The Executive's Surprise Baby

Present Day

"Merry Christmas, I'm having a baby. Your baby," Brooke Garrison corrected the phrasing, wanting to get it just right before the father of her child walked through her office door.

Any second now.

She shifted behind her sleek metal desk from where she managed the family's Sands Condominium Development. She toyed with her hair. Longed for more peppermint ice cream--yes, she'd eaten a scoop with breakfast.

Damn. Time was ticking away faster than the blinking lights on the Christmas tree in the corner of her office, and she still didn't know the perfect way to tell Jordan about his impending fatherhood.

"I'm pregnant, and it's yours." She practiced another tact. "The birth control we used apparently failed. Probably when we were in the hot tub."

Hmm... She shook her head. Bad idea thinking about sharing a bath with Jordan. She swiped back a lock of hair that had slithered free from her French twist. As manager of Sands Condominium Development--a segment of the Garrison family empire--she should be more decisive than this.

Except nothing had ever been more important. "I'm expecting." Expecting what? That sounded like FedEx should be showing up soon with a package. She kicked off her heels that had long ago started pinching her swollen feet, even without panty hose.

Thanks to her ever-present tan, a by-product of living in Miami's South Beach, she could go without stockings. And why was she thinking about clothing accessories?

Likely to avoid the subject that jangled her nerves. She should have already prepared the flawless speech. The Garrison family perfectionist, never making waves, she was always organized. Not so much now.

Worst of all, there was no excuse for her lack of prep work. Once she'd dropped the pregnancy news bomb at the weekly family dinner, she'd known it was only a matter of time until word got out. Eventually her future brother-in-law, Emilio, would unwittingly say something to his own brother--and business partner.

Jordan Jefferies.

When her secretary had buzzed her with the news that her family's biggest business rival would like to see her, Brooke had known that eventually had arrived.

Sooooo, what about, "Remember that night five months ago after they read my father's will? When I actually indulged in three sips of wine?" Dumb move having any at all since she never drank for fear of being like her alcoholic mother. "And after that, we had wild monkey sex in a hotel room until--"

The door opened and her mouth closed. Jordan didn't fling it wide or send it crashing against the wall. He didn't need to. The man in a gray pin-striped suit had the kind of presence that resonated through a room more than any echo of wood pounding wall. The diamond cuff links and tailored perfection of him contrasted with her memories of their raw, heated night together.