really?” he said, stepping into the room and spying the portable crib. Julia followed and saw Jake wearing a great big grin on his face, gripping the railing with both hands as he bounced on the mattress.
“Because I think it’s a baby.” Cameron turned and glared at her. “What do you think?”
She walked over to the crib, smiled down at her son and whispered, “Looks like a baby to me, too.”
Jake’s little cheeks were red with exertion and Julia felt a sharp ache in her heart. He held out his arms and his knees began to wobble. “Mama, Mama.”
“Hello, my darling.” She bent to pick him up and perched him against her shoulder, rubbing his back. “That’s better. Don’t worry, sweetie, I’m here. That’s my good boy.”
“What in the—?” Cameron’s tone held a dangerous edge. “Julia, is this your kid? “
She smiled and kissed Jake’s soft cheek, inhaled his warm, powdery baby smell, then turned to face Cameron. “Yes, he’s mine. And yours. Cameron Duke, I’d like you to meet Jacob Cameron Parrish, your son.”
Two
Cameron immediately stepped back two feet and smacked his elbow into the doorjamb.
“What the hell kind of a joke is this?” he demanded, rubbing his elbow. Damn, that hurt. “Trust me, it’s not funny.”
Apparently, someone disagreed as the baby let out a gut-deep laugh and clapped his hands together. “Ba-da-ba!”
Cameron frowned at the little guy, then glared at Julia, who seemed to be holding back a smile. That set him off even more. He wasn’t about to be played for a fool.
He knew the game. This wasn’t the first time a woman had tried to pin a paternity suit on him. That was the downside of having a lot of money. The upside was, he wasn’t an idiot, despite what he’d told her earlier in jest. He had plenty of lawyers and he knew how to deal with this nonsense. “Not that I believe one word of your story, but the kid’s not exactly a newborn. So why’d you wait so long? If he’s really mine, why didn’t you tell me before now? “
“You’re kidding, right?” Julia laughed sardonically. “Cameron, I emailed you a number of times asking you to call me. In the last message I sent, I told you everything. So what part of ‘I’m having your baby’ didn’t you understand?”
His eyes narrowed and he moved in closer. “And what part of ‘I don’t believe you’ do you not understand? This is the oldest trick in the book. If you think you’re going to get money from me, you’re crazy.”
“I don’t need your money,” she said crossly, then lowered her voice as the baby began to fuss. “I was just trying to let you know you were going to be a father. But you couldn’t return one lousy email. You couldn’t make one stupid phone call. No. You’ve got rules.”
She patted the baby to calm him down as she paced the floor in front of the crib. She rounded and came right up to Cameron, clearly riled as she poked him in the chest to emphasize her words. “But you know what? Maybe it’s just as well that you ignored Jake and me. With your lifestyle, you probably wouldn’t make a very good father anyway.”
He grabbed hold of her slender hand before she could take one more poke at him. “Don’t you ever insinuate that I would turn my back on my own child.”
He dropped her hand and watched her swallow apprehensively. “I didn’t. I just meant—”
“I would never hurt my own child,” he said through clenched teeth. “I know what it’s like to live with a—” Cameron stopped abruptly and raked his hand through his hair. “Hell, never mind.”
What was wrong with him? Except for his two brothers, he’d never told anyone about his childhood. He’d buried it all in the past, right where it belonged. And that ugly childhood was the very reason why he took every precaution to avoid bringing a child into this world. That’s why he knew this one couldn’t be his.
“I’m sorry,” Julia whispered.
Cameron pulled himself together, then turned and said calmly, “Never mind. The fact remains, I don’t believe you. We took precautions. I always take precautions.”
“Yes, I do, too. But nothing is 100 percent effective.” She looked down at the baby in her arms. “Obviously.”
“I don’t know what game you’re playing,” Cameron persisted, “but this is not my kid.”
“Baba, dada,” Jake said, enthusiastically wiggling in his mother’s arms. “Dada, ba-boo, dada.” He grinned and a tiny dimple appeared in his right cheek.
Dada? Cameron frowned and self-consciously scratched his own right cheek, suddenly ill at ease on a whole different level. “Tell him to stop saying that.”
Julia laughed. “He’s just babbling. It’s the first sound babies make. It doesn’t mean anything.”
Jake kept bobbing and grinning and the little dimple grew deeper. Cameron gritted his teeth. So he happened to have a dimple in his right cheek, too. Didn’t mean a thing.
“Come on, sweetie,” Julia whispered to the baby, and turned back toward the crib. “Let’s see if you’ll go back to sleep after all this excitement.”
“No! Baba! Dada!” Jake cried, waving his arms and turning to Cameron for help.
“Looks like he wants you to put him to bed,” Julia said wryly, and before Cameron could stop her, she thrust the baby into his arms.
“Hey, I’m not—”
“Baba,” Jake said, grinning as he bounced in Cameron’s arms. “Dada.”
Abruptly, the little boy stopped moving and stared meaningfully into Cameron’s eyes. Cameron couldn’t help but stare back as emotion washed over him. Confusion, affection, anger, frustration, joy, pain. Wonder. Cameron and Jake both blinked, then continued to stare, and Cameron felt as though he were gazing into his own soul. And where had that thought come from? This was just too weird. It couldn’t be happening to him. How could he be a father? It was the last thing on earth he ever intended to be.
Jake yawned and closed his eyes. He rested his head on Cameron’s chest, his tiny fist gripping Cameron’s shirt as though he were claiming ownership. Cameron touched Jake’s soft baby hand with his own larger, stronger hand, and felt something shift inside. He tightened his hold around the baby’s back, only because the kid might suddenly decide to try for a swan dive if he wasn’t careful. That was his story, anyway.
“He’s sleepy,” Julia said quietly. “Just lay him down on his back and rub his tummy a few times. He’ll be fine.”
“Sorry, pal, but your mom has spoken,” Cameron said in a low tone. He leaned over the crib and laid the baby down on the soft mattress. Cameron ran his hand over Jake’s head. The kid’s blond hair was impossibly soft.
Jake didn’t whimper or balk, but stayed right where he was. He stuck two fingers in his mouth and continued to stare up at Cameron in pure
