HERE
TOMORROW
7
PM PST.
AUTHOR
OF:
A
pregnant heiress, a bachelor billionaire…
…an unlikely family?
In this Manhattan Babies story, Trent Sigmund’s discovered Sabrina McCallan’s shocking secret: she’s pregnant! As his best friend’s sister, Trent’s compelled to help her. But offering Sabrina his private jet to track down her errant ex wasn’t supposed to become a whirlwind trip of Europe… And it certainly wasn’t supposed to awaken an attraction that makes him long to take this unexpected chance and build it into the perfect family!
…an unlikely family?
In this Manhattan Babies story, Trent Sigmund’s discovered Sabrina McCallan’s shocking secret: she’s pregnant! As his best friend’s sister, Trent’s compelled to help her. But offering Sabrina his private jet to track down her errant ex wasn’t supposed to become a whirlwind trip of Europe… And it certainly wasn’t supposed to awaken an attraction that makes him long to take this unexpected chance and build it into the perfect family!
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Chapter 11
He
studied her as he slid his phone from his jacket pocket. “Why am I getting the
feeling that you’ve thought this through?”
She
shrugged. “Maybe I have.”
He
found his playlist, the one filled with slow, romantic songs, then held out his
hand to her. He didn’t remind her that she was supposed to be pragmatic, not a
dreamer. He liked this side of her, sensed that he was with the real Sabrina,
the one who would have bought and worn the happy, artistic, sexy red dress.
Music
filled the room. He led her to the dance floor and pulled her close. She melted
into him and the sense of rightness he’d had at the beginning of the night
drifted through him like the simple, easy notes of the song floating around
them, creating a little world all their own.
He
let himself soak up the feeling. He had lots of friends and girlfriends and
employees who were friends. But he’d never had this closeness, this intimacy,
with another person. He’d never wanted it. Never missed it. But holding her
now, he knew that when they went back to their separate worlds this dance would
haunt him. Make him wish he’d found the courage to let this relationship evolve
to its natural conclusion.
“Do
you ever think that some people aren’t meant for forever?”
He
leaned back, looked into her eyes. “What do you mean?”
“My
parents soured me on marriage. Pretty soon I’m going to have a child to raise.
That’s going to limit everything I do.” She shrugged. “I don’t know what I’m
saying.”
He
thought he did. At least a little. She might be a romantic, but she didn’t
think she’d get the happily-ever-after.
But
why mention it now?
Unless…
“Are
you saying you think we aren’t made for forever?”
She
held his gaze. “You wondered why fate had thrown us together. Well, there’s a
part of me that knows. I’ve loved everything about tonight, but more than that,
I really like you.”
“I
like you, too.” Her simple declaration sent need rippling through him, and this
time he didn’t fight it. He dipped his head, kissed her slowly and thoroughly.
“And?”
Her
breath stuttered. “And aren’t you just the tiniest bit curious about how this
night should end?”
“I
actually had a plan.”
“You
did?”
He
spun them around once, then kissed her again. He hadn’t taken his plan this
far, but now that they were here, on the threshold of something amazing, the
plan morphed, taking a wonderful turn. “I’ve decided to seduce you.”
“Oh.”
He
kissed the lips forming the perfect, “Oh.”
Drew
the kiss out languidly.
Slowed
their dance steps to almost none so he could enjoy her taste, the softening of
her body against his, the yearning of his own body for hers.
When
he pulled away she looked sleepy-eyed and happy. “Maybe we should share that
room after all.”
“Maybe we should.
BOOK #1
Two different worlds…
United by a baby!
In this Manhattan Babies story, when billionaire Jacob McCallan discovers Avery Novak—the woman he shared such amazing passion with—is pregnant, he insists on being there for his child. But fiercely independent Avery won’t put her trust in Jake easily. Will a trip to romantic Paris and getting to know the man behind the money make Avery realize they could be a proper family after all?
United by a baby!
In this Manhattan Babies story, when billionaire Jacob McCallan discovers Avery Novak—the woman he shared such amazing passion with—is pregnant, he insists on being there for his child. But fiercely independent Avery won’t put her trust in Jake easily. Will a trip to romantic Paris and getting to know the man behind the money make Avery realize they could be a proper family after all?
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CHAPTER
ONE
Jacob
McCallan strode down the quiet hall of Waters, Waters and
Montgomery—the law firm employed by his family—with tall, lanky Pete Waters,
senior partner.
“So, how’s
your mother holding up?”
Jake
glanced at Pete, not surprised he’d asked. His father had died five months
before and everyone was worried about his mom. “She’s working to pull herself
together. Some days are better than others.”
“Rumor
has it she headed the last board of directors meeting.”
Jake
grimaced. Nobody was supposed to know about that, but Pete had sources
everywhere. Jake chose his words carefully. “She tried.”
“Tried?”
“It
was no big deal. She walked into the meeting saying she wasn’t ready to be put
out to pasture and would assume Dad’s role as chairman of the board. I took her
out of the conference room and privately told her that the corporate bylaws
name the CEO as acting chairman.”
