The Billionaire And The Baby

Without waiting for his response, she began walking toward the restaurant entrance of the inn and pushed the stroller in front of her. He adjusted his stride to keep pace, his limp barely noticeable. As they entered the foyer, a couple of girls around nine or ten standing with their parents at the checkout counter caught a glimpse of Elizabeth and skipped over to Dominic. The one in glasses looked straight up at him. “Your baby girl is so cute!”

“I think she is, too,” he said with all the tenderness of a proud, new father.

His answer, especially the way he said it, caught Hannah unaware. She found herself swallowing hard.

“Will you let us look at her?” the other one piped up.

He flashed them a smile that took Hannah’s breath. “Elizabeth is a little shy around strangers, so don’t feel bad if she starts to cry.”

In a deft move he turned the baby and lowered her to their eye level. On cue, her lower lip quivered. Within seconds her face screwed up and she burst into tears.

“You just want your daddy, huh.” While one tickled her chin, the other tried to grasp her tiny fingers.

Hannah fought the instinct to reach for the baby. If anyone tried to take her from Dominic right now, Elizabeth wouldn’t stand for it. As it was, she was already creating a fuss. Heads turned in their direction.

By the glint in his eye, Dominic found it all very amusing as he put the baby back in her favorite place against his heart. Content once more, she quieted down.

The girls thanked him and ran over to their parents.

He darted Hannah an amused glance. “Shall we go in?”

She took a deep breath. “I’m not sure if Elizabeth will hold out through a long meal. Perhaps it would be better if we put her back in the car and went to a drive-in. LaRue’s at the other end of town makes good homemade hamburgers.” Hannah was suddenly sure that sharing an expensive meal with this compelling man wasn’t a good idea.

“That’s hardly what I had in mind for tonight.”

“I realize that, but a baby has a way of changing the best-laid plans.” After a hesitation, “I’ll remember the thought, Dominic,” she added quietly.

“Will you?” he murmured, his gaze suddenly inscrutable. All mirth had vanished, making her the slightest bit uneasy.

She hoped he couldn’t tell her hands were trembling as she opened her purse. “Here are my keys if you’d like to drive. Oh, and here’s that five-hundred-dollar bill. You forgot to take it with you.”

As Dominic pulled to a stop at the drive-in, he decided the change in plans suited his purposes much better. Eating together in the small confines of her car kept things more intimate. Best of all, the baby seemed content in her infant seat. As long as she was being good, her mother couldn’t use her as a shield to avoid concentrating on him.

He’d never had Hannah Carr’s undivided attention except at the accident scene when he’d only been semiconscious. Things were about to change.

A middle-aged woman walked up to them and put a card under the windshield wiper. “Hi! What can I get for you?”

While he gave the waitress their order, he could feel her unsolicited scrutiny.

“Excuse me, but haven’t I seen you before?”

Throughout his life this sort of inquisition had happened so constantly, he’d been forced to learn to live with it. But tonight the intrusion on his privacy made him angry.

“I’m afraid not.”

“But I have. I saw you on TV.”

“I probably resemble someone you saw,” he muttered. So much for anonymity here. The fates continued to conspire against him and his desire to be alone with Hannah.

“No. You were on the America Today show, but you’re even more handsome in person. I told my husband you have a French name. I remember it because I love the sound of it. Dominic.”

He winced.

“I’m sorry if I’ve embarrassed you, but this is so exciting. The two men on the program with you were good-looking, too. I have to tell you—that was the most fascinating program I’ve seen in years!”

“Is that right?”

“Absolutely! I hope this means you’re running your bullet train through Laramie. I’ve got a husband who won’t get on an airplane, and hates long drives in the car. When that thing is built, we can go anywhere we want in a hurry and never leave the ground. Just like that!” She snapped her fingers.

“After I bring your food, can I have your autograph? Unless I show proof, my husband won’t believe you really came to LaRue’s to eat with your family. That’s a little doll you’ve got back there. She’s going to grow up to be a real heartbreaker just like her daddy, I bet.”

While he attempted to suppress a groan, he felt Hannah lean across him to talk to the waitress.

“If you’ll bring back a menu with our food, I’ll make sure Dominic signs it. What’s your name?”

Her eyes lit up. “Marie. Marie Gates. Thank you. Thank you so much! Since you’re his wife, I want you to sign it, too. All right?”

“She’ll do it,” Dominic assured the woman with relish before his gaze shifted to a pair of eyes whose impossibly green color rivaled the grass he’d seen growing in an Oregonian rainforest. The combination of dark lashes and delicately shaped eyebrows beneath those natural golden curls highlighted their beauty.

Every perfect feature of her oval face, particularly her sculpted lips, a larger version of Elizabeth’s, drew his attention so he didn’t want to look anywhere else. He’d never known a woman who had such a seductive mouth and flawless complexion. It would be as soft and silky as the baby’s.

Except for lipstick, she wore no makeup. Nature had blessed her with creamy skin that millions of women spent billions of dollars on cosmetics to replicate. Dominic knew this to be true more than any man. Those billions made up his family’s vast fortune. He bet if he looked in her purse or bathroom, he wouldn’t find one House of Eve product anywhere. What an irony.

With such a face and voluptuous curves, how on earth could any man have walked away from her and Elizabeth?

Was she still in love with him?

It made no sense to Dominic unless she was a widow. If that was the case, it might explain the faint shadows beneath her eyes.

He let go of the breath he’d been holding. So many questions needed answers, but he would have to proceed slowly.

“You shouldn’t have told the waitress I would give her an autograph, Dominic,” she said at last.

His lips twitched. “What’s sauce for the gander…”

“May be, but this goose doesn’t happen to be your wife.”

“Since I’m not married and never have been, I don’t see the problem. Don’t you know there’s an old adage that white lies are the good kind?”

“You made that up.”

He chuckled. “Even if I did, it’s true. Think how happy it will make her.”

“Uh-oh. She’s coming with our food.”

“Dieu merci! I’m ravenous.”

“Here you go.” The waitress fastened the tray of food to the lowered glass of the car window.

“How much do I owe you?”

“Since you’re going to autograph this for me, not one cent.” She handed him a new menu and pen through the opening.

He signed it, then gave everything back along with a twenty-dollar bill.

“‘Dear Marie.’” She read the words aloud. “‘We hope you and your husband enjoy many train rides across the country in the near future. With sincerest regards, Mr. and Mrs. Dominic Giraud.’”

Her head lifted. “Oh, my. This is wonderful. But I can’t take the money.”

“I insist.”

“Well, thank you again.”

“You’re welcome.”

“When you’re through, just blink your lights and I’ll come for the tray.”

As she hurried off, Dominic turned to his lovely companion who’d remained silent during the exchange. He put a straw in her drink and handed her what she’d ordered.

“Alone at last.”

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