A Conflict of Interest (15 page)

Then inspiration struck him. “I’m here with Caroline Cranshaw.” He pretended to search his pockets. “It’s been a really busy day, and I’m afraid I’ve lost the name—”

“Oh, you’re the
father.
” The woman grinned as if she’d seen it all before.

Max’s brain skipped a beat.

“She’s talking with Dr. Murdoch in his office right now. You can feel free to join them.” The nurse pointed. “Straight down the blue hallway. Dr. Murdoch’s name is on the office door.”

Max blinked in shock. Would Cara have actually lied about being pregnant to get in to see an obstetrician?

What was she, under deep cover? Good grief, she was a public relations specialist, not a private investigator.

“Right that way,” the nurse reiterated. “The blue hallway.”

“Thanks,” Max told her, turning to go.

Cara was going to be ticked off, but he had to follow this lead. She’d made it more than clear that a relationship between them wasn’t happening, and he had his professional integrity to think about. He couldn’t let his feelings for her cloud his judgment any longer.

Cara had far too much power over his actions, and that was about to stop.

He made his way down the hall.

He gave a cursory knock on the doctor’s office door, then opened it up.

The fiftysomething doctor looked up in surprise, and Cara turned her head at the sound.

She froze for a long second. Then her face blanched white, and her blue eyes grew to nearly twice their usual size.

“Hello, darling,” he drawled, closing the door behind her. If she could lie, then so could he. If he pretended to be the father, she could hardly call him on it without exposing her own dishonesty.

The doctor looked at Cara for a second, then refocused his attention on Max.

Max strode forward as if he had every right to be there. He held out his hand to the doctor. “Max Gray. I’m sorry I’m late.”

For good measure, he planted a quick kiss on the top of Cara’s head before taking the chair beside her.

“Max,” she rasped, swallowing. “How did you know?”

He smiled broadly and patted her hand. “You told me about the appointment. I know I forget things sometimes, but this is important, darling.”

She blinked in what was obviously complete and utter confusion.

“Max Gray? From
After Dark?
” the doctor asked.

“Yes,” Max responded easily.

“Nice to meet you.” The doctor got back down to business. “I was just saying to Caroline that I don’t anticipate any complications. She’s at a great age for a first child. There are no underlying health concerns. I’ve prescribed a prenatal vitamin, and we’ll do the usual blood work. But otherwise, there’s nothing special she needs to worry about for the next couple of months.”

The doctor fell silent.

Max glanced back at Cara, wondering how long she was going to keep this up. How did she expect to segue from a fake pregnancy into questions about the president’s illegitimate children?

She was still staring at him, completely still and obviously dumbfounded.

“Cara?” He waved a hand in front of her face.

She didn’t react.

“Caroline?” The doctor rose to come around the desk. He took her hand. “Is something wrong?”

“How did you know?” she whispered to Max.

Something in her eyes turned Max’s stomach to stone.

Wait.

No.

No, it couldn’t be.

But he’d been an investigative reporter too long to ignore what his gut instinct was telling him.

He looked to the doctor, framing a slow, carefully worded question. “You did a pregnancy test here in the office?”

“Of course,” the man responded. “We always confirm the home pregnancy test results. Our best estimate is seven weeks.”

Cara was pregnant.

And she hadn’t slept with anyone else. She had made that perfectly clear.

She was pregnant with Max’s child.

The floor beneath him shifted, and he nearly fell out of his chair. He managed to stand on shaky legs, motioning vaguely to the door.

“I’m going to...” he managed. “I’ll meet you...” He flicked a glance at Cara’s stricken expression and swiftly left the office.

He walked through the waiting room, his mind a crush of conflicting emotions. He’d invaded Cara’s privacy in an absolutely unforgivable way. But she’d lied to him. She’d kept him completely in the dark. And he was going to be a father.

As he pressed the elevator button, the world around him grew fuzzy and indistinct. He was in no way, shape or form in a position to become a father. He’d made that more than abundantly clear.

* * *

Cara opened the door of her apartment to greet her sister, trying valiantly to put on a brave face. “You can’t just jump in your jet every time my life has a hiccup.”

