The Pregnancy Contract (9 page)

“Well,” he said uncomfortably, “I'd better not keep you from your work.”

Piper merely continued to smile. He gave Jane a sideways look which wiped the smile from her face, then he turned and stalked out. Damn if she hadn't held the upper hand there all the way.

Once in his office he began to calm down, seeing his behavior for the ridiculous stunt it was. Were his expectations of her really so mistaken? Had she truly changed? He thought again about the bus ride she'd endured to get here on time, and the effort she'd obviously made to change her appearance and to fit in. He'd been unfair, he had to admit. She'd stepped up to the plate without so much as a murmur, and he at least owed it to her to acknowledge that.

He couldn't fault her. Not in anything she'd done so far today. With a sigh of resignation he reached across his desk and picked up the phone, dialing from memory the number of his car dealer. Some points were best made by gesture, he decided.

 

Piper gingerly walked up the driveway toward the house. As hard as her feet had become in the work boots or runners she'd habitually worn the past few years, spending a day in high heels was something she'd happily forgotten. The balls of her feet were almost raw, she was sure of it. Her first paycheck would have to go toward a sensible pair of shoes, she thought. The Piper she used to be would never have dreamed of doing such a thing, but she was most definitely more practical now. And if she was to bus to and from work each day, with the
walks from the house to the bus stop and again at the other end to the office, then doing it all in reverse order each day, she'd need something sensible on her feet just to survive.

Huh, and she'd thought relief work was tough. While it had been demanding physically and emotionally, it had never left her this mentally exhausted. She certainly hoped that Wade wasn't planning on any more verbal rounds because she really wasn't up to it.

She lifted her head as she approached the house. Oh, great, she thought, noting a different car parked in the driveway. Visitors. She certainly hoped she wasn't expected to make an appearance. All she wanted to do right now was take off her shoes and give her feet a soak.

Piper veered along the pathway that led toward the back entrance of the house, hoping that she could avoid Wade and whoever he might be entertaining. But her hopes were dashed as she heard the big wooden front door swing open and Wade called her name as he stepped onto the wide veranda.

She stopped in her tracks and looked at him as he walked toward her.

“I owe you an apology,” he said, the words stunning her with their simplicity.

“You were a jerk this morning,” she replied stiffly. “I accept your apology.”

She turned and started to walk away but his large warm hand settled on her arm and halted her in her tracks.

“Which part of this morning, particularly?” he asked.

She paused before answering, pretending to give the matter consideration. “Oh, pretty much all of it really,” she finally replied.

He laughed, a genuine laugh that made his eyes crinkle at the corners and shaved years off his face.

“Well, that's telling me.”

“Is that all you wanted?” Piper said, pointedly looking at his hand which still lay warm and heavy on her arm.

“Actually, no.” With his spare hand he reached into his trouser pocket and withdrew a set of keys. “These are for you.”

She avoided taking them from him. “What are they for?”

He nodded at the car parked in the driveway. “That. It's yours.”

Inside she silently rejoiced and her feet agreed with her. A car. It would give her the independence and the degree of separation she needed, while removing the inconvenience of having to catch the bus—especially on days like today when it had been raining on and off. But she didn't want him to think she was asking for a handout. If she had to take public transportation every day from now until kingdom come to prove herself to him, then that was what she'd do. She lifted her chin and looked him straight in the eye. “What's wrong with the bus?”

“I thought you might prefer the comfort of a car of your own. Especially once you're pregnant.”

The words brought home the reality of their situation to her with sudden clarity. Up until now it had all been a war of words, but hearing him say it made it a great deal more real.

“And will you deduct its value from my wages, too?” she said, fighting for some measure of control.

His mouth quirked on one side in that half smile he was inclined to do around her these days. “No, I won't. It's a gift. There's an account for you at the local gas station, too.”

“Thank you,” she said simply, accepting the keys from his hands and going to look at the car.

It wasn't the newest vehicle on the block but it certainly wasn't the oldest, either.

“I didn't think you'd want anything showy or expensive,” Wade said from right behind her.

“I appreciate it. After your performance this morning, Jane's already looking at me funny.”

“She'll get over it.” Wade shrugged. “Want to take it for a spin around the block?”

Piper thought for a moment of the soak she wanted to give her feet but the temptation to see how the car felt to drive was too tempting.

“Sure, you coming?”

