âDonât forget why we planned this outing.â
Jean-Pierreâs words were softly spoken, a gentle rumble between them while they stood so close.
âTo show any nearby press that weâre spending time together. That there is no bad blood between us.â
âWe are going to have to do better than demonstrate a lack of enmity. We need to show weâre more than just friends, Tatiana. Weâre building a story so we can introduce our son to the world.â He lowered his head closer to hers, his lips brushing her hair as he spoke into her ear. âBut if you leap away every time I touch you, no one is going to buy it.â
The warmth of his body next to hers awakened every nerve ending. He smelled good, like spices and fresh air. She closed her eyes for just a moment, breathing him in. She lifted her palms to his chest, touching him on instinct. And while she might tell herself that touch maintained a few inches of space between them, she knew better.
Having her hands on him was a simple pleasure too good to deny herself after the tumultuous last weeks.
âAgreed.â
* * *
Secret Baby Scandal is part of the Bayou Billionaires seriesâsecrets and scandal are a Cajun family legacy for the Reynaud brothers!
One
âGood game, Reynaud.â The beat writer who covered the New York Gladiators waited with a microphone in hand as starting quarterback, Jean-Pierre Reynaud, stepped into the interview room at the Coliseum Sports Complex.
Jean-Pierre was prepared for the reporterâs questions as he settled into a canvas directorâs chair in the small, glassed-in booth after his third straight win at home. Just outside the interview room, thousands of fans lingered in the Coliseumâs Coaches Club, staying after the game to see the players take turns answering questions for the media. Here, fans could relax and have a drink at the bar while the traffic thinned out after the Sunday night matchup versus Philadelphia.
After clipping the small microphone onto his jacket lapel with his right hand, which not too long ago had thrown the game-winning pass, Jean-Pierre gave the crowd a quick wave. The high ticket prices for the exclusive Coaches Club didnât prevent the fans here from bringing glittery signs or asking for autographs, but team security made sure these kinds of events went smoothly. Jean-Pierre would give an interview and roll out of here in less than thirty minutes, which would leave enough time to catch a private plane to New Orleans tonight. He needed to take care of some Reynaud family business, for one thing.
And for another? He planned to discreetly scout his brotherâs team, the New Orleans Hurricanes, before the much touted brother-against-brother football showdown in week twelve of the regular season. Of the four Reynaud siblings, Jean-Pierreâs eldest brother, Gervais, owned the Hurricanes. The next oldest, Dempsey, coached the Hurricanes. And Henri Reynaud, known league-wide as the Bayou Bomber, ran the Hurricanesâ offense from the quarterback position, slinging record-setting pass yardage with an arm destined for hall-of-fame greatness.
Living up to that legacy? No big deal. Right?
Damn.
As the youngest member of Louisianaâs wealthiest family and co-owner of the Reynaud Shipping empire, Jean-Pierre had inherited his love of the game from his father and his grandfather, the same as his brothers. But he was the player the New Orleans papers liked to call âthe Louisiana Turncoatâ for daring to forge a career outside his home stateâand outside of his familyâs sphere of influence. But since no NFL club had ever successfully split the starting QB job between two players, and Jean-Pierre wasnât the kind of man to play in a brotherâs shadow, he didnât care what the Big Easy sports pundits had to say about that. When the Gladiators made him an offer, heâd taken it gladly...once heâd recovered from the shock, of course. Gladiators head coach Jack Doucet had been an enemy of the Reynauds after a football-related falling-out between their families. Jack had been the second in command back on a Texas team that Jean-Pierreâs grandfather had owned, and not only had the split been acrimonious, but it had also severed Jean-Pierreâs brief prep-school romance with Jackâs daughter when they moved across the country.