The Heir Affair

“Can you please forget about Hunter for two seconds.” Melody didn’t want Kyle’s thoughts taking him there.

Since she’d run into Hunter in New York, Kyle had mentioned several times that she might have unfinished business with the DJ. That couldn’t be farther from the case, but there were things she’d had in common with Hunter, like them both being in the music business, that she didn’t share with Kyle.

Melody set her hand on his arm to bring his attention to her. “I have something I need to tell you.”

When his hazel eyes shifted her way, she released the breath she’d been holding. It was long past time she got this off her chest, but now that the time had come, saying the words out loud was way harder than any speech she’d prepared in her head.

“Earlier I said things are complicated.”

Cool eyes watched her from a face made of granite and Melody longed to be anywhere but here. Given Kyle’s family background, he wasn’t exactly emotive. He played his cards close to his chest. She had absolutely no idea how he was going to react to what she had to say. She could only hope the anticipation was worse than the outcome.

“I’m pregnant.”

Kyle’s flat expression vanished. Instead, he looked like the floor had dropped from beneath his feet. “Pregnant?”

“Yes. I know it’s a shock...”

They hadn’t anticipated this. The topic had never even come up. Nor had marriage or anything having to do with the future. Their relationship had been new and untested. They’d both committed to taking things one day at a time.

“You’re having a baby.” His gaze went past her shoulder and roved around the room as if he was in search of something to help him understand. Like a lodestone, the vase of red roses snagged his notice once more. His body went rigid. “And the father?”

Melody shook her head and took a step back. Had she heard him right? “What do you mean?”

“The father.” Kyle flung out his hand in the direction of the flowers as if they explained everything. “Do you know who it is?”

Two

At his question, Melody blinked several times in rapid succession and then just stared at him in shock. As the impact of what he’d asked sunk in, Kyle realized he’d just made a huge mistake. His heart clenched in misery. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her, but that was all he seemed capable of these days.

“What I meant was...” he began, but she was having none of it.

“You’re the father,” Melody said, her voice raw with disappointment and anguish. “How could you think anything else?”

“The flowers.” He slashed his gaze toward them, unable to face the judgment in Melody’s eyes. “It’s the exact thing Hunter sent you last year when he was trying to get you to reconsider picking me over him.”

“Hunter and I are friends.” Her stiff tone brooked no argument. “Nothing more.”

“The same could’ve been said about us before we got together,” he reminded her.

For several seconds she stared at him in silence as her chest rose and fell in response to the large quantity of air she was moving through her lungs. Her blue eyes were overly bright as she assessed him.

When at last she spoke, her words thudded like hammer blows on his psyche. “I can’t believe you could think that I would cheat on you with Hunter or anyone else.”

The urge to fold her into his arms flooded him, but so much resentment lay between them. He doubted she’d be open to any attempt on his part to touch her.

“I don’t.”

“Then why would you ask me something so ridiculous as whether I know who the father is?”

“It came out wrong.” But it hadn’t. In the back of his mind was that ever-present image of Melody and Hunter hand-in-hand.

“I don’t think it did. You’ve been looking for an excuse to break up for months.” Her voice was ragged and raw. “I’m not going to fight you any longer. We’re done.”

“What?” Although he’d been dreading this outcome for months now, Kyle wasn’t prepared for the actual ending. His thoughts reeled. “Just like that?”

“You just accused me of being pregnant with some random guy’s baby—”

“Not some random guy,” he reminded her, hating the words coming out of his mouth but unable to stop the flow. He needed to get his suspicions out in the open. That was the only way they could move forward. His tone was bleak as he finished. “Hunter’s.”

“I can’t keep doing this.” Melody stuck out her arm and pointed toward the door. “Go.”

The numbness that had momentarily gripped him burned away in a rush. “Aren’t you forgetting something?” He gazed toward her belly where, now that he knew what to look for, he detected the tiniest roundness. “That’s my baby you’re carrying.”

Muscles bunched in her cheek as her arm fell back to her side. Her eyes were sapphire-hard as she demanded, “So, now you’re sure?”

