Marrying His Runaway Heiress

by Therese Beharrie

  But she had been there. Today, and almost seven weeks ago now when she’d come with him to Italy. She’d changed his life. She’d shown him what it was like when someone cared about him. She’d helped him grow. She’d offered him love and understood even when he couldn’t offer it to her in return. At least not in the way she needed it. Now, she was giving him a family.

  With one glance at the door, he opened the file with the video of his baby. Watched it for a long time. Knew he’d hear the sound of the child’s heart beating in his dreams that night. And the next. Maybe for ever. It wouldn’t be such a bad thing.

  The longer he listened to it, the more grounded he felt. The more courageous he felt. This child gave him hope. He’d have an opportunity to do things the way they were supposed to be done. He would give his child the things he didn’t have. Love, support, a family. His child would give him the same, if he allowed it.

  Elena would have given him the same, if he’d allowed it.

  He sat back, the truth of it hitting him over the head. Of course, he already knew on some level that he was in love with her. Why else would he be so terrified of letting her in? He compared her to his parents even though she didn’t deserve it. He compared her to his parents even though, in Italy, he’d already known she wasn’t like them. She’d offered herself to him unconditionally, and he’d been too cowardly to accept. Or to offer himself to her in return.

  It didn’t mean that he didn’t feel the same way about her. He loved her, but telling her would mean risking rejection. He was tired of rejection. He was tired of working so hard not to face it, but having to face it anyway. It was a fine thing to worry about after he’d rejected his own parents. After he’d rejected her.

  Now they were having a kid, and he felt so stupid it had taken that for him to be brave. But that little heartbeat asked him to be brave. Even if it was too late, he needed to try. If there was a chance his child wouldn’t have to witness a broken relationship as he’d had to with his parents, he had to take it. If there was a chance he could be with the woman he loved enough to have a family with, he had to try. Elena had every right to reject him now, but he wouldn’t let that stop him. This was the final step to freeing himself from his past with his parents. And freeing himself would mean fullness. Happiness. Love.

  He’d known about Elena’s pregnancy for all of thirty minutes, but it had already changed him. And that was what love from a parent to a child should look like. Courage. Growth. Trying. His child would never know what conditional love would feel like. There would be no hoops for them to jump through; there would only be love.

  He hoped he had the opportunity to treat Elena the same way.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  ELENA KNEW HAVING a child was a life-changing experience. She hadn’t expected finding out she was pregnant would be as dramatic.

  After leaving Micah’s office the day before, she’d gone home and cried. Not because she was pregnant—though heaven knew there was some of that in there, too—but because she missed him. She wanted him back in her life. She wanted them to raise their baby together and be a family.

  It took her a while to realise she would have all of those things now that she was having their baby. Not in the package she wanted, but she would have them, nevertheless. For it to work, she would need to set her feelings aside. Her desire to not be around Micah so he didn’t remind her of what she didn’t have no longer mattered. Her biggest responsibility now was her child. And since she’d told Micah it was possible for her to ignore her feelings, she wiped up her tears and faced her reality.

  Still, she didn’t sleep much that night, her mind too busy processing. The one good thing was that it helped her realise her child deserved the love Elena didn’t have in her life. All things considered, it would be nice to explore that with a child. Special, too, because she’d made that child with someone she cared about. It wasn’t a perfect situation, but that was okay. She would focus on her baby and let that heal her.

  The doorbell rang promptly at eight the next morning. She expected nothing less from the man she’d married.

  ‘Hey,’ she said when she opened the door. ‘I thought it would be easier to meet here. More private, too. There’s been some interest in our relationship since the article.’

  ‘I heard,’ Micah said. ‘Can I come in? This is heavy.’

  She nodded, letting him pass. He was carrying a box, which he set on her kitchen counter. It was strange seeing him in her space. It obviously wasn’t the first time he’d been there, but she hadn’t been paying attention then. But seeing him between her brown couches and cream walls and her various gold accents caused something in her chest to swell.

  ‘You heard? I’m sorry,’ she said with a wince. ‘You’ve probably been teased about it.’

  ‘No.’ His expression told her that was the most ridiculous thing he’d heard. She resisted her smile. ‘My father told me.’

  ‘Your father?’

  ‘He seemed to think marriage solicited a dinner invitation.’

  She waited a beat. ‘Your tone tells me little else solicited dinner invitations.’

  ‘Nothing else,’ he corrected.

  ‘Well. I guess it’s good that he’s trying.’ Again, his expression told her it wasn’t good. ‘How did the dinner go?’

  ‘I didn’t accept.’

  ‘Why not?’

  He shrugged. ‘I’m done jumping through hoops for people who should love me unconditionally.’

  ‘Oh. Wow.’

  They stared at one another for a few seconds, then both started laughing softly.

  ‘It’s a good realisation,’ she offered.

  ‘It could have come a bit earlier,’ he replied with a small smile.

  ‘We all learn things at our own pace.’

  ‘Yeah, we do.’

  The amusement faded, but their eye contact remained. They were communicating on some level. Since she didn’t know what level that was, and he wasn’t offering anything more, she gestured to the box.

