When one late night

changes everything!

They work so well together

in so many ways...

Nick Campbell’s life has been upended. His hated rival is the father he never knew, and his top-notch architect, Silvia Lane, is having his baby. It’s time for the billionaire to regain control. First step: get Silvia to marry him. But she’s not having it. She has her own plans for how things should go, and she wants real love or nothing!

USA TODAY Bestselling Author Jules Bennett

USA TODAY bestselling author JULES BENNETT has published over sixty books and never tires of writing happy endings. Writing strong heroines and alpha heroes is Jules’ favourite way to spend her workdays. Jules hosts weekly contests on her Facebook fan page and loves chatting with readers on Twitter, Facebook and via email through her website. Stay up-to-date by signing up for her newsletter at julesbennett.com

Also by Jules Bennett

The Rancher’s Heirs

Twin Secrets

Claimed by the Rancher

Taming the Texan

A Texan for Christmas

Two Brothers

Montana Seduction

California Secrets

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk

An Unexpected Scandal

Jules Bennett

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-0-008-90427-2

AN UNEXPECTED SCANDAL

© 2020 Jules Bennett

Published in Great Britain 2020

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

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This book, and this entire series, is dedicated to the

other half of my brain, Jessica Lemmon.

I’m thankful for boat-ride plotting, FaceTime chats

when we look our absolute worst and a special

friendship that goes well beyond books.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Note to Readers

Dedication

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

Ten

Eleven

Twelve

Thirteen

Fourteen

Fifteen

Sixteen

Seventeen

Eighteen

About the Publisher

One

The cool spring rain pelted Nick Campbell’s back. The unopened envelope in his hand held a secret he’d yet to discover...and part of him wanted to shred it and let the secret die with his mother.

Nick stood over Lori Campbell’s pearl-white casket and stared down at the spray of pink roses cascading in every direction. She had left him this letter and told him there were two more to be delivered to the others.

So many secrets, so many cryptic deathbed messages.

Honestly, he didn’t care about any of that right now. The yawning ache in his heart over losing his mother trumped all other emotions.

But he’d vowed he would read the letter once she was gone. She had passed five days ago, and he still hadn’t opened it. For days he’d carried the envelope around in his pocket, thinking he’d look at it, but one thing led to another. Arrangements were made, insurance dealt with, so many details for a funeral. Nick just hadn’t had the time or the energy.

Anticipation and worry gnawed at him, and he knew the moment had come. He had nothing else waiting on him, nothing pressing right this second...and he’d promised his mother.

Nick tore his eyes from the casket and gazed down at the wrinkled envelope in his hand. He tore the seal open and pulled out the letter. With a deep breath, he started to read.

Shock, anger, confusion...so many emotions rolled through him that he had nowhere to channel everything. Nick read through the letter once again, slower this time, hoping he’d read it wrong.

What the hell? How could he process her death and this, too? It was all too much to take in—and he didn’t want to accept any of it.

When he’d realized his mother was indeed going to pass only a few short weeks ago, he’d closed in on himself, not wanting to even think of a future without her...let alone finishing the resort she’d started renovating with his help.

The resort that had led him to Silvia.

For one night, Silvia Lane, lead architect on the resort project, had been more than an associate, more than an acquaintance.

She’d been passionate, giving, so damn sexy that he couldn’t stop thinking about every single detail. Her hair sliding over his body, that naughty grin she’d tossed him just before she’d let her pencil dress slide down her body. And he’d never forget the way she’d cried out his name as her pleasure took over.

That heated encounter had played over and over in his mind the last four weeks. The morning after, she’d slipped back into her dress, and they’d both agreed there would be nothing beyond that night. She was new in town and building her career. She couldn’t afford for anyone to know she’d slept with a client. And he sure as hell was in no position to add another complication to his life.

But she’d comforted him when grief had overtaken him. And part of him wished for more comfort from her now.

Nick’s eyes scanned back over the page until the handwritten words blurred together. He wanted to shred the letter, as if that would make this entire nightmare go away. If only things could be so easy...

