Caviar and Covert Ops: Book 3 (Military Moguls) (2 page)

Yours,

Lily

“He knew her well enough to know where the ‘rental unit’ was located,” Chris offered. “Do you remember her?”

Dane shook his head, frustrated and tired. He’d spent the last month straightening out the financial spaghetti that Brandon had left only to find out it was just the tip of the fucking iceberg.

“No, but Brandon and I haven’t spent more than an hour of two in the same room for years and then only because it was an obligatory family function. The last female I saw him with was his junior prom date.”

Chris loaded his plate with wings and potato skins. “If Brandon did knock up this girl and then left her high and dry? Shit, that’s cold. No way I could do something like that knowing I had a son or daughter somewhere growing up without me.”

Dane couldn’t argue Chris’s opinion. It was a really shitty thing to do, and if this woman truly had a Braxton child then she deserved financial help in raising the boy. It was only right.

Seb shook his head and pointed to the letter. “From what I remember about Brandon he wasn’t fit to be anyone’s role model, even in the old days. So I’d guess they were together a few months at most. Long enough to know some fairly mundane details about each other but not long enough for her to see the real Brandon.”

“So what are you going to do?” Chris asked. “Please tell me you’re not going to be your usual cynical self and toss this letter in the trash.”

Chris and Seb were always giving Dane a hard time about his skeptical attitude toward women, but then they hadn’t been brought up in the Braxton household. If they had they’d be singing a different tune.

“I am not planning to throw it out. I’ll investigate this Lily Emery. If she’s genuine and Nicholas is Brandon’s son then I will make sure that she is taken care of.”

“Investigate?” Seb’s brows raised in question. “You mean a private investigator? Not sure what they’re going to be able to tell you.”

A plan had already begun forming in Dane’s brain. “I’ll have a PI do some cursory investigation but you’re right. He won’t be able to tell me if this kid is Brandon’s or whether she set out to trap him or both.”

“How does one ask someone you’ve just met to take a DNA test?” Chris wondered, wiping his hands with a paper napkin. “Hey, it’s nice to meet you. Can I have a cheek swab from your son? It’s not that I don’t trust you but I don’t really trust you.”

“Would you just blindly trust someone in this situation?” Dane countered, frustrated his friends didn’t see this for what it could possibly be. “Am I just supposed to hand over a check on her word?”

“My question is this. If this boy is Brandon’s son, does it matter if she set out to trap your cousin?” Seb challenged. “The boy still exists either way and Braxton blood still flows through his veins. Should he suffer because his mother may be a less than honest person?”

It didn’t matter financially; Dane was willing to see a Braxton child supported. It did make a difference in how that money might be organized. If the mother was of a less than stellar character Dane would make sure the fund was tied up neatly and only to be used for the benefit of the boy. If she was more upstanding and seemed to have her son’s best interests at heart, Dane would be more inclined to be less stringent on the guidelines for the money.

“No one is going to suffer unless this Lily person is trying to get money from Brandon while having another man’s baby. That’s fraud,” Dane finally answered, leaving out the minor details about the money.

“I don’t see how you’ll ever know if she intended to get pregnant or not,” Chris shrugged. “And it takes two, after all. Brandon was there and if he didn’t take precautions… Dad always told me to cover my willy, and shit—I didn’t have sex without a condom until Susie. I knew when she told me she was on the pill and clean I could take that to the bank.”

Dane groaned and rubbed his temples. “I don’t even want to think about another man’s willy or why it might be covered or not.”

“It’s good advice nonetheless.” Seb grinned and lifted his beer in salute. “Here’s to covering our willy until the right woman comes along. I’ve found mine.”

Chris and Dane broke into laughter and lifted their own glasses in a toast. Leave it to Seb to crack them all up at a serious moment, and leave it to Chris’s dad to provide the fodder.

“I have too,” Chris replied with a smirk. “That just leaves Dane who is alone and unloveable.”

