Their Little Princess. Susan Mallery

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      The bed had been raised so that she could sit upright but still lean against the pillows. Now she lowered the bed a few inches and closed her eyes.

      “I have a great job waiting for me in L.A. I’m going to work for an agency that handles really high-powered actors, directors and producers. I’m going to be meeting these clients and entertaining them. This is my chance to move in those kind of circles.” She opened her eyes and stared at him. “It’s what I’ve always wanted. I’m beautiful enough that I’ll attract the eye of some mogul type and we’ll get married. I don’t care if it lasts, I just want to get my foot in the door. Once I’m there, I’ll make a place for myself.” She sighed. “Children have never been a part of my plan. I don’t want them. I don’t want ours.”

      Her flat statement shouldn’t have surprised him, but it did. He wanted to rage at her, to tell her that he’d just held the most beautiful, perfect creature in the world. How could she walk away from their tiny baby? But he didn’t say a word. For one thing, Lucy wasn’t going to change her mind. For another, selfishly, he wanted her gone. Lucy was many things, but maternal wasn’t one of them. In this case, their daughter would be better off without her mother around to mess with her head.

      “None of your plans are going to change,” he said. “All I’m asking is that you sign the papers allowing me sole custody of the baby.”

      “Do you really think you can do this? Raise a kid on your own? What do you know about babies?”

      “Less than nothing,” he admitted. “But I’m willing to learn. I can’t let her go, Lucy. I know that doesn’t make sense to you, but I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.”

      Her expression turned wistful. “You’re a fool, Tanner Malone, but you’ve got a big heart. I guess that’s a start.”

      “I can’t regret her.”

      Lucy turned away. “I can. I guess that’s the difference.” She waved her left hand toward the door. “You know where I live. Have your lawyer draw up the papers and get them to me before the fifteenth. That’s when I’m leaving for Los Angeles.” She looked back at him. “I don’t want this kid showing up in my life in twenty years. Tell him that.”

      “It’s a her.”

      “Whatever.”

      He nodded once. There were so many things he could have said, but why bother? He’d gotten what he’d been after. Maybe one day he would understand how someone who was so beautiful and perfect on the outside could be so incredibly ugly on the inside.

      “Thanks, Lucy. My lawyer will be in touch.” He turned to leave.

      “Tanner?”

      He paused and glanced back at her.

      She flashed him her best smile, the one that had first made him saunter across the picnic area to engage her in conversation. This time all he could think of was that he couldn’t wait for her to be out of his life forever.

      “Thanks for the flowers.”

      He’d sent her a dozen roses when he’d found out she’d had the baby. He stared at the bright yellow buds, still tightly curled as if afraid to open and show themselves to the world. They were as coldly beautiful as she.

      “You’re welcome,” he said and walked out of her room. If all went well, he would never see her again. He prayed that’s what would happen.

      He walked down the hallway, not really aware of his surroundings. He replayed his first meeting with Lucy a couple of times and knew that while their relationship had been a short-lived mistake, the ramifications were about to change his life forever. Because of his incredibly poor taste in women, he was about to become a father. A smile tugged at his lips. Not a bad trade.

      He stopped and glanced around, then realized that he’d instinctively made his way back to the nursery. His gaze drifted over the sleeping babies, before stopping on one in particular. He already recognized that precious face. His daughter.

      Panic flared in him again, along with apprehension and about fifteen other forms of “Oh, God, can I really do this?” But none of them were as strong as the sense of rightness in his heart. Maybe he was making a big mistake. Maybe he couldn’t do it, but he was determined to give it all he had. They would just have to learn this whole parent-kid thing together. She was his daughter and he would die to protect her.

      “Boss?”

      He looked up and saw a bulldog of man standing next to him. An unlit cigar poked out from puffy lips, while eyebrows drew together in a permanently worried frown.

      “What is it, Angel?” he asked.

      Angel was one of three foremen in charge of the new wing. Angel’s particular responsibility was coordinating the materials needed for construction.

      “Toilets,” Angel said glumly. He wasn’t a real happy guy at the best of times. “They’re wrong. We ordered fifty-six toilets and what did they send? Bidets. You know, those weird shaped things to wash your butt after—”

      Tanner choked back a laugh. “I know what a bidet is. Did you call the supplier?”

      “Sure, but they’re squawking about how long it’s gonna take to get new ones. Then there’s the light bulb problem.”

      Tanner started walking toward the elevator. They had to go down to the ground floor to find their way into the construction area. Angel moved with him.

      “You’d think these bozos had never heard of a light bulb before. And you won’t believe what they sent me instead.”

      Tanner’s brain quickly focused on the problems at hand. After he’d dealt with Angel, he needed to get an update from his other foremen, then make a quick tour of the work completed in the past couple of days. After that, he had reports and a meeting with his bookkeeper about who had been paid what. Then he was meeting Kelly Hall at six. Hell, it was never going to get done.

      But instead of being discouraged, he found himself continuing to smile. Because it wasn’t every day that a man became a father.

      Kelly tapped her pen impatiently against her desk. Be there, she willed silently, waiting for her friend to pick up the phone. While she waited, she glanced up at the clock. Her afternoon appointments started in ten minutes, which meant if Ronni didn’t pick up soon, they weren’t going to be able to talk until that evening. Kelly figured she disrupted her patients’ lives enough by having to cancel without warning if there was a baby to deliver, that the least she could do was be on time when she was in the office.

      “Dr. Powers,” a familiar voice said crisply.

      Kelly sighed in relief. “It’s Kelly and I did a really stupid thing.”

      Ronni Powers, a pediatrician and close friend for the past three years, laughed. “No way your stupid thing can top my stupid thing. I had sex without a condom and got pregnant. Now how are you going to beat that?”

      Kelly smiled. “Don’t give me that. You’re thrilled about the baby.”

      “Thrilled, but still in shock. Besides, I’m supposed СКАЧАТЬ