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The taxi screeched to a halt in front of the grand hotel, jolting the baby and waking her up. She immediately started to fuss and Tessa rocked her in her arms, trying to soothe her. No doubt she was hungry. Tessa’s breasts ached at hearing her daughter’s whimpers and she knew she needed to feed her soon.
Glancing out the window, she stared up at the gorgeous building. “Claridge’s?” It was one of the most iconic and luxurious hotels in all of London.
“Of course. Only the best for a Worth,” he said dryly as a hotel porter opened the door for her.
She climbed out of the car as best she could what with the baby in her arms. Two hotel employees rushed toward the car after her exit, gathering her meager belongings. Alex exited the cab and rounded the car so he could stand beside her. “I called while you were getting your things. They’ll deliver your belongings to the suite so you don’t have to worry about it.”
“I need the diaper bag.” She ran after the porter who had it slung over his arm, jostling a now crying Charlotte in her arms. She finally caught up with the man and tugged on his arm. “Sir, could I please have the bag?”
“But of course, miss.” He handed it to her without question, his eyes wide as he looked from her to Alex who somehow magically appeared at her side. Again. “My apologies, Mister Worth.”
“No need. It was an honest mistake.” He nodded at the porter who then turned on his heel and scurried away.
“You intimidate people just by looking at them.” She was in awe of his quiet power yet it also disgusted her. It made her feel like every other poor little regular minion, enraptured with the presence he so effortlessly yielded.
“Are you trying to find fault with everything I do?” He hurried to keep up with her as she strode into the hotel lobby.
“Yes.” She glanced about, looking for the elevators. She needed to get Charlotte to a room and quick so she could feed her. Her cries were growing louder, drawing the attention of the guests milling about the lobby. “What floor are you staying on?”
“The penthouse.”
“Of course,” she muttered and shook her head. “Is there a separate elevator or do you use the same one as the common people do?”
“No special elevator.” He paused, looked ready to say something else but she wouldn’t give him the chance. “Tessa, wait.”
She’d already taken off toward the elevators, hating how everyone looked at her with thinly veiled disgust. Had none of them ever seen a fussy baby before? Were none of them parents? They looked at her and Charlotte like they were alien creatures who had just landed in their midst.
Alex kept calling her name but she ignored him. Didn’t slow her pace until she finally got to the elevators where she waited amongst a group of elegantly dressed couples. They all appeared ready to attend a party, the women gorgeous and dripping in jewels and the men in black tie.
“Alexander Worth, is that you?” one of the women screeched as he approached.
Tessa kept her head bent, trying her best to calm Charlotte. The woman draped herself over Alex who looked very uncomfortable as he tried to escape her grip. She didn’t feel sorry for him. No, more like she wanted to kick him in the shins and run for cover.
Why did he have to know everyone? And why was she always left feeling like an awkward little fool? He probably didn’t want any of these people to see her standing next to him clutching a baby. They would talk, gossip would spread around London and soon the rumors would fly all over the world.
Turning, she kept her back to them and her ears wide open.
There was much idle chitchat amongst the group and Alex as they waited for the elevator. Luckily, Charlotte had quieted down. Alex never once acknowledged them, let alone mentioned them. She couldn’t blame him but there was that teeny trickle of shame coursing through her. That perhaps he was embarrassed to have them discovered. Unmarried, young and clearly unsophisticated, his former employee who once worked directly under him and she was the mother of his first child?
It was all so—sordid.
A ding sounded and the elevator doors slid open, a gob of people spilling out before they all walked in. Tessa hurried in first and stood at the back of the car, Alex closer to the front. The car quickly emptied, the group who knew Alex getting off on the third floor where the banquet rooms were. One by one, the people stepped off until finally, they were the only two in the elevator.
Well, three, counting Charlotte.
“You didn’t want to be seen with me,” he said the moment the last person stepped off and the doors shut.
“I thought you didn’t want to be seen with me. We’re your dirty little secret, after all.”
