Accidental Father (8 page)

“Gee, I don't know. Let me check my calendar.” She paused for a moment. “What do you know? I just happen to be free tomorrow. But first, let's get through dinner tonight with the queen and her prince. They may exile me to the dungeon.”

She was trying to be funny, but from the way Alex frowned, she wasn't sure if it translated.

“Sophie and Luc are great people. Give them a chance and I think you'll see that.”

Oh. Oops.
To her, they were the sovereign rulers, the decision makers, deciders of fate. To Alex, they were simply Luc and Sophie. Oldest brother and sister-in-law.

“Of course. I'm sorry. I'm sure they're
wonderful
people.”

And honestly, if they were anything like him, they would be.

“I guess I'm just a little nervous.”

“Don't be.”

He touched her arm and the heartrending tenderness of his gaze made her achingly aware of how close the two of them were sitting on the couch.

He reached up and traced her lower lip with the
pad of his thumb, and suddenly the air changed, the tenderness was replaced by something electric and dangerous.

“Don't be nervous.” He ordered, tenderly.

Her gaze fell to his lips and she wondered how he would taste. A burning crescendo of suppressed desire seared through her, gripping her by surprise. She knew that she was playing with fire…but she just couldn't help it. Didn't want to help it…

The next thing she knew, she was in his arms and his lips were right there, inches from hers.

It started as a whisper of a kiss that made her heart pound and her brain say,
oooh,
as her reason flew out the window.

It began leisurely, slowly, starting with a brush of lips and hints of tongue. As if he were testing the waters to see how she'd react. When she slid her arms around his neck and opened her mouth inviting him in, he turned her so that he could deepen the kiss. Julianne fisted her hands into his hair and pulled their bodies closer.

She'd forgotten how consuming a kiss could be. Alex's hands were on her back and his mouth was on her lips, but her entire body sang. Every sense was heightened as if his touch had awakened the female side of her that had been sleeping for far too long.

Oooh,
yes.

She'd forgotten what a kiss from an attractive man could do.

She heard the ragged edge of his breathing just before the blood rushing in her ears. She felt the heat of his hands on her back. He smelled like heaven: a heady mix of soap and a subtle after-shave with grassy notes and something leathery and masculine. Yet despite the intoxicating way he smelled, the way he tasted—of mint and something else that was hard to pin down—nearly made her drunk with pleasure. The two combined were a seductive mix, that teased her senses, making her feel hot and sexy and just a little bit reckless.

Best of all, here in his arms, she didn't feel like she had to
drive.
She wanted to melt into him, let him take charge for a while.

As he tasted and teased, the last bit of reason she possessed took flight with the realization that it had been far too long since a man's touch had made her blood churn and her body long to be fully taken.

She was lost in the feel of him, the smell and taste of him, until something out of place pushed its way into her awareness.

Finally, a low but determined
knock, knock,
knock
on the door pierced her conscious thoughts.

She jumped, dropping her arms from around his neck, pulling away, suddenly desperate to regain her personal space.

Alex froze for a heartbeat. Then he sat back on the couch, looking a little disoriented. They stared at each other for a moment until the next knock began, louder this time.

“That's probably Liam's snack,” Julianne murmured.

He let out a long breath and raked a hand through his hair. “I'll get it.”

He pushed himself up off the couch and the magnitude of the situation washed over her.

What on earth had she been thinking?

Well, obviously, she hadn't been thinking at all.

She watched his back as he crossed the room toward the door. Those broad shoulders and narrow hips… They were a lethal combination. On a physical level, Julianne couldn't deny she was fiercely attracted to him, and she knew lots of women would be thrilled to change places with her, to find themselves in a storybook castle in the arms of Alex Lejardin.

But what the heck was she doing? She hadn't
touched a man in years and here she was playing with fire. The most potentially dangerous fire she'd ever dealt with: the man had the power to take away the one person she loved most in this world, the only family she had left. Alex was smooth and cultured and used to getting his way no matter what. Could she have picked anyone worse to…?

