The Switched Baby Scandal (A Scandals of San Sebastian Novel) (Entangled Bliss) by Theresa Meyers Page B

soon.”
    “How about something with better food?”
    A small smile eased the pain shadowing her face.
    “Maybe another family dinner?” he ventured, before she could say no.
    Taylor eyed him with equal measures of wariness and interest, then nodded. “I’ll get back to you,” she said, a note of promise in her voice.
    He stood as she gently guided Emily toward the door. Emily waved and Reece waved back.

    Later that night, Reece sat while the news hummed in the background. He was engulfed in remembering the small enthusiastic hug of sweet little-girl arms around his neck and the nuzzle of a small mouth against his cheek. Then there was the soft fall of blond hair against the satin of Taylor’s neck and what it would feel like in his fingers, what she might feel like next to him. What it might be like to have all of them together as a family.
    He absently flicked through the late news on several channels and snapped to attention when he saw Emily. She was coming down out of a tubular green slide into his arms and then jumped up to hug him around the neck.
    The scene struck him like a punch from a heavyweight boxer, making his vision spark with stars. They had been filmed at Playland without their knowledge.
    He jabbed the volume button.
    “… as the hospital tries to sort out what went wrong, the families of the remaining child in the switched-birth fiasco are amicable despite custody issues raging in the courts. An investigation into the hospital staff involved in the case is ongoing. Nurse Sherri Hoyt is suspected of having switched the children while interrupted in the act of abducting one or both of the babies. Authorities are continuing to search for Hoyt, but records indicate she left the state immediately after the incident occurred. Action Six News will continue to bring you developments on this story. In other news…”
    An overwhelming mixture of nausea and anger pooled in his stomach. The intrusion of the media into their private lives was getting to be too much. He and Taylor had agreed to take their time introducing him to Emily as her father. What if the media screwed that up? What if her friends or their parents asked Emily questions she wasn’t ready to answer because of the news coverage? He wasn’t taking any chances with Emily’s safety, privacy, or her future.
    He grabbed the phone and dialed Taylor’s number.

Chapter Eight
    It wasn’t until after the phone began to ring that Reece glanced at the green numbers of the digital clock on the nightstand and realized it was getting close to midnight. The phone rang again, and he debated hanging up. He felt guilty for calling her so late and worried the call might wake Emily.
    With the third unanswered ring, he pulled the phone away to hang up, but before it reached the cradle, a sleepy voice said, “Hello?” He was wide awake with adrenaline.
    “Taylor, it’s Reece. They taped Emily.”
    “What?” The confusion in her voice reminded him to slow down.
    “The eleven o’clock news on Channel Six had a story about the hospital mix-up, and there was footage of us taken at Playland today.”
    There was a stunned silence on the other end of the phone.
    “Taylor, are you there?”
    “Ye-es,” she stammered, “I’m here. It can’t be. Are you sure?”
    “There was no mistaking the close-up in the footage. It was Emily and you and me.”
    “What are we going to do?”
    “One thing is for damn sure. We can’t let that happen again. They can’t involve Emily in their coverage.” The adrenaline was pumping hard now, making his palms damp as they held the receiver.
    In a flash of thought, he knew what he needed to do. He needed to convince Taylor that they could be safe in his home. His place was gated. Protected. Here the media couldn’t get away with invading their privacy and filming Emily without their permission. “We’ve got to get together to protect Emily from any further media coverage and talk about how we’re going to break