  ‘What, er...what’s in the box?’

  He turned and looked at the box as if he hadn’t brought it. She went to his side while she waited for an answer.

  ‘It’s for you,’ he said after a long pause.

  ‘It is?’ She frowned when he pushed it towards her slightly. ‘What’s inside?’

  ‘A care package.’

  ‘A...’

  She stopped speaking when she opened the box and saw what he meant. The box was filled to the brim with items. Herbal teas, crackers, ginger biscuits, books about pregnancy, movies about pregnancy, chocolate, chips, cocoa butter and stretch mark cream, a framed photo of their baby that he must have got from the video she’d shown him the day before. There was much more, but her hands faltered as she felt a strange tightness in her throat.

  ‘You put this together?’

  He ran a hand over his head. ‘I looked up things that would be helpful to you. I didn’t know about the creams and stuff, but a woman at the nature store helped me. She also said a cup of peppermint or chamomile tea would help with stress. That could help with your appetite thing.’

  ‘I thought I said that wasn’t a part of my pregnancy.’

  ‘It can’t make it any easier, can it?’

  ‘No. It can’t.’

  She sat down on the kitchen stool in front of her counter and rested her hands in her head. The tightness in her throat had progressed to a burning at her eyes. She didn’t think she’d cry, but she was pretty close to it. She spied a glass bottle of lemonade in the box—lemonade? Why?—and she reached in and took a sip. The sourness distracted her from the way her body was reacting. It helped her get her emotions under control.

  Or not.

  ‘You can’t keep doing this.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Reminding me that you’re a great guy.’
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  ‘Oh.’

  He looked as if he wanted to say more, but he didn’t. So she said, ‘I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. We should talk about the baby, right? Okay. I think—’

  ‘Elena.’

  ‘No, Micah. I can’t... We can’t do this.’

  ‘Elena.’

  She felt the tears falling down her cheeks. ‘I’m sorry. I just... I need more time. I’ll be okay with how things are between us soon. I promise. So let’s just—’

  ‘Damn it, Elena, look at me.’ His voice was edged with desperation. It was reflected in his eyes when she met his gaze. ‘I was a fool for pushing you away. That has nothing to do with the baby, and everything to do with me.’ He hissed out a breath. ‘I guess what I’m trying to say is that I love you. I love you, and I want to try again.’

  * * *

  In his dream the night before, Elena had fallen into his arms and told him she wanted to try again, too. But he was wide awake now. He knew that because now she was simply sitting, staring at him. He deserved it, he told himself, his heart thudding. He deserved the torture of waiting for her to say something.

  ‘I think I misheard you,’ she said slowly.

  ‘You didn’t.’

  He reached over and took her hand. Prayed she wouldn’t pull away. Then got distracted by the way she felt. Even in his dreams, he hadn’t been able to capture what it was like when Elena touched him. The heat, the need, but, most importantly, the rightness that settled inside him.

  ‘You’re right, I pushed you away. I was scared. Scared you would be like my parents and reject me.’ His grip tightened on her hand. Still, she didn’t pull away. ‘I don’t know what it’s like to love someone and have them love me back. I do know what it’s like to love someone, and have them not love me the way I need to be loved.’

  ‘Yeah, it sucks,’ she said sullenly.

  His lips curved. ‘I know. And I’m sorry I made you feel that way because I didn’t want to trust that first part. The part where I love you and you love me back.’

  ‘You hurt me,’ she said in a small voice. ‘In the same way my parents hurt me. In the same way your parents hurt you.’

  ‘I know. I know,’ he said for the third time in as many minutes. ‘I’m so sorry, Elena. If you’ll let me, I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you.’

  She didn’t speak for a long time. At first, he struggled against his instincts. He wanted to pull her into his arms, tell her they could be a family, kiss her, then take her to her bedroom and make love to her. But none of what he wanted mattered. It was only her, and her choice, and whatever that was, he would respect it.

  But she was still holding his hand. That had to mean something.

  ‘Do you really love me?’ she asked. ‘Not the baby—me. Would you have come here and told me this if it wasn’t for the baby?

  He took a breath. ‘Yes. But probably not for a long time.’ At her frown, he explained. ‘I was already on my way to realising how stupid I’d been. I didn’t only speak with my father, but my mother, too—later—’ he said when she opened her mouth ‘—and I realised that they weren’t worth the effort I was putting into them. They’d taught me to fear love, but they weren’t worth what I was sacrificing with you.’

  He pushed her hair back.

  ‘But realising it didn’t mean I had the courage to come here and tell you that. I would have needed time to, and maybe a knock over the head. Or a pregnancy surprise.’ He gave her a small smile. ‘But I would have told you regardless, I promise. Because I love you, and I have, probably since I saw you in that unicorn nightshirt and you told me I didn’t see them because I didn’t believe.’

  ‘I’m not sure that’s what I said.’

  ‘We can argue about it later,’ he teased, but sobered quickly. ‘If you still want me here later.’

  ‘I’ll always want you here,’ she said softly. ‘My love for you isn’t conditional. Even when you’re being dumb, I still love you.’

