A Pregnancy Scandal (15 page)

The irony of her choice to end their marriage wasn't lost on her. The one thing Alex had never wanted would come to pass because she'd dared to develop feelings for her husband.

Once she was released from the hospital, Phillip insisted on having Randy drive her home. But after a few minutes, she realized the car was traveling in the direction of Phillip's home, not Harper's, where she'd been staying.

“Randy.” She tapped on the glass, only to have Phillip snatch her hand back. She glared at her husband. “Are you kidnapping me, then?”

Figured. His dictatorial side had come out in spades.

“No.” He scowled. “You just had a very serious episode. You need someone at your beck and call, twenty-four hours a day.
Me.
Harper will be busy with the FDA committee and unable to provide you with the care you need.”

Yeah, Alex had heard that one before. He liked to “take care” of her all right; seduction was his favorite method to gloss over issues. Besides, as far as she knew, he'd been planning to fly back to Washington after the FDA committee tour. “That'll be a bit difficult for you to do when you'll be in another state. I can take care of myself.”

Crossing her arms, she sank down in the seat. Residual wooziness hadn't worn off yet and she was so tired. Physically, mentally, spiritually.

“That's where you're wrong.” He pulled his phone out and tapped a few times, then handed it to her.

She sighed, and even though she swore she wasn't going to humor him, she glanced at the screen anyway because why not? Blinking, she read over the words again. “That says you're taking an extended leave of absence. Until further notice. Phillip, you can't do that!”

“I can. And I did.”

He pocketed the phone and gathered her hand in his carefully, as if handling something delicate and breakable. Since she wasn't quite sure which way was up at this point, she let him. And yeah, she still craved his touch, as much as she'd like to deny otherwise.

“But you're an elected official,” she reminded him, unnecessarily, no doubt. “What's going to happen to your seat?”

“It's unpaid leave, so no taxpayers will feel defrauded. As long as I go back within the four weeks I was granted, my seat shouldn't be an issue. The biggest hit will be to goodwill. When I run for president, it will come up. I have no idea how damaging it'll be or how voters might view it.” He shrugged. “But I don't care. This is more important. I want to spend time with you, pamper you. Eat meals with you.”

Damaging? He'd deliberately take a leave of absence that might hurt his campaign for president? Oh, goodness. That was his brass ring. The most important thing in his life. Or at least it
used
to be. And he'd possibly thrown it all in the scrap heap for
her
.

Her greedy, traitorous heart soaked up the idea of being the center of Phillip's whole world and wouldn't let it go.

Dumbfounded, she scrabbled for something to say. And then reality set in. “Let me get this straight. You'll be here in Dallas. For four weeks. So this is a kidnapping disguised as a way to get me to take time off work?”

A double whammy. He wanted to be around to dictate her schedule so his babies were guaranteed safety.

“Alex.”

She glanced at him and did a double take at his fierce expression.

“Don't make this about something other than what it is,” he said. “You're pregnant with my children. I want to take care of you. When you feel better, go back to work. Or don't—I don't care. I trust that you'll make the right decisions
for you
because you're a smart person. Period, end of story.”

“Really?” She eyed him. “We never established your expectations for my career. Long term. So you're okay with it if I hire a nanny and don't take off six months like you dictated?”

Madness.
Why did she care? She was through with this relationship, through with Phillip and through with trying to figure out why love was such an elusive beast.

Why did the thought of giving up make her heart hurt so badly?

“Completely. It's your choice.”

He seemed so sincere, she wavered. What if her
if only
wish was actually coming true and she didn't give him a chance? One could argue she was just as bad as Phillip if she refused to give him a second chance. One could also argue that if she fell for his charm again, she was getting in line to be emotionally trounced.

She shook her head and opted to call a spade a spade. “You're just saying that so I'll change my mind about the divorce.”

“When did you arrive at the conclusion that I'm someone who just tells you what you want to hear so I can get my way?” Clearly annoyed, he gripped her hand tighter. “That's the reason we're currently separated. Because I didn't do that. I've always been painfully honest with you, Alex. If I was going to lie to you in order to keep you, wouldn't a better time to do it have been that night in my Washington condo? I could have said I was falling for you then and avoided all of this. I didn't because I'm not like that.”

“Uh—” Speechless, she replayed that point in her head and came up blank. “So what is all of this about, then?”

Tenderly, he smiled and cupped her face. “What I've been trying to tell you. I'm a big dummy who let some rules get in the way of what was happening between us. I didn't want to be hurt again. I lost someone I loved and I wasn't about to allow myself to go through that again. I set up the perfect scenario to make sure love was off the table, only I didn't count on you.”

“What did I do?” she whispered. His warmth spilled through her whole body, settling her nerves, her stomach, her heart.

“You kicked my rules to the curb and made me realize our agreement isn't worth the paper it's written on.”

