The CEO's Baby Surprise. Helen Lacey

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СКАЧАТЬ she attend the celebration and Mary-Jayne respected Solana too much to refuse the invitation. She’d ditched her usual multicolored skirts and long tops and rummaged through Audrey’s wardrobe for a party dress. And she’d found one—a slip of silky black jersey that clung to her like a second skin. The huge ballroom was easy to get lost in...or so she’d thought. But it had only taken ten minutes until she’d felt him watching her from across the room. He’d approached and asked if she wanted a drink. Within half an hour they had been out on the balcony, talking intimately. Seconds later they’d been kissing madly. Minutes later they’d been in his villa tearing each other’s clothes off.

      But Mary-Jayne wasn’t under any illusions.

      She knew enough about Daniel Anderson to realize she was simply another notch on his bedpost. He was handsome, successful and wealthy and played the field mercilessly. Something he had done without compunction since the death of his wife and unborn child four years earlier. He certainly wouldn’t be interested in her for anything other than a one-night stand. She wasn’t his type. Oh, he’d knocked on the door of her villa the day after Solana’s party and asked her out. But she’d shut him down. She’d piqued his interest for a moment and that was all. Thankfully, he’d left the resort the following day and returned to San Francisco, exactly as she’d hoped. But she hadn’t expected that he’d call the store two weeks later and announce that he wanted to see her again when he returned from California.

       See her?

      Yeah...right. The only thing he wanted to see was her naked body between the sheets. And she knew that for a man like Daniel Anderson, the chase was all that mattered. She’d refused him, and that was like pouring oil onto a fire.

      When he’d called her again two weeks later she’d been in South Dakota for a friend’s wedding. Annoyed that he wouldn’t take the hint and all out of patience, she’d lost her temper and told him to go to hell. Then she’d returned to the Sandwhisper Resort and waited. Waited for another call. Waited for him to arrive at the resort and confuse and seduce her with his steely-eyed gaze and uncompromising intensity. But he hadn’t called. And hadn’t returned. As one week slipped into another, Mary-Jayne had slowly relaxed and convinced herself he’d lost interest.

      Which was exactly what she wanted.

      Only now, the tables had turned. She was having his baby. Which meant one thing—she’d have to see him and tell him she was having his baby. And soon.

      * * *

      Daniel had struggled with the remnants of a headache for two days. The three other suits in the conference room were grating on his nerves. Some days he wanted nothing more than to throw off the shackles of his name, his legacy and everything else and live a simple, quiet life.

      Like today.

      Because it was his birthday. He was turning thirty-four years old. He had money and power and a successful business at his command. He had apartments in San Francisco, another in London and then there was the family-owned hilltop chateau in France that he hadn’t been near for over four years. He also had any number of women willing to warm his bed with minimal notice and who understood he didn’t want commitment or anything resembling a serious relationship. He traveled the world but rarely saw anything other than the walls of boardrooms and offices at the resorts he’d helped build into some of the most successful around the globe. Nothing and no one touched him.

      Well...except for Mary-Jayne Preston.

      She was a thorn in his side. A stone in his shoe. A pain in his neck.

      Months after that one crazy night in Port Douglas and he was still thinking about her. She was incredibly beautiful. Her green eyes were luminous; her lips were full and endlessly kissable. But it was her hair that had first captured his attention that day in the store window. She had masses of dark curls that hung down past her shoulders. And of course there were her lovely curves, which she possessed in all the right places.

      He’d checked out her history and discovered she came from a middle-class family in Crystal Point, had studied at a local technical college and had an online business selling her handcrafted jewelry. She rented her home, owned a dog, volunteered at a number of animal shelters, had strong opinions about the environment and politics and liked to dress in colorful skirts or jeans with holes in the knees. She had piercings in her ears and navel and a butterfly tattoo on one shoulder.

      She wasn’t his type. Not by a long shot.

      Which didn’t make one ounce of difference to the relentless effect she had on him whenever she was within a twenty-foot radius. And the night of his grandmother’s birthday party he’d almost tripped over his own feet when he’d caught a glimpse of her across the room. She’d looked incredible in a dress that highlighted every dip and curve of her body. And with her dark hair cascading down her back in a wave he just about had to cleave his tongue from the roof of his mouth. She looked hot. Gorgeous. Desirable.

      And he knew then he wanted to get her in his bed.

      It took half an hour to get her alone. Then he’d kissed her. And she’d kissed him back.

      And before either of them had a chance to come up for air they were in his villa suite, tearing off clothes with little finesse and more eagerness than he’d felt in years. It had been a hot, wild night, compounded by months of abstinence and the fact he’d had Mary-Jayne Preston very much on his mind since the first time he’d seen her.

      “Are you listening?”

      Daniel shook off his thoughts and glanced to his left. Blake was staring at him, one brow cocked. “Always.”

      Blake didn’t look convinced and quickly turned his attention to the other suits in the room. After a few more minutes, he dismissed the two other men, and once they were alone his brother moved to the bar and grabbed two imported beers from the fridge.

      Daniel frowned. “A little early, don’t you think?”

      Blake flicked the tops off the bottles and shrugged. “It’s after three. And you look as if you need it.”

      He didn’t disagree, and stretched back in his leather chair. “Maybe I do.”

      Blake passed him a beer and grabbed a seat. “Happy birthday,” his brother said, and clinked the bottle necks.

      “Thanks,” he said but didn’t take a drink. The last thing he wanted to do was add alcohol to the remainders of a blinding headache.

      His brother, who was probably the most intuitive person he’d ever known, looked at him as if he knew exactly what he was thinking. “You know, you should go home.”

      “I live here, remember?”

      Blake shook his head. “I meant home...not here. Port Douglas.”

      Except Port Douglas didn’t feel any more like home than San Francisco, Phuket or Amalfi.

      Nowhere did. Not since Simone had died. The bayside condo they’d bought still sat empty, and he lived in a villa at the San Francisco resort when he wasn’t at any of the other four locations. He’d been born in Australia and moved to California when he was two years old. The San Francisco resort was the first, which made it home, even though he’d spent most of his adult life shifting between the two countries.

      He scowled. “I can’t do that right now.”

      “Why СКАЧАТЬ