  ‘You know exactly what to say, don’t you?’ he asked, but before he was even done talking, she was hugging him so tightly he could barely breathe.

  ‘I’m scared, too, you know. But I love you. I love you.’

  His arms folded around her. ‘I know you’re scared. But you’re braver than me. You’re stronger than me. Our baby is going to have a wonderful mother.’ He lifted her chin. ‘You don’t have to be scared any more. Your love is safe with me. Believe me.’

  Her lips curved. ‘I do. And yours is safe with me. You’re safe with me.’

  Her expression told him she would make sure he knew it for the rest of their lives.

  And he would do the same for her. That understanding, their love, meant more to him than he could express. So he leaned forward and kissed her instead.

  EPILOGUE

  Four years later

  ‘WHO THOUGHT BRINGING two children to Italy was a good idea?’

  ‘I believe that was you,’ Elena said easily, lifting her son’s ice-cream cone when he tilted it to the side to lick his fingers. ‘You said something about bringing them to where our love was established, or something equally corny.’

  ‘You used to think that was charming.’

  ‘Now I think you carrying a baby girl in a carrier at the front of your body is charming.’ She brushed the hand she didn’t hold her son with over the head of the baby gurgling against Micah’s chest. ‘It’s also very sexy.’

  She leaned forward and kissed him, lingering even though she probably shouldn’t have.

  ‘Hmm,’ Micah murmured when she pulled away. ‘How long until naptime?’

  As if answering, Kai shouted, ‘Bird!’ at her feet. It startled his sister, and Ellie immediately gave a loud cry.

  Elena laughed. ‘Two children in Italy is not as romantic as two adults in Italy.’

  ‘That’s for sure,’ Micah said, comforting Ellie.

  Elena followed Kai to the pigeons, warning him against feeding them his ice cream. She’d learnt that lesson the hard way her first time in Italy.

  She’d learnt a lot since her first time in Italy. To be fair, it had been almost four years ago. She’d got married and had two children since then. Her job was still important to her, though a little less than her family was, and her recent promotion seemed to prove it. The newspaper was undeterred by her family planning, which she knew made her lucky. She also knew she had a unique angle on many of the stories their readers were interested in. The wife of a South African businessperson who wasn’t afraid of telling the truth.

  Fortunately, she had a husband who supported her.

  They’d taken their time to build the foundation of their marriage. It was a strange approach considering they were married within a week of knowing one another and pregnant after their wedding night. But they’d both been hurt by their families. They’d made progress, even before they’d decided to try a relationship, but it still took work. And they put in the work. In between pregnancy and caring for an infant. In between caring for a toddler and finding out they were pregnant again.

  Relationships took constant work, and neither of them was afraid of it. In fact, they welcomed it. Because working meant they still wanted to be there. They still wanted one another. It was a damn good feeling to be wanted.

  ‘I don’t suppose we could take them on a gondola ride,’ Elena remarked later that day. ‘No—what am I saying? Kai would be in the water within minutes.’

  Micah laughed. They’d swapped children, both of whom were asleep, exhausted by the excitement of the day. She and Micah were walking back to the hotel, but lazily, the summer’s day not dictating haste.

  ‘Last time I was in a gondola I spontaneously proposed. Perhaps this family is not made for gondola rides.’

  Now Elena laughed. ‘Ah, we were such babies then. Could you imagine being where we are now, then
? You, dominating the luxury goods industry. Me, dominating childbirth.’ She shook her head. ‘What powerful parents we are.’

  ‘One more powerful than the other.’ Micah made sure Kai was secure, then put an arm around Elena. ‘I watched you give birth. It was...wild.’

  ‘A euphemistic way to put that.’ She leaned into him. ‘I think this is the happiest I’ve ever been.’

  ‘You say that all the time.’

  ‘I mean it every time. More so today.’ She stopped walking and turned to him. ‘Our first family trip is to Italy. I wasn’t this lucky. You weren’t either. But we’re doing it for our kids. There’s a lot to be grateful for.’

  ‘They won’t remember this, you know,’ Micah said, but his expression was soft. ‘It didn’t matter where we took them on vacation.’

  ‘That’s obviously not my point.’

  ‘I know.’ He lowered and kissed her gently. ‘You’re what these kids will be most grateful for some day. I know that because that’s how I feel.’

  ‘Right back at you, Daddy.’

  ‘I thought we agreed you wouldn’t ever call me that in public.’

  ‘I thought you would keep a sentimental moment sacred, but you didn’t. You used logic. So I guess we’ll both just be disappointed then, won’t we?’

  Micah laughed and they resumed walking. It was companionable and quiet. It was perfect.

  ‘Remind me to ask Kai about the pigeons when he wakes up,’ Micah said suddenly.

  ‘What about the pigeons?’

  ‘I want to know if he thinks the ones in Europe are different from those in Africa, like his mother.’

  She slapped him lightly on the shoulder, and his laughter echoed in the dusk.

  * * *

  If you enjoyed this story, check out these other great reads from Therese Beharrie

  Her Twin Baby Secret

  Island Fling with the Tycoon

  From Heiress to Mom

  Second Chance with Her Billionaire