Boss Meets Baby

by Carol Marinelli

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  GEORGIA DIDN’T FIND the opportunity to speak to Keir that evening, because after dinner he told her that he’d had an impromptu invitation from a friend to join him for drinks at his club in Dundee. Inevitably he would be back late, so she had tentatively— suggested that it might be better if he slept in his own room that night and she in hers. Albeit reluctantly,— Keir had agreed.

  She’d made the suggestion less because of the fact that he might disturb her coming in late, and more because she’d convinced herself that it was probably wise to get some proper rest and sleep on things before broaching the subject. Her decision promoted the most disturbed night she’d had since coming to Glenteign—barring the night of the storm.

  Nightmares of a baby crying and harsh voices telling it to be quiet, then a small boy curled up in the corner of an empty, dusty room, as if hiding from some lurking dark threat had sheened her body in icy perspiration when she’d woken, her face wet with tears, and she’d been struggling all morning to try and shake off the shroud of melancholy that inevitably lingered. And, as well as suffering the ravages of her nightmares, it was hard to think straight when the secret she carried had the potential to impact on her own and Keir’s life so dramatically.

  Georgia just had no clue how he would take the news at all. Now, watching him across the room from her desk as he put down the telephone receiver on his umpteenth call of the morning, she felt her heart slam almost sickeningly against her ribs as she decided that now was as good as any moment to break it to him. But still she hesitated. Eyeing him with a profound stab of longing, she concluded that he looked almost too beguiling for words, in a navy blue cable-knit sweater and black corduroy jeans, his slightly mussed dark hair reminding— Georgia of a schoolboy who had rushed out of the door in the morning without remembering— to comb it.

  In her mind’s eye she could see him as a young boy. With those amazing azure eyes of his and that perfect face, he must have been the most beautiful, adorable— child. It was inconceivable that his father had ill treated him as he had. It was inconceivable to Georgia that any adult could mistreat a child. Children were so precious…

  The earnestly felt thought brought her anxiously back to her own astonishing news.

  ‘Keir?’

  ‘Hmm?’

  ‘I was—’

  ‘What?’

  ‘I was wondering if you had an enjoyable evening last night, at your friend’s club?’

  Georgia grimaced at her own unhelpful diversion. Just where was her courage this morning?

  Nonplussed, Keir glanced distractedly towards her. ‘It was fine. Nothing remarkable.’ But his expression— had suddenly became more animated, as if recalling something of far more interest than whether or not he’d enjoyed the evening at his friend’s club. ‘I was going to show you some paintings—remember?’ — He was on his feet and opening the study door before Georgia could gather her wits and waylay him.

  ‘Paintings?’ She frowned.

  ‘The illustrious Glenteign family legacy,’ he mocked with an enigmatic smile. ‘Let’s get out of here before that bloody phone rings again!’

  That day he showed her around rooms she’d never looked into before. There were so many of them— anterooms and apartments full to the brim with paintings and priceless artefacts, all lovingly kept dusted and cleaned by Glenteign’s devoted housekeeper and her staff. To Georgia, following Keir around like some enthusiastic and interested tourist, it was really like having access to your own personal museum.

  ‘Look at this.’

  He touched her elbow and diverted her attention from a regal-looking portrait of one of his many ancestors— to the stunning gold harp leaning, against the door to yet another undiscovered room.

  ‘Oh, how lovely!’ Georgia declared, moving swiftly towards it. ‘Did someone in your family play it?’

  ‘No.’

  He was smiling inscrutably, and she glanced up at him in confusion.

  ‘Touch it,’ he suggested.

  As Georgia bent low to obey him, she realised it wasn’t a real golden harp at all and she reached out to confirm it in amazement.

  ‘It’s what they call a “trompe-l’oeil.” It’s a painting…an illusion…of a three-dimensional object that looks completely real. As children, me and Robbie were fascinated by it.’

  ‘It’s amazing!’

