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So why didn't the idea of having an unwanted baby have her ranting and raving? And why did she keep extolling his virtues? The answer was obvious. Because she wanted something from him. Whether it was marriage or money or something else, he wasn't going to sit here and try to figure out what right now. He needed to be alone to decide what he wanted.

Damian headed for the door and only began breathing again when he was solo in the hallway. Out of the blue, his entire life was in upheaval and nothing made sense.

One thing he did know with unqualified certainty- he didn't want to spend the rest of his life saddled with Carole as his wife.

MICKI NEEDED A SOCIAL LIFE. She needed something to think about other than her time on an island off the Florida coast with Damian. Not even waiting for Lola to talk to Spencer Atkins about a merger was enough to distract Micki's thoughts. Resigned to getting no agency work done while she was in this kind of mood, she turned to personal business instead.

First she e-mailed Sophie to see if she wanted to have dinner tonight, then she picked up the phone and scheduled a few appointments she had on her to-do list. Just when she couldn't think of anything else to occupy her mind, her office intercom rang.

She pushed the reply button. 'Yes?'

'You have an unscheduled visitor,' her secretary announced.

She shrugged. Whoever it was, it was better than sitting alone. 'Send them in.'

Micki stood at the same time the door opened and Damian walked in. Her heart leaped inside her chest and an amazing feeling of happiness surrounded her,lifting the cloud that had settled on her shoulders since they'd parted at the airport.

She'd been deprived and now she wasn't, and she shamelessly took in his appearance. He wore a pair of faded Levi's that did little to disguise the muscles beneath the jeans, along with a solid white T-shirt that accented his tan. He still had the scruffy beard she loved but his eyes were dim and he looked troubled. More troubled than the man she'd last seen worrying about his career, and she wondered what was bothering him.

She couldn't suppress the fleeting hope that maybe he'd missed her and that was why he'd come by. Heaven knew she'd missed him.

She strode around her desk, trying for a casually unaffected tone as she greeted him. 'Hi there.'

'Hey.' He shut the door behind him. As he smiled, his gaze scanned her body for as long as she'd studied his. 'You look great,' he said at last.

She glanced down at her short pleated skirt and low-cut top. After leaving the island, she'd taken his advice and purchased more clothes that accentuated her feminine side. 'Sophie and I went on a shopping spree.'

He nodded approvingly. 'Works for me,' he said, his tone deeper than before.

He stepped closer and captured her in his arms, pulling her close and before she could blink, his lips came down hard on hers. His tongue plunged into her waiting mouth and she opened wide, accepting him because he had come for her. If she could have scripted the scenario, she couldn’t have planned it any better.

She blinked and reality set in. Damian still stood before her.

She shivered and shook her head hard. 'So what brings you by?”

He drew a deep breath and lowered himself into the nearest chair. 'I have an appointment with your uncle.'

'Oh”

'And I also need to talk to you.”

She narrowed her gaze. 'Okay '

He ran a hand through his hair. She'd never seen him so flustered before. 'I need a friend.'

She wanted to be more but knew she had to settle for whatever he offered. 'You know I'm that”

He bowed his head. Almost as if he couldn't face her, Micki thought and her throat filled with fear. 'What is it?”

A knock sounded on her door and Micki’s secretary entered. 'Today's papers are here,' Amy said, interrupting them.

'Thanks.' Micki didn't look over her shoulder at the other woman.

'I'll just leave them on your desk.' Amy walked in and placed the papers down before taking off again.

'Sorry. Papers are a publicist's lifeblood,' Micki explained.

He nodded. 'That's sort of why I'm here.'

She raised an eyebrow. 'How so?'

'There's no easy way to say this so… Just take a look.' He gestured toward the stack of dailies. 'Start with the News. They're the most creative with the headlines'

Micki picked up the top paper, The Daily News, and flipped it to the back page. The headline read Miami Love Machine. Beneath it, the caption elaborated, 'Miami legal secretary claims New York Renegades center fielder Damian Fuller is the father of her unborn child. Full story p. 72.' The photo, which took up much of the back page, showed the woman Micki recognized as Damian's date from Tampa, leaving the Marriott Marquis on Broadway.

Micki's head swam with so many emotions she couldn't sort through them all. Shock, disbelief, pain and a completely unreasonable sense of betrayal all ricocheted around her mind and buffeted her body.

And to think she'd hoped he'd come to claim her as his own. Because even though he'd never promised her anything, Micki had held on to the hope that somehow she'd meant something to him.

This paper, whether or not it portrayed the truth, was proof of Damian's playboy ways and his inability to care for one woman long-term. Micki had been a fool to think otherwise.

She slowly laid the paper down on the desk. Swallowing her own pain, she turned to face him. He'd said he needed a friend. Somehow she'd be his friend. 'What are you going to do?'

He shook his head and shrugged. “That's sort of what I wanted to talk to you about.'

'Okay… Forgive me for asking the obvious but is it yours?'

'I wish to hell I knew.' He rose and paced the floor, ending up at the window overlooking the city.

She wondered if he found the same comfort in the sameness of the skyline that she often did, then realized that nothing would soothe her now.

'So you need to ask for a paternity test.'

He turned and nodded in agreement.

Micki swallowed hard. 'And if the baby is yours?”

When he didn't reply right away, she offered up an alternative that nearly broke her heart. 'Marriage?'

'Hell no.' He answered immediately. 'Child support, yes. Support for Carole, maybe. But marriage?' Damian shook his head, then held it in his hands as if the pain were overwhelming.

'Are you asking my opinion?' she asked in disbelief. Nobody could tell him what to do.

He shook his head. 'Back at the airport you said if I ever needed you for anything…to spin a situation or just to vent, I should come to you. So here I am.' His smile didn't reach his eyes. 'To tell you the truth, I didn't even think this would hit the papers. I had no idea till I woke up this morning but I guess it needs to be handled, right?'

'Right,' she managed to say, stunned. 'You want me to help you spin the story?'

He leaned against the plate-glass window, his dark eyes imploring as he merely inclined his head.

Her mouth grew dry at the thought of being his publicist for this very public, very painful ordeal. She definitely didn't think she could work by his side and deal with her very real feelings for him while at the same time he worked through a relationship with another woman that would last a lifetime.

Apparently he had no such trouble working alongside her in that capacity. The truth stung.

'You're the best at what you do.' For the first time, a teasing grin curled his lips.

“Under any other circumstances I'd be flattered.' She let out a bitter laugh.

'Micki-' He reached for her hand but she pulled back, not wanting to touch him and set off the sparks she knew would follow.

'I need to step outside for a minute.' She needed time alone. Without meeting his gaze, she turned and walked out.

Once in the hall, she leaned back and forced air into her lungs. They'd been home from Florida for two weeks