Baby Makes Three (McKenzie Cousins Book 1) Read online

  Baby Makes Three

  McKenzie Cousins #1

  Lexi Buchanan

  Contents

  McKenzie Family Tree

  Prologue

  1. Present Day

  2. Garrett

  3. Sirena

  4. Garrett

  5. Sirena

  6. Garrett

  7. Sirena

  8. Garrett

  9. Sirena

  10. Garrett

  11. Sirena

  12. Garrett

  13. Sirena

  14. Garrett

  15. Sirena

  16. Garrett

  17. Sirena

  18. Garrett

  19. Sirena

  20. Garrett

  21. Sirena

  22. Garrett

  23. Sirena

  24. Garrett

  25. Sirena

  26. Garrett

  27. Sirena

  28. Garrett

  29. Sirena

  Epilogue

  Afterword

  Other books by Lexi Buchanan

  Seduce, McKenzie Brothers #1

  28 Days, a romantic suspense

  Stryker, MMA Romantic Suspense

  Rose and Jacob, a Romantic Mystery

  Sizzle, Bad Boy Rockers #1

  Love in Montana, De La Fuente #1

  Lawful (Gia ~ Hunter ~ Julian ~ Jarrod) 4 Novellas in 1 volume.

  About the Author

  Baby Makes Three Copyright © 2017 Lexi Buchanan

  All rights reserved. With the exception of quotes used in reviews, this book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the author.

  Published by HFCA Publishing House

  http://www.lexibuchanan.com

  Cover Designer: Robin Harper, Wicked by Design

  Editor: Abigail Higson

  Readers: Emma Clifton, Kathrin Magyar, Lynne Garlick, Nadine Winningham, and Sonya Covert

  This book is a written act of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  ISBN: 978-1-5470-0345-7

  McKenzie Family Tree

  at the start of Baby Makes Three

  Elias and Pippa McKenzie

  Lucien & Sabrina (Entice #4)

  Alexander 25

  Olivia 23

  Michael & Lily (Seduce #1, The Wedding #1.5)

  Michael Jr 27

  Charlotte 27

  Sirena 25 (spouse Harry 27)

  Joshua 23

  Sebastian & Carla (Rapture #2)

  Madison 24

  Dylan 20

  Ruben & Rosie (Delight #3)

  Ryan 23

  Sofia 21

  Jaxon 19

  Ramon & Noah (Cherished #5)

  Paige 20

  Rachel 20

  Prologue

  One month ago

  Sirena

  Surrounded by my family and yet I still feel so alone. I close my eyes tightly as tears threaten to fall. I’ve cried a lot recently and it’s not all down to the pregnancy hormones that currently play havoc with my health. At twenty-five, my life hasn’t turned out exactly as I’d hoped it would.

  Growing up, all I ever wanted was to have a marriage like my grandparents—like my parents. Except I’d been so desperate to grab on to that dream that I hadn’t stopped to really look at the man that I was tying my life to.

  There’d been chemistry at first and we’d quickly married under the assumption that it would be easy, but Harry hadn’t been prepared to work for a happy marriage.

  While I’m carrying his child, he’s been dropping his zipper for other women. When I’d first discovered what Harry had been doing, I’d been angry and upset, but then I’d felt nothing. I suppose that I’d accepted it to some extent, but I no longer knew the man that I call husband. He has become an ugly stranger compared to the man that I used to at least like.

  The only reason I haven’t packed up and left our apartment is because of the child I carry. Now though, I have finally come to the conclusion that I’m no longer able to stay. Harry doesn’t really want our child or me. He just wants the bachelor life back that he’d relished before we’d married on a whim in Vegas.

  My family was disappointed in me and when I really thought about it, deep down, I’d known that I’d agreed to the quick and sneaky marriage so that they didn’t have the chance to talk me out of it.

  I’d acted stupidly and in hindsight, I wished that I hadn’t been so irresponsible and that my family had stepped in . . . now I was just over four months pregnant with constant bouts of sickness and no one to help me, no one there to ask me if I was okay, or if I needed anything. My mother and father were always concerned about me, but that wasn’t the same.

  I want to be loved and cherished just like my father, Michael, does with my mother, Lily. My parents along with my aunts and uncles are all still in love with each other, and I want that more than anything. I’d always thought that I would have that and then I would have my first child that had been made with love. Looking back, I’m not even sure love had ever been involved, it was just infatuation.

  My heart isn’t broken, but I do feel betrayed by the one person I should have been able to trust. Deep underneath all the hurt is the knowledge and regret that I’d known the minute I said ‘I do’ that I was making a big mistake. My tenacious nature has always gotten me into trouble and now I don’t know what to do.

  There is a smile plastered on my face while I think about my miserable life and I have a feeling that I’m not fooling anyone—not my parents, my siblings; Michael, Charlotte and Joshua, nor our grandparents who currently celebrate their sixty-eighth wedding anniversary. That’s what total love and commitment is, and I want that . . .