Unfortunately, Nick knew his mother wouldn’t lie. The woman didn’t have a deceitful bone in her body, and she would never purposely hurt him, not even with the bombshell she’d left him with.

That didn’t mean he understood why she’d kept the truth from him for so long. Or why she’d chosen to share it with him only after she was gone and he could no longer get answers. And what had she meant about two other letters?

Nick pulled in a shaky breath and shivered against the cold rain. He’d said his private goodbyes and it was time to go. He had to move on, to continue to honor his mother’s wishes, and carry out her plans.

The crunch of leaves had him jerking around, coming face-to-face with Silvia...the woman he hadn’t seen since their one-night stand.

Silvia had stood back beneath the covering of a lush tree and watched as Nick clearly had a private moment over his mother’s grave. He’d pulled an envelope from his pocket and studied it for some time.

Gripping her umbrella, Silvia decided she couldn’t stand here forever like some stalker. She had to approach him now before she lost her nerve.

For the past five days she had tried to contact him, but then she’d learned about the death of his mother, and she knew the timing of her news couldn’t be worse. She understood why he was not responding to her texts or calls.

It hadn’t been because she’d broken their promise to keep it to just one night.

He was grieving, just as he’d been that night everything had changed.

She wanted to go to him, to place a hand on his shoulder to comfort and console, but everything was different now.

They’d had a strong working relationship for the past few months, and then one night in his office, he’d broken down about his mother, and one thing led to another.

There had been attraction building since day one, when he’d hired her as the lead architect for the renovation of his mother’s resort.

Being the professional she was, she had kept her erotic fantasies to herself...until that night when she hadn’t.

Now look where that had landed her.

How had she fallen for his charms? It wasn’t as if she hadn’t been charmed by men before. Maybe it was Nick’s vulnerability that night. Perhaps coupled with the impossible-to-ignore sex appeal, she’d really been fighting a losing battle.

Silvia gripped the handle of her umbrella now and shoved her other hand into her jacket pocket. The spring rain and gray skies matched her mood as she took one courageous step and then another.

Nick jerked around, his bright eyes met hers and her mind instantly flashed back to that night they’d taken their business meeting from his leather office chairs to his oversize desk...

She hadn’t seen him since, but he’d always been in the forefront of her mind.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, his voice thick with emotion.

Silvia had never seen him so dressed up. He typically wore jeans and a button-down dress shirt, but now he wore a charcoal suit with matching shirt and tie. His dark blond hair perfectly styled, even in the rain, his usually scruffy jaw clean shaven.

And those glasses.

No matter the anguish he was going through, those glasses stopped her cold. She’d knocked those dark frames off his face when she’d jerked his shirt over his head that night.

Focus, Silvia. You’re not here for a reunion, and he’s hurting.

Neither of them could afford to get more involved than they’d been for those few hours.

He’d disappeared after, and Silvia’s heart ached for him during this loss. The timing of this little secret could not be worse. She’d never lied in her life and she certainly wasn’t about to start now, not even to save him from more shocking news.

“I’m checking on you,” she told him honestly. “I didn’t want to smother you during the service. I saw so many people, and I just... I don’t really belong here, but I had to come.”

Understatement.

“I called and texted,” she went on as the rain continued to pelt her umbrella. “I figured this was the only place we could talk.”

Droplets clung to his darkened hair, normally a dirty blond when dry. He seemed oblivious to the fact that he stood before her absolutely soaked, with raindrops dotting his lenses.

He still looked too damn good.

“Talk?” Nick shook his head and removed his glasses. He wiped a hand down his face, flinging the moisture aside. “Work is going to have to wait. I know I was pushing for this project to be done, but—”

“I’m not here about work.”

His eyes widened for a split second before his lips thinned. “We can talk in the car.”

Guilt tugged at her. He stood at his mother’s casket, saying his final goodbyes, and here she was, demanding they talk.

If her news weren’t so life changing, she wouldn’t be here.

“I can go wait in my car,” she told him, then nodded toward the casket. “You take your time.”

She turned and walked away, not giving him a chance to argue or ask questions. She’d told him they had to talk, and he’d agreed—now she and her bundle of nerves just had to go and keep each other company until he joined them.

