4

When Kelly woke the next morning, she struggled to

make sense of her surroundings. Then she

remembered. She was in New York—with Ryan.

In a matter of hours, Ryan had had her packed

and hustled to the airport. They’d landed at

LaGuardia close to midnight and he’d ushered her

into a waiting car.

By the time they’d arrived at his apartment, she

was dead on her feet. Once inside, she took her one

bag and headed toward the guest room. The aching

familiarity of the apartment—an apartment that used

to be hers—threatened to unhinge her. It even

smelled the same—a mixture of leather and raw

masculinity. She’d never tried to change that. It had

reminded her too much of Ryan, and she hadn’t

wanted to remove it.

Down the hall was the bedroom where she and

Ryan had made love countless times. It was where

their child was conceived and where her life had

been irrevocably altered.

Once again, she’d been reminded of how much of

an idiot she was to come back here.

But this morning she felt resigned to her fate. After

a quick shower, she dressed and padded into the

living room where Ryan was already sitting typing on

a laptop. He looked up when he heard her come in.

“Breakfast is ready. Iwas waiting on you to eat.”

Wordlessly, she followed him into the kitchen

where she saw a table set for two. Taking a platter

off the warmer, he carried it over to the table and

began spooning healthy portions of eggs, toast and

ham onto their plates.

As she sat down, she was forced to admit that

she felt better than she had in weeks. She had

certainly gotten more rest in the past twenty-four

hours than she had in a long time.

“How are you feeling this morning?” he asked as

he took a seat across from her.

“Fine,” she mumbled around a mouthful of egg.

Her appetite was coming back and she

concentrated on the delicious food in front of her.

This whole thing was weird. The ultrapoliteness.

The cozy breakfast for two. It was so awkward that

she wanted to go back to the bedroom and crawl

back into bed.

After a long silence, Ryan spoke up. “I’ve made

arrangements to work out of the apartment for the

time being.”

She stopped chewing then swallowed the food in

her mouth. “Why?” she asked flatly.

“Iwould think the answer is obvious.”

“This isn’t going to work, Ryan. I can’t stay here

with you hanging over my shoulder all the time. Go to

work. Do whatever it is you normally do, and just

leave me alone.”

His lips thinned and then he got up and walked

away without another word.

She stared down at her plate, furious that he

acted like the victim. As if she was some horrible,

ungrateful bitch.

Fury and aching sadness knotted her throat. How

could she ever get past what he’d done to her?

Maybe he was just as determined not to forgive her

for her supposed transgressions, but Kelly was the

innocent one in this whole sordid mess. Ryan had

turned his back on her. He didn’t seem to want to

acknowledge that little fact.

She fiddled with her remaining food, pushing it

around her plate until restlessness forced her to her

feet.

Wandering aimlessly back into the living room,

she stopped in front of the large window offering a

view of the Manhattan skyline.

“You shouldn’t be on your feet,” Ryan said from

behind her.

She sighed and turned around, shocked to see

him in just a towel. She swiveled back to the window,

but the image burned in her eyes. His broad chest

rippled with well-defined muscles and his lean

abdomen was sculpted like a fine work of art. She

used to spend hours exploring the dips and curves of

his body.

“I’m sorry if I embarrassed you,” he said in a low

voice. “I guess I didn’t give it a thought considering

our past relationship.”

She had the ridiculous urge to laugh. Embarrass

her? The only embarrassing thing was how her mind

was currently wandering way below the makeshift

waistline of his towel.

And of course, in his arrogance, he would assume—considering the “nature of their relationship”—that

he could cavort about in the nude.

Drawing up her shoulders, she turned around

again and stared coolly at him. “If you think because

we were once lovers that you can take up where we

left off, you’re sadly mistaken.”

He blinked in surprise and then anger replaced

the surprise. “God, Kelly. Do you think so little of me

that Iwould try to force you into a sexual relationship

when you’re pregnant and unwell?”

“You don’t want to know the answer to that.”

He swore long and hard. “What makes you think I

would ever want to sample my brother’s secondhand

goods anyway?”

She balled her hands into fists and forced a

careless reply. “Well, since your brother didn’t mind, I

assumed it was a family trait.”