Dane was never alone unless he wanted to be. There were always women who wanted to be around a rich, successful man. He never fooled himself that they were there because of who he was – truly was – deep inside. They didn’t care about his hopes, dreams, and fears. They cared what he brought to the table and what was in it for them.

And that’s why he had to be extra cautious in this situation. If some woman was simply trying to ride the Braxton gravy train Dane would make sure she didn’t get a ticket. He’d expose her for the schemer that she was while making sure the boy didn’t suffer. He wasn’t heartless.

He was wary. And for good reason.

‡

L
ily Emery was
tired. She’d been tired since practically the moment her handsome son Nicky was born and it felt like she’d never get enough rest. Instead of sexual fantasies she dreamed about slipping between freshly washed sheets, sleeping all night long, and waking refreshed to breakfast in bed served by a gorgeous hunk with washboard abs.

There wasn’t a furry rat’s butt chance of that happening in the foreseeable future. A single mom with a rambunctious toddler, she worked two jobs to make ends meet. Tired was her new middle name.

So in love with her son, most of the time it didn’t matter. He made everything worthwhile. She hadn’t known true love or happiness until Nicky had come into her world. But there were days like today when she didn’t feel good and worked sucked that reality slapped her around a little.

Now she was trying to act like nothing was wrong while watching Nicky scamper around the playground along with a dozen or so other toddlers and their parents.

“Did you work the lunch shift today?” Myra asked. She was a mother of a two year old girl and a good friend who understood single parent life. Myra’s boyfriend drove a truck for a living and wasn’t around much, leaving most of the parenting to her.

Lily flexed her sore feet and groaned. “I did and it was crazy. We had a cook out sick today so food was coming out slow. Everyone complained and of course they took it out on me and my tips. I might as well have not even worked today.”

“At least you don’t have to pay your mom to babysit. I swear half my paycheck goes to daycare and babysitters.”

Nicky and Myra’s little girl Amelia settled into the sandbox and Lily relaxed slightly. She had to be extra vigilant with a daredevil for a son but the sandbox seemed less dangerous. She only had to make sure he didn’t throw sand at the other kids or eat it. Her mother told her she worried too much.

“A little dirt and mud never hurt anyone. Let him get dirty and explore a little,” her mom would say, shaking her head at Lily’s hovering.

She tried to follow her mother’s advice…up to a point.

“I am grateful but sometimes Mom thinks Nicky is her son. She tries to tell me what to do and if I don’t agree she’ll go behind my back. Like when she decided the reason Nicky didn’t know his colors was because his eyesight was bad and she took him for an eye exam. Of course he was fine and he knows all his colors now but he didn’t know them early enough for her.”

Lily was grateful for her parents’ support. If not for them she didn’t know what she’d do. But sometimes she simply wanted someone to acknowledge that she was a good mother. She tried so hard to be.

“My mother thinks Amelia doesn’t get enough protein. Bobby’s mother thinks she gets too much. It seems like we’re pretty much screwed no matter what we do,” Myra agreed. “I tell them that the doctor thinks her diet is fine but they don’t listen to me. And Bobby isn’t much better. It’s like having two kids. When he’s gone I think of how great it is when he’s home and can help me. Then he gets home and sits around all day while I cook, clean, and take care of Amelia. I have to beg him to watch her just so I can go to the store.”

But Bobby did help even if he had to be begged to do it. At least he seemed to care about his daughter. Not like…

Lily mentally shook herself to keep her train of thought from going down that path. There was nothing to be gained by doing it and it didn’t change a damn thing. She loved her son enough for both his parents and she’d do everything in her power to be both mother and father to her son.

“Bobby’s a good guy,” Lily said. “He really loves Amelia.”

“I know,” Myra sighed. “He does. But sometimes I wish he were more…I don’t know…mature and responsible. I wish I could count on him to be there when the going gets tough like when Amelia is sick or has a bad dream.”

