The Right Bride

Chapter Twelve


CAMERON WAITED ON pins and needles in his office. He stared out the window lost in thought until the door opened behind him. Shelly entered, her image reflected in the glass, but he found himself staring at the ocean thinking about another woman entirely. Marti hadn’t been far from his mind since he’d met her at the restaurant. Emma asked about her constantly. She wanted to see Marti again and had asked him to call her over and over. Even if he thought he should, he didn’t know how to reach her. He didn’t even know her last name. He wasn’t about to call George to find out. Cameron had no business asking about Marti, even under the guise of Emma wanting to talk to her and see her again. Five-year-olds didn’t call grown women for a play date. Cameron wanted an entirely different kind of play date with her. The only thing keeping him from calling George every two minutes was the dinner invitation he extended for tonight. He’d get to see her again. Emma also reminded him multiple times over the last three days Marti would be there. Like he wasn’t just as anxious to see her again. He hadn’t felt this way about anyone since he chased every pretty girl in sight in high school.

God, three days. It felt like three months since he’d seen Marti.

He wished it had been three months since he’d seen Shelly. He rubbed at the back of his neck and turned around to face the woman who claimed she was having his baby.

Please, don’t be pregnant.

“Darling, you look tired. Having a bad day?”

“I’ve got a lot on my mind. What did the doctor say?”

“Exactly what I told you, I’m pregnant.”

“Do you have the lab results?” He put his hand out, waiting.

“What lab results? I peed in a cup. They tested it. It’s positive. That’s all. They didn’t give me anything. I have an appointment in a month for a checkup. She said she’d see me once a month until I get close to my due date.”

Caroline went through the same schedule of visits. Most of them, just routine checkups, she’d gone to alone. He’d gone to the appointment for the ultrasound and many others toward the end when she’d gotten sick.

“I told you I wanted confirmation.”

“I just gave it to you.” She dug in her purse and pulled out a slip of paper. “See, I went. This is the parking ticket from the hospital parking lot. Other than this, I don’t have anything. Except”—she pulled out some brochures from her purse—“the doctor gave me these to review.”

He scanned the parking ticket and array of brochures on breastfeeding and pregnancy and guessed she was telling the truth. Not exactly a lab report, but the best he’d probably get. Testing for pregnancy was so easy these days. You didn’t have to draw blood for lab results.

“The doctor did take blood to check for any underlying health problems. Once those come back, I’ll give them to you,” she said offhand, but her anxious tone told him how much she wanted to prove to him she was pregnant.

“I want to see the report as soon as you receive it.”

“The lab should send the report to the doctor early next week.”

Damn. He’d hoped for a negative result. Butterflies fluttered in his stomach, and he knew for the first time he was happy about having another baby. Already a single dad, he could do it again: two A.M. -feedings, diapers, and crying, not a problem. Emma would love to have a sibling.

He thought about what he should tell her and decided only the truth would do.

“So, darling, we need to make wedding arrangements. You look pleased about the baby. We’ll be married and the baby will arrive. We’ll be a family. It’ll be lovely.”

So will all that money.

The penthouse, making love with him every night, access to his accounts and the limo. She would never have to type another letter or answer another phone for her stupid boss. Instead of taking orders, she’d be the one giving them.

Married. A baby. Cameron thought about his life and the lives of his children. The baby deserved a father and a mother. Did it mean he had to marry the baby’s mother?

God, what a mess.

He’d wished every day of his life his father had been there. His mother said it was his father’s choice to remain anonymous. She’d never told him his name. She’d made his father a promise, and when and if he was ready, he’d make himself known.

Cameron spent a lot of his youth angry she refused to tell him, but in the end it didn’t matter. He had his mother, and knowing the name of his father wouldn’t make the man appear and want to be his dad. It took Cameron a long time to get to that realization. Still, deep down, when he unearthed the hurt and anger, he still wanted to know his father. He wanted to know why his father didn’t want him.

George had been in his life as far back as he could remember. Friends with his mother, he took an interest in him from the beginning. He made sure Cameron went to the best schools and received a full scholarship from George’s company, Knight Enterprises.

Deeply grateful to Knight for being there for him all these years, he had been the father he’d never had. He’d attended every ball game, birthday, and graduation.

Even though Knight had been there for him over the years, Cameron had always wished for his father instead.

He couldn’t do the same to his child. Deep down he had some old-fashioned ways. He’d even asked Caroline’s parents for their daughter’s hand in marriage. Caroline found his old-fashioned ideas sweet, charming even.

It all came down to one thing: he believed his child should have two full-time parents. Emma needed a mother and he wished Caroline had been there for the last five years. This was his chance to give her a mother and the new baby a real family. Shelly was far from the ideal candidate. He only hoped becoming a mother to their baby changed her.

