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She took a shallow breath. “Joel’s security is most important, of course. I just don’t understand why this has to be done immediately. Why can’t you take care of your business and then we can arrange for a getting-acquainted visit next month?”
He shook his head before she finished her suggestion. “Not next month. Now. My son is going to live under my roof. I’ll be arranging for full custody. You can either help or get out of the way. I can get a court order by tomorrow morning.”
“How am I supposed to make all these arrangements? Get everything packed?”
“Don’t worry about packing. I can pay for everything you and Joel could need or want.”
She shook her head. “You just don’t understand. Security doesn’t always come from money and things. It comes from people and familiarity.”
“I’ll be that person for Joel. My home will become that place for him, too.” He paused three heartbeats. “Are you coming or not?”
“You’ve given me no choice.”
“You’re valuable to my son. I’ll make sure you’re well-rewarded financially.”
Anger roared through her. “I don’t want your money,” she told him. “If I wanted money, I could turn to my father and play his game. Maybe you’re no better than he is,” she said, spitting out the words, giving him the ultimate insult.
Rafe shrugged. “You’ll find out soon enough,” he said. “My private jet will take us to Miami no later than Thursday morning. Let me know what you need, but be ready.”
“Why do you want him?” she demanded. “It’s not as if you’ll pay any attention to him. It’s not as if he’s suffering without you. Why must you have him with you when he’s clearly thriving without you?”
“He may be thriving now, but no one can know the future. Not even you. I won’t have my son go through what I did. I’ll protect him with every cent of my fortune.”
“A father is more than money and fortune,” she said. She knew that more than most. “What is it going to take for you to realize that?”
“I have time to learn what I need to know about being Joel’s father as long as he’s with me, and that’s going to start the day after tomorrow.”
Fuming, fussing, full of fear, Nicole wrangled a leave of absence from her boss and began to pack. She needed to take Joel’s favorite books and stuffed toys, and his favorite blanket, the photo collage of Tabitha and his baby-picture scrapbook.
Terrified at the prospect of losing him, she put herself on fast-forward. She had a job to do. She needed to focus on that, not her fear. In the back of her mind, she held on to her plan of taking Joel and fleeing from the country. If Rafe was a bad father.
As long as she worked with him, she was buying time before he took legal action. Right now, she still possessed Joel’s passport and the ability to leave the country.
Nicole worked through the day and described the trip to Miami as an adventure when she picked up Joel from nursery school. “You’ll get to spend some time at the ocean.”
“I can swim?” Joel asked, getting excited. “Will I use my water wings?”
She nodded as she gripped the steering wheel. “Or a life jacket. You’ll get to go on a big boat, too. Rafe owns a lot of big boats.”
“Like Grandfather?” Joel asked, referring to Nicole’s father.
Her chest tightened. “In a way,” she said, praying that Rafe wasn’t like her father. “It’s warmer there than it is here,” she said. “You won’t have to wear a coat.”
A long silence followed. “Will you go with me?” Joel asked in a worried voice.
“Of course, sweetie.”
“Will you stay with me?”
Her heart twisted. “I’ll always make sure you’re safe. You’re the most important thing in the world to me.”
Joel let out a big breath. “Will you swim with me?”
Nicole smiled. “Sure.”
“Can I take my favorite book?”
“It’s already packed,” she said. “You can check my list and tell me if we need to add something else. Okay?”
“Okay,” he said.
Nicole glanced at him and spotted a smile on his face. His expression tugged at her.
“I get to go to the beach,” he said.
Rafe issued a few last-minute instructions to his assistant. He glanced up and saw Nicole holding Joel’s hand as they walked toward him. He exhaled in relief, surprising himself with the emotion. Part of him had wondered if Nicole would find a way to bail at the last moment.
Despite the cool expression on her face, something about the woman assured him. He wasn’t sure if it was her protectiveness of his son, her willingness to challenge him, her mysterious beauty, or a combination of all three that got to him.
