Page 62 of Baby Bodyguard

“You lied to me so you could keep your promise to her?”

“Something like that.” He reached out and gently swept a tear from her cheek. “I owed her, Sami. Or at least, Ithought I did.”

“Why? Why did you owe her?”

It was time to tell her the truth. The whole truth. “It was an agreement we made.”

“What sort of agreement?”

“She did me a favor. In exchange I promised to help if she ever found herself in a jam.”

He’d snagged her curiosity. “What was the favor?”

“She broke her engagement to my father. At my request.”

It didn’t take long for that to sink in. “Mel Hawke was your father?”

“Is.He is my father.”

“And you…” She moistened her lips in a way that threatened to unman him. “You didn’t want Mom to marry him?”

“I like Babe. She deserved better than dear old Dad. Still does, as far as I’m concerned.” He shrugged. “I offered your mother anything she cared to name if she’d dump Mel. She agreed.”

“I remember the stories you told about your father. You didn’t owe her any favors. She owed you.”

“It doesn’t matter, Sami. She broke it off and that’s all I cared about.”

“Right up until she called the debt due.” She wrapped her arms around her waist. “You must have been thrilled with the job she stuck you with.”

“If you think I regret a single minute of it, think again.” He approached. “You were the one stuck with the raw end of the deal. I’m sorry, honey. Ishould have been honest with you. If it helps, Ipromise it won’t happen in the future.”

“Why are you here, Noah?”

“You know why. Ilove you. And you love me, too. The only question is what we’re going to do about it.”

“Nothing is a distinct possibility.”

“No, it’s not. That’s never been an option for us.”

“Why did you have to lie to me, Noah? And I don’t mean about Babe.” Pain was implicit in every word. “Why did you have to offer yourself up as a father for my baby when you had no intention of going through with it?”

“Because I couldn’t stand the idea of another man giving you what should only be created between the two of us.”

Her mouth trembled and she pushed curls from her eyes, her bracelets clattering in agitation. “Are you offering for real this time?”

“If that’s what you want.”

She shook her head. “It’s not.”

Her whispered response hit like a blow. It took every bit of control he possessed to ask one final a question. “Why?”

“Because then you’ll think having a baby is my main reason for marrying you.”

The tightness in his chest eased ever so slightly. “And it’s not?”

She shook her head. “If I were given the choice between you and a baby, I’d choose you.”

“Even if it meant never having a child?”

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