  1

  Present Day

  Sirena

  “Michael do you have a minute?” I ask my brother with a wry smile on my face. My brother looks at home sitting behind the huge desk in the McKenzie Holding’s building in downtown Lexington. He became CEO along with our sister—his twin—Charlotte, and our cousins, Alexander and Olivia, when our father and uncle Sebastian had semi-retired. I smile at the thought because neither of them have fully retired and not a week goes by without them being in the office breathing down Michael or Alexander’s neck.

  It irritates Charlotte and Olivia no end because they leave them alone and personally I think it’s because they both have a wicked temper.

  Michael has always been the more sensitive and he’s always the one I go to for help or advice and I know that he will always be in my corner regardless of what I have to deal with. He reminds me of our father in that respect. Michael has broad shoulders and the McKenzie dark hair, and with the dark scruff covering the lower part of his face, the girls go crazy. He’s never short of company, but I know he isn’t happy. He isn’t fooling me.

  As I’m trying to read his mind, Michael looks up and smiles. “I always have a minute for my sister,” he replies, smoothly. “Come and sit, Sirena. What’s up?”

  Moving forward, I sigh in relief as I take the weight off my aching legs. “I’ve had enough, Michael.” My chin trembles and I know that my tears are going to be falling soon. “I’m not sure I can do this.”

  “Oh crap.” Michael jumps up and crouching in front of me takes hold of my hands. “I think Mom might be better at this.” He winces and truly looks pained.

  My brother’s panic makes me laugh as the tears finally start. “What am I going to do?�
�� I wail and Michael looks to the door, probably contemplating his escape or praying for help.

  “Oh stop.” I tug my hands free. “You’re my brother and should be used to us girls by now. You’re also a guy and I need someone to explain Harry to me.”

  Michael sighs and moves to sit beside me. “Harry is an asshole who doesn’t deserve to share the air you breathe.”

  I hiccup and silently cry into my hands. After a few minutes, Michael gently tugs them away and gives me a sad smile.

  “Listen to me.” Michael starts wiping my tears with his fingers but then gives up and grabs some Kleenex to finish the job. “You are one of the strongest women I know, Sirena. I also think you know what you have to do and if there wasn’t a baby involved, then you’d have already done it.”

  “I just want a man to love me like Dad does Mom. I want him to cherish me and to want to take care of his child and me. I want to be able to return that love tenfold so that he never has to doubt how much I love him. I want that.” I dab at my eyes. “And instead I’m married to a womanizing asshole who doesn’t remember he’s married and that his wife is pregnant with his child.”

  My brother tightens his jaw in anger on my behalf, but right now I want a solution to my dilemma—do I stay with asshole Harry and try to stick it out until at least after the baby is born, or do I tell him that I’m leaving and will be in touch with him once our baby arrives? Harry probably wouldn’t even notice if I just moved out without saying a word.

  “I’ll support whatever decision you make. Just tell me what you want me to do?” Michael brushes the hair back from my face and smiles. “I have the house by the lake if you want to go there.”

  “Really?” I let the idea take hold.

  At five months along I shouldn’t need medical attention for a while and my next OB appointment isn’t for a few weeks. “I like that idea.” I smile softly.

  “Thought you might.” Michael’s gaze flickers between his desk and me. This tells me he’s busy and that I’m holding him up, but in my distressed state, he’s being too nice to kick me out.

  “I’ll go.” I hold my hand out so that Michael can lift me from the chair.

  He grins widely at the sight of my struggle that I laugh. “Don’t you dare say anything!” I glare playfully.

  “I wouldn’t dare.” He chuckles. “Look sis, if you can get packed up in time, I’ll come by after work and help you move.”

  Reaching up, I tug my brother’s face to mine and press a kiss to his whisker-covered cheek. “Thank you.”

  Michael wraps his arms around my shoulders and pulls me against him. His chin rests on the top of my head. “I love you. You have to promise that if you need anything that you’ll call, otherwise I’ll take you to Mom and Dad’s instead.”

  “Funny man.”

  “I mean it, Sirena. You’re five months pregnant so it’s not just you I’m worried about.”

  I raise my face to Michael’s and place one last kiss to his cheek. “I know and I promise.” Moving toward the door, I turn and glance back at Michael. “Can we keep this between the two of us for now.” I wave my hand, motioning to him and then back to me.

  “Not for long though,” he partly agrees with a nod. “Mom will be asking questions soon, and when she doesn’t get an answer, I’ll have to deal with Dad.”

  “Give me a few days and I’ll call them . . . I’ll see you later.”

  “Take care, sis.” He waves me out of his office.

  With Michael’s promise to help me move out weighing heavily on my thoughts, the last thing I expect is to find someone else walking down the corridor toward the elevator. Although McKenzie Holding’s is a large international architectural and construction company, they like to keep the head office quiet and serene without clients running in to others especially for those clients who require utter most secrecy.

  Reaching the elevator, I glance at the man from the corner of my eye and smile when he catches my gaze. His scent, soft and woodsy, floats toward me as he holds his hand out to indicate I’m to enter the elevator first.