“This is more than a hiccup.” Gillian pulled Cara into a tight hug. “This is a catastrophe.”

Cara pointedly looked up the spiral staircase. “Ariella and Scarlet are here.”

“Do they know?”

Cara started to shake her head.

“Do we know what?” came Ariella’s voice from above.

The two women appeared at the top of the stairs, peering down. Scarlet was Cara’s close friend, a D.C. party planner she had known for years.

Neither Cara nor Gillian answered the question.

“What don’t we know?” asked Ariella.

“You might as well tell them.” Gillian shut the door and shrugged out of her black coat. “They’re your friends, and they love you.”

“Whatever it is, you’d better tell us,” Ariella said as she descended the stairs.

“I’ve applied for an embassy job in Australia,” said Cara with a warning look at Gillian not to share more.

“You’re doing what?” Scarlet gasped from up-top.

“What on earth?” Ariella asked. “Why would you do that?”

Gillian folded her arms across her chest, arching a brow in Cara’s direction.

“Fine,” Cara capitulated, deciding it was time to face up to the reality of her future.

“Because she’s pregnant,” Gillian put in.

“What?”
Ariella shrieked.

“Well, that was blunt,” Cara told her sister.

“There’s no point in beating around the bush,” Gillian returned. “It’ll be obvious in a few weeks. And even if you leave the country, they’re going to notice next Christmas when you show up with a baby.”

“Who says I’m coming to D.C. for Christmas?”

“Back up, back up,” Ariella insisted.

“Are we going to stand here and talk about this in the entry hall?” asked Gillian.

“We’re not.” Scarlet motioned to them. “Get up here and tell us what’s going on.”

Ariella pivoted to head back up the stairs. Cara followed, and Gillian brought up the rear.

“Has he called yet?” asked Gillian.

“Who?” Ariella and Scarlet asked in unison.

Cara turned on her sister. “Are you going to lay my entire life bare here?”

“We want to help you,” said Ariella.

“And we sure don’t want you to leave D.C.,” Scarlet added.

There was a note of sincerity in each of their voices that tugged at Cara’s heart. She knew she could trust her friends. Maybe their support was exactly what she needed right now.

“I am pregnant,” Cara admitted as the women made their way to the living room and settled onto the sofas and into armchairs.

“How far along?” asked Ariella.

“Seven weeks,” Cara answered Ariella.

“What does being pregnant have to do with leaving town?” asked Scarlet.

“She needs to get away from the father,” Gillian said.

“Is he nasty?” asked Scarlet.

“Who is he?” asked Ariella.

“Max Gray,” Cara admitted, deciding it was time to get everything out on the table. She was going to have to make some significant changes in her life. Keeping any of this a secret was no longer a viable option. “It’s Max Gray.”

“Seriously?” asked Scarlet, a note of awe in her voice. Cara realized Scarlet saw Max only as a television personality and one of the top ten hottest men in D.C.

“He’s not nasty,” Ariella put in staunchly. “Max is a great guy.”

“The biggest problem is that he doesn’t want children,” Gillian explained.

“So what?” said Ariella. “He’s getting one anyway.”

“The biggest problem is the conflict of interest,” Cara corrected her sister.

“The baby is a conflict of interest?” asked Scarlet in obvious confusion.

“I can’t have a relationship with Max. He’s a reporter. I work at the White House.”

Ariella sat up straighter on the sofa. “I don’t understand. You’re not in a relationship with him already?”

“I’m not,” Cara affirmed.

“Then how did it happen?” Scarlet seemed to search for an explanation. “Are you his groupie?”

Cara couldn’t help but laugh a little hysterically at that suggestion. It might have been easier if it was a one-night stand.

“They dated a while ago,” Gillian put in. “Before the election.”

Cara sobered. “But it’s over.”

Scarlet glanced around the circle of friends. “That doesn’t matter. He has to step up and take responsibility.”

Cara subconsciously moved her hand to her stomach. “I’m not about to foist an innocent baby onto an unwilling father. I’m not even sure how he found out.”

“I am,” said Gillian.

