The Tycoon's Cupid Surprise (a Valentine's novella) (Holiday Babies) Read Online Free PDF

emotional and legal issues.”
    For a n evening that had started out so well, now Brooke felt a little ill. She had given thought to Chance’s biological dad before. But now…“What should I do?”
    “I c an make a few enquiries. Shouldn’t take long to find something out.”
    “And if we can’t find anything?”
    “Then we tried, for Chance’s sake.”
    When a song drifted out through the speakers, she sat back and closed her eyes. Ella’s words from the other week were ringing in her ears. Was Chance’s father a good man, an unselfish person…or was he cut from a similar cloth to Jake’s?
    She shivered and opened her eyes.
    A pulse was beating in Xander’s jaw. “I’ve upset you,” he said, sounding annoyed at himself.
    “It’s not you. It’s just this song reminds me of someone.”
    “ A man?”
    Her stomach swooped as she nodded. “It’s over.”
    “Are you sure? ”
    She was taken aback. “Positive.”
    They were seated in front of a wall of glass. For a long moment, Xander concentrated on a series of night waves rolling in on the shore.
    “Yesterday, after closing, who was it at the door?” he finally asked.
    She opened her mouth to tell him again. No one. But she saw in his eyes …Xander had guessed anyway.
    She locked her hands in her lap. “Jake and I were an item for six months. I met him at a friend’s wedding. We’re both huge Dodgers fans. He took me to a game. A homerun sailed straight to us in the stands. For the first four months, we really seemed suited. Then his mom let it slip that he’d spent a bit of time in Juvie, and that now he owed people money, including her. We’d make a time to see each other and he wouldn’t show up. The final straw was his reaction to the baby. He didn’t like the idea of sharing.”
    Xander ’s brows knitted. “He didn’t like Chance?”
    “He wasn’t so keen on me liking Chance, either.”
    Sitting back, he swiped a hand down over his mouth. “So, you dumped him.”
    “I didn’t want to see Jake the other afternoon. I never want to see him again.”
    Xander raised his glass. “I’ll drink to that.”
    Later, when they left the restaurant, Xander’s arm slid loosely around her back as he steered her toward the boardwalk.
    “ Is it too cold for a walk?” he asked.
    She fought the urge to lean closer. “A walk sounds good.”
    For the longest time, they strolled in a comfortable silence. Knowing Chance was, by now, blissfully asleep, Brooke simply enjoyed the sound of the waves…the appeal of having Xander this close.
    “ Bet you’re thinking about the baby,” he finally said.
    “You, too?”
    When warm fingers slipped around hers, Brooke siphoned down a quick breath but didn’t pull away.
    “He’s fine,” Xander said, peering down the mist y, otherwise vacant boardwalk.
    Brooke had talked about her family, but Xander always seemed to dodge the subject of his own. Now she asked, “Do you have any sisters or brothers?”
    “Two brothers, one sister and a mom.”
    “No dad?”
    “He vanished when I was six.”
    Brooke’s step faltered. Ohmygod . “Why?”
    “Classic case of another woman. Or two…or three.”
    Although Xander’s expression was calm, that pulse in his jaw had started to pop again.
    “Did you see him after that ?” she asked gently.
    “Half a dozen times. He was too interested in his love life to worry much about being there for his kids. I was just happy the yelling and tears had stopped. Made me realize what I didn’t want when I grew up.”
    When his grip on her hand shifted, Brooke automatically squeezed back.
    “Are you the eldest?” she asked.
    “Second youngest.”
    “That blows the order of birth theory. Aren’t firstborn children supposed to rule the world?”
    “The other Drake kids have done okay. They’re all married with kids. Holidays are fun. How about you? Into big family Christmases?”
    Before Brooke could answer, under a brighter street light, the shimmer of a conch shell