Secret Baby Scandal by Joanne Rock

Author:Joanne Rock
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2016-08-28T04:00:00+00:00

Seven

Somehow, the zydeco music continued playing on Gervais Reynaud’s expansive patio and pool deck. The servers poured more champagne and Gervais offered a toast to César Reynaud, the first of the next generation. People helped themselves to hors d’oeuvres while conversation slowly recovered.

Tatiana sat on a far ottoman, nibbling on a grits-and-gumbo crostini topped with a tiny shrimp skewer. She knew it was delicious, as it incorporated all the flavors of the famed Cajun stew. But she barely registered the taste.

Everyone offered congratulations. Of course they did.

She’d murmured polite acknowledgments and enough commentary to be social, but as the focus shifted fully to the baby, she was able to clear her head long enough to take a much-needed deep breath and calm down. Because all the while Jean-Pierre showed off his firstborn, she seethed at the way her son’s introduction to his family had been tainted by half-truths.

Since the Reynauds had been given no explanation for why Tatiana and Jean-Pierre had kept their baby news quiet, she knew without question his family would blame her for keeping César a secret. Surely they all believed that if Jean-Pierre knew about the baby before now, he would have told them. And, no doubt, he would have.

So even as they passed around the sleeping newborn in his cream-colored footie with a velour shawl collar, they must have guessed that Tatiana had been the one keeping secrets.

But what Jean-Pierre had failed to share with them was her reason for not including him in their son’s birth. He had called their union a mistake. He’d walked out on her the morning after their one-night stand, making it clear that he’d only been on board for one night.

What was she supposed to do when that first pregnancy test had come back positive? How could she share such incredible, life-changing news with a man who might view their son as...another mistake? She swallowed hard, reminding herself that her fear had passed. Seeing Jean-Pierre hold César so tenderly now, and hearing the obvious pride in his voice as he talked about their son, it was almost inconceivable that she’d once feared early on that Jean-Pierre might have suggested she terminate her pregnancy.

But with the way they’d parted, she had most certainly feared the worst.

“Excuse me,” she said to no one in particular, backing away from the crowd around César. She needed a moment to herself, the ugly thoughts spinning so fast she felt dizzy. “I’ll be right back.”

Hurrying inside the house, she rushed through the beautifully appointed spaces, passing a server on the way who told her where to find a powder room.

“Tatiana?” She heard Jean-Pierre’s voice and quick footsteps behind her, and slowed down before she could reach her destination.

She ducked into a nearby doorway, a den she had noticed vaguely when she’d first arrived tonight. The powder-room visit would wait since she didn’t want to have this conversation over the sink. Here, leather club chairs and a small bar flanked a darkened fireplace, while books and football memorabilia lined the walls.

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