Cara turned to her sister in surprise.

“I talked to Jake. Max went to the doctor’s office because he thought you were following up on a lead about the president.”

Cara’s mind went back to Max’s odd behavior. “He didn’t know?” she ventured.

“Not when he arrived. He was going along with what he thought was your ruse.”

“Until he asked about the test.” Cara remembered Max’s reaction to the doctor’s words.

Her heart sank. He’d found out she was pregnant right there in the doctor’s office, and he had immediately walked away. It confirmed everything she’d ever feared.

“He feels guilty for invading your privacy,” said Gillian.

Cara came to her feet, struggling against an unexpected surge of hurt and anger. “Invading my privacy?
That’s
what he feels guilty about? Not because I’m pregnant? Not because he’s abandoning his child? Not because he doesn’t care one whit about either of us?”

“I don’t know how clearly he’s thinking right now,” said Gillian.

“Max can stuff it.” Cara paced across the room, trying to bring her emotions back under control. Forget Max. She was going to deal with this on her own, far away, where she wouldn’t be tempted by him or hurt by him ever again. “I’m out of here.”

“You can’t leave us,” cried Scarlet.

“Well, I can’t stay here.” Cara returned to the armchair and plunked back down, feeling exhausted. “He’s never going to change.”

“He feels bad about that, too,” said Gillian.

“Good for him,” Cara snapped.

“If you’re not hiding the pregnancy,” Ariella offered reasonably, “then get another job in D.C.”

“What other job?” asked Cara. “Any job in the White House is going to have the same problem.”

“Work for me,” said Gillian. “You can do whatever you want if you work for me.”

“Very charitable of you, big sister. But you’re not in D.C. And I’m not taking your handout.”

“Then work for us,” said Scarlet.

“Public relations for a party planner?” Cara scoffed.

“Not full-time,” Scarlet continued. “And you wouldn’t have to be in the office very often. You could work from home. Be a mom.” She snapped her fingers. “Open a public relations consulting firm.”

“We’d hire you in a heartbeat,” said Ariella. “You could set your own hours, do a ton of the work right here in the apartment.”

“I don’t know.” But Cara could see that it would solve one of her problems. Well, two of her problems really. It would get her out of the White House and it would give her more time with her baby.

But Max would still be in D.C. She’d still be hopelessly attracted to him. And it would hurt her to see him and know he didn’t want them.

“Are you in love with him?” Scarlet asked softly.

“No,” said Cara.

“Yes,” said Gillian.

Cara glared at her sister, but Gillian just spread her hands, palms facing the ceiling. “What exactly do you think this is?”

“I am not in love with Max,” Cara stated with authority. “I’m simply carrying his baby and fighting some kind of physical obsession over having sex with him.”

“Everybody wants to sleep with him,” said Scarlet.

Three gazes swung toward her.

“I’m not saying me personally,” she hastily put in. “I’m saying most of the females across the country have the hots for him.”

“She’s not wrong,” said Ariella. Then Ariella turned to Cara. “You can’t leave me. Not now. Not with all of this going on. You know more about politics than any of us, and I am absolutely going to need your help and advice.”

Her words helped to put Cara’s own problems into perspective.

“You’re the president’s daughter, aren’t you?” Scarlet asked Ariella.

“I’m afraid I might be,” said Ariella.

Cara’s heart went out to her friend. While she might be able to quit the White House, Ariella had been about to be involuntarily swept up in a whirlwind.

Cara realized it was true. Ariella needed her. She also realized her friends were in Washington. Her life was in Washington. Australia might have been a nice fantasy, but it wasn’t a good reality.

“I’ll stay and help,” Cara found herself promising.

Somehow, she’d summon the strength to stay away from Max. Who knew, maybe her feelings would fade and everything would be all right. Maybe Gillian was wrong about Cara being in love. Gillian might be a genius, but there were a few times when she was wrong.

There was a chance this could be one of them.

Eleven

M
ax sat across from Jake at O’Donovan’s, an Irish tavern in Georgetown about a mile from the NCN studios.

