Bringing Emma Home

“Okay. No more talk about anyone or anything but us,” she said. She didn’t want anything to ruin their minivacation. Reaching across the wide console, she squeezed his hand where it rested on the steering wheel. “I can’t wait for you to be finished. You’re right. We need to get away. Starting today, we’ll plan to do something like this once a month. We deserve time alone together, don’t we?”

“Exactly. Why can’t we just take off, act like a pair of teenagers in love? The way we used to do,” he said, his smile intimate, wrapping around her, signaling that whatever was bothering him had gone.

She kissed him quickly. “After I’m done shopping, I’ll call a cab and go to the inn. I’ll check in and be waiting for you. Just for you, I’m going to buy something really sexy to wear tonight.” She kissed him again before she reached for the door handle. “You’d better be ready,” she teased, seeing the love in his eyes. Her body tingled. “I’ll order a bottle of champagne.”

He pulled her to him and kissed her, his mouth moving over hers in a way that made her weak with desire. “I can’t wait, woman.” His smile radiated happiness as his lips brushed hers. “I’ll see you later. We’ll order room service and you can model your latest purchase...before I remove it.”

* * *

FIVE HOURS LATER, Aidan lay sprawled on the bed, Grace in his arms, the sheets crumpled around them, his need for her completely sated.

“You are the most beautiful woman in the world,” he said, his throat filled with emotion as unexpected tears tingled behind his lids. He hadn’t felt this way for a very long time. He’d come to the inn and been met at the door of their suite by his wife dressed in a skimpy lace item that covered just enough and hinted at a lot more. He’d fallen into bed with her, and they’d had the best afternoon of lovemaking he could remember.

Slowly he kissed her lips, his fingers caressing her cheek. “I’ve never loved anyone the way I love you.”

She returned his kiss. “I love you, too, so much,” she whispered, her gaze on him and only him.

“I’ve missed this,” he said, his heart filled to overflowing.

“What do you mean?” She toyed with the hair on his chest.

“The way we made love, the closeness, the sheer excitement of simply enjoying each other.”

She pulled back a little. “But we’ve always—”

He placed his fingers gently over her lips to silence her. “Not like this. Not with this intensity and simply for the sheer pleasure of being with each other.”

Her gaze never left his face, and he saw the shimmer of unshed tears in her eyes.

“I don’t mean to say we haven’t made love to each other these past years, but there was always the other—”

“We’ve been over this before,” she said, her voice soft with a tinge of hurt.

Aidan wished he’d said nothing. “I’m sorry. This has been fantastic, and I shouldn’t have said anything. It’s just that I feel like I have you back. The Grace I married and have loved for so long. That’s all I meant. That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

“Me, too,” she said, her voice wistful.

“Then let’s not think about anything other than ourselves for the next two days. If I have my way, we won’t leave this room. We won’t need to.” He leaned up on one elbow and smiled at her. “I don’t ever want to leave this bed, but I am a little hungry. Why don’t I order room service? Another bottle of champagne, even?” He winked at her.

Grace chuckled. “You think you’ll get me a little tipsy and have your way with me again?”

“I’ve already had my way with you. Or did I leave such a poor impression that you didn’t notice?” he asked, kissing her again, feeling the heat rise, the tremble of her lips against his.

“I noticed,” she whispered, her hands moving over his chest, feeding his desire.

He held her close, his mouth claiming hers, his hands spreading across her back, moving down her body, her answering intake of breath music to his ears. “Yes,” he whispered against her lips. “We will put food on hold for a while longer—”

The chime of his cell phone startled him. “What was that?”

“I thought you turned your phone off,” she said leaning across him, her breasts skimming his chest. “I’ll do it for you. No more interruptions.”

He let her slide across him, enjoying the feel of her body on his. “Whoever is calling can wait.”

Grace picked up the phone and turned it off. “There. You don’t know how much pleasure I get from turning off your phone. Do you realize that it’s always on? That we’re always at the mercy of that piece of plastic?” she asked, sliding her body down his, making his breath quicken as her fingers trembled over his heated skin.

“You can turn my phone off anytime, Mrs. Fellowes, if this is what you intend to do while it’s off,” he said, his hands reaching for her shoulders, his body arching toward hers.