“Our agreement isn't written down,” she pointed out through a throat so tight she could hardly breathe. Was he saying what she thought he was saying—that she'd broken the rules and
it was okay
?

He shrugged. “Guess there's nothing to rip up, then, in order to make way for our new agreement.”

She didn't want to know. She
didn't
.

Oh, who was she kidding? “Which is?”

“Our marriage will be based on love. For better or worse. I solemnly swear that I'll spend the next fifty or sixty years giving us second, third, fourth, hell, as many chances as we need.”

Maybe it really was this simple. Maybe she'd been right to open herself up to this man.

Her heart swelled. “What about divorce? Is that an option?”

“Never.” Punctuating the statement by enfolding her into his arms, he smoothed her hair back as he gazed at her with something she'd swear was love in his eyes. “We're going to have the kind of marriage that lasts because I got lucky enough to find my soul mate a second time. No more talk of divorce.”

It was real. This was what love looked like for her. It wasn't like in sappy movies or even what it looked like for Cass and Gage. Alex had never felt giggly and starry-eyed over a man because that wasn't who she was. The way she felt about Phillip was deep, lasting and so very real. And wonder of wonders, it seemed as if he'd fallen in love with her, as well.

“That sounds like an agreement I can get behind,” she whispered through another round of happy tears.

He shook his head. “No, that was the part where you were supposed to say, ‘Phillip, I love you, too. You're the best husband in the whole world. How could I ever live without you?'”

“Don't push your luck.” She smiled at his mock scowl. “I do love you. Unexpectedly. Despite not even believing in it. Where did that come from?”

She knew. Phillip had demonstrated it from the first. She'd learned from him about what was possible.

“I'm very lovable. Did I forget to tell you?”

And then he kissed her as the town car turned onto the street where their house sat, silent and waiting for the laughter of the family that would live there for a very long time.

Epilogue

H
arper put both hands on the conference table and leaned forward, looking very much like a redheaded pit bull in a Keith Lloyd suit. “What do you mean, the committee has questions about the formula samples?”

One hand on her expanding stomach, Alex glanced at Phillip and he took the question.

“As you know, they collected samples while they were here last month,” Phillip interjected smoothly. “I'm sure it's just a formality. But they want to get additional samples because there was some question about possible tainting.”

“What the hell does that mean?” Trinity piped in, finally glancing up from the ad copy that had dominated her attention thus far during the board meeting Alex and Phillip had called to discuss the progress of the FDA approval process. Or rather, the lack of progress. The committee's report had not included approval as those around this boardroom table had expected.

“It means they're suspicious about my lab,” Harper threw in, steam nearly shooting from her ears as her Irish got up. “They think there's something dubious about my methods. Or something.”

“No one is saying that,” Alex said calmly as Phillip took her hand under the table to rub at one of her knuckles absently. He did that a lot. Random touching for no reason. And she reveled in it each time. “They just want to be sure before they approve the product. No harm in that.”

“We still don't have a name attached to the leak.” All heads turned toward Cass as she took control of the meeting. “That's the biggest concern when we start talking about a delay. Is the additional sample request negotiable, Phillip?”

“No. Sorry.”

“Then we comply. Period.” Cass held up her hand as Harper bowed up as if about to take on the entire front line of the Dallas Cowboys by herself. “Harper. Take five. Actually, let's all take a few minutes. Each one of us has an emotional stake in Formula-47.”

The smile on Alex's face grew wide as she internalized the truth of that. Yes, she did. After all, it had brought her Phillip and the two babies in her womb that grew a little more each day. Who would have thought that she'd credit one of Fyra's products as the sole reason for all the wonderful things in her life?

In the hall, Phillip drew Alex into his embrace, his hand automatically smoothing across the swell of her abdomen. Instantly, one of the babies bumped against his palm.

“Oh! Did you feel that?” Alex's gaze flew to Phillip's and she was pretty sure the awe spreading across his face was mirrored in her own. “That was the first kick. And you got to feel it. How amazing is that?”

His four-week leave was nearly over and they'd already decided that Alex would work remotely from Washington full-time once he went back to work. They couldn't stand to be apart for even a day. And when the babies were born, Alex had elected to take six months' leave from her job, during which she'd hire a nanny who would become well acquainted with the benefits of pictures and video.

“Miraculous,” he murmured and pressed more firmly. “Just like you.”

Fyra's Formula-47 wasn't the sole reason she had everything she'd never known she wanted. All the wonderful things in her life had to do with one simple act—breaking the rules.

* * * * *

Don't miss any of the stories in the
LOVE AND LIPSTICK
series from
So You Think You Can Write
winner Kat Cantrell

THE CEO'S LITTLE SURPRISE
A PREGNANCY SCANDAL

And pick up these other sexy, fun reads from Kat Cantrell

MARRIAGE WITH BENEFITS
THE THINGS SHE SAYS
PREGNANT BY MORNING

***

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THE BOSS AND HIS COWGIRL
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