Boxed Set: Intercepted by Love (The Complete Collection): Books One - Book Six (22 page)

“Can we shelve the personal attacks? I think we’re all mature enough to know that we should end this as amicably as possible. Please, can you sign the divorce decree?”

Knowing Declan, nothing was going to be easy. He was an actor, after all, and loved to play in front of audiences, even one as small as the four Silver Studio employees hanging out late at the office.

“I just might,” he said with a straight face, then paused.

“Good. It’s about time.” Andie prodded him. She laid the signature page on her desk.

Declan made a big show of rolling his sleeves up. He rubbed his hands, blew on them, then tested the pen on scrap paper. He held the pen right above the line and stuck his tongue sideways from his lips as if he were a grade school boy doing his letters.

One second passed. Two. Three. The rascal was milking this moment, as his audience, Andie included, waited with bated breath. One of the hipsters had his camera phone trained on the scene.

“Pffuh.” Declan let out a loud puff of air. “I can’t do it.”

He slapped the pen on the desk and dropped to his knees.

Andie’s heart cratered and she dropped to her knees, her hands clasped together. “Please, Declan. Sign it. I mean, we all know I’m after your money.”

“And I want you to have it, because I love you, darling.” Declan’s lips swooped over hers as the stupid peanut gallery cheered and clapped.

Andie was so shocked she opened her mouth to scream before realizing her mistake. Declan’s tongue took advantage and shoved itself into her mouth. Andie sputtered and desperately turned her face from side to side to escape the lip lock, but Declan must have been used to reluctant costars because he moved with her and made it look like a hot kiss.

A sharp rap of knuckles on the tabletop popped them apart. Holy enchilada. Could her day get worse?

Ronaldo Silver stood at the entrance of her cubicle.

“Well, well, well,” he said. “Another video about to go viral. The Jaded Actor and the Hot Librarian.”

“No, please.” Andie waved at the hipster with the camera phone. “Delete it. It’s not what it looks like. Seriously.”

“That’s what they all say,” Ronaldo swiped the phone from the hipster who’d been recording and replayed the video. “Very interesting. We also do reality shows here, Miss Wales. Care to audition for a few?”

Cade’s lusty fantasies deflated back to reality as soon as he got home. The car he lent to Andie was not in the garage, and his mother met him at the door with a worried expression.

“Have you heard from Roxanne yet? Rob called on the house phone and when I answered it, he just said for you not to look for her, that she’s okay and to trust him.”

“What? Am I supposed to believe him?” Cade drew his hand over the side of his neck, rubbing out the irritation. “They’re hiding something from me, and I want to know what it is. He’s my agent. He should answer to me.”

Cade yanked the phone from his pocket and spied the reminder.
Baseball game at seven.

He palmed his forehead and groaned. He finally had Andie back in his life and in his bed, and he’d promised her a romantic evening with baseball, hot dogs, and kisses under the stadium lights.

It had been so worth begging Ronaldo to give Andie the job. Otherwise, how would he ever have had the chance to get her to come out to Hollywood and live in his house?

He hated to text her and cancel, but he had to go track down Rob—camp at the guy’s house if possible, until he got some answers.

Instead of texting, he called. Palming the phone, he said to his mother, “I have to take care of something.”

Andie picked up on the third ring after he’d retired to his bedroom.

“Hey, how was your day?” he asked, not sure how he was going to cancel their date. “Something came up here.”

“Oh, uh, what happened?” She sounded frazzled.

“Are you in the middle of something?”

“No, I’m fine. Let me find somewhere private.”

A few moments later she was back. “Much better. Is everything okay?”

“Actually, I don’t want to worry you, but I have to go to Rob’s house and look for Roxanne. She checked out of the hospital.”

“She did? Why? Is the baby okay?”

“As far as I know. I’m sorry about the baseball game tonight.”

“That’s fine. I should be home in a half hour. Do you want me to come with you?”

Gosh, this woman was sweet and considerate. Selfless. He’d love to have her at his side, but he wasn’t sure he wouldn’t pull over to a secluded area and have his way with her in his Porsche. Her fresh vanilla scent mixed with passion flower, if what he’d read on her shampoo bottle was true, filled his veins with desire. Damn, he needed her. But not now. Not when his baby had to be found and kept safe.

“I don’t know how long I’ll be out, or even where I’ll be.” Cade wiped his face and sighed. “I’ll make it up to you, babe. Our team’s playing the San Diego Surfriders this weekend. How about we drive down together?”

