The Baby Inheritance

One corner of his mouth quirked as he poured himself a scotch. “Andre’s more than a butler. Sometimes I think he’s a miracle worker.”

“I’m convinced,” she admitted. “He arranged for the crib and had a wide selection of baby food stocked in your pantry. He even provided a bright blue teddy bear that Rosie already loves.”

Reed smiled and even from across the room Lilah felt the punch of it. If anything, her sense of balance dissolved just a bit more.

“You want a drink?”

She thought about refusing, simply because she wasn’t ready to relax around him yet. But after the day she’d had... “Wine, if you have it. White.”

He nodded, got the wine from the refrigerator and poured her a glass. Carrying both drinks to the sofa, he sat down and handed the wine to her when she joined him, taking a seat on the opposite corner.

Lilah took a sip, let the wine settle her a bit. Being this close to Reed Hudson was a little unnerving. The anger she’d been living with for the past few weeks still simmered deep inside her, but looking at him now, she had to admit it wasn’t only anger she was feeling. She had another slow sip of wine and reminded herself just why she was there.

“Why are you so willing to raise Rosie?” she asked, her voice shattering the silence.

He studied the golden scotch in the heavy glass tumbler for a long moment before taking a swallow. “Because Spring asked me to.”

“Just like that.”

He looked at her, his green eyes as clear and sharp as emeralds under a spotlight. “Just like that. The baby—Rosie—” he corrected before she could “—is a Hudson. She’s family and I look out for my family.”

“Enough to change your whole life?”

A wry smile curved his mouth briefly. “Life’s always changing,” he mused. “With a family like mine, nothing ever stays the same.”

“Okay, but...” Waving one hand to encompass the elegant surroundings, Lilah said, “You’re not exactly living in a baby-friendly environment.”

“I know.” His gaze slipped around the open room, then he nodded at her. “That’s one of the reasons you’re here. You’ve got more experience with babies than I do. So you’ll know how to baby-proof this place temporarily.”

“Temporarily?” she asked.

“Obviously, I’ll need a house,” he said, taking another drink of his scotch. “Until now, the hotel’s worked well for me. Butler service, daily maids and twenty-four-hour room service.”

“It does sound good,” she admitted, but didn’t think she’d be able to live in such a cutoff, sterile environment for long.

“But a baby changes things,” he added, with a slight frown into his glass.

“Yeah, they really do.”

Abruptly, he pushed to his feet and reached out for her hand.

“What?” she asked.

One eyebrow winged up. “Don’t be so suspicious. Just come with me for a minute.”

She placed her hand in his and completely ignored the buzz of something electric that zapped through her. If he felt it, too, he was much better at not showing it than she was. Not a flicker of response shone in his eyes as he pulled her to her feet.

He tugged her behind him as he walked around the sofa, across the room and out onto the terrace, stepping into the encroaching shadows. Then he let her go and walked up to the stone railing, looking out over the view as lights began to wink into existence in the homes below, and a handful of stars began to glitter in the sky.

Lilah followed his gaze briefly, then half turned to watch him instead. His sharp green eyes were narrowed against the cold wind that ruffled his thick, wavy black hair. Somehow he seemed more...approachable. Which should probably worry her.

“I can’t stay here,” he said, his voice soft enough that she leaned in closer so she wouldn’t miss a word. “Rosie will need a yard. And a terrace that doesn’t include a couple-hundred-foot drop to the street.”

Lilah shivered and looked over the edge of the railing. She’d had the same hideous thought herself. A tiny Rosie crawling out to the terrace and somehow climbing up on furniture and pitching right over. Deliberately, she pushed that mental image away and told herself it was good that Reed had come to the decision to move on his own—without her having to mention it.

“So just like that, you’ll buy a house.”

“Just like that,” he assured her, turning to lean one hip against the stone balustrade. “I’ll find something this weekend.”