“This and a whole lot more,” she murmured as her gaze met his, the love in her eyes fueling his need for her. He stretched out in the bed, luxuriating in her touch, anticipating every move her body made along his.

The room phone blared.

Grace sighed and shifted to lie next to him. “What is going on?”

“It must be important, or maybe it’s the inn wondering if we need anything. Either way,” he said, reaching for the sleek black phone on the bedside table, “I’ll take care of it and we can get back to...” He looked into her eyes, saw her excitement and almost didn’t pick up the phone. “I’ll get this over as fast as I can.”

He grabbed the phone.

“Aidan, it’s Nancy. Sorry to interrupt, but I’ve had an urgent call from a lawyer in Spartanburg. He insists on talking to you now. He’s on the other line to be transferred to you.”

“Did he say what he wanted?”

“No. Just that he needed to talk to you as soon as possible. There seems to be some sort of emergency.”

He exchanged surprised glances with Grace. “But Lucas looks after our clients in Spartanburg. Did you tell him that?”

“I did, but he said it’s a personal matter, that he needs to speak to you directly.”

“Okay, put him on,” Aidan said with a sigh, pulling Grace closer as he settled in to hear what the man had to say.

“Hello, is this Aidan Fellowes?” a deep, gruff voice inquired.

“It is. What is so urgent that you need to speak to me today? I’ll be back in the office on Monday and we can talk then.”

“I’m afraid that won’t work. I have to ask you a few questions,” the man said.

“Who is this?” Aidan said, annoyed at the man’s presumption that he could dictate to him.

The phone was silent for a few moments. “It’s Larry Knowles. I’m the attorney for Deidre MacPherson.”

“I’m sorry,” Aidan said, his mind scrambling over the possibilities. Deidre had never attempted to contact him after their long-ago weekend together. “Why are you calling me? I have no connection to that person.”

“Ms. MacPherson was killed in an automobile accident on Thursday. According to her will, you are sole beneficiary of her estate with the proviso that you become the legal guardian of her daughter, Emma.”

Aidan swung his legs over the side of the bed and sat up. “You’ve got the wrong person. This is a mistake.”

“Not according to what I’m reading here.” He could hear the rustle of pages and a short pause. “She states that you are Emma’s father. She wants you to be her daughter’s guardian and to adopt her as soon as possible. When you do, you will receive the total of her estate worth over five million dollars. Her will is very clear on this point. Did you have no idea that she’d done this?”

It wasn’t possible. He couldn’t be the father of Deidre’s child. They’d spent a weekend together. Nothing more. He’d tried unsuccessfully for years to get his wife pregnant. What was the likelihood that he’d fathered a child with another woman?

This story had to be a lie. Obviously, Deidre had decided to make him responsible for a child he’d never met and couldn’t possibly have fathered. He took a deep breath. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I think this conversation has gone far enough,” he said forcefully, his eyes meeting Grace’s anxious expression as she snuggled under his arm, the gentle touch of her hand offering him her support.

“No. It hasn’t. Not until you agree...” More paper shuffling. “I have here a document, a DNA test that Ms. MacPherson had done on her child and you. You are the father of Emma Leigh MacPherson. We need to talk. When can you be in Spartanburg, Mr. Fellowes?”

“There has to be a mistake. I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Aidan said, the lie slipping so easily off his tongue.

Aidan’s stomach rose against his chest as his mind raced over the words this man had spoken. Something was wrong. This couldn’t be happening. It had been years ago, another lifetime, and none of it had meant anything to him. Grace knew nothing about that weekend, had never questioned any of his business trips.

His wife was a Christian who believed that the truth was a guiding principle in life. He believed it, too. He hadn’t wanted to lie to her about that weekend, and so had pleaded a heavy workload in Spartanburg.

He didn’t want to lie to her now, but he had no choice. If she found out that he’d fathered a child while they were trying to get pregnant, she would be devastated. He had no doubt that she would leave him. He couldn’t let that happen. Not over a mistake he had always regretted.

It had nothing to do with their life now. Grace’s happiness meant everything to him. He glanced furtively at his wife, seeing a look of confusion on her face, wishing he could end the call and it would all simply go away.

