Free The Daddy Decision by Donna Sterling Page B

make Fletcher realize that he has to go out and get a life before he fathers a baby?”
    An earnest discussion ensued.
    Cort, meanwhile, crossed his arms and rested his head against a pillow with his eyes tightly closed. He’d be sure to spend next Thanksgiving in London. Or Rome. Or, hell...Timbuktu.
    Â 
    THE NIGHT PASSED slowly for Laura, yet morning arrived too soon. She wasn’t ready to face the day. She’d thought about Cort’s offers from every conceivable angle, only to find herself more confused, suspicious and, worst of all, tempted .
    The chance to make her mark in Atlanta—to design the interior of a Georgian Reid villa—didn’t come along every day. Not to mention the half-million-dollar investment in her business, plus profit from decorating the house.

    If they made the best of the investment and their businesses flourished, their child would be raised with every advantage that economic freedom could give. How could she walk away from that?
    Why had Cort offered the money, the job, the exposure? Did he have an ulterior motive, or was she wronging him by suspecting it? She wished she knew!
    A discreet knock interrupted her anxious brooding at the early hour of 6:30 a.m. She threw her robe on over her nightshirt and opened the door to admit Fletcher.
    He dropped into an armchair while she sat on the edge of the bed. He wore neat blue pajamas, a navy robe, leather slippers and glasses. His well-trimmed beard and tidy morning attire reminded Laura of her father, yet the large, earnest blue eyes behind his glasses brought to mind a little boy. “Do you think Cort is serious about investing that money?”
    â€œI believe so.”
    â€œ Half a million dollars! ” A slight tremor sounded in his voice. “Do you realize what we could do with that kind of cash?”
    â€œQuite a bit.” An understatement. They could expand their businesses in the way they’d always dreamed. Take their products nationwide; attract a wealthier clientele.
    â€œSo—” he shrugged in bewilderment “—what’s the catch? If you didn’t think there was one, you wouldn’t be hesitating.”
    She let out a weary breath. “I don’t know, Fletcher. Businesswise, I don’t believe there is a catch. Cort is a legitimate businessman. He made his fortune by opening and selling small businesses—sports bars, retail shops, coffeehouses. Then he graduated to corporate investments. When you consider all that, his offer doesn’t seem unreasonable.
And I’ve never known him to be dishonest. He is Steffie’s brother. He wouldn’t cheat us.”
    â€œThen what’s the problem?” When she didn’t immediately answer, suspicion crept into Fletcher’s eyes. “Do you think he′ll demand some kind of personal repayment from you?”
    â€œNo, he’d never demand that I sleep with him, or anything like that.” As she struggled to explain her anxiety, she realized that it stemmed from the fact that Cort would have a role in her life. She would have to deal with him. And she sensed that he wanted her. And he had a way of making her want him .
    Anxiety roiled in her stomach. She couldn’t forget the heated determination in his gaze when he insisted he wanted her, and only her, to decorate his home. Indulge me , he’d said. Satisfy my...curiosity. Curiosity! She’d claimed earlier that she had kissed him out of curiosity. But they’d both known it had been passion—the wild, sexual need that blazed within her the moment his mouth had moved on hers. Had he deliberately referred to their kiss? Had he meant to imply that he expected her to satisfy his passion?
    â€œMaybe demand is too harsh a word,” Fletcher said, watching her closely. “Would he expect you to sleep with him?”
    â€œNot for the money.” How could she explain her vulnerability with Cort? “But he might believe