“I want her punished.”

“Rightfully so. But, Nicole, consider the consequences. This will be an expensive and drawn-out process. Family drama never plays well in court. Jesse could get the jury’s sympathy vote. We can do our best to paint her as the bad guy, but that doesn’t always work. She lost her parents when she was very young—”

“So did I,” Nicole snapped.

“Yes, but you’re the older sister. People may blame you for her behavior.”

“That’s hardly news.”

“Other matters might come to light.”

Translation—the defense could bring up Jesse sleeping with Drew. While that should help Nicole, in truth it might make some members of the jury think the case was about revenge.

“There’s also the matter of her being pregnant. We don’t want that to be an issue, but by the time this got to court, she would be close to her due date. That would be in her favor.”

Nicole was fairly sure that Martin kept talking, but she couldn’t hear him. Not with the ringing in her ears.

“Did you say pregnant?” she asked, barely able to say the words.

There was a pause. “I’m sorry,” Martin told her. “I thought you knew.”

Knew? That Jesse was pregnant? Nicole stood. For once, she didn’t need her cane. “How far along?”

“I’m not exactly sure. Four months. Maybe a little more.”

Nicole swore. Jesse was having Drew’s baby.

Heat climbed her cheeks. Humiliation? she wondered. Or good, old-fashioned rage? Pregnant. She shouldn’t even be surprised.

She felt as if she was going to throw up. The room seemed to tilt.

“I have to go,” she managed.

“Nicole, I’m sorry. Is there anything I can do?”

“Drop the charges.”

“Are you sure?”

She nodded then remembered he couldn’t see her. “Drop them. You’re right. This is a losing battle.”

She hung up without saying goodbye, then closed her eyes and let the pain wash over her.

There’d been too much betrayal, she thought, trying to breathe through the ache in her chest. Too much loss. She’d given her baby sister everything, had sacrificed for her, loved her, dreamed for her, wanted only the best. And this was her reward.

A baby. Jesse was having a baby.

Nicole touched her own flat, empty stomach, then sank back into her chair. It wasn’t that she wanted a child with Drew, but a family…she’d always wanted a family. And someone to love, who loved her best. What she got instead was stabbed in the back.

How fair was—

The doorbell rang. She crossed to the front of the house and opened the door. A middle-aged woman with dark hair stood on the porch.

“Hello,” the woman said. “I’m looking for Jesse Keyes.”

“And you are?” Nicole asked.

“Paula Fenner. Jesse is dating my son, Matt. I need to speak with her. I’ve left several messages, but she won’t return my calls.”

“She doesn’t live here anymore,” Nicole said, knowing if Jesse was still in the house, she would kick her out all over again.

Paula frowned. “Where is she? She’s not living with Matt.”

“I have no idea.” Nicole refused to care. Jesse was twenty-two. She could take care of herself.

“May I ask why she moved out?” Paula’s expression was curious and determined.

Nicole hesitated. Her first instinct was to protect her sister, to not tell the truth. Then she remembered all Jesse had done to her, how Nicole had taken care of her, worried about her, loved her, and Jesse’s way of repaying her had been to sleep with Drew and get pregnant.

The anger always lurking under the surface exploded into something hot and demanding.

“I found her in bed with my husband,” Nicole said flatly. “I kicked her out.”

Paula’s face paled. “I’m sorry. I’m not surprised, but I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry, too,” Nicole said. She stepped back into the house and shut the door. She was sorry about a lot of things. Mostly caring about someone who had never thought about anyone but herself.

NICOLE WAITED impatiently on Wyatt’s front porch, then rang the bell again. Claire answered the door.

“Did you know?” Nicole demanded.

Claire frowned. “Know what?”

“That Jesse’s pregnant?”

Claire went pale. “Oh my God. Are you sure?”

“Reasonably. I heard it from my lawyer.”

“I didn’t know. I swear.”

Nicole believed her. Claire was talented in many ways, but she was a lousy liar. It was a good quality in a sister. Jesse, on the other hand, was an expert at avoiding the truth.

Claire stepped back to let her in. “I can’t believe it. Pregnant. Is it…”

Nicole entered the living room, wanting to hit something with her cane. “Drew’s? Based on the timing, it seems likely. I guess the boyfriend could be a possibility, along with whoever else she was sleeping with. But with my luck, the baby’s Drew’s. I know when I caught them together but who knows how long they’d been sleeping together before that.”

In her house. Making a fool of her. Lying to her. Pretending they both loved her while they were sneaking around and laughing at her.

She swallowed hard and vowed she wouldn’t cry. That was her new rule—no tears wasted on people who didn’t matter.

“I don’t know what to say,” Claire admitted. “This is awful. Have you talked to her?”

“No. There’s nothing to say. She’ll deny the whole thing. It’s what she’s good at.”

“But maybe—”

Nicole cut her off with a look. “This is not a good time to play the middle child.” She sank onto the sofa. “I just don’t get it. What went wrong? Why would she do this to me?”

“I don’t think it was totally about you. I think it just happened.”

Nicole rolled her eyes. “Is that what she told you? And you believe her?”

“You can’t know she was trying to hurt you.”

“Maybe not, but I have a good idea. She was angry with me. She hated that her half of the bakery was tied up in a trust until she was twenty-five. She was bugging me to buy her out now so she could go do who knows what.”

Claire sat next to her and touched her hand. “I know she was difficult and you did your best. She got into a lot of trouble, but to do something like this? And what about Matt? Didn’t she care about him?”

Nicole no longer had an answer. Jesse changed guys as easily as most other women changed shoes. But Matt had been different, or so she’d thought. Jesse had dated him for a few months and really seemed to care about him.

