Having a baby—Jake’s baby—made life too impossible. About the Author Title Page CHAPTER ONE: IS YOUR MAN ABOUT TO DUMP YOU? SPOTTING THE EXIT SIGNS CHAPTER TWO CHAPTER THREE CHAPTER FOUR CHAPTER FIVE CHAPTER SIX CHAPTER SEVEN CHAPTER EIGHT CHAPTER NINE CHAPTER TEN CHAPTER ELEVEN CHAPTER TWELVE CHAPTER THIRTEEN CHAPTER FOURTEEN CHAPTER FIFTEEN CHAPTER SIXTEEN CHAPTER SEVENTEEN CHAPTER EIGHTEEN Copyright

Having a baby—Jake’s baby—made life too impossible.

“Is something wrong, Amy?” Her glazed eyes cleared enough to see he was observing her very keenly.

Would their child have his eyes?

Her stomach cramped.

“No,” she forced out. “Everything’s fine.”

Except I’m probably pregnant.

Initially a French/English teacher, EMMA DARCY changed careers to computer programming before marriage and motherhood settled her into a community life. Creative urges were channeled into oil painting, pottery, designing and overseeing the construction and decoration of two homes, all in the midst of keeping up with three lively sons and the very social life of her businessman husband, Frank. Very much a people person and always interested in relationships, she finds the world of romance fiction a happy one and the challenge of creating her own cast of characters very addictive. She enjoys traveling, and her experiences often find their way into her books. Emma Darcy lives on a country property in New South Wales, Australia.

The Marriage Decider

Emma Darcy

www.millsandboon.co.uk

CHAPTER ONE

IS YOUR MAN ABOUT TO DUMP YOU? SPOTTING THE EXIT SIGNS

THE headline teaser on the glossy cover of her favourite magazine caused a roll of nausea through Amy Taylor’s stomach. It was the new December issue, out today, and the advice it contained was too late to be of any help. A pity the article hadn’t been written months ago. She might have recognised what had been going on with Steve, at least been somewhat prepared for the bombshell that had hit her over the weekend.

Though that was doubtful. She wouldn’t have applied the exit signs to her relationship with Steve. Although neither of them had pushed for marriage—free spirits should never shackle themselves, he had insisted—after five years together—a mini-marriage in anyone’s book—continuity had become a state of mind. She’d been hopelessly blind to what was really happening.

Free spirits! Amy gnashed her teeth over that remembered phrase. There was nothing free-spirited about rushing headlong into marriage with someone else! The blonde he’d bedded behind Amy’s back, was shackling Steve with an ease that was painfully insulting. With the result that Amy was certainly being left free! Though hardly free-spirited.

Here she was, comprehensively dumped, twenty-eight years old, single again, and suffering the worst case of Monday blues she could ever remember having. It was sheer masochism to pick up the new issue of the magazine with that article in it—a clear case of punishing herself—but maybe she needed to have all the signs spelled out so she’d know better next time. If there ever was a next time.

At her age, the market for unattached men was slim, especially men worth having. Amy brooded over that depressing fact as she paid the news vendor for the magazine and walked down Alfred Street to her workplace, the last office building facing the harbour on Milsons Point, a highly privileged piece of real estate which she was in no mood to appreciate this morning.

Ahead of her, summer sunshine had turned Sydney Harbour into a glittering expanse of blue, patterned harmoniously by boats and ferries carving white wakes across it. To her left, Bradfield Park offered the peaceful green of newly mown lawns, invitingly shadowed by the great Coat-hanger bridge that dominated the skyline, feeding the city with an endless stream of commuter traffic. Amy was totally oblivious to all of it. For her, there was only the dark gloom of her thoughts.

Dumped for a blonde, a smart, pregnant blonde. Nobody got pregnant by accident these days. Not at thirty-two. Amy was sure it had been a calculated gamble, the hook to pull Steve in and tie him up for better or for worse. And it had worked. The wedding date was already set. One month from today. New Year’s Eve. Happy New Year, Amy thought bitterly, seeing a long stretch of loneliness for herself.

Maybe at thirty-two, she’d feel desperate enough to snitch someone else’s man. After all, if he was willing, as Steve must have been...but how could you ever really trust a man who cheated on the woman he was living with? Amy wrinkled her nose. She’d be better off on her own.

But she didn’t feel better off. She felt sick, empty, lost in a world that had suddenly turned unfamiliar, hostile, her bearings torn away. Tears filled her eyes as she pushed open the door to her workplace and barged into the foyer, needing the safe mooring of her job to fight the flood of misery she could barely contain.

“Hi! Boss in?” she aimed at Kate Bradley, her vision too embarrassingly blurred to meet the receptionist’s eyes directly. Besides, Kate was a gorgeous blonde, a typical choice for Jake Carter’s front desk woman, and another reminder of pain for her right now.

“Not yet,” came the cheerful reply. “Something must have held him up.”

Jake was an early bird, invariably in his office ahead of Amy. She was intensely relieved to hear he was late this morning, giving her time to get herself together before those yellow wolf eyes of his noted anything amiss.

She certainly didn’t need the humiliation of having to explain why her mascara was running, which it probably was from her furious blinking. Moisture had to be clinging to her lashes. She pressed the elevator button, willing the doors to open instantly.

“Have a good weekend?” Kate asked, addressing Amy’s back, blithely unaware of any problem.

Amy half turned, not wishing to appear totally rude. “No. It was the pits,” she blurted out, giving vent to some of her pent-up emotion.

“Oh! Guess things can only get better,” Kate offered sympathetically.

“I wish,” Amy muttered.

The elevator doors obligingly opened. The ride up to the floor she shared with Jake was mercifully brief and she headed straight for the washroom to effect repairs. Once safely enclosed in privacy she tore tissues from the box on the vanity bench and began wiping away the smeared make-up around her eyes.

She couldn’t afford to look as though she was falling apart. As Jake Carter’s personal assistant, she had to stay on top of everything, as well as maintain the class image of the company. Wide Blue Yonder Pty Ltd. sold its services to the mega-rich who had no tolerance for bungling. Perfection was expected and perfection had to be delivered. Jake had drummed that into her from day one.

Two years she’d been working with him and she knew him through and through. Nothing escaped his notice and she needed cast-iron armour to stop him from getting under her skin. He was a brilliant salesman, a masterly entrepreneur, a stickler for detail, and a dyed-in-the-wool womaniser.

