Stephen found himself observing after several minutes.
“Yeah, I know,” Adam said. “I’ve been thinking of running to be his replacement.”
Stephen shook his head. “The Business Council wants to uphold a certain image. Only married men have ever won election.” He raised his glass and took a sip of his drink. “And you and I, little brother, are far from the image they want.”
He and his brothers had well-earned reputations as players. Except now, Parker was married, and he’d probably be heading the same way soon, too, though he didn’t feel the need to share that news with Adam just yet.
“So, what are you going to do about Jade? I’d like to meet her.” Adam paused. “I’m an uncle, and I didn’t even know it!”
“Try finding out that three years ago you became a father,” Stephen replied ruefully. “And don’t worry, you’ll get to meet her.”
All the Garrisons would, even if he had to move heaven and earth to make it happen.
His brows snapped together as he recalled Megan’s accusation that he’d cheated. He could barely remember the night she’d referred to, or the woman who may or may not have tried to come on to him. But he knew he’d never two-timed anyone.
Still, he’d have to jog his memory somehow about the night she was talking about. It infuriated him even now that she had continued to be skeptical even in the face of his denial.
“How did you feel when you found out you had a child?” Adam asked, curiosity lacing his words.
Stephen considered his brother’s question. As he looked out at the water, Megan’s words came back to him. You wouldn’t be thrilled to discover I was pregnant.
Four years ago, he’d been happy to live in the moment. Yes, he’d given a passing thought to the fact that Megan was the one woman he could settle down with, but he hadn’t taken any concrete steps in that direction. The truth was he’d have been blown away to discover he was a father.
Now, though, he thought about the little girl he’d seen yesterday. She looked like him, and he’d felt an instant connection.
He knew he wanted to be a father to Jade.
“It was unbelievable,” he said, his gaze moving from the ocean to his brother. “She looks just like a Garrison, and the protectiveness automatically kicked in.”
In fact, he was mad as hell at being shortchanged on the past three years.
“I’ve heard having a daughter changes everything for guys,” Adam commented. “Suddenly you can’t look at women the same way.”
Tell me about it, Stephen thought, his mind traveling over all the women who’d blended into his past. Adam was right. He wouldn’t want Jade to grow up and fall for the kind of smooth operator he’d been for most of his adult life.
“So, you’re going to publicly acknowledge her?” Adam shook his head doubtfully. “I hope you know what you’re getting into. As much as I hate echoing our mother, what do you know about Megan Simmons?”
“Enough,” he said shortly.
“I remember meeting her when you dated four years ago,” Adam went on. “Think she’s one of those women who believes getting knocked up by a rich guy is like hitting the jackpot?”
“Shut up, Adam.”
“No, really,” his brother pressed.
“You don’t know anything about it. She was hiding the kid’s existence from me. I found out accidentally when I showed up at her house unannounced.”
Adam whistled. “Well, that puts a different spin on things. I won’t bother asking why you showed up at her house without an invitation.” His brother gave him a sly look. “Still carrying a torch?”
“Shut up,” he said, and downed some more of his drink.
It was late Sunday afternoon, and she and Anna Cross—no, Anna Garrison now, Megan corrected herself—sat at her dinette table enjoying some coffee and sinfully good Tres Leches cake.
Jade was playing in the living room, where they could hear and sometimes see her.
The house was big enough for Jade to play in, but small enough for just two people. Megan was glad now she’d taken up Anna’s lease when she’d moved back to Miami. At the time, Anna had no longer needed the house in Coral Gables because she was marrying Parker Garrison.
Jade’s uncle.
Of course, that meant Anna was Jade’s aunt.
She really needed to ’fess up, Megan thought, looking at her friend.
She steeled herself and took a deep breath. “I have something to tell you.”
“Mmm?” Anna responded, cutting off another piece of cake with her fork. “I shouldn’t, but this is so—so yummy—”
“Jade is a Garrison.”
Anna stilled for a moment, then her fork clattered against her plate. “What?”
Anna stared at her in disbelief, a dozen questions flitting across her face.
Megan rubbed clammy hands against her shorts. “Before you came to Miami four years ago, I dated Stephen Garrison.”
“Stephen—?”
Megan nodded.
“I didn’t even know the two of you had been involved!”
“It wasn’t a long relationship.” Though it had left its permanent mark. “It ended badly, and once it did, I was reluctant for a long time to share the details with anyone.”
Now, though, she decided to fill in Anna on her past relationship and recent conversations with Stephen. Once she was done, she said, “He’s threatened to go public. And he demanded I marry him.”
“I can’t believe you didn’t tell him about Jade,” Anna said. “Not that I’m passing judgment. It’s just that I think I’d have found it hard to keep it secret.”
And that was why, Megan thought, she hadn’t confided in her closest friend about the details of Jade’s paternity. She knew Anna would be working at Garrison, Inc. headquarters, and she didn’t want to burden her friend with an explosive secret about the boss’s brother.
Of course, she’d been tripped up by not having confided in Anna.
Anna looked thoughtful now that she seemed to have recovered from the initial shock. “I knew there was something between you and Stephen. I got some hints from Stephen’s reaction when I mentioned you at dinner once. You also seemed to have a funny reaction at my wedding when he was heading our way.”
“Actually, Stephen discovered I was back in Miami when you mentioned it to him,” Megan said.
Anna’s