He shouldn’t trust Nicole one inch. How could he? She was Tabitha’s twin. Nicole had to share some similarities with the woman who’d betrayed him. With all the time they’d spent together in the womb and growing up together, it would have been a miracle if at least a few of Tabitha’s faults hadn’t rubbed off on Nicole. Those flaws would show up soon enough, he reminded himself. At the moment, she was useful to him.
He looked at his son and lifted his hand for a fist bump. Joel lifted his small fist, too. “Do Mom,” he said.
Surprise crossed Nicole’s face. “That’s okay, honey,” she said.
“No,” Rafe said, unable to resist the urge to challenge her, and lifted her hand to meet his. “Ready to go?”
“Do you want me to answer that question honestly?” she asked, her eyes revealing a beguiling combination of vulnerability and defiance.
He glanced at the luggage the chauffeur had brought behind. “Looks like you did pretty well to me.”
“I had no choice,” she said.
“You can relax now. You’re in good hands,” he told her and covered her hand with his. He saw a flicker of awareness race through her eyes. He felt the same quickening inside him.
“We’ll see,” she said and the doubt in her voice raised his hackles. After all he had accomplished, he wasn’t accustomed to having anyone question his abilities. Besides Tabitha, no woman had expressed anything but confidence in him. Soon enough, Nicole would see that he could handle anything thrown at him and excel at it. This would be no different.
Four
Nicole helped Joel get settled into his seat beside the window. Her little boy was bursting with excitement at the prospect of his first flight, his gaze glued to the view from the sky as they took off. Sinking into her own butter-soft leather seat of Rafe’s private luxury jet, Nicole accepted the juice and coffee offered by the staff and felt her muscles soften.
For the moment, both men in her life were occupied—Rafe with work, Joel with the window. Luxury surrounded her. The sensation wasn’t entirely new. She’d been raised in luxury, but learned to live without since she’d gone to college. Independence from her father had been far more important to her than all the things his money could buy. She would need to make sure she didn’t grow accustomed to the ease Rafe’s wealth provided because she knew that ultimately she wouldn’t be staying.
She offered Joel some orange juice, but he was too distracted by the flight to drink.
“Nicole,” Rafe said in a low voice, drawing her attention to him. “Come here for a minute,” he said pointing to the seat next to his.
She moved reluctantly, as if she were approaching a predatory animal. Like a panther, Rafe might be beautiful on the outside, but on the inside, she knew he could be ruthless.
“As soon as we touch down, a car will pick us up to take us to our new home. Then—”
“Your yacht?” she asked.
“No, I told my assistant to find a house for us. If we don’t like it, we can choose something else,” he said. “Feel free to call her with any questions when I’m not available. I’ll give you her contact info. I’ve arranged to have some of my staff from the yacht transfer to the house for convenience’s sake. The chef can prepare anything—from sushi to gourmet French and Italian food.”
“But can he make a grilled-cheese sandwich?” she couldn’t resist asking.
He paused a half beat and shot her a ghost of a smile. “Very good,” he said. “We can work on the legal transfer of his guardianship in the next couple of—”
She felt her heart plunge to her feet. “Excuse me? Legal transfer?” She balled her fingers into tight fists.
He nodded as he studied her. “Of course,” he said. “It has to be done sometime. There’s no need to wait. I’m Joel’s father. I will have custody.”
She swallowed over the lump in her throat. “My understanding is that the court may want to appoint someone to aid in the transition,” she said.
“That will be you,” he said. “It would be stupid for it to be anyone else. You know Joel best. There’s no need to traumatize him.”
She felt a sliver of relief. “Okay. There will also be visits from social services.”
Irritation crossed his features. “It’s just a formality.”
“They’ll want to make sure you’re a fit parent.”
He narrowed his eyes. “My personal experience with social services is that they are too overworked to spend much time on cases where a biological parent is able and willing to care for his child.”
She lifted her finger to her lips when he raised his voice and glanced over her shoulder to check on Joel. His little face was still pressed against the window. “I didn’t make the rules.”
“I’m his biological father. That should be more than enough.”