  As she straightened up to her full height again, Georgia saw the delight in Keir’s face at her obvious pleasure in the illusion, and her heart swelled anew with love for him. Her feelings must have revealed themselves for a moment, because the next thing she knew he was pulling her into his arms and kissing her with a slow-burning hunger that made her toes curl.

  When he finally withdrew his lips, she knew that her cheeks were surely glowing as pink as any chrysanthemum.

  ‘What was that for?’ she asked, her voice soft.

  ‘Because I missed not being in bed with you last night. Would you have minded me coming in and waking you up?’

  ‘I wish you had.’ Her face troubled for a moment, Georgia let herself revel in the feelings of safety and protection that Keir’s strong arms so tantalisingly engendered. ‘I had a couple of really disturbing nightmares,— and I couldn’t go back to sleep after the second one.’

  ‘Oh?’ Now it was Keir’s turn to look troubled. He brushed back some soft chestnut hair from her smooth forehead, his gentle touch eliciting a small explosion of delicious tingles up and down her spine. ‘What were they about? Want to tell me?’

  ‘No. I think it would upset me too much.’

  And there was still the small matter of her pregnancy— to discuss…Georgia sighed and started to free herself from his embrace. She walked across the elegantly varnished wooden floor to the other side of the room, pulling the opened sides of her soft grey cardigan together across her pink T-shirt and black skirt as if suddenly feeling the cold.

  ‘I need to tell you something…’

  ‘Sounds very serious!’

  There was the ghost of a smile on his compelling mouth, and he shrugged his shoulders as if she might possibly be exaggerating just how serious the matter was. For an instant, Georgia wanted to delay telling him the news, and instead encourage this unusually happy mood he seemed to be in. But, as great as the temptation was, she knew she couldn’t put her confession— off any longer.

  ‘It is serious, Keir. I think I’m pregnant.’

  ‘What?’

  The previously teasing light in his eyes seemed ominously to go out.

  Georgia’s hand subconsciously went to her stomach, as though to protect herself. ‘I haven’t done a test yet, but the signs are all there.’

  ‘I’m sorry, but you’ll have to give me a few moments here…’ His hand absently touching the side of his temple, Keir appeared genuinely stunned. ‘I always used protection,’ he said, shaking his head slightly. ‘How can that be?’

  He doesn’t believe me, Georgia thought, and for a long, interminable second she was sucked into a vortex of pure blind panic. Her own inexperience suddenly made her very afraid.

  ‘I don’t know.’ Her hands curled into the material of her skirt and her mouth went dry as chalk. ‘Perhaps we weren’t always as careful as we might have been? Sometimes that can happen…’ Her voice trailed off, and she hardly knew how she confronted the shock that clearly marked his handsome face.

  ‘How long have you known?’

  ‘I only found out yesterday…My—my breasts were tingling, and I suddenly realised that my period was over a week late. They’re always so regular, and I should have noticed…But I—I haven’t exactly been thinking straight these past few days.’ Her glance was clearly distressed, and she pulled it away from the disbelief she was convinced she saw on his face, looking anywhere but at him.

  ‘Well, clearly we have to address this—don’t we?’

  ‘Address it?’ Georgia’s knees began to feel weak. He sounded so cold…so unemotional…so detached. It wa
s like a nightmare.

  ‘We have to come to some decision about what we’re going to do.’

  Was he going to suggest a termination? Now she really did feel as though her legs wouldn’t hold her upright. As shocking as the realisation that she was pregnant was, not to mention the glaring hard fact that her life was about to change beyond all recognition because of it, she knew she would never voluntarily— travel down that particular road of anguish. She was certain, too, that when Noah found out he would not want that for her either.

  ‘You’re upset,’ she said, her voice cracking a little as she looked up at him again. Her heart longed to bring back the seductive humour he had so captivated her with only a few short moments ago, but she thought that perhaps she would never be treated to such an event again. The assessingly clinical glance Keir gave her in return did nothing to reassure her.

