going to give up, what choice did he have? “If it will put an end to this, then fine. Five minutes.”
“I’ll leave you two to it.” Anna stopped at the door, turning to Sarah. “Stop by my office when you’re done. I’d love to get the title of that book you mentioned about getting a baby to sleep through the night.”
Sarah nodded and smiled as if she and Anna were best friends. What was he in for? “Yes, of course. Thanks so much for your help.” The door clicked shut when Anna left, leaving behind a suffocating silence. Sarah cleared her throat and stepped closer, the baby’s head still resting on her shoulder. “It would be great if I could sit. He’s really heavy.”
“Oh, sorry. Of course.” Aiden offered a seat opposite his desk. He didn’t know what he was supposed to do with himself—stand, sit, cross his arms. Nothing felt right, so he settled on his chair.
“I know this is strange,” she started. “So I’ll just get right to it. Oliver’s mom was my best friend from high school. Her name was Gail Thompson. Does that ring a bell? She told me she met you at the Crowne Lotus Hotel in Bangkok.”
Aiden’s shoulders tightened. These tidbits of information hadn’t been in Sarah’s email. She’d only mentioned that she was guardian of his baby. To his knowledge, nobody knew about his brief affair with Gail. They’d met in the hotel bar and spent three days together before she went back to the US. That was the last he’d ever heard from her. “I do remember the name. Yes. But that doesn’t mean anything.” He shifted in his seat. He knew exactly where this was going. And that made his stomach lurch.
“Nine months after you and Gail had your little tryst in Thailand—” she fluttered her hand at him “—Oliver came along. Eight months after that, Gail called me and told me she had late stage cancer. I was the only person she could sign over guardianship to. She had no siblings—her parents died in a car accident when she was in college. She knew that I used to be a nanny and it just made sense. She said she tried to call you, but had even less luck than I did. It’s hard to be persistent when you’re dying.”
Aiden swallowed hard. Sarah’s email had mentioned that the baby’s mom had fallen ill. He’d assumed that she was still alive and that this was a scam for money to pay medical bills. “She passed away?” An inexplicable tug came from the center of his chest as his vision drifted to the child. All alone in the world. He’d known that feeling well when he was young, and he despised the idea of any child growing up that way.
“Yes.” Sarah pressed her lips together and nodded. She cupped the back of Oliver’s head and kissed him softly on the cheek. “That left Oliver with no mom. I was left in charge of finding you so I can sign over guardianship. I think it’d be best for everyone if we kept this as simple as possible and try to wrap it up today.”
Today? Did she say what I think she said? No. That was not happening. “You expect to waltz into my office, hand me a baby I’ve never seen in my life, and then what? You go back to wherever you came from and I’m expected to raise this child? I don’t think so, Ms. Daltrey. You aren’t going anywhere until I know for certain that the baby is mine. We need lawyers. Paternity tests. I’m not convinced this isn’t a big fat hoax.”
Her lips pressed into a thin line, but she otherwise seemed unfazed by his reaction. “First off, it’s Sarah and his name is Oliver. And I understand you’re shocked, but that’s not my fault. If you’d taken my phone call, you could’ve been prepared for this.”
“I seriously doubt I would’ve felt prepared. It’s the middle of the workday. I’m a single man and an incredibly busy one at that. I am not prepared to care for a baby I didn’t know about five minutes ago.” Anger bubbled up inside him, but it was more than this inconceivable situation. He disliked his own dismissive tone. Considering the way his father had treated him, he didn’t want to reject the little boy. No child deserved that. Especially one who didn’t know who his father was.
“I understand you’ll want a paternity test, but I think that the minute you see him awake, you’ll realize he’s yours. He looks just like you. Especially his eyes. Plus, he has the same birthmark you have on your upper thigh.” A flush of pink colored her cheeks. She cast her eyes at her lap, seeming embarrassed. Despite the nature of their conversation, Aiden found it extremely charming. Sarah seemed to be the sort of person who wore her heart on her sleeve, a quality that made her incredibly sexy, too. “I mean, Gail told me you have one. And that’s where Oliver gets it.”
Sarah carefully hitched up the baby’s pant leg. The child must’ve been incredibly tired—he hardly stirred when she revealed the mark. Aiden’s breath caught in his throat. He rounded the desk, dropping down on one knee before them. He had to see it up close. He had to know this was real. The shape and size of the birthmark were indeed the same as his—an oval about the height of a dime, tilting to one side. The dark brown color was a match. Is this possible?
He reached out to touch the mark, but stopped himself. “I’m sorry. I’m a little taken aback.”
“It’s okay. He’s your son.” Sarah’s voice was sweet and even. Given the impression he had of her from that first email, she was not at all the woman he’d envisioned.
The boy’s skin was powdery soft and warm. Aiden gently tugged his pant leg back down, then studied his face. His eyelids were closed in complete relaxation, lined with dark lashes. His light brown hair had streaks of blond, admittedly much like Aiden’s, although Oliver had baby-fine curls and Aiden’s hair was straight and thick. Still, he knew from his own baby pictures that his hair had once been like Oliver’s. Was this possible? Was this really happening? And what was he supposed to do about it? He had no idea how to care for a baby. This would change his entire life. Just when he was getting settled back in New York and trying to find a place for himself in his own family.
Oliver shifted in Sarah’s arms, and for an instant, he opened his eyes and looked right at Aiden. The familiar flash of blue was a shot straight to Aiden’s heart. It was like staring into a mirror. Oh my God. He’s mine.
Things weren’t going terribly. Awkward, yes. Terrible, no.
It was really only awkward on Sarah’s side of things. Aiden was still on bended knee watching Oliver sleep, and it was impossible not to stare at him. She tried to look elsewhere, to feign interest in the framed black-and-white photographs of exotic locales on his walls, or the view out his office window overlooking the Manhattan skyline, but she could only sustain it for a few moments. His blue eyes would draw her back in, so vivid and piercing she was sure he could hypnotize her if their gazes connected for more than a few heartbeats. They were topped by dark brows that suited his hard-nosed demeanor, accentuated by just a few tiny crinkles at the corners. The scruff on his face was a warm cinnamon brown, neatly tended, but gave him an edge that made her wonder what he was like when he wasn’t so guarded. And there was something about the way he carried himself—more than self-assured, he came across as superhuman. Bulletproof. Sarah was certain Aiden Langford did precisely what he wanted to do, when and how he wanted to do it. He was not the sort of man who cared to be told what to do.
Too bad she had to do exactly that. The thought made her pulse race like an overcaffeinated jackrabbit. There was no telling how he would react, but judging by the look on his face, there was a chance it might go okay. However much of a handsome jerk he’d been when she walked in the door, his demeanor had softened in the last few minutes, ever since he’d taken a good look at Oliver. Surely he realized now, that even in the absence of hard evidence like the results of a paternity test, the baby was his.
“So,” Sarah started, recalling the speech she’d practiced many times, words she dreaded saying because they would signal the end of her time with Oliver. “I was thinking that I’ll leave Oliver with you now and I’ll check into a hotel while we get this straightened out. A paternity test is a quick thing. We’ll get your name on Oliver’s birth certificate. I’ll sign over the power of attorney and guardianship. All