Ready, Set, I Do!. Cindy Kirk

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СКАЧАТЬ hesitated then moved to the counter and pulled out a tray of coffee pods. “What would you like?”

      “Regular. Black.”

      She brewed a cup for him and then one for herself. After placing the mugs on the table, she took a seat opposite him and fixed her gaze on his face. “What’s going on, Winn?”

      “I didn’t want to pull you into this right now, but since Cam brought it up and you may be watching him, you should know.” Winn kept his voice low, though the sound from the other room made it impossible for Cam to hear even if he’d been speaking normally.

      Winn took a sip of coffee and leaned back in the chair, but relaxed wasn’t a word she’d use to describe him. Despite his bland expression, she could feel his restrained energy simmering in the air.

      “I met Cam’s mother at a party. She was a kindergarten teacher and a breath of fresh air compared to the type of women I normally dated.” Winn relayed the information as if giving a business report to a board of directors. “We began dating, grew closer and became intimate. She mentioned Brandon only as a guy she’d once dated. As I’d had a couple semiserious relationships myself, I didn’t think much of it.”

      Hailey sipped her coffee more for something to do than out of thirst.

      Winn’s gaze darkened. “We’d been together almost a year when things started heading south. I admit I’d let a project I was working on consume me, but she didn’t even try to understand. Nothing I did pleased her. We argued constantly. After a big fight, she moved out. I called her a couple of times, but she didn’t return my calls.”

      “When was this?” Hailey asked quietly.

      “Almost nine years ago.” He wrapped his hands around the ceramic mug. “Seven months later I learned from a friend Vanessa was pregnant and ready to deliver. I didn’t doubt the baby was mine because we’d been together at the time he was conceived and Vanessa wasn’t the kind to cheat.”

      The conversation was getting pretty doggone personal. She wondered if she should change the subject. Instead, she found herself asking, “What happened then?”

      “I went to her. Confronted her. Demanded to know why she hadn’t informed me she was pregnant.” The hard opacity of his eyes was at odds with his matter-of-fact tone.

      Though Hailey completely understood Winn’s position, she shivered. She imagined he could be a formidable foe. “What did she say?”

      Winn’s jaw set in a rigid line. “Vanessa made it clear she didn’t want to get back together, told me any feelings she had for me were gone.”

      “That didn’t really answer your question,” Hailey observed.

      He shrugged. “I told her we’d made a baby and had to do what was best for him. I was in the delivery room when Cameron was born. We worked out an informal custody arrangement and child support. For six years we made a potentially difficult situation work with very little drama.”

      “Did you start dating each other again?” Hailey ventured.

      “No.” He expelled a heavy breath. “She was right. Whatever we had was over. Still, because of the baby, I was willing to try to see if we could get those feelings back. Vanessa wasn’t interested. I even suggested we marry, but she nixed that, although my name was on the birth certificate and she put me in her will as guardian for Cam.”

      “Was that necessary? I mean, why did you need to be in the will? You were his dad.” Something wasn’t adding up.

      “At the time I didn’t think it was necessary, but since we weren’t married, she insisted.”

      The water was still murky, but Hailey began to get a slightly clearer picture. She wasn’t surprised when Winn rose and began to pace.

      While he strode across the room, Hailey attempted to put the pieces he’d given her together. “You said things worked well for six years. Then what happened?”

      A muscle in his jaw jumped. He spat the name. “Brandon.”

      “The man who died in the accident with her?”

      “He was also the same guy she’d dated before me.” Winn’s lip curled. “Turns out he wasn’t as much of an ex as I thought.”

      Placing his hands on the counter, Winn leaned forward, his gaze focused out the window.

      A sick feeling took up residence in the pit of Hailey’s stomach.

      “Apparently, around the time we were going through that rough patch, Vanessa had slept with him.”

      Though Winn did a stellar job of hiding it, there was pain underlying the words. Hailey’s heart wrenched. But from the set look on his face, she knew Winn wouldn’t appreciate her sympathy. She forced a nonchalant tone.

      “Why did it take six years for him to show up?”

      “He was engaged when he slept with Vanessa.” His lips lifted in a sardonic smile. “His marriage lasted about seven years. He was still married when he ran into Vanessa having lunch with a friend in Buckhead. They began dating even before he’d separated from his wife.”

      Winn’s voice was heavy with condemnation. Obviously he didn’t condone extramarital affairs. For a second, Hailey wondered why she was so surprised. Then realized it was because Winn Ferris was a man who seemed to go after what he wanted, damn the consequences. This was a new side to him.

      “S-so that bothered you?” To her horror, Hailey found herself stammering.

      Winn didn’t appear to notice.

      “She dated a lot of men during those six years and so did I. Did I think it was wise for her to date a married guy? No. But it wasn’t my business.” Winn dropped into the chair. “I guess Brandon saw the birthmark on the back of Cam’s neck and insisted they do a paternity test. I didn’t know anything about it until they had the results.”

      The look on his face said it all.

      “It showed Brandon was Cam’s father,” Hailey whispered.

      “Biological father.” Winn’s voice snapped sharp as a whip. “I was his dad, the only one he’d ever known. That didn’t seem to matter. Not to Brandon. And not enough to Vanessa for her to stand up for what was best for her son. Brandon wanted me out of Cam’s life. Vanessa went along with his wishes.”

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