The Rich Man's Baby. Leah Vale

      Chapter Four

      Harrison held his breath as he watched Juliet’s lush brown eyes study him as if he was a Picasso. She looked horrified and intrigued all at once. She also looked like she’d been crying again.

      Harrison silently swore to himself. Her pain touched him, affected him, the same way her pleasure had. Never in his life had a woman’s passion so heightened his own. It was like she had somehow slipped under his skin with the first touch. He needed to either protect her in order to protect himself or learn to shut her out.

      Unfortunately, neither would be easy.

      “Are you all right?” he asked, repeating his question.

      She let out an exasperated breath. “What do you think?”

      “I think we need to talk,” he stated firmly.

      “Talk,” her mom butted in. “Yes, that’s what we need to do. We all need to sit down here and talk till we come up with an agreement that will resolve this little situation.”

      Juliet ground out, “Nathan is not a situation, Mom.”

      “He most certainly is, missy,” her mother hissed. “And if you’re not in the mood to cooperate, you can march yourself back up those stairs where you came from.”

      “Oh, so now you’re going to start parenting me?”

      Harrison interrupted before things got completely out of control. “I need to talk to Juliet. Alone.” He reached a staying hand toward Juliet. She sidestepped away as though he’d offered her a snake. “I really drove up here tonight to see my…to see Nathan and to talk to Juliet. Just Juliet.”

      He pulled back his hand and took a step toward her. She swayed away but held her ground, her expression guarded. Again he marveled at her strength of will. And liked it a lot. Few people were willing to stand against him. It was a wonder her family hadn’t broken her. The inane thought struck him that she was like a beautiful rosebud in a bouquet of milk-weeds.

      Patting down her extremely curly, dark-brown hair and practically batting her equally dark eyes at him, Juliet’s mother said, “Well, as her mother, I feel it’s only right that I do the negotiating—”

      Harrison clenched his jaw to keep from gaping. Before he could restate his intentions, Juliet cut her mother off first.

      “Negotiating?” she cried. “There isn’t going to be any negotiating! Nathan isn’t some used car you’re trying to unload, he’s my son. Mine! Not this…this guy’s. He isn’t Nat’s father!”

      Everyone spoke at once.

      “Aw, get off it! What do you think we are? Retards?”

      “Now, you look here, missy!”

      “Juliet.” Only Harrison’s voice seemed to register with her, so he continued, “It’s clear to me now that no one is going to decide anything at this moment. The situation is too overwhelming—for both of us—to try to change anything right off.”

      She looked away and crossed her arms in front of her full breasts, drawing his gaze despite his intentions. One more part of her he hadn’t quite been able to forget. She had fit so perfectly in his hands his palms started to itch for want of the contact again.

      “There’s nothing to change. He isn’t yours,” she grumbled belligerently, drawing his attention from where it shouldn’t be.

      “Jeez, Jules,” Willie groaned, and slapped a hand over his grubby, backward baseball hat. “What’s with you? I can’t believe you’re going to let Natter miss out on havin’ a guy like him for a dad.”

      Harrison narrowed his eyes on Willie. “What do you mean, ‘a guy like me’?”

      “Hell, just the fact you’re standin’ here screams decent guy. Most fellas would have turned tail and run the second they were given an out.”

      Harrison folded his arms over his chest. “I don’t agree. I think most men want to be a part of their children’s lives.” Not to mention Juliet’s. He nearly groaned. No. He didn’t want to be a part of any woman’s life right now, he reminded himself for the millionth time. He wanted to run his company and be a father to his son. End of story.

      Willie laughed and shook his head. “Man, do you live in a soap opera, or what?”

      Harrison turned the question on Willie. “Would you walk away from a child of your own?”

      He didn’t even take the time to think about his answer. “Like spit on ice.”

      It was Harrison’s turn to shake his head. Not taking responsibility wasn’t an option. “That shows how different we are.”

      Readjusting his shoulder against the refrigerator, Willie looked Harrison over from head to foot then started to chuckle. “You have no idea.”

      Remembering he was talking to the wrong person, Harrison turned back to the only one who mattered and uncrossed his arms. “Juliet, please. I told you before, I have every intention of being an integral part of Nathan’s upbringing. I refuse to walk away from him.”

      Willie straightened up from the fridge. “Hey, a DNA test would prove you’re the dad.”

      With a perplexed look her mother asked, “A what?”

      Instantly recoiling from the thought of running blood tests on his baby, Harrison shook his head. “I don’t think there’s any need for clinically establishing paternity.”

      Willie made a noise and scratched his head through his baseball hat. To his mother he explained, “It’s a test that would show Nat’s his. You know, like those spit tests they use on AMW.”

      Harrison frowned. “AMW?”

      Willie gave him appalled look. “America’s Most Wanted. Man, you really are out there.”

      Visibly paled, Juliet insisted, “I won’t agree to it.”

      “You might not have a choice, Jules.”

      Tired of the interference, Harrison sent her brother a look that made him hunker down into the nearest chair.

      In a much less harsh tone her mother said, “Stop fighting it, Julie. If you think for a second, you’ll know this is for the best.”

      Maybe the woman did care a little for Juliet’s feelings.

      Juliet sniffed and threw out a hip. “You didn’t stop fighting when you were in my shoes.”

      “That was your grandpa’s doing. I would have gladly let the state take you. I had my hands full already with your brother, here.”

      Harrison sucked in a breath at the older woman’s cruel words. So much for caring for Juliet’s feelings.

      “Well, it’s a good thing I’m more like Grandpa than you, now, isn’t it?” Juliet said, her pain so clear on her face he wanted to gather her in his arms and make everything better.

      She glanced at him, and he willed her to understand that he wasn’t the enemy. It didn’t work. She raised her chin in defiance. While he admired her tenacity, her refusal to cooperate was wearing thin.

      “Don’t you worry none about her,” Willie offered. “If we need proof Natter’s yours, I’ll make sure you get it.”