“Are there men like that in the world?” Lily asked cynically, but then she hadn’t been on a date in three years. “It sounds like an urban legend.”

“What about him?” Myra nodded toward a handsome man walking a yellow labrador over to the dog section of the park. “He’s abso-frickin-lutely gorgeous. Do you think he’s the type to stick around and change dirty diapers? Clean up projectile vomit and think c-section scars are sexy?”

Lily’s gaze followed the man as he and the dog ambled down the path. He was dressed casually in khaki shorts, a navy blue t-shirt, and tennis shoes. His dark hair was cut short and his features were pleasantly even. From this distance she could easily see the muscles that moved and flexed under the shirt as he approached.

“I doubt it.” Lily shook her head. “Men that good-looking don’t have to do any of those things. He probably changes his girlfriends as often as he does his socks.”

Myra peered closely at the man. “It doesn’t look like he’s wearing any socks. He is a real hottie though. Why don’t you go talk to him?”

Lily blanched at the mere suggestion. “Me? Why on earth would he be interested in me? I haven’t gone out on a date in over three years. My idea of a great evening is pizza in front of the television.”

“And whose fault it that?” Myra laughed. “You’re a good-looking woman but you hide behind Nicky like he’s a human shield. All men aren’t the enemy. Just because Nicky’s father was a jer–”

“I don’t want to talk about him,” Lily broke in, not wanting to discuss the mistakes she’d made. “That’s the past. But I still can’t see why anyone would want to take on the responsibility of another man’s child.”

“Because they care about you, that’s why. And because they care about you they spend time with Nicky and come to care about him. He’s a charming boy and easy to love.”

That was true. Everyone who met Nicky adored him. He was a happy child not given to tantrums or foul moods. At least not more than any other toddler.

“That still doesn’t mean I’m going to go over and talk to him. What on earth would I say?”

“How about ‘Hi, I’m Lily’ to start?” Myra teased. “If a man is interested you won’t have to say much. It’s been awhile but I do remember that part.”

“I am not going over there. What I am going to do is take Nicky to the water fountain and wash off his face and hands. He’s covered in sand.”

Myra grimaced and glanced at her watch. “I need to run. We’re having dinner with Bobby’s parents tonight. I get to hear them lament our unmarried status for at least three hours.”

“So get married.”

“We’re going to—we just need to find the time. And the money. I wouldn’t mind losing ten pounds first either.” Both women scooped up their toddlers and Lily bade Myra goodbye. Heading to the water fountain, she could see the handsome man from earlier playing Frisbee with his dog. They both looked like they were having a good time, a smile on the man’s face.

“Let’s get you cleaned up,” Lily pronounced, pulling some tissues from her purse and wetting them. “I swear you’re a magnet for dirt.”

“All cleaned up,” Nicky chanted with a grin. “Dirt gone.”

Her heart squeezing with powerful mother love, she gently wiped his hands and face. “Yep, dirt gone. You look very cute, which of course you are well aware. It’s what you use to get your own way.” She lifted his sturdy body into her arms to give him a big bear hug. “Love you, Nicky.”

“Love you, Mommy,” he said in his sing-song voice. “Look, doggy.” Nicky pointed to the yellow lab jumping high in the air and catching the Frisbee before trotting back to its owner who threw it again. But this time it went awry and headed straight for them. Lily only had a few seconds to duck out of the way with Nicky still in her arms.

The man ran over followed by the dog, a worried expression on his face. “Hey, I’m sorry. Are you okay? I usually have much better aim.”

She stood Nicky on the park bench and nodded. “I’m fine. No harm done.”

“Are you sure? Your little boy wasn’t hurt, was he?” the man persisted. Up close she could see he had bright green eyes fringed with thick, dark lashes. His skin was tanned to a gold color and unlined except around his eyes. His hair was almost black with just a few shots of gray here and there and she guessed his age to be somewhere in his late thirties.