The moment she slid behind the wheel, Silvia closed her eyes and willed herself to remain calm. Getting worked up would not change the circumstances, and she had to maintain control. Getting emotional or hysterical wouldn’t help and she prided herself on being professional. Now that her professional life had rolled into her personal life, she still had to maintain her composure.

Silvia had only been in her car a couple minutes when the passenger door opened and Nick leaned in.

“I’m soaking wet. Just follow me back to my place. I’ll change and we can talk.”

He slammed the door before she could say a word, and Silvia dropped her head back against the headrest. She’d followed him here in the rain for a number of reasons. She didn’t want to go to his house, didn’t want to be on his turf when she broke the news, and she didn’t want to wait.

So she didn’t.

Silvia opened her car door and stepped out, sans umbrella. She jerked the knot on her trench coat and marched toward Nick’s menacing black SUV. Nerves and fear swirled together, but she swallowed back the emotions to focus on the task.

“I need to talk now,” she demanded to his back.

He turned, clearly stunned that she had not obeyed his command to just follow him home. But she was done waiting and keeping this secret to herself. She always tackled issues head on, and she was ready to start planning the inevitable changes that were to come.

There was no right time to say it, so she just said it.

“I’m pregnant.”

Nick slowly turned all the way around to face her, his eyes never wavering. Silvia practically held her breath, waiting on him to say something or have some reaction other than a blank stare.

“Nick?” she finally said.

“Meet me at my house.”

And with that he turned, got into his truck and drove off. Looked like she would be following him to his house after all, but the first order of business would be teaching Nick Campbell that she didn’t take commands from anyone.

Two

If this day could get any worse, Nick sure as hell didn’t want to know how.

First, he laid his mother to rest.

Second, he’d read the final words of his mother in the form of a letter that had left him reeling and shaken.

And finally...this was the real kick in the gut. The lead architect on his mother’s multi-million-dollar resort and the only woman he’d ever had a one-night stand with informed him she was pregnant.

He pulled up the long, curvy drive leading to his private mountain home overlooking the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The tall red spruce and Fraser firs flanked each side of the drive and he’d been sure to leave as many untouched as possible when he’d cleared his lot for his three-story cabin.

This place had always been a tranquil escape from his hectic life and travel as a business mogul and investor. But now, even the sight of the cozy stone home that he’d had built only a few years ago didn’t calm him. His nerves were all over the place, coupled with guilt and pain.

A child.

He was going to be a father? Supposedly, anyway. He knew nothing about parenting. He’d never even wanted a family.

For nearly forty years, he’d wondered who his own father was, but his mother had always said he was better off not knowing. How ironic that now he was sliding into a role he knew absolutely nothing about.

And to become a parent with a woman he had only been intimate with once?

Oh, he’d fantasized about her plenty before that night. Her quick wit and smart business sense had been total turn-ons, not to mention they meshed perfectly together while working on the designs for the mountain resort he would be opening in the fall.

Even his mother had adored Silvia.

Those two had laughed and really seemed to be on the same page when it came to the minute details of the elite, yet cozy mountain getaway. Nick had loved seeing his mother so happy in her final days, but from his vantage point, having Silvia penetrate another layer of his life wasn’t smart. A quick fling was one thing, but getting too personal, too permanent, could be a disaster.

Clearly they were entering dangerous territory if he was indeed the father of her child. And, honestly, he didn’t believe she would lie about this. He trusted Silvia or she wouldn’t be on this project...and he wouldn’t have slept with her.

Nick pulled into his garage and left the door open for Silvia to follow. He had no clue what to say. Hell, on a good day he wouldn’t know how to react to the news that he was going to be a daddy, but today he was emotionally drained and had nothing left to give.

He stepped from his SUV and removed his suit jacket, then unbuttoned the top two buttons of his dress shirt before rolling up the sleeves. Damn thing was too confining. He certainly wasn’t a suit type of guy on a normal day.