He was certainly single, and frequently unattached, but the chance of forging anything but a brief physical affair with him was nil. She couldn’t help fancying him now and then—no woman alive wouldn’t—but Amy had too much self-esteem to ever allow herself to be used for fun. Casual intimacy did not appeal to her.

Jake was into experiences with women, not relationships, the more exciting and varied the better. To Amy’s accumulated knowledge, he had a low threshold of interest in any woman. They came and went with such regularity, she lost track of their names.

Though they did have one thing in common. They were all stunning to look at and made no secret of their availability to answer any need Jake Carter might have for them. He didn’t have to chase. He simply had to choose.

Jake the rake, Amy had privately christened him. As far as she could see, he never scratched more than the surface of those who rolled through his life. Amy had figured very early on that keeping an impervious surface to Jake Carter was a prime requirement for keeping her job. Let other women fall victim to his animal magnetism. She had Steve.

Except she didn’t anymore.

Tears welled again.

She stared at the soggy mess of herself in the mirror, battling the sense of defeat that was swamping her. Maybe she should dye her hair blonde. The ridiculous thought almost made her laugh. Her emphatically arched eyebrows and the double rows of lashes were uncompromisingly black, her eyes such a dark blue they were almost violet. She’d look stupid as anything other than a brunette.

Besides, she liked her hair. It was thick and glossy and the feathery razor cut around her face gave the shoulder-length bob a soft frame for her rather angular features. She didn’t mind them, either. The high slant of her cheekbones balanced her squarish jawline and although her mouth was on the wide side, it did not look disproportionate. It more or less complemented the slight flare of her nostrils and the full curve of her lips was decidedly feminine. Her nose was straight, her neck was long enough to wear any jewellery well and her figure was fine, curvy enough in the right places and slim enough to carry off the clothes she liked.

There was nothing wrong with her looks, Amy fiercely asserted to herself. Jake Carter wouldn’t have hired her if he’d found her wanting in that department. His clients expected glamour. After all, they bought or chartered luxury yachts and jet planes. Wide Blue Yonder catered to their every whim, and charged them the earth for it. Jake insisted that his staff be as pleasing to the eye as everything else connected to his business. Image, he preached, was every bit as important as supplying what was demanded.

Though Amy had little doubt he was pleasing himself as much as anyone else. He made no secret of enjoying the visual pleasure of his female work force. He might call it class, but he was such a sexy beast, Amy was certain he revelled in exercising his right to choose a stimulating environment for himself.

She took several deep, calming breaths, opened her handbag, fished out her emergency make-up kit, and set to work, creating an unblemished facade to present to her boss. His lateness this morning was a stroke of luck. She couldn’t bank on any more luck running her way. Somehow she had to shut Steve and his pregnant wife-to-be out of her mind and concentrate on performing every task Jake handed her with her usual efficiency. It was the only way to avoid drawing unwelcome attention.

Satisfied she looked as good as she could in the circumstances, Amy returned her make-up kit to her handbag. Having washed and dried her hands, she smoothed the skirt of her scarlet linen shift over her hips, wishing linen didn’t crease quite so much. But it was in this season, despite its crushability, and the bright colour was a much-needed spirit-booster. At least, that was what she’d argued as she’d donned it this morning.

Pride had insisted the expensive dress should not be wasted. She’d bought it last week, planning to wear it to Steve’s office Christmas party. Now she saw it as a too belligerent statement that she would not mourn for him, a pathetic statement, given the heartsickness she was trying to hide. Still, it was too late to change her mind about it now and it might distract Jake Carter from picking up on her inner distress.

The tension of having to face him eased when she discovered his office empty and there was no sign of his having arrived for work. Puzzled as she was by his uncharacteristic lateness, Amy was nevertheless relieved to have the extra time to establish an air of busy occupation.

She settled at her desk and slipped the magazine she’d bought into the bottom drawer, out of sight and hopefully out of mind until she could read it in private. Concentration on her job was top priority now. She turned on her computer, connected to the Internet and brought up the E-mail that had come in over the weekend.

She was printing it out for Jake’s perusal when she heard the telltale whoosh of the elevator doors opening to the corridor which ran adjacent to their offices. Her nerves tightened. Her mind raced through defensive tactics.

Jake would probably drop into her office to explain his lateness, then use the connecting door to enter his own. After a perfunctory greeting she could plunge straight into discussing the mail with him. It contained a number of queries to be answered. The sooner they got down to business, the better.

Jake had a habit of throwing personal inquiries at her on Monday mornings and she desperately wanted to avoid them today. This past weekend didn’t bear thinking about let alone commenting upon. Not to Jake Carter.

If there was one thing more difficult to deflect than his sizzling sex appeal, it was his curiosity. Give him even a hint of an opening and he’d capitilise on it, probing for more information every which way. The man had a mind as sharp as a razor.

The door to her office rattled as it was thrust open. Amy’s heart kicked in trepidation. She kept her gaze fastened on the printer as she steeled herself not to reveal even the tiniest crack of vulnerability to the dangerous impact of her boss’s strong charisma.

In her mind’s eye she ticked off what she had to meet with perfect equanimity; the tall, muscle-packed physique exuding male power, skin so uniformly tanned it seemed to gleam with the warm kiss of sunshine, a face full of charm, a slight smile accentuating the sensuality of a mouth that somehow combined strength and teasing whimsy, an inviting twinkle in eyes all the more fascinating for their drooping lids, causing them to look triangular in shape, accentuating the intensity of the intelligence burning through the intriguing amber irises. Last, but not least, was an enticing wealth of dark, wavy hair, threaded with silver, giving him an air of maturity that encouraged trust in his judgement, though Amy knew him to be only thirty-four.

She suspected he’d look no different in ten or even twenty years’ time. He’d still be making every woman’s heart flutter. It was a power she resented, given his fickleness, and she clung to that resentment as she looked up from the print-out to give the necessary acknowledgement of his presence.

Her gaze caught on the capsule he was carrying.

Shock wiped out her own concerns.

Jake the rake with a baby?

A baby?

Steve’s pleas for understanding pounded through her mind...responsibility, commitment, the rights of the child, being a full-time father...

Jake the rake in that role?

Amy lost all her moorings. She was hopelessly adrift.

“You don’t think fatherhood becomes me?”