His blue eyes became ice chips and his jaw

twitched spasmodically. Then he spun around and

disappeared into his bedroom, the sound of the door

slamming reverberating throughout the apartment.

Kelly sighed and sank into a nearby armchair.

What demon had forced her to throw more fuel on

the flames she would never know. The need to

defend herself had long since fled. He should have

believed in her then. She didn’t really care what he

chose to do now. The desire for him to stand behind

her and protect her had fizzled when she realized

that she’d never had his love or his faith.

God, what was she doing here? Just being in NewYork again brought back too many memories she

would be better off forgetting.

Restless and sick at heart, she made her way

back into the kitchen and took stock of the contents

of the refrigerator and cabinets. Deciding that she

had all the necessary ingredients for one of her

favorite dishes, she began laying them out on the

countertop. At least it would give her something to

do and lunch would be taken care of. She’d always

loved to cook for Ryan when they lived together.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Ryan

demanded, materializing out of nowhere and taking

the pan she was holding from her. He steered her

firmly away from the counter and back into the living

room. “Sit,” he ordered once they reached the couch.

He propped her feet up on the coffee table, placing apillow under them. He stood back, his expression

lacking the anger of just a few minutes ago.

“Maybe you didn’t understand the doctor’s orders.

You’re to rest. Stay off your feet.” He enunciated

each word in clipped tones as if he were speaking toa dolt. Well, that wasn’t entirely untrue. She was the

biggest dolt in the world for getting caught up in this

mess.

He seemed calm. And she was calm, too—at

least for now. It was time to get things out in the

open. “Ryan, we need to talk.”

He looked surprised and a little wary over her

change in tone, but he sat down across from her and

regarded her with open curiosity. “Okay, talk.”

“Iwant to know why you came to Houston.” She

was careful to keep her emotions in check as she

waited for his response.

He didn’t look pleased with her question. He

looked away, at the wall, his jaw tight.

“And how did you know where to find me?” she

continued when he remained silent.

“I hired an investigator,” he said after a moment’s

pause.

Her mouth fell open. So much for being calm.

“Why? So you could accuse me of being a whore all

over again? So you could sweep in and upend my

life? I don’t get it, Ryan. You hate me. I know what

g,yyou think of me. You made it very clear when you

threw me out of your life. Why the hell would you

come looking to dig up the past again?”

“Damn it, Kelly!” he exploded. “You disappeared

without a word to anyone. You didn’t cash the check.

I thought you were out there hurt and scared—or

dead.”

“Too bad for you Iwasn’t.”

“Don’t you make this about me,” he growled. It

was obvious he had only a tenuous grip on his

control. “You took what we had and threw it in my

face. You decided Iwasn’t enough for you. I looked

for you because no matter what you had done or howbadly Iwanted to forget you, I couldn’t stand the

thought of you being out there somewhere scared

and alone.”

He broke off and looked away. When he looked

back at her, his eyes were shuttered. “I’ve answered

your questions, now Iwant mine answered.”

They both glanced up at the sound of the front

door opening and, to Kelly’s horror, Ryan’s brother,

Jarrod, stood in the entryway. “Hey Ryan, the

doorman told me you were back….” His voice died

when he saw her. “Uh…hi, Kelly.”

Ryan watched as Kelly’s expression became

glacial. Damn it, she was going to think he planned

this. And while yes, the three of them certainly

needed to hash out a few things, now wasn’t the

time. He rose from his seat and headed in his

brother’s direction.

It had taken Ryan months to see beyond his rage

and jealousy to be able to entertain resuming a

normal relationship with his younger brother. Before

Ryan hadn’t given a second thought to Jarrod

coming and going at will. He had a key. Ryan had

always encouraged him to drop in and had looked

forward to his visits.

But that was before Jarrod had slept with Kelly.

Before the two most important people in his life had

betrayed him. When he finally talked himself around

to forgiving Jarrod and allowing him back into his

life, he’d also considered that if he was willing to

forgive his brother then perhaps he should also find

Kelly and at least listen to her reasons why.