If he wanted to save their relationship, he had to get over the doubts clouding his judgment. He loved Melody and they were going to be a family. He’d won her away from Hunter once. He could do it again. And again. Whatever it took.

“Yes.”

She crossed her arms over her chest, not giving an inch. “And I’m supposed to forget every terrible thing you thought about me and be glad you’ve finally decided to come around?”

“I made a mistake.”

“You made a series of them.” Abruptly, the fight drained out of her. “This isn’t how I wanted things to go.”

“What did you expect?” He took a half step toward her, intent on making some sort of a peace offering, but let his hand fall back to his side when she shook her head.

“I don’t know.” Her shoulders rounded with exhaustion. “I thought maybe it would magically fix things.”

“We’ve had too much time apart.”

“And that’s my fault?”

Although she’d been the one who’d pulled away rather than stay and fight with him—for them—he’d meant it as an observation, not a criticism. Her distance these last few months had awakened a fear of losing her.

“I told you to go on the tour,” he reminded her. “And if I had to do it all over again, I’d make the same decision. It was the right step for your career.” And if he was honest with himself, he hadn’t been ready for the level of commitment their relationship had reached.

It still boggled his mind how fast he’d gone from being her friend to inviting her to move in with him. Cohabiting with Melody had been the most natural thing in the world. It hadn’t required any significant shift in his beliefs or habits. The transformation from bachelor to boyfriend had been seamless and rewarding. It wasn’t until she left on the tour that he’d noticed disquieting thoughts creeping in.

“How far along are you?”

“Twelve weeks.”

He did the math. The last time they’d been together. It had been a rocky weekend. “How long have you known?”

“Since shortly after I returned from Sydney.”

“Six weeks.” He rubbed his eyes while disappointment flowed through him. Why had it taken her so long to share such important news? Could it be that she was afraid of how he would react? And hadn’t he just demonstrated that she’d been right?

Her vehemence caught him by surprise. “You don’t get to do that.” She pointed an accusatory finger at him.

“Do what?”

“Make me feel bad for not rushing to tell you that everything in your life was going to change.”

She was so obviously afraid of what his reaction would be. And perhaps with good reason. He hadn’t exactly swept her into his arms and spun her in a giddy circle while crowing his delight.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine.” But she appeared anything but okay. She seemed as shell-shocked as he was. “I’m sure we’re both overwhelmed at the idea of becoming parents. At least we have six months to get used to the idea.”

“Have you started to think about what you’re going to do?” he asked.

“What do you mean ‘do’?”

“For where you’re going to live.” Where did he figure in her plans? “Are you staying here?”

“In Las Vegas?” Melody looked like a cornered rabbit. “I don’t know. Nate is here. And Mia. Trent, Savannah and Dylan will be coming back as soon as she’s done filming the movie.”

“It doesn’t much sound like you plan on coming back to LA.”

Or back to Kyle. His home was in LA. Although, at the moment he was renting a place outside Vegas for the next few months. He’d offered to take over as temporary manager of Club T’s for two reasons. To be closer to Melody while she finished her album and to free up Trent to live in LA and take care of his son while Savannah worked.

“I feel as if I have a really good support system here.” The subtext was clear. She didn’t think he was going to be there for her. Was this opinion recently acquired or something that had occurred to her over a period of time?

“How do you figure? Trent and Savannah are in LA at the moment.”

“They’ll be coming back as soon as Savannah is done with her movie. And you’re here.”

Something loosened in his chest. “So you do want me around.”

“Of course. I want us to be a family.” Nothing sounded better, but in his peripheral vision a dozen red roses stood like a stop sign on her dining room table.

Then she shook her head. “Is that possible? Can we get back to where we were before the tour?”

“I’m not sure we can.” Although Kyle doubted it was the sort of answer a pregnant woman wanted to hear from the father of her child, he had to be honest with her. “Go backward, I mean. I’m sorry. All this has caught me by surprise. I never imagined myself a dad.”