“You.”
He
nodded. “Me. I told her that if we went against the bylaws, we risked being
sued by shareholders.”
“How’d
she take it?”
“She
was a bit confused. A bit hurt. I think she believed taking over as chairman
would give her something to do now that Dad’s gone.”
Pete
took a long, slow breath and blew it out in a gust. “That’s rough.”
Painter’s
scaffolding crowded the end of the private corridor to Pete’s office. He
pointed to the right. “We’ll go the long way.”
The
“long way” took them past cubicles filled with workers on the phone or
frantically typing on computer keyboards, then a file room. A wall of windows
exposed rows of files—thinner than they had been before most things were stored
on computers—and five copy machines.
Jake
frowned and slowed his steps. Was that Avery Novak standing in
front of one of those copy machines?
He
couldn’t really tell because the tall redhead’s back was to him. But a man didn’t
forget silky hair long enough to tickle his chest when she straddled him.
He
told himself to keep walking. He and Avery had had a short fling, which she’d
mercifully broken off after three weeks. They’d been dynamite in bed. But out
of bed? They would have done nothing but argue about politics and principles if
Jake had ever risen to any of her bait. The woman was ridiculously headstrong,
and she didn’t like rich people.
No
matter how hot they were together, he had looked down the board and seen a
future filled with her being critical of his privileged lifestyle, and in
general acting as if he were Marie Antoinette and she was a beleaguered
peasant. His only regret was that he hadn’t been the one to break it
off.
Jake
and Pete, were just about at the end of the long glass wall when she turned.
Her huge green eyes widened. Her mouth fell open and she quickly lowered the
file she held to her stomach. But it was too late. He’d seen the baby bump.
Baby bump!
She
had to be at least five months pregnant. Maybe six.
Oh, God… Six?
That
took them back to February—when they were dating.
That
could be his baby. His child.
He
glanced at Avery again. Her figure hadn’t changed much except for the baby
bump, yet she’d looked womanly, more attractive. He remembered her soapy and
sexy in the shower, added the baby bump to the naked body he knew so well, and
something raw and emotional ripped through him. Stronger than lust, more
profound than awe that they’d created a child, the feeling rendered him
speechless. The reality that that “bump” could be his child slammed
into him like an eighteen-wheeler, mostly because his father had been a terrible
parent. He had no idea how a good dad behaved. What a good dad did—
But, no. It couldn’t be his child. Avery would have told him. Wouldn’t she?
He
and Pete finally walked past the file room. Pete still chatted on about Jake’s
mother. “I understand that she’s on, shaky emotional ground. But you really have
to hold the line with her coming into the business and trying to do things.”
“Actually,
I’m thinking of giving her a job.”
“What?”
Pete stopped walking.
Jake
stopped too. “She lost her husband.” A movement from the file room caught his
eye and he glanced up in time to see Avery racing away. His throat constricted.
His gut clenched. Why run away from him if that wasn’t his child?
Embarrassment?
Maybe.
Had to be.
She was
probably embarrassed she’d
found another man and gotten pregnant so soon after
him. Because it couldn’t be
his baby…
Otherwise, she
would have told him.
He
faced Pete. “Mom’s grieving. She’s searching for meaning in her life. Trying to
be chairman of the board proves she wants something to do. Why not give her
something?”
“Because
she’s been a socialite for forty years and doesn’t have any skills?” Pete sighed.
“Jake, giving her a job is only going to make your life difficult. There are
better ways to handle her grief than having her underfoot.”
“I’m
not sure I agree. Maybe she has skills we don’t know about? Or maybe she won’t
even want a job? At least if I ask, she’ll feel wanted.”
“I
think you’ll be sorry.”
“Perhaps.
But I think I should ask. She’s leaving today for a week in Paris. I thought if
I offered her something, it would perk her up enough that her friends could
snap her out of her depression.”
“You’re
sure she’s going?”
“She
and her girlfriends have been spending the first week of September in Paris for
decades.” He took a brief glance up the hall, but Avery was gone. “She’ll
recognize she needs to be with her friends and go. Besides, there’s a charity
ball over the weekend that I’m attending this year. She won’t miss my first
time there and a chance to introduce me to her friends.”
“What
if she jumps on your job offer and doesn’t care about going to the event?”
“A
condition of her coming to work for us will be that she takes the week in Paris
first.”
Pete
shrugged as if grudgingly agreeing with Jake’s decision.
They
reached Pete’s office and Jake took one final glance up the hall. He didn’t see
Avery, but his chest tightened anyway.
As
Pete droned on about fulfilling the bequests in his dad’s will, Jake realized
three things. First, Avery was independent enough that she could consider it
her right not to tell him about his own child. Second, if that baby really was
his, he was in trouble. He had no idea how to be a parent and he would need all
the time he could get to figure it out before the baby was born. Which meant,
number three, he was going to have to confront her.
Today.
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