An Unexpected Scandal

After that night, when they’d both claimed it was a mistake, neither of them had wanted anyone to know what had taken place in private. Now, though, keeping that secret would be impossible. He couldn’t stand by her side without people noticing.

“I want you to have as much of a role as you want,” she told him. “But I have to put the needs and the security of the baby first. So if you’re going to be around for a little bit and then shirk your daddy duties, I’d rather you not be around at all.”

Shirk his duties? Not likely. Clearly she didn’t know him very well.

“I’m not going anywhere,” he assured her.

She might not believe him, she might have her doubts, but he’d show her with his actions. This child would never question where his or her father was. Nick would always be present and available. Never before had he even thought to put something or someone ahead of his work, but from this moment on, his baby would come first.

Even though his world had seemed to come to a halt with losing his mother, the fact was, Silvia’s had kept going and she’d been holding this in until they could speak.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, truly wanting to know how she felt.

Silvia jerked as if the question stunned her. “Oh, well, fine, I guess. I mean, I’m tired, but that’s normal, from what I’ve read. I don’t have morning sickness, so I hope that doesn’t happen.”

She looked amazing. Not a dark circle, not a pale complexion...nothing. Silvia Lane epitomized class and beauty, even when soaking wet and dealing with an unexpected pregnancy.

And if not for a moment of weakness and a few gin and tonics with extra lime, this sexy architect might not have given a rough country boy like him the time of day. Oh, he had money—more than he would ever know what to do with—but that didn’t change his roots, a mountain childhood with a struggling single mom.

Silvia was the total opposite with her polished look and her Ivy League degrees. Her background was likely full of cotillions and dinner parties while his had been frozen dinners in front of the television.

“What was that letter I saw you with earlier?”

Her question pulled him back. “What?”

“At the cemetery,” she added. “You were reading a letter, and you seemed, I don’t know, angry or hurt. Both.”

Hurt? Yeah, that he hadn’t been told the truth before his mother passed away.

He’d read the letter twice and already had the damn thing memorized. There was no way he could ever forget his mother’s final words, her final confession. The one that would forever alter his life from this moment forward.

Nick,

I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you this while I was alive. Maybe I’m a coward, but I just wanted to spare you the pain of the truth for as long as possible. Now, though, I want you to have all of the information available to move forward. You’re the smartest, bravest person I know, and I trust you will continue to do the right thing.

For years you asked about your father, and I never wanted you to know the truth. With me gone, you deserve to know everything, even if it’s not what you expected or what you want to hear. I hope you don’t hate me, and I hope you don’t think badly of me.

Rusty Lockwood is your biological father.

Nick despised the man. He had been butting heads with the arrogant prick for the past year. Everyone in Tennessee knew who Rusty Lockwood was and how conniving he was in business. His moonshine distillery drew in thousands of tourists a year, but Rusty was always under the microscope and dodging rumors of illegal actions.

Nick would bet his private jet that the man didn’t have one truly loyal friend. Rusty was as crooked and as underhanded as they came. His millions stemmed from distributing backwoods moonshine long before the white lightning was legal. He’d only kept his head above water because he had certain politicians and the city council in his back pocket.

And now he was the power behind this place. Nick refused to let this go on any longer than necessary. Rusty had to be stopped.

How the hell had Nick’s mother gotten mixed up with Rusty Lockwood to begin with? Had he used her and discarded her? Had they actually had a relationship?

Nick recalled the final portion of the letter.

I know this is a shock to you, but I’m telling you the truth. I wish I could tell you your father was anyone else, but I can’t. I just want you to be careful. He’s vicious, but I can’t say I regret my past because it gave me you.

He paid me fifty thousand dollars when I told him about you. He gave me money to leave him alone and keep his name off the birth certificate. I’m not ashamed I took the money—that’s how I was able to buy us that small home.

I found out over the years that he fathered two other sons. I’m pretty sure he knows nothing about them, and I hope you all find your way to each other. I’ve sent them letters as well, and what they decide to do will ultimately be up to them. Continue making me proud. Get my resort up and running. I wouldn’t trust anyone else to that task.

