Quade's Babies - Brenda Jackson [23]
It hadn’t been a coincidence for her to be in Egypt that night. The first lady was to arrive with the president and Cheyenne needed to be in place, behind the scenes. She shook her head, finding the possibility that the two of them could be associated with the same agency under the umbrella of the Secret Service mind-boggling. “So, you’re one of those men who stand guard over the president wherever he goes, possibly taking a bullet if things got that far.”
“Yes, something like that,” he said, his gaze never leaving hers.
She nodded. He was being evasive just like she had been a number of times when her sisters had questioned the reason why they couldn’t always reach her whenever she traveled abroad.
“It’s late and like I said, I need to think things through.”
He nodded. “When are the babies next feeding times? I’d like to visit when they are awake.”
She looked off toward the babies’ nursery. “They’ll sleep for another couple of hours or so, but I prefer you wait until tomorrow to see them.”
“Any reason you’re putting me off?”
Cheyenne looked back at him. “Like I said, I need to think about things. And I think you need to think about things, as well.”
He shook his head. “There’s nothing to think about. I want to do the right thing.”
She regarded him steadily. “And you think wanting to marry a woman you slept with once and who got pregnant by you is the right thing when there is no love involved?”
From his expression she could tell her question was running through his mind. “First of all,” he said quietly. “I slept with you more than once in that single night. And the answer is yes. Marrying you and giving you and my kids my name is the right thing to do.”
“Even when there is no love?”
Quade nodded. “Yes, even when there is no love.”
At least he was being honest with her, she thought. There would be no love in their marriage. He hadn’t come seeking her out because he’d fallen in love with her. He had just admitted that love had nothing to do with it. He was being driven by what he perceived as doing the right thing. “Would you like to come to breakfast?” she decided to ask him.
“Breakfast?”
“Yes, breakfast. The babies will definitely be wide-awake then,” she said, deciding to give him at least that time with them.
A smile tugged at his lips. “Then breakfast it is.”
She hadn’t for one minute doubted that he would take her up on her offer for breakfast. She could tell he was eager to see the babies he had produced. “I’ll walk you to the door.”
She had gotten halfway there when she noticed he wasn’t following her. She glanced back at him. “Is something wrong?”
“I thought I heard something.”
She perked up her ears while glancing at the baby monitor that was sitting on the table. The sound of a whimper followed seconds later by a loud wail.
“Troy is awake,” she said, glancing at the clock on the wall.
He raised a brow. “How do you know it’s him and not the girls?”
She couldn’t help but smile. “I’ve gotten used to their various cries. Besides, he’s louder than the girls.” She chuckled. “Probably a male thing. If I don’t go in and get him, he’ll wake up his sisters if he hasn’t done so already.”
Without saying anything else, she quickly moved toward the nursery. And Quade was right on her heels.
Five
O nce they entered the nursery, Quade hung back and watched as Cheyenne went directly to the bed where their son was lying. He swallowed as a scary sensation ripped through him. Hard-core-to-the-bone Quade Westmoreland, who could be as tough as nails, suddenly felt as soft as a marshmallow and totally out of his element. He stiffened, not liking the feeling one damn bit.
But that feeling of resentment quickly eased away the moment Cheyenne lifted his son into her arms. Emotions he had never