The Tycoon's Charm: The Tycoon's Paternity AgendaHonor-Bound Groom Read online

  Or even worse, she could just disappear with Rebecca’s child, never to be seen again. For Katy’s parents—and probably Adam, too—it would be like losing Rebecca all over again.

  “What if you think the woman is trustworthy, but you’re wrong?” she asked him, growing more uneasy by the second.

  “We won’t be,” Adam assured her, but that wasn’t good enough.

  She took a swallow of her coffee, burning her tongue. If she let him do this, she could look forward to nine months of being on edge, worrying about her niece or nephew’s safety.

  There was only one person she trusted enough to carry her sister’s baby. It was completely crazy, but she knew it was the only way. The only good way. And she would do whatever necessary to convince him.

  “I know the perfect person to be the surrogate,” she told Adam.

  “Who?”

  “Me.”

  Two

  Adam had imagined several possible scenarios of what Katy’s reaction would be when he told her his plans. He thought she might be excited. Grateful even that a part of Rebecca would live on in the baby. He had also considered her being upset, or even indignant, which proved to be much closer to the truth.

  But not a single one of those scenarios included her offering to carry the baby herself. And as far as he was concerned, that wasn’t an option.

  Admittedly he had approached Katy first because he figured she would be easily manipulated, but sweet little Katy had an edge now. She was a lot tougher than she used to be. And she was right about his lawyer’s advice. If there were a legal battle over the issue of the embryos, he would win. But it could drag on for years. He didn’t want to wait that long. He was ready now. And though allowing her to be the surrogate would significantly ease any opposition from her family, he could see an entire new series of problems arise as a result.

  “I can’t ask you to do that,” he told her.

  “You didn’t ask. I offered.”

  “I’m not sure if you fully understand the sacrifice it will be. Physically and emotionally.”

  “I have friends who have gone through pregnancies, so I know exactly what to expect.”

  “I imagine that knowing a pregnant person and being one are two very different things.”

  “I want to do it, Adam.”

  He could see that, but the idea had trouble written all over it. In every language.

  He tried a different angle. “How will your… ‘significant other’ feel about this?”

  “That won’t be an issue. I see Willy Jenkins occasionally, but he isn’t what I would call significant. We’re more like…friends with benefits, if you know what I mean.”

  He did, and for some ridiculous reason he wanted to string this Jenkins guy up by his toes. To him she would always be Rebecca’s baby sister. Little Katy.

  But Katy was a grown woman. Twenty-seven or-eight, if memory served. It was none of his business who she was friends with.

  Or why.

  “The process could take a year,” he told her. “Longer if it takes more than one try. What if you meet someone?”

  “Who the heck am I going to meet? Peckins has a population of eight hundred. Most of the men in town I’ve known since kindergarten. If I was going to fall madly in love with one of them, I’d have done it by now.”

  He tried a different angle. “Have you thought of the physical toll it could take on your body?”

  “Look who you’re talking to,” she said, gesturing to her casual clothing, the ash-blond hair pulled back in a ponytail. “I’m not like Rebecca. I don’t obsess about my weight, or worry about things like stretch marks. And you won’t find anyone more responsible. I don’t smoke or take drugs, not even over-the-counter pain relievers. I have an occasional beer, but beyond that I don’t drink, so giving it up isn’t a problem. Not to mention that I’m healthy as a horse. And my doctor never fails to point out at my annual physical that I have a body built for childbearing.”

  She certainly did. She had the figure of a fifties pinup model. A time when women looked like women, not prepubescent boys. In his opinion Rebecca had always been too obsessed with her weight and her looks, as though she thought he would love her less if she didn’t look perfect 100 percent of the time. Even during chemo she never failed to drag herself out of bed to put on makeup. And when she could no longer get out of bed, she had the nurse do it for her.

  The familiar stab of pain he felt when he thought of her that way pierced the shell around his heart from the inside out.

  Katy surprised him by reaching across the table and taking his hand. What surprised him even more was the tingling sensation that started in his fingers and worked its way up his arm. Her hands were a little rough from working on the ranch, but her skin was warm. Her nails were bare, but clean and neatly trimmed. Everything about her was very…natural.

  Which was more than he could say for this situation, and the odd, longing sensation deep in his gut.

  “Adam, you know as well as I do that despite all the background checks you can do, there’s no one you could trust as much as me.”

  He hated to admit it—she was right. Despite their very complicated past and feelings of resentment over Becca, Katy would never do anything to put her sister’s child in harm’s way. But she could use the opportunity to try to manipulate him, and he never put himself in a position to lose the upper hand. Not professionally, and especially not personally.

  Not anymore.

  But this was the welfare of his child they were discussing. Wasn’t it his obligation as a father to put his child first, to make its health and well-being his number-one priority?

  Katy squeezed his hand so tight he started to lose sensation in his fingers, and they were beginning to get curious glances from his employees.

  He gently extracted his hand from hers. “Look, Katy—”

  “Please, Adam. Please let me do this.” She paused, her eyes pleading, then said, “You know it’s what Becca would have wanted.”

