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He shrugged.
“How are things?”
Nick looked away. “Fine.”
“You’re not going to tell me about Candace…about her claim that Jennie is her daughter?” His sister was quivering with curiosity.
“Will you let me rest until I do?”
“Probably not. I’ve left you alone all week—I didn’t want to be nosy.” She paused. “Nick, did you have an affair with her?”
That offended him. “No! I suppose I’m going to have to get used to that kind of reaction. You’re my sister, and if you thought that, then it won’t be the last time it comes up.”
“If you didn’t have an affair with her, then she can’t possibly be Jennie’s mother.”
“Wrong again.” He smiled wryly. “Turns out Jilly faked her pregnancy and engaged a surrogate.”
“A surrogate?” Alison’s eyes popped. “Candace?”
Nick nodded.
“So Candace was telling the truth? She is Jennie’s mother?”
“That’s the way it looks.” His tests hadn’t come back yet, but Candace’s voice had held a persuasive conviction when she’d told him that Jilly had made sure Jennie was his. But Nick wasn’t ready to concede that until he had hard proof.
His sister placed her elbows on the table. “She must’ve planned to get into your home.”
Nick considered his sister. As much as he wanted to agree, it was unlikely that Candace could’ve managed to orchestrate that. Nor did he believe that she was the conniving type.
Unlike his late wife.
“I don’t think that would’ve been possible. Not unless she could’ve played a role in Jennie’s ear infection—and I think you’ll agree that’s impossible.”
“But she would’ve recognized Jennie’s name when we came into the emergency room that night.”
Nick nodded. “Granted.”
“And she didn’t hesitate to take advantage.”
He didn’t want to defend Candace, but he couldn’t stop himself from saying, “Perhaps she was curious.”
Alison considered him. “I imagine you’re right. What woman wouldn’t be? Her baby… A mother would want to know that she was okay. And I made it simple for her. The boys were giving me such a hard time that afternoon…”
She sucked in her cheeks, making her look even more harried. “She was so easy to talk to, so interested in the boys…and Jennie. I told her all about Margaret leaving us high and dry. That’s when she said she wouldn’t be averse to working as a nanny for a while because she didn’t have a full-time job. I’m so sorry, Nick.”
When he didn’t respond, she dropped her head into her hands. “I don’t seem to be able to stop screwing up at the moment, do I?”
“Don’t worry about it.” Awkwardly he patted her shoulder. Staring over his sister’s head into the courtyard outside, he asked with studied casualness, “Did you mention that I was overseas?”
Her head came up. “I probably did.”
That would’ve sealed Candace’s conviction that Jennie needed her. But there was no point in telling his sister the problem she had unwittingly caused.
“So what have you decided to do?” Alison asked.
Trust her to get to the crux of his problem. “I don’t know.” Yet.
It wasn’t like him to be indecisive. Vacillation went against his character. But he had Jennie to think about—what he wanted had to be best for Jennie, too.
“It could’ve been worse,” Alison was saying.
“Worse?” What did his sister mean? As far as Nick was concerned, it had gotten as bad as it could.
“Jilly could’ve picked a real loser, like the kinds of friends she picked. Candace is cool—as my sons would say.” Alison rose to her feet and gathered up her bag. “I might pop in on the way home to see how she’s coping with all this. Thanks for listening to my woes, Nicky—I’m feeling a lot better already.”
What his sister meant was that she was going to try to build a bridge with the woman who might prove to be necessary to Jennie. Nick knew he should be thinking like that, too.
But he was still struggling with the idea of Candace as Jennie’s mother. All he could think of was Candace as a woman—the one he’d held in his arms, the one he’d kissed…the one he was dying to seduce.
A sexy angel he couldn’t wait to see again.
Work be damned.
“You know what?” He forced a half smile. “I don’t seem to be able to concentrate today. I might come with you—blow the cobwebs from my brain.”