“Weekend? I haven’t thought that far. Don’t we have to see if the baby is okay?”

“You’re right.” He wished he could give Andie a hug, slip his tongue between her lips, and whisper sweet words to her. She cared more about his baby than about her own enjoyment. “I’ll see you back home then. Love you.”

“Love you too,” she said.

He hung up. He must have caught her in the middle of an important scene, because she definitely sounded uptight. Hollywood could be a real pressure cooker, and it’d likely be worse once they started shooting.

Forty minutes later, he arrived at Rob’s Pacific Palisades home. He hadn’t bothered to call ahead because it would have warned his agent he was on the way. Instead, Rob’s personal assistant, Danny, let him in.

“I’m glad you’re here,” Danny said. “Your lady’s been driving me nuts.”

“Roxanne is here?”

“Yep.” Danny pointed toward the guest room. “Bed rest, but she’s got me on this walkie talkie leash, ordering me around. Get this, get that. Take this to the printer, bring these samples back. I’m going crazy.”

“She’s still pregnant?”

“Hell yes, fix me a smoothie, I’m craving chorizo. Freakin’ chorizo? Who the hell craves chorizo? The lady’s
loca
!”

Sounded like Roxanne was at the top of her form.

“Baby doing okay? No more labor pains?”

Danny’s eyebrows inverted, and he threw his hands in the air. “Every time anyone asks, she clutches her belly and moans, looking every bit as pitiful as she can. You go see for yourself. She’s supposed to wear a monitor and lie on her left side, but she only puts it on when Rob’s around.”

The long suffering Danny led him down the hall to the guest room, knocked on the door and called out, “Roxy, Cade’s here.”

“Watch her scramble into position,” Danny whispered and opened the door quickly.

Sure enough Roxanne was strapping the belt around her waist. An open laptop was on the bed, and clothes samples were strewn all over the place.

She closed her eyes and moaned, placing her thin hand expertly on her protruding abdomen.

Despite her theatrics, Cade was concerned. He pulled a chair close to her bed and watched the electronic blips on the screen her belt was plugged into. “How are you feeling?”

“Better. I’m not getting as many contractions.” She palmed her forehead and let out a deep breath. “You know, it was awfully nice of you to suggest that I stay with you, but you have your life, and I’d be an intruder.”

“I want what’s best for you. Why did you leave the hospital?”

“Dr. Benson only wants to hold me there for the money. I mean, I know you’re paying, and he’s supposed to be the best, but I can’t sit there with nothing to do but watch TV, and a nurse walking in every ten minutes to check my blood pressure. You know how tight those cuffs are? They give me high blood pressure just thinking about them, and because I’m thin, they never get a good reading, so then they tighten it and try again. I was getting more contractions in the hospital than here.”

Cade held up his hand and took a calming breath. “That’s good then. I’m glad you’re okay. But why didn’t you call me and let me know? I was really worried about you.”

She snuggled her head on the pillow and reached for his hand. “You were in ‘call in the cavalry and attack’ mode. Besides, don’t you have a girlfriend? Haven’t you considered how she’d feel with me living at your place? And then, Rob says there’s the gossip. I don’t know if you follow Sports Holler, but some nasty blogger said I’m the slut who sleeps with all my brother’s clients. Sort of the benefit package for sticking with his agency.”

“That’s B.S. I’ve been buddies with Rob forever, and you’ve never slept with a player, except well, you know, we slipped up.” He grasped her bird boned hands. “But we were pretty drunk that night.”

“I know, and you guys are Rob’s investment. I shouldn’t have messed with it.”

“Yeah, my bad for drinking during the season. You know who was stone sober? All the guys who were playing that weekend. Todd, Joey, Fig, Jake …”

He watched her as he listed the names of the other players who’d been at the party, but she never flinched.

“Good for them, you were way more fun.” The smile she flashed was almost sweet. “Next year, you’ll be starting at the playoffs. I can feel it.”

“More fun, huh?” Cade’s stomach contracted. Had she stuck around later and boned one of them?

“Yeah, you were so sweet and considerate, even though you were drunk out of your mind.” Rox tapped his chest. “I wish we dated for real, you know?”

Not really. She was too high maintenance and had none of the down home girl next door appeal Andie had.

“You’re just being nice to me because I’m your baby daddy. You’ve thought about names?”

