The hair on the back of his neck prickled again. He turned to the next page and read through the birth certificate…
With his name in the “father” box.
He exhaled hard. True or not, he still needed a second to process seeing his name in that context. Not that he had anything against kids—he liked his nephew well enough. He’d just planned to leave perpetuating the Landis name to his brothers.
Thumbing to the last page, he found a copy of Phoebe Slater’s driver’s license. The picture was unflattering, to say the least, with eyes deer-in-the-headlight wide and no smile, but without question it was her.
All of which proved nothing, in and of itself. Why the hell hadn’t Bianca notified him? She had plenty of contact numbers. He may have been out of the country, but his family had all been firmly here on U.S. soil.
The more he thought about this, the less it made sense. If the little girl was his, he would move forward and take responsibility. Landises didn’t shirk their responsibilities. But, for the child’s safety as well, he needed to investigate this claim and this woman further.
He closed the file and tucked it under his arm. “I’m going to need some time to look over this. I can’t just take home a child because you say—”
She laughed, her breath gusting a straggled strand of blond hair. She scraped it away and behind her ear. “No, you completely misunderstand. I don’t want you to take her. I got the message loud and clear from Bianca that you’re not interested in settling down. And truly, I love this little girl.” She rested her cheek on top of the baby’s head with unmistakable maternal affection. “I want to be her mother. I want to adopt her, if at all possible.”
He should be relieved…but something was still off. His instincts from battling overseas bellowed loud and clear that there were more land mines ahead. “Then why are you here?”
“I’m here to keep Nina out of the foster care system, ” she said, her words tumbling together as she blurted, “I’m here to ask you to marry me.”
Two
Phoebe bit her lip, cringing inside over having blurted the “proposal” rather than easing him into the idea the way she’d mentally rehearsed.
Too late to call back the words now. The band segued into a Motown ballad, the crooner’s tune filling the silence while she waited for Kyle’s reaction. Not for the first time, she cursed Bianca for disappearing, while praying that her old friend hadn’t landed in some kind of trouble. Or worse.
Meanwhile, she had to make use of whatever allies she could find, and please, please she hoped Kyle would fall into that category. She searched his face for some clue of his feelings, but he guarded his emotions well.
Finally, he raised a hand shoulder-high.
She tensed, wondering, waiting and definitely keeping her trap shut for now. She was a thinker, a plotter, damn it. Bianca was the impulsive one.
Kyle spanned a broad palm along Nina’s back protectively, his gold college ring glinting in the flickering candlelight. “Let me hold the kid for a minute.”
Relief gusted from her so fully that she hadn’t even realized she’d been holding her breath. She’d hardly dared hope it would be this easy for him to connect with his daughter—
Then the glow from the pewter tiki torches revealed the glimmer of alarm in his eyes, quickly covered as he flashed a pacifying smile.
Damn.
He thought she was off her rocker to the point he feared for Nina. As if she would do anything to harm this child. Although she’d surely screwed up in pushing so hard and fast for his help.
“I’m not crazy, and I’m the last person who would ever hurt Nina.” She cradled the sleeping girl closer until he relaxed his hands, if not his stance. “I didn’t mean to spring that last part on you so bluntly, but you were ready to leave and I don’t have time to be subtle.”
“Is there a subtle way to ask a total stranger to marry you?”
Phoebe ignored his sarcasm. “Child services is going to take her since I can’t find her mother. I just need to buy a little time until I can settle things for Nina.”
She didn’t know what else to do. Nina had no one except her…And this man. Her father.
“I still think you’re half-cracked, but I’m listening.” He folded his arms over his chest.
Was he settling in or blocking her exit? Either way, she needed to talk fast.
“Okay, so maybe the marriage idea seems extreme, but I’m desperate here.” Backing off the proposal seemed prudent since she had a serious aversion to ending up in a straitjacket. “My primary concern is keeping Nina secure. She’s already had too much upheaval, with Bianca dropping out of her life so abruptly.”
“This is a lot to digest,” he said, his voice neutral, his eyes still watching her guardedly.
His military aura swelled unmistakably. He might not be thinking of himself as Nina’s father, but he clearly would stand between the baby girl and any perceived threat all the same.
Her frayed nerves snapped. “If you can think of another alternative to keeping her out of the foster care system, I’m more than happy to climb on board.”
He cocked a thick, dark brow. “Excuse me for being slow on the uptake, but I didn’t know until ninety seconds ago that I even had a child.”
“If you’d stayed in touch with Bianca after you deployed, you may have—” She bit her tongue to keep from saying anything else, when she longed to shout out her frustration as she saw her last hope for help slipping away.
His eyebrows slammed down and together. “You can’t actually be blaming me because Bianca kept this a secret. If what you say is even true. I had my hands full fighting a war.”
Her anger defused and sympathy slid into the void. “I’m sorry. You’re right. This is a lot to take in and I don’t mean to be combative.”
His jaw flexed as he paused to gather his composure. “Arguing won’t get us anywhere.”
“I completely agree.”
Still, he kept his post in front of the arbor trellis, sprawling ivy cascading down the sides like spiky tentacles ready to snag her in place. “Regardless of what came before, we need to decide on a plan of action from this point forward, which I absolutely refuse to talk about in a place where anyone could overhear. There are no less than seven people from the press attending this shindig my mother put together to welcome me back.”
He had a point there. While press coverage could be helpful in finding Bianca, it could also bring the wrath of child services down on her head. She had to strike a delicate balance here.
At least Kyle was still talking to her. Maybe he would have an idea, and if not, then she could bring up the marriage idea again with more finesse. It was outrageous, sure, but not that totally out there. She reassured herself for probably the thousandth time that this wasn’t a totally crazy idea. Although she could imagine her long-dead parents wincing over her whole plan.
She’d thought this through. People got hitched in Vegas every day for far more flimsy reasons. Wedding vows meant next to nothing to most people these days.
And they would certainly mean nothing to her ever again.
She started toward him. Their cubby of space went darker as another person strode under the ivy-covered arch, snapping Phoebe back into the present. She needed to be on guard for those press people he’d mentioned. Backlit, the shadowy figure was still obviously a woman.
“Kyle, dear, there you are.” An older blond woman stepped into the glow of the flickering light. She rested a hand on his arm, manicured