Nate hated the idea that she’d kept him onside because she needed his money.
“I’ll never be able to thank you for how generous you were that evening,” and despite her disappointment in him, she thanked him earnestly, reaching out and touching his arm. “Whatever else happens between us, you must know how deep my gratitude runs.”
“It’s your gratitude I’m afraid of,” he quipped cryptically.
He hated to think that what they’d shared had all come about because she felt she owed him something. He’d never expected a woman to be with him out of gratitude. Never.
Once in the apartment, Missy went to make herself a drink. “Would you like a tea?” She asked softly, having not been able to get him to speak much for the remainder of the trip.
“Coffee. I have to work.”
Missy listened to the kettle zinging to life, and watched Nate. He was effortlessly graceful. He strode to the opposite side of the lounge area and flicked open his laptop. The photographs of Missy and Robert were on the screen, Missy could see them over his shoulder. It brought back unpleasant memories of earlier that day. Had it only been hours ago? To think, she’d only found the photographs because she’d been googling ultrasound clinics, she marvelled. And then froze.
She’d been so distracted by the pictures that she’d left the search running in the background. “Nate,” she exclaimed, almost running over to the computer to slam the lid shut. But he was too fast. He’d already seen it, and he spun around and stared at her, as if she’d turned into a three-headed-horse.
“What the hell is this, Missy?” He asked, his voice tortured.
She squeezed her eyes shut.
“An ultrasound clinic? Why do you need an ultrasound clinic?” Beneath his tan, his face was white. “Missy, are you pregnant?”
She forced herself to look at him. It was no surprise, given what she’d learned from Fiona, that he wore an expression of grief and mistrust.
Missy nodded. “Yes.”
He blinked. “Pregnant. How... how did this happen?”
“That first night. I know you used a condom but they’re not infallible. I wasn’t on the pill.”
He turned away from her, tearing a hand through his thick hair.
“When did you find out?” His voice had a strangely distant quality to it.
“Um.. a few weeks ago.” She bit down on her lower lip. It sounded much worse than it was.
“Were you ever going to tell me?” He asked, accusation laced in the question.
“Of course I was!” She insisted. “I just wanted to wait until I’d passed the twelve week mark. I ... I guess I didn’t see any sense in complicating our situation if things didn’t work out.” Even saying that, admitting that she’d thought about the pregnancy not remaining, hurt her, and she realised how bonded she was to the pregnancy.
“Truly, Nate. I was googling a clinic to go to with you. Even before I knew about Angelique, I thought you would react better when you could actually see the pregnancy on screen.” She clasped a hand to her mouth when she realised she’d revealed she knew about the reason he’d married his wife. “Fiona told me tonight,” she said quickly. “It just slipped out.”
“I see. I suppose you think that means you’ve got me all stitched up, huh? What a quick way to get rid of your brother’s money worries. Get pregnant by a billionaire and marry him, because hey, he’s just the kind of fool who’ll want to do the right thing by you.”
Missy’s mouth dropped open. “Is that really what you think?”
“You tell me.”
“That is spectacularly unfair,” she chided, wrapping her arms around herself. “This is so not what I want in life.”
His eyes were like flint. “Me neither, but we’re stuck with it.”
She threw him a scathing look. “I wasn’t planning to get pregnant. And certainly not by someone like you,” she shouted. “But I am, and now we have to deal with it. I’m going to bed. Let’s discuss this in the morning, when you’ve had time to remember your manners, Nate.”
She stormed into her bedroom and slammed the door, cursing the pregnancy hormones that were making her feel so ridiculously miserable.
She heard the front door click again, and what was left of her heart broke into a thousand tiny pieces. Even tonight, Nate was going out. She didn’t know where, but she would put money on him not being alone.
* * *
Nate sat in the hotel bar and sipped the same beer he’d been nursing for the past hour. An eerie sense of history repeating itself was unfolding in him, and it was making him panicked. He’d been so thrilled when he’d found out Angelique was pregnant. Oh, he’d thought she was a bit of a waste of time, but the idea of having his own flesh and blood had been very important to him.
