He used his days to maintain and work on growing his night clubs across the country, and he couldn’t think of a better temporary office to work from.
Mirage—the beautiful resort his mother had created, which had been wrenched away from her sons after her death—was always meant to be his. This place felt like home, and soon, so very soon, he’d be in charge just like his mother had always intended.
With the twentieth anniversary of her death approaching, Ethan knew it was well past time to make Lara Anderson’s dream a reality. Sticking Robert Anderson in some hellhole where he belonged would just be icing on the proverbial cake.
As Ethan turned back toward the living area, his cell vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out to see Harper’s name light up the screen.
Strange. They never texted or called. They kept this arrangement strictly superficial.
Where are you?
He hesitated but ultimately replied that he was in his penthouse. She’d only been gone from his bed a few hours. Since she’d left, he’d gotten in a full workout and managed to touch base with each of his managers for his nightclubs across the country. He was in the middle of branching out globally and hoped a deal in France would close soon.
Time zones were often a bitch to work around, but he had a dedicated staff and couldn’t run his company without such trusted members. Ethan demanded loyalty and, in turn, compensated his crew nicely.
He already had a master plan of who he’d bring on to Mirage to help with a smooth transition, though he fully intended on keeping the bulk of the resort’s staff, so long as they proved themselves worthy. He expected nothing but the best, especially where his mother’s legacy was concerned.
Ethan glanced back to his phone again, but Harper hadn’t replied. He had no clue what she wanted, but he needed to touch base with his brother. They might have drifted apart when their mother died, they might have dealt with her death in their own ways and closed out the world and each other, but Dane was all Ethan had left. No matter their past grief, Ethan always knew he could count on his twin.
They’d forged together to make a solid plan in reclaiming their mother’s pair of properties. Dane had acquired his resort in the mountains of Montana—now it was Ethan’s turn.
Mirage in Montana had been seized by Robert, but with a bad gambling move, he’d lost the place. Dane had gone in with a plan of charming the new owner’s daughter. He’d succeeded in acquiring the property, but somehow, he’d managed to fall in love and was planning a wedding.
Ethan would just take the property. Hold the wife.
He’d just pulled up Dane’s texts when the penthouse elevator whooshed open. Ethan shifted his focus from the phone to Harper.
As much as he appreciated her in, and out, of that red bikini, he had to admit those lush curves were killer in her strapless emerald green sundress. All that dark skin on display...damn, he couldn’t wait until tonight. Maybe she’d still have that dress on, because that thing sure as hell would provide easy access.
Her jet-black curls spiraled down her back with random strands draped over her shoulders. There was nothing about this woman he didn’t find sexy and appealing. Had she come here because she couldn’t wait for tonight?
No. That wasn’t desire staring back at him. There was a look in her rich brown eyes that had him stilling, his heart clenching...not in a good way. She crossed the spacious suite, her wide gaze never wavering from his. The only sign that she was nervous or upset was the way she toyed with the delicate gold bracelet she always wore.
“What happened?” he asked, knowing she wouldn’t be here with that panicked look in her eyes nor would she have texted him unless something was wrong.
“We have to talk.”
Ethan let those words sink in before he let out a bark of laughter. “That sounds like the precursor to a breakup.”
Which didn’t make sense, considering they weren’t an actual couple. There was nothing to break up.
Her worried look didn’t even crack. “That’s not why I’m here.”
“Then what has you looking like your world has come to an end?”
Harper took in a deep breath, and for the first time since they’d met a month ago, she didn’t seem like the confident, poised woman he’d come to know.
“I’m pregnant.”
* * *
Saying those two words out loud didn’t make this situation seem any more real or any less terrifying. Since taking the test this morning, she’d been in a fog, wondering how to tell Ethan, worried how he’d react, scared for her own future and how she’d provide a child with a stable home. But Harper had never backed down from a problem or a confrontation. She’d overcome so much heartache and tragedy, she couldn’t look at this like a mistake or a setback.
Harper firmly believed everything happened for a reason...even if she didn’t understand and the timing was less than ideal.
Her entire life since Ethan approached her on the beach had been a series of firsts—the red bikini, the one-night stand, the continuation of that one night into an ongoing fling with a virtual stranger, the shower sex, the balcony sex in the middle of the night and now the two blue lines.
She’d had one serious relationship, but that had ended just before her sister died. Harper wasn’t looking for any other commitment that would inevitably bring on more pain. But the fear of this situation settled heavy between them.
“Say something,” she demanded after the yawning silence only added to her ever growing worry.
Ethan’s bright eyes locked onto her. “You’re serious.”
Harper let out a mock laugh. “Do you think this is something I’d joke about?”
After another moment of awkward, tension-filled silence, Ethan muttered a curse and shook his head.
“No, but I don’t know what to think.” He raked a hand through his messy hair before shifting his attention back to her. “I won’t ask how you know it’s mine. I may not know much about you, but I know you haven’t shared anyone else’s bed.”
“You’re the first man I’ve been with in nearly a year.”
Harper smoothed a hand over her queasy belly. She was more nervous about this conversation than she was nauseated from the pregnancy. But she hadn’t been with a man in so long, which would explain part of the reason why she’d found Ethan so charming and irresistible. The other reason was because she was still trying to find her footing with her late sister’s company, and Harper had used sex with Ethan as a much-needed means of escape.
She also kept hearing her sister’s nagging in the back of her mind. Her fun-loving, life-of-the-party sister who always had encouraged Harper to step out of her comfort zone. Coming to this resort alone, wearing that bikini in a size fourteen, faking a confidence she didn’t feel...all of these things were firsts for her.
“I didn’t want to keep this from you,” she went on, then paced to the double doors leading to the balcony. “I just found out this morning. I realize we barely