His cell vibrated in his pocket, and he pulled the phone out, only to ignore the caller. Rusty Lockwood’s office. Of course they’d call now, when Nick’s world seemed to be falling apart.

He had been demanding a meeting for weeks.

Rusty had been the proverbial thorn in Nick’s side for far too long, and today was not the day to deal with that mess. The moonshine mogul and CEO of Lockwood Lightning ruled the resorts and bars of this upscale area with an iron fist. You served Lockwood moonshine or you served nothing at all. Anyone who refused to bow down to Rusty didn’t receive a liquor license. And since the grade-A bastard had refused the liquor license for Nick’s mom’s resort, Rusty was also Nick’s main nemesis.

One crisis at a time.

He turned back to Silvia to take care of the current, more pressing crisis.

“I tell you I am pregnant and you just drive off?” Silvia stated as she stepped into the garage and smoothed her wet hair from her face.

“Did you want to get into this at the cemetery?” he countered, the fear and uncertainty raging inside of him.

When she only stared, Nick turned and headed inside—again, he left the door open for her to follow. He heard the most unladylike growl behind him and cursed beneath his breath. He was being an ass, and she didn’t deserve it. His emotions were all over the place and he had to take a deep breath and get himself under control.

It wasn’t until she’d stepped into the kitchen that Nick realized she’d gotten completely soaked from the downpour. He was soaked, too, but he’d been numb most of the day anyway. She shouldn’t have to be miserable.

“I’ll grab us some towels,” he muttered as he headed down the short hallway toward one of the guest baths.

Nick also grabbed the thick white robe off the back of the door and turned to find Silvia standing in the doorway.

“Are you running from me?” she asked, blocking his exit and holding his gaze.

He handed over the towel and the robe. “I’m not running,” he corrected. “I’m trying to get us dry.”

And maybe he needed to stay busy to ignore all the emotions he wasn’t ready to face.

Silvia clutched the items in her hands and continued to stare at him. Even with her hair hanging in ropelike dark crimson strands, her wet clothes plastered to her shapely form and her face void of most makeup, she was still a damn knockout.

He’d often wondered how he would feel when he saw her again after that night. Now he knew. Even with everything going on, he wanted her. Apparently, nothing could diminish the pull between them.

“I’m not purposely being a jerk,” he started as he raked the towel over his head. “I’m just... Hell, I don’t even know what to say.”

“I’m not sure what can be said at this point.” Silvia patted her face and squeezed her hair with the towel. “I tried getting in touch with you, but you were busy with your mother. I hated showing up at the cemetery, but I knew I would find you there. I purposely waited until everyone else was gone.”

In the pouring rain, she’d waited. He’d never met anyone as determined as she was.

“I just want you to know that I don’t expect anything of you,” she went on. “I mean, if you want to be part of our lives, that’s up to you, but I’m not trapping you and I’m not—”

“Stop.”

Nick dropped his towel to the floor and reached for hers. She had draped the robe over her arm, but water still dripped from her hair, droplets clinging to her light lashes. Those bright blue eyes remained locked on him as he took her towel and dried her hair. His body reacted, as it always did when she was around, but somehow, knowing she was carrying his child only made him crave her more.

He stepped back because his emotions were too raw, too intense.

“My mother raised me by herself.” Nick handed her the towel and watched her slide it down the darkened red strands. “She struggled, sometimes working two jobs, but she never missed my ball games and was always my biggest cheerleader. I never felt like I lacked a father. She was an amazing woman.”

Speaking of her in the past tense seemed so strange, so painful...so foreign. She should still be here, alive and vibrant, and finalizing plans on the Smoky Mountains resort she’d always dreamed of opening. And how would she have reacted to the possibility of being a grandmother?

Nick swallowed and went on. “As I got older, I appreciated her drive and determination. That’s why I’m so successful today.”

“Are you bragging?” Silvia asked, her mouth kicking up in a slight grin.

“Stating facts,” he corrected. “What I’m saying is that my mother was a kick-ass woman, and I believe you’re just as stubborn and driven.”

Silvia blinked. “Um...thanks?”