She laughed. How could she not? Lilah’s friends worked and saved for months, sometimes years to sock away enough money to maybe look for a house. Reed Hudson would simply pull out his magic checkbook. “Is everything so easy then?”

“Not easy,” he assured her, his green eyes meeting and holding hers. “But if there’s one thing I know—it’s that if you want something, you go get it.”

Three

Oddly enough, Lilah could understand that statement. Okay, the spur-of-the-moment buying of a house was way out of her league, but the attitude was something she believed in. Going after what you wanted and not giving up until you had it.

Isn’t that how she’d run her own life?

How strange that she found herself agreeing with a man she’d expected to loathe on general principle. But as much as she was still furious on her friend’s behalf, she had to admit that Spring had left her daughter to Reed’s care. That said something, too, didn’t it?

Spring had loved her daughter more than anything. So Lilah had to assume that there was more to Reed Hudson than she’d seen so far. Rose would not have been entrusted to him if Spring hadn’t believed he could and would love that little girl.

Maybe, Lilah thought, instead of just holding her own anger close and nurturing it, she should give him a chance to show her she was wrong about him.

“How does Rosie fit into your plans?” she asked.

He looked at her for a long minute and Lilah just managed to keep from fidgeting beneath that steady stare. Her hormones were stirring to life, and that was so unexpected. She’d come here reluctantly, to turn over a baby she loved to a man she didn’t know or trust. Now her own body was lighting up in a way she’d never known before, and she didn’t like it. Being attracted to this man wasn’t something she wanted—but her body didn’t seem to care.

Under the gaze from hot green eyes, she shifted uncomfortably and silently told herself to get a grip.

“Rosie’s mine now.” Cool words uttered simply and they drove a knife through her heart.

Instantly, she told herself that she should be glad of it. That’s why she was here, after all. But she’d loved Rose from the moment of her birth. Lilah was Spring’s coach all through labor and delivery and she’d held Rosie herself when the little girl was moments old. She had been a part of the baby’s life from that day on, helping to care for her, worrying about her, loving her. And since Spring’s death more than a month ago, Lilah and Rosie had been a team. A unit. Now she had to give up the child she loved so much and it tore at her.

“I’ll take care of her,” he was saying. “Just as Spring wanted me to.”

“Good,” she muttered, and paused for a sip of wine. “That’s good.”

“Yes,” he said wryly. “I can hear just how pleased you are about it.”

Caught, she shrugged. “No point in pretending, is there?”

“None.” He nodded. “Truth is much easier and far less trouble.”

“Are you sure you’re a lawyer?”

One eyebrow winged up. “Don’t much like lawyers?”

“Does anyone?”

His mouth twitched briefly. “Good point. Though I can say my clients end up very fond of me.”

“I’ll bet,” Lilah muttered. In all of her research, she’d learned just what a shark Reed Hudson was in a courtroom. He was right, his clients did love him, but, oh, his opponents had plenty to say—most of it sour grapes, but still.

Frowning, he gave her a hard, long look and asked, “So is it lawyers you loathe or just me in particular?”

“I don’t know you well enough to loathe you,” she admitted, which wasn’t really answering the question. She gave a sigh, met his gaze and said, “I came here already not liking you much.”

“Yes, that was clear when we met.”

Lilah winced a little. She was never deliberately rude, but her emotions had nearly been choking her. It wasn’t really an excuse, but it was the only one she had. “You’re right. But losing Spring, then having to hand Rosie over to someone I’d never met...”

She watched him think, consider, before he finally nodded. “I can see that,” he acknowledged with another long look into her eyes. “I appreciate loyalty.”

“So do I,” she said and thought they’d finally found some common ground.

“I spoke to our parents,” he said abruptly. “Well,” he amended, “our father, Spring’s mother.”

So strange, Lilah thought, different parents, same family, tangled and twisted threads of connections. Lilah had had no idea that Spring was a member of such a well-known family. Until her death revealed her secrets, Spring had gone by her ex-husband’s last name, Bates. So Lilah hadn’t been at all prepared to face down the powerful Hudson family.

