Dustin rose, walked over to her, and pressed a lazy kiss on her forehead. “Hey, lazybones. Glad to see you up.” He gave Samantha a loaded grin. “I let her sleep in. She’s… pretty tired.”
His meaning was so obvious that Chantelle wanted to stomp on his instep to teach him a lesson. It was bad enough he was playing the whole loving husband role to the hilt, but to brazenly imply that she and her new husband were up banging half the night.
The nerve.
She slid as gracefully as she could out of his embrace and asked Samantha, “Where are my brothers?”
“Out for a run.” Then Samantha added pointedly, “Even though Dennis had to borrow a pair of Tom’s sneakers, since Minerva peed in his shoes again.”
“I am so, so sorry,” Chantelle swore with all the sincerity she could muster, but deep down she had to stifle a laugh. Her cat made zero attempt to disguise her dislike of the man.
Dustin stepped in to rescue her. “Hungry, sweetheart?”
I’ll ‘sweetheart,’ you,she thought, but said sweetly, “No, thanks. I’m good. Just flavored water for me.”
Samantha gestured with a smile. “Already on the table.” She popped the cover courteously and handed it over. Chantelle accepted it gratefully and took a long sip. Who needed food when you had the nectar of the gods?
Dustin got up. “Cool. I guess we can go for that stroll, then.” Before Chantelle could say anything, before Samantha could react, he slid his arm in hers and began leading her out of the house, nodding goodbye to his breakfast companion.
They left the gates and took to the twisting country road that skewed off the main drive, taking the path they had shared each morning since her houseguests had arrived. They said nothing until they were out of sight of the house, and then he murmured slyly, “I enjoyed waking up this morning. Did you?”
Augh! She knew he’d die rather than not say anything. This morning, despite every effort she’d made to keep maximum space between them, she’d woken up to discover that she had rolled over in her sleep until she was pressed against his back, spooning him with her arms clasped around his waist and her lips pressed against his back. She was also horrified to discover that he was awake and probably had been for a long time. Even worse, he’d tauntingly taken to sleeping in nothing but his shorts, swearing on his deceased parents’ graves that this was how he normally slept. Yeah, hot and buff and half naked.
She knew he was taking the mickey out of her. She scowled at him. “Could you not?”
“Not what?” he asked innocently. “Inquire after your wellbeing?”
She smacked him lightly on the bicep. “Cut the crap, Spencer.”
He laughed, a low, delicious rumble.
She said, “Nice yarn you wove for my sister-in-law.”
“Maybe I missed my calling. Should have been a screenwriter.” Then he added, more seriously, “You were not kidding when you said you didn’t get along with your brothers, but at least Samantha is cool.”
“My brothers used to be alright before. And yes, Samantha is the family peacemaker nowadays.”
“When will you tell them about the baby?”
She was startled by his directness. And then, startled by her own honesty. “If I tell them of my pregnancy, it will probably set off a competition. Can you imagine a fertility race in which my brothers try to produce heirs of their own, to challenge me? And what if they put two and two together and figure out that’s why I was in such a hurry to get married secretly?”
“Challenge you? By having babies?”
“Our grandfather’s will has a clause in it. A very culpable one, considering my situation as Simon Clark’s adopted daughter.” It was such a bizarre clause that she felt awkward even speaking about it. “He stipulated that no illegitimate child, or no child born out of wedlock to a member of his line, could inherit any of the family’s assets.”
Dustin stopped dead, looking shocked. “You’re kidding.”
“Wish I was. But it’s right there in black and white, and Grady assures me it’s uncontestable.”
“In this day and age?”
“He had his own values and beliefs, Dustin,” she explained impatiently. “I’m beginning to get less and less angry with him. To his mind, it seemed a perfectly reasonable way to guard the family’s possessions, to protect them from external challenges. It sounds ridiculous to our modern ears, but he was doing what he thought would protect the integrity of our family.”
“And that’s why you needed to get married so fast.” He looked as though the final piece of the puzzle had fallen into place.
“Yes. I only found out about this after I had the insemination. I realized if I was to have this baby while unmarried, my child would never rise to his or her rightful position in this family, and never enjoy the full benefits of my hard work and the hard work of all his or her ancestors. How could I deny my child their chance?”
He glanced at her, and with a touch to her elbow, got them walking again. “And you figured the sperm donor would be the best candidate?”