The Tycoon's Charm: The Tycoon's Paternity Agenda / Honor-Bound Groom. Michelle Celmer

her duffel from the front seat, climbed out and walked to the front entrance, but before she could ring the bell the door swung open. Standing there was Adam’s housekeeper, whom Katy vaguely remembered from the day of Becca’s funeral, an older woman with a gently lined and kind face.

      Though Adam seemed the type to insist his staff wear a formal uniform, she was dressed in jeans and a Texas A & M sweatshirt.

      She smiled warmly. “Ms. Huntley, so nice to see you again! I’m Celia.”

      Katy liked her immediately.

      “Hi, Celia.”

      “Come in, come in!” She ushered Katy inside, taking the bag before she could protest. The air was filled with the scent of something warm and sweet. “Can you believe how hot it is and it’s barely 10:00 a.m.? Why don’t I show you to your room, then I’ll get you something cold to drink. Are you hungry? I could fix you breakfast.”

      “I’m fine, thanks.” She’d been too nervous to force down more than a slice of toast and a glass of juice before she left home. “Is Adam here?”

      “He went into the office for a few hours. He’s sending a car for you at ten-thirty.”

      She’d been under the impression they would ride to the appointment together, but she should have known he would squeeze in a few hours at the office first. Hadn’t that always been Becca’s biggest complaint? That Adam worked too much. Which begged the question, when would he have time to take care of a baby? But it was a little late to worry about that now.

      Celia led Katy across the foyer and either Katy had a skewed recollection of the interior, or Adam had made changes to the decor because it wasn’t nearly as distasteful as she remembered. Considering she had only been here twice before, it was difficult to be sure. In any case, it was very warm and inviting now.

      They walked up to the second floor and Celia showed her to one of the spare bedrooms. If Katy was remembering right, the master was at the end of the hall not twenty feet away. She didn’t like that Adam would be in such close proximity, but what could she do, ask to sack out on the living-room couch? At least Celia would be there to act as a buffer.

      Besides, she was being silly. She was only staying there because it was convenient. And because, she suspected, Adam didn’t completely trust her to follow the doctor’s instructions, if left to her own devices. She had to admit that being flat on her back for twenty-four hours sounded like the worst kind of torture. She was not an idle person. She didn’t have the patience to sit around doing nothing. But this time she didn’t have a choice.

      “This is nice,” Katy said, looking around as Celia set her bag down on the floral duvet. The room was tastefully decorated in creamy pastels. Feminine and inviting without being too frilly.

      “There are fresh towels in the bathroom. And if you need anything, anything at all while you’re here, don’t hesitate to ask. I think it’s a very generous thing you’re doing for Adam. Since he decided to do this, it’s the happiest I’ve seen him since he lost Becca. He would deny it if you asked, but the last few years have been very hard on him. I was starting to believe he would never get over her.”

      If he loved her that much, why did Becca have to work so hard to keep him happy? she wanted to ask. Why was she always terrified that he would grow bored and leave her for someone else? Maybe Celia wasn’t seeing the whole picture, or hadn’t known Adam long enough to realize what he was really like.

      Katy sat on the edge of the bed. “How long have you worked for Adam?”

      “Ever since his father passed. But I’ve known him most of his life. I practically raised him. When he wasn’t off at boarding school, that is.”

      “Oh, I didn’t realize you’d been with the family that long.”

      “Going on thirty-two years now. Since Mrs. Blair, Adam’s mother, took ill. I lost my own boy in the Gulf War, so Adam has been like a son to me.”

      “I’m so sorry,” Katy said. Losing a child was a sorrow her parents knew all too well.

      “I still consider myself blessed. I have two beautiful daughters and five grandchildren between them.”

      “What do you think of Adam having a child? If you don’t mind my asking.”

      Celia sat down beside her. “I think Adam will be a wonderful father. He lets my grandchildren come over and use the pool, and he’s so good with them. He’s wanted this for a very long time.”

      Celia was probably biased, but Katy wanted desperately to believe her. Although, wanting a child, and being good with someone else’s grandchildren, didn’t necessarily make someone a good parent.

      “When you get to know him better, you’ll see,” Celia assured her.

      “But how am I supposed to get to know him when he’s so closed off. So uptight.”

      “That’s just a smoke screen. Though he doesn’t let it show, he feels very deeply. He’s been hurt, Katy. It takes him time to trust. But he’s a good man.” She laid a hand on Katy’s knee. “I know it’s been hard for you and your parents. And probably nothing I can say will totally reassure you. But I promise you, Adam would never do anything to deliberately hurt anyone. Especially family.”

      “I want to believe that.” But she didn’t. Not for a second. Because that would mean everything her sister had told her was a lie. And believing that wasn’t an option.

      Six

      On a normal day, Adam was an active participant at the informal weekly management team briefing they held in his office, but today he couldn’t stop looking at the clock.

      Nathaniel Everett, their Chief Brand Officer was explaining the new campaign his team had been developing to promote their latest, ecologically friendly practices. Groundbreaking upgrades that would not only keep them in line with future federal guidelines, but no doubt result in record profits.

      On a normal day that would have filled Adam with a thrilling sense of accomplishment, but today his heart just wasn’t in it. In fact, for a while now, six months at least, work didn’t hold the same appeal as it had in the past. And that fact hadn’t escaped his team.

      At first he’d written it off as a temporary slump, but when he didn’t go back to feeling like his old self, he began to suspect it was something deeper. Clearly something was missing. There was a void in his life, in his very soul that work would no longer fill. It was when he knew it was time to have a child.

      “So, what do you think?” he heard Nathan ask, and realized he had completely zoned out.

      “Good,” he said, hoping he could fake his way through.

      Nathan smiled wryly. “You haven’t heard a damn thing I’ve said, have you?”

      He could lie, but what was the point? “Sorry. I’m off my game today.”

      “Rough night?” Nathan’s brother, Jordan, their Chief Operations Officer, asked, his tone suggestive. He’d been asserting for months that Adam’s major problem was he needed to get laid. And while Adam wouldn’t deny he’d been…tense lately, random sex with a woman he barely knew was Jordan’s thing, not his. In fact, common knowledge of Jordan’s sexual prowess was what had endeared him to the roughnecks on the rig. Despite his Ivy League education, they related to him somehow. Looked up to him even. He managed to fit in, yet still hold his own in the boardroom without batting an eye. He was like a chameleon, changing color to suit his environment.

      Adam envied him that sometimes.

      “Only because I didn’t sleep well,” he told Jordan. “Maybe we can reschedule for tomorrow.”

      Jordan shrugged. “Fine by me.”

      “I have a meeting with Cassandra anyway,” Nathan told him, rising from his chair. “Should we say 10:00 a.m.?”