Worry tightened into a coil in the pit of her stomach. What if Spring’s parents wanted Rosie? Would he give the baby over, in spite of Spring’s request that he raise her? And if he wanted to, how could Lilah fight him on it? From what she’d learned about the Hudsons, she had to think their parents were less than interested in their own children. They wouldn’t give Rosie the time or care she needed. Even while a part of her started plotting just what she might do if she had to take on Spring’s parents, Lilah asked, “What did they say?”

He sighed and for the first time he looked more tired than irritated. Or maybe, she thought, resigned was the right word.

“Just what I expected them to say,” he told her with a wry twist to his lips. “My father reminded me that he already has a three-year-old in the house and his wife is about to give birth to another baby.”

She blinked. It sounded strange to hear about siblings born more than thirty years apart.

“And Spring’s mother, Donna, said she’s got no interest in being a grandmother—or in having anyone find out she’s old enough to be a grandmother.”

“Not very maternal, is she?”

“The words alley cat spring to mind,” he admitted. “My father has interesting taste in women. Anyway, I told them both that Spring left her child to me. I was only calling them to give them a heads-up.”

A quiet sigh of relief slid from Lilah’s lungs. He didn’t sound as though he had any interest in handing Rosie over to those people, so one worry down. “So basically,” she said through the quiet sigh of relief, “they’re leaving Rosie with you.”

He looked at her. “I wouldn’t have given Rose to them even if they’d wanted her—which I was certain they wouldn’t.”

Now surprise flickered to life inside her. Lilah would have expected him to want someone to relieve him of the baby. Hearing him say just the opposite made her wonder about him. “Why?”

Frowning, he took a drink, then said, “First and most importantly, Spring asked me to take care of her daughter.”

Lilah nodded. She understood and appreciated that he would take his sister’s request to heart. In everything she’d read about him, he was a cold, merciless attorney. What she hadn’t known about was the loyalty she saw now, etched into his expression.

And even though her heart ached at the thought of going home and leaving Rosie behind...Lilah felt a bit better about going knowing that at least Reed would do what his own sense of duty demanded. It wasn’t enough for a child to grow on. A child needed love before anything else. But it was a start.

Still, she asked, “What else? What aren’t you saying?”

His mouth firmed into a tight line as he shifted his gaze from hers to the ocean, where the dying sun layered brilliant streaks of red and gold across the water. “Your parents,” he asked, “still together?”

A bittersweet pang of old pain shot through her chest. “They were,” she said quietly, watching his profile as he studied the sea as if looking for answers. “Until my father died in an avalanche five years ago.”

He looked at her then, briefly. “I’m sorry.”

“So were we,” she said, remembering that loss and how keenly it had been felt. “A couple of years ago, though, my mother met someone. He’s a very nice man and he makes her happy. They were married a year ago, and now they spend all of their time traveling.”

Stan was retired, having sold his business for millions more than ten years ago. When he met Lilah’s mother on a ski run in Utah, it really had been love at first sight, for both of them. And though it had been hard to accept that her mother could love someone other than Lilah’s father, she couldn’t deny how happy Stan made her mom.

Curiosity sparked in his eyes. “Going where?”

“Everywhere, really,” she said, with a half laugh. “Mom and Stan live on a cruise ship, going from port to port and, according to my mother’s emails, having a wonderful time.”

Now he turned, a small smile curving his mouth, and looked down at her. “You were surprised that I live in a hotel, but your own mother lives on a cruise ship.”

She shrugged. “But a hotel’s on land. Near houses. A cruise ship is something else again.”

“Odd logic.”

Smiling, she said, “It works for me.”

“Yeah.” He turned his face into the wind again and said, “So, my family’s different. They like having children, they just don’t like having them around. Nannies, governesses and boarding schools are the favorite child-rearing tools for the Hudsons.”