“I can’t believe you haven’t spoken to her yet,” Jake said, spinning his heavy beer mug in a circle on the polished wood table.

Max shifted in his red leather armchair. “I don’t know what to say to her.”

“It’s been three days.”

“She knows it’s been three days.” Max took a swig of his half-full mug of Irish stout.

“You think you’re a comedian?” Jake demanded.

“I think this is none of your damn business.”

“I’m your friend.”

“Then you should know when to butt out.”

A group of college-aged girls giggled as they made their way past the table toward the high stools at the brass-railed bar. Sconce lights and shelves of exotic whisky and leather-bound books decorated the dark wood walls. A picture of the establishment’s founder, Angus O’Donovan, flanked by gold-flecked mirrors, hung in prominence behind the two bartenders.

“A good friend never butts out,” Jake said.

“What do you think I should say? Do you want me to offer her money?” Max would do that, of course. Financially, his child would never want for a thing.

“You could start with, ‘We’re having a baby. Let’s talk about what we should do.’”

“And open myself up to virtually anything she might ask?” Max couldn’t stand the thought of having to say no to anything, of letting Cara down, of seeing the hurt and disappointment in her eyes. “I’d make a terrible father,” he repeated for about the hundredth time.

“Why?” Jake reached for a handful of peanuts. “Seriously, why?”

“I don’t like kids,” Max opened with the obvious.

Jake seemed to ponder that.

“I have a dangerous job that might kill me at any moment,” Max continued. “Cara would spend half her life waiting to become a widow. I had zero in the way of paternal role models. I haven’t a clue how to even go about talking to a kid. I’m genetically unsuited to fatherhood. When the going gets tough, the Gray men get gone.”

“All true,” Jake unexpectedly agreed.

“You see my point?”

“I do.”

Max rested his hand on his beer mug. “So this conversation is over.”

“You still have to talk to her.”

Max’s stomach clenched, and his jaw hardened in frustration. “And say
what?
”

“She knows all that other stuff, right?”

Max gave a sharp nod. Then he drained his glass.

“Then offer her money.” Jake’s tone was flat with condemnation. “If that’s all you’ve got, offer to pay her to raise your kid all by herself.”

Something stabbed in Max’s chest.

Jake wasn’t finished. “But look her in the eye, Max. Be a man about it, and tell her in person exactly what you will and won’t do for this baby. She didn’t get pregnant all by herself, but it sure sounds like that’s the way she’ll be coping with it.”

Max pushed his beer mug away, his stomach going sour.

He caught a movement in his peripheral vision, and Gillian suddenly appeared at the table. Max nearly gave himself whiplash looking around to see if Cara was with her.

She wasn’t.

“Did you talk to him?” Gillian asked Jake.

Jake rose, placing a hand loosely at the small of her back. “I did.”

Max pushed back his chair and came to his feet. “That was all for her?” he demanded.

“Yeah,” said Jake. “That was all for her. Doesn’t make it any less true.”

“You took me out to the woodshed to get in good with Gillian?”

“No,” Gillian responded for Jake. “He’s in good with Gillian, and that’s why he took you out to the woodshed.” She leaned a little closer to Max. “You going to hurt my baby sister?”

“I already did,” Max admitted.

“Undo it,” said Gillian.

Max shook his head. He couldn’t undo it. It was out of his control.

“She applied for an embassy communications job in Australia,” Gillian told him.

Max’s heart slammed into the side of his chest. “What? Why?”

“So you wouldn’t have to be bothered with your baby. She thought it was a good idea to get far, far away.”

Max recoiled. But it was a good thing, right? He wouldn’t be nearby to mess anything up. The baby would be well cared for, and he could carry on with his life as normal.

Gillian pointed her index finger at Max’s chest. “I can see what you’re thinking. Don’t you dare try to stop her. Don’t you dare mess it up.”

“Why would I mess it up?” Stopping Cara from leaving D.C. would be foolish. She was separating them. That was a smart move. He’d always known she was smart.

“You messed it up before,” Gillian continued. “She wanted you to think there was another guy. You do realize that was the plan, right? If you thought there was another guy, you could tell yourself it wasn’t your baby, and you could walk away without worrying about her.”