“Listen, you won’t be doing this alone.” Nick stepped closer again and gripped her shoulders. “I know what it’s like to grow up without a father, but this child will not.”

He waited for her to say something, to argue or thank him...hell, he didn’t know what to expect. None of this was familiar territory, but he never backed down from a responsibility, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to start now with the most important role of his life.

He might not know what it was to have a good father, but he’d try his damnedest to be one.

After that night, when they’d both claimed it was a mistake, neither of them had wanted anyone to know what had taken place in private. Now, though, keeping that secret would be impossible. He couldn’t stand by her side without people noticing.

“I want you to have as much of a role as you want,” she told him. “But I have to put the needs and the security of the baby first. So if you’re going to be around for a little bit and then shirk your daddy duties, I’d rather you not be around at all.”

Shirk his duties? Not likely. Clearly she didn’t know him very well.

“I’m not going anywhere,” he assured her.

She might not believe him, she might have her doubts, but he’d show her with his actions. This child would never question where his or her father was. Nick would always be present and available. Never before had he even thought to put something or someone ahead of his work, but from this moment on, his baby would come first.

Even though his world had seemed to come to a halt with losing his mother, the fact was, Silvia’s had kept going and she’d been holding this in until they could speak.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, truly wanting to know how she felt.

Silvia jerked as if the question stunned her. “Oh, well, fine, I guess. I mean, I’m tired, but that’s normal, from what I’ve read. I don’t have morning sickness, so I hope that doesn’t happen.”

She looked amazing. Not a dark circle, not a pale complexion...nothing. Silvia Lane epitomized class and beauty, even when soaking wet and dealing with an unexpected pregnancy.

And if not for a moment of weakness and a few gin and tonics with extra lime, this sexy architect might not have given a rough country boy like him the time of day. Oh, he had money—more than he would ever know what to do with—but that didn’t change his roots, a mountain childhood with a struggling single mom.

Silvia was the total opposite with her polished look and her Ivy League degrees. Her background was likely full of cotillions and dinner parties while his had been frozen dinners in front of the television.

“What was that letter I saw you with earlier?”

Her question pulled him back. “What?”

“At the cemetery,” she added. “You were reading a letter, and you seemed, I don’t know, angry or hurt. Both.”

Hurt? Yeah, that he hadn’t been told the truth before his mother passed away.

He’d read the letter twice and already had the damn thing memorized. There was no way he could ever forget his mother’s final words, her final confession. The one that would forever alter his life from this moment forward.

Nick,

I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you this while I was alive. Maybe I’m a coward, but I just wanted to spare you the pain of the truth for as long as possible. Now, though, I want you to have all of the information available to move forward. You’re the smartest, bravest person I know, and I trust you will continue to do the right thing.

For years you asked about your father, and I never wanted you to know the truth. With me gone, you deserve to know everything, even if it’s not what you expected or what you want to hear. I hope you don’t hate me, and I hope you don’t think badly of me.

Rusty Lockwood is your biological father.

Nick despised the man. He had been butting heads with the arrogant prick for the past year. Everyone in Tennessee knew who Rusty Lockwood was and how conniving he was in business. His moonshine distillery drew in thousands of tourists a year, but Rusty was always under the microscope and dodging rumors of illegal actions.

Nick would bet his private jet that the man didn’t have one truly loyal friend. Rusty was as crooked and as underhanded as they came. His millions stemmed from distributing backwoods moonshine long before the white lightning was legal. He’d only kept his head above water because he had certain politicians and the city council in his back pocket.

And now he was the power behind this place. Nick refused to let this go on any longer than necessary. Rusty had to be stopped.

How the hell had Nick’s mother gotten mixed up with Rusty Lockwood to begin with? Had he used her and discarded her? Had they actually had a relationship?

Nick recalled the final portion of the letter.

I know this is a shock to you, but I’m telling you the truth. I wish I could tell you your father was anyone else, but I can’t. I just want you to be careful. He’s vicious, but I can’t say I regret my past because it gave me you.

He paid me fifty thousand dollars when I told him about you. He gave me money to leave him alone and keep his name off the birth certificate. I’m not ashamed I took the money—that’s how I was able to buy us that small home.