To what?

What exactly were they doing?

Well, it didn't matter because it wouldn't happen again.

A
lex hadn't intended to kiss Julianne. It was the last thing he should've done. He'd let things slip completely out of control. Yet, it had nearly turned him inside out to feel her surrender in his arms. To give up control—even if it was only for a few minutes.

Still, it was a mistake—especially when his son was sleeping in the next room and the word
lawyer
had been fresh on Julianne's tongue.

It was odd that the nasty word hadn't left a bad aftertaste. No, she'd tasted just as sweet and sexy as he'd imagined. In fact, the kiss had left him craving more. The next time, it could come back
to bite him. The one way to ensure it wouldn't was to make sure there wasn't a next time.

Their relationship was already precarious, and Julianne was in his life long-term because she was Liam's aunt. She wasn't like the other women, the ones he could
kiss and dismiss
. She was there whether he liked it or not. He couldn't muddy the waters.

 

He knocked on her door a couple of minutes early because he wanted to talk to her before they met Luc and Sophie for dinner. He had to set the record straight, to explain that he knew he'd over-stepped. That even though he was devastatingly attracted to her, it wouldn't happen again.

His heartbeat kicked up a notch when she opened the door. She was in her bathrobe, barefoot, her hair still a little damp, as if he'd interrupted her blow drying.

Despite her sexy, tousled appearance, the look on her face told him she'd already been thinking along the same lines as he: Another kiss like that wasn't going to happen again. The ice queen was back. Any traces of the hot-blooded woman who'd made him melt in her arms were gone.

“You're early,” she said, immediately turning
and walking toward the living room, expecting him to follow.

“I am,” he said. “I wanted to talk to you.”

Her toenails were painted hot pink, and the startling color caused his gaze to linger on her feet. He'd only ever seen her in black, which made sense because that was her uniform for the orchestra. To glimpse her not quite so put together, in nothing but a plush white robe with this sexy burst of color at her feet was…so different. And quite alluring, he had to admit, despite the icy glare.

She folded her arms across her chest. “Look, I know what you're going to say—”

Liam's cry sounded from the other room.

She held up a hand. “Excuse me.” She turned to go to the boy.

“Wait a minute,” he said.

How did she know what he was going to say? Maybe it was going to be something positive. How could she know what he was thinking?

She stopped and turned to look at him.

“Why don't you go finish getting dressed and I'll take care of Liam?”

“No, he wants me.”

“If you don't hurry, we're going to be late.”

He could tell by the look on her face that she didn't want to give in, but she did.

“Okay, fine. I'll only be a minute. If you could just bring him out here, I have some milk warming in the bottle warmer on the table. Go ahead and give him that and I'll be right out.”

He followed the crying into one of the bedrooms and saw Liam standing in the crib, holding on to the rails, his tears subsided to a whimper.

“Hi, little guy,” he said. “Your mom…
er
…that is…your aunt…Aunt Julianne is getting ready. You're going to spend some time with your father for little bit. Then we're going to a party. Are you good with that?”

His mom? That was a Freudian slip. Purely accidental.

The boy had stopped crying and was looking at Alex as if trying to understand what he was babbling on about, and perhaps why he wasn't Julianne. Liam looked cute in miniature blue jeans and a tiny shirt with a baseball bat with the word
Slugger
on the front of it. The All-American baby. He wondered if Julianne had dressed him this way on purpose. To send a message?

When Alex held out his arms to Liam, he was surprised the boy let go of the crib with one hand and reached for him.

“Your Papa might not be so bad after all,
oui?
”

He grabbed Liam under his arms and the toddler
squirmed. Alex took a moment to try and figure out the best way to hold the wiggling baby, and Alex finally found a way to awkwardly fit him against his own left shoulder, with his arm firmly under the boy's bottom.

“Are you hungry? I hear there's a bottle out here with your name on it. Let's get you something to eat.”