“You lied on purpose?” Max demanded.

“I was your patsy?” Jake asked in obvious surprise.

“Sorry,” Gillian said to Jake.

“Here I felt guilty for betraying your secret.”

“I knew you would,” said Gillian.

“You knew I’d feel guilty?” asked Jake.

“I knew you’d blab to Max. I was counting on it. It was part of the master plan.”

“Really?” asked Jake in obvious admiration.

“Really,” Gillian answered.

“You’re amazing,” Jake responded with a sappy grin.

“When does Cara leave?” asked Max.

Not that he needed to know. Or maybe he did. Was Jake right? Did Max owe it to Cara to at least have a conversation? Even if he had nothing but money to offer, should he do it in person? And would she even listen to him if he tried?

* * *

Expecting Gillian, Cara was shocked to open her apartment door to Max. Determined as she was, after talking with Gillian, Ariella and Scarlet, to move forward in her new life, she’d cried into her pillow most of last night. Morning hadn’t looked much brighter.

He was the last person she wanted to cope with. But standing in the hallway, he looked as tired and hollow as she felt. And she couldn’t quite quash a rush of sympathy.

“We need to talk, Cara.” He looked like a man headed for the gallows.

She braced herself, determined to get this over with quickly. “No, we don’t have to talk. It’s fine, Max. There’s nothing left to say and nothing left for you to do.”

“You’re pregnant,” he rasped, looking every bit as frightened as he had in Fields when the avalanche hit.

“Yes, I am,” Cara confirmed, proud of her matter-of-fact tone. “And I’m fine with that. I truly am. I’ve made plans.”

“So I heard.”

“You did?” That surprised Cara.

“From Gillian.”

“Oh.”

Dear sister Gillian yet again. She’d obviously called Jake last night, thereby sending every word down the überefficient communications pipeline to Max.

“Can I come in?” he asked.

Cara couldn’t hold back a frustrated sigh. “Really, Max, I’d rather you—”

But he stepped inside, causing her to step backward to avoid touching him.

“Well, okay, fine,” she capitulated. “Come on in.”

He closed the door, pressing his back up against it.

“I’m sorry,” he began, his glance flicking to her stomach.

“I’m not,” she told him with determination.

Amid all the uncertainty and chaos, Cara had come to understand at least one thing. She wasn’t sorry about this baby. She was going to be a good mother.

“I meant I was sorry for barging into the doctor’s office. I thought you were talking about the president.”

“Gillian told me.”

“It was a horrible invasion of your privacy, and I don’t know what I was thinking.” Then some of the fear and defensiveness left his eyes. “But you should have told me you were pregnant.”

“Really?” She honestly wasn’t sure about that. “Don’t you think you’d be better off not knowing? All it’s done is make you feel guilty. Knowing the truth hasn’t changed your opinion about being a father. It’s not going to change your behavior toward the baby.”

“Were you really planning to keep it from me? Forever?”

Cara gave a small shrug. That had seemed like her most reasonable plan.

“By leaving the country?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“You’d just up and leave me?” he asked, a funny tone coming into his voice.

“
Leave
you? How could I leave you, Max? We were never together. You and me were a nonstarter from minute one.”

She could quit work at the White House, getting rid of the conflict of interest. But Max didn’t want to be a father. And since she was definitely going to be a mother, the gulf between them was as wide as ever.

He lifted his hand. For a minute, she expected him to touch her face, the way he’d done a hundred times. Stroke his broad palm gently across her cheek, cup her face, draw her in for a kiss.

She could almost feel his fingertips, his full lips coming down on hers.

But he didn’t do it. He dropped his hand instead, and her chest tightened in disappointment.

“What do you want, Max?”

“I have money,” he told her.

“Really? Being a television star pays well, does it?”

“I meant you and the baby will never want for anything. You’ll never have to worry.”

Cara swallowed against her tightening throat. She swore to herself that she wouldn’t break down. She needed to get this over with as quickly as possible without losing her dignity.

“Thank you, Max,” she offered simply.