  ‘Upset? That’s an understatement! How did you expect me to react, Georgia?’

  ‘Well, how do you think I feel?’ Georgia burst out, her— eyes sparking with sudden fury. ‘What do you imagine being pregnant means for me, Keir? I’m a single woman, supporting myself as well as helping my brother build up a business! How do you think a baby is going to affect my ability to earn a living? My God, you men can be so bloody selfish sometimes!’—

  Before he could answer her, Georgia ran to the other side of the room, pulled opened the door and rushed out.

  The Strachan family portraits that gazed back at her from their gilt frames on the corridor walls seemed to mock her distress as she quickly passed them, as if to say, Did you really think that someone like you could be part of this great family?

  In that moment Georgia was certain that she’d lost her ability to trust another human being for ever. She’d hardly known how Keir was going to react to her news, but she honestly hadn’t expected him to act so coldly. It occurred to her that perhaps he thought she was trying to trap him somehow, because of his wealth and position, because of Glenteign. Maybe he thought she’d seen a chance to stop working so hard and live a far easier life? The thought was apt to make her want to lie down and die.

  As she hurried, dazed, back down the grand staircase,— Moira was coming up the other way. She carried a pile of folded laundry in her arms, and she didn’t hold back on the warm, genuinely fond smile she bestowed on the younger woman.

  ‘Hello, lassie! Where are you off to in such a hurry? Is everything all right?’ She peered closer at Georgia’s stricken preoccupied face.

  ‘Yes…I’m fine.’

  ‘Are you sure?’ Moira’s frown told Georgia she didn’t believe her. Glancing round to check that Keir wasn’t following her, and feeling secretly heartsick that he wasn’t, Georgia sighed. ‘I’ve got a bit of a headache, actually. I think I’ll take a walk down to the beach and get some fresh air, try and clear it. I won’t be long.’

  ‘You do that, my dear, and take your time. When you get back I’ll make you a lovely cup of tea. That’ll soon help put everything to rights again.’

  ‘Thanks, Moira…you’re very kind.’

  Although the temperature was a little warmer today, there— was a distinct crispness in the air. Before she knew it Georgia would be home again. Keir’s permanent— secretary, Valerie, would be reinstalled at Glenteign, and everything would be just as it had been before Georgia had ever set eyes on the estate—or— the charismatic man who owned it.

  Inhaling a long, shaky breath, she started to walk down the almost deserted beach. Save for an elderly man, who watched his pet terrier dart in and out of the foaming sea, she had the wide sandy shoreline with its craggy rock formation to herself. Folding her arms across her grey cardigan, her long black skirt billowing about her ankles, she finally allowed the feelings she’d been desperately trying to keep at bay until she got there free rein.

  All this time…All this time and she’d never known she could love a man as she loved Keir. She’d given herself to him because she loved him. Her virginity— hadn’t been such a burden that she would have given it to just any man she was attracted to. And now she was going to have his baby. By rights she should be feeling on top of the world. Except for Keir’s hurtful reaction to the news of her pregnancy Georgia told herself she would be. But now she knew that despite their passionate connection, and her love for him, there was no future for them as far as he was concerned.

  Probably one day, soon after she had gone, another— woman—a woman from a similarly privileged— background to his—would see his face next to hers when she woke in the morning in their bed. Another woman would come to know that sometimes— he was haunted by his past, would learn to forgive him for his occasional black moods…And another woman would lie in his arms, her head against his chest, and feel loved and protected as she’d never felt loved and protected before…

  Georgia pulled herself up short. But Keir didn’t love her. That was the whole point. If he had cared for her in the slightest then he wouldn’t have behaved like some aloof, distant stranger towards her when she’d told him she was carrying his baby. He would at least have reassured her that he would stand by her, come— what may…wouldn’t he?

  She had no indication of who was behind her until the golden Labrador flew past her in a flurry of sand and wet fur. He stopped just ahead of where she stood, panting hard, his long tail wagging, his black eyes as bright and liquid as a seal’s as he gazed happily up at her.

