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A Baby Between Them
C.J. Carmichael
It happened one night…Aidan Wythe and Rae Cordell had one incredible night together–just before Aidan transferred Rae, his star VP, to Pittsburgh. Now, more than eight months later, Aidan arrives on Summer Island to spend his vacation. But instead of the empty house he' s expecting, Aidan finds Rae. He' s even more shocked to see that she' s pregnant–with his child!Rae never planned on children. She' s decided on adoption for her baby, but Aidan' s reappearance in her life makes her question that decision.And Aidan? He has to question his feelings about everything now–the woman, the baby, his future. Whatever happens, things won' t be the same when he and Rae leave the island….
The Forget-Me-Not Friends
Harrison Kincaid—During his childhood Harrison and his sister, Nessa, spent all of July and August on Summer Island with their parents. In his thirties Harrison married Simone and became the CEO of his family-owned communications business based out of Seattle.
Aidan Wythe—Raised by his mother in Seattle, Aidan has been Harrison’s best friend for as long as he can remember. They went to Yale together and Aidan is Harrison’s right-hand man at Kincaid Communications.
Emerson Cotley—A local on Summer Island, Emerson took over the family landscaping business after his parents were killed in a car accident.
Jennifer March—Her family owns the Lavender Farm Bed and Breakfast on Summer Island. She and Simone were best friends.
Gabe Brooke—Gabe owns a real estate business on Summer Island, as well as the local newspaper. He married Harrison’s sister, Nessa, after Harrison married Simone.
Simone DeRosier—A renowned jazz singer and pianist, Simone started spending her holidays with her father on Summer Island when she was fourteen years old. She coined the phrase “Forget-Me-Not Friend” in her first Grammy Award-winning hit.
Dear Reader,
In this book I’m taking you back to Summer Island, a locale I introduced this June in the Signature Select Saga novel, You Made Me Love You.
I first dreamed of Summer Island when my family and I spent a holiday with my sister’s family on Saltspring Island. We had a grand time lazing on the ocean shore, hiking in the rolling hills and kayaking on the becalmed sea. One of the highlights for my city-slicker daughters was setting traps for crabs with my brother-in-law Gord. I couldn’t believe it when those picky little children actually ate them, too!
As we explored the Gulf Coast island, I knew I had to write a book about this place one day. No, not just a book, a three-book series. I wasn’t sure what the stories would be about, but I started with a picture in my head….
Five friends sitting around a bonfire on the beach late at night. They’re roasting marshmallows and drinking and kidding around with the ease of kids who’ve known each other all their lives. Then someone new asks to join their group…and their futures are altered forever.
I hope you enjoy this story. The concluding book of this trilogy, Secrets Between Them, will be available in October from Harlequin Superromance. Be sure to watch for it.
If you would like to write or send e-mail, I would be delighted to hear from you through my Web site at www.cjcarmichael.com. Or send mail to the following Canadian address: #1754—246 Stewart Green, S.W., Calgary, Alberta, T3H 3C8, Canada.
Sincerely,
C.J. Carmichael
A Baby Between Them
C.J. Carmichael
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
CONTENTS
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
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
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
PROLOGUE
Summer Island
AIDAN WYTHE DIDN’T make friends easily, so when the new girl suddenly appeared on the beach in the moonlight, his instinct was to nod politely, and then turn away. His friends Harrison Kincaid and Gabe Brooke, however, reacted quite differently. Harrison scrambled to his feet. Gabe offered her a drink.
“That’s a good fire.” The girl moved closer to the bonfire, holding out a hand as if she were cold.
She was beautiful. No, more than that. Stunning was a better word.
“It’s even warmer over here.” Gabe patted the surface of the log he was sitting on in invitation.
The girl hesitated. “Are you sure I’m not interrupting?”
“Yeah, actually, you are,” Aidan said. Something about her made him uneasy. Just because Harrison and Gabe were already drooling didn’t mean they should invite her to join them. The five of them had been having a great time without her. Aidan looked to Jennifer for support, but even she was frowning at his comment.
“Don’t mind him,” Jennifer said.
“Yeah,” Gabe added. “Aidan was bit by a rabid dog when he was a kid. He’s never been the same.”
Aidan told Gabe what to do with himself. But everyone else laughed. And the new girl sat down.
“My dad and I are here for the summer. My name’s Simone. Simone DeRosier.”
Gabe and Harrison both repeated her name as if to make sure they would never forget it. What idiots. They were still gawking as if they’d never seen a pretty girl before.
“I’m Gabe Brooke. I live here on the island, and these are my friends.” Gabe went around the fire, pointing as he spoke each of their names: “Emerson and Jennifer are locals, too. Aidan and Harrison are from Seattle.”
“Hi, Simone. It’s good to meet you.” Harrison leaned closer and offered his hand.
Aidan cringed. God, Harrison. Shaking hands was what grown-ups did. Not sixteen-year-old guys who were just hanging out on the beach.
But Simone smiled as brightly as if Harrison was the coolest dude she’d ever met.
“It’s nice to meet you, too, Harrison.” She turned to girl beside him. “Is this your girlfriend?”