In answer he opened the passenger door of the car and slipped inside, securing his seat belt. “Well, come on,” he urged.

She walked around the car and settled herself in the driver's seat, adjusting it and the rearview mirror slightly before clipping her seat belt and starting the car. She was pleased to see it was automatic. She could drive a stick shift well enough but in Auckland's rush-hour traffic, constantly riding the clutch would be a pain.

Wade's presence seemed to fill the car, not surprising given its compact size, but it was more than that. It was as if, by his very presence, he consumed her, too. Not just his presence, she realized, but his happiness. He was smiling and seemed genuinely content to drive around with her. She was struck by how much she'd missed this Wade—the Wade who enjoyed just being with her, as if he couldn't imagine anything better than an afternoon with her. Could she keep him like this—or would he revert back to his colder self at any moment?

“Everything okay?” he asked.

“Fine,” she answered with a nervous smile.

She slid the car into gear, released the hand brake and drove the car down the driveway and out of the gates. The car handled beautifully. Certainly not in the same league as Wade's Porsche, or the snazzy little BMW her father had given her for her eighteenth birthday, but it certainly did the job. And it wouldn't make her stand out in the workplace car park, either.

When they returned home, Wade directed her to the new five-car garage at the rear of the house and indicated where
her automatic door opener was. As they walked back to the house she thanked him again.

“No problem,” he said. “I
was
being a jerk this morning. You manage to bring out the worst in me, Piper.” They stopped under the porch by the kitchen door. “And I'm wondering, what are we going to do about it?”

“J
ust learn to be civil, I guess,” she hedged in response.

But she knew exactly what he was talking about. They'd been circling each other like angry cats from the moment she'd arrived a few days ago. Antipathy was there, for sure, but beneath the surface lay something else. Something thick and heavy and powerful. Something neither of them wanted to acknowledge. It itched beneath their skin with a constant presence. An itch that she knew, without doubt, only one thing would assuage.

“Civil,” he repeated. “You think that's the answer?”

She opened the kitchen door, letting out the warmth and golden light from within, dispelling the gloom outside.

“Maybe not, but it's the only one I can think of right now.”

He took a step nearer, and rested a finger on her lips.

“Is that what you feel toward me now, Piper? Civility?”

Oh, God, no. She felt anything but. Given the opportunity, she'd open her mouth right now, draw his finger in and lave it with her tongue. She'd drive him crazy with wanting her
and then eventually they'd do something about it, and maybe, just maybe, some of the tension between them would ease.

“Ah, so there the two of you are. What do you think of your new car?” Mrs. Dexter's voice broke the spell that bound them in the moment. “Come along inside and shut that door before you let all the warmth out. Dinner is almost ready.”

Piper didn't know whether to be relieved at the interruption, or annoyed that she and Wade weren't going to pursue his question any further. In the end, she opted for relieved. It had been a demanding enough day so far already. She had no wish to complicate it further by exploring her feelings for him on a physical level right now.

Dinner was a mostly silent affair, punctuated only when she thought of questions to ask about Mitchell Exports that only Wade could answer. She wanted to return to the easy comfort she'd felt with him in the car, but ever since he'd stopped her outside the house, she'd been far too aware of him physically, tuned in to the tension rising between them.

Though the conversation was stilted, it was still instructive. She was beginning to feel a reluctant admiration for how he'd held everything together through her father's illness. Despite what he'd already told her, the other staff at the office today had informed her that Rex Mitchell had been forced to withdraw from business a whole lot earlier than she'd originally thought.

Not many of them made the connection that she was his daughter, thank goodness—and those who had, had also had the common courtesy not to bring it up in front of everyone else. She was lucky that Mitchell was a relatively common name. Most of her coworkers hadn't given it a second thought.

As Piper readied for bed that night, after setting out her clothes for the next day, she thought also of the university degree she'd never achieved. It would be both incredibly satisfying and useful to complete the papers she needed to finish her degree. What she'd learned before she left for
overseas was a little rusty in the back of her mind. She could see how having the educational background would help her to grasp the running of Mitchell Exports a whole lot faster.

