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He stared at Lacey now, wishing he could take the stupid revelation back, especially when she spoke again.
‘I can’t marry you, Brandon, just because you don’t trust me. I understand why you don’t trust me. But you have to believe me when I tell you I’m willing to do everything in my power to help you form a relationship with your daughter, and make up for the terrible mistake I made not telling you about her existence much, much sooner.’
Yeah, right.
He could hear the regret in her voice, and the guilt. But he could also hear that damn compassion. Maybe she really believed what she was telling him. But it wasn’t enough. He refused to be at her mercy, or anyone else’s, when it came to claiming his child. Marriage was the only thing that would give him the power he needed, not just as Ruby’s father, but also to explore whatever the heck it was about this woman that he couldn’t seem to exorcise no matter how hard he tried. But he could see from the intransigent look on her face she was determined not to budge. And he’d be damned if he’d risk exposing any more of his past to persuade her otherwise.
‘I’ll have my driver take you home,’ he said, vindicated by the stunned surprise which suffused her features. ‘I’ll contact you to arrange a meeting with my daughter.’
‘Okay,’ she said, her relief palpable.
But, as she rushed out of the office, his gaze tracked her the whole way.
She’d expected him to put up more of a fight. But there was really no need, he thought, as the turmoil of emotions finally released their stranglehold on him enough to allow him to think coherently.
The story would break tomorrow, forcing Lacey to realise exactly how untenable her position—and the position she was putting their child in—really was.
And, when she finally came to her senses and accepted the inevitable—that she needed this marriage—he would be waiting.
CHAPTER NINE
‘ICAN’TEVENcontact Ruby’s nursery to say she can’t come in today,’ Lacey murmured as she peeked through the blind to stare at the press horde which had been massing outside their front door since before dawn. The crowd of photographers and reporters was now four rows deep, covering the pavement and most of the road.
She dropped the blind as one of the photographers spotted her and the barrage of shouted questions—which they had been attempting to ignore for two hours now—began again.
‘Lacey, tell us about you and Cade.’
‘Where’s your daughter, Lacey, is she okay?’
‘Are you going to sue him?’
Her stomach twisted, but the anxious knots in her gut were nothing compared to the guilt as she turned to see Milly, a concerned expression on her face, holding a sleepy Ruby—who had been woken by all the commotion.
‘Mummy, why are they shouting?’ Ruby said, rubbing her eyes.
Lacey crossed the room to lift her daughter into her arms. ‘It’s okay, baby. They’ll get bored soon and go away.’
Although she didn’t hold out much hope of that happening. They couldn’t leave the flat, couldn’t even turn on their phones, because both she and Milly had been inundated with calls and texts. How had they got her number and her address so easily?
She’d called the police an hour ago, but they’d said there was nothing they could do as long as the photographers and reporters remained off the premises.
And she was pretty sure she was now effectively out of a job. Melody had rung ten minutes ago—ostensibly to ask what was happening with the piece on Brandon. But she’d heard the wheedling tone in Melody’s voice. Her editor knew about Ruby’s relationship to him now, just like the rest of the world—and she was hoping for an exclusive. When Lacey had told her she couldn’t write the piece, Melody had not been happy. Lacey had no doubt at all she would sack her eventually, when she refused to budge—and she was probably already bad-mouthing her all over the industry.
She’d thought she’d be prepared for this, thought she could weather the media storm, but Brandon had been right—they couldn’t weather this. Protecting Ruby was her main concern now. Why had she lost sight of that so easily yesterday, when Brandon had demanded marriage? She’d thought she had a choice, but how long could she subject her child to this?
‘Perhaps we should call Brandon Cade?’ Milly supplied, having to raise her voice to be heard above the commotion outside. ‘He’s responsible for this disaster, after all,’ she added.
Except he wasn’t, Lacey thought, remembering the stark emotion on his face yesterday when he’d revealed the grim truth about his parents’ divorce and his mother’s mercenary behaviour.
She’d realised almost instantly he hadn’t intended to tell her so much. Certainly, he hadn’t wanted to elicit any sympathy. But it was there none the less, pounding under her breastbone, right alongside the panic and anxiety about Ruby’s welfare—and the choices she might be forced to make now to keep her child safe.
Brandon had offered her a way out. And she hadn’t taken it. She’d refused to even consider it. She hadn’t even questioned him about the sort of marriage he was suggesting. Because, when he had offered marriage, a foolish part of her heart had wanted to read much more into the offer than had actually been there. And that had scared the hell out of her.
If she called him now, she would at least have to consider his solution. But how could she ensure she remained pragmatic about such an arrangement? Because she didn’t feel pragmatic about anything any more, not after getting that crucial insight into the boy he’d once been, the lonely, manipulated child behind the man. His mask of power and entitlement had slipped, and as a result the girl she’d been—that fanciful, romantic, needy girl—had come back out of hiding.
And that was before she even factored in his clear commitment to becoming a father to Ruby. He wanted full parental rights, and how could she argue against that when she had kept his daughter’s existence a secret from him for so long?
‘Do you think he’d be willing to help us?’ Milly asked, getting a little frantic.
