One Foolish Night (Eternal Bachelors Club #4)

The doorbell rang, and Holly sighed. “Don’t take this the wrong way, Sabrina, but sometimes you’re a little naive. I was an escort for several years. I knew what I was doing, and I did it anyway. I have no excuses for my behavior other than that I couldn’t find a job I was good at. But I was good at entertaining men. And now I’m paying for it. Because a man like Paul could never love somebody like me. No matter how much I love him and how much I will love his baby, I have to be realistic. We have no future.”


“How much do you love me, Holly?”

Holly whirled and shot up from the sofa.

In the door to the living room stood Paul, Holly’s suitcase next to him. Daniel was right behind him.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, though she knew already. He was here to deliver her things so that she wouldn’t set foot in his parents’ house again.

“I asked first. How much do you love me, Holly?”

“We’d better leave you guys alone,” Sabrina said, and walked to the door.

“Don’t!” Holly begged, but her friend shook her head, and she and Daniel left. Holly’s gaze drifted back to Paul, who still hadn’t moved from his spot near the door. “You weren’t supposed to hear that.”

“Just like I wasn’t supposed to hear that the baby is mine?”

Holly trembled. “I’m not giving it up. And I’m not asking for child support.”

His lips twisted. “Oh, I wasn’t going to offer to pay child support.”

Oddly disappointed about his callous words, she pointed to the suitcase. “Thank you for bringing my things. So now that everything is settled, you can leave.”

“Nothing is settled between us.”

Her breath caught in her lungs. “I’ve got nothing left to say to you.”

Paul took several steps toward her and instinctively she shrank back. “You haven’t answered my question yet.”

“What do you want, Paul? To humiliate me further? Don’t you think I feel humiliated enough? Now you want me to confess that I’m in love with you so you can trample on it? I won’t do that!”

“I have no intention of humiliating the mother of my child. On the contrary.” He moved closer, backing her into a corner. He sighed. “Don’t you realize what’s been happening between us the last few days?”

“I don’t know what you mean.” She couldn’t allow herself to become weak now and be reminded of the intimacies they’d shared.

Paul lifted his hand and brushed his knuckles over her cheek. “We’ve gotten close. Closer than I think either of us expected.”

“It was just sex,” she insisted, though she knew it was a lie.

“Oh it was sex, fabulous sex. But that wasn’t all. I told you that I liked you, but I’m afraid that’s not really the truth.”

Holly dropped her lids, avoiding his gaze. Why had she believed him before?

“The truth is that I’m in love with you.”

Her gaze shot to his, and she saw warmth and affection shining back at her. “No, you’re not. It’s not possible.”

“Why not?” Paul asked softly.

“I’m . . . I’m not the kind of woman a man like you should—”

He pressed a finger to her lips, stopping her from finishing her sentence. “Love doesn’t care about those things.”

“It’ll never work. To start a relationship just because I got pregnant by you is wrong. Don’t you remember what happened to your sister?”

Paul shook his head. “What’s going on between Olivia and Quentin is different.”

Holly threw her head back. “How is it different? They stayed together because she got pregnant. And now they’re fighting all the time.”

“I admit, things haven’t worked out for them, but we aren’t them.” He cupped her shoulders. “Why can’t you accept that I love you?”

“Because you can’t love somebody with a past like mine.” He would always resent her for it.

“I can, because I won’t judge you by your past. I’ll judge you by your future. Our future.”

Tears welled up in her eyes. “Your parents will hate you for it, and then you’ll start resenting me. Please don’t do this. Just let me go. I promise you I’ll never bother you again. I’ll never ask for money for the child.”

“This isn’t about money, Holly. It’s never been about that. Don’t you understand? When I hired you, subconsciously I did it because I wanted you. Even back then. Even when I thought you were still an escort. Even when I had no idea that you’d quit or that you were pregnant by me. It’s always been about you. Something happened that night. You showed me what my life could be like. What love could be like with the right woman. You are that woman. And I’m not going to give up just because some jerk exposed you in front of my parents and their friends. I don’t care what anybody thinks. The only two people who matter here are you and I.”

Holly wanted to believe his words, to simply give in, but she was scared. “Your parents will tear us apart. Maybe not immediately, but it will happen. They’ll always look down on me. And one day you’ll see it their way and regret your decision.”

To her surprise, Paul smiled. “Can I tell you something about my parents?”

Holly gave him a curious look.

“My father met a young, beautiful stripper and fell in love with her. His parents were against the match and tried everything to get him to leave her. They even threatened to disinherit him. But my father loved her more than anything. He still does.”