And considering the lack of light in here, that was exactly where he preferred to be.
She thought she could handle the burden alone, but as hard as she’d tried, her best efforts just weren’t cutting it anymore. She needed his help. And since there was no easy way to say it, to soften the blow, she decided it was best to just get it out.
She took a deep breath and held her chin high. “I just thought you should know that I’m pregnant and you’re the father.”
Her words hit Ben like a sucker punch.
For months now he’d considered going back to the resort bar in the hopes that she would be there. That they could reconnect. Something inside him had changed that night with her. He’d begun living again.
But this he’d never expected.
She may have acted as if she hadn’t known who he was that night in the resort, but clearly he’d been set up.
How could he have been so stupid?
He knew exactly how, and why now, months later, he still felt that tug of longing when she stood in his foyer. She’d been the first woman he’d connected with since the crash. The only one who had been able to make him forget the pain.
He used to believe that his heart had died along with his wife and unborn son, but something had clicked between himself and Tess that night.
Maybe it was because she was so different from Jeanette. Slim and angular and schoolgirl pretty to his wife’s lush figure and exotic beauty. She’d looked so petite and nymphlike. Sweet and innocent.
What a joke.
He never should have left the house that night, but the idea of spending the holidays in solitude had forced him out of his self-imposed isolation. He should have known what was up when he woke the next morning alone. Yes, it was true he told her he wasn’t looking for a relationship, but he hadn’t asked her to leave, either. He thought there had been a connection.
Apparently, he’d thought wrong.
He wondered how many other men she’d picked up in that bar. How many she’d used. And why she’d picked him to seal the deal. Because he was vulnerable? Or was it his bank balance?
And to think that he’d been this close to falling in love with her.
“You neglected to mention that you worked at the resort,” he said. She hadn’t told him much of anything about herself. Not that he’d asked. He hadn’t been looking for conversation, just a sweet, warm body to lose himself in. Kind of like a Christmas present to himself. By the time he realized he wanted more, she’d already disappeared.
She lifted her chin and looked him in the eye. “We didn’t spend a whole lot of time getting to know each other.”
“Actually, I thought we got to know each other rather…intimately.”
Tess bit her lip and her cheeks flushed bright pink. It would have been charming if he believed it were anything but an act.
“Maybe you don’t remember, but we used protection,” he said, sure that she would come up with some creative excuse why the condom had failed. All three of them, or had it been four?
She didn’t. “Believe me, I was just as surprised as you are. I didn’t plan this, either.”
“Let’s say it is mine. What do you want from me?” Like he didn’t already know. She probably had a long list of demands. Would she expect him to marry her? Did she think they would settle down together and play house? Or maybe she was looking for a break into acting.
She wouldn’t be the first who’d tried to use him for his connections.
She lowered her eyes to the floor, looking genuinely humbled. Give the girl an Oscar, she was one hell of an actress. “I need your help. I thought I could do this alone, but with the doctor bills and all the things I need for the baby…”
Just as he suspected.
“I want a paternity test,” he told her. “Before I give you a penny, I need to know if this really is my baby.”
Tess nodded, thankful he wasn’t going to make her beg. Her mother had struggled for years to make Tess’s wealthy father own up to his responsibility and pay child support. Tess had been sure Ben would fight her tooth and nail.
“I figured you would. I’ve already talked to my doctor about it. She said they can do the test next week, when I go in for my ultrasound.”
“Fine. I’ll contact my attorney.”
“If you want, you could come with me,” she said, figuring it was the least she could do. It was his baby as much as hers. Maybe they could reach some sort of accord, find some middle ground and maybe even learn not to resent each other.
Maybe they could even be friends.
“Come where?” he asked.
“To the appointment. To see the baby.”
Something dark and unsettling flashed across his face. He closed in on her, his eyes sparking with anger. “Let’s get something straight. If this is really my child, I’ll see that it’s taken care of, but I can’t be a part of its life.”
She took a step back and bumped into the door. He moved forward, boxing her in. If he was trying to intimidate her, it was working.
And he knew it.
“Why so nervous?” he said, easing even nearer, bracing his hands on either side of her head. Black hair framed his face, settling it deeper into the shadows, but she could still see his eyes—dark and penetrating pinned on her face. And so cold it made her shiver. “You didn’t mind being this close that night in my room. In fact, I was under the impression you rather enjoyed it.”
She glared up at him, refusing to be the one who backed down. She’d almost forgotten how beautiful he was. Beautiful in a completely masculine, testosterone driven way of course. But that was to be expected being the product of two gorgeous Academy Award winning actors.
He smelled good, too. The scent of his cologne and sheer male heat swirled through the narrow space between them. He smelled expensive and refined and…
My God, was she actually getting turned on by this he-man macho crap? It had to be the pregnancy hormones making her feel so loopy.
After that night with Ben she had forever sworn off men like him. They were nothing but trouble. If she ever did date again—and that was a big if—she was going to find herself a quiet, average, boring guy. She’d take safe and unexciting over sizzling and sexy any day.
She poked the solid mass of his chest with her index finger, feeling his body-heat soak through the silky softness of his sweater, enjoying the look of surprise on his face.
“You must think pretty highly of yourself if you believe I would want a relationship with you. Just like you, I went up to your room expecting one night. Go ahead and pin the blame on me if it eases your guilty conscience, but this is as much your fault as it is mine. I wasn’t in that room alone. If I recall correctly, you rather enjoyed it, too. And need I remind you that you were the one with the condoms? How do I know you didn’t do this on purpose? Maybe you get some sort of depraved thrill knocking up unsuspecting women. For all I know, you have illegitimate children all over the place.”
His expression shifted and he looked almost…wounded.
Was it possible she’d hurt his feelings? That he actually had feelings?
Ben dropped his hands from beside her head and backed away, his face somber. He looked so…sad. The brief charge of satisfaction hissed away like a deflating balloon.
“May as well take off your jacket and get comfortable,” he said. “We have a lot to discuss.”
Ben sat at his desk and ripped open the envelope his lawyer