Page 3 of A Baby to Make Her His Bride

“Who areyou?” She kept her tone polite, but chilly. “This is my house.”

“No, it’s not.” His confidence was so absolute, it caused uncertainty to roll in her abdomen, instantly putting her on the defensive.

“I can show you the proof on my phone—” She looked to her hands and found only a key fob. She’d left her phone in the car, but, “This is 1183 Bayview Drive. That was the number on the post at the end of the drive.” She pointed in that direction.

His thick brows crashed together.

Ha. She was relieved to have scored a point for once in her life. See? She was not always wrong.

“Kindly explain why you’re in my house,” she repeated.

His eyes narrowed further. “Vienna?”

Her heart lurched. She’d come here hoping not to be recognized.

Jasper Lindor was about to start his daily workout in the basement when he heard someone try the keypad on the front door. He had changed the code when he arrived here, but a contract killer wasn’t likely to try a legal entry anyway. Nor was law enforcement.

He listened to a single pair of light footsteps follow the wraparound deck to check the side door then move to the deck at the back.

Had someone found him or was this person lost? Either way, he was annoyed. He was in the middle of placing a thousand dominoes with delicate precision. He needed another month before he could tip the first one and knock them all down. He didn’t want that jeopardized.

When he heard the screen door scrape and the call of a female voice, he let out a hacked-off sigh.

She wasn’t trying to hide her presence, so Jasper didn’t, either. He came up the stairs to the inside of the pantry only to find her leaving.

She had a spectacular ass. That was his first base impression. Snug jeans cupped a beautiful heart-shaped rump. Her sleeveless top exposed arms that were toned and tanned. Her long hair hung loose to the middle of her back. The brunette color held ash-blond highlights, the sort that pricey salons dispensed. All of her gleamed with the polish only money could buy.

Real estate agent? He should have let her leave, but recent betrayals had made him into the suspicious sort. Had she planted something while she was here?

“Who are you?” he demanded as he swept the rooms with his gaze.

She turned around and—Damn, she was lovely.

His guts twisted as he took in the wavy hair framing wide cheekbones and a flawless complexion. Beneath her peaked brows, her gray-green eyes took him in. Her narrow chin came up.

“Who areyou?” She gave off an aloof, condescending air, the kind that still had the power to needle him all these years later, when he was no longer the broke teenager standing in a grocery store parking lot. “This is my house.”

“No, it’s not.” He knew who owned this house, but even as she rattled off the house number, his brain made the outlandish connection to the handful of photos he’d seen online.

“Vienna?”

She stiffened. Confusion shifted in her eyes as she tried to place him. Wariness.

“Did Hunter send you?” His thoughts belatedly leaped to his sister and her new baby. “Did something happen?”

“I’masking the questions,” she insisted in a haughty way that grated. Her jaw lifted a notch so she was looking down her nose at him. “Who are you? This house is supposed to be empty.” She faltered as though mentally reviewing whatever data she’d been given. “At least, Hunter said it wouldn’t be used for vacation rentals anymore. Does he know you’re here?”

“Yes.” Jasper grew cautious himself. He wasn’t reassured to learn his intruder was Hunter’s sister. She seemed genuinely surprised the house was occupied and didn’t seem to know who he was, but she could still ruin his plans.

“Do you work for him? Who are you?” she demanded.

“You really don’t know?”

“Would I ask if I did?” Her knuckles were white where she fisted her hands at her sides.

Interesting. She wasn’t as full of lofty self-assurance as she was trying to seem.

He gave his clean jaw a rub. Keeping his beard off was a nuisance, but he was relieved to know that it had changed his appearance enough from his own dated online photos that she didn’t recognize him.

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