Wade might not realize it yet, but she planned on being an integral part of the company. It was something she'd always wanted to do at her father's side from when she'd been a little girl and finally understood what it was that kept him from home, from her, for so many hours a day. She'd wanted to be a part of it, a part of
his
world, a part of him. But Rex had never believed she was competent to do more than spend his money. Beating her head against his chauvinism for so many years had eventually done her in and driven her to behave stupidly. Now, inasmuch as she was capable, she was bound and determined to prove to Wade she could be something, someone, worthy of working there.

As she slipped between the fine cotton lavender-scented sheets, she resolved to find out what she could do about furthering her studies. She fell asleep happy in the knowledge that she was finally on the right track with her life. And if she could make this thing, the constant simmering heat between her and Wade, into something real and lasting along the way, to build a real future for herself and Wade and their baby, then all the better.

 

The days began to blur into routine. She'd wake and dress for work, always leaving the house after Wade, and usually getting home before him. She knew he was keeping an eye on her in the office but so far, aside from one invoicing incident, so good. Thankfully, Jane had picked up on the mistake before it had gone any further but Piper imagined that it otherwise would have resulted in a warning, and she didn't want to give Wade any reason to end her employment.

The prospect of earning her own wage was exhilarating. It was the first time in her life that she'd been gainfully employed. While she'd worked herself to exhaustion with
her volunteer stints, and had gained a deep satisfaction in her achievements, this was quite different.

It was Friday afternoon, at the end of her first week of work, when she was asked to join a group of the staff at a nearby pub for a quiet weekend wind-down drink. Wade had been out of the office all day with clients. No doubt he'd be wining and dining late into the night and since it was also the Dexters' night off, Piper didn't relish going home to an empty house. But when she joined her new colleagues, she also didn't feel as if she fit in. They were full of gossip about boyfriends and mutual acquaintances. It left her feeling on the periphery of what her life should have been all this time. In the end she made her apologies after only half a glass of wine, and shot away home.

There were a few lights on in the house, she noticed as she rolled along the driveway. Wade's bedroom lights were among them. She parked her car in the garage and walked along the covered walkway that led to the back entrance of the house. More lights were on in the kitchen. Maybe the Dexters hadn't gone out after all. But the instant she set foot inside she knew they weren't home.

There was a very strong male presence in the room, a very singular strong male presence. Wade stood at the stove top, dressed casually but all in black, and with a plain white apron slung around his hips. A rich aroma redolent with tomato, garlic and a hint of spice filled the air. Instantly her mouth watered.

“What's this?” Piper asked, deliberately pitching her voice to be light and airy as if his mere presence wasn't enough to send her pulse racing. “Your take on
MasterChef?
”

He looked up from the pot he was stirring and flung her a smile. “No, I wish. In fact you might wish so, too, when you taste it. I like to cook but rarely have the time.”

“I imagine Dexie doesn't let you over her threshold much,
anyway, at least not to do anything but eat,” Piper commented dryly.

Mrs. Dexter's proprietary manner over her domain was legendary. Wade chuckled in response to her comment.

“No, you're right. I only get to play on her nights off. Why don't you go upstairs and get changed. I'll have dinner ready in about half an hour or so. Here, take this up with you.”

He reached for an open bottle of wine on the kitchen table and poured her a glass of red. She sniffed the bouquet appreciatively before taking a sip.

“Mmm, that's lovely. Is it a new label? I don't think I've seen that one before.”

“You won't have. It's from a new winery down in the south island near Wanaka. I've been in meetings with the owner and winemaker most of today. We'll be handling their exports into the South Pacific.”

“Well, I sure hope they'll be keeping some stock for domestic sale.” She took another sip. “You said half an hour. Any chance we can stretch that out a bit?”

He shrugged. “I suppose so, why?”

“I just thought I'd like to take a bath before dinner, help me get the kinks out after sitting at a desk all day.”

“Regretting it, Piper?” he asked, his face inscrutable as he watched for her response.

“No, of course not. I'm just not used to being in one place doing one thing all day long.”

“Go on, take your time,” he said, taking a sip of his own wine. “Everything will keep.”

She ducked her head in acknowledgment and left the room, full of surprising anticipation. This felt like a date. And she had to admit, she liked it.

 

Wade watched her go, and wondered if she'd have been so relaxed if she'd known exactly what he had in store for her tonight. He turned the heat down on the pots on the stove and
settled at the kitchen table absently swirling his wine in his glass as he played with the paper—the medical report—he'd left on the table.