But his relationship with Angelique had been a lot less complicated than his situation with Missy. The depth of his desire for Missy frankly terrified him, and he had been looking forward to getting away from her for awhile, to see if distance lessened his infatuation. He couldn’t leave her now. They were bound together for the rest of their natural lives. Parenthood was more a marriage than marriage itself.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Nate let himself into the front door of the hotel, feeling shattered. He’d thought all night about their situation and was still no clearer to making sense of it. Only he knew he had to handle things better. Missy’s life had been just as thrown off course by this revelation as his own would be. He stopped in his tracks when he saw Missy. She was lying on the sofa, fast asleep. Her hair was draped around her like a silky blonde curtain and her breasts heaved with each breath she took. His eyes sunk lower, to her stomach, still flat, and his heart began to race. He knelt beside her and touched her belly in wonderment. In this perfectly delectable stomach was his child.
“Good morning,” Missy croaked. She sat up awkwardly, arranging her singlet top strap from where it had slipped down, to cover her shoulder fully.
“Good morning,” he replied, his voice uncharacteristically quiet. “I didn’t react so well last night, did I?” He asked, sitting beside her with a sigh.
She shook her head. “No, but it’s understandable. You were blind-sided.” He would be even more blind-sided when he found out that there were two babies growing inside her, she thought wryly. That, though, she would tell him when he was staring at the scan. Much easier to fall in love when you saw their little bodies swimming about happily. She hoped.
“I was going to tell you at the scan, Nate. I hope you believe me. It was never my intention to keep this from you.”
He stiffened beside her. “I’ve been thinking about that, Missy. If you had miscarried would you have ever told me what had happened? Or kept it all to yourself?”
She shook her head wistfully. “I didn’t think that through. I just knew it would change things between us...”
He nodded. “So today, we get a scan.”
“Today?”
“Yes. I’ve been thinking about it all night, and I don’t have many answers for you beyond that.”
“Nate, you do believe me, don’t you?”
He was surprised to realise he did. Nonetheless, when they arrived at an exclusive private obstetrics clinic later that morning, he was nervy as hell.
Missy lay down on the big plastic covered bed and lifted her shirt up, exposing her pale stomach. Missy looked nervous as the technician smeared a blue gel on her belly. She held her hand out and took Nate’s in it, flashing him a tense frown as she did so. He cleared his throat and smiled back, trying to be reassuring when he felt the same current of tension.
His anxiety wasn’t helped when the obstetric technician got a furrowed brow and angled the screen away. Nate stilled. Something was wrong. He could see in the man’s face that there was something abnormal on the screen. He cast Missy a furtive glance, and he muttered a silent prayer. Please don’t take this baby from her. From us.
“Do either of you have a history of multiple births? Twins?”
/>
“Yes, I’m a twin,” she confirmed happily.
“So it won’t come as a complete shock to you then to know that you have two foetuses in here?”
Missy looked at Nate. He looked like he’d seen a ghost. She squeezed his fingers and he cast her a look that spoke of his shock. “Twins?”
“Yes.” She bit on her lower lip. “I confess, I knew this already, but I wanted someone else to tell you.”
He smiled self-deprecatingly. “After the way I reacted to one, I can see why.”
The obstetric technician smiled kindly at both of them and swivelled the screen so that they could see the little tiny babies. Missy felt her eyes well up with tears, and Nate’s heart rate was all over the place.
An hour later they left, Missy clutching several printed photographs of the babies.
“Shall we grab a bite to eat?” Nate suggested, looking at his phone. “There’s a great spot for brunch just around the corner.”
Missy shook her head. “I’m going to see my brother. I want to tell him about the twins.”
Nate nodded, but Missy had the strangest feeling that he was disappointed they couldn’t stay together.
“You could come with me...” she offered. “After all, Robbie is going to be the uncle of your kids.”
