Skye. She’s in a delicate condition and can’t be upset,” Madison said.

Gage must have followed him because he walked past Ethan to take his wife’s hand. “Honey, he’s not going to upset her. He’s just wants to talk to her. Right, Eth?”

“Yeah, right,” he muttered.

Vivian stepped in front of Skye and crossed her arms. “I’m not going anywhere. He leaked personal and hurtful information about Skye, and then he trashed her reputation in the press. So if you think I’m going to leave her alone with him, think again.”

He hadn’t approved Claudia’s press release, but by the time he’d heard what she’d done, it’d been too late to stop it. And that’d led to the first real argument he’d had with his campaign manager. He started to respond, but Claudia approached him, shooting an apprehensive glance at Skye and Vivian.

“Ethan, I need a word with you,” she said, putting a hand on his arm.

“It’ll have to wait, Claudia. I need to speak to Skye.”

The woman in question looked from Claudia to someone coming up behind Ethan. He glanced over his shoulder to see that they had an audience, Annie and Lily among them.

Skye sighed and nudged her friend out of the way. “I’ll talk to you, but not here.”

“Use my dad’s bedroom,” Gage said.

“Back through the living room,” Ethan said to Skye, waiting for her to go ahead of him.

She crossed her arms and arched a brow when Claudia started off, obviously intending to join them.

“Claudia, I need to speak to Skye privately. This doesn’t concern you.”

She turned. “You’re wrong, Ethan. As your campaign manager, it very much concerns me.”

“And it concerns me, too,” his mother said, pushing aside Paul’s restraining hand to sit up.

Skye threw up her arms. “I’m outta here. You can call me.”

Ethan snagged her hand. “You’re not going anywhere.” As he pulled her through the living room, he pointed to his mother and Claudia. “Both of you, stay where you are.”

He opened the door to the black-and-white master bedroom and nudged Skye inside. She flounced across the white shag area rug and sat on the black leather ottoman at the foot of the bed. Like it always did, his body reacted to the sight of her long, toned frame. And it was damn inconvenient that it was doing so now. Annoyed with himself for still wanting her as much as he did, he reminded himself of the damage she’d done to his campaign and closed the door harder than necessary. She jumped. Okay, so maybe he’d slammed it.

If he wanted to have a conversation without drooling, he decided he needed to cover all that smooth, sun-kissed skin. He found what he was looking for in the en suite bathroom and tossed her a white robe. He took a moment to rein in his temper, another thing that was damn annoying since he didn’t usually have one.

“Thanks,” she said, and shoved her arms in the sleeves. “They turned up the air for your mother. It was freezing in there.”

Her comment drew his gaze to her breasts. She was cold. And now he was hot.

“Are you having my baby?” That cooled him off pretty quick.

“No, I had artificial…” He crossed his arms. She sighed. “Yes, I’m having your baby. Happy now?”

“No, I’m not. How long have you known you were pregnant?”

“I didn’t know for sure, but around the Fourth.”

“The Fourth of July? You knew since the Fourth of July, and you didn’t think this was something you should share with me?”

“Sharing with you now.”

“And you’re positive the baby’s mine?”

“I’m eighteen weeks. Do the math.”

“And you’re telling me there’s no possibility it’s another man’s? Because we used protection.”

Her face flushed. “Yeah, we did, and it didn’t work. Nice to know how high an opinion you have of me. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. But don’t sweat it. You’re the sperm donor, nothing more. I don’t expect anything from you.”

“I wasn’t passing judgment, Skye. But it’s not like you keep your lifestyle a secret. If the baby is mine, I will take responsibility for it.” He pulled his cell from the pocket of his khaki shorts. “I’ll set up a DNA test.”

“Are you crazy? I’m not putting my baby at risk because you don’t believe me.” She stood up. “I’ve fulfilled my obligation to you. Whether you like it or not, whether you believe me or not, none of that matters to me. We’re done here.”

She was right. He shouldn’t have questioned her. She had no reason to lie. It’s wasn’t as if she was trying to use the baby against him. Obviously, since she hadn’t been in a hurry to tell him the news. In fact, he had a sneaking suspicion she never intended to tell him about the baby, and that infuriated him. “No, we’re not, so sit the hell down. As the baby’s father, I have rights, Skye.”