“What is going on?” she asked, sitting up straighter, slipping away from his side.

He had to do something to save the situation before he was forced to use words that would cause Grace to be suspicious. “Look, Mr. Knowles. We can discuss this on Monday. I’m sure there is some misunderstanding. We’ll clear it up then.”

“That won’t work. This child, your daughter, is living with her nanny, but arrangements need to be made for her. There is no immediate family, and if you don’t take the little girl, other arrangements will have to be made. I need to see you tomorrow. I’ll be in my office. What time can you be here?”

“I can’t drop everything just because you want to meet,” Aidan said, trying to make sense of this, but even more, trying to absorb that he was supposedly the father of a child he’d never known existed.

He scrubbed his face in disbelief. If this proved to be true, how was he going to tell Grace? He pressed the bridge of his nose, concentrating on regaining control of the situation. Whatever was going on with this Mr. Knowles, he would not let it spill over into his life with Grace.

CHAPTER TWO

AT THE SUDDEN change in Aidan’s voice, a chill ran through Grace. Something was horribly, terribly wrong. She’d never seen Aidan look so awful, so confused and uncertain, in all the years she’d known him. “Honey, what is it?”

Grace watched his anxious expression as fear wrapped around her heart, blocking the air from her lungs. Had someone been hurt? Was it a friend? Someone at work? Lucas? Her body quaked at the thought. It couldn’t be her brother, could it? The way Aidan’s gaze moved around the room, never connecting with hers, was terrifying. Unable to help herself, she reached up to put her arms around his shoulders, needing to learn more with each passing minute. “What is going on, Aidan? What is it?”

Clutching the phone tighter to his ear, he turned away from her. “If you insist, I will be there tomorrow afternoon. Not a minute before. Whatever is going on here, I’m as anxious as you to get to the bottom of this.”

Relief whistled through her at his words, the strict business tone he used. From what he said, it was clear that no one was hurt or in trouble, at least, no one she knew. Yet the soft light from the window exposed the pallor of Aidan’s skin. “What’s wrong?” she whispered urgently.

“It’s nothing, a misunderstanding that needs to be cleared up, that’s all,” he said, hanging up.

“What sort of misunderstanding?” she asked, as her nails bit into his shoulders.

“Someone died and I’m needed in Spartanburg tomorrow.” His tone was matter-of-fact, his expression grim, adding to her concern. She’d never known Aidan to respond to someone’s death with such anger. It was as if he didn’t believe what he’d been told.

“That’s awful. I’m sorry. But why did they call you? If it’s about business, why didn’t they call Lucas?”

He shook his head, still holding the phone as he rose from the bed and went to the window.

Grace went to him, wanting to comfort him. Taking his hand, she said, “Whatever is going on, I want to be there with you. Tell me who died.”

“It’s someone...I knew... A client.”

“Someone you knew? In Spartanburg?”

Aidan turned away, moving closer to the heavily draped window, his shoulders slumped.

She waited. He didn’t turn back to her, seek her out the way he did when something was bothering him. He’d been like that since the day they’d met. She could always rely on him to share his thoughts, whatever they were, good or bad.

“That was a call informing me about the death of Deidre MacPherson, the CEO of one of our major clients in Spartanburg. It seems I’m needed there urgently. Tomorrow at the latest.” He scrubbed his face with his hands. The only sound in the room was that of his long, agitated sigh as he placed the phone on the table, staring at it as if it had bitten him.

The set of his shoulders, the way he didn’t seem to see her or even be aware of her, made Grace realize that, for the first time in their marriage, he was lying to her. He was keeping something from her or he wouldn’t be so evasive. He’d hidden things from her before, like a surprise birthday party or when he gave her diamond earrings on their tenth anniversary. But they were surprises, not lies.

And this was a lie. She didn’t understand how she knew it was a lie. She’d never been suspicious of Aidan, had always trusted him completely. But now it was clear that there was something he was concealing, something so important to him that he was willing to lie to her about it. Her stomach lurched. “Aidan, what is going on? I’m your wife. You owe me an explanation.”

“That was her lawyer. He needs to talk to me.” Aidan glanced around, spotted his underwear and awkwardly pulled them on, all the while never once glancing in her direction.

