The Magnate's Tempestuous Marriage

by Miranda Lee

  Silent tears were streaming down her face by the time she bolted out of the bed to run down the stairs after him.

  ‘Go away, Sarah,’ he snapped without looking at her, concentrating instead on pulling on his clothes.

  ‘No!’ she choked out. ‘I will not go away, not till you hear me out.’

  Finally, he turned to face her, his shirt in his hands, his cheekbones spotted red with fury. ‘There is nothing you have to say that I want to hear.’

  ‘Scott, please...’ She glanced down at herself, then lifted her hands to wipe away the tears. ‘Sorry.’

  The word come out in a ragged sob. Her shoulders started to shake as she peered up at him through flooded eyes. ‘Please don’t go, Scott. I love you. I’ve always loved you. I wish I’d told you about the pill business but I was afraid.’

  ‘Of what?’

  ‘Of ending up an emotional mess like my mother. Of never knowing if you really loved me, or you were just staying with me because I was having your baby.’

  His face softened then. ‘God, Sarah, how could you possibly think that? A baby would be nice, but it wouldn’t make me love you more. Or want you more. It’s you I married, Sarah. You.’

  He dropped the shirt and gathered her tenderly into his arms, warming her trembling body with his own.

  ‘I think it’s time I took you home,’ he murmured as he stroked her hair down her back. ‘What do you say, Sarah?’

  ‘Yes, please,’ she blubbered against his bare chest.

  ‘Everything will be all right now,’ he said as he stroked her. ‘Trust me.’

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  SCOTT WAS GLAD they had two cars to accommodate all of Sarah’s things. Lord, but he had no idea how she’d crammed everything into that small car of hers, despite it being a hatchback. It was full to the brim yet his car still had clothes draped all over his back seat and boxes of shoes piled high on the passenger seat. Thank goodness he’d been able to find a parking spot close to Cory’s house last night, otherwise packing would have been a slow process.

  ‘Ready to go now?’ he asked Sarah as she stood next to her car, frowning as though she’d forgotten something.

  ‘Just have to get one last thing,’ she said without looking at him.

  ‘Okay. I’ll wait here for you.’

  Her reappearance with the dreaded pregnancy kit in her hands reminded Scott how close he’d come to wrecking any chance of a reconciliation after he’d found that damned thing in the bathroom. Just the sight of it still raised his blood pressure a notch, but he clenched his mouth tightly shut, making no comment as she put it in her own car. But it took a real effort to control himself. By the time they climbed in behind their respective wheels and drove off, Scott was relieved to be in a separate car to Sarah for the drive home. That way he wouldn’t say anything inflammatory to her the way he had earlier.

  It also gave him the opportunity to think about things.

  It wasn’t like him to lose his temper like that. He was usually way more pragmatic, priding himself on his ability to stay calm under pressure. His father had been a laid-back fellow, rarely raising his voice and never being violent in any way, except when pushed to the limit. Though he confessed he had hit the roof when he’d discovered the existence of a secret son—a very neglected secret son. Still, that was understandable. No one liked seeing children—especially their own—being mistreated.

  Scott had always believed he was a chip off the old block. Ugly outbursts of anger were simply not his style, though, damn it all, he’d been sorely tested ever since those wretched photos had arrived. He’d certainly been tested that day in Leighton’s office. And tested too by Sarah’s own highly emotional and sometimes contrary behaviour. He’d really seen red this morning once he’d realised she’d lied to him the previous night over dinner, especially when she’d gone on and on about trust and honesty.

  Still, in hindsight, he could see why she hadn’t told him about her possible pregnancy. And, yes, he could understand that during the distress of last weekend’s events all thought of the pill and falling pregnant had gone right out of her head. But once she’d remembered she should have told him. No question about that. And she shouldn’t have made up all that rubbish about having a sinus infection and not being able to drink because she was on antibiotics.

  A wry laugh escaped his lips at the sheer inventiveness of her lie. She’d make a fabulous trial lawyer one day, no doubt about that. And a good mother too, no doubt, if and when the time came. Sarah would want to do everything right. Scott figured he’d make a pretty good father, too. He’d had a very good example. Frankly, now that he thought about it more calmly, Scott wasn’t unhappy about Sarah having forgotten her pill. A baby would be good for them both. They’d always planned to have a baby. One day. When Sarah’s career was more established and when she was ready for it.

