first name?â
Cassie knew she didnât have to pursue it. Another of Evaâs deceits. Was she really even pregnant? Was it all a scheme to squeeze money out of Heath? Prey on his vulnerabilities?
âIâm sorry. Did you say Sorenson?â Cassie asked. âI wasnât paying attention. I dialed wrong. My mistake.â
She dropped the receiver into the cradle and stared sightlessly at the phone.
âCass?â
She roused herself as James Paladin rapped his knuckles on her desk. Like her, heâd been hired as an investigator nine months ago when the L.A.-based ARC Security & Investigations opened its branch office in San Francisco.
âYou okay?â he asked.
âYeah.â She straightened, paid attention. âYeah. You need something, Jamey?â
âTo brainstorm the Kobieski case, if youâve got time.â
She looked at her watchâfive oâclock exactly. She didnât want to tell Heath over the phone. Heâd had enough heartache already. She could at least soften the blow in person. But the commute traffic from San Francisco across the bridge would be horrendous now. If she waited an hour or twoâ¦
âSure,â she said. âIâve got time.â
Â
From a downstairs bedroom Heath watched Cassie walk from her car toward his house, her strides purposeful. Sheâd called a few minutes ago, as she was driving across the bridge, alerting him she was coming, an unnecessary thoughtfulness since he never went anywhere and she knew it.
What had she found out? Something important or she wouldâve told him over the phone. Something good, he hoped.
He tried to turn off his appreciation of her as a woman, but he couldnât. She was beautiful, pure and simple. And unaware of it. If she used makeup at all, it was minimal.She pulled her hair back into a simple braid. No fuss, no muss. Her body was athletic and curvy, a one-two punch to a man whoâd recently convinced himself that celibacy should be the only path for him from now on, but who obviously wasnât capable of such a sacrifice.
Aside from her spectacular face and body she had a mind that appealed, too. And she didnât giggle.
The doorbell rang. He hadnât meant to make her wait, but heâd been distracted by thoughts of herâdidnât want to be, but he was. This time, however, he would control his response, even though her passion-filled promise that she would find his baby was as seductive as her physical being.
He set the little white teddy bear heâd been holding onto a nearby rocking chair and headed into the foyer. He opened the door, hope in his heart.
All hope fled when he looked in her eyes. âTell me,â he said.
âCan we sit?â she asked.
âTell me.â
Her mouth tightened. âAre you sure sheâs pregnant?â
Not dead. Not dead, or she wouldâve said so right away. Relief rushed through him like three straight shots of bourbon, hot and dizzying. âYes.â
âPositive?â
âWhy?â
âBecause Dr. Sorensonâs office says she wasnât a patient. How do you know for sure she was pregnant?â
âI felt the baby move.â
âI donât mean to question you on this, butââ
âShe let me put my hand on her abdomen many times while she visited. Sometimes she lifted her blouseenough that I could watch the baby move inside her. Iâve been through a pregnancy before, Cassie.â
She propped her fists on her hips and looked at the floor, blowing out a breath. âI thought sheâd been toying with you. Playing you forââ She stopped.
âA fool? A sucker?â he finished.
She shook her head. âA decent, but vulnerable man. One with money.â
He let the words linger for a few seconds.
âWhatâs the next step?â he asked, ignoring the implications of what sheâd said. âYou canât call every doctor