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After getting their order, he drove to her apartment. He followed her up the stairs and into the building. Once inside, he put the bags on the kitchen table where a thick book sat. The Complete Guide to the Nine Months of Pregnancy. Hawk picked it up.
The book detailed the changes in her body and even mentioned food that might upset a pregnant woman. Too bad it hadn’t mentioned coffee.
“Were you going to tell me?” he asked accusingly.
Guilt swamped her, followed by anger. “You can get off your high horse. As I recall, you didn’t want to get married, so why would I think my being pregnant would make a difference?” Her harsh indictment hung in the air.
“It would’ve.”
That wasn’t a comfort to her. Or was it? “How was I to know?”
“Have you been sick often?”
“I’ve been puking in the mornings and in the afternoons. Certain smells drive me into the bathroom to lose my lunch. Obviously, coffee is one smell I can’t tolerate.”
“Then I’d say it’s fortunate we’re going to get married.”
“You should write for a greeting-card company,” she replied. “You’ve got a way with words.”
He tensed as if she’d hit him with a lash, but he didn’t return the hostility.
The instant the words were out of her mouth, Renee wanted to take them back. It would gain them nothing to be at each other’s throat. In spite of everything, marriage to Hawk was the logical solution for this mess and probably the easiest. Too bad it wasn’t the most palatable.
She wanted to ask him why he was doing this, but she knew the answer. Hawk’s devotion to Emory was legendary around the company. It was as if Hawk had become the son that Emory had lost. And not only would Hawk protect her, but Emory would also have his socalled son marry his illegitimate daughter. It was perfect solution for some people. Just not for her.
“Why don’t we eat? We can talk about how we’ll tell your father about the baby. It makes our marriage that much more important. Now it’s not only your safety that’s up to me, but our child’s, as well.”
Although Renee didn’t want to sit down and talk, her stomach growled. Ignoring him, she stepped around his body and reached for one of the sacks. If he thought everything was going to be as it was before, then he was in for a big shock.
He waited until she was almost finished with the biscuit before he repeated his earlier question. “Did you plan on telling me about the baby?”
“It wasn’t going to be a secret much longer.”
“But you weren’t going to tell me,” he pressed.
“As I recall, you didn’t appear to want any involvement.”
“I wouldn’t have walked away,” he tersely replied.
Her eyes narrowed. “I see. You would’ve endured.”
A muscle jumped in his jaw. “We can speculate all we want but the facts won’t change. We’re going to be parents, and that should be our main concern…and your safety, of course.”
He reached out and grasped her hand. The electricity that always seemed to be there ignited.
“Renee, I know you wanted something different. A romance, a church wedding with all the trimmings. But I can’t give those to you. I wish I could.”
“I don’t want your pity, Hawk.”
Cupping her chin, he shook his head. “It isn’t pity, Renee. It’s regret.”
Great, just what a prospective groom shouldn’t say. He regretted the situation. It didn’t comfort her.
Hawk leaned against the passenger side door of his car. Pregnant. Renee was going to have his child. The very idea of it shook him to the core and ripped through the wall of emotions that he’d fought a lifetime to suppress. His own mother had been expecting him when his parents were forced to marry. She had used the event as a club in every argument his parents ever had. He could still hear her shouting how he’d ruined her life. He clamped down on the memories.
Instead, he thought about Emory. Would Emory be excited about the idea of a grandchild? Of course he would be, but Hawk knew that none of the other Sweeneys would welcome the news. It made protecting Renee all the more important.
Would she ever have told him about the child?
Don’t be stupid, his conscience told him. You two weren’t talking. Why would she tell you that she suspected she was pregnant? But as she said, it wouldn’t have stayed a secret much longer.
He didn’t like the idea of not knowing about the child. They hadn’t planned on it, but no matter what, he wouldn’t walk away.
Hearing the front door close, he watched her walk toward him. Renee Michelle Girouard was a beautiful woman, with deep-blue eyes and long auburn hair that caught fire in the sunlight.
The first time he’d seen her, when she’d come to work at Texas Chic between her junior and senior year in college, Hawk knew he was in trouble. His attraction to her had scared him, and he’d tried to ignore his body’s reaction. That was why he made sure not to be around when he knew she was. Her flawless, pale skin was accented by a well-formed mouth, expressive eyes that a man could lose himself in and auburn hair that she wore wrapped in some sort of twist at the back of her head. He remembered when that soft hair had tumbled down and enveloped both of them in a world of pleasure and delight.
He put the brakes on his thoughts. He didn’t need to make himself any more miserable than he’d been these past couple of months. But he had ignored his misery. His ex-wife had taught him well. Don’t listen to your heart. The few relationships he’d had since his divorce five years earlier only reinforced the idea that he would never find a woman with whom he could share common ground.
“Are you ready?” he asked, pushing away from the car. They were going to go back to the hospital to reveal their secret to Emory.
She looked up at him. He always liked the way she’d fit so well into his arms.
“I’m as ready as I can be.”
After he closed her door, he walked behind the car. He was going to be a father and a husband. The news was unsettling. But more than that, in the back of his mind loomed the fear that maybe this woman could find a way to get through the wall he’d built around his heart.
Emory smiled at the couple from his hospital bed. He looked ready to run around the room and shout. “So we’re going to have a wedding this Saturday?”
“Yes,” Renee replied. “Hawk convinced me.”
“When he sets his mind to something, it usually gets done,” Emory replied.
“Tell him the rest, Renee,” Hawk urged.
“What else?” Alarm threaded Emory’s voice.
She swallowed. “I’m pregnant.”