  Maybe that was the reason behind Sarah’s panic. Because she wasn’t ready for parenthood. Or more likely, she believed he wasn’t. An understandable belief, given he’d been spending so much time away on business. Scott could see now that he’d been neglecting her. Neglecting her and his marriage. He’d started taking her for granted. No wonder she’d thought he was having an affair. And no wonder he’d believed she was. He could see now why she’d bolted, why she was worried about their future relationship.

  Scott sighed. Maybe he should tell her that. Admit his failings and at least talk to her a lot more, reassuring her that things would change in future. And he would keep telling her he wouldn’t mind a bit if she was already pregnant, as long as she didn’t. The only difficulty was how to bring such a topic up in the conversation without it seeming forced, or false.

  Scott felt lucky when an opportunity for such a conversation came up as he was helping Sarah unpack her car. Perversely, it was the pregnancy testing kit—which Sarah had thrown onto the floor in front of the passenger seat—which did the trick. Picking it up, he started to read the instructions on the back of the box.

  ‘It says here,’ he remarked, doing his best to sound casual, ‘that this is a very sensitive test and can pick up a pregnancy quite early.’

  Sarah sighed as she took the box out of his hands. ‘Yes, I’ve already read all that. The girl in the chemist shop said it was the best. But the doctor said it can still give a false negative if you take the test before your next period is due.’

  ‘But it might not,’ he countered. ‘And let’s face it, you don’t know when your next period is due. You’ve totally stuffed up your hormones. Maybe you should just take the test and see.’

  Anxiety was instantly etched on Sarah’s lovely face. ‘I don’t want to do that, Scott. I keep thinking about the horrible argument we had last week. What if I fell pregnant that Friday night? What if this baby was conceived in anger and revenge? I wouldn’t like that so I’d rather not know yet, thank you very much.’

  ‘I can understand your feelings on that subject, Sarah,’ Scott said in reassuring tones, ‘but maybe it’s time for you to rethink what happened that night. Look, we’d both had scares that day over our love for each other and we both wanted to lay claim to each other the way men and women have been doing since time began. With sex. If you recall, you were as provocative as I was demanding.’

  Sarah frowned, her expression thoughtful, his carefully reasoned words obviously striking a chord with her intelligent brain.

  ‘Well, yes,’ she said slowly. ‘Yes, I do see that that’s what I was doing, anyway. I was seriously rocked by the thought that you were having an affair with Cleo.’

  ‘How do you think I felt when I looked at those photos?’ he pointed out, deliberately keeping his voice calm.

  She pulled a face. ‘Mmm. Yes. They were pretty damning. Cory told me you were just acting like any man would have, but I wouldn’t listen to him.’

  ‘You should have, Sarah. Cory’s a smart man. But back to our rethinking the events that Friday night. You can’t deny that it was great sex. The best we’d had so f
ar. Though last night was pretty darned good too.’

  Scott loved it when she blushed. His virgin bride was still deliciously enchanting.

  ‘Trust me,’ he went on, ‘when I say that along with my feelings of jealousy and anger that night, I never stopped loving you. Never! If we made a baby that night then it will definitely be a baby born of love.’

  ‘Oh,’ she said, and promptly burst into tears. Which was not quite the reaction Scott had in mind.

  Suppressing a groan, he gathered her into his arms and held her close. She wept for a while but not for too long, gathering herself reasonably quickly, he thought, then reaching up to kiss him on the cheek.

  Such a simple kiss but it moved him, touching his soul more than any of the passionate kisses she’d given him last night. Because it was full of forgiveness. And love. A pure, sweet, loving love. Nothing to do with lust.

  ‘Thank you for that,’ she said as she smiled softly up at him. ‘And I love you too. Very much. And I’m not so worried any more about being pregnant. What you said just now... It...it made all the difference.’

