The CEO's Baby Surprise. Helen Lacey

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      Mary-Jayne swallowed the lump of emotion in her throat, like she’d done countless times over the past few months. Her hormones were running riot, and with her body behaving erratically, it was getting harder to keep her feelings under wraps. One thing she did know—she wanted her baby. As unplanned as it was, as challenging as it might be being a single mother, she had developed a strong and soul-reaching love for the child in her womb.

       Family is everything...

      It was. She knew that. She’d been raised by wonderful parents and loved her siblings dearly. Her baby would be enveloped in that love. She could go home, and Daniel need never know about her pregnancy. She’d considered it. Dreamed of it.

      Except...

      It would be wrong. Dishonest. And wholly unfair.

      “I should very much like to visit your little town one day,” Solana said cheerfully.

      Crystal Point. It was a tiny seaside community of eight hundred people. From the pristine beaches to the rich soil of the surrounding farmlands, it would always be home, no matter where life took her.

      “I’d like that, too,” she said, and pushed her plate aside.

      “Not hungry?” Solana asked, her keen light gray eyes watching everything she did.

      Mary-Jayne shrugged. “Not really. But it is delicious,” she said of the warm mango salad on her plate. “I’m not much use in the kitchen, so our lunches are always a nice change from the grilled-cheese sandwich I’d usually have.”

      Solana grinned. “Didn’t your mother teach you to cook?”

      “She tried, but I was something of a tomboy when I was young and more interested in helping my dad in his workshop,” she explained.

      “Well, those skills can come in handy, too.”

      Mary-Jayne nodded. “For sure. I can fix a leaking tap and build a bookcase...but a cheese toastie is about my limit in the kitchen.”

      “Well, you’ll just have to find yourself a husband who can cook,” Solana suggested, smiling broadly.

      “I’m not really in the market for a husband.” Not since I got knocked up by your grandson...

      Solana smiled. “Nonsense. Everyone is looking for a soul mate...even a girl as independent and free-spirited as you.”

      Mary-Jayne nodded vaguely. Independent and free-spirited? It was exactly how she appeared to the world. And exactly how she liked it. But for the most part, it was a charade. A facade to fool everyone into thinking she had it all together—that she was strong and self-sufficient and happy-go-lucky. She’d left home at seventeen determined to prove she could make it on her own, and had spent ten years treading water in the hope no one noticed she was just getting by—both financially and emotionally. Her family loved her, no doubt about it. As the youngest child she was indulged and allowed to do whatever she liked, mostly without consequence. Her role as the lovable but unreliable flake in the Preston family had been set from a young age. While her older brother, Noah, took over the family business, perennial earth-mother Evie married young and pursued her art, and übersmart Grace headed for a career in New York before she returned to Australia to marry the man she loved.

      But for Mary-Jayne there were no such expectations, and no traditional career. She’d gotten her first piercing at fourteen and had a tattoo by the time she was fifteen. When school was over she’d found a job as a cashier in a supermarket and a month later moved out of her parents’ home and into a partly furnished cottage three streets away. She’d packed whatever she could fit into her battered Volkswagen and began her adult life away from the low expectations of her family. She never doubted their love...but sometimes she wished they expected more of her. Then perhaps she would have had more ambition, more focus.

      Mary-Jayne pushed back her chair and stood up. “I’ll take the dishes to the kitchen.”

      “Thank you. You’re a sweet girl, Mary-Jayne,” Solana said, and collected up the cutlery. “You know, I was just telling Caleb that very thing yesterday.”

      It was another not-so-subtle attempt to play matchmaker.

      Solana had somehow got it in her head that her younger grandson would be a good match for her. And the irony wasn’t lost on Mary-Jayne. She liked Caleb. He was friendly and charming and came into the store every couple of days and asked how things were going, and always politely inquired after Audrey. The resort staff all respected him, and he clearly ran a tight ship.

      But he didn’t so much as cause a blip on her radar.

      Unlike Daniel. He was the blip of the century.

      Mary-Jayne ignored Solana’s words, collected the dishes and headed for the kitchen. Once there she took a deep breath and settled her hips against the countertop. Her stomach was still queasy, and she took a few deep breaths before she turned toward the sink and decided to make a start on the dishes. She filled the sink and was about to plunge her hands into the water when she heard a decisive knock on the front door, and then seconds later the low sound of voices. Solana had a visitor. Mary-Jayne finished the washing up, dried her hands and headed for the door.

      And then stopped in her tracks.

      Even though his back was to her she recognized Daniel Anderson immediately. The dark chinos and white shirt fitted him as though they’d been specifically tailored for his broad, well-cut frame. She knew those shoulders and every other part of him because the memory of the night they’d spent together was etched into her brain, and the result was the child growing inside her.

      Perhaps he’d tracked her down to confront her? Maybe he knew?

      Impossible.

      No one knew she was pregnant. It was a coincidence. He’d forgotten all about her. He hadn’t called since she’d told him to go to hell. He’d returned to see his grandmother. Mary-Jayne’s hand moved to her belly, and she puffed out the smock-style shirt she wore. If she kept her arms to her sides and kept her clothing as loose as possible it was unlikely he’d notice her little baby bump. She lingered by the doorway, her mind racing at a trillion miles an hour.

      Solana was clearly delighted to see him and hugged him twice in succession. “What a wonderful surprise,” his grandmother said. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”

      “Then it’s not a surprise,” he replied. “Is it?”

      As they chatted Mary-Jayne moved back behind the architrave and considered her options. Come clean? Act nonchalant? Make a run for it? Running for it appealed most. This wasn’t the time or place to make any kind of announcement about being pregnant, not with Solana in the room. She needed time to think. Prepare.

       I have to get out of here.

      The back door was through the kitchen and off the dining room. But if she sneaked out through the back Solana would want to know why. There would be questions. From Solana. And then from Daniel.

      “Show some backbone,” she muttered to herself.

      She’d always had gumption. Now wasn’t the time to ditch her usual СКАЧАТЬ