Page 4 of Laying His Claim
“Nothing,” Finn answered, still smirking. “Except for the fact that, even though it’s been nearly a year, I still can’t get over the sight of you looking all domesticated, rocking a baby to sleep. Who’d have thought it?”
“Oh, shut up,” Justin responded with brotherly humor. “At least I’ve only got one. You’re the one with three kids, Mr. Super-Sperm.”
Finn took his ribbing gracefully and pulled up a chair. He cocked his head to one side, taking in the scene but saying nothing.
“Did you come all the way over here just to get all hormonal on me?” Justin asked.
“Nope. I brought over some documents for you to sign. Regarding the Le Grenade land deal. I left them on the desk in your home office.”
Justin nodded. “Okay.” He waited. “And…?”
“And… I was just wondering how you felt about Jalissa being released. What’re you going to do then?”
Jalissa.Just the sound of her name echoing in his mind reminded him of his own cowardice. Because hewasa coward, cringing from the very thought of the consequences he knew he’d face from the moment Jalissa woke up from her coma.
The last year and a half had been hell for him. It pained him seeing her like that; stretched out on a bed, surrounded by machines, not moving, not speaking. Not even aware that he was in the room. It had been a nightmare.
There were those in the family who’d disagreed with him about decisions he’d made while she was in the hospital—but they didn’t know everything. They didn’t know what he knew about that awful night, a year and a half ago, when the two of them had torn into each other with cruel, angry words, saying ugly, hurtful things.
After an evening spent in a heated argument, Jalissa had let him know she was done with him. The relationship that had started as just a bit of fun was over and she wanted nothing to do with him. Then she’d roared off into the night on her souped-up Kawasaki, and away from him.
The next time he would see her would be in a hospital bed, bandaged from top to toe as she fought for her life.
They’d all been mystified by her accident. The police had said there’d been no skid marks at the scene of the crash, no other vehicle involved. Just a seriously injured Jalissa and a wrecked motorbike. The only person who suspected that the crash might have been Jalissa’s attempt, in the heat of her rage, to harm herself, was Justin.
But he knew one thing; he wanted Jalissa to come home with him. He wanted her to meet his son, who had become the light of his world. If he could convince her to spend time with them both, maybe he’d be able to win her over. And, if he was lucky, she might fall in love with him -withthem—before her memory came back.
Seb shifted in his arms, opened his eyes, and began to wail like an air-raid siren. Justin smiled indulgently. “Probably hungry.”
“Considering the amount of applesauce all over his romper—and you—I guess he would be,” Finn said with a smile. “Cause there’s probably very littleinsidehim.”
Summoned by the wailing, the nanny, Lorena, came rushing in, holding out her arms. She was a pretty girl in her early twenties, with a smile that always seemed to get wider whenever Justin stepped into the room. Grateful, Justin handed him over with a few brief instructions about what she should feed him for supper. When she stepped from the room with the baby in her arms, Justin got to his feet to discover that Finn was smirking at him.
“What?” Justin demanded.
“She likes you, you know.”
He frowned, puzzled. “Who?”
“Your nanny,” Finn responded with an even wider grin.
“Bullshit,” Justin retorted. He smoothed down his suit as best he could and began looking for his shoes. “Tu parles de conneries.”
Finn didn’t bother to argue. “Where are you headed?”
“Hospital,” he said simply.
Chapter 2
Justin hated hospitals; the sickly smell of industrial disinfectant, and the pall of disease, suffering and death that always hung around them. He struggled to keep the sense of unease under control. This was the hospital that had managed to care for Jalissa throughout those long months of suffering and managed to bring her back to them. That was good enough for him.
As he rounded the corner in the hallway and approached Jalissa’s room, the door opened and out walked Kaiya and her elder sister, Kalilah. They seemed excited, as if something was up, but the moment they saw him they stopped in their tracks. Justin couldn’t help but notice that Kalilah hastily clicked the door to Jalissa’s room shut and shifted her body to obscure it.
Immediately, he stiffened. “Good evening, ladies,” he said mildly. Kalilah was his sister-in-law, and Kaiya was Jalissa’s best friend. It was no use stirring up old antagonisms. Even though he and Kaiya had clashed over and over during the past year and a half concerning Jalissa’s medical care, he couldn’t deny that both women had Jalissa’s best interest at heart.
“Hey,” Kalilah said.
Kaiya nodded somberly. “Justin.”