The amused lilt of his sexy, purring voice jerked her gaze up. He chuckled at her confounded expression as he strolled forward and plonked the capsule on her desk.

“Cute little tyke, isn’t he?”

Amy rolled back her chair and stood up, staring down at what looked like a very small baby who was blessedly fast asleep. Only its head and a tiny clenched hand were visible above the bunny rug tucked snugly around the mound of its body. How old it was Amy couldn’t guess, but she didn’t think it was newborn.

“This...is yours?” Her voice came out like a strangled squawk, disbelief choking more than her mind.

He grinned, enjoying having provoked her obvious loss of composure. “More or less,” he answered, his eyes agleam with wicked mischief.

She belatedly registered the teasing. Resentment flared out of her control, fuelled by the pain of having to accept Steve’s full-on commitment to fatherhood with a woman other than herself.

“Congratulations!” She arched her eyebrows higher. “I take it the mother is happy with this more or less arrangement?”

“Uh-oh!” He wagged a finger at her, his sparkling amusement scraping her nerves raw. “Your bad opinion of me is showing, Amy. And it’s absolutely undeserved.”

Like hell it was! She hastily constructed a deadpan look to frustrate him. “I do apologise. Your personal affairs are, of course, none of my business.”

“Joshua’s mother trusts me implicitly,” he declared loftily.

“How nice!”

“She knows I can be counted upon in an emergency.”

“Yes. You always do rise to an occasion.”

He laughed at the dry irony in her voice. “I see you’ve recovered. But I did have you lost for a word earlier on,” he said triumphantly.

“Would you like me to be speechless more often?”

“What fun would the game be then?” Sheer devilment in his eyes.

Amy deliberately remained silent.

He heaved a sigh. “Determined to frustrate me.” He shook his head at her. “Challenge is the spice of life to me, Amy.”

She ignored the comment, giving him nothing to feed off.

“Okay,” he conceded. “Joshua’s mum is my sister, Ruth. Everything fell in on her this morning. My brother-in-law dislocated his shoulder, playing squash. She had to take him to hospital. I was elected as emergency baby-sitter so I got landed with my nephew for the duration. Ruth will come by here to pick him up when she can.”

Light dawned. “You’re the baby’s uncle.”

“And his godfather.” The teasing grin came back. “You see before you a staunch family man.”

From the safe distance of being once removed, Amy thought cynically.

“I’ll just pop him down here.” He lifted the capsule off her desk and placed it on the floor beside the filing cabinets. “Great little sleeper. Went off in the car and hasn’t budged since.”

He was leaving the baby with her!

Amy stared at the tiny bundle of humanity—the result of intimacy between a man and a woman—a bond of life that went on and on, no matter what the parents chose to do—a link that couldn’t be broken—a baby.

Her whole body clenched against the anguish flooding through her. For this Steve had left her. For this Steve was marrying another woman. Their years together meant nothing...compared to this. He’d covered up his infidelity. Amy hadn’t even suspected it. It was the baby who had ended their five-year-long relationship...the baby the man-trap blonde was having...part of Steve he couldn’t let go.

And Amy couldn’t blame him for that, however deeply it pained her.

A baby deserved to have its father.

But the betrayal of all they’d shared together hurt so much, so terribly much...

“This today’s mail?”

She hadn’t been aware of Jake backtracking to her desk. The question swung her head towards him. He’d picked up the sheets from the printer. “Yes,” she answered numbly.

“I’ll take it into my office.” He made a beeline for the connecting door, waving at the capsule as he went. “There’s a bottle of formula and a couple of disposable nappies in that bag at Joshua’s feet. Shouldn’t be a problem.”

So arrogantly casual, dumping his responsibility for the baby onto her!

Resentment started to burn again.

He opened the door and paused, looking back, oh so sleekly elegant in his grey silk suit, unruffled, uncreased, supremely self-assured, the tantalising little smile quirking his mouth.

“By the way, you look utterly stunning in red, Amy. You should wear it more often.”

He winked flirtatiously at her and was gone, the door closing smoothly behind him.

Amy saw red.

Her mind was a haze of red.

Her heart pumped red-hot blood through her veins.

Her brain sizzled. All of her sizzled.

Since Jake Carter enjoyed cracking her composure, he could damned well enjoy a monumental crack! She was not going to look after someone else’s baby...a baby who had no connection to her whatsoever. It wasn’t her job. And today of all days, she didn’t need a vivid reminder of what she had lost and why. Let Jake Carter look after his own...the staunch family man! The Godfather!

She looked down at the baby, still peacefully asleep, oblivious to the turbulent emotions it stirred in Amy. She looked at the plastic bag at the foot of the capsule. It was printed with fun Disney characters. Today, Jake Carter could have fun with his nephew. The game with her was over and she didn’t care if he fired her for it In fact, if he dared to try any pressure on her over minding his nephew she’d get in first and dump him.

It would probably be a new experience for him, getting dumped by a woman. And he wouldn’t be expecting it, either. There hadn’t been any exit signs for him to spot.

A savage little smile curled her lips.

She was about to give Jake Carter a red letter day.

And serve him right, too!

CHAPTER TWO

AMY barged into her boss’s office, wishing the capsule swinging in her hand was a cudgel to beat him with. It infuriated her further to find him leaning back in his executive chair, feet up on his executive desk, hands cupping the back of his head, gazing smugly at the panoramic harbour view through his executive windows.

No work was being done. The mail she had printed out for him had been tossed on the in-tray. He looked as if he was revelling in recalling the pleasures he had undoubtedly indulged in over the weekend. While she had been dealt one killing blow after another.

It wasn’t fair!

Nothing was fair!

But by God! She’d make this man honour his commitment!

Her unheralded entrance drew a bland look of inquiry. “Some problem?”

Welcome to hell on wheels! she thought, marching straight up to his desk and heaving the capsule onto it. She did refrain from knocking his feet off. She didn’t want to wake the baby. It wasn’t the infant’s fault that his uncle was a male chauvinist pig.

With her hands free, she planted them on her hips and took her stance. Apparently fascinated by the vision of his normally cool personal assistant on the warpath, Jake stayed locked where he was, which suited Amy just fine. She opened fire at point-blank range.

“This baby...is your responsibility.”

Her voice shook, giving it a huskiness that robbed it of the authority needed. She hastily worked some moisture into her mouth and resumed speaking with more strength.

