Page 35 of Secret Baby for Mr. Grump

“Thank you,” he said. “But you shouldn’t have done that.”

“I had to,” I responded. “They’ll think you’re a criminal if I didn’t.”

He smiled then. “Do you think they don’t already think so? That you changed anyone’s mind?”

“Maybe not,” I admitted. “But at least you’re not sitting in a cold cell somewhere.”

He shook his head, looking far off in the distance. “The only reason I let you go through with it was that if everyone found out you were lying on oath, it would be a crime.”

“I guess we’re both in trouble with the law then.” I smiled weakly. “You’re welcome.”

And it turned out Marcus was right.

The court’s innocent verdict did nothing to change anyone’s mind. If anything, they were even more bloodthirsty, and they sought vengeance. The next few weeks were disastrous. The citizens felt robbed of their revenge and likely dialed up the abuse on Marcus’ family. I got some of it, too, with the looks and the gossip. I even lost out on a lucrative job opportunity because of my association with the town murderer.

I didn’t care much, but my parents were mad that I’d gotten involved in the first place and demanded to know if Marcus had touched me. Everyone was up in arms until I assured them that he didn’t.

And then Marcus left town, and everything calmed down again.

So, remembering all that, what right did I have to ask him to save us? To save this town? What beauty did I want to show him?

None.

FOURTEEN

MARCUS

The minute I stepped out of the airplane, I held my coat against the chill in the air and steeled myself for the vibrant, noisy, bustling sound that was New York City.

I hated it.

Nearly eight years in the city, and I still couldn’t get used to the crowds, the lights, and the fucking sounds that were at every turn. I walked out of the jet, nodding to the pilot of the private airline, and took out my phone, immediately dialing Sean.

“Where are you?” I asked.

“Good morning to you, too,” he responded tiredly. He sounded like he’d just woken up, even though I knew he wasn’t a late riser. He was far too professional for that. That was why I hired him as my PA in the first place. The man could multitask like a beast and could be on three phone calls with top executives while making breakfast for his children and wife.

“Don’t mess with me right now,” I said. “I want to get out of here as soon as possible.”

The city always crawled on my skin and made me feel dirty for some reason.

“Relax,” he said. “I thought you would be in a much better mood flying on the fancy million-dollar jet I chartered. Wasn’t that nice?”

I didn’t dignify that statement with a response. Sean knew I hated flying even more than I hated this noisy irritating city. I’d much rather take a train if I had the time to. Call it what you want, but I thought that being suspended a couple hundred thousand feet in the air on a moving piece of metal was just about the dumbest idea humans came up with.

But Sean had assured me that this meeting was an emergency, which meant a lot coming from him. He’d been the late Leverman’s secretary and knew the ins and outs of this business. He typically ran a smooth ship in my absence, so for him to suggest that there was something out of his control must have been monumental.

Which was why I dragged my ass out of Summit and got myself here this morning.

I gave in and allowed him to get me the private jet, not really for the luxury it afforded but simply because it made flying slightly more tolerable. At least, this way, I had some control over where we stopped if I couldn’t take the claustrophobia and nausea anymore.

After I walked a short distance from the plane, I immediately got into a black Mercedes Benz, which was likely also Sean’s doing. The man loved luxury cars and took every opportunity to hire one on the company’s dollar.

“You have an image to keep up,” he always said when I told him to get me something understated. “And I refuse to have you rolling up to meetings in a rust-brown truck, looking like a country bumpkin fresh off the farm.”

I didn’t push the issue more than I needed to. I truly didn’t care all that much what car I drove. As much as I wasn’t a car person, I appreciated the leather interiors and smooth ride.

As we drove, I pondered, letting my thoughts draw me in.

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