 

Julianne could hold her own when it came to things like playing music in front of large crowds or fighting for the people she loved, but she was stricken utterly defenseless by the sight of Alex sitting on the couch holding Liam in his arms giving the boy his bottle.

With one little hand, Liam reached up and touched Alex's face. The way father and son gazed at each other was enough to knock the life breath out of her.

No matter how she tried to stop it, the truth seeped in through the cracks in all her reasons why Alex Lejardin had no right to Liam. This picture of father and son, this snapshot of the most unconditional kind of love warmed her and petrified her at the same time.

How could she take Liam's father away from him? But how could she give up her little boy? She
loved him, and she'd promised her sister, who'd chosen not to leave him with his father for reasons unknown. Perhaps she needed to get to the bottom of those reasons so she could better understand?

From this vantage point, it seemed like a no-win situation.

If she stayed in Europe for Liam to be near Alex, she'd have to give up her World of Music students and the new opportunity with the reorganized orchestra. Maybe she could get a job here…or in Paris. But principal flutist positions were few and far between. Plus, she didn't have the money to move nor the visa that would allow her to work. Sure, between Alex and her they could probably somehow make it work, but at what cost? And through how many miles of red tape?

On the flip side, if she went back to Washington, she'd have to give up Liam because…well, this picture in front of her of this big, strong man holding this little boy…the love emanating from his eyes…that was the reason.

Alex obviously loved his son—although she didn't want to admit it, probably as much as she loved Liam in his own way. She'd have to be pretty heartless to want to separate them. But could she just turn over this little boy to a man who received death threats? It wouldn't be like
this
every day.
Alex would go back to work in his Parisian office. Who would watch Liam? Would he be raised by a stranger who stood in for the majority of Liam's life, except for the brief time when Alex's job allowed him to pop in?

Alex looked up and smiled when he realized she was standing there.

“Not bad for a guy who's never given a baby a bottle, don't you think?”

Nope, not bad at all.

“You're a fast learner.”

Suddenly, she remembered the clean, grassy masculine scent of him as she'd been in his arms, and the way he'd looked when he'd leaned in and kissed her. She willed away the image.

He'd come early to talk to her, and she knew he was the kind of man who was going to lay his cards on the table about their involvement. Their kiss. Their whatever. But after holding and feeding Liam, there was a completely different vibe about Alex. She hoped he wouldn't bring up the kiss. Not only did she not want to talk about it, but she also didn't want his excuses or explanations. She just wanted to get this night over with. Maybe tomorrow, after a good night's sleep—if that was possible—she'd get a clear-cut sense about what to do.

Because right now, standing here watching Alex with Liam, there was no doubt they were family. Just where she fit in was unclear. She felt more alone than she had since she'd lost Marissa.

 

Even though they didn't have to leave the castle, it seemed like they had to walk a good half mile to get to Sophie and Luc's apartment.

They'd taken the elevator up three floors where a petite redhead named Patrice, the royal family's social secretary, met them.

“Good evening,” she said. “Please follow me and I'll let Queen Sophie and His Highness know you're here.”

The walls of the marble hallway had a similar museum feel to the floor where they were staying, more grand. It was a little unnerving. But the reception they received when they walked in was much more down-to-earth.

Julianne didn't know whether to curtsey or bow or…but before she could figure it out, Sophie had hugged her and plucked Liam out of her arms and was cooing and bouncing him.

The queen was a willowy, gorgeous, green-eyed brunette who sported a little baby bump front and center. Julianne liked her instantly because she got a sense that Sophie was her own woman. Being
a commoner for so many years before assuming the throne probably made Sophie more grounded than the average thirty-something queen. Still, she possessed a quiet, commanding grace.

If Liam grew up here, did it mean he'd benefit from the same down-to-earth upbringing? While living in a castle? With his own staff of Secret Service agents trailing him everywhere he went?
Right.

She met Luc, Sophie's handsome husband, and Henri, the middle brother, who was the state minister of arts and culture.

