“That’s true, Daddy. We can get married the way we want. No one can stop us. We can raise Angela and any other children we might be blessed with. We can live happily ever after.” He looked straight into his father’s eyes then. “But it won’t be the same if you’re not in our lives. We don’t need your approval, but we do want your love.”
Jessie’s hand slid into his. He folded his own around it and held on tight as they waited for his father’s decision. He knew giving in wouldn’t come easily to him. It never had. But, as Jessie had reminded him time and again, his father was a fair man.
“It’ll take a bit of time,” Harlan said eventually. “Some getting used to.” A tired smile stirred at the corners of his mouth. “I suppose there’s something to be said for keeping Jessica and Angela in the family. She could have gone off and married some stranger.”
Luke grinned at him. “I knew you’d find a way to put a positive spin on this sooner or later.”
Harlan sighed heavily. “I just hope that’s argument enough to keep your mother from going straight through the roof.”
Luke stood and settled the baby against his shoulder. “Maybe I’ll leave that one to you.”
“Sit down!” Harlan ordered.
Luke grinned at them despite himself. “Bad idea, huh?”
Jessie patted his hand. “Remember, Luke, it’s a family matter.”
For better or worse, it looked as if the whole clan was going to be together through thick and thin. He just hoped like hell that Cody and Jordan settled down soon and took some of the pressure off him. He glanced at Jessie.
“Happy? You got what you wanted.”
“We got what we needed,” she corrected. “I love you, Luke Adams.”
“I love you. And I’ll find your family for you, if it’s the last thing I do.”
“No need,” she said. “I’ve found the only family I’ll ever need.”
“If you two are going to keep this up, I’m going to leave the room and take that grandbaby of mine with me,” Harlan warned. “It’s not proper for her to be a witness to your carrying on.”
Luke was already leaning toward Jessie to claim a kiss. “Goodbye,” he murmured, distractedly.
“’Bye,” Jessie said just before her lips met his.
Luke was hardly aware of Harlan’s exaggerated sigh or of the moment when his father lifted Angela out of his arms. He had something far more important on his mind—the future.
Natural Born Daddy
Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Epilogue
Prologue
“Hey, boss, the barracuda...excuse me, your fiancée is on line two,” Ginger Drake announced from the doorway.
Jordan glowered at his impudent secretary. “I’ve told you not to call her that.”
Undaunted, Ginger merely strolled into his office and perched on the corner of his desk, an act that hiked her skirt to midthigh. Jordan shook his head. If she weren’t the most efficient, most incredibly loyal young woman who’d ever worked for him, he would have fired her months ago for her tart remarks and her unrepentant intrusion into his personal life.
“You’ve also told me to be honest and truthful, no matter how much it hurts,” she informed him now. “That’s my job around here.”
“Your job is taking dictation and typing.”
“And keeping you happy,” she reminded him. She gestured at the blinking phone line. “She does not make you happy. She is a b—”
“Don’t say it,” he warned, reaching for the phone.
Ginger shrugged. “Well, she is, which you could see for yourself, if you weren’t blinded by the size of her—”
“Ginger!” He pointed toward the door. “Out!”
“Just doing my job,” she said, and sashayed from the room with a provocative sway of her hips.
Unable to resist, Jordan watched that motion with an appreciative eye. If he hadn’t known that she was blissfully married to a linebacker for the Houston Oilers, he would have assumed that Ginger was trying to get his attention. Instead, he knew perfectly well that feminine provocation came as naturally and unselfconsciously to her as flirting with the opposite sex did to him. The difference was, he had tired of it.
Being named one of the city’s most eligible bachelors the past five years in a row had lost its charm. He was ready to settle down. The woman on the phone was the candidate he’d chosen six months ago from the string of female acquaintances who accompanied him to the various charity functions that made up the bulk of his social life.
“Hey, darlin’, how are you?” he said to Rexanne Marshall once Ginger was out of hearing range with the office door firmly shut behind her. “How was the convention?”
“Interesting,” Rexanne said in that deliberately smoky voice that oozed sensuality and, as she well knew, sent goose bumps dancing down his spine.
He settled back in his chair and asked, “Did you make any big deals?” Rexanne really got turned on by her deal making. He could practically envision their passionate reunion.
“You could say that.”
Jordan thought he heard something odd in her tone, a hint of strain that was rare for the supremely confident, highly successful owner of a small but thriving Texas cosmetics company. It was a company poised to make a major move into the national marketplace with his financial backing.
“Rexanne, is everything okay?”
“Jordan...”
He could hear her swallowing and suddenly his body went absolutely still. She had bad news. He could tell from that increasingly evident note of uncertainty in her voice. He sat up a little straighter.
“Whatever it is, just tell me,” he instructed. He’d meant to sound patient and concerned, but even he recognized the drill-sergeant command in his voice.
“Actually, it was the most amazing thing,” she began with a nervous little giggle.
Rexanne was quite possibly the most sophisticated woman he’d ever met. She never giggled. His suspicions tripled as he waited for her to