“Maybe she was playing him, too,” she said slowly. “She swore she loved him, that he was the one. It was all a big game to her.”

“I’m sorry.” Claire hugged her. “I’m so sorry.”

Sympathy was a little too close to pity for Nicole’s taste. She accepted the hug, reminded herself she wasn’t crying ever again, then stood.

“I should go.”

“No. You shouldn’t be alone.”

“I’m fine,” Nicole insisted. Suddenly the large room seemed too small. “I haven’t told Drew. I’m not going to. That’s Jesse’s job.”

“I won’t say anything and Wyatt won’t, either.”

Because Claire would tell her fiancé, who just happened to be Drew’s stepbrother. Talk about a mess.

Claire walked her to the door. “What can I do to help?”

“Knowing you’re here helps.”

“Are you sure?”

Nicole nodded. “I’ll call if I need anything else.”

She walked to her SUV and got inside. After starting the engine, she stared out the windshield. Where was she supposed to go now? What was she supposed to do? Her sister was pregnant by her soon-to-be ex-husband. Nicole was a cliché. She could be a character in a soap.

Jesse was unlikely to keep this kind of information to herself which meant soon everyone would know. Talk about humiliating.

She reached into her purse for a tissue and fumbled with a business card instead. She pulled it out and stared at the printing on the front, then reached for her cell phone and dialed.

When the phone was answered, she asked for the extension on the card.

“Hawkins.”

“It’s Nicole,” she said, doing her best to keep her voice from shaking. This was not a good idea but it was the only one she could come up with.

“You’re an unexpected surprise.”

“Is that good or bad?”

“I like surprises.”

His voice was teasing. That gave her courage. “Can you talk for a second?”

“Sure. Is this a regular conversation or should I close my door?”

“You might want to close it.”

There was a moment of silence, followed by a chuckle. “Okay. I wouldn’t have figured you were into phone sex. I’ll admit I’ve never done it, but I’m a fast learner.”

She squeezed the cell phone so tight, her fingers hurt. “I have to ask you a question. Did you mean what you said before? What you’ve been hinting at? Do you want to sleep with me or is it all a game?”

“Nicole, what’s going on?”

“Just answer the question.”

“Of course I’m interested.”

Thank God. She sucked in a breath. “Then here’s the deal. I’ll be your personal sex kitten. I’ll be available when, where and how you want.”

“That’s a hell of an offer.”

“There’s a catch.”

“I almost don’t care what it is.”

Now came the scary part. “I want you to pretend to be my adoring boyfriend. I want us to be seen in public. I want you to be all over me. You’ll be faithful, you won’t flirt with anyone else. I get to show you off to all my friends and in a few weeks, I want to publicly dump you.”

He was going to say no, she told herself. She was asking for too much. Worse, he was going to know she’d asked and that would be a whole new level of humiliation.

The silence stretched between them. She closed her eyes and held her breath. He was going to say no. Why wouldn’t he?

“Why?” he asked.

“I have something to prove.” And her pride to salvage.

“Is this about your ex-husband?”

“A little.”

“Are you still in love with him?”

“No.”

“You sure?”

“More than sure. He cheated and I’m angry, but I’m not hurt. He wants to get back together. I don’t. I’m just tired of how everyone’s acting. The pity is the worst. The knowing looks. I want to prove I’m totally fine.”

It was as close to the truth as she could get and not start sobbing.

“I don’t do relationships,” he said. “Not serious ones. I like serial monogamy, but I don’t do permanent.”

“Me, either.” Wait a second. Did that mean he was saying yes?

“Brittany would have to be told that we weren’t serious. I don’t want her worrying.”

“Just don’t tell her the specifics of the deal and I’m good with that.”

“Not a problem. I don’t discuss my sex life with her and I don’t need her knowing I had to make a deal to get you into bed.”

Her heart thudded in her chest. “So you agree?”

“Yes. When do you turn into my…what was it you said? Oh, yeah. When do you turn into my personal sex kitten?”

Relief tasted sweet. It was immediately followed by sexual anticipation and an ache between her legs.

“Whenever you want.”

“I can be at your place in twenty minutes,” he said.

“I’ll be waiting.”

“Can you be waiting na**d?”

“If it’s important to you.”

“It is.”

CHAPTER SIX

NICOLE RACED HOME and ran into the house. Actually she moved as quickly as she could considering her knee was still stiff, but it was almost like running.

She looked around downstairs, decided it was clean enough, then moved up the stairs.

Her bedroom was fairly tidy. She smoothed the covers on the bed, tossed all the clothes lying around into the closet and shut the door, brushed her teeth, then stared at herself in the mirror.

Naked. Hawk had very specifically said na**d. She fingered the hem of her T-shirt and knew there was no way she could meet him downstairs not wearing anything. It would be easier to learn to fly.

She turned back to her closet, pulled open the door and stared at the contents. Okay, what would be a good compromise?

She spotted a spaghetti-strapped sundress in pink. She didn’t like to go braless, so she’d never worn it. But the dress was pretty, feminine, and she would only be wearing panties underneath, so that was something.

She quickly ripped off her T-shirt and stepped out of her jeans, then tossed her bra aside. She shimmied into the dress, then closed the closet behind her. After giving herself a quick once-over, she made her way downstairs just as the doorbell rang.

Until that moment, she hadn’t had time to panic. She’d had too much to do. But now, as she walked toward the front door, terror gripped her. What on earth was she doing? This was crazy. Casual sex with a man she barely knew? She’d never done that before.

She opened the door. Hawk stood on her front porch, six feet three inches of gorgeous male.