He turned and stuck out his hand. “Mr. Broward. I’m so sorry to disturb you on a Sunday afternoon, sir.”
“Austin,” Steven said, returning the gesture brusquely. His eyes slanted distractedly toward the trash container and then back again. “What can we do for you?”
“Are you here to discuss your horses?” Gwendolyn asked. “I hear you purchased a new foal. I’d love to hear more.”
Austin smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “I have, and he’s a beautiful animal. As much as I’d like to, I’m not here to talk about my recent acquisitions.”
He turned toward Laney and her heart beat faster, yet his dark eyes regarded her with muted interest, as if she were no more than a mannequin in a department store window.
“Instead I was wondering if I might have a private word with Laney.”
Even though his eyes were on her, the question seemed as though it was addressed to her parents, as if she were a child.
Laney felt her stomach burn at Austin’s arrogance. Didn’t she have any say in the matter?
Anxiety sluiced through her insides. What could he possibly want to talk about?
She hadn’t seen him since New Year’s Eve. Though she’d dreamed about him frequently, she wasn’t sure she wanted to see the father of her baby, or be alone with him.
He deserves to know.
Laney pushed the thought to the back of her mind.
Not now. Not here!
Steven crossed his arms and twisted his chin toward his wife. Gwendolyn shrugged, as baffled as her husband.
Austin was businesslike and professional, just as he normally was, yet the tone of his voice and his polite yet distant manner seemed imbued with deeper purpose.
They could count on two fingers the times when Austin had been at the Granger homestead and had not wanted to talk about horses. Both were after he had suffered some unfortunate losses in his stables. He’d come to Gwendolyn and Steven, fellow ranchers and horse breeders, not so much for advice, but for comfort.
This third time was different and they both knew it, but they had no idea why.
After an awkward pause, Gwendolyn spoke first. “Well, if it’s okay with Laney...”
“It’s fine, Mama,” Laney told her mother firmly, even though it wasn’t.
She stood, her knees wobbling a bit. The spring mini-dress she wore wasn’t form-fitting. It had tiny pink roses on a black background that hid any pudginess around her middle. But she still had to resist the urge to run her hand across her abdomen to check if she was showing.
Her father sat down in a wide leather chair. “Make it quick,” he grumbled, sounding defeated. “Remember, we’re in the middle of a family meeting and we all have a lot more to discuss.”
Laney avoided looking at her older brothers, still upset by their teasing. “I’m sure we won’t be long,” she replied as she walked out of the room.
Only as long as it took to make sure that Austin stayed out of her and her baby’s life.
* * *
Austin watched Laney’s slender frame carefully as she led him to another part of the house. He had to hand it to her—she certainly didn’t look pregnant.
Her dress, which fell midthigh, swished across her long, bare legs. He let the memories flow back and he felt himself go hard, remembering their feverish lovemaking. How her thighs had locked around his torso, as he’d charged like a train roaring through the night, as if she’d wanted him to stay there forever. And he would have, had she not let him go.
Austin was glad Laney couldn’t look at his face right now and see how much he still wanted her. Being this close after so many months apart was like seeing a mirage in the desert. Thirsty with a lust he’d tamped down for months, he welcomed the sight of her, despite the fact that he was angry.
Maybe it’s not true.
Austin wedged the paper even farther under his arm. That’s what he was here to find out, and he wasn’t going to let his attraction to her distract him from finding out the truth.
He didn’t know if the Browards had seen the headline yet. When he’d read it that morning, he was so shocked that he nearly choked on his protein shake. He had to talk to Laney before they did. His whole future depended on it.
“Where are we headed?”
Laney tossed her long brown hair over her shoulder. “To the library. It’s in another wing of the house. We’re almost there.”
“No worries,” he responded. It gave him more time to enjoy the view, as she moved down the hall with athletic grace.
Hadn’t he read somewhere that women got wider when they were carrying a baby? Laney appeared to be the same size and beautiful shape that she’d been on New Year’s Eve. Of course, he’d have to feel her to find out and he wouldn’t have any problem doing that experiment. Austin wasn’t the type to beg. However, if that’s what it took to be with Laney again, he just might.
Seconds later, they arrived and he waited while Laney opened the mahogany double doors.
He stepped inside the room. It was wall-to-wall books, but he was willing to bet that none of them contained the secret to winning this woman’s heart.
She eased the doors shut, turned and crossed her arms. “What are you doing in Granger?” Her words tumbled out of her mouth, as if she were in a rush. She hadn’t even bothered to offer him a seat.
But Austin had all the time in the world.
He took the paper from under his arm and unfolded it. He’d only brought the front page. It was the only section that mattered.
Austin held the newspaper in front of him and watched her stare at it without blinking. And when her brown eyes moved to his face, he ignored the pull of desire.
Then he pointed at her belly. It was time to stop being polite. It was time for answers.
“It’s mine, isn’t it?”
“You can’t possibly believe—”
He strode up to her and held the paper next to his ear.
“Just answer the question, Laney.”
She turned away from him, refusing to look at it. “You’re being ridiculous. How can you believe that trash?”
“It’s mine, isn’t it,” he repeated in a clipped voice. “How far along are you?”
She swiveled around and folded her arms at her chest.
“Wow, Austin. You don’t say hi or ‘How do you do,’” she said coolly. “You just storm into my life with a question that’s out of context and quite frankly, none of your business.”
He tossed the paper down on the leather couch. It immediately slid to the floor, the headline mocking them both. Even so, both were prideful and neither of them moved to pick up the newspaper.
His eyes flitted down to her stomach and immediately back up to her face.
“Let me paint a picture for you. New Year’s Eve. You and me. In my bed. Banging each other like it was Armageddon outside and we were the last two people on earth. Is that enough context for you?”
Her eyes flickered with subdued rage. “How dare you! Is that all that night was to you? You screwing me like an oversexed frat boy?”
She spun around and his groin tightened as he watched her walk away.
God, no, he wanted to yell. One night with her had changed his whole life,