"My sweet baby girl. Did you miss your mommy today?" The words finally reached him.
Stunned him.
Devastated him.
Alex stilled. The baby belonged to Tessa.
"Is she mine?"
She jerked her head up, her gaze meeting his. Eyes wide and full of fear, she swung away, clutching the baby close as she hurried toward the building"s entrance.
He followed after her, catching up with her easily. She was halfway in the building"s tiny lobby and he was right behind her, grabbing hold of her by the coat and tugging her to a halt.
"Is she, Tessa? Is that our baby?" He didn"t know what to think, how to act.
Could it even be possible? The baby didn"t look any older than six months. If he calculated the time right then yes, indeed that baby could definitely belong to him.
So why wouldn"t she tell him?
"She"s my sister"s." Her voice trembled and she kept her hand over the baby"s face like she didn"t want him to see her. "Go away, Alex. You have no business being here."
"If that baby is mine then h.e.l.l yes, I have every reason to be here." He curled his fingers around her arm and pulled, trying to get her to drop her hand away from the baby"s face. Something told him she was lying. She"d never been a good liar and instinct told him the baby belonged to him.
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Which meant he had a daughter. That he hadn"t been there from the first infuriated him. Tessa had stolen those moments-and when the truth came out, he would make her pay.
Fury gripped him tight. She didn"t say a word, just tried to jerk out of his touch as best she could. The baby started to fuss, and she shushed her. "You"re lying."
Wild eyes met his. She looked scared out of her mind-and she should. "Let go."
The sister walked in at that precise moment, the expression of horror on her face vivid. The similarities were there and Alex didn"t have a doubt she was Tessa"s sister. But he didn"t believe for a second the baby belonged to her. "Leave her alone," Tessa"s sister said.
He ignored her. "Let me see the baby, Tessa."
She shook her head furiously and finally tugged out of his hold. "No." She started up the stairs, the movement jostling the baby in her arms and she started to cry. "Sssh, Charlotte. It"s okay."
Alex"s head reeled. Charlotte? His grandmother had been named Charlotte.
Everyone knew this. It was part of the Worth Luxury family history. "You named her after my grandmother."
The sister had followed her up the stairs and gave her a frantic push. "Go, Tessa. Don"t listen to him."
"Why did you do that?" It touched him, despite his anger. That she still thought of him enough to name their child after the woman who had meant more to him beside his mother. His grandmother had always been there for him and his brothers when they were growing up. He"d adored her.
190.
"Gina named her." Tessa nodded toward her sister. Keeping the lie up. She went so far as to hand the now-calm baby to Gina but she started to wail all over again. "It"s just a coincidence."
He glared at the sister who juggled the baby uncomfortably. She kept her eyes downcast, her cheeks were ruddy and still the baby continued to cry. The look of guilt was unmistakable. "Tessa, tell me the G.o.dd.a.m.n truth. Is the baby mine?"
She took Charlotte from her sister"s arms and the baby immediately quieted.
Soothed by her mother no doubt. "Fine. You want the truth? Yes. The baby is- yours." She choked on the last word, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Alex leaned against the wall and stared up at the three females who had just rocked his world completely. His body, his mind went numb, slowing down, shutting off. She"d confirmed it. He"d heard the truth come from her lips but still it was difficult for him to comprehend.
He was a father. He had a daughter. And he"d already missed out on so much.
Too much.
Tessa"s entire body shook. She clutched Charlotte close, winced when the baby grabbed a hunk of her hair and tugged. She deserved it. The pain, the punishment and this was only scratching the surface. What she did was wrong, she"d known this from the start but at first she"d been too angry to think he"d care to know he was going to be a father.
Once realization had sunk in, she thought about contacting him. But he probably would"ve believed her looking for money. He probably would"ve called her a liar and demanded a paternity test. He might still.
191.
But there was no mistaking it. She"d never been with any other man.
Charlotte was his.
"Why don"t we take this upstairs where you two can talk?" Gina suggested, the only voice of reason in the cramped entry of their apartment building.
"No." Oh, his voice was so cold. "Tessa, I want you to come back with me to my hotel. Bring the baby with you."
"But-" She couldn"t do that. To step into his world, to do things on his terms would be a sign of weakness. Once she let him take over, she"d be at a disadvantage and probably never regain her footing.
"No arguments. We"re doing this on my terms." He plucked the words right from her brain. "I mean it, Tessa. I"m not in the mood to play nice. I wouldn"t go against my wishes, if I were you."
"Don"t you dare threaten her, you no good b.a.s.t.a.r.d," Gina muttered.
She could always count on her big sister defending her, and she loved Gina for it. "It"s okay Gina. I"ll go with him." She shouldn"t but she didn"t have a choice. "I need to gather supplies for the baby first."
"I have a taxi waiting outside. I"ll buy you new ones." His impatience was clear.
"She has her favorite blanket and pacifier. Please, let me get her things." Reluctantly he nodded and they all went up the stairs, Alex right behind them, Gina in the middle as a buffer. Nerves bounced in Tessa"s stomach, and she felt like she was going to be sick. This was all her fault. She"d let this happen.
But how could she have told him?
Maybe she should"ve run away farther. Australia. New Zealand. On the other side of the world still probably wouldn"t have been far enough. They had Worth locations in Australia. There were Worth Luxury stores everywhere.
192.
He was everywhere. She couldn"t escape him no matter how hard she tried.
If he wasn"t haunting her thoughts and dreams, wasn"t a constant reminder when she stared at her daughter"s sweet little face every day, then he was striding into the store she worked at like he owned the d.a.m.n place. Now that he"d found her, she was afraid he wasn"t going to leave until he had what he wanted.
