Millionaire Mavericks: The Oilman’s Baby Bargain. Michelle Celmer

to her as “my Lexi,” as though she were a possession, or a commodity. If he really cared about his daughter, would he expect her to settle for an arranged, loveless marriage? Wouldn’t he want her to be happy? Or maybe in his mind, wealth and security equaled happiness.

      Whatever the man’s motivation, it wasn’t Mitch’s problem. Besides, as far as he was concerned, Lexi was getting exactly what she deserved. He should have realized that the woman under the sweet and demure exterior was in reality a viper. Not unlike his mother, who made his father fall in love with her, gave birth to his sons and then abandoned them.

      Lexi had played with his emotions and used him. Now he was going to return the favor.

      “In the first place,” Mitch told him, “my secretary is sixty-eight and married with grandchildren. Second, I am not a frivolous man when it comes to my emotions. I’m prepared to do anything for the sake of my business. I also have a plan to counteract any humiliation my brother’s rejection caused. When all is said and done, Lance will be the one who comes out looking like a fool.”

      “How will you manage that?”

      “With all due respect, sir, I would prefer to discuss it with Lexi first, to be sure that she’s okay with it.”

      Senator Cavanaugh silently considered that for several moments, then he nodded. “I’m inclined to say yes, but under one condition. I won’t force Lexi to marry you. She must be agreeable to the match, or the deal is off.”

      Mitch winced. That could definitely be a problem. She obviously despised Mitch. He was going to have to get creative, make her an offer she couldn’t refuse. Perhaps a credit card with no limit and all the department store accounts she could dream of. He would give her everything her spoiled and greedy little heart desired. That is, if she had a heart.

      “Agreed,” Mitch said. He rose from his chair and offered the senator his hand. The man’s grip was firm and binding.

      “One more thing,” the senator said, as Mitch turned to leave. “If you hurt my daughter in any way, shape or form, I will crush you and your brother. Understand?”

      Mitch nodded, then turned and walked to the door, hoping he hadn’t just made the biggest mistake of his life.

      Lexi stood in her private bathroom at her father’s Houston estate feeling as though she might be sick. She’d been feeling that way every morning lately. Which was what had motivated her to finally take a home pregnancy test. That, and two missed periods. And sure enough, when the little wand was ripe, up popped that little pink plus sign.

      She groaned, and dropped her head in her hands. She had always been the perfect, dutiful daughter. The one time in her life she’d had the guts to say to hell with what her father wanted and have some fun, this was what happened.

      Didn’t that just figure?

      There was a soft rap on the door and her personal assistant, Tara—the one who had been kind enough to fetch the pregnancy test in the first place—poked her head in. “Well?”

      Unable to make herself say the words, Lexi held the results up so Tara could see for herself. “I am so completely screwed.”

      Tara crossed the room and wrapped Lexi up in a hug. “We’ll get through this,” she promised. “Everything will be okay.”

      Lexi rested her head on Tara’s shoulder and let herself be comforted for a minute. Tara was the closest thing she had to a best friend. Lexi’s father was particular about who Lexi was allowed to befriend. As far as he was concerned, no one was good enough for his little girl. As a result, people believed she was a snob.

      And what would they think if she had a baby out of wedlock? Her father would be absolutely mortified. He talked for years about how someday she would marry and give him grandsons to spoil, but this was not part of his carefully laid plan.

      “If my father finds out, he’ll kill me,” she said.

      Tara held her at arm’s length. “You have options.”

      Lexi knew exactly what she meant, and shook her head. “Termination isn’t an option.”

      “So, you’ll have it?”

      “If I do, my father will disown me.” Of that she had little doubt. Perception meant everything to him. He would probably accuse her of doing it on purpose, to sabotage his reputation. He would accuse her of not loving or respecting him after everything he had done for her. How many times had she been tempted to ask, what have you done for me? Other than shelter her, control her life and treat her more like political leverage than a daughter.

      But she would never have the courage to say the words. Despite everything, he was still her father. Without him, she had no one.

      “What do you want, Lexi?” Tara asked.

      That was part of the problem. She didn’t know what she wanted. If her father did disown her, cut her off financially, would it be fair to the child to raise it in poverty and shame? But the idea of a stranger raising her own flesh and blood made her heart ache.

      This is Mitch’s child, too, she reminded herself. Shouldn’t he be part of the decision?

      As if reading her mind, Tara asked, “What about the father?”

      He may have been the biological father, but Mitch had made his feelings unequivocally clear. Their night together had been a mistake, and no one could ever know. “The father wants nothing to do with me.”

      “Curious,” Tara said, looking thoughtful. “Mitchell Brody always struck me as the responsible type.”

      Lexi’s mouth dropped open in surprise. She hadn’t told anyone about the night she’d spent with her former fiancé’s brother. It would have been too humiliating. How did Tara…?

      “I would have to be an imbecile not to have figured it out,” Tara told her. “For a week, you talked of nothing else. It was Mitch this and Mitch that. Mitch took me to the Smithsonian and Mitch took me to the most exclusive French restaurant in all of D.C. Mitch and I sat talking for hours. It was obvious you had feelings for him. A woman doesn’t hold on to her virginity for twenty-four years, then give it up to a stranger.”

      That week had been one of the best in her life. She had learned that there was more to Mitch than his serious, and sometimes intimidating exterior. He could be sweet and fun. She’d allowed him to seduce her, and look at the mess it had gotten her into.

      “On the other hand,” Tara said, “if he was really that responsible, he would have used protection.”

      “He did! That’s why I was so hesitant to believe I could be pregnant in the first place.”

      “Did you use a condom every time?”

      “Of course we—” She frowned.

      Tara mirrored her expression. “What?”

      Lexi shook her head. “No, that couldn’t be it.”

      “You had unprotected sex?”

      “Only for a minute. It was the middle of the night, and we woke up and he started to…” Her cheeks blushed a brilliant shade of pink. She’d never spoken about anything so personal to anyone in her life. Not even her physician. “But he put a condom on before he…you know…finished.”

      Tara looked pained. “Sperm can be released before ejaculation. And it only takes one. They teach this stuff in health class, Lex.”

      But she hadn’t had health class. She had been homeschooled by tutors, to spare her the improper influence of other children. And not a single one of those tutors, not even her science instructor, had ever said a word about sex education. Her father would have had a fit. Everything she knew about sex, she’d learned from the romance novels she used to sneak into the house. Lately, she had come to realize that those books offered a somewhat slanted view of what love and relationships truly entailed.

      “So,