Untamed Passion--A Surprise Pregnancy Romance

gut that diminished his appetite, Oliver entered the building. He’d arrived before Joshua and slid into a seat near the back. A smiling waiter approached, and Oliver ordered a club soda with lime. Five minutes later, his brother wove through the restaurant, his tall, muscular frame encased in a well-tailored navy suit. Where Oliver’s appearance was rough around the edges, Joshua was impeccably groomed and elegantly stylish.
With an amiable-enough greeting, Joshua slid into a chair opposite Oliver, his hazel-green gaze fixing on the crystal tumbler the waiter had just set before his brother. Out of habit, Oliver tensed. The need to defend himself jumped to the forefront, but he remained silent even as irritation rolled through him.
Joshua was so intent on the drink that he failed to note his brother’s scowl. “I’ll have what he’s having,” he said, indicating Oliver’s choice.
When the waiter delivered the asked-for “cocktail,” Oliver leaned back and waited for his brother to take his first sip. The resentment burning in his chest turned to harsh satisfaction as Joshua registered surprise when he tasted no alcohol.
“Club soda with a twist of lime,” Oliver pointed out, choosing to feed his anger rather than set it aside. “My drink of choice.”
That his brother thought the worst of him convinced Oliver to wait before discussing Sammi and the baby. If Joshua assumed he was incapable of maintaining his sobriety, then why would he believe that Oliver was qualified to be a good father?
“I thought maybe you’d...” Josh looked abashed.
“Fallen off the wagon?” Oliver quizzed, his lips twisting into a sardonic smile. “With everything that’s going on, my sobriety has been sorely tested, but I’m doing okay.” More than okay with Sammi in his life. Despite the looming chaos of his father’s trial, Oliver was looking forward to what his future held.
“Has Dad’s attorney reached out to you?”
Oliver nodded. “Yes.”
The attorney had left several messages about Vernon’s eagerness to have his sons visit the prison where he was awaiting trial. That his father arrogantly assumed he could summon them after fifteen years of silence made Oliver’s blood boil.
“Are you going to see him?”
“No.” He studied his brother, remembering Vernon’s pride in his eldest son. To his surprise, there was no sign of the envy that usually afflicted Oliver when he recalled those days. “How about you?”
“I haven’t decided.” Josh looked grim. “There are days I wish he’d—” Oliver’s brother broke off and swallowed hard “—never been found.”
“How are things going with Black Crescent now that Vernon has reappeared?”
“I’m worried his trial is going to mess up all the good work we’ve managed to do in the company’s name.” With Josh at the helm, Black Crescent had repaired its tarnished image through community outreach, donations made to various nonprofits and reparations made or attempted toward affected families. “And the media circus surrounding his capture and trial is making my search for Black Crescent’s next CEO impossible.”
“So it’s not going well?”
Josh shook his head. “My top picks have turned us down. At this point I’m unsure if we’ll ever find a suitable replacement.” Oliver’s brother looked like a man who was staring at a bleak future. He cradled his drink between his palms and glared at the contents as if wishing it were something stronger than bubbly water. “Even though you told me you don’t have the best track record, I don’t suppose you’d be interested in the job?”
Oliver laughed. “Oh, hell no. When I said that, it was my way of politely declining. I love my job, and I’m good at it.”
His brother’s emphatic response made Josh smirk. Almost immediately, however, his amusement faded back to melancholy. “You know I really envy what you’ve done with your life.”
Given that Josh had assumed his brother’s drink had contained alcohol, Oliver snorted. “You don’t say.”
“You followed your passion. Your photography is amazing. And you get to do what you love.” Joshua had given up his art so he could be the man of the family.
“Did you forget the part where I was kicked out of Harvard, and then spent the next five years drunk and high until I was nearly beaten to death when I was trying to score?” Because Oliver was pretty sure Josh hadn’t.
“No.” Joshua’s expression soured. “You were a screwup back then, but you’ve changed. In fact, you might be the most successful of us all.”
Oliver stared at his brother in open astonishment. Would Josh still believe that once he learned that Oliver was going to be a father?
“After Dad disappeared,” Oliver began, “why didn’t you just turn your back on the company and keep going with your art?”
He’d always perceived Joshua as the brother who was the most together. He had done the right thing while Jake ran away and Oliver descended into addiction.
“Believe me, I wanted to be selfish, but someone had to look after Mom and the company.”
Oliver knew Josh’s disdainful tone was directed at his absent twin, who’d refused to change his plans to backpack through Europe after their father disappeared with the millions he’d stolen from Black Crescent. Even if he’d had an aptitude for business, Oliver had been far too young running a multimillion-dollar hedge fund.
“Did you resent having to step up while the rest of us got to do what we wanted?”
“You mean did it bother me that both you and Jake scoffed at me for following in dear old Dad’s footsteps and didn’t appreciate that I gave up my dream for a life I never wanted in order to take care of Mom?”
“Yeah,” Oliver murmured. “That.”
Joshua’s lips twisted into a sardonic smile. “Not at first. In the beginning I was able to point to all of you and revel in how I was doing the right thing. I viewed the sacrifices I made as my success and your failure.” Josh shook his head. “But what did I get for my pride? I was miserable and alone. It kept me from reaching out to you, to Jake. I put up walls and was surprised