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"I think I took most of that information for granted before I read it. You're from a rich family, used to putting business first. You do things in a strange way, Kelsey. I mean, who in their right mind, would advertise for a sperm donation."
She curled her legs beneath her, as though she knew this would be a lengthy conversation and wanted as much comfort as possible.
"Do I really seem so strange? In what way?"
"Nothing adds up around here. You come on as Plain Jane, while underneath there is a Cinderella waiting to come out. If I didn't know better I'd swear you were playing me for some kind of fool. You even disguise your house, hiding your life in one room, as though it were a secret. And the way you want to have this baby bothers me. Everything about you bothers me."
"So you find me—strange?" Obviously she thought this was funny. Her smile deflated his anger to some extent.
"Yeah, a little."
She chuckled at his remark, her eyes traveling him with lazy appreciation. Her blatant stare sent heat shooting through him. The woman was asking for trouble. A couple of glances like that and he'd have her in that bed of hers, or on the rug, it didn't matter at this point.
"And I find you very refreshing, Nick. I'm sorry if I seem flippant. I'm serious about having your baby, Nick. But I suppose there's an explanation for some of it. I dress rather plainly for the office; I've found that the more businesslike I present myself, the more seriously my associates take me. My apartment, well, that's my mother's interference, I'm afraid. When I moved here she insisted on having the place professionally decorated, and even went so far as to send a housekeeper. I didn't want to hurt her feelings, so after a while, I made my bedroom my sanctuary. I sent her housekeeper packing and got my own. Dorothy is a jewel."
Nick was only half listening to her words—that husky note to her voice had him reacting in a very basic way. He grew even warmer. Voices had never attracted him before. A voice, a pair of sad eyes, and knowing gut deep this woman was still leaving a lot out. He bought the house routine, and even went so far as to understand the business end of it, but he knew people and Kelsey was holding out on him.
His mother had been right, Kelsey was pretty. Too damned pretty. Nick had found her intriguing even with the black rimmed glasses, and linen suits. He'd found himself indulging in fantasies way before he had seen her in the satin T shirt. Something about her had pulled Nick in from the start. And the woman was a nut, for crying out loud!
"Okay I can buy that part, but why don't you try explaining why you want this kid—this way, if you can."
"All right, Nick, if it's that important I'll tell you a little about myself." She paused, looking away from him. "I suppose you deserve that much. As I told you before, I was married, for a short while to a very prominent business man."
"Yeah, you mentioned him." Nick sipped his coffee, his eyes never leaving Kelsey.
"We practically grew up together, Ralph and I, so he was no stranger. It seemed perfectly natural to marry him at the time. I thought I knew him so well. We were business partners, first. And that was one of the biggest problems."
Nick frowned.
"It was a cold marriage," she admitted her voice hardening at the memory. "Too much business. We both grew tired of each other, quickly. I was very young, immature. A little too ambitious too. But I still wanted a real marriage, and maybe just a little romance. I think every woman must want that. He didn't. Not that I was in love with the man, I wasn't, nor was he. As I told you before, people in our circles rarely marry for love. But I don't take marriage lightly. I wanted it to work. I'm a good Catholic. I wanted Ralph and I to have a real marriage, even though we were never married in the Church. I guess I had my head in the clouds. He let me know right away that he wasn't interested in bonding with me, in a relationship."
Nick listened, his anger rising toward the stuff shirt she'd married.
"So I tried harder to make things work between us. But the strain grew. In public he was the perfect husband, attentive, respectful, and almost loving. To make a long story short, we divorced two months after I caught him in bed with his secretary. Ralph always had a roving eye, and I was quite the novice in the bedroom."
"Damn," Nick muttered almost to himself as he put his cup on the coffee table. His arm went behind her on the sofa. "How could any decent man do that to his wife?"
"It happens. I've had one bad marriage Nick. I don't want another. That's why I'm not looking for a husband. But I still want a child."
"I'm sorry about your marriage."
"It could have been worse. It could have hurt worse." She shrugged nonchalantly, but Nick sensed the underlying pain. Still, the sadness he had seen and felt in her hadn't come from a bad marriage, he was sure of it. She hadn't told him anything he hadn't already assumed. He wanted to know more about her desperation to have a child.
"What makes you so sure this would be right for the child, having no father? I can't help wondering if you've thought this through completely, Kelsey. Children take a lot of time. Would you spare it? Would you take the time from your business to be a good parent?"
Kelsey bit her bottom lip.
"It's not right to some degree, to not have a father. I realize a child should have both parents."
Nick nodded.
"But realistically, I don't know if I have what it takes to make a successful marriage. I mean I really tried to make things work with Ralph. Even when I realized I wasn't looking at it realistically. I wanted us to work. It just didn't. But a baby—I can give the baby everything she could possibly need, including love and my time. I'd make time for a child." She looked at him curiously. "Why didn't you ask these questions at the interview?"
"I guess I was too shell shocked then to ask them. But Kelsey, you're still leaving something out. Something important. What is it? Level with me."
Kelsey finally met his gaze. "You're very perceptive."
"Not really, I just know people. And your story probably isn't much different than others I've heard." He shrugged. "I've heard a lot in my time about pain and hurt and I recognize the symptoms. Where I come from, there is a lot of suffering. So, what hurt you, Kelsey? How'd you lose your baby? I've got to know if we're going any further with this."