“Your sister elected you to be her son’s baby-sitter.”

She stretched her mouth into a smile designed to turn Medusa to stone. It must have worked because he still didn’t move. Or speak.

“She trusts you implicitly,” Amy said sweetly. “As she should since you’re his godfather. And a staunch family man.”

It gave her a fierce pleasure to throw that claim back in his face, an even fiercer pleasure to see him look so stunned and at a loss for a ready reply. Join the club, brother, she thought, and fired the last volley.

“Looking after your nephew is not my job. Hire someone who specialises in baby-sitting if you can’t do it yourself. In the meantime, he belongs with you.”

She swivelled on her heel and headed for the door, her spine stiff, her shoulders squared, her head tilted high. If Jake Carter so much as breathed at her she would wheel and attack him again.

There wasn’t a sound.

Silence followed her to the door.

She didn’t look back.

She made her exit on a wave of righteous fervour.

It wasn’t until the door was shut and she was alone in her own office, that the silence she’d left behind her took on an ominous quality in her mind.

Silence...

Like the silence after Steve had walked out.

She’d lost her man.

Amy closed her eyes as the realisation of what she’d done rushed in on her.

She was about to lose her job.

Lose everything.

This black day had just turned blacker.

CHAPTER THREE

AMY lost track of time. She found herself sitting at her desk and didn’t remember sinking into her chair. It was as though she’d pressed a self-destruct button and her whole world had slipped out of control, shattering around her.

Vengeance...that’s what she’d wreaked on Jake Carter...paying him out for what Steve had done to her. And she’d had no right to do it. No right at all.

A personal assistant was supposed to personally assist. That was what she was paid for. Any other day she wouldn’t have blinked an eyelid at being left with a baby to mind. She would have taken it in her stride without so much as a murmur of protest, cynically accepting that Jake, the rake, wouldn’t want to be bothered by a baby. Besides which, in business hours, his time was more important than hers. He was the one who pulled in the profits.

She slumped forward, propped her elbows on the desk and dropped her head into her hands. Dear merciful God! Was there some way out of the hole she’d dug for herself?

She couldn’t afford to walk away from this job, not now she was alone. Steve’s departure meant the rent on the apartment would double for her unless she got someone else in to share the cost. These few weeks before Christmas was not a good time for changes.

Besides, who would pay her as much as Jake did? Her salary was more than generous for her qualifications. And she would miss the perks that came with meeting and doing business for rich and famous people.

Her gaze lifted and ruefully skirted the photographs hanging on the walls; celebrities on their luxury yachts, on board their private jets, travelling in style to exciting places, wining and dining in classy surroundings, perfect service on tap.

Of course Jake was in all the photographs, showing off his clientele and what he had provided for them. The man was a brilliant salesman. The photographs were public proof that he was the one to deliver what was desired.

And the plain truth was, however much he provoked her with his teasing and wicked ways, Amy did, for the most part, enjoy the challenge of matching wits with him. He kept her on her toes, goaded her into performing at her best, and the work was never boring. Neither was he.

She’d miss him.

Badly.

Especially with Steve gone.

She’d miss this plush office, too.

Where else would she get a workplace that could even come near to matching what she had here at Wide Blue Yonder?

Her gaze drifted around, picking up on all she could be about to lose. The carpet was the jewel-like turquoise colour of coral reef lagoons, the paintwork the mellow yellow shade of sandy beaches, outlined in glossy white. Fresh arrangements of tropical flowers were brought in every week, exotic blooms in orange and scarlet mixed with glowing greenery. Every modern technological aid for business was at her fingertips—no expense spared in providing her with the best of everything.

Then there was the million dollar view—an extension of the vista that could be seen from Jake’s office—Darling Harbour and Balmain directly across the water, Goat Island, and stretching along this shoreline, Luna Park with its cluster of carnival rides and entertainment booths.

Mortified at her own lunacy for giving none of this a thought before barging in to confront Jake, Amy pushed out of her chair and moved over to the picture window overlooking the grinning clown face that marked the entrance to the old amusement park. Fun, it promised. Just like Jake. Except she’d hot-headedly wiped fun off today’s agenda.

She should go back into his office and apologise.

But how to explain her behaviour?

Never had she struck such a blistering attitude with him. He was probably sitting in there, mulling over what it meant, and he wouldn’t gloss over it. Not Jake Carter. No way would he leave it alone. If he wasn’t thinking of firing her for insubordination, he was plotting how to use her outburst to his advantage.

She shivered.

Give Jake even a molehill of an advantage and he could build it into a mountain that put him on top of any game he wanted to play. She’d seen him do it over and over again. If he let her stay on...

The sound of the door between their offices being opened froze her train of thought. It raised prickles around the nape of her neck. Panic screamed along her nerves and cramped her heart. She’d left it too late to take some saving initiative. In helpless anguish she turned to face the man who held her immediate future in his hands.

He stood in the doorway, commanding her attention by the sheer force of his presence. The absence of any hint of a smile was stomach-wrenching. He observed her in silence for several tension-riven seconds, his eyes focused intensely on hers. Amy’s mind screamed at her to say something, offer an olive branch, anything to smooth over what she’d done, but she couldn’t tear her tongue off the roof of her mouth.

“I’m sorry.”

Soft words... words she should have said. She stared at his mouth. Had they really come from him or had she imagined it? Yet how could she imagine an apology when she hadn’t expected it?

His lips twisted into a rueful grimace. “I was out of line, dumping Joshua on you and taking it for granted you’d mind him for me.”

Incredulity held her tongue-tied.

The grimace tilted up into an appealing smile. “Guess I thought all women melted over babies. I didn’t see it as an imposition. More like a novelty.”

She felt hopelessly screwed up. Her hand shot out in an agitated gesture. “I...over-reacted,” she managed, her voice a bare croak.

He shrugged. “Hell, what do I know? You’re so buttoned up about your private life. There must be some reason you’re not married to the guy you’ve been living with all these years.” His eyebrows slanted in an expression of caring concern. “Is there a problem about having a baby?”

The sympathetic tone did it.

Like the trumpets that brought down the walls of Jericho, it struck chords in Amy that triggered a collapse of her defences. Tears welled into her eyes and she couldn’t find the will to stop them. She wanted to say it wasn’t her fault but the lump in her throat was impassable.