“About what? And why you?” she insisted, though her heart pounded so hard in her ears she could barely hear.

“That woman, the one who died...” He searched the room for his shirt and pants. “She left her entire estate to me.”

“Why? Why would a woman leave you her money?”

“Because—” Aidan grabbed his clothes and got dressed hurriedly. “Because she’s crazy. She claims that she had a child. That the child is mine. I haven’t seen her in five years. I have no idea why she thinks her child is mine.” His look when he met her eyes was one of agony and despair.

Grace couldn’t breathe. She reached out to the drapes to support her as her knees began to buckle. His words cascaded over her, blocking her thoughts, filling her with disbelief and panic. A strangled cry emerged. “What are you talking about?” There had to be a mistake. Aidan and she couldn’t have children. All the testing proved that. She searched his face, seeking some sort of denial from him. “Tell me this isn’t true. This can’t be true. You can’t have a baby.”

“Grace, you need to sit down,” he said as he came to her, pulled her into his arms and led her to the sofa near the fireplace. “Let me try to explain what I believe is going on.”

“Did you have an affair with her?” she asked, her body shaking at the enormity of it all. Aidan in another woman’s bed. Aidan making love to another woman, his hands, his body on hers. The intimacy of the act, the love he was capable of making to Grace offered to another woman. “Tell me the truth!” she demanded, feeling sick to her stomach with anguish.

“Grace! I’m sorry. Really sorry.” He went down on one knee in front of her, his eyes pleading, his voice filled with remorse.

“Five years ago?” She heard a scream and realized it was hers. “You had an affair five years ago when we were trying to have a baby?”

“Not an affair. Not really.” He scrubbed his face with hands that shook. “You and I were going through a rough time.”

Her mind fumbled over his words. Her husband, the man she loved, had had an affair with another woman. He’d broken a solemn vow to her, one he’d taken before God. This couldn’t be true. But hadn’t he just admitted to it? “When? When did you do this?”

“I... Back when I managed our clients in Spartanburg. Before Lucas took over.”

“Is that why Lucas started going there? Is he aware of what is going on?”

“No. No one knows. It was just one weekend, and I’ve regretted it ever since.” He stared at the ceiling, then back at her. “I’ve never regretted anything more in my whole life.”

There were tears in his eyes, but it didn’t matter. No amount of tears could change what he’d just admitted to. “Regretted it,” she echoed. “You had sex with her and you regretted it.” She struggled to sort out her thoughts. This was all wrong.

“I swear I did not know she had a child. And I know it isn’t mine. I wouldn’t...couldn’t.”

“Stop! You just admitted to having sex with a woman who had a child. Your child.”

“No! Not my child!”

“You lied to me all this time. I didn’t lie to you. But you sure as hell lied to me. You had an affair with another woman.” She pounded his chest, grabbed his hair and pulled as hard as she could. “You destroyed everything!”

He winced. His eyes didn’t leave her face. “Grace, please stop. I don’t want to upset you.” He touched her bare leg.

“Upset me,” she seethed. “You’ve more than upset me, you bastard.” Suddenly she became aware that she was naked. Desperately wanting to cover herself, to feel whole and in control, she pushed his hand off her. “Get out of my way, Aidan. I’m getting dressed and getting out of here.”

“Grace. No. Don’t leave. Please let me try to explain. I realize that this is a huge shock for you. It’s a shock to me, as well.” Aidan reached for her again, but she pushed him away as she got off the sofa and moved across the room.

“A shock to you? Really?” she said, feeling the bitterness like a flush of acid seeping through her mind. Everything she loved and cherished had been swept from her life by his awful words.

He followed her as she moved around the room, gathering up her things. “I didn’t mean it that way. I mean getting the call and not knowing what was happening—” He lowered his head. “I’ve totally screwed up.”

For a fraction of a second, she almost went to him, to console him the way she always had.

But those days were dead and gone. She couldn’t let him touch her when she knew that he’d had an affair with another woman, and had lied to her about something so personal, so destructive that she would never trust him again. “If this is not your child, a DNA test will prove you’re not the father, won’t it?”

His expression filled with anguish, he glanced away.