Things weren’t perfect between him and his

brother now. Maybe they never would be. But they

were better and Jarrod had started coming around

more, even if he was more cautious than he’d ever

been in the past.

Now Ryan had brought Kelly back and they’d all

be forced to face the inevitable confrontation. A part

of him dreaded it, but the other part of him knew he’dnever be able to move forward unless this was fully

resolved. But it would be done when he decided and

not before. He and Kelly had too much to work out

between them before they tackled the issue of

Jarrod and her infidelity.

“This isn’t a good time, man,” he said in a low

voice when he reached his brother.

Unease flickered across Jarrod’s face, and he

glanced nervously over Ryan’s shoulder toward

Kelly. “I can see that. I’ll come back another time.”

Ryan turned and saw Kelly tremble and then her

fingers flexed and curled into fists. She was as pale

as death, her eyes large and haunted. “What did you

want?” he prompted when Jarrod made no move to

leave.

“Nothing important. Just came over to say hi and

to tell you Mom wanted us over for dinner Saturday

night. I hadn’t seen you in a while. I know you’ve beenbusy with your resort deal. I’d hoped we could get

together like old times.”

Ryan sighed. He and Jarrod had always been

close. Until Kelly. He hated this. Hated it all. Hated

that a woman had come between him and the

brother he’d all but raised after their father died.

“I’ll call Mom later, okay? And we’ll get together.

Just not right now.”

“Yeah, I understand. I’ll see you later.” He backed

toward the door, and Ryan followed. As Ryan

gripped the doorknob to close it after Jarrod, his

brother whispered, “Are you taking her back after

what happened?”

Ryan drew his brows together. “Aren’t you

concerned that she could be carrying your child?”

Jarrod flinched and his cheeks lost color. “Is that

what she told you?”

Ryan studied him for a moment, his brows

drawing together as he observed Jarrod’s reaction

to the suggestion. “No, she didn’t tell me that, but

surely you know it’s possible.”

“Uh-uh, can’t be mine,” Jarrod said, shaking his

head emphatically.

“So you say.”

Jarrod stepped into the hall and then shoved his

pphands into his pockets as he stared back at Ryan.

But he didn’t quite meet Ryan’s gaze. “Iwore

protection. Look, I’m sorry. I know this is a bad

situation. But the baby can’t be mine.”

Ryan watched him walk toward the elevator, the

same frustrated helplessness clutching his throat. Hestepped back and shut the door, angry. Angry at

Kelly, angry at Jarrod and angry with himself all over

again. So the baby was his unless…surely she

hadn’t had other partners besides him and Jarrod.

He wouldn’t even give that consideration.

When he returned to the couch he wasn’t

prepared for the absolute hatred and revulsion in

Kelly’s expression. Before he could say anything she

fixed him with a look that froze him to the bone.

“If he ever comes over here again, I’m out of here.

Iwon’t be in the same room with him.”

Ryan was taken aback. “You know he’s here all

the time.”

Her teeth were clenched and her knuckles white. “I

won’t stay here.”

Why the hell was she so angry with Jarrod? If

anyone deserved to be angry it was Jarrod, after

Kelly had accused him of trying to rape her. Nothing

about this entire situation made sense. And he was

tired of trying to figure it out.

“Jarrod said he wore protection,” he said, gaugingher reaction.

Pain rippled across her face. Not the reaction

he’d imagined. “And of course you believed him,”

she said in a voice that sounded like she was

dangerously close to tears.

“Are you saying he didn’t? Are you maintaining

the baby is mine?” He’d had no idea how badly he

wanted the baby to be his until now. His eyes

pleaded with her to confirm it. To say that he was the

father.

The indecipherable mask was back on her face

again. “I don’t maintain anything,” she said, frost

dripping from her voice.

Frustration hit him like a ton of bricks. She had

shut herself off again and nothing was going to open

her to him. He wanted to put his fist through the wall.

“I’m going out for a while,” he finally ground out. “I’ll

bring back lunch.”

He turned and stalked out before he said things

he’d only regret.

As he made his way to the underground garage

where his BMW was parked, his cell phone rang,

rudely intruding on his thoughts. “What?” he barked

into the receiver.

