Falling for King's Fortune / Seduction, Westmoreland Style. Maureen Child

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СКАЧАТЬ Casey. This is about my daughter.”

      Movers arrived the following Saturday. Casey sat in a lawn chair on the front yard beside Dani, the two of them watching the kids roll around on a quilt spread beneath the jacaranda tree. A three-year-old boy and two baby girls were surprisingly loud.

      “I know you don’t want to hear this,” Dani said as they watched two movers carry boxes out of the house, “but Mike’s glad you’re moving.”

      “What?” Casey looked at her, then reached down and pulled a stick from Mia’s grip. “I thought your husband liked me.”

      “He does, you nut,” Dani said. “But he’s also a cop. And he says this neighborhood isn’t a good one for a single woman and a baby.”

      Casey frowned. Okay, it wasn’t a ritzy area, but the houses were mostly tidy and the teenagers weren’t too annoying and she’d only had graffiti spray-painted on her garage the one time.

      “He never said anything….”

      “He didn’t want you to be scared or anything,” Dani said, instantly defending the husband she was so crazy about. “But he always cruises your neighborhood at night, keeping an eye on things.”

      Casey sighed. That sounded like Mike. Such a nice man. Unlike some others she could name. Mike didn’t push his views on her, try to run her life. He just quietly did what he could to keep her safe.

      Why couldn’t Jackson be more like that?

      “So I’m not surprised your Jackson wanted you to move.”

      “He’s not my Jackson, for heaven’s sake,” Casey said quickly and scowled as her insides did a quick ripple of expectation at the sound of his name. “And he’s not interested in my safety, believe me. He just wants Mia.”

      “She is his daughter.”

      Casey shot her a dark look. “Traitor.”

      Dani laughed and scooped her baby girl up into her lap to pull a leaf out of her mouth. “I’m just saying there are worse things in life than to be scooped up by a gorgeous millionaire and whisked off to his hilltop mansion.”

      Sure, when you said it like that, Casey thought, it was like something out of a romantic movie. Almost Cinderella-like. Poor but honest girl meets rich handsome prince and finds love and happily ever after. But Casey knew the truth. The only thing between her and Jackson—except for some incredible heat—was Mia.

      He wasn’t a prince. At the moment, she thought of him more like a cartoon villain, evilly twirling his moustache.

      “He threatened to take Mia.”

      Dani sighed. “If he’d actually meant to do that, he could have. He’s probably got a fleet of lawyers on standby. Instead, he just wants to get to know his kid. You really can’t blame him for that.”

      “Why not?” When Dani only looked at her, Casey laughed. “Okay, I know. I’m overreacting.”

      “Just a bit,” Dani agreed. “I mean, I get why, but you’d probably have been furious if Mia’s father had turned out to be some miserable creep who wanted nothing to do with her, too.”

      “Maybe…” The truth was, she could understand Jackson’s interest in his daughter. That didn’t mean she had to like it, though.

      “Casey, try not to treat this move as if it’s a jail sentence. Look at it like a minivacation.”

      “A vacation?”

      “Sure. He’s got a huge place. Plenty of room for you to work and Mia to play. There’ll be someone else for you to lean on once in awhile. You won’t have to do it all yourself….”

      She liked doing everything herself. She was used to it. She’d made her way, built a business, was raising a beautiful child. Why should she look for help she didn’t need?

      Besides, “Can you really see Jackson King changing diapers?”

      Dani shrugged. “Guess you’ll find out. But the point is, stop sabotaging this before it starts.”

      Was she? Or was Dani seeing only a silver lining and disregarding the huge, massive black cloud currently sitting over Casey’s head? Case in point…the movers. They were carrying Mia’s crib now and the rocking chair that Casey had painted herself.

      “Um, didn’t you say Jackson told you he outfitted a nursery?”

      “Yes,” Casey said tightly. Only the best for the daughter of a King. “He arranged to put my stuff in storage for six months.” Without bothering to ask her. He’d just called her with the information and when she’d tried to argue that she wanted to take her stuff with her to his house, he’d simply steamrolled right over her.

      “Ah…”

      A cool wind kicked up, scattering twigs and lacy leaves across the lawn. Casey shivered a little. Was she making a huge mistake? Should she have stood up to Jackson? Gone to court rather than caving to his demands? She looked down at Mia and a small thread of fear wrapped itself around her heart.

      “I can do this, right?”

      “Of course you can.”

      “It’ll be good for Mia.”

      “Positively.”

      Oh, God. “Is it too late to run away?” Casey wondered aloud.

      “It is if that’s Prince Charming in your carriage,” Dani told her, pointing to a big black SUV pulling up in front of the house.

      Casey didn’t have to see the driver to know it was Jackson. She could tell because her body had started humming and her stomach was doing somersaults. Six months of living in his house? Being around him night and day? How was she going to manage this?

      Before she could come up with an answer to that question, Jackson opened the door and stepped out of the car. Beside her, Dani sighed heavily. Not hard to understand. Jackson was wearing black slacks, a long-sleeved white shirt with the sleeves rolled back on his tanned, muscled forearms and sunglasses that he slipped off as he walked toward them. Prince Charming? Maybe. Dangerous? Absolutely.

      “Remember,” her friend said, “you’re going to make this work.”

      Casey’s mouth was dry, just watching him walk across the lawn, so she nodded.

      “Casey,” he said, smiling. His gaze dropped briefly to Mia and even Casey saw his dark eyes warm.

      “Hello, Jackson,” she said when she found her voice again. “You didn’t have to come by, I was going to drive to your place later.”

      “Not necessary,” he said, turning a smile on Dani. Casey didn’t even have to see her friend’s face to know she was being sucked into Jackson’s orbit. The man was definitely high on the charisma chart when he wanted to be.

      “Jackson King,” he said, holding out one hand.

      “Dani Sullivan.” СКАЧАТЬ