She had a blurry glimpse of shock on Jake Carter’s face, then he was moving, looming towards her, and the next thing she knew his arms had enveloped her and she was weeping on his shoulder and he was muttering a string of appalled comments.

“I didn’t mean it... Honest, Amy!... I was just testing... never thought it was true...”

“’Snot,” she sobbed, her hands clenched against his chest.

“Not true?” His bewilderment echoed in her ears.

She couldn’t bear him thinking she was barren, making her even less of a woman than Steve had left her feeling. She scooped in a deep breath and the necessary words shuddered out. “He didn’t want a baby with me.”

“Didn’t?” He picked up sharply on the past tense.

The betrayal was so fresh and painful, it spilled out. “Having one with her.”

“He knocked up some other woman?”

Jake’s shock on her behalf soothed her wounded pride. “A bwonde,” she explained, her quivering mouth not quite getting around the word.

“Well, I hope you’ve sent him packing.” A fierce admonition, giving Amy the crazy sense he would have done it for her, given the opportunity, probably cracking a bullwhip to effect a very prompt exit.

“Yes,” she lied. It was too humiliating to confess she’d sat like a disembowelled dummy while Steve had gone about dismantling and removing his half of their life together.

“Good riddance,” Jake heartily approved. “You wouldn’t want to have a baby with him, Amy. Couldn’t trust a man like that to stick around.”

“’Sright.” She nodded mournfully, too water-logged to make any cynical parallel to Jake’s attitude to women.

“Still feeling raw about it,” he murmured sympathetically.

“Yes.”

“Guess you only found out this weekend.”

“Tol’ me Sat’day.”

“And I had to slap you in the face with Joshua.”

The self-recrimination stirred her to meet him halfway. “Not your fault.” There, she’d finally got it out. “Sorry,” she added for good measure.

“Don’t worry about it, Amy. Bad timing, that’s all.”

He was being so kind and understanding, patting her on the back, making her feel secure with him, cared for and valued. His warmth seeped into her bones. Her hands relaxed, fingers spreading out across the comforting heat of his chest. She nestled closer to him and he stroked her hair.

Like a wilted sponge, she soaked in his tender compassion, needing it, wanting it. She’d felt so terribly alone these past two days, so bereft of anyone to care about her...

A baby cry pierced the pleasant fuzziness swimming around in her mind. Joshua! Left alone in the other office! Amy lifted her heavy head, reluctant to push out of Jake’s embrace but she couldn’t really stay there. Kind understanding only went so far. This was a place of business. A line had to be drawn.

Jake might start thinking she liked being this close to him. In fact, weren’t his arms tightening around her, subtly shifting their body contact, stirring a consciousness of how very male he was? To Amy’s increasing confusion, she found she wasn’t immune to the virility she’d always privately scorned. For several electrifying moments she was mesmerised by its effect on her.

Another baby cry escalated into a wail, demanding attention.

“Responsibility calls, I’m afraid,” Jake said wryly, confusing Amy further as he gently loosened his hold on her.

Had she imagined the slight sexual pressure?

He retained one supporting hand at her waist as he lifted his other to tilt her face up. His eyes were a warm, caressing gold. “Got your feet back?” he softly teased.

It drew a wobbly smile. “Firm on the floor again.”

“Good!” He nodded approval. The warm molten gold hardened to a glitter. “Better go and wash that guy off your face, as well as out of your mind.”

In short, she was a mess and he wanted his personal assistant back in good form. Of course that was all he wanted. Jake Carter was too smart to muddy up his business with pleasures he could get so easily elsewhere.

Then his fingertips brushed her cheek. “Okay?”

Her skin tingled, most probably from the flush of embarrassment rising to her cheeks. “Yes,” she asserted as strongly as she could.

He gave her a lopsided grin as he dropped his hand and stepped away. “The godfather is on duty. Got to see to Joshua.”

He was already at the door before she summoned breath enough to say, “Thanks, Jake.”

“Any time. My shoulders are broad,” he tossed at her good-humouredly. heading into his office to tend to his nephew.

Amy took several deep breaths to re-stabilise herself, then forced her legs into action. She picked up her handbag and strode off to the washroom, determined on being what she was supposed to be for Jake. She wouldn’t forget his forebearance and kindness, either. Nor the moral support he’d given her. He almost counted as a friend, a solidly loyal friend.

On second thought, she shouldn’t go overboard with that sentiment. Jake Carter was her boss. It was more efficient to get his personal assistant back in good working order than to train someone else to meet his needs. She was well aware of Jake’s strong dash of pragmatism. Whatever it took to get the end he wanted was meticulously mapped and carried through.

All the same, she deeply appreciated his...well, his sensitivity...to her distress just now. He was also right. She was well rid of a man who cheated on her. She should stop grieving and start getting on with the rest of her life.

Though that was easier said than done.

At least she still had her job.

The black hole had closed up before she’d fallen right to the bottom of it, thank God!

Proving she was back in control again, her hand remained absolutely steady as she once more cleaned off her face and re-applied some masterly make-up. Then feeling more in command of herself, she hurried to Jake’s office, determined to offer any assistance he required. After all, Joshua was not Steve’s baby. She could handle looking after him.

As for Jake...well, she’d been handling him for the past two years. Nothing was going to change there. She just had to keep her head and not let him close to her body again. Business as usual.

CHAPTER FOUR

JAKE had left the door to his office ajar and Amy paused there before entering, amused by the crooning voice he was using for the baby.

“We’re on a winning streak now, Josh. Oh, yes, we are, my boyo! We’ve got Amy Taylor right where we want her.”

The smile was jolted off her face by those last words. Though hadn’t she known not to trust his benevolence? Jake Carter always took advantage of what was handed to him. Always. If it suited him. One way or another he was going to capitilise on her lapse in professionalism.

“Well, not precisely where we want her,” he went on.

Good! She’d show him she wasn’t putty in his hands. One breakdown didn’t mean she was a pushover. She knew where the line was drawn when it came to working with Jake Carter.

“Bit of patience needed, Josh. Bit of manoeuvring. That’s a good chap. Hold it right there.”

Unsure of how much of this speech applied to her, Amy stepped into the office to take in the scene. The capsule was on the floor and the baby laid out on the bunny rug which had been spread across the desk. Little legs and arms waved haphazardly as Jake triumphantly shoved a used disposable nappy into a plastic bag.

“Clean one coming up,” he assured his nephew.