Before she could say anything about that, he went on, “Spring hated it. It was a kind of torture for her to be locked away in a school she couldn’t leave.” He swiveled his head and stared at her. “How could I give Rose over to people who would only do the same thing to her that they did to her mother? No.”

Warmth opened up in the center of her chest and Lilah was caught off guard. The cold, hard lawyer seemed to have disappeared and she didn’t know quite what to make of the man he was now.

“You’ve agreed to stay,” he was saying, and Lilah came up out of her thoughts to listen.

“For a while, yes.” For Rosie. For Lilah’s own sake, she would stay until she was sure the baby girl would be safe. Happy. She’d closed her artisanal soap shop temporarily and could run the online business from her laptop, so there was no rush to get home.

Reed had wanted to pay her to stay. What he didn’t realize was he would have had to pay her to leave.

“Then you can help me choose the house.” He finished off his scotch. “And furnish it. I won’t have time for a decorator.”

Stunned, she just looked at him. “You want me to—”

“Don’t all women like shopping?”

She laughed shortly. “That’s completely sexist.”

“Sue me. Am I wrong?”

“No, but that’s not the point,” she said.

“It’s exactly the point. You’ll have free rein,” he tempted her. “You can pick out the furnishings that’ll make the house baby friendly.”

Help choose the kind of house Rosie would grow up in? How could she refuse? Shopping to outfit an entire house on someone else’s dime? What woman wouldn’t accept that offer? Besides, if left to his own devices, Lilah was sure he’d furnish the whole place in black and white, and that thought was just too hideous to contemplate.

“Free rein?” she repeated, wanting his assurances.

“That’s what I said.”

“So you’re okay with lots of color.”

His eyes narrowed. “How much color?”

He was worried and that made her smile. “Free rein,” she reminded him.

* * *

Buying a house wasn’t that difficult when you were willing to pay any price to get what you wanted when you wanted it. The Realtor quickly decided that Lilah was the person she needed to convince, and so Reed was able to hang back and watch the show. He had to admit, Lilah was picky, but she knew what would work and what wouldn’t. She wasn’t easily swayed by the Realtor’s practiced patter about square footage, views and school districts. He admired that.

But then, he was finding the whole package of Lilah Strong intriguing. She wasn’t sure of him still, so there was a simmer of anger about her he couldn’t miss. Most women he knew were cautious enough to only let him see carefully constructed smiles. They laughed at his jokes, sighed at his kiss and in general tried to make themselves into exactly what he might want.

Strange, then, that the woman who didn’t care what he thought of her was the one he found the most intriguing. Hell, watching her move through an empty house, the Realtor hot on her heels, was entertaining. And damned if the view wasn’t a good one.

She wore a long-sleeved white button-down shirt with a sleek black vest over it. Her blue jeans hugged a great behind and an excellent pair of legs, and black boots with a two-inch heel completed the look. Casual elegance. Her reddish-gold hair hung loose to the middle of her back in a cascade of waves that made him want to bury his hands in the thick mass.

But then, he remembered she’d looked damn good the night before, too, wearing only a sky blue nightgown that stopped midthigh.

He woke up at the sound of the baby crying and realized that this was his new reality. Rose was his now and he took care of what was his.

Moving through the darkened suite, he walked to the room Rose and Lilah were sharing, gave a brief knock and opened the door. Lilah was standing in a slice of moonlight, the baby held close to her chest. She was swaying in place and whispering things Reed couldn’t make out.

“Is she all right?” he asked, keeping his own voice hushed.

“Just a little scared,” Lilah told him, giving the baby soothing pats as she rocked her gently. “New place.”

“Right.” Wearing only a pair of cotton sleep pants, he walked barefoot across the room and scooped Rose right out of Lilah’s arms, cradling the baby to his chest.

For a moment, it looked as though Rose would complain. Loudly. But the baby stared at him for a long minute, then sighed and laid her little head down on his shoulder.