“I don’t think that…”
“Give me a break. How would you explain us to your friends, hmm? ‘Oh, let me introduce you to Tessa. She recently gave birth to my daughter who I only just learned exists. You see, Tessa used to be my assistant and we had a torrid little affair until I fired her for betraying me.’ Does that sound about right to you, Alex?” She glared at him.
“Everything is so black and white for you, isn’t it?”
She couldn’t believe he had the nerve to say that. “You’re the king of black and white. There are no shades of gray when it comes to the way you conduct your life. It’s either one thing or another. This side or that side. Talk to your brothers, talk to your business associates and the board members. They’ll all agree with me.”
His skin turned pale. He looked shaken, and she couldn’t help the surge of satisfaction that pulsed through her. He deserved to hear the truth.
The elevator stopped with a soft ding and he turned toward the wall, pushing his keycard into the slot so the doors magically slid open. He stood back, allowing her to go first and she did so, tucking Charlotte close, wishing like crazy he would acknowledge her.
“What if I told you I was trying to change my ways?” His velvety soft words curled around her, and she slowly turned around. He stood in front of the now closed elevator doors, his entire body tense. They were in a tiny entry, the door to the suite shut. The space felt very tight, especially with Alex’s overwhelming presence taking over.
“I would say I have a hard time believing that.”
He took a step toward her. “What do I have to do to prove myself? To earn your forgiveness? To regain your trust?”
She blinked. Charlotte’s hunger forgotten, her shoulders sagged at his overwhelming words.
Did he mean it? Could he mean it? Did he really want to change?
“I know something you could do,” she finally said.
Alex hadn’t moved from where he stood. “What?”
“You could start by acknowledging your daughter.”
Fear coursed through Alex at Tessa’s suggestion. He…couldn’t do that. Babies made him uncomfortable. He’d never been around them much. Hell, he didn’t think he’d ever held one. Where would he have had the opportunity?
“She’s yours, Alex. There’s no mistaking it.” She sounded so sad, looked so lost. And he felt like an utter ass for doing this to her. “She looks so much like you.”
“Why did you keep her from me?” He sounded raw, felt raw.
“You made it very clear that you never wanted to see me again.”
He had. He knew he had, and he’d mentally kicked himself for it every day since that night he sent her away.
“Hold your daughter, Alex,” she said when he didn’t say anything. “I want you to hold Charlotte.”
Slowly he approached Tessa. The diaper bag hung off her arm, swinging from the crook of her elbow. She held the baby close, her little face nuzzled against Tessa’s neck. Tessa’s familiar scent filled his senses, mixed with a sweeter, purer smell.
His baby. His child’s scent. Breathing deep, he held it, let it absorb through his skin, flow through his blood.
Tentatively he rested his hand on the baby’s back. She was warm, so warm and the little sleeper she wore was soft. She shifted beneath his palm, offered a little hiccup and her head jerked against Tessa’s body. He dropped his hand, shocked by the movement.
“Look at her.” Tessa turned the baby in her arms and offered Charlotte to him, belly up, legs kicking straight out. Her eyes…were just like his. Same color and shape. The dark hair was negligible, could come from either of them and her lips were full and sweet, just like her mother’s.
An ache formed in his chest and he couldn’t breathe. Not while staring at the face of the child he and Tessa created. She was beautiful and so small. Innocent and lovely and screwing up her face, ready to bawl her little eyes out.
“Oh.” Tessa pulled the baby close to her. “She’s hungry. I need to feed her.”
Alex went for the diaper bag still swinging from her arm. He was so rude. He hadn’t even taken it for her. “Is there a bottle inside the bag?”
“I, um, breastfeed her.” Her cheeks were pink, and she let him take the bag.
Pausing, still holding the bag’s strap in his hand, he didn’t know quite what to say. “That’s a—good thing right?”
“The very best thing.” She nodded.
A knock sounded on the door. “Your bags,” he murmured, turning toward the door. Glad to be away from her and the baby for at least a few seconds.
