Twin Ties, Twin Joys: The Boss's Double Trouble Twins / Twins for a Christmas Bride / Baby Twins: Parents Needed. Raye Morgan

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СКАЧАТЬ her eyes. “That you do, but you’re the only person I’ve ever known who actually feels he needs to use them,” she said a bit caustically.

      “Actually we were just importing the shirts.” He paused, and then added softly, “And then ‘exporting’ a few political refugees.”

      “I see.” She knew he was involved in dangerous things overseas. He’d told her a few hair-raising tales that night in Paris. And she was pretty sure the story behind that new ugly scar across his chest was going to fit right into one of those scenarios. “I guess you were just born to be a businessman, weren’t you?” she added wryly.

      He laughed softly. “Of a sort.”

      She bit her lip. Now that was something to keep in mind: Don’t make the man laugh. He looks too good doing it.

      “So is that why you’re back?” she asked quickly. “Are you on the lam?” Where had that phrase come from? She didn’t know, but she kind of liked it. It fit. “Is Interpol after you? I guess you got tired of being shot at and decided to come home for a rest, huh?”

      He groaned, sagging down into a leather chair and stretching his long legs out before him. “You watch too much television.”

      “Then why did you come back?”

      He looked up at her and smiled sweetly. “My mother asked me to.”

      She stared at him. Because his mother asked him to? That didn’t fit in with the always-a-rebel, devil-may-care, to-hell-with-convention image she had of him. And now here he sat in a suit and tie—looking like he was ready to take the business world by storm. It seemed his mother had a bigger influence on him than she’d thought.

      Mitch’s parents had been another dilemma for her. Her impulse had been to tell them about the twins soon after she’d known she was pregnant. The fact that Mitch was so adamant about wanting nothing to do with them was what had made her hesitate in the beginning.

      And the more she thought about it, the more she wondered if she really wanted them getting involved in how she raised her children. Without knowing how things really stood with their son, did she dare let that happen? If there had been a different attitude, she might have told them.

      But at first, she kept thinking Mitch would show up in one way or another. Or at least, that she would find a contact point. And that once she’d settled things with him, he should be the one to tell his parents.

      She actually tried to talk to his mother at the company memorial service held for Jimmy. The woman had been gracious in a distant way, but when Darcy had tried to ask where Mitch was, she turned frosty fast.

      “I’m sorry. I haven’t talked to my oldest son for a long time,” she said. “You’ll have to find some other way to get in touch with him.”

      After that, she realized that if she went directly to the Carvers and told them about her pregnancy, they would immediately assume she was after money. She had to admit, a little financial aid would have come in very handy at that time. But once she’d thought things through, she knew it was just too dangerous. Money bought influence and got lawyers involved. It was much safer to take care of things herself.

      That meant, sadly, that the Carvers were deprived of their grandchildren, and the twins were cheated out of grandparents, but she couldn’t see a way around that at the time.

      “So there’s actually something you respect,” she said slowly. “Your mother. That’s sort of touching.”

      She’d meant it as a barb, but once the words were out of her mouth, she realized it was true.

      “You’re damn right I respect my mother. Have you met her?”

      “Yes. She’s a lovely woman.”

      “That she is.”

      She frowned, thinking back on the things he had told her almost two years before. “It was really your father you had the quarrel with, wasn’t it?”

      His face hardened. “That’s something I’m not going to discuss.”

      Yes, she remembered now. All the bad feeling in the family revolved around some sort of feud with his father. And it obviously still burned deeply in him.

      “You know, Darcy,” he said, leaning back in his chair, “I didn’t find out about what happened to Jimmy until just a few weeks ago.” He frowned and muttered, “I really ought to go by and pay my respects to his mother. I always liked her.”

      Darcy nodded. Mimi was great. In fact, it was Mimi, Jimmy’s mother, who had taken her in when she had the twins. She was living with her right now. Mimi had health problems and Darcy had two little babies who required looking after. They needed each other and they seemed to have the perfect fit, for now.

      “You really have been out of touch, haven’t you?” she noted. “How did your mother manage to find you?”

      “She hired a private investigator.”

      So he hadn’t even contacted the mother he claimed to be so close to. She frowned. This lack of family feeling did not bode well for his having any interest in the boys. But she’d known that all along.

      “So all those things you said when we knew each other in …” She had force herself to say the name of the city. “In Paris …”

      “Ah. You remember Paris, do you?” He pretended to be surprised.

      She frowned, looking away. “Of course, I remember Paris.”

      “But you’d like to forget,” he said softly, then grimaced. “Why do I get the feeling that what happened in Paris is looming over us like … like this giant vulture ready to pick apart the bones of our relationship?”

      “Relationship?” she responded tartly. “Do we have a relationship? I thought that was one of those things you vowed never to have.”

      He sighed. “Tell you what, Darcy. I’ll make you a deal.”

      Folding her arms, she looked at him sideways.

      “What sort of deal?”

      “Look. Facing reality, we’re probably going to be working together. It would be best if we could fix things so that’s possible. So why don’t we just put Paris behind us? That was then. This is now. We’ve both changed. Circumstances have certainly changed. A lot of water under the bridge.” He shrugged. “Let’s start over again. Completely new.”

      He rose and stuck out his hand. “Hi. I’m Mitch Carver. And I’m very pleased to meet you, Darcy Connors. I’m sure we’ll work well together.”

      She stared at him and found her hand enveloped in his once again, but she couldn’t join in the general good cheer he was trying to promote. Act as though Paris never happened? Sorry. There were two little impediments waiting for her at home that made all this impossible.

      Still, his touch had power. She felt his energy, his inner strength, and especially, his raw, masculine appeal, just in the warmth of his hand. Her pulse began to race, as though something exciting was about to happen. Startled, she pulled her hand out of his.

      “You СКАЧАТЬ