Emory’s gaze went from Renee to Hawk. He knew what the old man was silently asking.
“I’m the father,” he told Emory.
A smile of delight lit the old man’s face. “I’m going to be a grandpa?” The wonder in his voice touched Renee’s heart.
Although she hadn’t worked through her feelings about Emory being her father, Renee liked and respected him as a human being. He was a smart, cagey man, who dealt fairly with those around him. She grasped his hand and smiled. “I guess I don’t have to ask if you’re pleased.”
“That doctor better have gotten all that cancer, because I want to see my grandchild grow and get married one day, too.” A new life seemed to come into his eyes. “I’ll announce your marriage at the reception at the house on Saturday night.”
Hawk nodded.
“I’ll make sure the chapel and the priest are ready. Also, I’ll contact the lawyer.” Emory grinned and grasped Renee’s hand. “Thank you. I’m going to be a grandpa.”
The smile on Emory’s face was pure joy.
“I’m afraid after the announcement on Saturday none of Emory’s family will be happy,” Hawk commented on their way to her office.
They had argued about him driving her to work, but he said he didn’t feel comfortable letting her go alone. With the shooting incident fresh in her mind, she didn’t argue for long. Besides, her car was still parked in the garage at work. She turned to face him. “Are you trying to scare me?”
“Yes.”
“At least you’re honest. But then again, you were faultlessly honest about so much.” It was a low blow, but the words were out of her mouth before she thought.
His face tightened, but he didn’t try to defend himself as he drove the car around a slow-moving truck. “We’ll need to think about how we’re going to handle things after the marriage.”
“What things?”
“Where are we going to live? Do you want to move in with me, or me with you, or get another apartment?” He sounded so blasé, as if their living arrangements didn’t matter to him.
He had a valid point, but all her emotional reserves had been used up, and she didn’t want to slay that dragon now. “Could we talk about that later?”
“That’s fine. I’ll pick you up after work. Also, I’ll have some things with me for this next week. We can go over wedding details tonight.”
What she would’ve given to have heard that two months ago. “Do you need to stay—”
“Yes.”
“Surely you don’t think they’re going to come to my apartment?”
His eyes narrowed. “They kidnapped David from his football practice, in front of a field full of witnesses. It would be a hundred times easier to come after you in the privacy of your apartment.”
She wanted to argue the point, but too much had happened since noon yesterday when her world had exploded. “That’s fine.”
Five minutes later they pulled up in front of the office building. She scrambled out of the front seat, not waiting for him. He hurried after her, walking with her to her office. A new secretary sat outside her office. “Where’s my secretary?”
“She’s not feeling well today. I’m a temp here to help you.” The woman looked at Hawk and nodded. “I’m Julie McKinney.”
Once they were inside her office, Renee turned to Hawk. “Who is she?”
“She’s a policewoman. She’s going to be around for a while. We don’t want something else to happen to you.”
The color drained from her face. Hawk grasped her arm and guided her to her chair.
“You think something else is going to happen here?”
“I like to err on the side of caution, Renee.” He squatted before her. “I’ll do my best to keep you safe, but we need someone here.”
Her heart skipped a beat. “I know you’ll try to keep me physically safe. Too bad you couldn’t have been as good at guarding my heart.”
He flinched and stood.
She wanted to call back the words, but before she could say anything, the door to her office opened and Jacob Blackhorse, the head of security, entered. Jacob had broken more than one heart at the company. He was a handsome man with black hair and brown eyes. His exotic features and teak skin made the women at the company want to catch his attention. No one, as far as Renee knew, had. He and Hawk were two of a kind—and friends.
“I wanted to check and see if everything was okay here,” he said surveying both Hawk and herself. He pointedly looked at the bandage on her forehead.
“I’m fine, Jacob.”
“I’ve doubled the security around the building. And I’m thinking of upgrading our camera system in the garage.”
“Where’s my secretary, Jacob?” she asked.
“She’s temporarily been reassigned to another division. When things settle down a bit, we’ll bring her back.”
Heaven knew when that would be.
“I hear congratulations are in order.” He didn’t say more.
“Emory told you?” Renee said, then shook her head, swallowing her embarrassment. “Of course you’d need to know what was happening.”
A silent exchange passed between Hawk and Jacob.
“I’ll accompany Emory on Saturday,” Jacob informed her.
“I’m going to have more guards than the queen of England,” Renee grumbled to herself.
Jacob grinned.
“Why don’t y’all leave so I can work.”
Jacob moved to Renee’s side. “If you need anything, or are worried about anything, call me.” The understanding in his eyes made her want to cry. When she looked at Hawk, his frown surprised her.
“Thank you, Jacob.”
With a nod, he accompanied Hawk out of her office. Closing her eyes, Renee wondered if her life would ever be the same—or sane.
Hawk and Jacob studied the concrete pillar in the underground garage that bore the scars of his and Renee’s encounter with a would-be assassin’s bullet.
“The police didn’t find any evidence of the shooter in the bushes near the garage entrance,” Jacob informed Hawk.
“I know. Was anything on the security camera?”
“We’re still looking at the tapes.”
Hawk turned to his old friend. Jacob and Hawk had shared a number of hard times together. Jacob had been the one who’d witnessed his ex-wife, Brandy, proposition a friend of Emory’s nephew, Todd, and had let him know what had happened. Hawk had been there when Jacob had lost his wife to cancer. They’d also worked together to stop several attempts to kidnap Emory. Together with Hawk’s old partner, Tony Ashcroft, they’d been labeled the Three Musketeers.
“I don’t like this, Jacob,” Hawk muttered, surveying the area.
“I understand.”
