The Tycoon's Paternity Agenda Read Online Free Page B

driver? “He’s fine,” Adam said. “And we have a lot to discuss.”
    Her smile dissolved and there was disapproval in her tone when she said, “Well, then, come on in.”
    He followed her up the steps to the porch, where she kicked off her muddy boots before opening the door and gesturinghim inside. A small vestibule opened up into the great room and to the left were the stairs leading to the second floor.
    The furniture was still an eclectic mix of styles and eras. Careworn, but comfortable. The only modern addition he could see was the large, flat-screen television over the fireplace. Not much else had changed. Not that he’d been there so often he would notice small differences. He could count on two hands how many times they had visited in the seven years he and Becca were married. Not that he hadn’t wanted to, despite what Katy and her parents believed.
    â€œMy parents wanted to be here to greet you, but they were held up at a cattle auction in Bellevue,” Katy told him. “They should be back within the hour.”
    He had hoped to get this business out of the way, so he could return to El Paso at a decent hour. Though it was Friday, he had a long workday ahead of him tomorrow.
    â€œWould you like a cold drink?” she asked. “Iced tea or lemonade?”
    â€œWhatever is easiest.”
    Katy turned toward the door leading to the kitchen and hollered, “Elvie! You in there?”
    Several seconds passed, then the door slid open several inches and a timid looking Hispanic girl who couldn’t have been a day over sixteen peered out. When she saw Adam standing there her eyes widened, then lowered shyly, and she said in a thick accent, “ Sí, Ms. Katy.”
    â€œElvie, this is Mr. Blair. Could you please fetch him something cold to drink, and take something out to his driver, too?”
    She nodded and slipped silently back into the kitchen.
    Katy looked down at her filthy clothes. “I’m a mess. I hope you don’t mind, but I’m going to hop into a quick shower and get cleaned up.”
    â€œBy all means.” It wasn’t as if he was going anywhere. Until her parents returned he was more or less stuck there.
    â€œI’ll just be a few minutes. Make yourself at home.”
    She left him there and headed up the stairs. With nothing to do but wait, Adam walked over to the hearth, where frame after frame of family photos sat. Adam had very few photos of his own family, and only one of his mother.
    In his father’s grief, he’d taken down all the pictures of Adam’s mother after her death and stored them with the other family antiques and keepsakes in the attic of his El Paso estate. A few years later, when Adam was away at school and his father traveling in Europe, faulty wiring started a fire and the entire main house burned to the ground. Taking whatever was left of his mother with it.
    At the time it was just one more reason in an ever-growing list to hate his father. When Adam got the call that he’d died, he hadn’t talked to the old man in almost five years.
    He leaned in to get a closer look at a photo of Becca that had been taken at her high school graduation. She looked so young. So full of promise. He’d met her only a few years later. Her college roommate was the daughter of a family friend and Becca had accompanied them to his home for a cocktail party. Though Adam had been a decade older, he’d found her completely irresistible, and it was obvious the attraction was mutual. Though it had been against his better judgment, he asked her out, and was genuinely surprised when she declined. Few women had ever rejected his advances.
    She found him attractive, she said, but needed to focus all her energy on school. She had a plan, she’d told him, a future to build, and she wouldn’t stray from that. Which made him respect her even more.
    But he wasn’t used to taking no for an answer,