  Ouch. That was a low blow, and she knew how to hit where it really stung. The worst part was that she was right. Didn’t he owe it to Becca to let Katy do this for them? For the baby? Wasn’t he partially to blame for Becca losing touch with her family in the first place?

  “Though it’s against my better judgment, and I would like to run it past my attorney before I give you a definitive answer…I’m inclined to say yes.”

  Her expression was a combination of relief and gratitude. “Thank you, Adam. I promise, you won’t regret this.”

  Impossible, since he regretted it already.

  * * *

  Katy left soon after, and Adam headed back up to his office, feeling conflicted.

  On one hand he could see the benefits of choosing Katy as a surrogate. In theory, it was an ideal arrangement. But he knew from experience that things did not always go as planned, and what may seem “ideal” one day could swiftly become a disaster the next.

  Before he made any decisions, he would speak with his attorney.

  His assistant, Bren, stopped him as he walked past her desk to his office. “Senator Lyons called while you were gone. He said he’ll be out of the office the rest of the day but he’ll call you back tomorrow.”

  “Did he say what he wanted?”

  “My guess would be a campaign contribution. Isn’t he up for reelection?”

  “You’re probably right.”

  “Also, Mr. Suarez needs to see you when you have a minute.”

  “Call down to his office and tell him now would be good,” he told her. It was doubtful he would be able to concentrate on work anyway. Too much on his mind.

  He stepped into his office, stopped at the wet bar to pour himself a scotch, then sat behind his desk and booted his computer.

  “Hey, boss.”

  He looked up to find Emilio Suarez, Western Oil CFO, standing in his open doorway.

  Western Oil was in dire financial straits when Adam inherited it from his father, and Emilio
’s financial genius had brought it back from the brink of ruin. Though he was from a Puerto Rican family of modest means, through grants and scholarships Emilio had graduated college at the top of his class, which was what had caught Adam’s attention when he was looking for a management team. Emilio had become an irreplaceable employee—not to mention a good friend—and worth every penny of his ridiculously exorbitant salary.

  Adam gestured him inside. “You wanted to talk to me?”

  He came in, shutting the door behind him, and stopped to pour himself a drink. “I got an interesting call from my brother today.”

  “The federal prosecutor, the one in Europe or the other brother?”

  The “other” brother was the family black sheep. A drifter who only called when he needed something. Money usually. For bail, or to pay off loan sharks.

  “The prosecutor,” he said, taking a seat opposite Adam’s desk. “And if anyone asks, you did not hear this from me.”

  “Of course.”

  “You know Leonard Betts?”

  “By reputation only.” He was a financial wizard and according to Forbes, the richest man in Texas. It had been said that everything he touched turned to gold.

  “You ever invest with him?” Emilio asked.

  He shook his head. “He always seemed a little too successful, if you know what I mean. Either he’s extremely lucky—and luck can run out—or he’s shady.”

  “You’ve got good instincts. According to Alejandro, he’s been under investigation by the SEC, and it’s looking like he and his wife will be arrested and charged for a Ponzi scheme.”

  Adam shook his head in disbelief. “His wife, too?”

  “And her parents. Or at least, her mother. Her father died a few years ago.”

  “So it was a family business.”

  “I guess. I just thought I should warn you that, although it’s unlikely, there’s the slightest possibility that when the media gets wind of this, my name may come up.”

  Adam sat straighter in his seat. “You’ve invested with him?”

  “No! No, my market is real estate. This is more of a personal connection.”

  Adam frowned, not sure he was liking what he was hearing. It would be in the company’s best interest to stay as far removed as possible from this scandal. “How personal?”

  “In college, I was engaged to Isabelle Winthrop. Betts’s wife.”

  Adam’s jaw nearly fell. Emilio had never mentioned knowing her, much less being engaged to her. Or anyone for that matter. He was so fiercely against the entire institution of marriage, Adam wouldn’t have guessed that he would have been planning a trip to the altar with any woman. “I had no idea.”

  “She dumped me for Betts two weeks before we planned to elope.”

  “Damn. I’m really sorry, Emilio.”

  Emilio shrugged. “Honestly, she did me a favor. We were young and stupid. We would have been divorced in a year.”

  Something in his eyes told Adam he was making light of an otherwise painful situation. But he didn’t push the issue. If Emilio wanted to talk about it, he knew Adam was there for him.

  “There’s no doubt she was a gold digger, but I’ll be honest, I never imagined her capable of helping Leonard bilk his clients out of millions of dollars.”

  “Well, if your name does come up, we’ll use Cassandra.”

  Cassandra Benson was Western Oil’s public relations director. For her, media spin was an art form. If properly motivated, she could make climate change sound environmentally beneficial.

  “So,” Emilio said, leaning back in his chair and taking a swallow of his drink. “What’s this I hear about you and a mystery woman?”

  “Wow, good news travels fast.” He should have taken Katy up to his office. It was just that the coffee shop seemed more…neutral. He should have known better and met her somewhere off campus and far from the building. Like California.

  “The CEO can’t sit in the company coffee shop holding hands with a woman no one has seen before, and expect it to go unnoticed.”