Deciding it was safe to interrupt without giving away the fact she’d been eavesdropping, Amy moved forward to offer the assistance she’d resolved to offer. “Would you like me to take over?”

Jake glanced up and shot her a grin. “Nope. I’ve got this all figured out.” He grabbed Joshua’s ankles, raised his bottom off the bunny rug and whipped a clean nappy into place. “Just a matter of getting the plastic tabs the right way around,” he informed her.

Since Amy had never changed a nappy in her life, she was grateful Jake had acquired some expertise. It was quite fascinating, seeing the deft way he handled fastening the absorbent pad on the squirming little body.

“You could heat up his bottle for me.” Jake waved towards the capsule. “Ruth said to stick it in the microwave for thirty seconds.”

“Okay.”

Glad to be given something positive to do, Amy quickly found the bottle in the Disney bag and raced off to the kitchenette where she usually made morning or afternoon teas for clients. She wasn’t sure what temperature to set on the microwave, decided on medium, then watched the bottle revolve for the required time. A squirt of milk on her wrist assured her it wasn’t too hot, and she carried it back to Jake with a buoyant sense of achievement.

Joshua was reclothed and clinging like a limpet to his uncle’s shoulder as Jake patted his back. That makes two of us this morning, Amy thought ruefully. Guilt over her earlier refusal to have anything to do with the baby prompted her to offer full services now. Besides which, she didn’t want Jake holding anything against her. Power came in many guises, and Jake Carter was a master of all of them.

“I can take him into my office and feed him,” she said as ungrudgingly as she could.

“It’s my job,” Jake insisted, holding his hand out for the bottle.

She passed it over, frustrated by his righteous stance. Paying her back, she thought. Rubbing it in.

“You can read me the mail while I take care of Josh,” he added, granting her professional purpose. “I’ll dictate whatever needs to be answered or followed through and leave that to you.”

“Fine!” she agreed and darted into her office for her notebook, determined not to be faulted again. He already had too much ammunition against her... when he decided to use it.

The man was devilishly clever. She had never trusted him with personal information, suspecting he would somehow wield it to gain more power over her. All along, she had instinctively resisted his strong magnetism, perceiving it as a dangerous whirlpool that sucked people in. Especially women. Amy was in no doubt it paid to be wary around Jake Carter.

She deliberately adopted a business-like air as she seated herself in front of his desk, preparing to sort through the mail with him. However, despite her sensible resolution to take guard, she found the next half hour highly distracting to her concentration on the job.

Jake had settled back in his chair, feet up, totally relaxed as he cradled the baby in the crook of his arm and tilted the bottle as needed for the tiny sucking mouth. He looked so natural about it, as though well practised in the task. He even burped the baby halfway through its feed, propping it on his knee and firmly rubbing its back. Amy herself wouldn’t have had a clue how to do that, let alone knowing it should be done.

“Good boy!” Jake crooned as two loud burps emerged, then nestled the baby back in his arm to continue the feeding.

Amy was amazed. Maybe, however improbable it seemed, Jake Carter was a staunch family man when it came to his immediate family. Or maybe his self-assurance simply extended to anything he took on. It was all very confusing. She could have sworn she had her buccaneer boss taped to the last millimetre, but he was certainly adding several other shades to his character this morning. Unexpectedly nice shades.

When they’d dealt with the last letter, Amy felt reluctant to leave the oddly intimate little family scene. It was Jake who prompted her, raising a quizzical eyebrow at her silence.

“All finished?”

“Yes.”

“Anything I haven’t covered?”

“No.” She stood up, clutching the letters with her attached notes.

Jake smiled at her, a genuinely open smile, nothing tagged onto it. “Let me know if you run into any problems.”

“Okay.” She smiled back. Unreservedly.

It wasn’t until she was back in her own office with the door closed between them, that it occurred to Amy how much better she was feeling. The day was no longer so gloomy. Steve’s betrayal had gathered some distance, making it less overwhelming. She could function with some degree of confidence.

Had she nursed unfair prejudices against her boss?

Had loyalty to Steve pushed her into casting Jake Carter as some kind of devil’s advocate who could shake the foundations of a life she valued?

Only one certainty slid out of this musing.

She didn’t owe Steve loyalty anymore.

Nevertheless, she’d be courting real trouble if she ever forgot the reasons she’d named her boss Jake the rake!

Amy spent the next half hour diligently working through his instructions, her concentration so intensely focused, she didn’t hear the elevator open onto their floor. The knock on her office door startled her. She looked up to see a woman already entering, a tall, curvaceous redhead, exuding an air of confidence in her welcome.

Amy felt an instant stab of antagonism. Some of Jake’s women had a hide like a rhinoceros, swanning in as though they owned the place. This one was new. Same kind of sexy glamour puss he usually picked, though—long legs, big breasts, a face that belonged on the cover of Vogue, hair obviously styled by a master cutter, very short and chic, designer jeans that clung seductively, a clingy top that showed cleavage.

“Hi! I’m Ruth Powell, Jake’s sister.”

Amy was dumbfounded. There was no likeness at all. If she hadn’t been presented with Jake’s nephew this morning, she would have suspected a deception. Some women would use any ploy to get to the man they wanted. Though on closer scrutiny, and with the help of the identification, Amy did see one similarity in the triangular shape of the eyes. The colour, however, was deeper, Ruth’s more a sherry brown than yellow-gold.

She had paused beside the door, returning Amy’s scrutiny with avid interest. “You’re Amy Taylor?” she asked before Amy thought to give her own name.

“Yes,” she affirmed, wondering about the testing note in the other woman’s voice.

A grin of pure amusement flashed across Ruth’s face. “I see,” she said with satisfaction.

Perplexed, Amy asked, “See what?”

“Why you dominate so much of Jake’s conversation.”

“I do?” Amy was astonished.

“So much so that amongst the family we’ve christened you Wonderwoman,” Ruth answered dryly.

Amy flushed, suddenly self-conscious of how less flatteringly she had privately christened Jake.

“Actually, we weren’t sure if you were a fire-breathing dragon who kept his machismo scorched, or a stern headmistress who made him toe your line. Now I’ll be able to tell everyone you’re Irish.”

“I’m not Irish,” Amy tripped out, feeling more flummoxed by the second.

“Definitely Black Irish.” Ruth started forward, gesturing her points as she made them. “You’ve got the hair, the eyes, and the spirit. You had me pinned like a butterfly for a minute there. Lots of power in those blue eyes.”