Nate grinned, and her heart turned over at the simple happiness on his face. “I like the sound of that. I’d enjoy meeting him.”
They drove to the clinic, chatting excitedly about the babies. Missy couldn’t wait to tell Robert. She hoped it would help motivate him further in his path to recovery. As the car pulled into a parking space, Nate turned to her, his face serious. “Missy, you know I would marry you, don’t you?”
Missy felt her stomach roll at the very idea of marriage to Nate Anderson. “That’s not what either of us wants. You know enough about me to know how strongly I believe that a marriage without love is a recipe for disaster. We don’t love each other Nate.” LIAR, her heart was screaming. You love him, tell him!
“Lots of marriages are built on less than what we have.”
She snorted inelegantly. “Great sex? That’s not enough.”
He leant forward and brushed her hair back from her cheek. “Hey,” he said, softly. “We have more than that. You know we do.”
“What happens when the sexual attraction fades? Or you meet someone else? I’m not stupid enough to think this can last forever. I wouldn’t put my children through that. Kids shouldn’t have front row seats to unhappy marriages. Believe me, I speak from personal experience.”
“I’m not going to push you into it, Missy. I’m just saying, the offer is there.”
“Nate Anderson, the only reason I will ever marry is because I am so deeply in love with someone, and they with me, that we can’t possibly imagine a day apart.”
Nate didn’t say anything, just placed a kiss on the top of her head and then opened the car door.
Robert was expecting Missy, and he’d grabbed their usual seat in the sun. Missy wondered if Nate recognised it from the photographic series he’d commissioned. She looked at him out of the corner of her eyes but his expression was inscrutable.
Missy enveloped her brother in a huge hug. He looked great.
“Robbie, I’d like you to meet someone. This is Nate Anderson. We’ve been seeing each other for a little while.”
“A boyfriend?! That’s a first.” Robbie teased, pinching Missy’s cheeks. He shook Nate’s hands. “Pleased to meet you. You must really be something. Missy is resolutely single, aren’t you sis?”
Missy felt embarrassed by the brotherly revelation but Nate seemed pleased as punch. “You know, study kept me busy,” she explained, twisting her hands in front of herself.
“I know it can’t have been from lack of offers.” Nate laughed at the self-conscious expression on her face. “I’ll go grab us some coffees so you two can catch up.”
He disappeared in the direction of the cafeteria and Missy looked properly at her brother. “How are you doing, Robbie?”
He nodded, smiling broadly. “Believe it or not, but the doctors here say I’m almost ready to be released. And not a minute too soon! I’ve even started looking for work. I’m going spare with nothing to do all day. Sudoku puzzles aren’t cutting the mustard.”
“Well, I’ve got a job that’s just perfect for you. It doesn’t pay much except for love. But, how would you like to be the uncle to two twins? Starting next Summer.”
Robert stared at her in disbelief. “You’re... You and he... You guys are having a baby?”
“Babies,” Missy corrected happily. “That’s right.”
“Oh Missy! I’m shocked. Thrilled, of course, but shocked! I had no idea you were even serious about the guy.”
“It was an accident, Robbie, but we’re both over the moon.”
He let out a low whistle. “He must be a great guy. I’m happy for you, sis.”
Nate appeared, and Missy’s heart turned over. He was just wearing some black jeans and a leather jacket, but he looked so James Dean cool, so very, very desirable, and Missy had to turn away to hide the lust that was writ on her face.
“I see Missy’s told you our news,” Nate said, shaking hands again with Robbie.
Missy took a sip of the coffee and felt suddenly violently ill.
“Excuse me,” she wailed, heading off in the direction of the bathrooms.
When Nate started to follow, Robbie called after him. “Leave her. She’ll be all right.”
Nate was torn, but he was damned curious about this prodigal brother of Missy’s, and here was a chance to get to know him on his own.
