Whatever the Price (6 page)

He lifted Lily up in the air and spun around in a circle, easing her wailing some, but not much.

“I swear,” he promised. “If she gets out of control, I’ll come get you.”

Charlotte nodded, kissed Lily on the cheek and headed toward one of the guest bedrooms. She’d give Anthony their master suite. Even though she loved that suite with its king-sized canopy bed and overly large, open shower, she wasn’t going to sleep in the same bed as her husband.

But she had a feeling he would do everything he could to make sure she ended up there before their time in Tahoe was over.

Six

“S
o the flowers didn’t go over as well as I’d hoped, Lily Bug.”

Anthony sat on the wooden swing on the back porch and swayed with his niece who had finally calmed down once he fed her a jar of puréed peaches and some of those puff snacks that smelled like sawdust.

He’d only left the high chair in the kitchen a minor disaster and intended to clean it up later. Right now he was enjoying spending quality time with his niece.

“I thought for sure the flowers would warrant a kiss on the cheek.”

Lily stared up at him as he handed her more puff snacks. “You have no idea what I’m saying. As long as I keep feeding you, you’ll love me. I finally figured out how to make you like me.”

He looked out beyond the pool, patio and lush garden to the lake. He’d have to step up his game plan if he wanted to gain ground during this getaway.

He’d been surprised at how fast, and easy, it had been to call his new assistant and have her shuffle things around so he could provide Charlotte with the time away from Hollywood that she needed. That he needed, as well. He needed to stop letting agents and actors consume all his time. God knew he was powerful enough to be calling the shots.

At the start of his career, he’d had to be available at all times to show how serious he was. But now, he knew, without being vain, that he was a big enough name that he could be choosy and clear his schedule whenever he wanted.

“What do you think we should do next?” He handed Lily a couple more snacks, her slobbery fingers greedily scooping them from his palm. “I have to say, I’m going to need your help. She may find my tactics sneaky, but I’m desperate.”

He leaned down right in Lily’s face. “But don’t tell her I said that.”

With the sun beating down on them, Anthony decided to make use of the pool. He’d never really enjoyed all the amenities he’d paid for. Why hadn’t he made more time for the basics in life? Why hadn’t he whisked his wife away on a relaxing trip instead of making all his traveling about business?

“Want to go swimming, Lily Bug?”

This would be an experience. Once he changed into his suit in the pool house, he scooped her up, took her back inside and retrieved her suit from her little suitcase with a monogrammed
L
on the front.

“Let’s wrestle you into this,” he said. He pulled her clothes off and tugged the tight blue-and-white polka-dot suit up over her chunky little legs. Surprisingly, she only fussed for a minute. But when he held her up and inspected her he frowned.

“Diaper or no diaper?”

The image of floaties in his pool had him cringing. “Diaper,” he said to himself. “Definitely the diaper.”

He went back to the pool house and slathered sunscreen all over her and even up into her wisps of dark hair. That much he knew. Sunscreen was a must for children. And just to be on the safe side, he topped her off with the hat that matched her suit.

Holding on to her tightly, he stepped a foot into the refreshing water and eased in. Lily jerked her feet up once her toes connected with the cooler water. Her lip quivered as she sucked in a breath.

“It’s okay. I’ve got you.”

And he knew she was too young to realize he was referring to life.

He splashed just a tad of the water up onto her legs to get her used to the temperature. “See? Isn’t this nice?”

Walking around the shallow end, he occasionally bounced up and down so Lily could enjoy the water. Her initial whimpers soon turned to squeals and giggles and Anthony realized he’d never heard her do either of those things while he was holding her. So, food and pool—two things he could certainly handle. Praise God, a miracle had happened. If only Charlie were that easy to win over.

He hadn’t realized how fun, how life-changing—in a positive way—a baby could be. So far, this experience of being a father was not as scary as he’d first thought. Remorse swept over him as he thought of all the times he’d used work as an excuse to keep his life a children-free zone.

He kept up the playfulness, wanting to hear more of her beautiful sounds…sounds Rachel was missing. She was missing all the happy faces, the muttering of wannabe words.

Anthony missed his sister with an ache he hadn’t thought possible. He hated that she wouldn’t see her baby grow up. He’d never understand why a life had to be cut short. He just couldn’t wrap his mind around the fact that he was here and she wasn’t.