Angry and disbelieving, Grace tried to remain calm. Struggling to get into her skimpy sundress and high heels, she hopped on one foot as she fastened her watch on her wrist. It seemed to be taking forever to get dressed. She just wanted to get out of here as soon as she could, away from the man who had destroyed her world.

A man, she now realized, she didn’t really know at all. “This woman you had sex with had the DNA test done, didn’t she?” She pointed at the phone, her voice rising. “That man. That lawyer wouldn’t be calling you if there wasn’t proof that you are the father of this woman’s child.”

“He says he has DNA proof. But I don’t believe it. We, you and I, can’t have children, and so this has to be some sort of awful mistake.”

Grace struggled to put on her earrings and finally gave up, throwing them on the floor. Aidan grabbed them from where they landed on the plush cream carpet. “I gave these to you,” he said, in a disbelieving tone. “They’re your favorites.”

“I don’t want jewelry bought out of guilt,” she said, striding into the bathroom. She combed her fingers through her hair, applied a little blush and gathered her cosmetics bag. She may just have been totally humiliated by her husband, but she was a Southern woman, and she would not leave the suite without looking in control and in charge.

In the bedroom, she shoved the remainder of her things into her suitcase. So many thoughts were crashing around her mind, each delivering yet another blow to her self-esteem. Her husband had had an affair and a child by another woman. “If this is true, it means that I’m the one who can’t have children, doesn’t it?”

“Grace, we’ve been over this dozens of times before. The doctors told us it was no one’s fault that we couldn’t have children. That some people simply can’t conceive. Please don’t do this.”

“I have no choice. I’ve waited our entire marriage for a baby, and now I learn that you are a father.”

“Grace, honey, I recognize this is hard for you. I wish I didn’t have to bring it up,” he said, his head lowered, his expression downcast.

“But you did and now I have to deal with it. How could you do this? To cheat on me, on us, is unbearable. And the fact that you didn’t recognize how hard this would be for me, to know you had a child when I couldn’t. You have destroyed everything.”

“Please, Grace, don’t say that. It’s not over between us. It can’t be. We love each other. I’ve hurt you and I will make it up to you somehow. I should have told you about the weekend with Deidre, but I didn’t want to hurt you over nothing. And it was nothing. Just a mindless fling because I was feeling so isolated and alone in our marriage. But that’s no excuse. I broke the promise I made to you. Please understand I never meant to hurt you. You, of all people. I love you, Grace.” His face was ashen, his eyes pleading.

“A mindless mistake showing your total disrespect for me, for our marriage, and I’m to believe that it’s as simple as you making a mistake? How stupid do you think I am?”

“I don’t think you’re stupid. I’m the stupid one for ever having anything to do with the woman.” Aidan stood still, misery an almost tangible aura around him.

“Well, it’s too late now. You can’t go back and undo what you did. And because of what you did, there is a child and you’re the father. Is it a girl or a boy?” she asked, feeling nothing, as if her body were floating off somewhere, that none of this was real.

“It’s a girl,” he said, his voice flat, as if the realization hadn’t yet dawned on him that he was a father.

“How old is she?” Grace demanded.

Aidan glanced around the room his hands shoved deep into his pockets. “I guess she’d be four or so.”

“What do you intend to do about her?” Grace asked.

Aidan gave a long sigh. “I don’t know. I figured it would get cleared up tomorrow.”

“If you’re so sure the child is not yours, maybe you should take our lawyer with you,” Grace said, trying to sound reasonable and in control even as her heart crumpled in her chest.

Her husband had fathered a child with a woman he’d had a weekend hookup with. That hurt in the worst way possible. All those times they’d hurried to make love while she was ovulating, only to be disappointed. All those times...the heartbreak she’d had to face...while he’d sought the attentions of another woman.

“Grace, I need to learn what I can about the situation. Maybe you’re right. Maybe I should take our lawyer, but first I’d like to see for myself what is going on.” He rubbed his palms together. “I know it’s asking a lot, but would you go with me to Spartanburg?”

She was halfway to the door when he said the words. She stopped and turned around so quickly her overnight bag banged into the back of her leg, delivering a stinging blow. “Me? You’re asking me to go with you? You destroyed my faith in you, and now you want me to help you solve a problem all of your making.”