The Millionaire's Pregnant Bride. Dixie Browning

but he was a firm believer in covering all the bases.

      “That doesn’t concern you.” She met his eyes with a miserable but unwavering look that was sheer bravado.

      The baby was Jack’s. Otherwise, she would have denied it. He’d come to recognize a basic honesty about the woman in the brief time they’d been working together. It was just one of too many things about her that drove him a little crazy. One minute he’d be thinking of her as just another in a long line of Jack’s women. The next, he’d be looking at her as the innocent victim of a lecherous jerk who knew exactly which button to push when he wanted something.

      Or someone.

      For years Will had been dealing with the untidy loose ends left by his hardheaded, heedless friend. Ladies who claimed Jack had promised to marry them, when Will knew damned well the man had never promised any such thing. Jack had been married once, to Sebastian’s mother. That had been before Will’s time. Will hadn’t asked about it, and Jack had never volunteered any information. Neither had Sebastian.

      As for his long string of alliances, most lasting no more than a few months, Jack usually made the women sign releases before he even took them to bed. He hadn’t gotten where he was by being careless about minor details.

      One woman claimed he’d given her a house in Midland but had forgotten to give over the deed. Jack had been dead only three days when she’d come barreling up to the top floor to demand that deed.

      Will, still in shock himself, had taken the time to look into the matter and discovered that his reckless friend had given her a one-year lease on a tract house. As the lease still had seven months to run, he’d let it stand.

      No woman, to his knowledge, had ever come forth claiming to be pregnant with a little Wescott heir, though it was possible that more than one had found herself in that condition. As a rule Jack paid his women off and hustled them out of town if there was the slightest possibility of that happening.

      Matter of fact, this woman hadn’t made the claim, either. Which was only one of the reasons why Will decided to clean up one last mess his untidy friend had left behind. He wasn’t sure Diana could handle it financially—knew damned well she couldn’t handle it emotionally if today was an example.

      “Feeling better now? Look, don’t worry about the insurance. If I set the wheels in motion right away, we can be married within the week.”

      Her jaw fell. It was a delicate jaw, one he’d like to cup with his hand, but this was hardly the time. “I’m talking a business arrangement, Diana. I have a pretty good idea of your resources—” At her look of indignation, he said, “Yeah, I know, I had no right, but you see, one of the trails I had to follow to unravel Jack’s financial affairs led directly to your bank account. I finally figured it out with a little research.” Not to mention recalling a few of Jack’s insensitive remarks that Will had only recently put into context.

      She was breathing too fast. There was an angry spark in her eyes that he’d as soon not have to deal with. But determined to settle things before she split, he plowed ahead.

      “Look, it makes sense as a purely business arrangement. I’m unattached. You’re unattached. You need something that I can offer.”

      “Fine.” She crossed her arms over her chest—breasts. Uh-uh, he preferred to think of the area as a chest. “What do you need, Mr. Bradford? That is, what would you get out of it?”