Ms. Slater, let’s schedule a time for this conversation when we’re not trying to speak over a band and we’re certain not to be interrupted—”
“And this is Nina.” She angled sideways so the baby’s chubby-cheeked face was fully in view.
Cute kid. But that was irrelevant. “I don’t think this is the—”
“Her mother is Bianca Thompson.
She’d said that already, but hearing it again made him really look at the baby. She didn’t have Bianca’s red hair. The baby had dark brown hair. Like him. “Where is Bianca? Why am I talking to you instead of her?”
His suspicions mounted as he tried to put the pieces together before this blew up in a very public setting. His mother had gone to a lot of trouble putting together this shindig commemorating his homecoming. It meant a lot to her, since this also marked the end of his military commitment. In two weeks, he would start his new career as the head of the Landis Foundation’s international interests.
He didn’t want his family upset needlessly by a scene. Family was everything.
His eyes flicked uneasily back to the baby, looking too darn cute in her pink dress.
“I was only supposed to watch Nina until Bianca settled in at her new place in Southern Florida. Then weeks turned into months. When she stopped calling, I got worried and notified the police to file a missing person’s report. Which then brought child services into the picture, and if I don’t figure out something soon—” Phoebe’s chin quivered briefly before steadying again “—they’re going to put Nina into the foster care system.”
He wasn’t sure what she was up to anymore, but truth be told, even a conversation with a crazy woman was more engaging than the small talk he’d made tonight with people who were mostly here for the free food and a chance to rub elbows with politicians. Phoebe Slater was anything but boring.
“So you want me to take in this child, with no proof of who you are or who this kid is.”
“Just hear me out.” Her eyes turned a deeper shade of brown, panic glinting.
His instincts went on alert. If this woman was a crook—or a psycho—the kid could be in danger. That changed things entirely. “You know, maybe I should hold the baby after all, while we check into things.”
“You’re doubting me now, aren’t you? Smart man.”
She secured the sleeping baby and leaned to dig through the voluminous diaper bag on the bench. Good Lord, he could have stuffed all his military gear in that sack.
His eyes dropped to her hips, to the sweet curve of her bottom as she rifled past diapers and a bottle. Was she really a college professor? He’d certainly never had any profs that looked like her.
What a waste to have all that appeal packaged in a woman he couldn’t go anywhere near. She straightened and turned back to face him, drawing his eyes upward.
“Okay, Captain Landis, I thought you would want proof. And well you should.” She pulled out a file of papers. “I’ve got her birth certificate, photos and a notarized letter from Bianca stating I’m a babysitter for Nina, authorizing me to get medical attention for her. I even included a copy of my driver’s license.”
He took the file from her and flipped it open, angling so his shoulders blocked any passersby from possibly seeing the contents. He scanned the first page, with pictures of Bianca Thompson holding a baby with wide blue eyes.
The hair on the back of his neck prickled again. He turned to the next page and read through the birth certificate…
With his name in the “father” box.
He exhaled hard. True or not, he still needed a second to process seeing his name in that context. Not that he had anything against kids—he liked his nephew well enough. He’d just planned to leave perpetuating the Landis name to his brothers.
Thumbing to the last page, he found a copy of Phoebe Slater’s driver’s license. The picture was unflattering, to say the least, with eyes deer-in-the-headlight wide and no smile, but without question it was her.
All of which proved nothing, in and of itself. Why the hell hadn’t Bianca notified him? She had plenty of contact numbers. He may have been out of the country, but his family had all been firmly here on U.S. soil.
The more he thought about this, the less it made sense. If the little girl was his, he would move forward and take responsibility. Landises didn’t shirk their responsibilities. But, for the child’s safety as well, he needed to investigate this claim and this woman further.
He closed the file and tucked it under his arm. “I’m going to need some time to look over this. I can’t just take home a child because you say—”
She laughed, her breath gusting a straggled strand of blond hair. She scraped it away and behind her ear. “No, you completely misunderstand. I don’t want you to take her. I got the message loud and clear from Bianca that you’re not interested in settling down. And truly, I love this little girl.” She rested her cheek on top of the baby’s head with unmistakable maternal affection. “I want to be her mother. I want to adopt her, if at all possible.”
He should be relieved…but something was still off. His instincts from battling overseas bellowed loud and clear that there were more land mines ahead. “Then why are you here?”
“I’m here to keep Nina out of the foster care system, ” she said, her words tumbling together as she blurted, “I’m here to ask you to marry me.”
Two
Phoebe bit her lip, cringing inside over having blurted the “proposal” rather than easing him into the idea the way she’d mentally rehearsed.
Too late to call back the words now. The band segued into a Motown ballad, the crooner’s tune filling the silence while she waited for Kyle’s reaction. Not for the first time, she cursed Bianca for disappearing, while praying that her old friend hadn’t landed in some kind of trouble. Or worse.
Meanwhile, she had to make use of whatever allies she could find, and please, please she hoped Kyle would fall into that category. She searched his face for some clue of his feelings, but he guarded his emotions well.
Finally, he raised a hand shoulder-high.
She tensed, wondering, waiting and definitely keeping her trap shut for now. She was a thinker, a plotter, damn it. Bianca was the impulsive one.
Kyle spanned a broad palm along Nina’s back protectively, his gold college ring glinting in the flickering candlelight. “Let me hold the kid for a minute.”
Relief gusted from her so fully that she hadn’t even realized she’d been holding her breath. She’d hardly dared hope it would be this easy for him to connect with his daughter—
Then the glow from the pewter tiki torches revealed the glimmer of alarm in his eyes, quickly covered as he flashed a pacifying smile.
Damn.
He thought she was off her rocker to the point he feared for Nina. As if she would do anything to