I’ll love you even in death, Nick. Stay safe.

Nick pulled himself back to the moment. Silvia stared at him, still waiting on an answer.

“It was nothing,” he lied.

Because the life Nick had known before this day was gone. Now he had choices to make as his past and his future collided.

Three

“And don’t forget to have that to me by the end of the day,” Clark said with a wink. “You don’t want to mess up your six-month probationary period when you’re so close to the end.”

Silvia stared at the doorway long after her boss slunk away. Every time he winked that damn wink, she expected an air gun with his hand. And that snarky laugh grated on her every nerve. But she was still fairly new to Green Valley, Tennessee, and she needed this job. She’d moved here from Charlotte, wanting to be closer to the mountains she’d always visited as a child. Why not live in the most peaceful place she could think of?

Granted she wasn’t feeling much peace right now.

Clark wasn’t her favorite person, not by any means, but this firm was the best in all of Tennessee, so she was thankful for the position. Not to mention she was the only woman in the entire office; even the assistants and the interns were male. She liked to think that said something about her work ethic and her killer skills, but who knew. They likely were worried about a lawsuit, so they needed a woman to prove they were inclusive.

Silvia hadn’t yet told her boss that she was expecting. Since the pregnancy was still early, and she hadn’t finished the probationary period he’d tried to joke about, she didn’t see the need—plus, she didn’t think her personal life was any of his business...yet.

She hadn’t seen Nick since she’d spoken to him yesterday after his mother’s funeral. He’d looked so lost, so stricken with grief, but she couldn’t keep the baby a secret from him.

She wouldn’t.

She also couldn’t turn off her damn hormones where he was concerned. The way he’d gently dried her hair really shouldn’t have turned her on, but her body had responded just the same as when he’d taken her on his desk in his office a month ago.

As if she needed another reason to feel a pull toward the man who’d given her the best sexual experience of her life.

That whole rugged, I-don’t-give-a-damn attitude really turned her on in ways she couldn’t explain. And the glasses, she couldn’t forget those. He didn’t wear them all the time, but when he did...

Maybe she was tired of proving herself to men like her boss. Maybe the way Nick actually valued her opinion was refreshing. He listened to her, he’d sought her out for this particular project and she could tell that he hadn’t been wanting to get in her pants from the get-go. He’d always treated her with respect.

Or maybe she’d just had enough of controlling her emotions, and when he had let that twinge of vulnerability show in his office that night, she’d taken advantage. She’d taken what she wanted.

Now she was pregnant.

Her one and only one-night stand, the one time she’d let herself bend the rules just a bit, and her life was altered forever.

But she didn’t have regrets. Regretting any situation wouldn’t change the outcome, and regrets always meant looking in the past. She didn’t have time for that.

Silvia came to her feet and circled her desk in her tiny office with no window. That was definitely one of her next goals in this building was to secure a window view. It seemed such a shame to work in such a picturesque place and have no view of the mountains.

After flicking the lock into place—because she didn’t want anyone barging in while she was making an appointment with an obstetrician—Silvia pulled out her cell.

Her hands shook. While she frequently made regular doctor’s appointments, she’d never made a call like this.

Sleeping with a client was a serious no-no, especially for a newbie to the firm like her. But getting pregnant? Silvia had yet to find that chapter in the company handbook.

But she would remain professional about all of this—she had to. Having been raised in foster care, Silvia had always felt like she had to work harder to measure up, to prove herself. Maybe that was all in her own mind, but the self-imposed pressure to do her best at all times was all she’d ever known.

Moments later, Silvia’s appointment was made, and she felt a little more in control of this situation. As much as she would love the fun of going online and making a Pinterest board or searching for the perfect maternity clothes and best baby must-haves, she still had a demanding job to do.