Charlotte.
They entered the flat and she went to her bedroom, taking Charlotte"s baby bag from Gina as she did so. She gathered a few articles of clothing, a pile of diapers, all the while Charlotte was lying in the middle of the bed and kicking up her heels. Completely unaware of the change that had just occurred in their lives.
Dropping the bag on the floor, she went to the bed and stripped Charlotte of her clothing and diaper. She held the sweet little bundle of naked flesh close to her, cooing in her ear, smoothing her hand over her downy-soft head, down her back. She smelled sweet, nuzzling at the spot where Tessa"s neck met her shoulder and tears formed in her eyes.
She couldn"t let this baby go no matter what. Charlotte belonged to her. She would fight to the very death for her child.
And if she had to fight against Charlotte"s father, then so be it. She was strong. She was determined.
She was ready to go into battle.
193.
Chapter Seventeen.
"I want to know everything."
Tessa swallowed hard. "Everything?" Her voice squeaked. Sitting so close to Alex in the back of the taxi as they headed to his hotel, it reminded her of the past. When she rode with him everywhere during the relaunch tour, the many things that had happened in the back of the car...
Her skin warmed and she looked down at Charlotte, who slept contentedly in her arms. He hadn"t asked to hold her, look at her, nothing. She was merely a commodity to him and nothing else.
"Everything, Tessa." She adored the way he said her name, even when he was frustrated and angry with her. G.o.d, she was sick. "When did you move?
When did you discover you were pregnant? And why didn"t you tell me?" Oh, the hard questions. No problem, she"d answer each and every one of them with brutal honesty.
If only she could gather the courage.
Taking a deep breath, she started in. "After you fired me, I went to live with my sister." She saw him wince when she used the word fired, but she didn"t care.
He needed to be reminded of his brutal behavior toward her.
"I made sure you received a generous severance pay." He sounded strained.
"Yes, you did. I took that money and moved to London with it." She refused to thank him, refused to grovel at his feet. What did he expect from her, complete submission?
She used to be that girl but not any longer.
"Your sister came with you." He paused and turned his attention to the window, watching the lights of the city pa.s.s by. "To help you care for the baby?"
"I didn"t know I was pregnant until we were already in London. Gina and I decided to leave New York together, like taking an adventure. It had nothing to do with my pregnancy."
"So you left without a job, without any sort of plan. Just packed everything up and moved on a whim."
She could hear the judgment, knew he probably thought her completely stupid. "For once in my life, I decided to be spontaneous." He slid a glance toward her. "So what happened between us-that wasn"t you being spontaneous? Did you deliberately plan on getting pregnant?" Her mouth hung open, so full of fury she could hardly find the words to speak. "I-I cannot believe you would say such a thing."
"I"ve been with plenty of women." Arrow straight to her heart with that particular statement, the b.a.s.t.a.r.d. "And I"ve never impregnated any of them."
"That you know of." She edged closer to the door, clutching Charlotte as tight as she could without disturbing her. She"d told Alex she didn"t want to ride in a taxi without Charlotte"s car seat but he"d shoved her in, not allowing her to argue.
She hated him. For his hurtful words and negligent att.i.tude, she hated him with all her might.
She also loved him...
"Trust me." He c.o.c.ked a brow and even through all the hate and anger she couldn"t deny he was so handsome he made her entire body ache. "I would"ve known. They would"ve demanded money. A piece of the Worth fortune."
"I didn"t come after you for money," she pointed out.
195.
He studied her with his steely gaze. a.s.sessing her, judging her, no doubt.
"True. You"re unlike any woman I"ve ever been with." She didn"t know if she should be insulted or flattered.
"Why are you working at that little lingerie shop? Surely, you could find something better."
Oh, that was definitely an insult. "I love working there. Simone has been nothing but accommodating with me and my schedule." His jaw tightened. "I cannot believe you work at such a place. You"re worth so much more. They must pay you a pittance."
Again with the backhanded compliments. Why did he always have to confuse her so? "She"s been very loyal to me. Simone adores Charlotte." He glanced at the baby in her arms quickly before he looked away. "You could"ve worked at any fashion house in London. You have the experience."
"But then they would"ve had to call for references and you would"ve known where I was."
He stiffened his shoulders, his broad back like a thick, endless wall.
Unapproachable, impossible to climb. "You hated me that much that you never wanted me to find you?"
The man was impossible. "You were the one who fired me. You kicked me out like I was a traitorous, lying b.i.t.c.h. You wouldn"t even listen to me." Alex faced her once more, his eyes full of misery. "I was wrong."
"I know you were."
They stared at each other, the tension between them thickening. Confusion swamped her, along with a heady dose of l.u.s.t. Why did she feel this way about him, after everything he"d done? She should hate him. She had enough reason to hate him ten times over.
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Yet he was the father of her child. The man she fell in love with so completely who ruthlessly tore her heart out and stomped all over it. He looked at her now as if he wanted to beg her forgiveness. His saying he was wrong was unheard of.
Alexander Worth was never, ever wrong.
"I-" She didn"t know what she wanted to say but something needed to be said. To crack this buzzing s.e.xual tension building between them. "I think we"re at the hotel," she finished lamely.
The taxi screeched to a halt in front of the grand hotel, jolting the baby and waking her up. She immediately started to fuss and Tessa rocked her in her arms, trying to soothe her. No doubt she was hungry. Tessa"s b.r.e.a.s.t.s ached at hearing her daughter"s whimpers and she knew she needed to feed her soon.
Glancing out the window, she stared up at the gorgeous building.
"Claridge"s?" It was one of the most iconic and luxurious hotels in all of London.