No one was born with a manual, telling them how to be a parent. It was a learning process. He knew that better than anyone. He’d come home from the hospital with a baby and made his share of mistakes the first few weeks alone with her.

All he had left was hope. Hope things worked out, hope he wasn’t making the mistake of a lifetime, and hope he didn’t ruin Emma’s life and the life of his unborn baby in the process.

“We’ll be married in six weeks. I’ll make the arrangements. We’ll have a quiet ceremony at the penthouse. You can have your family and a few friends if you’d like, but I’d like to keep things small and intimate.”

“But darling, I thought we’d have a big fantastic wedding and invite your business associates and friends. We’ll have a beautiful ceremony and a big reception.” They’d receive a ton of gifts, and she’d have the wedding of the century. The San Francisco society pages would be filled with pictures of their wedding and people would clamor to get an invitation. Lavish and decadent, she pictured the whole affair in her mind, excitement zipping through her system, energizing every nerve.

“You’re pregnant, I don’t love you, you don’t love me, and a big wedding would take time to plan and set up. We’re having a baby. Not something I want to advertise and throw in people’s faces months from now when my pregnant fiancé waddles down the aisle. Six weeks, take it or leave it.

“Oh, I’ll have my lawyer draw up the prenup. Sign it, or we’ll call the whole thing off.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“I’m a wealthy man. I need to protect my assets and Emma’s inheritance. If this thing goes sour, you’ll be given a generous settlement.”

“Darling, can’t you try to have a better attitude? I realize your feelings for me don’t run deep. We have our baby to think about,” she said to reiterate her point, despite her fury over the prenup. Even if she signed it, it didn’t mean she couldn’t enjoy Cameron’s money while they were married. “We can’t be at odds all the time. Surely we can be civil, and hopefully more to each other. Over time, I believe we’ll be close. We’re great in bed. We just have to transfer that mutual pleasure to our everyday lives.” That’s it. She’d make him want to stay married to her.

She said all the right things sometimes. And sometimes she didn’t.

Cameron needed to stop being so hostile toward her. He was upset about the situation. She wanted them to get along for the child’s sake, if nothing else. He could do it. He’d start now.

“Come with me to pick up Emma from school. We’ll give her the good news. We’ll go fishing tomorrow like we planned and it will be one more opportunity for all of us to spend time together.”

Oh, God, fishing.

Not her idea of fun, but time alone with Cameron might give her an opportunity to ask him about getting some money before the wedding to take care of a few things. What was one fishing trip in the scheme of things? She’d play the devoted fiancé for six weeks. Then she’d have everything she ever wanted.

“Sounds wonderful. I bet Emma will be pleased to find out she’ll have a sister or brother soon.”

“And a mother. I expect you to treat her like she’s your own daughter. I won’t have her upset or feeling left out. She and I are a package deal. You need to understand that going in.”

“Of course I understand. Emma is a darling little girl. We got off to a rocky start. I haven’t been feeling like myself. It’s probably just the hormones. I promise you, darling, we’ll be the best of friends. I’ll be patient with her.”

Cameron wanted to groan. It all sounded sincere. He hoped it was. If Emma got hurt because of him, he’d never forgive himself.

“Great. Let’s get going. We’ll tell her about the baby and wedding, then we’ll bring you back here for your car. I’m taking Emma to Knight’s for dinner.”

“We aren’t going as a family?” Okay, that might have been over the top, but she wanted to go to dinner and see inside the gorgeous mansion. It was just the kind of grand house she wanted to buy after she married Cameron. If she went to dinner with Cameron tonight, she could take a look around and get some ideas.

“Knight wants to talk to me about something important. He made it sound personal. I’d like to bring you, but it wouldn’t be appropriate. I’d like some time alone with him.”

He didn’t want to take her. He wanted to talk to Knight, spill his guts, and get some advice. He’d help him put things into perspective. At this point, he feared he had no other options than the path he’d chosen. He hoped George could help him sort out this mess.

There was that word again. Hope. That’s all he had left of his life. Well, he’d always have Emma. The brightest light in his life.

His mind conjured a perfect picture of Marti. He didn’t want to analyze why he couldn’t stop thinking about her. She hadn’t been far from his mind since he’d met her and now he was engaged to another woman.

He rubbed at the back of his neck and thought he’d never get the knots out of it.

“Don’t forget, I want those lab results. Until I see them, I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t mention the engagement or the baby to anyone. Like you pointed out, I have business contacts and associates. I’ll make a formal announcement in some way that doesn’t shock and surprise people when everything is confirmed.”

“Sure, darling. Whatever you think is best. I’ll have the results for you Monday or Tuesday of next week.” Time enough to take one of her old lab reports, scan it into her computer, “doctor” it, and present Cameron with a positive result.

So long as the ceremony was completed and she was Mrs. Cameron Shaw, she didn’t care if he didn’t tell anyone. All she needed was his name and access to his friends, his lifestyle, and all his money.