the phone to his ear.
Watching him pace the living room sparked a familiar flutter of desire. Aurelia didn’t care how much money he earned. To her he’d always be Ben—Willow’s older brother, the usually take-charge, sometimes overly serious, other times insanely childish man she’d fallen for years ago—and Benny boy, her best friend. The man she’d happily be flexible for. His modesty was just one of the things she loved about him. Wealthy was an understatement. Ben had been a multimillionaire by the time he’d graduated from college, long before he and Aiden Aldridge, Remi’s older brother, became partners. He’d since earned billionaire status. Not that anyone would know it if they met him on the streets of Sweetwater, looking rugged and badass in jeans and boots—but if he was in the city doing business, they’d surely know it. Then he’d likely be dressed in Armani’s best.
And doing Aida Strong.
The air seeped from her lungs.
Ben called his attorney, who agreed that he should keep the situation under wraps to prevent crazies from coming out of the woodwork, get a paternity test right away, and then contact the local authorities. His attorney had a friend who worked for social services and owed him a favor. If Ben was the father, the child could remain with him and they could fast-track the legal documents, and if he wasn’t the baby’s father, then she would go into the system and be handled appropriately. In the space of time it took to make that phone call, Ben’s head cleared enough for him to think about what Aurelia had said. And she was right to stand up for the baby’s welfare. In case that innocent baby girl was his, he was going to do all he could to keep her from going into the system, and he didn’t give a rat’s ass what he had to deal with in order to accomplish that.
He sat on the couch with his head in his hands, trying to figure out how he could have gotten into this situation. He always used a condom, and he didn’t remember a single one breaking. But that didn’t matter if the test determined that he was the father. Oddly, none of that was as troubling as his conversation with Aurelia. He’d hated telling her about the women he’d slept with, but he’d never lied to her, and he wasn’t about to start. She’d looked disappointed when he said he’d slept with Payton, and when he’d told her about Aida, he’d thought she might get up and leave right then and there. But when he’d mentioned the girl from the hotel, he’d felt another change, a chill in the air. And he was furious with himself. He’d been so pissed thinking about her dates with those other guys, he’d said things he shouldn’t have, like about the yoga girl being flexible. That was a dick move, but the thought of another man’s hands on Aurelia made his blood boil. Now that he’d had a little space to clear his head, the idea that she’d think less of him for his sexual habits wrecked him.
But he’d made his mess, and now he had to face the music. Despite his attorney’s suggestion, he couldn’t shake the worry that this was some kind of setup, so he called his father’s longtime friend police chief Ronald Klein. Ron had known Ben since the day he was born.
“Ben Dalton, to what do I owe this pleasure?” Ron asked jovially.
“Hi, Ron. I’ve got a hypothetical question.” As an afterthought he said, “For a friend.”
“A friend, huh? Whatcha got?”
“Let’s say a woman left a baby on a doorstep with a note saying the kid was this buddy of mine’s. How much trouble is he looking at if he keeps the kid while he has the paternity test done?”
“You in trouble, son?”
“Nope. Just checking it out for a friend.”
“Does this friend have the money and connections to push a paternity test through quickly? Because there are legalities if he’s holding on to a baby that isn’t his. Hypothetically speaking, that is.”
“Yes.”
“Then you didn’t hear this from me, but hypothetically speaking, I’d haul ass over to the doc’s office, get the tests done, lawyer up, and go from there.”
After the call Ben sent a text to his assistant, telling him he’d be tied up for the next couple of days and his responses to emails would be delayed. Though Ben had an office in town, he preferred to work from the one