  “Well, she’s not a mystery woman. She’s my sister-in-law. And we weren’t holding hands. We were talking.”

  “I thought you didn’t see Becca’s family any longer.”

  “I haven’t in a long time. But something has come up.”

  “Is everything okay?”

  Up until today, Adam hadn’t talked to anyone but his attorney and the fertility doctor about his baby plan, but he knew he could trust Emilio to keep it quiet. So he told him, and his reaction was about what Adam would have expected.

  “Wow,” Emilio said, shaking his head in disbelief. “I didn’t even know you wanted kids. I mean, I knew that you and Rebecca were trying, but I had no idea you would want to be a single father.”

  “It’s something I’ve wanted for a while. It just feels like the right time to me. And since I don’t plan to get married again…” He shrugged. “Surrogacy seems to be my best option.”

  “Why the meeting with Becca’s sister…I’m sorry, I don’t recall her name.”

  “Katherine…Katy. I called her as a courtesy, and on the advice of my attorney.”

  “So, what did she say?”

  “She wants to be the surrogate.”

  One brow rose. “Seriously?”

  “Yeah. In fact, she was pretty adamant about it. She claims that she’s the only person I can trust.”

  “Do you trust her?”

  “I believe that she would never do anything to harm Becca’s baby.”

  “But…”

  “Katy seems very…headstrong. If I hire someone, I’ll be calling the shots. Katy on the other hand is in a position to make things very complicated.”

  “Correct me if I’m wrong, but if you tell her no, she could make things complicated, too.”

  “Exactly.”

  “So you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t.”

  “More or less.” And he didn’t like being backed into a corner.

  “So what did you tell her?”

  “That I had to talk to my attorney.”

  “You hear so many horror stories about surrogacy agreements going bad. Just a few weeks ago Alejandro was telling me about a case in New Mexico. A couple hired a surrogate to carry their baby. She was Hispanic, and halfway through the pregnancy moved back to Mexico and dropped off the map. Unfortunately the law is in her favor.”

  Adam had heard similar cautionary tales.

  “I think, if you have someone you can trust, let her do it,” Emilio said.

  He would make the call to his attorney, to check on the legalities of it and his rights as the father, but Emilio was right. Choosing Katy just made the most sense. And ultimately the benefits would outweigh the negatives.

  He hoped.

  Three

  What the hell was he doing here?

  The limo pitched and swayed up the pitted, muddy gravel road that led to the Huntleys’ cattle ranch, and Adam lunged to keep the documents he’d been reading on the ride up from sliding off the leather seat and scattering to the floor.

  His driver and bodyguard, Reece, would have to take a trip to the car wash as soon as they got back to El Paso, Adam realized as he gazed out the mud-splattered window. At least the torrential rain they’d encountered an hour ago had let up and now there was nothing but blue sky for miles.

  As they bounced forward up the drive, Adam could see that not much had changed in the four years since he’d last been here. The house, a typical, sprawling and rustic ranch, was older, but well maintained. Pastures with grazing cattle stretched as far as the eye could see.

  The ranch had been in their family for five generations. A tradition Becca had had no interest in carrying on. As far as she had been concerned, Katy could have it all.

  And now she would.

  The limo rolled to a stop by the front porch steps and Reece got out to open his door. As he did, a wall of hot, damp air engulfed the cool interior, making the leather feel instantly
sticky to the touch.

  This meeting had been Katy’s idea, and he wasn’t looking forward to it. Not that he disliked his former in-laws. He just had nothing in common with them. However, if they were going to be involved in his child’s life, the least he could do was make an effort to be cordial. According to Katy, the news of his plan to use the embryos had come as a shock to them, but knowing Katy would be the surrogate had softened the blow. And since a meeting with his attorney last week, when he and Katy signed a surrogacy agreement, it was official. With any luck, nine months from her next ovulation cycle she would be having his and Becca’s baby.

  After months of consideration and planning, it was difficult to believe that it was finally happening. That after years of longing to have a child, he finally had his chance. And despite Katy and her parents’ concerns, he would be a good father. Unlike his own father, who had been barely more than a ghost after Adam’s mother passed away. Adam spent most of his childhood away at boarding schools, or in summer camps. The only decent thing his father had ever done was leave him Western Oil when he died. And though it had taken several years of hard work, Adam had pulled it back from the brink of death.

  “Sir?”

  Adam looked up and realized Reece was standing by the open car door, waiting for him to climb out.

  “Everything okay, sir?” he asked.

  “Fine.” May as well get this over with, he thought, climbing from the back of the car into the sticky heat.

  “Hey, stranger,” he heard someone call from the vicinity of the barn, and looked over to see Katy walking toward him. She was dressed for work, her thick, leather gloves and boots caked with mud. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail and as she got closer he saw that there was a smudge of dirt on her left cheek. For some odd reason he felt the urge to reach up and rub it clean.

  He looked her up and down and asked, “Am I early? I was sure you said four o’clock.”

  “No, you’re right on time. The rain set us back in our chores a bit, that’s all.” She followed his gaze down her sweat-soaked shirt and mud-splattered jeans and said apologetically, “I’d hug you, but I’m a little filthy.”