  ‘I hope so, Sarah,’ he returned, not entirely convinced that she felt truly happy about falling pregnant that night. Which was fair enough. It hadn’t exactly been a night of romance. His lovemaking had been raw and, yes, vengeful. There was no denying it. But the passion and love behind his jealousy had been real. God, yes. ‘I still feel I haven’t said enough how sorry I am for not trusting you.’

  ‘Stop now,’ she replied quickly, and laid a gentle hand on the cheek she’d just kissed. ‘They say love is never having to say you’re sorry.’

  He laughed. ‘Now that’s a load of old rubbish. I should have crawled on my hands and knees to beg your forgiveness. I know I crossed the line that night and my feeble attempt to whitewash my behaviour is totally unacceptable.’

  ‘True. But we have to move past all that now, Scott. I’m ready to. Honest.’

  ‘Honest?’ he echoed, and smiled a wry smile.

  ‘Absolutely,’ she said. ‘Aside from your heartfelt apology just now, I had some time to get my head together on the drive over here. I feel much better about our marriage and I’ve come to a decision.’

  Scott swallowed. ‘And what decision is that?’

  ‘As soon as we get the last of these things upstairs, I’m going to go take that test.’

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  SARAH REGRETTED HER decision the moment she made it. But it was too late to back out now. With fumbling fingers she opened the box and extracted the white plastic stick. For a long moment she just stared at it, as if it was a fearful thing. Which it was. A powerful, fearful thing that had the power to make her feel...what, exactly? Happy? Unhappy? Confused? Impatient? Or all of those things. Did she want the test to be negative, or positive? She wasn’t sure any more. Wasn’t sure of anything except that Scott loved her.

  So she clung to that reassurance and rather numbly did what the instructions said to do. But as she waited for the hormones to give her a result a truly weird sensation came over Sarah; a light-headedness that left her dizzy and dazed and just a little disoriented. She had to sit down on the toilet again—quickly—leaning forward till enough time had passed for her to reach for the stick.

  Her face drained of more blood as she stared at it.

  * * *

  Scott could not believe how tense he was, waiting for Sarah to come out of the bathroom. He paced the bedroom like an expectant father in a maternity ward. When she finally emerged, her face was pale but she wasn’t crying or anything. She just looked...shocked.

  ‘Well?’ he prompted when she didn’t say anything.

  ‘Yes,’ she choked out, nodding rather blankly. ‘It was pink. Very pink.’

  ‘Wow!’ Scott exclaimed, beaming over at her. ‘Wow!’

  ‘I’m going to have a baby,’ she said in stunned tones. ‘A real baby.’

  ‘So it seems, sweetheart,’ he said, then strode over and scooped her up in his arms, whirling her round and laughing as he hadn’t done in ages. It took him a little while to realise Sarah wasn’t laughing.

  He planted her back down on her feet and looked at her with suddenly worried eyes. ‘You are happy about the baby, aren’t you?’ he asked anxiously. ‘You’re not still upset over...you know...’ His voice trailed off, his heart squeezing tight at the thought she might still hate the idea of having conceived a baby that Friday night.

  She blinked up at him a couple of times, then slowly, wonderfully, she smiled. ‘No, I’m not upset about that any more. I wasn’t lying when I said your lovely words made all the difference. It’s just that I didn’t think I would feel quite this...overwhelmed. It’s one thing to imagine you might be pregnant, but when you know you definitely are, it’s an entirely different feeling. Most girls fantasise about becoming mothers but the reality of it is a little daunting. I...I hope I’ll make a good mother.’

  ‘You’ll make a terrific one.’

  ‘I would like to think so. Still...it’s a big thing, having a baby, isn’t it? It changes your life.’

  ‘Only for the better,’ he reassured her gently. ‘We’ll become a family, Sarah. Our own family, to fashion the way we want it to be. Neither of us have families. Now it’s you and me and little whatsit.’

  ‘Whatsit?’ Sarah threw him a pretend scowl. ‘Our baby is not a whatsit. It’s a boy or girl. Or both.’

  ‘It can’t be both,’ Scott snorted.

  ‘Unless it’s twins,’ she exclaimed in a startled tone.