Graduating at the top of her class from Cornell University meant she could manipulate design plans in her sleep and construct a draft like a champ. But for this situation, she just didn’t know what steps to take next. Given her upbringing, or lack thereof, she had to be cautious and ensure each decision worked for the good of her child. Bouncing around from foster home to foster home had taught her so much—life’s lessons learned the hard way.

She wanted an easier life for her child. She wanted the stability that she’d never had. She wanted her baby to enjoy being a kid and not worry about where he or she would lay their head at night or if mommy and daddy loved them.

Shaking away some not-so-pleasant memories, Silvia glanced to her computer and stared at Nick’s name highlighted in yellow for their on-site meeting this afternoon. She hadn’t forgotten about it, but they hadn’t discussed getting together when she’d seen him yesterday. Would he want to reschedule? He’d just laid his mother to rest and found out he was going to be a father. Jumping back into work seemed a bit soon, didn’t it?

No, someone like Nick would want to push forward. He had started this particular project in honor of his mother. Her dream had always been to own a posh mountain resort, and Nick was making every bit of that dream happen—with Silvia’s help.

Silvia had absolutely loved Lori Campbell. The woman had been in poor health by the time Silvia entered the picture, but Lori had still insisted on coming to as many design meetings as possible. A few were even done via video conference so she could attend and continue to give her input. Lori had been a determined woman, and Silvia could appreciate that. She respected Lori so much for going after what she wanted, even as a single mother who had clearly worked hard to give her only son a successful life. She had always been serious a go-getter, or Nick would not have turned out so headstrong and driven.

After their one-night stand, Silvia had worried about how she and Nick would continue their working relationship. She’d never slept with a colleague or a client, and this job was her step up. She’d worked hard to become an architect and had taken a risk moving to a place where she knew nobody.

And now there was so much more to consider.

Like the fact that seeing him again had only reminded her that their one passionate night had definitely not been enough.

Nick pulled his work truck into the site and killed the engine. It had taken all of his willpower not to cancel his meeting with Silvia so he could confront Rusty Lockwood.

But this bit of shocking news would take some time to process. He needed to formulate a flawless, effective plan. With this news, Nick suddenly had an edge up on Russ, which was exactly the way he wanted, no needed, to keep things.

Before this, they’d been butting heads over a liquor license issue, but not even Russ’s dirty hands in the pockets of the city council would stop Nick from pursuing what he needed for his resort. He owed his mother.

Besides, he loathed people like Rusty, who bullied simply because they had the power and the money. Someone needed to take Rusty down, and Nick did not mind being the one to step up to the plate.

Even so, barging into Rusty’s office with his life-altering news now would only be a mistake.

He could put this information to better use.

And he’d be talking to Rusty soon enough. Through some scouring, Nick had discovered there was a poker game between local bigwigs that took place in the back room at the Rogue Wingman bar every Friday night. Nick had instantly taken an interest in the game. Rusty would be there, and so would Nick.

A flash of red hair caught his eye, and Nick watched through the windshield as Silvia walked out of the front door of the old, historic building. She had on a black jumpsuit that she probably deemed professional, but it just looked sexy as hell to him. With all of that red hair hanging down her back in a mass of waves...

Yeah, one night definitely hadn’t been enough if he was still fantasizing about how those silky strands felt across his skin.

She stared up at the building and shielded the late-spring sun from her eyes with her hand. The wind tossed around her curls as she continued to study the area.

Nick had no clue how to shift from lover to coworker—to father—but he better get used to all of that, because now he owned all the hats.

Instead of sitting there like a creeper, Nick exited the truck and pocketed his phone. Despite the turmoil that his life had become—the discovery of a supposed father, possibly some half brothers, his own impending parenthood and a woman he couldn’t seem to forget—Nick would see this project through. At least this resort was one damn thing he could control.

His mother had worked at some of the finest establishments across the nation, but she’d landed in Tennessee as a maid at a local hotel. No matter how poor they were or how they struggled to make ends meet, his mother always valued her job and worked her ass off. She used to tell him about her dream of being able to afford to stay in an elegant place where she could order room service and watch the sun rise over the mountains.