“I’m sorry if you thought me rude,” Amy rushed out, trying to get a handle on this strange encounter.

“Not at all. Call it a revelation. You must have Jake on toast.” She laughed, bubbling over with some wicked kind of sibling pleasure as she strolled over to Amy’s desk. “I love it. Serve him right.”

Amy mentally shook her head. It was an absurd comment—her having Jake on toast. He had enough women to sink a ship. He was hardly dying of frustration because she refused to rise to his bait.

We’ve got Amy Taylor right where we want her...

The insidious words suddenly took on extra meaning.

With Steve written out of the picture...

Held in Jake Carter’s seductive embrace...

But not precisely in his bed!

Amy almost rolled her eyes at the totally over-the-top train of thought. Imagination gone wild. Jake’s sister obviously enjoyed teasing as much as he did. None of it was to be taken seriously and it was best to put a stop to it.

“I beg your pardon, but...”

“Oh, don’t mind me.” Ruth twirled one perfectly manicured hand dismissively. “Relief loosening my tongue. I thought Martin’s injury was worse that it is. It was hell waiting around in Casualty, fretting over what was happening or not happening.”

Martin... that had to be her husband. “His shoulder is all right then?” Amy asked, belatedly recalling it had been dislocated.

“They put it back in. He’s sleeping off the anaesthetic now so I thought I’d pick up Josh.” Her gaze swept the area behind Amy, frowning at not spotting the capsule. “Where is he?”

“With Jake.” Amy nodded towards the connecting door.

Ruth looked her surprise. “You mean he didn’t ask you to look after him?’

Amy grimaced. “Well, we had a little contretemps about that. As I understood it, you entrusted him with your baby, so...”

“You insisted he do it?” Ruth’s eyes shone with admiration.

“I hope that was right,” Amy appealed. “He does seem very good at it.”

Ruth broke into laughter again, her eyes twinkling merry approval. “You are priceless, Amy. I’m so glad I got to meet you. As for Jake being good with Josh, he is. Dogs and children gravitate naturally to my brother. So do women. As I’m sure you’ve noticed,” she added with arch understanding.

“Hard not to,” Amy returned dryly.

“Too used to getting his own way, my brother.”

She was right about that but Amy decided some loyal support was called for. “He does work at it Not much is left to chance, you know. His background research on every project is very thorough.”

“Oh, I wasn’t besmirching his professionalism. Jake was always an obsessive perfectionist. A born achiever.” Her mouth twitched sardonically. “But some things do tend to fall in his lap.”

Like a pile of willing women, Amy silently agreed, but it wasn’t her place to say so. She smiled. “Well, Joshua was in his lap, last time I saw him.”

“Right! It’s been fun talking to you, Amy. Hope to see you again someday,” Ruth said warmly, taking her exit into Jake’s office.

Fun... Jake’s family seemed addicted to fun. Amy wondered what it might have been like, growing up in that kind of atmosphere. She remembered her own childhood as being dominated by fear of her father. Not that he had ever stooped to physical abuse. He didn’t have to. He could cut anyone down with a word or a look. In hindsight, she could identify him as a control freak, but at the time, he was the authority to be escaped from whenever it was possible.

Her mother had been completely cowed. The only escape for her had been in death, and it was her death that had released Amy from staying any longer in her father’s household. Her two older brothers had already gone by then, driven away by their father’s unreasonable demands. She hadn’t seen them in years. She no longer had any sense of family.

What she did have was a strong belief in living life on her own terms. Which was probably why she hadn’t pushed for marriage with Steve. The thought of a husband was too closely connected to her father. She didn’t want to be owned like that. Ever. In fact, she’d found Steve’s much quoted term of being “free spirits” very attractive. Until she found out what “free” meant to Steve.

What a stupid, blind fool she’d been!

Amy shook her head at herself and turned back to work. There was nothing to be gained by maundering over her mistakes. Her best course was to learn from them and move on. She was briefly tempted to pull out the magazine she’d bought this morning and read the article on exit signs. The thought of Jake catching her at it put her off. No more gaffes today, she sternly told herself.

We’ve got Amy Taylor right where we want her...

Amy didn’t like that smug little boast. She didn’t like it at all. She liked not precisely much better. She hadn’t spent two years honing her defensive skills with Jake Carter for nothing. Whatever he had in mind, she was not going to be a patsy, falling into his lap.

It was Jake who’d made a gaffe, blabbing to the baby. She’d be on her toes from now on, ready to block whatever little one-upmanship game he was planning to play. This time she’d be one step ahead of him.

Yes...she was definitely feeling better.

Jake certainly had a knack of putting zest into her life.

Which was a big improvement on the black hole.

CHAPTER FIVE

IT WASN’T long before Jake came in to check how Amy was doing. Ruth had apparently left through his door to the corridor since there was no sight or sound of her and the baby. “On top of it?” he asked casually.

“No problem,” she answered, nodding to the print-out of the work she’d done.

He picked up the sheets, then propped himself on the front edge of her desk to read them. As always, his proximity put her nerves on edge and she had to concentrate harder on keeping her fingers moving accurately on the keyboard. She was even more aware of him than usual, remembering how he’d held her earlier... his body, his touch. She wondered if he was a sensitive lover.

Her gaze flicked to his hands, the long tapered fingers wrapped around the sheef of paper. They’d stroked her hair so gently. She reminded herself Jake was very smooth at everything he did. Sexual sensitivity didn’t necessarily mean he actually cared for the person. Stoking his own pleasure more likely. Though he had seemed to care about her this morning. Had it been entirely a pose for an ulterior purpose?

“Couldn’t have worded this better myself,” Jake said appreciatively. His smile had a caressing quality that almost made Amy squirm. “You have a great knack of filling out my instructions, Amy, applying the right touch to get through to people without pushing too hard.”

She quelled the whoosh of pleasure at his praise. “I have been learning off a master the past two years,” she pointed out, her eyes lightly mocking.

“And an apt pupil you’ve proved,” he was quick to add, his admiration undimmed. “Don’t know what I’d do without you. You’re my right hand.”

He was laying it on with a trowel. Amy instinctively backed off. “So what’s next on the agenda?” He was probably buttering her up to land some task he didn’t want to do himself in her lap.