“We never talked about it. I was a bit afraid to, knowing how you and your father get along.”

“You mean don’t get along.”

She gave a little shrug. “You aren’t him. You’re going to be a great dad.”

He wanted some time to assimilate all he’d learned, but she was staring at him like she needed him to fix everything. He just had no idea how to begin.

He considered her remark about his relationship with his father.

Suck it up, kid.

Be a man.

No one’s going to help you unless you help yourself.

The clichés went on and on. Maybe if Brent Tailor hadn’t been such a successful businessman and dedicated philanthropist, his opinions would’ve been easier to ignore. Instead, he was someone Kyle looked up to professionally. And much of what his father drilled into him had enabled his success as a major league pitcher.

The downside to what his dad had drilled into him all his life was that it didn’t enable Kyle to celebrate all he’d achieved in his baseball career or convey to Melody how he felt about their relationship.

“And you’re going to be a great mother.”

She blew out a huge breath. “I hope so. It would’ve been better if it happened later rather than sooner.”

“What’s done is done. What do you need from me?” He saw her answer coming and spoke quickly to head it off. “And don’t say nothing.”

From her frown he knew he’d struck the truth. She’d grown up watching her father and brother butt heads and depending on the situation, tended to either retreat or take on the role of peacekeeper whenever she caught a whiff of conflict.

“I have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow.” Her voice came across as tentative as if she half expected him to refuse.

“What time?”

“Three o’clock.”

Excitement trickled into his awareness, diluting his dismay. She was pregnant with his child. It wasn’t great timing, nor was becoming a father something he’d imagined happening any time soon, but he’d watched Trent with Dylan and was pretty sure he’d never seen his friend this happy. Maybe there was something to being a family that made the big problems smaller.

“Where do you want me to pick you up?” he asked.

“You don’t need to come.”

“Oh, I’m not missing this.”

Trent and Savannah had overcome bigger obstacles to find their way back to each other. Surely Kyle and Melody could get past what stood between them. Of course, he was assuming she wanted to. What if she didn’t love him anymore? She might not have cheated on him with Hunter, but he’d treated her as if she had.

He’d broken her trust, lodged unfair accusations at her. The person in the wrong hadn’t been her, but him. Just that morning he’d been all set to forgive her. It had never occurred to Kyle that the one in need of pardoning would be him.

“Thank you,” Melody said, but the words were perfunctory as if her thoughts had traveled elsewhere. “I appreciate your willingness to be involved.”

“I’m going to be there for you every way I can.”

* * *

Melody sat in the small, utilitarian lobby of Ugly Trout Records and stared out the front window toward the parking lot. For the fifth time in ten minutes, she checked the time on her phone. Kyle had three more minutes before he could be considered late. Since last night, she’d regretted caving in to his offer to take her to the doctor’s appointment. Unlike Hunter, Kyle counted punctuality as one of his virtues. He’d never left her waiting and wondering if he was going to call or show up. He’d always been very clear about his intentions and then followed through.

So why was she working herself into such a frantic mess? Practicing patience, Melody smoothed her sweaty palms down the legs of her skinny jeans. Thank goodness the denim had some stretch to it. Thanks to the severity of her morning sickness these last few weeks, she’d lost weight, but today her baby bump seemed more pronounced than the week before.

This change—more than the pregnancy test, her constant nausea and fatigue—had made her all too aware that she had a baby inside her. Sweat broke out. Most days she was happy about her impending motherhood. The timing could be better. She was on the verge of dropping her first album and the stress wasn’t good for her or the baby. But now that she’d broken the news to Kyle, more than just her and her baby’s future weighed on her mind.

“Hey, Melody, what are you doing up here?”

She turned at the sound of her name and smiled at the man who was detouring toward her. Craig Jameson was one of the top sound engineers working at the label. He’d been involved in eighty percent of Melody’s recording sessions and been instrumental in helping her produce most of her songs. He had a knack for knowing exactly what each song needed.