She had the simplest of goals, and Nick had wanted her to live long enough to see this historic building transformed into her dream.

She’d never see it, but he’d build it for her anyway.

Before Nick reached Silvia, she’d disappeared back inside. He hadn’t been to the site in a few weeks, what with his mom’s declining health and then the funeral arrangements. He was anxious to see the progress and get back to some semblance of normal...or at least figure out his new normal.

The moment he stepped through the old double wooden doors, his breath caught in his throat. Maybe there wasn’t so much progress as there was destruction. The place had been stripped down, and piles of rubble lay here and there. The wide, curved staircase proudly stood directly ahead—that was one of the main things Lori hadn’t wanted touched other than to refinish it to its original state. Between the location of the building, which was perched on top of one of the Great Smoky Mountains, and the grand staircase, Lori had fallen in love with the place the first time Nick brought her here. He had to admit, he had fallen in love himself. This was the perfect location for an upscale getaway with a million-dollar view.

A muttered curse from behind the stairs had Nick watching his step as he made his way over the roughened wood floors.

“Silvia?”

“Back here,” she called.

Nick followed the string of curses until he found her, and he quickly realized her problem. That sexy jumpsuit had just gotten even sexier with a rip down the side, exposing a red strap that no doubt belonged to a thong...if his memory served him correctly, that was her favorite style of underwear. He could fully admit he was a fan himself.

But then he noticed a nasty scratch on her hip. Nick stepped over the pile of rough boards to close the distance between them.

“I just took the tag off this outfit,” she grumbled, attempting to hold the two pieces together like that would solve her problems.

“Let me see.” He swatted her hands away until the fabric hung around the wound. “How did you do this?”

Nick bent down to examine how deep the cut was.

“The edge of that pile over there. I looked right at it and still managed to snag a corner.”

Nick straightened and met her bright eyes. “And you’re not wearing your hard hat.”

She laughed, crossing her arms over her chest. “Yours is a pretty shade of...oh, wait. You’re not wearing one, either.”

Nick didn’t want to get into an argument—he seriously didn’t have the energy today. How could he keep her safe when she volleyed comebacks that were so on point?

And it was that damn strong-will that had first attracted him. Now he didn’t find it so sexy when he was the target of her stubbornness.

“I haven’t been here in weeks, so I didn’t know there was such destruction,” he defended. “You knew better.”

Silvia shook her head. “Relax. My hard hat is over there with my stuff, and the crew isn’t coming in until later. I do know how to do my job.”

“Then put on the hat.”

“Because that would have saved my leg from being scratched?” she threw back. “Listen, maybe we should reschedule this meeting. You’ve got so much going on—”

“No.”

He wasn’t rescheduling, and he was not going to let her tell him what he needed. He needed to work, damn it. He needed to get some regularity back in his life, and this was the only area he currently had control over.

After so many years living in poverty with his mother, he’d finally made it. With his career as an investor and renovator, he had made a name for himself, and he was damn good at what he did. He worked at something he could be proud of.

His personal life? That was something he was going to have to work on...starting with the woman carrying his child.

“Nobody would think anything if you took time off,” she added, her voice softening.

He hated pity. He’d had that soul-sucking emotion thrown out at him as a child, and he’d come too far to revert back to it now. Pity for being the poor, hillbilly kid with clothes that had seen better days. Pity for not having a dad. He’d pushed through that web of pity. It had held him down for years. Until he’d gone to college on a baseball scholarship, earned a degree in half the time, and made wise investments before turning all that money around to help others. Determination and drive made all the difference.

It would make the difference now, too.

“I had time off,” he reminded her. “My mother would want me to move on and see this through.”

When Silvia opened her mouth, he went on. “Get the hard hat on. Better yet, we shouldn’t be meeting here, not in your condition. I can wait on the foreman to arrive if you’d like to get back to the office.”

Something Nick didn’t recognize swept over her features as she squared her shoulders and tipped up her chin.

Well, hell. He didn’t know what he’d said that had pissed her off, but he had a feeling he was about to find out.

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