Jennifer laughed. “No, we’re just friends. We’re all friends.” She pushed her blond hair off her shoulders. “My parents own a bed-and-breakfast on the north end.”
“My folks have a landscaping business,” Emerson added. “We live on Oyster Bay, just a few miles from here.”
Finally Simone’s eyes settled on Aidan. “That leaves you, Aidan. Where do you stay when you’re on the island? Do you rent a place in town?”
He didn’t answer, so Harrison filled in. “He and his mom own the cottage across from our place. Aidan and I go to school together in Seattle. We’re planning to be roommates when we go to Yale.”
“Cool. Have you guys known each other long?”
“Basically all our lives,” Emerson said. “Our moms used to bring us to this beach when we were little kids.”
“How lucky for you.” Simone sounded genuinely envious. “Well, thanks, Aidan, for letting me barge in on the party like this.”
Why would she thank him, when he was probably the only one who didn’t want her here? He looked up from the fire and scowled. He didn’t care if she knew he didn’t like her. Harrison and Gabe were fools. Their tongues were going to be caked with sand if they didn’t shove them back into their mouths pretty soon.
Simone wrapped her arms around her knees and leaned forward. “So what do you like to do?”
“Volleyball. Swim. Hang out,” Jennifer said. “How about you?”
“I like those things, too.” She paused a moment. “Do any of you sing?”
“Around the campfire, you mean?” Aidan’s voice dripped with scorn. He’d known he wouldn’t like this girl. “Not since I was a Boy Scout, when I was ten.”
“But then you’re tone-deaf, Aidan.” Harrison offered the insult with the casual air of a lifelong friend. “My mother makes me and my sister, Nessa, take piano lessons. How about you, Simone? Do you sing?”
She nodded and faked a shy look. She didn’t fool Aidan, though. He knew she was dying for the chance to show off. Sure enough, less than a minute later, Gabe and Harrison had convinced her to sing for them.
She surprised Aidan by picking an old-fashioned jazz tune. And then she surprised them all by how impossibly wonderful she sounded.
When she stopped, Aidan couldn’t think of even one cutting thing to say. In fact, no one spoke at all for several seconds. And then, suddenly, everyone was gushing.
“You’re unbelievable….”
“Are you sure you’re not a professional…?”
“I’ve never heard anyone…”
Simone sat back on the log and soaked it all up. For a moment her eyes settled on his and he saw the self-satisfaction in them.
You witch, he thought. She was going to mess up everything this summer. He just knew it.
CHAPTER ONE
Summer Island, twenty-three years later
AIDAN WYTHE NOTICED the rental car parked in front of the house where he’d be staying for the next three weeks, but at first he didn’t think anything of it.
Twenty minutes ago he’d driven off the ferry, officially starting his first real vacation in several years. Now he pulled his convertible into the driveway, cut the engine and just sat for a moment.
Here he was, back in Canada, on Summer Island.
He closed his eyes and focused on the scent of the ocean and the feel of the gulf breeze in his hair. Memories, both good and bad, teased his mind like the wind. No matter how many times he returned as an adult, it was always his childhood that came back to him first.
Most of his recollections were of happy hours spent beachcombing, swimming and picnicking with his friends. The five of them had had their disagreements, but they were always minor and had been patched quickly and with little resentment.
All that had changed, however, the summer they turned sixteen—when Simone DeRosier joined their circle. It was that summer that innocence had been lost and the seeds of obsession and evil that would tear the group apart were planted.
Aidan rubbed his forehead, opened his eyes. Just thinking of the famous jazz singer—dead now, murdered by one of their own—stirred up his old resentments. He didn’t want to hang on to them, but still…
Everything had been so easy before Simone arrived on the scene. Unfortunately, Aidan had been the only one to see that she was trouble. He wasn’t sure what had tipped him off. Her uncommon beauty, a certain look in her eyes, the stunning power in her voice when she’d first sung for the five of them.
She’d instantly captivated Harrison, Gabe, Emerson and Jennifer, and for years after that she’d played them off against each other, all the while pretending that they were the best friends in the world.
She’d even immortalized their friendship with a song: “Forget Me Not, Old Friend” had been a big hit and had won her a Grammy. From that moment on, the press—and eventually even the five of them—had referred to themselves as the Forget-Me-Not gang.
Personally, Aidan hated the label.
Not that it mattered anymore. There was no gang left to speak of. Not with Simone and Emerson dead, and Harrison and Gabe not speaking to each other. Gabe hated Harrison because he was the one Simone had married. Harrison hated Gabe for seducing and marrying his baby sister, Nessa, then making her so miserable that she’d finally divorced him.
With friends like those, who needed enemies?
Aidan sighed, then slipped off his sunglasses and tossed them on the dash. From the driver’s seat of his Mustang convertible, he contemplated the gracious home that had belonged to the Kincaid family for three generations. Through decades of upheaval this house was the one thing that hadn’t really changed.
The old Victorian was a stalwart structure, built with its back to the sea, the broad front verandah providing an open welcome to family and guests alike. A Gothic-style second-story turret, where Simone had once composed her music, overlooked an ancient cedar forest that formed the heart of the island.