They’d spent hours together in the studio, talking about music and the industry. He had great stories about various artists that had come to Ugly Trout to record. Many had involved some pretty outrageous behavior—drunken jam sessions, a party with strippers and several fistfights.

“I’m waiting for Kyle to pick me up.” Although her relationship with Kyle was pretty well-known around the studio thanks to their public personas, Craig knew more details due to all the time he and Melody had spent together.

“It’s a little late for lunch.”

“Actually, we are heading to...” She’d held off mentioning her pregnancy around the studio until she told Kyle, but now that he knew there was no reason to keep the secret any longer. “The doctor.”

“You okay?” Craig’s concern touched Melody.

“Fine. Actually more than fine.” She forced bright happiness into her tone. “I’m pregnant.”

“That’s great news. Then things between you and Kyle are better?”

During a particularly low point, she’d confided in Craig. At the time she hadn’t considered that Craig was a work colleague. A few days earlier, he’d told her that he’d just broken off with his girlfriend of a year. She hadn’t hesitated to offer him a sympathetic shoulder. Maybe it had crossed a line, but Craig was a decent guy who’d needed a friend.

“We’re working on it.” She smiled, but there wasn’t a lot of joy in it.

“He’d be a fool to let you go.”

“That’s sweet of you to say.” Tears surged to her eyes but Melody blinked them away. It seemed as if everything set her off these days. Hormones. They were driving her crazy. She’d never been moody, but since becoming pregnant, her emotions were all over the place. “There’s Kyle now. I should be back in an hour or so. Would you have some time later to sit down with me? Nate wants me to get my album done and I could use some help narrowing down the songs.”

“I’d be honored to help.”

“Let me know what time you’re free.” She headed toward the front door and paused with her hand on it. When she looked over her shoulder, Craig was still watching her. “And thanks.”

“For what?”

“Everything.” Feeling a little as if she’d said too much, Melody pushed the door and blinked in the bright sunlight.

Kyle had parked his car and was heading toward her along the front walk. His long legs ate up the distance between them, demonstrating his upbeat mood. Today he wore a pair of khaki slacks and navy V-neck sweater over a white button-down shirt. His thick brown hair had an artfully disheveled look she loved. With a long, square face, firm chin and well-shaped lips, Kyle had the sort of good looks favored by fashion designers looking for sexy, rugged models.

When Melody saw his unguarded smile, a weight lifted off her shoulders. For a second she was catapulted back in time to when they’d first been living together in LA. It had been a heady, exciting, romantic three months. Kyle had been super supportive of her career and interested in learning her process for writing music.

His fascination had drawn Melody out of her shell. When it came to songwriting, she’d learned to be exceptionally protective. Back when she was still in school, her father had belittled her talent and broken down her confidence. He’d wanted her to pursue classical violin and made her attend Juilliard. When she’d quit halfway through her third year, choosing instead to pursue the contemporary popular music she loved, Siggy had pretty much disowned her.

“You ready?” he asked as he neared.

It seemed the most natural thing in the world for him to wrap his arms around her and drop a kiss on her cheek. Although she longed for a proper kiss, the affection in the gesture sent warmth rushing through her.

“I’m ready,” she countered. “Are you?”

Kyle’s smile was ever so slightly crooked as he opened the passenger door and ushered her inside. “I am.”

“I’m glad.” She studied him as he walked around the car and slid behind the wheel once more. “I’m a little nervous about the ultrasound.”

“Why?” Kyle got the car started and pulled out of the parking lot before glancing her way. “I thought this was just routine.”

“It is. But they look for certain things. I can’t help but wonder what they might find.”

“What are they going to look for?” Kyle’s brow creased.

Melody instantly regretted sharing her concerns. The last thing she wanted to do was freak out Kyle. He’d only just learned about the baby and probably hadn’t yet come to terms with becoming a father and now she was heaping new concerns onto the pile.

“They’ll check the heartbeat and determine my due date.”

“None of that sounds too bad.”