“Oh, what, now you believe the baby’s yours? I don’t think so, Ethan. You—”

“Be quiet and listen to me. This baby is as much mine as yours.” He shoved his fingers through his hair, his voice rising as it finally hit home that he was having a baby… with Skye. A woman who thought of him as nothing more than a sperm donor. Who the hell does she think she is? If she thought she could limit his involvement in his child’s life, she’d better think again. “I’m a lawyer, Skye. And I can assure you that no judge in his right mind would grant you sole custody. You can’t do this on your own. You don’t have a steady income. You probably don’t even have health insurance. Half the time you act like a kid yourself, and you really expect me to believe you can handle raising a baby on your own? I’m not trying to be mean, but you’re irresponsible and flighty. Jesus, Skye, you had millions of dollars, and now you’re broke.”

She crossed to him, lifting her chin, her eyes glassy. “I made some mistakes. Not everyone is as perfect as you, you judgmental jerk. And I was turning things around until you trashed my name. Until you”—she poked his chest with her finger—“revealed my personal business and made me look like a fool in the press.”

The press. He hadn’t given any thought to what this would mean to his campaign. The hit he’d taken because of her blog was nothing compared to the hit he’d take if word got out she was pregnant with his baby. He’d lose the support of his conservative voters unless… “Calm down and lower your voice.” He put his hands on her shoulders. “Look, you don’t have to worry about any of that now. I’ll take care of you and the baby. I’ll put a rush on the marriage license. We should be good to go on Friday. We’ll go to the courthouse and—”

She jerked back. “Married? Have you lost your mind? I’m not marrying you. I don’t believe in marriage. And even if I did, I wouldn’t marry you if you were the last man on God’s green earth.”

* * *

Later that evening, Ethan sat at a table in the local sports bar, the Penalty Box, with Gage and their mutual friend Jack Flaherty. Brandi, wearing her waitress uniform—a black-and-white-striped jersey and a short black skirt—approached with a tray of drinks. “Compliments of the house. Sawyer named the drink after you, Mr. Senator-to-be. It’s a Prince Charming. Bourbon, cinnamon schnapps, Goldschläger, and root beer rimmed with coarse salt,” she explained as she set the drinks on the table. “Sawyer suggested you have a couple of them before you speak to your baby mama again.”

Gage and Jack laughed. “Har har,” Ethan muttered, slanting a look to where the owner, Sawyer Anderson, stood behind the bar taking orders. The tall, broad-shouldered ex-captain of the Colorado Flurries, a professional hockey team, gave Ethan a two-fingered salute and grinned. “Your friend’s a real comedian,” Ethan said to Jack.

“Yeah, he likes to think so,” Jack said, “but maybe this time he’s right. From what Grace said, you could use all the help you can get.”

“At least your wife’s talking to you. Thanks to him”—Gage jerked a thumb at Ethan—“mine isn’t.”

“She was until I defended him. Now I’m in the same boat as you,” Jack said, taking a long pull on his beer.

“Would someone like to explain how I’m the bad guy in this? She had no intention of telling me about the baby. As far as she’s concerned, I’m a sperm donor and have no rights.” And once his initial shock had passed, he started to get excited about the baby. He’d always hoped to be a father one day, and he was not about to let Skylar Davis take that away from him. “I asked her to marry me.”

He didn’t realize Brandi had hung around until she said, “No, you didn’t ask her. You told her you were getting married. At the courthouse. On Friday.”

“Yeah, and you also told her she was irresponsible and flighty and threw losing her trust fund in her face,” Gage said.

Brandi gasped. “You didn’t?”

“Come on, I didn’t say anything that any of you haven’t said or thought. Besides, I was pissed off. And I had good reason to be.” He might’ve had good reason to be angry, but he shouldn’t have let his temper get the best of him. The temper he didn’t have until he met Skylar Davis. “I sent her flowers and an apology, okay?”

Gage grimaced.

“What? You don’t think she’ll like them? The florist told me any woman would love them. I sent her three dozen roses.” Who knew flowers could be that expensive? But even Ethan realized he had to make some kind of gesture after what he’d said to Skye.

“Most women would, just not the one you sent them to,” Gage said.

Gage’s dad approached their table before Ethan could argue his case. Paul pulled out a chair and sat down. Now it was Ethan’s turn to grimace. He didn’t feel up to another lecture. After Skye had left the room, Gage’s father had stopped Ethan from going after her. “Why aren’t you home looking after your mother?” Paul asked him.

Because she was driving him nuts. So was Claudia. They hadn’t gotten a foot out of Paul’s house before the two of them started in on Ethan. Claudia had already set up a focus group to see how it would play with his supporters if word got out about the baby. “Mom’s resting.” More like strategizing. “Richard and Claudia are with her.” At Paul’s disgruntled expression, he decided he shouldn’t have mentioned Richard.

