Dare Me Tonight (The Knight Brothers 3)

“Did I hear my name?” A curvy brunette with wavy hair and a bright smile strode up to Ian and put her hand in his.

“Ethan Knight, this is my wife, Riley Dare. I was just explaining our complicated family dynamic to a man who is supposed to be a business associate. But he caught Sienna when she fainted, so he’s here and learning more about the Dares than he probably cares to know.” Ian shook his head, a wry smile twisting his mouth.

Little did Ian know, Ethan savored every word of explanation he received on Sienna and her background. He catalogued it in his mind. He set it aside to consider and think about later.

All he could do now was breathe a sigh of relief … and wish he could go back and see for himself that she was okay.

Chapter Six

“I’m pregnant,” Sienna told her mother, who stood at her bedside, hand in hers. She still couldn’t say the words and process them in her mind.

Her mother clasped her hand tighter. “We’ll figure it out, baby. Whatever you want to do, I’ll support you.”

Sienna leaned back against the pillow and groaned in relief. The one thing about Savannah Sheppard Dare was that her kids could talk to her about anything. And when the doctor told Sienna the fainting had been caused by a drop in blood pressure due to her pregnancy, once she’d gotten over the shock, she’d wanted to tell her mother.

From the time she was old enough to understand, she’d been told the chances of her having a child were slim to none. That the chemotherapy and the stem cell transplant had probably ended those chances, and she thought she’d come to terms with that. To be told she was pregnant?

Nothing short of mind-blowing. She’d never let herself want kids because she’d been told it hadn’t been in the cards. But now? She put her hand over her stomach, feeling a fierce protectiveness she hadn’t known she was capable of… along with a sense of excitement that had her wanting to share the news with the world.

She had thought about confiding in Avery, her best friend as well as half sister, but that would put Avery in a rough spot because in no way could Sienna let Ian find out. Not yet. Nobody could know until the Knight Time Technology part of the new stadium was complete and Ian couldn’t throw Ethan off the project for knocking up his baby sister.

“So … anything more you want to tell me?” her mother asked, her tone wise.

Sienna grinned. “Well, there’s a man–”

“I would assume so.” Her mom treated her to a warm smile. “Is this man going to step up and do the right thing?”

Sienna shrugged, pure terror racing through her veins at the thought of telling Ethan she was having his baby. She didn’t think the man who wanted a secret affair would be thrilled to discover he was going to be a father. But her heart told her he was also a decent guy who she didn’t think would abandon his child.

As far as the woman who came along with said baby? Well, that was another story, considering he wasn’t interested in a real relationship with her at all.

“I don’t know enough about him to answer that,” she hedged for now. “But I don’t want to tell him just yet, anyway.”

Her mom opened her mouth to argue, and Sienna said, “I will tell him. I won’t keep it a secret forever. It’s just that he’s a part of Ian’s stadium project and I don’t want to be the cause of yet more Dare drama.” Because if Ian found out she’d slept with Ethan Knight and he’d gotten her pregnant, he would lose his ever-loving mind. He’d blame Ethan and throw him and his company out, and she knew this contract was important to both of them. She just needed to buy some time.

Her mother frowned. “Secrets are bad, honey. We all know this firsthand,” Savannah said.

“And sometimes the truth is worse. Look what finding out about my leukemia did to the whole family. It destroyed Ian’s side.”

Savannah winced. “I know how awful it was. I know I shouldn’t have let things go on with Robert, but I can’t regret my babies. My family.”

“I know, Mom.” Sienna didn’t agree with her mother’s actions. She didn’t condone cheating any more than she’d have approved of breaking up Ian’s side of the family. The situation sucked and her father was as much to blame as anyone. “But the facts are the facts. I know what happened and why. I won’t let Ian’s project be undermined because of me. I’ll tell him when the time is right.”

“Tell who what?” Ian asked, pushing his way into the room, a harried, unhappy nurse at his heels.