Free Loving You by Maureen Child Page B

and roll across the desk.
    â€œHe’s suing
me
.” This time, the emphasis was on him and Tasha knew that’s where his real interest lay. Not in Jonas or Mimi or even her. Nick Candellano was out for himself.
    Big surprise.
    â€œHe can’t be suing you,” she said. “He’s only eleven years old.”
    â€œYeah, well, his lawyer’s not a kid.”
    â€œLawyer?”
    He nodded stiffly. “Oh, it’s official. I got served with papers yesterday.”
    â€œI can’t believe this.” What had Jonas been thinking? He knew that she was trying to stay below the state’s radar. He knew that with Mimi gone, their little family was on tenuous ground.
    â€œ
You
can’t believe it?” He choked out a laugh that sounded as if it hurt his throat.
    Tasha, on the other hand, couldn’t find a thing to laugh about. Hundreds of thoughts raced through her mind, chasing one another, faster and faster, until her brain was a blur. “What, uh…” She sucked in a deep breath, blew it out again, and forced herself to ask, “What’s he suing you
for
, exactly?”
    Nick shoved his hands into his jeans pockets and rocked back and forth on his heels. His jaw worked as if he was trying to force the words out. Finally, when she felt as though she couldn’t stand the suspense a moment longer, he blurted it out.
    â€œPaternity.”
    Tasha plopped onto the edge of the desk, like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
    â€œThe kid says
I’m
his father.”
    Oh God
.
    Jonas, what have you done?

C HAPTER 6
    Something was wrong.
    Carla Candellano Wyatt knew it the minute she walked into her husband’s office. Jackson shot her a look that practically
screamed
“guilt.” And her brother Nick actually winced when he looked at her.
    Jackson’s secretary had been out to lunch when Carla arrived, so naturally she’d just knocked on the door and opened it. After all, when you were showing up to surprise your brand-new husband with a lunch-time seduction, the whole point was surprise, right?
    Only problem was, she was the surprised one. Her brother and husband had shut up the moment she opened the door, but the “kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar” expression they were both wearing was a pretty good indication that something important was going on. Something neither one of them was telling
her
.“Okay,” she said, shutting the door behind her, “what’s up?”
    â€œHuh? What do you mean?” Nick said, and, too late, tried to adopt a nonchalant air. He shoved his hands into the back pockets of his jeans and unconsciously shifted his feet into a wide-apart stance, as if expectinga fight. His big brown eyes went soft and innocent, but Carla wasn’t fooled. She’d seen that same expression too many times while watching Nick try to finesse his way out of trouble. Their parents had never bought his act and she wasn’t buying it now, either.
    â€œDon’t give me that, Nick,” she said, and crossed the room toward him. Her boots clicked loudly into the sudden silence as she walked across the wood floor. “You suck at lying. Always have. Something’s up and I want to know what it is.”
    Nick didn’t answer, just shot a helpless look across the room to Jackson.
    Carla followed his gaze and stared at her husband for a long second.
    He shook his head. “Leave it alone, honey.”
    She smirked at him. Poor man. He hadn’t known the Candellanos long enough to realize that was a useless plea. “Not likely.” Turning her head, she gave her brother her undivided attention again.
    â€œGo away, Carla,” Nick said tightly.
    â€œNot a chance,” Carla told him. Hey, this was family. Nick wouldn’t have stopped by to see Jackson for no reason in the middle of a workday. So that meant this was an official visit. Man-to-lawyer. Up until about a month ago, Nick