  He’s older than me, perhaps in his forties with light brown hair that holds a hint of grey around the temples. His smile and the amusement in his blue eyes cause me to forget my problems as I sink into his gaze.

  “Lobby or parking garage?” he asks with a brow raised.

  “Lobby.” I sigh, wishing that I’d driven because my body aches.

  The doors slide closed and the tall man beside me turns, offering his hand, “Garrett Hudson.” He smiles brightly and my heart stutters, my eyes widening in surprise at the flare of unexpected attraction I feel.

  I hesitate and reply, “Sirena Bennett,” shaking his outstretched hand.

  2

  Garrett

  The minute her hand slides into mine my heart quickens, and noticing her stomach is swollen in pregnancy doesn’t dim my attraction to her.

  She has a head of dark hair that cascades down her back in loose curls. The beautiful skin of her face is lightly tanned and bare of cosmetics. The green eyes that are caressing over my features remind me of the emerald jewel. She’s exquisite and so much younger than me that my heart aches. In a way it’s also a reminder that I’m being ridiculous.

  Sirena still has her hand inside of mine when she clears her throat, a slight blush coats her cheeks, but she makes no move to remove that hand. “You had a meeting with McKenzies?” she enquirers.

  I smile and reluctantly release her hand. “I did. Alexander McKenzie.”

  “My cousin.” She smiles.

  “You’re Michael and Charlotte’s sister, right?” I ask, but I already know the answer considering I’d overheard her conversation with her brother.

  My heart has ached for years waiting for the same thing that Sirena had sobbed to her brother about. Someone to love me and to give me the family I crave. My bank balance has always gotten in the way of my want.

  “That’s me.” Sirena smiles, but it slips and then disappears altogether when the elevator comes to a screeching stop. “Oh God! This isn’t good.”

  “Don’t panic,” I glance at her and then to the panel at the side of the door, “please. I’ve got this.” I try to reassure her as I place my briefcase on the floor and grab the emergency phone. “They’ll have us out of here real soon,” I try to calm her, hoping that I’m right.

  The minute someone answers I quickly explain our situation. “They’re working on it.” I look at Sirena and notice that she’s rubbing her back and trying to hold her panic inside. “Do you need to sit?”

  She looks at me, her anxiety clear in her beautiful eyes.

  “I think I better.” She glances at the floor and looks around so I follow her gaze and wonder what she’s looking for because the floor of the elevator isn’t all that bad. I guess we should be thankful for small mercies.

  “Sirena, are you doing okay?” I ask and feel my heart constrict when I notice the tears on her face. “Tell me how to help you.”

  She bites her lip and looks so forlorn and embarrassed that I’m tempted to take her into my arms and hold her close. My fists clench to keep them at my side as I await her response.

  “I’m not sure how I’m going to get down there.” She caresses her belly, and I understand the problem at once.

  “Let me help you.” I smile to put her at ease and wait for her to acknowledge my offer.

  Sirena nods and a small smile appears on her face.

  Stepping closer, I slip one arm behind her back and take hold of her arm with my other. “Go slow,” I advise.

  In slow motion she leans into me and we gradually have her sitting comfortably on the floor. After removing my jacket and tie, I join her and instead of sitting opposite like I should have done, I sit beside her and smile.

  “Talk to me, please,” Sirena begs. “I’m not usually claustrophobic but I feel as though I’m going to start panicking soon if I’m not distracted.”

  “I’m not much of a talker, but for a beau
tiful lady, I will make the exception.” I smile, which deepens when I notice the blush she tries to hide by dipping her head.

  “Okay then, well—”

  She chuckles at my poor attempt to start the conversation. “I’ll go first.” She lets me off the hook. “I’ve been married for thirteen months to a man who doesn’t want our baby or me. I’ve known from the day we were married that I was making a big mistake but I went ahead with it anyway.” She sounds so sad, but I stay silent because I want to hear it all.

  “I’m now five months pregnant and later today I will be leaving our apartment and him for good. The sad thing is that I’m not even sure he’ll notice that I’m not there.” She shrugs. “My parents have the perfect marriage and that’s all I’ve ever wanted. I want to love and be loved by that one special man, but so far my judgment sucks.” She goes silent and then turns to meet my gaze. “I’m scared, Garrett.”

  “Why?” As I ask her that question I realize that I want to take away her fear, no matter the cost.

  “I’m scared of this pregnancy even though I’m excited to have a baby. I’m scared of being alone and not having any support from the baby’s father, though I’m not sure I even want it. I’m afraid that another man won’t want me because I will come with the baggage of another man’s child. I’m scared of a lot of things that I never thought I would be.”

  Her confession hits something inside of me and I want nothing more than to help her, to make her see that she’s beautiful and will find everything that she craves one day. Ridiculous as it seems I wish with all my heart that I were years younger and able to offer her everything. My life has always been centered on work, and real love has always been missing.