They were all systems go. The news had left him with mixed feelings. Gaining some sort of dominance over Piper, making her regret her actions when she'd left New Zealand, how she'd treated both him and Rex—those had all been driving motivations for him. But she'd surprised him since her return. Sure, she was still as feisty as ever, but it had a purpose now. While she hadn't been above making her demands about him creating a job for her at Mitchell Exports, she had impressed him with her fight for independence over getting to work and starting from the ground up. Not to mention her aptitude in the workplace.

Maybe Rex had been wrong about her. He'd often wondered why the older man had been so adamant that she be wrapped in cotton wool and never be allowed to experience the ugliness of the big wide world they lived in. He could understand the urge to protect her, to smooth away hardship from her path, but had Piper felt dismissed by her father's unwillingness to let her into the business side of his life?

Wade thought back to the first time he'd met her on a day when she'd come to the office to coerce her father out to lunch. Rex had refused, suggesting instead that she take Wade. He'd seen the flash of hurt in her eyes. Hurt rapidly followed by an equally swift flash of anger.

That lunch had been interesting. Piper had been equal parts amusing, tempting and terrifying. And underneath it all he'd sensed a vulnerability in her, almost a need for approval. He'd laughed often at her clever conversation and couldn't fail to notice how she'd bloomed at the attention he gave her. Looking back, it was as if she hadn't trusted that her intelligence would be enough to snare him, so she'd had to use her physical wiles to ensure she had him where they both wanted to be. How had he never noticed that before? Of
course, he'd been younger then, and he'd have been blind and stupid not to have been attracted to her on a physical level, or to have ignored her blatant flirtation. A flirtation that had rapidly led to other things. “Things” that he hoped to resume tonight.

He still wanted a child, wanted all he'd demanded when he'd laid out their agreement. But he was finally allowing himself to admit how much he'd missed having her in his bed.

Piper soon returned downstairs. She topped up his glass and refilled hers before taking a seat at the table.

“Is there anything I can do to help? Set the table, maybe?” she asked.

“No, everything's all ready. You can take our glasses through to the dining room, though. I'll bring the tray with our meal.”

“We're eating in the dining room?”

“Sure, why not? Why? Don't you think my cooking will be worth it?”

May as well aim for offhand, he thought, because the evening was going to get serious before very long.

She flicked him a glance but grabbed their glasses and the bottle and did as he suggested. He quickly took a pair of covered dishes from the oven where they'd been warming and placed them and a bowl filled with freshly tossed salad onto the large butler's tray and followed her.

He heard her gasp as she entered the room, and smiled a secret smile. The scene was set, and he wanted her to enjoy it. Wanted to make this night so much more than just fulfilling an agreement.

“This looks amazing,” Piper commented as he laid the tray on its stand and transferred the dishes onto protective mats on the mahogany table.

Wade cast a glance at the highly polished silverware, the
ornately embellished candelabra gleaming under the glow of tall crimson candles and the sparkling crystal.

“Thanks,” he answered simply as he crossed to where he'd laid her place setting and pulled out her chair.

“You've gone to a lot of bother,” Piper said.

“I think the end of your first week at work calls for a celebration, don't you?” he asked as he settled into his chair at the head of the table.

“Yes.” She nodded, as if surprised to be reminded. “It does. Thank you.”

Wade gestured to the hot dishes in the center of the table. “Would you like me to serve or would you prefer to help yourself?”

“Oh, let me do something. I'll dish it up for us.”

She leaned forward, the action exposing the curve of one breast inside the deep V-necked top she wore. The color, a deep blush pink, suited her but he thought the color better matched the tip of the one pink nipple he'd glimpsed as she'd moved. Instantly he was rock hard for her. His mouth dry and his skin stretched taut across his body. He wanted to dispense with the formalities. To forgo the niceties of dining together, of slowing wooing her, but he'd promised himself he'd take it slow.

“Wade?”

Piper's voice dragged him back into the present. She gestured to his plate. She'd served him and he hadn't even noticed, he'd been so wrapped up in his reaction to her.

“Thanks,” he said, although his voice sounded strained even to his ears. He reached for his glass and lifted it in her direction. “Let's make a toast. To your first week at Mitchell Exports.”

“And to many more,” she amended as she clinked her glass with his. She sipped her wine before putting down her glass and lifting her fork. “This is beef stroganoff, right? Did you make it from scratch? It smells divine.”