  ‘Good Lord! But that would be awesome. Or maybe you’re just a very fertile little minx. Either way it’s still good news, isn’t it?’

  ‘What? Oh, yes...yes. I suppose so.’

  ‘You seem a bit stunned by the idea.’

  ‘I am. I really am.’ Her hand lifted to wipe her pale forehead. ‘I’ve gone a bit dizzy, all of a sudden.’

  ‘Could be because you haven’t had any breakfast. And neither have I. I’ll get you a glass of juice. Then let’s drop everything and walk up to Dino’s and have a celebratory eat-up.’ Dino’s was a trendy little café not far from their building, which served breakfast all day every day as well as the most delicious pancakes. They often had breakfast there on the weekends. Lunch too. With the sun out and the day promising some pre-winter warmth they could sit at one of the outdoor tables in the back courtyard. They weren’t that popular because of the noise that came from nearby Luna Park, but neither of them minded the sounds of happiness.

  ‘I’d like that,’ Sarah said, then shook her head. ‘Twins!’ she exclaimed as he took her elbow and steered her out into the kitchen.

  ‘Could be,’ he told her. ‘My father was a twin.’

  ‘You never told me that.’

  ‘Didn’t I?’

  ‘No.’

  He shrugged. ‘I’ll tell you over brunch.’

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  ‘WELL?’ SARAH PROMPTED as soon as they’d ordered their food and sat down at one of their favourite outdoor tables.

  ‘Well, what?’ he replied.

  ‘You were going to tell me about your father being a twin.’

  ‘Oh, yes, so I was,’ he said with a cheeky smile. ‘They weren’t identical twins. Similar in looks, but nothing like each other in nature, Dad said. His name was Roger and he was a right rebel. A risk taker. He died when he was eighteen. Got killed falling off a motorcycle.’

  ‘That’s sad. But I don’t know about their being all that different in nature. Your dad didn’t exactly follow the conventional path in life, did he?’

  ‘Well, no, but he wasn’t a risk taker.’

  ‘Really? Then why did he buy old mines and plots of land which everyone said were useless?’

  He frowned at her, then laughed. ‘I never told you that, madam, so where did you get that little nugget of information from?’

  Sarah grinned. ‘Remember the day we met?’

  ‘I’m hardly likely to forget it,’ he said in droll tones. ‘It was
very difficult to sit in that boardroom, conducting business with a hard-on the size of Centrepoint Tower.’

  ‘Hush up,’ a blushing Sarah said as she looked hurriedly over at the nearest table, which was occupied by a couple and their two small children. ‘There are children here.’

  ‘Sorry. Okay, out with it.’

  ‘Well, I was bored to tears that day and had nothing better to do than look you up on the Internet. Not that it was all that informative. You really are not very communicative with the media, are you? I couldn’t even find a decent photo—just one with a hard hat on where you looked like a union leader. A rather weather-beaten one. Trust me when I tell you I wasn’t impressed. I didn’t fancy you at all till I saw you in the flesh. Not sure why I did then, either. You were a long way from being my fantasy man.’

  ‘That’s sweet of you to say so.’

  ‘I did tell you that I was going to be honest from now on.’

  Scott laughed. ‘In a selective manner, that is.’

  ‘I promise I will tell only little white lies in future.’

  ‘That’s a comfort. So what did you fancy about me, once you saw me in the flesh?’

  ‘Just about everything, I guess. But most of all I liked the way you looked at me. It made me feel very...sexy.’

  ‘Yet you held out on me till our third date.’

  ‘I didn’t want you to think I was easy.’

  ‘Sweetheart, have you forgotten you were a virgin?’

  ‘No. But you didn’t know that at the time.’

  ‘You’d be right there. I was quite blown away once I found out.’

  ‘You were rather surprised.’

  ‘True. I’d never come across one before.’

  ‘Not even when you were younger?’

  ‘Nah. I was into older women at that stage.’

  ‘And now?’

  ‘Now I’m just into you.’ His smile was wonderful and warm, with just a hint of wicked promise. Sarah suspected that as soon as they got back home she wouldn’t be putting all her things away till much later. Scott would be whisking her off to bed. She recognised that glint in his eye only too well.