The Black Sheep's Secret Child

“Sounds like you’re trying to get rid of me.”

“Not at all.” But suddenly she understood a bit of what Melody was feeling.

Keeping disappointment or upset hidden wasn’t easy. But the last thing she wanted to do was talk about how she was feeling and have it end in an argument. “I just thought maybe you’d be tired of babysitting.”

Savannah entered Dylan’s room and began pulling out what she needed to get him ready for bed. Trent demonstrated just how much time he’d been spending with Dylan as he made himself useful, gathering diapers and baby wipes.

“We still haven’t talked about the movie,” he said, spreading a changing pad on the bed.

Savannah laid Dylan down and began stripping off his clothes. “We can talk about it tomorrow.”

“You are trying to get rid of me.”

She didn’t answer right away but kept her hands busy and her attention focused on her son. But their nighttime routine of tickling and giggling couldn’t distract her from the tall man standing beside her, observing their antics. At last all the snaps on his pajamas were closed and her son was ready for bed.

“Who’s ready for bed?” she crooned, making her son smile. His upper teeth were starting to come in, and she was struck by how fast he was growing up. Overcome by a rush of sentimentality, she lifted him into her arms and snuggled him against her chest, but to her shock, he reached out to Trent.

“I think he wants me to read him a story.”

Flabbergasted, Savannah turned her son over to Trent. He settled with Dylan in the chair and pulled out a board book. While Savannah watched her two favorite men, Trent read one book after another until he had gone through Dylan’s library.

“That’s enough reading for one night,” Savannah said, her tone firm.

She picked up her sleepy son and settled him in his crib with his favorite toy. She turned on the lamp that threw dancing shadows on the ceiling and then headed to the door. With one last glance at the crib, she turned off the overhead light.

“Are you okay?” Trent asked as they made their way into the living room.

“Fine. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You and Dylan have been alone for a long time. With so many of us taking care of him now, I thought you might miss having him all to yourself.”

He’d captured a little of what she was feeling. “Not at all. I’m thrilled that he has so many people in his life who love him.”

What bothered her was how attached Trent had become to Dylan. It made her all the more conflicted about not telling him that Dylan was his son. While she’d watched Trent reading the silly stories Dylan loved so much, she’d been consumed by guilt. All the time she’d kept the two of them apart, never imagining Trent had any interest in children.

Trent took her hand and guided it to his cheek. Her other hand he pulled around his waist. Held close, she inhaled the comforting masculine scent of him and her pulse danced. She could get used to coming home to Trent. When he’d visited her in New York, she’d rushed back to her apartment and fallen into his arms after a long day of shooting.

But those moments, wonderful though they were, had been short-lived. Trent might enjoy a week or two of domestic bliss, but he grew restless soon after. Having her and Dylan stay with him was a novelty. Soon enough they’d be in his way. She wanted to be gone before that happened.

“On the way back from LA, I did some thinking.”

“Tell me later.”

Before she could protest, his mouth found hers and she was lost in the sweeping power of his kiss. What good was it to fight the magic between them? In the future, she would have months and years to ache for him. Today, she intended to take whatever he would give her.

* * *

Trent didn’t know why this particular Friday night at the club was driving him crazy. It wasn’t as if more things than usual were going wrong. At the moment he was staring at his most experienced waitress. She’d messed up the tab for one of their biggest VIPs. Trent had to decide whether to eat the twenty-thousand-dollar mistake and keep the client happy or risk pissing off someone who had been known to drop upward of three hundred grand in the club when he was in town.

“Give this to Jason and tell him not to bother Khalid.” Trent signed off on the report she brought to him about the discrepancy and handed it over.

“I’m really sorry, Trent.”

“Figure out what happened and get it fixed.”

Gina nodded and raced away. Trent watched her go with more than a trace of impatience. Normally he wouldn’t be this short with his staff even over a mistake of this size, but Savannah had been in LA for four days and this time she’d taken Dylan with her. Dammit, he missed her. He missed both of them.

“So this is where you’re hiding.” Kyle Tailor entered Trent’s office, his long legs carrying him across the room in four strides. “I’ve been looking all over the club for you. The place is packed.”