The Illegitimate Heirs: Luke, Zach and Jake. Kathie DeNosky

I’m going to be there to get her up each morning and tuck her into bed each night. I’ll be there to see her first steps and hear her first words.” She had to pause a moment to keep the emotion out of her voice as she finished. “And every minute of every single day, my child will have the comfort and security of knowing that she’s loved and cherished by her mother.”

      A frown creased his forehead. “Is that it?”

      “No.”

      “There’s more?” The lines on his brow deepened and the tone of his voice indicated that he thought she was being extremely unreasonable.

      Nodding, she stated the final demand, certain he’d find it completely unacceptable, giving up on her as his surrogate once and for all. “When I have a child, Luke, I intend for her to have a mother and father who are equally responsible for raising her, as well as living under the same roof and sharing the same last name.”

      His intense stare was intended to intimidate, but as far as she was concerned, this was one issue that was nonnegotiable. He might as well get used to that fact.

      “In other words, you want to get married,” he said after several uncomfortable moments of silence.

      Their waiter chose that moment to bring their salads and she waited for him to leave before she answered. “When I have a baby, yes, I have every intention of being married and making a stable, loving home for my child to grow up in.”

      “Anything else?”

      Shaking her head, she reached for her fork with a trembling hand. “No, I think that just about covers the subject.”

      Silence reigned over the table as they ate and she knew Luke was contemplating ways to change her mind. But that wasn’t going to happen and the sooner he realized it, the better off they’d both be. Then they could forget that he’d even brought up the subject and resume being an executive assistant and her workaholic boss.

      “Did you find everything to your satisfaction?” the waiter asked while he removed their plates.

      “As always, the meal was excellent,” Luke answered. Turning to her, he inquired, “Would you like something for dessert, Haley?”

      “No, thank you. I’m positively stuffed.” Smiling, she looked up at the server and crossed her fingers beneath the table for the lie she was about to tell. “Everything was delicious.”

      In truth, she couldn’t have said whether they’d had prime rib or a piece of shoe leather. She’d been far too preoccupied wondering when Luke would tell her that he found her requirements completely unacceptable and that he was officially deleting her from his short list of surrogacy candidates.

      Nodding, Luke handed the waiter a credit card. “I think that will be it for this evening. Have the valet bring my car around to the front.”

      Once Luke had taken care of the check and they walked out of the restaurant, they had very little to say to each other. The drive home was little better and Haley was more than relieved when he parked the car, walked her to her door and bid her a very quick, very platonic good-night.

      Confident that he’d given up on the idea of her becoming the surrogate for his child, Haley felt her mood dip into sadness. When she’d told Luke what she wanted, she’d been revealing the dreams she’d carried for the past five years. And knowing there wasn’t a snowball’s chance on a hot July day that any of them would come true now, was almost enough to send her running to the freezer for the carton of triple fudge nut ice cream she kept on hand for just such depressing occasions. Instead, she opted to change into her nightshirt, pour herself a small glass of white wine and watch the nightly news on television before turning in for the evening.

      But half an hour later, as she crawled beneath the sheets on her bed and reached to turn off her bedside lamp, the phone rang. The caller ID revealed Luke’s cell number and her heart skittered to a stop.

      This is it, she thought, taking a deep fortifying breath. He was calling to tell her that he found her requirements totally unacceptable and he would be searching elsewhere for his surrogate.

      “Hello, Luke.”

      “Have you already gone to bed?” His deep baritone sounded so darned smooth and sexy it sent tiny little shivers straight up her spine.

      “Uh…yes, but I hadn’t gone to sleep.”

      “Good. Get out of bed and get to the front door.”

      Her scalp tingled and a wave of goose bumps shimmered over her arms. “Why?”

      “Because I’ll be there in about thirty seconds and I want to get this thing settled tonight.”

      “Can’t we discuss this over the phone?” she asked, throwing back the covers and scrambling out of bed. Holding the phone between her shoulder and ear, she frantically searched for her robe. Where on earth had she put the thing? She rarely wore it because she never had overnight visitors.

      “No, I’d rather talk in person,” he said as the doorbell rang. “Now, open the door and let me in, Haley.”

      At the sound of him ending the call, she tossed the phone on her bed and, giving up on finding her robe, pulled her raincoat out of the closet. “All right, I’m coming,” she muttered when the bell rang again. Shrugging into the coat, she hurried down the hall to the entryway. “Somebody needs to remind Mr. Luke Garnier that patience is a virtue.”

      When she opened the door, Luke walked right in as he’d done the day before. “Are you going out?” he inquired, turning to eye her coat.

      Pushing the door closed, she pulled the coat’s belt tight around her waist. “I couldn’t find my bathrobe and you wouldn’t stop ringing the doorbell.”

      “You don’t keep your robe handy?” he asked as he walked into the living room.

      “I live alone and if I want to walk around without a robe, there’s no one here to care,” she replied, wondering why she bothered to explain herself. It was her business, not his. “Now, what do we need to discuss that can’t wait until tomorrow morning, Luke? I thought I made my position quite clear at dinner.”

      “You did,” he said, nodding. “And I’ve given it a fair amount of thought.”

      She couldn’t tell what he was thinking from his expression, but knowing him, he was there to get her to come around to his way of thinking. “I’m not changing my mind, Luke.”

      “I didn’t think you would.” Staring at her, he took a deep breath.

      Here it comes, she thought, anticipating his rejection of her requirements.

      “I’ve decided that the terms you laid down tonight are within reason and I’m willing to accept them,” he stated as if closing a business deal.

      Her heart felt as if it lodged in her throat at the same time her knees gave way. Sinking down on the couch, she could have sworn that the walls started to move in on her.

      “W-what did you say?”

      “We’ll get married this weekend right after you sign a prenuptial agreement covering the protection of my assets, shared custody of my heir and a fair settlement for you if and when the marriage ends.”

      “But…we…I mean, you—”

      “I assume that since you haven’t indicated otherwise, you’ll be in the office tomorrow morning?” he interrupted.

      Unable to find her voice for the second time in as many days, all she could manage was a short nod.

      “We can discuss the details and refine our agreement then,” he continued. “Now, get some sleep. We have a big day ahead of us.”

      Haley watched him walk to the door, then close it with a click that seemed to echo throughout the room. She couldn’t move, couldn’t speak and rational thought was completely out of the question.

      What