He continued bouncing up and down until he caught sight of a flash of skin from the corner of his eye.

“Can I join you guys?”

Charlotte started into the pool wearing a string bikini. Anthony didn’t know whether to thank God or Satan.

To his knowledge she didn’t own a one-piece, but he had a feeling if she’d known about this little trip, she would’ve bought one just to torture him.

Or maybe she purposely put on the skimpiest one she owned to torture him. Either way, he was a sucker when it came to her body. All lush and curvy and so perfect when molded against his.

“Come on in. Lily Bug and I were just having fun.” He splashed a little more water over Lily, making her laugh. “Did you have a good rest?”

“I did, but then I felt guilty for lying down, so I got up. I actually made a phone call to the caterer and the director of the hospital. I’m trying not to work while we’re here, but there are a few details I left hanging for the dedication of the new wing.”

He couldn’t think of a response, not when the water settled just under her breasts, causing her nipples to pucker. He knew what lay beneath that slim scrap of fabric. He’d touched her, tasted her. And he would again soon. There was only so long his Charlie could hold out.

But he knew he had to take this slow. He wanted his wife back, and not just in his bed. He wanted to see her smile again and he wanted to be the one who put that smile on her face. He wanted that broken bond to be repaired and he wanted to move forward with their new family. He wanted it all, but before he could seduce her body, he had to seduce her heart. He wanted her to fall in love with him all over again.

“Did I hear you calling her Lily Bug?” she asked, moving closer to them.

He looked down at Lily who was patting the top of the water and blinking with each drop that threatened to get near her eyes. “Yes. It just came out at first, and now that’s what I call her.”

“I like it.” Charlotte smiled and adjusted Lily’s hat over her eyes. “Did you put plenty of sunscreen on her?”

“Of course.”

“What about the swimming diapers?”

Swimming diapers? There were special diapers for swimming?

“She has on her regular diaper,” he answered, knowing he’d done something wrong. “What’s the difference?”

Charlotte took Lily from him and held her up out of the water to show a very wet, very saggy diaper. “This. If she’d had on a swimming diaper, it wouldn’t absorb all the water and wouldn’t be sagging practically to her ankles.”

“Really?” He was a little amazed that a diaper could hold so much moisture and still stay on.

Oh, Lord. He knew he was already deep into fatherhood when a diaper impressed him.

It used to be that new special effects and lighting techniques in films would impress him. Now it was the absorbency of a diaper.

Yeah, that was quite a switch.

“Where are these magical diapers?” he asked.

Charlotte moved up the steps and out of the pool. Her response was totally lost on him because now those scraps of material she had on were wet and clinging to places his hands ached to touch. Water droplets slid down the back of her thighs over smooth, tanned skin.

“I’ll be right back.”

Charlotte took Lily inside where he assumed she’d packed these superabsorbent diapers. That should give him enough time to get in a couple laps, get his libido back under control and quit lusting after his own wife who was so close, yet still unapproachable when it came to intimacy.

* * *

Her hands shook as she pulled the swim diaper up over Lily’s pudgy legs. When she’d glanced out her window and seen Anthony’s bare, tanned, chiseled chest with Lily’s pale body lying against it, she nearly drooled right there in the privacy of her room.

True, his sexy chest was nothing new. Impressive as it was, she never tired of looking at it. But it was the image of her big, strong husband with those powerful hands holding on to an innocent, sweet baby that had her heart clenching.

So, yeah, a little groan of desire had escaped her when she’d seen them together. And she figured if she had to be tortured by looking at him, she could play that game, too.

She’d pulled out his favorite bikini, the simple black one made up of only triangles and strings. Only after she’d gotten into the pool, she wasn’t so sure that had been a good idea. They were both nearly naked and desire shot straight from his eyes as he raked his gaze over her heated body…her heated, aching body. She wondered if he noticed her heavier, fuller breasts. She remembered from the last pregnancy that her bras and shirts were a tad snug from the get-go. That was one of the first signs, other than her missed period, of the pregnancy.

But her bikini had never completely covered her top anyway, so maybe he hadn’t noticed. He was a man, and this was his favorite suit on her, so she had no doubt he was cooling off out there in the pool.

