Free One Night with a Star (Second Chances Book 2) by Merry Farmer Page B

coming into the house in case Daniel was asleep. At that moment, however, she had huge ulterior motives. If she woke Daniel up and he caused a fuss, it would be icing on the cake and exactly what Simon deserved.
    “Jenny?” her dad called back from his office around the corner and down the hall. She heard his chair creak, and a moment later, he poked his head out into the hall. “It’s the middle of the day. Everything okay?”
    “Yeah,” she answered, smiling. “I came by to see if Daniel was up, maybe to take him out.”
    “Honey, what are you doing home?” Her mother wandered into the hall next, bouncing Daniel on her hip.
    Jenny’s heart swelled the moment she saw her darling boy. He burst into a gummy, open-mouthed smile at the sight of her and reached out. Jenny swooped over to take him from her mom’s arms, hugging him.
    “Hi, sweetie.” She kissed his head, squeezing him close. Daniel could improve her mood in no time. Almost enough to make her change her mind about what she had in store for Simon. Almost.
    “Simon Mercer,” her dad said as soon as he noticed Simon lingering in the front hall behind Jenny. “What brings you to our humble abode?”
    Her dad spoke with all the neighborly delight of a man who was thrilled to be able to count a mega-star as a friend. Her mom wore the same look. Simon, on the other hand, was on the verge of catching on to the plan Jenny had in store. As her dad grasped Simon’s hand in a hearty, New England handshake, a note of desperation filled Simon’s eyes.
    “Dad, Mom, you met Simon at the wedding, right?” she started.
    “We did,” her mom said. “We had a nice conversation, but it was too short.”
    “Well, I’m sure you’ll get to have a lot more conversations in the future,” Jenny went on, her smile bigger than ever. “Simon is Daniel’s father. He knocked me up after a one-night stand last summer when he was visiting Spence at Sand Dollar Point. He wants to be part of Daniel’s life now.”
    Everyone froze. She could hear the grandfather clock ticking in the hall. Then, boom!
    “What?” her dad barked. His cheery greeting turned into a tower of rage that would have men far better than Simon quivering in their boots.
    Simon raised his hands in defense so fast that he looked as though someone was holding him up. “It was not a one-night stand,” he said, all color draining from his face. “Jenny and I got along really well.”
    “I guess so.” Her father closed in on Simon, backing him toward the door.
    “Now Robbie, calm down,” Jenny’s mom said.
    “You seduced my daughter? Like she was one of your Hollywood groupies?” her dad pressed on.
    Daniel began to fuss at his granddaddy’s shouting, so Jenny backed up into the doorway to the kitchen, rubbing his back and soothing him with kisses. She may have been the only one in the house who was actually enjoying the scene.
    “Sir, I have complete respect for your daughter,” Simon stammered in an attempt to defend himself. “What happened was a mistake.”
    “Do you have these mistakes with lots of girls?” her dad boomed on.
    “No, no, sir. Jenny is special.”
    “You’re damned right she’s special.”
    “I care for her a lot and I want to do the right thing.”
    “That’s all well and good now,” her father said. “What about then? I assume you didn’t use protection. You could have made her sick, you stupid limey jerk.”
    “That wasn’t the intention at all, sir. We were just carried away by—”
    “How many other babies do you have out there that we don’t know about? Have you been tested for HIV and all that? If you’ve done anything to put my baby girl’s life in jeopardy—”
    “I don’t sleep around,” Simon came back to him. “I’ve always been very careful. I swear, I don’t have anything that I could have given her.”
    “Are you sure about that? Do we need to go down to the clinic right now and get you tested?”
    “Dad,” Jenny stepped in. Things