“Of course, not telling you, but no, not Cade, that would be tacky.”

“Tacky? My name is tacky?” He let go her hand. “Okay, on that note, let me know what you need.”

“I’m good. Got my laptop, my patterns, my assistant buyer and Danny.”

Poor Danny. He was also part of their college gang, but he had zero ambition and spent all his time reading thrillers and watching TV.

“Yeah, Danny.” Cade stood. “He tells me you’ve a hankering for chorizo. Shall I fry you up some
huevos rancheros
?”

“For dinner? Forget about it. Danny’s great. I love ordering him around.”

“I bet you do. You sure you don’t need me here?” Cade glanced at the monitor. “Is that the baby’s heartbeat?”

“Yes, you want to hear?” She tapped a few keys on the laptop, and the distinct echoing, thudding sound filled Cade with a twisty, warm feeling. Could he be any prouder of the little tyke?

“Wow. He’s doing great. Think he’ll play ball? Remember how he flipped around during the ultrasound? Dodging and feinting—a real athlete.”

Roxanne rolled her eyes and turned down the sound. “Maybe he’ll be a fashion designer, you never know.”

“Fashion designer? No boy of mine’s going to play with paper dolls.”

“He might take after me, rail thin and dainty.” Roxanne flipped herself onto her back and laid her arms over her head, legs straight. “Everyone says I’m wearing a bowling ball. Oops, he just kicked. You don’t like me talking about you, do you, dudders?”

Cade stared, mesmerized, at the blob moving under her belly. His baby boy. He reached for her, then stopped. After all, they weren’t in a relationship. A drunken one-nighter didn’t count.

“You can touch, go ahead.” Roxanne grabbed his hand and adjusted it. “He likes to kick me in the bladder. Such a bad boy already. But feel here? That’s his back and head.”

The baby moved in a frenzy under his palm. It was almost as if he knew his daddy was there.

“I can’t get enough of this,” he said, moving his hand. “Oh, he just kicked me. Did you feel that?”

“Of course I did, silly.” Roxanne caressed the back of Cade’s hand. “It’s one of the most incredible feelings, to lie asleep and feel your baby move, knowing you’ll never be as close to him as you are these nine months.”

“I wish I could know that feeling,” Cade said, removing his hand from Roxanne’s. “Thanks for letting me share this moment.”

Excitement flooded his veins. He was going to be a father, and the feeling he had was love for his child. He’d do anything for the little guy. He’d protect him, nurture him, teach him how to be a man, and play with him. His son would never ever know a day when he wasn’t wanted or loved.

To do that, he’d need to have a friendly relationship with Roxanne. For starters, he’d have to respect her right to make her own decisions about doctors, hospitals, and living arrangements, and trust that she loved her child, their child.

“Any time, Cade. You’re not upset I decided to come here?” She sat back up and Cade rushed to prop pillows in back of her.

“No, I wish you’d called, because I had a bit of a panic after hearing you’d left the hospital. Dr. Benson said it was not advised. You’re okay with the bed rest, right? I mean, you’ll do what’s best for the baby?”

“Of course, I will. I was just under a lot of stress at the hospital. I wasn’t thinking of what could happen to the baby. I mean, I still might lose the promotion, but …” She rubbed her abdomen. “I guess there’s always another job, and well, you were right. Our baby does need me more than the job.”

“I care about you both. Please, text me or call me. I don’t get why Rob isn’t returning my calls, but I’ll deal with him later. You, take care. Okay? And if Danny doesn’t treat you right, you let me know.”

Roxanne chuckled. “I’m sure you’ve heard an earful from Danny. He hasn’t changed, has he? Always complaining.”

Cade leaned over and kissed Roxanne on the forehead. “Don’t worry about anything, other than your fashion shows and what you need to do. Anything you need, let me know. Text, call, or smoke signals. I’m serious.”

“I know you are.” Her smile under tired eyes told him she trusted him. “I couldn’t have picked a better baby daddy.”

“Yeah, well, let’s just call it fate.” He turned toward the door. “Whenever you call me, turn on that heartbeat monitor, okay?”

“Sure thing, daddy dudder.” She gave him an okay sign and winked.

As Cade closed the door, a spark jolted his heart. Why couldn’t it be Andie who was sitting there with his child? Some kind of fate—more like a dose of bad karma. But then, Roxanne had mellowed out quite a bit since earlier this year, and maybe she would turn out to be a good enough mother after all.