What a good-looking trio of men, Julianne marveled, as she watched Alex greet his brothers with handshakes that morphed into slap-on-the-back man-hugs.

“What a precious little boy,” Sophie said as she planted a kiss on Liam's cheek. “We don't know what we're going to have.” She placed a hand on her stomach. “We already have a daughter, Savannah. So a boy would be nice, but really I don't care just as long as the baby is healthy.”

“Speaking of Savannah,” Alex said, “where is she?”

“She's off on a class trip to Italy,” said Sophie. She turned to Julianne. “Savannah is actually my daughter from a previous marriage. She's sixteen,
and she's Alex's biggest fan. When we first arrived in St. Michel, she had such a crush on Alex.”

So he does have that effect on all women, Julianne thought as Alex waved away Sophie's teasing.

“She's a great kid, very sweet and endearing,” Alex added. “Going on a class trip without parents in tow? That has to be a teenager's dream. If the princess leads such a full life, maybe Liam won't have such a bad time here after all.”

He and Julianne locked gazes. Julianne kept her face neutral. He'd said that for her benefit, of course. Or to bait her. But she wasn't biting. If she opened for debate the topic of Liam living in St. Michel, she'd be too outnumbered. Alex had nearly all of his family here—each one was taking turns holding and fussing over the baby. She refused to put Liam at the center of such a terribly lopsided tug-of-war.

How long would she be able to stave them off?

Sophie linked her arm through Julianne's and escorted her over to the sofa. “How about some champagne?”

“Yes, please,” Julianne said. “I'd love some.”

As if by magic, a server with a tray of filled glasses appeared. Until that moment Julianne
hadn't noticed him. She accepted the champagne and then a piece of pâté on toast offered to her from a tray presented by another server.

“Julianne, I understand that you are a musician,” Henri said.

“Yes, I am a flutist.” She started to add, with the Continental Symphony Orchestra, but bit off the words before they escaped. She didn't feel like explaining that the orchestra had folded. It sounded so tragic. Actually, it was tragic—and it was too early to announce anything about a possible reorganization. Everything, it seemed, was in limbo right now.

“I wish I could've caught their final concert in Paris last week,” Henri said. “It's a shame that so many quality orchestras are disbanding.”

He knew.

Of course he knew. Music, art and culture were his calling. She tried to convince herself that that was the reason he knew—not because St. Michel's Big Brother had filled him in on it, along with every other detail of her life.

Even though his tone wasn't rude or snide, or otherwise condescending, she felt a little sick, thinking about the possibility that her life was an open book. Ever since she'd introduced Alex to Liam—

Liam? Where was Liam?

Her gaze darted around the room searching for him. Her heart raced until she found him sitting on Sophie's lap in a chair next to the sofa. In the span of thirty seconds of conversation, she'd lost sight of him.

Her knees felt a little weak in the post-adrenaline letdown. He was safe. Not that he wouldn't be. Not that they'd try to distract her with a party while they made off with her baby, but it just—that had never happened before. She'd never carelessly
lost sight
of him. Not when he was with her, which was ninety percent of the time. When Liam was in her care, she was always fully cognizant of where he was.

The scariest part was that it had happened so fast. Well, it would never happen again. Never.

“Yes, it is a shame, isn't it?” She kept her voice steady as she kept Liam in her peripheral vision.

“Are you currently seeking a position with an orchestra?” Henri asked.

“Yes, I am. I have several irons in the fire right now. I'm waiting to hear back.”

“
Bon
. In the meantime, I'd be pleased to introduce you to Maestro Fernand Leroy, the conductor of the St. Michel National Symphony. I'm not sure
of the orchestra's needs at the moment. But if the maestro is not auditioning flutists, the orchestra still employs substitutes on occasion. It would be a good contact for you.”

Soon the chef called the five of them to dinner. There was a high chair set up for Liam where he enjoyed mashing his freshly mashed vegetables further, while the adults enjoyed a surf-and-turf platter of Kobe beef and lobster tail.