  ‘Hamish!’

  Immediately bending low to pet him, Georgia felt her heart lift at the sight of the animal, despite her sorrow. Turning her head, she looked up the beach, expecting— to see Lucy or perhaps Euan jogging towards her. Both young people had taken quite a shine to the Labrador, and occasionally walked him for Georgia. But the tall, dark figure walking towards them wasn’t either of Glenteign’s younger staff members.

  Georgia froze, convinced for a moment that her eyes must be deceiving her. Why was Keir walking Hamish? He’d never done it before. She didn’t even know if he liked dogs!

  She remembered when she’d first arrived his definite withdrawal when she’d suggested that the dog had sensed he was friendly.

  Drawing near, he dropped his hands to his hips and blew out a breath. A gust of wind tousled the thick silky strands of his strong black hair and blew them across his indomitable brow. Georgia straightened and pushed her own windblown hair away from her face.

  ‘When I was nine years old I had a Labrador very much like Hamish,’ he started to tell her.

  Transfixed, Georgia hardly dared breathe.

  ‘I did something to displease my father…I can’t even remember what it was now. Probably I just looked at him the wrong way. It didn’t take much.’

  He shrugged and glanced away from her for a moment, his blue eyes glittering.

  ‘To punish me, he had the dog taken away. I never knew where he had gone and he wouldn’t tell me. I loved that animal more than I cared for either of my parents…but, frankly, that wasn’t hard to do. I think I’ve indicated already that they weren’t the most affectionate— people you could meet. Anyway, I vowed from that day on not to get too close to either another human being or an animal again. I’m afraid I even included poor Robbie in that vow…something that I’ve come to deeply regret. But then you came along, Georgia, and there was something about you that got to me straight away.’

  For a moment his lips looked as though they duelled with a smile.

  ‘You fascinated me right from the start. In fact I’d never reacted so strongly to a woman in all my life! It didn’t take long for my feelings towards you to deepen into something even more compelling. How could they not when I learned of the sacrifices you had made for your brother? I was in total admiration. I’d never known anyone who’d acted so selflessly before…certainly I’d never known anyone who was capable of loving someone as much as you appeared to love Noah. When we first made love I was overwhelmed— by the discovery that you were a virgin. And if I’m honest I wanted you to be mine right from that moment. I’m
asking you now Georgia…will you be mine for ever?’

  Her mind hungrily trying to absorb everything he’d told her, hardly daring to believe what he was asking her, Georgia trembled so hard she felt giddy. ‘But what about the baby, Keir? You seemed so upset when I told you I was pregnant.’

  ‘I admit I felt that I’d been hit by a hurricane at the news.’ With a wry grin, he pushed his hands into his jeans pockets. ‘But first of all I was cursing myself for not taking better care to protect you…and secondly I was totally overwhelmed at the idea of being a father. Having not had the best example of fatherhood myself, I naturally wondered if I was capable of being the kind of father I would want for our baby…can you understand that?’

  Seeing her expression soften, Keir knew immediately— that she did. Perhaps it was selfish and even arrogant of him to believe that she would forgive him for not immediately welcoming the news when she told him, but even so he didn’t take Georgia’s forgiveness— for granted. She meant far too much to him ever to commit such a folly. Everything he had just confessed was true. She had turned his life around with the love she radiated so unselfishly, and Keir knew he would never be the same brooding, solitary, emotionally— repressed individual again. She had even helped him to see Glenteign with new, far less jaundiced eyes. And now, with the advent of their baby, hopefully— a whole new more joyful chapter would begin for the grand old house and its occupants…

  ‘I do understand, Keir, and I already know that you’ll be an incredible father. You’ve nothing to fear in that regard.’ Tucking her windblown hair behind her ear, Georgia ventured a smile. ‘But first I need to know that you really do want this baby, and that you won’t feel that I’ve trapped you somehow.’