That one action melted something inside him and felt...powerful. He held that tiny life close, felt her every breath, every shuddering sigh, and knew in that one shining moment he would do anything to keep her safe.

Then he looked into Lilah’s eyes and found her measuring him. Her hair was a tangle of curls around her face, her eyes were wary and she crossed her arms over her chest, lifting her breasts high enough that he got a glimpse of cleavage at the V-neck of her nightgown.

“Sorry she woke you,” Lilah said, voice soft as a feather.

“I’m not,” he said, surprised to find it was nothing but the truth. “We have to get used to each other, don’t we?”

“Yes, I guess you do.” She reached out one hand to smooth her palm over Rosie’s dark curls. “She’s usually a good sleeper, but her routine’s a little messed up right now.”

“She’ll get a new routine soon.”

At that, Lilah let her hand drop to her side and stared up at him. “Are you ready for that?”

He looked down at the baby asleep on his shoulder. “I will be.”

And in the quiet of the night, with a sleeping baby between them, he and Lilah watched each other in the silence.

Reed had wondered then, as he did now, if she had felt the heat that snapped and sizzled between them.

Today, her blue eyes were sharp and clear as she inspected the kitchen of the fifth house they’d seen that morning. She stepped out onto a brick patio, with the Realtor hot on her heels. Reed walked out after them, listening to their conversation.

“I like that there’s a fence around the pool,” Lilah said, looking at it as if she could judge its strength with the power of her gaze.

“Electronic locks with a parental control,” the Realtor said, giving a wide, plastic smile as she smoothed black hair so stiff that it probably wouldn’t have moved even if she were in the middle of a tornado. “There’s a top-of-the-line security system in the house as well, and both remotes are accessible in the garage as well as the house.”

“Security,” Lilah mused thoughtfully. “So this isn’t a good neighborhood?”

The Realtor paled while Reed smothered a smile.

“This is one of the finest neighborhoods in Laguna,” the Realtor protested. “A security system is simply for peace of mind.”

Reed saw the humor in Lilah’s eye and knew she was just giving the other woman a hard time.

“I do like this yard,” she said, turning in a slow circle to admire the picture.

Reed did as well, and he had to admit that of the houses they’d seen so far that morning, he preferred this one. The house itself was a larger version of a California bungalow. It had charm, character but plenty of room, and it wasn’t sitting on top of its neighbors. He liked that. Reed also liked the yard. The pool took up a third of the lot, but alongside it ran a wide green swath of lawn that would give a kid plenty of room to run. There were trees and flower beds, and since they were situated high on a hill, there were spectacular views of the ocean. The brick terrace boasted an outdoor living space, complete with a backyard kitchen, and the interior of the house was just as perfect. Five bedrooms, five baths and a kitchen that looked fine to him and had had Lilah sighing.

Standing in a tree-dappled patch of shade, Lilah looked at him. “What do you think?”

Both women were watching him, but Reed’s gaze met Lilah’s alone. “I think it’ll work.”

The Realtor laughed sharply. “Work? It’s a fabulous piece of property. Completely redone two years ago, from the roof to the flooring. It’s only been on the market for three days and it’s priced to sell and—”

Never taking his gaze from Lilah’s, Reed held up one hand for silence and hardly noticed as the Realtor’s voice faded away.

Lilah grinned at the woman’s reaction to his silent command. “I like it.”

“Me, too,” Reed said, and spared a glance for the Realtor. “I’ll take it. Have the paperwork drawn up and delivered to me at the Monarch this afternoon—”

“This afternoon? I don’t know that I can get it all done that quickly and—”

Now he shot the woman a look he generally reserved for hostile witnesses on the stand. “I have every confidence you will. And, while you’re working, you should know there’s a nice bonus in it for you if you arrange for a seven-day escrow.”

“Seven—”

“And,” he continued as if she hadn’t interrupted, “since I’ll be paying cash for the house, I’d like the keys in five days. Furniture has to be delivered and arranged so that we can move in at the end of the seven days.”

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