He sat on the other edge of the bench and found that conversation flowed easily between them. Missy was right; Robert was fiercely intelligent, and had true integrity. The way he spoke about his gambling, and how he’d overcome those instincts, evinced genuine admiration in Nate. Before Missy, ashen faced, had returned, he had hatched a marvellous plan that would solve all of their problems. Though Missy might need some convincing, he admitted wryly.
“Robert, what sort of work do you envisage yourself doing?” He asked quietly, when Missy had seated herself beside her brother. He noticed with worry the pallor of her skin and wished she would submit to constant medical surveillance.
Robert grimaced. “I don’t know if there are many places I could get work right now, doing what I love. Which is numbers. I want to work in accountancy, payroll, stock, shares, analysis. Anything that involves the rapid calculations of vast figures. I live for mathematics. I know most places would look at my history and think I wasn’t a safe bet.” He let out a coarse laugh. “Hell, I wouldn’t back me on those odds.”
Nate shook his head firmly. “I’d back you, Robbie. In fact, I have just the job for you.”
Robert and Missy both lifted their heads at the same time and in the same manner, and Nate was bowled over by their similarities. He avoided Missy’s eyes. He knew she wouldn’t like what he was about to say.
“What is it?” Robert asked, enthusiastically.
“Yes, Nate. What is it?” Missy’s voice was slightly less so, as he’d anticipated.
“My group general accountant could do with an assistant. He oversees all of our business models and accounting globally and it’s an enormous task. I’ve been wanting to get him an assistant for some time, to relieve the burden, but it’s a case of needing someone who truly wants to work with numbers.” Nate grimaced. “There’s not a lot of human interest in the role. I won’t lie to you; it’s exceptionally black and white. But,” he shrugged, “from what you’re saying, I think it might be right up your alley.”
Robert almost leapt out of his skin. “That sounds bloody perfect for me, mate. I just want to work with figures.”
You and me both, Nate thought lasciviously, looking at a particularly delectable figure just across from him.
“There’s just one thing,” Nate said as an afterthought. “The role would have to be based in New York. Could you move
there?”
Missy’s expression gave him pause for thought. She was shooting him daggers. But Robert wasn’t bothered. He nodded so hard and fast that Nate thought his head might well drop off. “I’m there, Nate. It sounds like the opportunity of a lifetime.”
Nate bared his teeth in a smile. “Great. I’ll bring the paperwork back with Missy. Accommodation will be included, and relocation expenses of course.”
“Wow,” Robert said, clearly over the moon.
Missy and Nate left him sitting on the bench, floating in seventh heaven at the idea of being able to use his maths in a career, despite his troubled past.
They returned to the Rolls Royce that had brought them to the facility and, as the engine revved, Missy turned on Nate.
“What the hell was that all about?” She stormed, pushing him in his chest.
She was spitting chips mad. And her fury had the unfortunate side effect of making Nate want to take her then and there. He adjusted in his seat in the hope of disguising his bulging erection and stared her straight in the face. “Don’t you want him to have a clean start, Missy?”
“Of course I do. But he could get that working at Maccas.” She almost screamed, hating the thought of her brother moving away from her.
“McDonalds? Puh-lease. You know as well as I do that your brother is so far beyond that it’s not funny. He’s a genius, Missy, and he should be doing something that utilises his impressive skill set.”
She lifted her eyebrows. “So you’re prepared to keep me as your sex-slave even though I’m a qualified, and let me tell you, very skilled doctor, but my brother must follow his true calling? What kind of sexist hypocrite are you?”
He raised his hands, “Let me remind you, doc, that when I met you, you were going out of your way to hide your medical credentials. Were you not carrying my babies in that delectable tummy of yours, I would be just as eager for you to follow your vocation.”
She clamped her mouth shut, huffed back in her seat and stared out the window. “You should have talked to me first,” she said, sullenly, after a few minutes of silence.
“It didn’t occur to me until I met him, and saw what a good catch he’d be. I wasn’t blowing smoke up his ass. We do need an assistant, but this job cuts fifteen years off his resume. He can have it now. And he’ll love it.”
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