“Ryan?” His mom’s voice bled through his dour

mood.

“Sorry, Mom, didn’t mean to snap.” He opened thedoor and slid into the seat, settling back, not

bothering to start the engine yet.

“Ryan, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing, Mom, just a busy day. What’s up?”

“Iwas hoping you and Jarrod would have dinner

with me tomorrow night.”

Ryan closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his

nose between two fingers. There was no easy way tosay this and his mom would know soon enough now

that Jarrod had been over. Best she know now so

she could get used to it. “Mom, you should know…

Kelly is with me…and she’s pregnant.”

There was a sharp intake of breath on the other

end followed by thick silence. “I see,” she finally said.

“I guess inviting Roberta is out of the question.”

Ryan blew out his breath at his mother’s snippy

tone. Roberta Maxwell was a woman his mom had

been shoving at him ever since Kelly had

disappeared.

Though his mother had never come out and said I

told you so, she didn’t have to. It was there as plain

as if she’d hung a banner.

She’d never approved of Kelly. Never liked that

Ryan was marrying her. She’d been polite, though.

Ryan had demanded it of her. He wouldn’t allow any

of his family to disrespect the woman he’d chosen to

be his wife.

After what had happened with Jarrod and Kelly,

he’d expected his mother to be more smug; but

she’d been oddly sympathetic. The last thing he

wanted at the moment, though, was to bring Kelly to

an awkward dinner where his mom would sit with

that pinched look on her face and Jarrod would say

God knows what.

He’d wondered what would happen when the

inevitable confrontation with Jarrod occurred. Now

he knew, and it hadn’t gone at all as he’d imagined.

“I think we’ll do dinner another time. Kelly and I

aren’t up to it at the moment.”

He said his goodbyes and hung up, starting the

car and slamming it into Reverse. He needed some

gdistance before he went off the deep end.

He drove aimlessly and ended up at his office

building before he even realized that he was headingin that direction. He didn’t often drive, and usually

only when he was leaving the city. He kept his car

parked and used his car service. But today he hadn’t

been in any mood to wait for pickup.

He parked and went up to his office,

acknowledging Jansen’s look of surprise since he’d

just told his assistant that morning that he wouldn’t

be in for several days.

He waved off Jansen’s question of whether or not

he needed anything and shut the door to his office.

Then he flopped into his chair and swiveled around

to stare out the window.

The weather had turned cold and gray, much moresuited to his mood. After spending several days in

Texas, where it was a good deal warmer, even in

winter, coming back to the cold of the Northeast was

a bit of an adjustment.

His cell phone rang, and he almost didn’t answer.

It was Cam, and Cam would want to know what had

prompted his departure from Moon Island. Ryan was

supposed to fly back to New York with Cam and

Devon but he’d left in a hurry with a flimsily uttered

excuse.

Deciding not to delay the inevitable, he put the

phone to his ear.

“You and Dev make it back?”

“There you are. Been trying to call you for the past

twenty-four hours. Where the hell did you go in such

a hurry?” Cam demanded.

Ryan sighed. “My investigator called. He found

Kelly.” There was dead silence and then he heard

Cam murmuring to someone else. Probably Dev.

“And?” Cam finally said.

“She was in Houston. I left the island to go and

see if it was her.”

“And?” Cam asked again.

“It was. I brought her back to New York with me.”

“You did what? Why the hell did you do that?”

Ryan sighed at the incredulity in Cam’s voice. Andthen because he needed to unload on someone, he

said, “She’s pregnant, Cam.”

“Oh, Christ. What is with all the pregnant women

showing up? I’ll ask you the same question I asked

Rafael when Bryony appeared out of nowhere. How

do you know it’s yours?”

“I don’t believe I said it was mine,” Ryan said

mildly. “What I said was that she’s pregnant.”

“Uh-huh, and you’d just bring your ex-fiancée back

to New York with you because she’s pregnant with

someone else’s baby?”

“Don’t be a smart-ass. The thing is, it could be my

baby. Or it could be my brother’s. Are you seeing my

problem now?”