I found out over the years that he fathered two other sons. I’m pretty sure he knows nothing about them, and I hope you all find your way to each other. I’ve sent them letters as well, and what they decide to do will ultimately be up to them. Continue making me proud. Get my resort up and running. I wouldn’t trust anyone else to that task.

I’ll love you even in death, Nick. Stay safe.

Nick pulled himself back to the moment. Silvia stared at him, still waiting on an answer.

“It was nothing,” he lied.

Because the life Nick had known before this day was gone. Now he had choices to make as his past and his future collided.

Three

“And don’t forget to have that to me by the end of the day,” Clark said with a wink. “You don’t want to mess up your six-month probationary period when you’re so close to the end.”

Silvia stared at the doorway long after her boss slunk away. Every time he winked that damn wink, she expected an air gun with his hand. And that snarky laugh grated on her every nerve. But she was still fairly new to Green Valley, Tennessee, and she needed this job. She’d moved here from Charlotte, wanting to be closer to the mountains she’d always visited as a child. Why not live in the most peaceful place she could think of?

Granted she wasn’t feeling much peace right now.

Clark wasn’t her favorite person, not by any means, but this firm was the best in all of Tennessee, so she was thankful for the position. Not to mention she was the only woman in the entire office; even the assistants and the interns were male. She liked to think that said something about her work ethic and her killer skills, but who knew. They likely were worried about a lawsuit, so they needed a woman to prove they were inclusive.

Silvia hadn’t yet told her boss that she was expecting. Since the pregnancy was still early, and she hadn’t finished the probationary period he’d tried to joke about, she didn’t see the need—plus, she didn’t think her personal life was any of his business...yet.

She hadn’t seen Nick since she’d spoken to him yesterday after his mother’s funeral. He’d looked so lost, so stricken with grief, but she couldn’t keep the baby a secret from him.

She wouldn’t.

She also couldn’t turn off her damn hormones where he was concerned. The way he’d gently dried her hair really shouldn’t have turned her on, but her body had responded just the same as when he’d taken her on his desk in his office a month ago.

As if she needed another reason to feel a pull toward the man who’d given her the best sexual experience of her life.

That whole rugged, I-don’t-give-a-damn attitude really turned her on in ways she couldn’t explain. And the glasses, she couldn’t forget those. He didn’t wear them all the time, but when he did...

Maybe she was tired of proving herself to men like her boss. Maybe the way Nick actually valued her opinion was refreshing. He listened to her, he’d sought her out for this particular project and she could tell that he hadn’t been wanting to get in her pants from the get-go. He’d always treated her with respect.

Or maybe she’d just had enough of controlling her emotions, and when he had let that twinge of vulnerability show in his office that night, she’d taken advantage. She’d taken what she wanted.

Now she was pregnant.

Her one and only one-night stand, the one time she’d let herself bend the rules just a bit, and her life was altered forever.

But she didn’t have regrets. Regretting any situation wouldn’t change the outcome, and regrets always meant looking in the past. She didn’t have time for that.

Silvia came to her feet and circled her desk in her tiny office with no window. That was definitely one of her next goals in this building was to secure a window view. It seemed such a shame to work in such a picturesque place and have no view of the mountains.

After flicking the lock into place—because she didn’t want anyone barging in while she was making an appointment with an obstetrician—Silvia pulled out her cell.

Her hands shook. While she frequently made regular doctor’s appointments, she’d never made a call like this.

Sleeping with a client was a serious no-no, especially for a newbie to the firm like her. But getting pregnant? Silvia had yet to find that chapter in the company handbook.

But she would remain professional about all of this—she had to. Having been raised in foster care, Silvia had always felt like she had to work harder to measure up, to prove herself. Maybe that was all in her own mind, but the self-imposed pressure to do her best at all times was all she’d ever known.

Moments later, Silvia’s appointment was made, and she felt a little more in control of this situation. As much as she would love the fun of going online and making a Pinterest board or searching for the perfect maternity clothes and best baby must-haves, she still had a demanding job to do.