He frowned. “I might not be able to be with you, but I’ll make sure...”

She waited, but he didn’t finish the sentence.

“Thank you,” she forced out again.

He raised his hand again. This time, it was to rake his fingers through his hair. “Seriously?” he asked her.

Cara didn’t understand.

He pivoted on one foot, taking two paces across the small foyer, his voice growing stronger. “That’s your reaction?”

“My reaction to what?”

He turned. “Some stupid jerk stands here in front of you and offers you nothing but money to raise his baby all on your own, and you thank him?”

“Are you mad at me?”

“Yes!”

“Why?”

He had no right to be angry. She was making this as easy as possible on him. If anyone deserved to be mad, it was her.

He moved back in front of her. “Tell me no, Cara. Tell me off. Tell me that’s not good enough. Hit me or something.” His tone rose. “Tell me what you want from me.”

“Nothing,” she assured him with conviction. “I don’t want a single thing from you, Max. We don’t need your money. I don’t want your charity. The baby and I are going to be perfectly fine, thank you very much.”

“Without me?”

“Yes, without you.”

Wasn’t that the entire point of the conversation?

“In Australia?” Max drawled sarcastically.

Cara was confused. “Who said we were going to Australia?”

“It just occurred to me this very second that this is exactly what you want.”

“Huh?”

“For me to go away quietly, to leave you alone, to stay out of your and the baby’s life.”

Cara stepped closer. “Max, you are losing your mind.”

He glared at her for a long moment. His eyes went from glittering emeralds to a stormy sea to dull jade.

“Don’t let me do it,” he finally said.

“Have you been drinking?”

“Don’t let me walk away.”

“I’m not
letting
you do anything.”

Max was making his own choices. They had nothing to do with her. She couldn’t force him one way or another, even if she’d wanted to.

His tone went dull with disgust. “If I walk away from you, I’m no better than my old man.”

All the fight went out of Cara. Her entire body congealed into one big ache, and her tone went dead flat. “That’s not a reason to stay.”

She wouldn’t want him under those circumstances.

They stared at each other in charged silence. Then he reached for her hand. She glanced down, hating the way his touch brought her whole body to life.

“I love you, Cara,” he whispered in what sounded like amazement. “Do you suppose that’s a reason to stay?”

Her stunned gaze flew back to his.

He coughed out a brief, confused laugh. “How about that? I love you so much I can’t even think straight. And I am so sorry I didn’t realize it until now.”

His words weren’t computing in her brain.

“Max, what are you saying?”

“I’m saying that I’m not letting you go. I can’t let you go. I could never let you go.” His free hand went to her stomach. “And I’m not leaving our baby.”

Her mind flew into a whirl.

Before she could clear it, he’d moved closer still.

“You can’t leave the country,” he told her.

“I’m not leaving the country. Max, what is going on here?” She was trying desperately not to hope. But it sounded like he was talking about a future together.

“I’m having an epiphany,” he told her. “And it feels great.”

“But you don’t want a baby.”

“Theoretically, no. And there are a lot of logical reasons for that. But you’re not theoretical, and neither is our baby. So I’ve changed my mind.”

“Just like that?” she challenged.

“Yes.”

“In the past two minutes?”

“Yes. Try to keep up, Cara. I’m in love with you. Did I mention that? Let me say it again. I love you very, very much.”

“But—”

He brushed his thumb across her lips to silence her. “I was an idiot. But I’m over it now. Maybe it was Jake’s lecture. Maybe it was seeing you. Maybe the thought of you leaving D.C.”

“I’m not leaving D.C.,” she repeated.

“Gillian said you were moving to Australia.”

“Gillian lies quite a lot.” Cara was going to have to talk to her sister about that.

Max smiled. “I’m going to kiss you now.”

Cara scrambled to wrap her mind around his words. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

“If you think I’m saying that I love you, I’m not leaving you, I want to have a baby with you and I’m about to kiss you, then yes, I’m saying what you think I’m saying.”

Cara couldn’t stop a smile from forming on her face. The aches and pains evaporated from her body, her heart beginning to hope. “Kiss me, Max.”