The diaper was a good save, though if he’d had a swimmy diaper on Lily, Charlotte would’ve had to come up with another reason to beat a hasty retreat.

What was she thinking, toying around with lust like that? Her emotions were all over the place and she wished she could just pick one and go with it.

She pulled the bathing suit back over the baby and headed out to the pool.

“Let’s just play on the steps, okay, little one?”

No way could she be that close to Anthony again and not touch him. And she knew if he’d risen from the pool, not only would she have seen how low his trunks fit around his narrow waist, she’d have seen one impressive erection.

She had to get these hormones under control. He was her husband, for pity’s sake. She’d touched, tasted and savored his body countless times. Unfortunately, she’d read online that many women are more into sex when pregnant than any other time.

Perfect timing, Fate. Thanks a lot.
Of all the times in her marriage to be extra horny…

“She’s all ready,” Charlotte announced in a perky voice, hoping to make this a more family-friendly, G-rated swim session. “We’re going to splash around on the steps for a while.”

Anthony smiled as he leaned an arm on the edging of the pool…thankfully at the other end. “She seems to like the water.”

Charlotte sat on the second step and placed Lily on her lap. She squealed in delight and slapped her hands on top of the water, making Charlotte laugh.

“We need to get her some toys for the pool or one of those little inflatable rafts she can just sit in.”

“I’ll get it today,” he replied.

Charlotte looked up at Anthony, who was moving through the water like a predator. So much for keeping their distance.

“You always enjoyed the water, too.” He moved closer, standing at the base of the steps. Close enough that if she extended her legs just barely, her feet would brush his long legs. “If I recall, we enjoyed this pool together the last time we were in it. After that, we enjoyed the hot tub.”

Charlotte turned her gaze from his. It would be so easy to keep looking in those eyes, to run back down that lane of memories, but she couldn’t. No matter how much her body craved to make new pool memories.

“Don’t do this, Anthony.” She didn’t raise her voice, she didn’t beg. “We have to move slowly and you know it. We have more than just ourselves to think about.”

He propped an arm on the concrete beside her and leaned closer to her face. “What I know is we are still married and we are sharing guardianship of Lily.” He leaned next to her ear and whispered, “And I’m also positive that right now, you’re trying very hard not to give in to this sexual pull between us.”

Why did he have to know her so well? Why did he have to say all the right, or, in her opinion, wrong, words to make her hormones jump up and start screaming? God, how would he react if he knew about the baby she carried?

“It doesn’t matter what my body wants, Anthony.” She looked back up at him, keeping her eyes on his and not on that gorgeous chest inches away. “My heart is in control right now. It can’t afford another beating and I won’t let my emotions override what’s best for Lily—and hopefully us—in the long run.”

He slid her hair from her shoulder to settle behind her back. The gentle touch sent shivers through her body.

“I’m not putting my emotions above Lily’s needs, either,” he told her. “There’s no reason we can’t have it both ways.”

She swallowed the lump of remorse. “There are about nine years of reasons we can’t get into this. Nine years of problems that led us here. We didn’t start having problems until we married, and then it was like you assumed I’d just be there no matter what. We need to learn from our mistakes in order to move forward.”

He eased up, but when his wet palm covered her bare stomach, then slid up to cup her breast, Charlotte flinched and held her breath.

“Your reaction proves that no matter what stands between us, we love each other, Charlie.”

Lily let out another squeal and flapped her hands on top of the water, pulling Charlotte from the realization that her husband’s touch sent tingles up and down every nerve ending in her entire overheated body.

Charlotte adjusted Lily on her lap, knocking Anthony’s hand off her breast. “Don’t do this to me. Don’t make me want things I can’t have right now. I have so many feelings…I just can’t.”

He came to his full height, his eyes narrowing on hers. “Don’t do this to
you?
Don’t make you feel? I’m finding it damn hard to stay in this house with you, knowing, in your eyes, I don’t have the right to touch you. So don’t tell me not to do this to you, Charlie. I love you and I’m damn well going to fight for you.”

He stepped out of the pool, sending water sloshing over her and Lily. Charlotte hugged Lily and rocked on the step. Between the sexual tension sizzling between her and Anthony and the stress of adjusting to a new baby, she wasn’t sure what emotion would envelop her next.