Baby Love: A Bad Boy Billionaire Romance by Vesper Vaughn Page B

fireplace in Vail? And the cheese ended up falling into the flames?”
    I chuckled at the memory of the family retreat a few years ago. “And mom came out in her mud mask because she thought the condo was burning to the ground.” Tears stung my eyes. I was exhausted and slap-happy.
    He leaned close to me, a stern look on his face. “Y’all kids are gonna set hellfire to this place,” Patrick shrieked in an imitation of my mother.
    I was laughing so hard I had a stitch in my side.
    “What are y’all doin’?” Callie’s sleepy voice interrupted us from the doorway.
    Patrick jumped away from me. “Hey Calls,” he said. “Sorry we woke you up.”
    My laughter evaporated in a second at the look on my older sister’s visage. “We were talking about the last family reunion,” I explained hastily.
    Callie eyed the greasy, crumb-covered plate in my hands. “And eating on my sofa?”
    Patrick stood up and took both of our dishes. “Late-night picnic after a long day, Calls. We didn’t make a mess. I swear.” He walked back to the kitchen and Callie glared at me. I waited until she was gone to sneak off to my bedroom, shutting the door behind me with relief.
     

CHAPTER TWELVE
    ZANE
    Rachel was waiting in my office when I came to work on Tuesday morning; hair up in a bun, glasses on her face. It was like she knew my fantasy without me even saying anything. She was right. We had undeniable chemistry. It was like there was a sexual connection so strong the people around us could see it.
    I shut the door behind me and walked quickly over to my desk phone. I pressed the button to page my preening secretary. “Hold all my calls.” I grinned at Rachel. “Did you sneak in here without her knowledge?”
    Rachel crossed her legs and nodded. “The janitor let me in about two hours ago. Nice guy, not that you know who he is.”
    I smirked at her and let her sit with this accusation. I wasn’t going to save her from the statement she’d just thrown out on to the table. “Interesting thought,” I replied. “And presumption.” I grinned, flashing her my dimples. She blushed in spite of herself. “That pink on your cheeks is rapidly becoming my favorite color in the entire fucking world.”
    That turned the pink to crimson. She patted her hair and looked down at her feet. “I have an answer to your offer,” she said slowly. “But first I have a question.”
    “Hit me,” I replied.
    “Why?” she asked.
    “Why what?”
    “Why me? Why a baby? Why like this? You must realize that I’m attracted to you. I would date you if you only asked me.”
    I picked up a pen and twirled it in my fingers. I stared at her intently, trying not to allow her chest to distract me. “You would date me. You would fuck me. But you wouldn’t have a baby with me.”
    Rachel opened her mouth to protest. I cut her off.
    “You wouldn’t. A career woman like you? It goes against every fiber of your being to become a mother. And certainly not with a man you just met less than a week ago.”
    She cleared her throat. “Okay. That’s true. But I still don’t understand the baby part. Why now ?”
    I couldn’t answer that question. There was no way I could. She wouldn’t go along with it if she knew. “Because I’m Zane Reid. I can ask for anything I want and I get it. That’s why.”
    Rachel adjusted the hem of her skirt. It was already crawling up her thighs temptingly. I licked my lips waiting for her reply. “Let me sign the papers, then. I’ll date you. I’ll have your baby. And we’ll see how it goes from there. Joint custody. You fund my business; we make this happen. That’s all there is to it.”
    I pulled a leather folio from my desk drawer and handed it to her with a pen. “We’ll be seen in public together as a couple. Everyone on the show will know we are together. When the time comes and you’re showing, we’ll deal with the ramifications. You are to tell absolutely no one of our deal.” She swallowed hard at