“Technically, you’re still an unproven quantity when it comes to parenting. Social services will want to make sure you’re taking care of him properly.”
She could tell he was offended that anyone would dare question his right to parent Joel. He scowled. “I don’t expect any interference.”
While Rafe talked on his cell phone, the chauffeur drove the limo down a driveway lined with palm trees and bougainvillea to a large mansion with white columns on either side of the front door. It was huge even compared with the standards of Nicole’s upbringing.
As the limo pulled to a stop, Rafe turned off his cell phone. His gaze met hers and she felt an odd sensation in her stomach. Hunger, it had to be hunger.
A half smile lifted his lips. “So, what do you think of it?” he asked, lifting one of his hands in the direction of the house. “It has a pool, tennis courts, several whirlpools, big backyard for Joel…”
“Is this where you live?” Joel asked, his eyes rounded.
“Where we live,” Rafe corrected.
The chauffeur opened the door to help Nicole out of the car. Rafe slid his hand to her back, and ushered her up the steps. Nicole felt a rush of discordant feelings. Could Joel be happy in this huge mansion? How would she ever be able to leave him here? “It’s definitely different than our home in Atlanta.”
“I wanted a place when you and Joel would be comfortable.”
She felt a trickle of relief that he’d included her in the offhand explanation, but knew she couldn’t count on that. “There will have to be strict rules about the pool,” she said, her mind moving to safety concerns. “Perhaps even some kind of alarm system. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if anything happened to him,” she said.
“Good point,” he said. “I’ll get Maddie to take care of that right away.”
“Maddie?”
“My assistant. Here she is,” he said, as a lovely young woman with short, sexy blond hair walked out the front door of the house toward them. She wore business capris, a stylish tank and blouse, and heels. She emanated an air of confidence.
“Hi, I’m Maddie. You must be Nicole,” she said, extending her hand. “Your resemblance to your sister is incredible. The hair color and the clothes are different, but—”
“Did you know her?” Nicole asked.
“I was working part-time for Rafe when they were involved. And little Joel is a doll,” she added. “Spitting image of Rafe.”
Joel’s hand tightened around hers. “With Tabitha’s eyes,” Nicole felt compelled to add.
“Maddie, do you mind giving Nicole the tour while I make a few calls?” Rafe asked.
Maddie gave Rafe a blinding smile. “Not at all. I live to serve.”
Nicole wondered if there was something more than business between the two, then reminded herself that it shouldn’t matter to her.
Rafe slid his hand down Nicole’s arm, short-circuiting her thoughts.
“I’ll see you later.”
Nicole resisted the urge to rub away the effect of his touch, forcing her attention to the house.
Maddie led her and Joel into the house through a foyer with a cool marble floor. They strolled through a kitchen, dining room, two downstairs dens, a library/game room with pool table, a master bedroom downstairs, and housekeeper’s quarters. A patio and large pool stood just outside the back door. Beyond that, tennis courts and a large grassy yard.
“You must always have an adult with you before you go into the pool,” Nicole said to Joel, bending down on her knee and looking into his eyes. “Always.”
“What if you’re not here?” he asked, his gaze straying to the tempting blue water.
“Then you wait until I am here,” she said. “Promise me.”
He met her gaze. “I promise.”
Nicole brushed a kiss on his soft cheek. “Good boy.”
“There will be other people who can swim with—”
“When he’s older,” Nicole said, cutting off the cute, pert woman. “Sometimes you don’t have second chances when it comes to safety.”
Maddie shot her a slightly piqued expression. “There’s more upstairs,” Maddie muttered.
Maddie led the way past several more bedrooms and baths, along with a playroom where Joel immediately began exploring the many new toys. Even though the mansion needed more furniture before it would feel like a home, Nicole couldn’t help being impressed with how much decorating progress had already been made.
“How did you do this so quickly?” Nicole asked.
Maddie laughed. “Rafe and I have been together so long. He can give me a few sentences,” she said and snapped her fingers, “and I know exactly what he wants.”