Graduating at the top of her class from Cornell University meant she could manipulate design plans in her sleep and construct a draft like a champ. But for this situation, she just didn’t know what steps to take next. Given her upbringing, or lack thereof, she had to be cautious and ensure each decision worked for the good of her child. Bouncing around from foster home to foster home had taught her so much—life’s lessons learned the hard way.

She wanted an easier life for her child. She wanted the stability that she’d never had. She wanted her baby to enjoy being a kid and not worry about where he or she would lay their head at night or if mommy and daddy loved them.

Shaking away some not-so-pleasant memories, Silvia glanced to her computer and stared at Nick’s name highlighted in yellow for their on-site meeting this afternoon. She hadn’t forgotten about it, but they hadn’t discussed getting together when she’d seen him yesterday. Would he want to reschedule? He’d just laid his mother to rest and found out he was going to be a father. Jumping back into work seemed a bit soon, didn’t it?

No, someone like Nick would want to push forward. He had started this particular project in honor of his mother. Her dream had always been to own a posh mountain resort, and Nick was making every bit of that dream happen—with Silvia’s help.

Silvia had absolutely loved Lori Campbell. The woman had been in poor health by the time Silvia entered the picture, but Lori had still insisted on coming to as many design meetings as possible. A few were even done via video conference so she could attend and continue to give her input. Lori had been a determined woman, and Silvia could appreciate that. She respected Lori so much for going after what she wanted, even as a single mother who had clearly worked hard to give her only son a successful life. She had always been serious a go-getter, or Nick would not have turned out so headstrong and driven.

After their one-night stand, Silvia had worried about how she and Nick would continue their working relationship. She’d never slept with a colleague or a client, and this job was her step up. She’d worked hard to become an architect and had taken a risk moving to a place where she knew nobody.

And now there was so much more to consider.

Like the fact that seeing him again had only reminded her that their one passionate night had definitely not been enough.

Nick pulled his work truck into the site and killed the engine. It had taken all of his willpower not to cancel his meeting with Silvia so he could confront Rusty Lockwood.

But this bit of shocking news would take some time to process. He needed to formulate a flawless, effective plan. With this news, Nick suddenly had an edge up on Russ, which was exactly the way he wanted, no needed, to keep things.

Before this, they’d been butting heads over a liquor license issue, but not even Russ’s dirty hands in the pockets of the city council would stop Nick from pursuing what he needed for his resort. He owed his mother.

Besides, he loathed people like Rusty, who bullied simply because they had the power and the money. Someone needed to take Rusty down, and Nick did not mind being the one to step up to the plate.

Even so, barging into Rusty’s office with his life-altering news now would only be a mistake.

He could put this information to better use.

And he’d be talking to Rusty soon enough. Through some scouring, Nick had discovered there was a poker game between local bigwigs that took place in the back room at the Rogue Wingman bar every Friday night. Nick had instantly taken an interest in the game. Rusty would be there, and so would Nick.

A flash of red hair caught his eye, and Nick watched through the windshield as Silvia walked out of the front door of the old, historic building. She had on a black jumpsuit that she probably deemed professional, but it just looked sexy as hell to him. With all of that red hair hanging down her back in a mass of waves...

Yeah, one night definitely hadn’t been enough if he was still fantasizing about how those silky strands felt across his skin.

She stared up at the building and shielded the late-spring sun from her eyes with her hand. The wind tossed around her curls as she continued to study the area.

Nick had no clue how to shift from lover to coworker—to father—but he better get used to all of that, because now he owned all the hats.

Instead of sitting there like a creeper, Nick exited the truck and pocketed his phone. Despite the turmoil that his life had become—the discovery of a supposed father, possibly some half brothers, his own impending parenthood and a woman he couldn’t seem to forget—Nick would see this project through. At least this resort was one damn thing he could control.

His mother had worked at some of the finest establishments across the nation, but she’d landed in Tennessee as a maid at a local hotel. No matter how poor they were or how they struggled to make ends meet, his mother always valued her job and worked her ass off. She used to tell him about her dream of being able to afford to stay in an elegant place where she could order room service and watch the sun rise over the mountains.