Gage caught Ethan’s eye, angled his head at Paul, and grinned at his father’s jealous display. At any other time, Ethan would be grinning, too.

“How can she rest with them around? Stevens is loud and never stops talking. And Claudia will get your mother all worked up about your campaign. She’s worked up enough as it is. She’s happy about the baby, but she’s not exactly crazy about the baby’s mother. I don’t know why. Skye’s a sweet girl.”

Yeah, Ethan had heard exactly how unhappy Liz was about the mother of his child. About twenty times in twenty different ways. And then, looking like she’d sucked on a lemon, she told him she expected him to do the right thing and marry Skye. He would; of course he would. But that didn’t mean he had to like it. He’d hoped to be in love with the woman he married. There was no doubt he lusted after Skye. But love? She drove him crazy, and Ethan didn’t do well with crazy. He’d had enough drama growing up with Chloe and Cat. He liked his life drama-free and predictable. Something it would never be with Skye in it.

Fred and Ted sauntered over to the table. “Heard what went on at the shower today. We thought you could use our help,” Fred said as he and Ted pulled out chairs to join them. “Me and Ted helped Jack here win back Gracie, didn’t we, Jack?”

“Yeah. You guys were a big help,” Jack agreed, fighting back a grin.

“I appreciate the…” Ethan’s cell rang. Claudia’s name popped up on the screen. “I’ve gotta take this,” he said, and answered.

She began talking before he had a chance to say hello. “I just got off the phone with Peter. He’s fielding calls from reporters asking if it’s true you’re going to be a father. They don’t seem to have a lot of information, but we have to do something before the whole story gets out there, Ethan. This isn’t going to play well with conservative voters. God, I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but I think the only way to combat the negative publicity is for you to marry Kendall. Peter agrees.”

A couple of days ago it looked like he had a shot at fulfilling his promise to his dad. And now everything was going to hell in a handbasket. “I don’t know what you expect me to do, Claudia. I asked her and she said no.” The four men at his table stopped talking and looked at him.

“Pay her off. She needs the money.”

“No. I’m not going to do that. And she wouldn’t accept even if I did,” he said, angry at Claudia’s insinuation that Skye was a gold digger.

“Okay, I’m sorry. But I’m desperate, Ethan. I don’t know. Tell her the marriage will be in name only. After a year or so, you can quietly divorce.”

“I’ll take care of it, Claudia. For now, try and hold off the press.” She agreed but didn’t sound hopeful, and Ethan hung up.

“Word got out?” Gage asked.

“Yeah, and I—”

“We got work to do, boys,” Fred interrupted him, rubbing his hands together. “Grace was easy. I don’t think this Skylar gal is going to be. But don’t you worry none, Ethan. We’ll figure it out.”

“I appreciate the offer, boys. But I think I can handle it.” He’d apply his courtroom skills to the problem. He’d never lost a case yet. And he’d already laid the groundwork with his apology and flowers. All he had to do was…

Nell McBride, Evelyn Tate, and Stella Wright ambled over, dragging chairs to the table.

“What are you girls doing here?” Ted asked the older women.

“Same thing you are,” Nell said. “We’re going to help him win Skye over so he doesn’t lose the election. And, Ethan, if he gives you advice, don’t listen to him.” She gestured at Paul. “As he proved today, my nephew doesn’t know a thing about women.”

“What are you talking about, Nell? I—”

Ethan interrupted Paul. “Thanks, ladies, but I think—”

Evelyn beamed at him. “Don’t you worry, Ethan. We’re the love experts. And, dear, those roses you sent me were beautiful.” She fluttered her lashes.

“Yes, Ethan, that was very sweet of you to send them to us. But a little extravagant, don’t you think? I hope you didn’t send them to all your female supporters. Their husbands might not be as understanding as mine,” Stella said.

Ethan rubbed the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger, ignoring Gage’s I-told-you-so look. “Did all three of you get a dozen roses?” he asked in hopes he misunderstood them and that Skye hadn’t sent his peace offering to the three older women.

“Yep, me, Stella, and Evelyn. But you didn’t have to bribe us. We’d vote for you anyhow. We want one of our own in the state senate, don’t we, girls?” Nell said as she pulled out a pad and pen. “And just as an FYI, when you put from a secret admirer, you’re not supposed to sign your name.”