Forbidden Secrets: His Secret Baby Bombshell. Michelle Celmer

nursed by the best caregivers they could find. He was a man of dignity; he didn’t want his last days to be in a nursing home or hospital and Eve couldn’t blame him. She and her sisters were just fine with granting him any wish he had right now.

      “Have you seen Carson?” Nora asked.

      Blinking away the tears, Eve shook her head. “I haven’t.”

      Their new half brother. To find out after all this time they had a brother was definitely a blow. Sutton had been known to have affairs, or so the rumor mill had spun it over the past several years, but now there was proof. Eve wasn’t quite sure how to handle Carson, but she did know he didn’t deserve any of her father’s holdings. He knew nothing of her father. They shared DNA only. There was no bond, there were no treasured moments. Not that any of that was Carson’s fault, but Eve wasn’t ready to embrace him just yet. And she certainly wasn’t ready to argue over her father’s assets while he was still alive.

      “He’s requested to see father.”

      Eve straightened. “What?”

      “He wants to talk,” Nora clarified. “We can’t deny him, Eve. He has every right to see his father.”

      Before he dies. The unspoken words hovered between them, driving home the point that their father was human. He’d cheated on their mother, now he was dying. He shouldn’t have to keep paying for his sins, and he shouldn’t have his name tarnished when his days were numbered.

      And that brought Eve’s thoughts right back to Graham. Was Carson requesting to see their father because he was trying to gain ammunition for their media campaign? Every protective instinct welled up inside her.

      “It’s a bad idea,” Eve told her sister. “He could be plotting with Brooks and Graham.”

      “I don’t think that’s what he’s doing. Brooks hired a private investigator. If they want to dig up Dad’s past, we can’t stop them and I highly doubt Dad will give up any skeletons in his closet on his own at this point.”

      Nora’s words sank in, and actually made sense. Still...

      Graham had wanted her to trust him. Those words kept bouncing back and forth in her head and she truly wished she knew what the answer was.

      “What does Grace think?” Eve asked.

      Nora lifted a slender shoulder. “She’s fine with letting Carson in. She’s not as cynical as you are, though.”

      “I prefer the term realistic,” Eve countered. With a heavy sigh, she nodded. “Fine. But one of us needs to be in the room.”

      Nora nodded. “I agree. I’ll let Carson know and we can set up a time.”

      “Wait.” Eve pressed her palms to her desk and eased back in her seat. “Have you asked Dad?”

      “He wants to see his son.”

      Those simple words were what this all boiled down to. Carson was Sutton’s son. The final say belonged to their father and he would never turn away family...especially a newly discovered son.

      “Let me know when and I’ll make sure I’m there,” Eve told her sister.

      Nora got to her feet and pulled her scarf back around her neck. After adjusting her navy cardigan, she grabbed her handbag and hooked the strap on her forearm.

      “Try not to work so hard,” Nora said, a soft, caring tone lacing her voice. “You’re looking tired and you have assistants who can help.”

      Eve laughed. “Wow, thanks for the confidence booster.”

      Circling the desk, Nora embraced her. “I say this because I love you. Don’t let work rule your life like Dad did. Take time for yourself. Who knows? You may change your mind about that happily-ever-after but find your Prince Charming has passed you by while you were stuck in your office.”

      Graham’s face instantly came to mind, but he was far from Prince Charming. He was more the evil villain with charm and charisma that made him impossible to resist. Besides, she didn’t need anyone to rescue her—prince or peasant.

      “I promise to get more rest,” Eve assured her as she eased back. “Now, go on and see Dad. Tell him I’ll be by later.”

      Once Nora was gone, Eve fell back into her seat. She was exhausted, and it was showing. She was going to have to take better care of herself. Her life wasn’t just about her anymore. She had an innocent child to care for, and she would do anything to keep her child safe.

      Reliving the nightmare of losing a baby wasn’t an option. But fear had a crippling hold over her. Between the worry of miscarriage and telling Graham, she had some legitimate concerns. Would this be a replay of the last time? Granted, before she’d thought herself in love. She wasn’t as naive this time. But she still wanted Graham to be accepting of their child, wanted him to take part in the baby’s life.

      She had to tell him. Tonight. There was no easy way to drop this bomb and she wasn’t a coward. No matter what happened after she told him, she’d be just fine.

       Five

      She’d avoided him for two days. Two. Damn. Days.

      Graham had gone to bat for her, going against his brothers, and Eve had dodged his texts and calls. The fact that he’d thrown away all common sense when Eve had pleaded with him to not ruin her father spoke volumes. That’s something someone in a relationship would do. They weren’t in a relationship. They had sex. Private, sneaking-around, amazing sex.

      Well, they had been. But when he’d been at her place and they’d been intimate, she’d turned down any further advances the morning after. Did she want to call this affair quits? Too bad. He wasn’t ready and her body’s response to his touch told him otherwise. Not that he would beg. Hell, no. And he didn’t want a relationship, but he certainly wasn’t ready to end this.

      Even if he wanted something more, he was too swamped with being a partner in his law firm to feed any type of relationship. Sex was a stress reliever and Eve was definitely on the same page, though she may have been fighting herself on this matter. She was just as vigilant in her career and wanted nothing more. So, when she ignored his texts, it shouldn’t have bothered him...but it did. Eve wasn’t one to play games, and if she wanted to put on the brakes, he imagined that she’d just tell him so.

      Then, as if she hadn’t been silent for two days, she texted him to say she needed to talk.

      He didn’t like the sound of that. The whole we-need-to-talk thing was such a veiled subject and he didn’t like how it eluded to the fact that she may want to call this quits.

      Eve possessed every quality he’d ever wanted in a lover. She was career driven—so she wasn’t monopolizing his time—she was passionate and damn if she didn’t challenge him...in bed and out.

      He’d never cared when another woman blew off his calls, though that rarely happened. The few times it had, he’d moved on. No worries. Yet with Eve, he wasn’t going to have her call it quits without seducing her one last time. If she wanted to move on, he wouldn’t stop her, but he sure as hell would give her a send-off she’d never forget.

      Just the thought of getting his hands on her again had Graham hurrying to get to her office. He’d purposely waited until it was good and dark before setting out. With the skies darkening earlier this time of year, he was able to log in more hours with her.

      Damn. He shouldn’t keep track of the hours he’d spent with her. He should be going with the flow in this casual hookup arrangement. But he was human and Eve turned him on like no one else ever had. So what if he wasn’t ready to put the brakes on just yet?

      Graham wasn’t oblivious to the fact that he hadn’t seen anyone else since that night at the ball when he’d seduced Eve. Had he ever gone this long with the same woman? Other women