“Man, I’d say you have a whole hell of a lot of

problems that I’m glad I don’t have. What does she

say about all of this?”

“That’s just it. She’s pissed. At me. She acts like

I’ve wronged her. I don’t get it. She hasn’t said

whose baby it is. She hasn’t denied that it’s my child

but neither has she confirmed that it’s mine.”

“Has it ever occurred to you that she doesn’t

know?” Cam asked dryly.

Ryan scowled and then pinched the bridge of his

nose between his fingers.

“Sorry, man, it had to be said. If she was sleeping

with you and your brother plus God knows who else,

she probably doesn’t have a clue who the baby

daddy is.”

“God, stop with the snark. You’re giving me a

headache. Kelly isn’t some whore.”

“I never said she was.”

“You implied it.”

“Look, you’re getting pissed at the wrong person

here. I’m just asking—as a friend—whether you’ve

lost your everloving mind. But then again, I thought

you were insane for hiring an investigator to find her.

Well, you found her and now you have to deal with

the fallout. I’ll tell you just what I told Rafael when he

was faced with similar issues. Call your lawyer. Get

paternity testing done.”

“I don’t want it to come to that,” Ryan said quietly.

“Damn it, I just want to know what went wrong.” He

broke off and shook his head. This was a pointless

conversation to be having. Cam was an unforgiving

bastard on his best day. As soon as he heard what

Kelly had done, he’d basically written her off. Cam

might be a hard-ass but he was a loyal hard-ass.

Cam was silent for a moment. “Look man, I’m

sorry. I get that this has you tied in knots. Personally,

I think you ought to go out, have a few drinks and get

laid. Come off that self-imposed celibacy stint you’vebeen on since you threw her out. But I know you

yywon’t so Iwon’t go there.”

Ryan laughed and shook his head.

“Dev wants to talk to you a minute so hang on.”

“See ya,” Ryan muttered to empty air.

A second later, Dev came on the phone.

“Iwon’t repeat all Cam has said other than to ditto

everything. What Iwanted to tell you is that I’ll be out

of pocket for a while.”

“Oh? Eloping with Ashley?”

Dev muttered a not-so-nice directive and Ryan

chuckled.

“No, there’s an issue with the construction and

we’ve already suffered so many delays on this

project that I don’t want to risk any more. I’m going

down there myself. It’ll be quicker than conference

calls and playing phone tag.”

Ryan frowned and then leaned back in his chair.

“How soon were you planning to leave?”

“Day after tomorrow. I’d go sooner, but I can’t. AndCam is going to be out of the country starting

tomorrow and I can’t very well ask Rafe to leave his

honeymoon.”

“Ah. So really you and Cam were calling to see if

I’d do it.”

“Well, yeah, but after hearing what’s on your plate,

I’ll go. I can break away after tomorrow.”

Ryan thought a moment and then made a splitsecond decision. “No, I’ll go.”

“Whoa. Wait a minute. I thought you had Kelly with

you. A pregnant Kelly.”

“Yeah, I do. I’ll take her with me. It’ll be perfect. It’ll

give us time away from… It’ll give us some time

alone to sort things out.”

Ryan could hear Dev sigh all the way through the

phone.

“You honestly want her back? After everything

that’s happened?”

Ryan gripped the phone and stared out his

window. “I don’t know yet. I need some answers

before Imake that kind of decision. But if she’s

pregnant with my baby, I’m not letting her go again.”

“Okay, you go. I’ll email you all the issues. Just

keep me posted and let me know if you have

problems. I can be there at a moment’s notice.”

“Will do. Look, I know you and Cam think I’m nuts,

but I appreciate you having my back.”

Dev’s dry response was immediate. “Yeah, you’re

nuts. But whatever makes you happy, man.”

Ryan hung up and stared at the phone for a long

moment before summoning Jansen. He gave him a

list of instructions, starting with the need for Kelly to

see an obstetrician immediately. She’d need a

doctor’s clearance to travel, but if the doctor gave

the okay, he planned for them to spend a few days

alone. And maybe they could start putting the pieces

back together.

Then he started a shopping list, ignoring Jansen’s

grimace. Kelly needed outfitting from head to toe.