“Nooo.” She drew the word out. “And then they’ll look to make sure everything looks normal. Two arms. Two legs. That the organs are developing okay.” There were just so many things that could be wrong. And so many things that could be right. When had she become such a pessimist?

“Is there any reason to think anything will be missing?”

His faint note of teasing as he asked the question lightened Melody’s mood. She was being anxious for no good reason.

“Of course not. I guess it’s just going to be more real after today.”

And Kyle would be beside her as they both saw their baby for the first time. It roused all the things she so badly wanted but was afraid she might never get. For the last several weeks, since she’d learned she was pregnant, she’d been so focused on what was wrong with their relationship that she hadn’t thought about all the things that had once been right.

She’d braced herself to be a single mom, not even giving Kyle the benefit of the doubt. Because of the way her father had often treated her, she’d been quick to expect Kyle to disappoint her. If she anticipated Kyle not wanting to be a father, then it wouldn’t hurt as much when that was what happened.

Automatically going on the defensive certainly wasn’t fair to Kyle. Or herself. Or their baby.

“There’s no going back,” she said.

He shot her a curious look. “Do you want to go back?”

“You didn’t ask for this.”

“Did you?”

“You mean did I try to get pregnant?” Melody wasn’t sure how to take his question.

“I wasn’t asking if you deliberately became pregnant,” he said and then sighed. He reached for her hand. “I was merely reflecting your question back at you.”

His matter-of-fact reaction to their situation should be the perfect balm for her agitation, but for some reason she was finding his encouragement annoying. At the same time, his fingers gave a little squeeze and she found herself torn between wanting to fight with him and needing to give in to his attempt to connect with her.

“If I’ve learned anything in the last year it’s that it’s really hard to maintain relationships while on the road. I thought a lot about what would happen if I decide to take my career seriously. I’d be traveling a lot on tour and making appearances. That sort of life is hard on everyone.”

“And you’re worried that you can’t have your career and a baby.” He didn’t voice the obvious question: whether she’d intended to choose between her career and continuing her relationship with him. “I think you can do it all.” A pause. “If you want to.”

This was the decision she was dreading. Did she want it all? A family? A career? Her feelings for Kyle hadn’t changed, but things were so much more complicated these days.

“Do you want to give us another shot?” she asked, her heart thudding hard against her ribs.

“I think we owe it to ourselves to do so, don’t you?”

“I do.”

He didn’t seem all that happy with her answer, however. “Just tell me one thing. Would you have been willing to work things out if you weren’t pregnant?”

“Yes, because if I didn’t, there would always be something unfinished hanging between us.”

He waited a long time before answering. “That’s fair. But you should probably know I wanted you back before I knew you were pregnant.”

“Even though you didn’t trust me?”

And there was the crux of their whole problem.

“I was wrong to think you and Hunter got together.”

She could tell that declaration had required a great deal of effort, but it wasn’t enough. “And yet last night you were wondering if I knew which of you was the father of my baby.”

Three

Kyle knew he deserved her sarcasm and let it slide off rather than get defensive. “It was the roses and that weird card that threw me off.”

“It was pretty weird, but it was probably just a screwup on the florist’s part. Maybe they neglected to add the person’s signature to the card. It could be from any number of people.”

“You don’t think it’s unusual that someone sent you a dozen red roses?” The last thing he should be doing was arguing with her.

“Okay, it’s freaking me out that I don’t know who sent them. But it was a nice gesture.”

Melody might not think the roses came from Hunter, but Kyle was pretty sure he’d sent them.

“Can we forget about the flowers?” Melody continued, smoothing her hands over her knees. “I want to focus on this appointment. I’m really glad you came along today.”

“So am I.” But even as he spoke, Kyle recognized it was going to take more than accompanying her to a doctor’s appointment before the tension eased between them.

He would have to make an effort to put his doubts to rest and get back in Melody’s good graces. If that required romantic gestures like flowers and candlelit dinners, he would do whatever it took.

“You can take a right at the driveway coming up.” Melody pointed the way into a parking lot beside a plain five-story building.