Page 45 of The Tycoon's Shock Heir

‘Come on. Breakfast.’

The lure of glistening melon and hot rolls was too much, and she sat down and reached for some bread immediately.

He nodded, poured water. Didn’t do anything else.

She watched him as she buttered bread and popped it in her mouth. He watched her back. A bowl of berries appeared before her, topped with fresh yogurt and seeds. It looked so good she gave in and tucked in greedily, flicking her eyes up to him between bites.

He sipped coffee.

‘Aren’t you going to have anything?’ she said, as she popped another piece of fruit in her mouth and buttered another roll.

‘I’ve eaten. And this is much more fun. It’s like watching locusts.’

She made a face and looked around, still hungry. She helped herself to more yogurt, piling it high on her plate.

‘It was like this the last time too,’ he said.

‘Last time?’

‘At the Italian restaurant? Luigi’s? Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten our first date. It was an amazing night...’

She sipped water and sat back as his words hung between them. Wisps of memory fluttered up into her mind—the fun, the camaraderie, the intimacy—tugging her back into that warm embrace. And he, right there opposite her, looked as if he was sharing exactly the same thoughts.

‘How do you think it happened?’ he asked quietly. ‘We took precautions.’

She steeled herself to look up into his face.

‘Not every time. There was once...in the night...when we were both half asleep.’

He raised an eyebrow. ‘Yes. But something certainly woke us up.’

She heard the slight tone of amusement in his voice and looked down at her plate.

‘Come on, Ruby. There’s no point in being coy about it. We had something special going on that night. And it feels to me as if that part of a relationship at least might work for us.’

She felt the tug of that night, in those hours before dawn, the warmth of his body, the pleasure of her own melting into his arms. Those hours when she’d lost her head and everything she’d ever stood for. It was as if she’d paused her life when she’d gone into that apartment—as if she’d thought some other life might be possible instead of the one she’d been striving for.

And being here with him now she could see how easy it would be to step into the honey-trap again, but this was far too important. She had to stay focused. He needed to understand that this was real. They were both in it for the long haul.

‘Matteo, no.’ She shook her head. ‘This isn’t about us.’ She laughed at her own stupid phrase. ‘What am I talking about? There is no us. There’s only a baby without a family. And I need to know what we’re going to do about it.’

She stared at his face for the optimistic signs that she wanted to see. Signs that he wasn’t going anywhere...

‘You’re really in a hurry over this, aren’t you? The baby’s not even born yet. Don’t you think you’re getting ahead of things?’

‘You said last night that you’re going to accept your responsibilities,’ she said. ‘But what does that mean? I have a career. I can’t perform when I’m pregnant, so I’m going to have work in the school, and then, when I’m fit again, I’ll go back to dancing. But I can’t do it alone.’

‘You’ve had longer to think this through, Ruby. I don’t even know what you’ve got in mind. You live in London. I live in Rome and London. We both travel a lot. How is this going to work?’

‘Of course it can work. I want to get back to dancing as soon as I can. I can’t afford childcare on my own—I assumed you’d want to employ a nanny, no?’

He frowned at that. ‘How soon do you mean?’

‘A few weeks after the birth. I don’t see why not.’

‘Weeks?’

Something in that judgemental tone made her antennae twirl even faster. She’d already had a lifetime of being judged. Everyone had an opinion.

‘A few weeks after the birth?’ he repeated. ‘I can see you’re not impressed with my question, but it’s a perfectly reasonable thing to ask.’

‘I’m not going to justify my decision to you or anyone else.’

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