A Billionaire for Christmas(41)

Despite her emotional state, she was not above being moved by the feel of his lips against her skin. Hot tears stung her eyes, not because she was so sad, but in simple recognition of his genuine empathy. “You could say that.”

“Tell me about your baby.”

There was nothing to be gained from denial. But he would understand more if she began elsewhere. “I’ll go back to the beginning if you don’t mind.”

“A good place to start.” He kissed her fingers again before tucking her hand against his chest. The warmth of him, even through his clothing, calmed and comforted her.

“I told you that I was a stockbroker in Charlotte.”

“Yes.”

“Well, I was good, really good at my job. There were a half dozen of us, and competition was fierce. Gracious for the most part, but inescapable. I had a knack for putting together portfolios, and people liked working with me, because I didn’t make them feel stupid or uninformed about their money. We had a number of very wealthy clients with neither the time nor the inclination to grow their fortunes, so we did it for them.”

“I’m having a hard time reconciling killer Phoebe with the woman who bakes her own bread.”

His wry observation actually made her laugh. “I can understand your confusion. Back then I focused on getting ahead in my profession. I was determined to be successful and financially comfortable.”

“Perhaps because losing your parents left you feeling insecure in so many other ways.”

His intuitive comment was impressive. “You should hang out a shingle,” she said. “I’m sure people would pay for such on-the-mark analysis.”

“Is that sarcasm I hear?”

“Not at all.”

“I can’t take too much credit. You and I have more in common than I realized. Getting the foundations knocked out from under you at a time when most young people are getting ready to step out into the big wide world breeds a certain distrust in the system. Parents are supposed to help their children with the shift into adulthood.”

“And without them, everything seems like a scary gamble at best.”

“Exactly. But there’s more, isn’t there?”

She nodded, fighting the lump in her throat. “I was engaged,” she croaked. “To another broker. We had an ongoing battle to see who could bring in the most business. I thought we were a team, both professionally and personally, but it turns out I was naive.”

“What happened?”

Taking a deep breath, she ripped off the Band-Aid of her old wound and brought it all back to life…to ugly life. “We had plans to get married the following year, but no specific date. Then—in the early fall—I found out I was pregnant.”

“Not planned, I assume?”

“Oh, gosh, no. I assumed that motherhood, if it ever rolled around, was sometime way in the future. But Rick and I—that was his name—well…once we got over the shock, we started to be happy about it. Freaked-out, for sure. But happy nevertheless.”

“Did you set a date then for a wedding?”

“Not at first. We decided to wait a bit, maybe until we knew the sex of the baby, to tell our coworkers. I thought everything was rocking along just fine, and then Rick began dropping subtle and not-so-subtle hints that I should think about taking a leave for a while.”

“Why? It wasn’t a physically demanding job, was it?”

“No. But he kept bringing up the stress factor. How my intensity and my long hours could be harmful to the baby. At first, I was confused. I honestly didn’t see any problem.”

“And was there?”

“Not the one he was trying to sell to me. But the truth was, Rick knew he could be top dog at the company if I were gone. And even when I came back after maternity leave, he would have made so much progress that I would never catch up.”

“Ouch.”

She grimaced. “It was a nasty smack in the face. We had a huge fight, and he accused me of being too ambitious for my own good. I called him a sexist pig. Things degenerated from there.”

“Did you give the ring back?”

“How could I? Even if I now knew that my fiancé was a jerk, he was the father of my baby. I decided I had no choice but to make it work. But no matter how hard I tried, things only got worse.”

“Did you have an abortion?”

Leo’s quiet query held no hint of judgment, only a deep compassion. From where he was standing, that assumption made perfect sense.

She swallowed. The trembling she had managed to squelch started up again. “No. I wanted the baby by then. Against all odds. I was three and a half months along, and then…” Her throat tightened. Leo rubbed her shoulder, the caress comforting rather than sexual.