“Two years, mmh?” he mused, ignoring her question. “You deserve a raise in salary. Ruth is right.”

“About what?” This was very doubtful ground.

He grinned. “You’re priceless.”

Amy frowned. “Do you make a habit of discussing me with your family?”

He shrugged. “Perfectly natural. You are my closest associate. Don’t you mention me to yours?”

“I don’t have a family.” It slipped out before she could catch it back.

His eyebrows shot up. “An orphan?”

The interest beaming at her was not about to be sidetracked. Amy sighed. All this time she’d worked with Jake Carter and managed to keep him at arm’s length where any personal issues were concerned. Today she’d blown it in more ways than one.

“Not exactly,” she muttered, telling herself her family was so far removed from her it didn’t matter. “My mother died when I was sixteen. My father’s remarried and we don’t get on. I have one brother living in the U.K., and another settled in Alaska. Hardly what you’d call close.”

Having rattled out the bare facts, Amy constructed a dismissive smile which she found difficult to hold when faced with Jake’s appalled reaction.

“You mean you’re alone? Absolutely alone with no one to turn to? No backup support?”

“I’m used to it,” she insisted. “I’ve been on my own a long time.”

“No, you haven’t,” he fired back at her. “Which was why you were weeping on my shoulder this morning.”

Amy gritted her teeth and glowered at him. “Must you remind me of that?”

“At least I was here for you. Just remember that, Amy. When your scumbag of a lover let you down, I was here for you.”

“You’re my boss! You weren’t here for me,” she argued hotly. “It was purely a matter of propinquity.”

“Nonsense! I took your side immediately. I know what you’re worth. Which is a damned sight more than that fool did.”

She knew it! He just had to take advantage of any slip she made. He revelled in it. “I do not wish to discuss Steve any further,” she grated out.

“Of course not. The sooner he’s wiped out of your life, the better. Eminently sensible. Though there are practical matters to take into consideration.”

“Yes. Like getting on with work,” Amy tersely reminded him.

“You might need help in shifting to a new apartment.”

“I like the apartment I’ve got, thank you.”

“Not a good idea, keeping it, Amy. Memories can be depressing. I realise shifting would be another upheaval you might not want to face right now, but a clean break is the best medicine. Gets rid of the hangover.”

“Well, I’m sure you’d know that, Jake,” she said with blistering sarcasm.

The acid didn’t make a dint. “I’ll help you,” he said, as though she’d conceded to his argument instead of commenting on his quick turnover in women.

“I don’t need your help.”

He smiled and blithely waved her protest aside. “Consider me family. It’s times like these that family bucks in and picks up the slack. Since I’m the closest thing you’ve got to family...”

“I do not...remotely...associate you...with family,” Amy stated emphatically.

“Well, yes...” One shoulder lifted and fell. Devilment danced into his eyes. “...That probably would be a bit incestuous, wouldn’t it?”

“What?” she squawked.

“I can’t lie to you, Amy,” he declared loftily. “What zips between you and me could not be called sisterly... or brotherly...or motherly...or fatherly.”

She flushed, biting her tongue so as not to invite more along this line.

“However, I am genuinely concerned about you,” he said, projecting such deep sincerity it swallowed up the devilment and threatened to suck Amy in right after it.

She fought fiercely for a bank of common sense, needing some safe ground between her and Jake Carter. The danger of him infiltrating her private life felt very acute and every instinct told her it wasn’t wise. He could badmouth Steve as much as he liked but was he any better? His record with women was hardly in his favour!

“I’ll ask around,” he burbled on. “Find you a nice apartment. Closer to work so you won’t have far to travel. Bondi Beach isn’t really suitable for you.”

“I like Bondi,” she protested.

He frowned at her. “Not good for a woman on her own. A lot of undesirables gather out there at weekends. You wouldn’t be safe going out at night without an escort.”

He had a point, but where was safe at night without an escort? Life without Steve was going to take some adjustment.

“Why not have a look around Balmoral if you want to live by a beach?” Jake suggested. “It’s a respectable area. Doesn’t draw any trouble.”

She rolled her eyes at him and his big ideas. “It’s also a very expensive area.”

“No more than Bondi. And being on the north side of the harbour, it’s much handier to Milsons Point. You won’t have to drive across the bridge to work.”

“I can’t afford it. I can’t afford where I am without a partner.”

“I said I was upping your salary. Let’s say another twenty percent. That should let you live decently.”

Amy’s mouth dropped open. Her mind flew wildly into calculation mode. “That’s more than Steve earns!”

He grinned. “You’re worth it I’ll just go and ring a few estate agents I know. See what they can come up with. In the meantime, send these off.” He handed her the replies she’d printed out. “They’re all fine.”

He hitched himself off her desk and left her gaping after him like a goldfish caught in a bowl, looking out at a foreign world. Jake Carter had always been a shaker and a mover, but never before on her behalf. Was it out of concern for her or did he have other motives up his sleeve?

Amy ran her fingers through her hair, trying to steady the mad whirl in her mind. What could she believe as irrefutable fact? Both Jake and his sister were into game-playing, scoring points. Nothing they said could be taken too seriously.

On the other hand, Jake always delivered what he promised. He wouldn’t backtrack on the money. Her salary would now be more than she’d ever dreamed of earning, putting her on a financial level where she was truly independent. Which meant she had options she didn’t have before.

A grin broke across her face.

Such a large salary would certainly make her life considerably brighter and it was wonderful to be valued so highly. This morning she’d felt her future had fallen into a black hole, but it wasn’t true. There was life after Steve. And she was going to make the most of it, thanks to Jake.

Though if her devious boss was thinking he could attach personal strings to that big hunk of money he’d just handed her, he could think again!

CHAPTER SIX

AMY had just finished filing copies of the letters she’d sent when Jake erupted into her office.

“Grab your handbag,” he commanded. “We’re off.”

“Where to?”

“I’ll explain on the way.” He checked his watch as he crossed her office to the door. “We’ve got precisely twenty-five minutes to make the rendezvous.”

Amy grabbed her handbag and scooted after him. Jake had the door open for her. She strode into the corridor and summoned the elevator, glad they were going to be involved in some outside activity. Jake would be busy with other people who would take his focus off her and she could get back to feeling relatively normal in his company again.

She always enjoyed these meetings with clients, watching Jake work his brand of magic on them. “Who’s the target?” she asked as they stepped into the elevator together.

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