She had the simplest of goals, and Nick had wanted her to live long enough to see this historic building transformed into her dream.

She’d never see it, but he’d build it for her anyway.

Before Nick reached Silvia, she’d disappeared back inside. He hadn’t been to the site in a few weeks, what with his mom’s declining health and then the funeral arrangements. He was anxious to see the progress and get back to some semblance of normal...or at least figure out his new normal.

The moment he stepped through the old double wooden doors, his breath caught in his throat. Maybe there wasn’t so much progress as there was destruction. The place had been stripped down, and piles of rubble lay here and there. The wide, curved staircase proudly stood directly ahead—that was one of the main things Lori hadn’t wanted touched other than to refinish it to its original state. Between the location of the building, which was perched on top of one of the Great Smoky Mountains, and the grand staircase, Lori had fallen in love with the place the first time Nick brought her here. He had to admit, he had fallen in love himself. This was the perfect location for an upscale getaway with a million-dollar view.

A muttered curse from behind the stairs had Nick watching his step as he made his way over the roughened wood floors.

“Silvia?”

“Back here,” she called.

Nick followed the string of curses until he found her, and he quickly realized her problem. That sexy jumpsuit had just gotten even sexier with a rip down the side, exposing a red strap that no doubt belonged to a thong...if his memory served him correctly, that was her favorite style of underwear. He could fully admit he was a fan himself.

But then he noticed a nasty scratch on her hip. Nick stepped over the pile of rough boards to close the distance between them.

“I just took the tag off this outfit,” she grumbled, attempting to hold the two pieces together like that would solve her problems.

“Let me see.” He swatted her hands away until the fabric hung around the wound. “How did you do this?”

Nick bent down to examine how deep the cut was.

“The edge of that pile over there. I looked right at it and still managed to snag a corner.”

Nick straightened and met her bright eyes. “And you’re not wearing your hard hat.”

She laughed, crossing her arms over her chest. “Yours is a pretty shade of...oh, wait. You’re not wearing one, either.”

Nick didn’t want to get into an argument—he seriously didn’t have the energy today. How could he keep her safe when she volleyed comebacks that were so on point?

And it was that damn strong-will that had first attracted him. Now he didn’t find it so sexy when he was the target of her stubbornness.

“I haven’t been here in weeks, so I didn’t know there was such destruction,” he defended. “You knew better.”

Silvia shook her head. “Relax. My hard hat is over there with my stuff, and the crew isn’t coming in until later. I do know how to do my job.”

“Then put on the hat.”

“Because that would have saved my leg from being scratched?” she threw back. “Listen, maybe we should reschedule this meeting. You’ve got so much going on—”

“No.”

He wasn’t rescheduling, and he was not going to let her tell him what he needed. He needed to work, damn it. He needed to get some regularity back in his life, and this was the only area he currently had control over.

After so many years living in poverty with his mother, he’d finally made it. With his career as an investor and renovator, he had made a name for himself, and he was damn good at what he did. He worked at something he could be proud of.

His personal life? That was something he was going to have to work on...starting with the woman carrying his child.

“Nobody would think anything if you took time off,” she added, her voice softening.

He hated pity. He’d had that soul-sucking emotion thrown out at him as a child, and he’d come too far to revert back to it now. Pity for being the poor, hillbilly kid with clothes that had seen better days. Pity for not having a dad. He’d pushed through that web of pity. It had held him down for years. Until he’d gone to college on a baseball scholarship, earned a degree in half the time, and made wise investments before turning all that money around to help others. Determination and drive made all the difference.

It would make the difference now, too.

“I had time off,” he reminded her. “My mother would want me to move on and see this through.”

When Silvia opened her mouth, he went on. “Get the hard hat on. Better yet, we shouldn’t be meeting here, not in your condition. I can wait on the foreman to arrive if you’d like to get back to the office.”

Something Nick didn’t recognize swept over her features as she squared her shoulders and tipped up her chin.

Well, hell. He didn’t know what he’d said that had pissed her off, but he had a feeling he was about to find out.

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