Holiday Baby Scandal

Laney believed him. He didn’t take chances with her on a good day, but add in a pregnancy and a fall, and Ryker was dead serious.

“Oh, don’t worry.” She offered him her sweetest smile. “I plan on letting you do all the work.”

Poor guy. He had no idea he was about to be covered head to toe in glittery garland, lights and delicate glass ornaments. She’d most certainly have her phone at the ready to snap some pictures of Ryker decorating her house.

“Oh, here we go.” She glanced back at her screen, surveyed the pages that had downloaded and quickly emailed them to Braden and Ryker. “All done.”

Ryker stalked from the room. There was no other word to describe his movements. He was angry, most likely with himself, or maybe with her. Whatever. He was about to be doused in Christmas happiness. He wanted to order her around and demand he leave with her? Fine.

Laney hesitated for a second but quickly pulled up her emails. Nothing new on the property in Southie. She’d had some contractors survey the building so she could get some quotes. After she signed the paperwork next week, the place would officially be hers and she could get to work. She seriously wanted the place open by spring so kids could come and play when the weather got nicer.

Opening the community center in Ryker’s old neighborhood was perfect. She couldn’t wait to have children filling the place. Children who may not have an exemplary home life and just needed a break.

Laney wondered where Ryker would be today if someone had intervened and helped him earlier than her father had. Would he still be part of their lives? Would he still be as hard, as jaded as he was now? He’d made it a point to be her personal security detail from the time she was a teenager. Was that because no one had protected him?

Laney’s heart clenched. Had his worry for her led to whatever happened to her ex?

No. She wouldn’t believe that Ryker would do anything to him beyond a few harassing calls and texts. Ryker could be over the top at times when it came to people he cared about, but she truly hoped he hadn’t done anything rash.

Laney swallowed as she closed her laptop. Ryker cared about her. Beyond their intense night together, he’d admitted as much...and he didn’t mean the sibling type of caring, either.

Ryker may think he’d been keeping her safe, but she always had his back, too. She held the reins with the intel coming in, and she chose what to feed him and what to keep to herself.

Laney would be even more diligent now that he was going to be a father. There might be times she made sure he didn’t get a case because of the danger it posed to him, and she’d deal with the backlash from her brothers. Ryker needed someone to look after him; he was long overdue for it, actually. And Laney was just the woman for the job.

Five

The second Ryker stepped into Laney’s house, he froze. He’d been duped. He glanced at her, only to see a smirk on her beautiful face. Now she mocked him.

Why did he find himself so attracted to her again? Oh, yeah. She was sexy as hell, and she took charge. A perfectly lethal combination to his senses. If he were ever considering a relationship, those were the qualities he’d look for. But a relationship with Laney was not only risky, it was suicide.

“Don’t even tell me I’m decorating.”

Laney leaned on him because she wouldn’t let him carry her, yet she was limping slightly. Stubborn woman.

“I can do it, but you’ll just get all grouchy and make me sit down.”

Ryker reset her alarm system, still wishing he’d ignored her request and gone to his own house. After escorting her over to her sofa with an attached chaise, he got her settled and pulled off her boots. He grabbed one of her fluffy yellow throw pillows and set it beneath her ankle.

“Still sore?” he asked, glancing down at her, trying to ignore how perfect she looked all laid out.

“It’s fine.”

Ryker crossed his arms over his chest and sighed. “You’ve said that at least five times since it happened, which means it’s anything but fine.”

Laney tipped her head back on the cushion, her hair falling around her shoulders. Try as he might, he couldn’t help but recall how all those strands felt on his bare skin. A memory he prayed never diminished. He needed that to keep him going, especially since he’d never have her again.

“Stop hovering. My ankle is fine, the baby is fine.” She laced her fingers over her abdomen. “Do you want to put the lights on the tree or would you prefer to decorate the mantel?”

Ryker narrowed his eyes. Testing his patience was a surefire way to get him to take her back to his house. Did he look like a damn interior designer?

“Maybe you didn’t notice, but I don’t do Christmas.”

“I always buy you a gift. In fact, you’re the first person I buy for.”

Yeah, and he’d kept every single one of them. He always felt like a fool for not buying her something, but what would he get her? What was an appropriate gift for a woman he wanted but couldn’t have? So he never did gifts...for anyone.

“You don’t have to buy me gifts,” he growled. He’d rather put up lights than get into this uncomfortable topic.