A Touch of Temptation(12)
He believed her that the baby was his. She had nothing to gain by lying to him and everything to lose.
Except he didn’t understand how, having been almost literally dragged from the altar by Diego, away from a man who was now apparently happily married to her twin, Kim could still share a relationship with Alexander that wasn’t the least bit awkward.
Was she still pining after him? After all, she had gone to him for help. That in itself was revealing.
“I gave you a week, gatinha. I refuse to be ignored. I refuse to let you put your company before the baby and—”
She put her glass down with a force that splashed the juice onto her fingers. Her posture screamed with barely contained anxiety. “The baby’s not going to be here for nine months. Do you expect me to sit around twiddling my thumbs until then? I’m not going to give up something I have built with sheer hard work just because I’m pregnant.”
There it was again. Her complete refusal to accept that things were going to change.
“I expect you to slow down. I expect you to return my calls. I expect you to stop working sixteen-hour days.” She didn’t look like perfection put together today. She looked tired and stressed out. Guilt softened his words. “You look like you’re ready to fall apart.”
“And whose fault is that? I’ve been trying to minimize the damage you’ve caused with your dirty tricks.”
“You have no idea how dirty I’ll fight for what I want. Propelling you toward him wasn’t what I intended, however. But I had forgotten how stubbornly independent you are.”
“Careful, Diego. You sound almost jealous. And yet I know you don’t give a hoot about me.”
“Remember I’m an uncivilized, dirty thug,” he said, with a slanted look at her. “A street-fighting Brazilian, pequena. Of course I’m jealous.”
Kim wiped her fingers on a hand towel, feeling a flush creep up her neck.
Of course she remembered. She remembered every moment of her short-lived marriage with crystal-clear clarity. She had called him that the week before she had left him, her misery getting the better of her. It wasn’t where he had come from that had bothered her. It was what she represented to him because of it that had shattered her heart.
“Why? Even you can see, after everything you have set in motion, how much Alex loves my sister.”
He circled the pillar and neared her, frowning. “And this doesn’t bother you at all?”
“What?”
“That the man you had been about to marry is now married to your twin.”
“I’m incredibly happy for them. If there’s one good thing that’s come out of this whole debacle it’s Liv and Alex.”
“Only one good thing? Still not sure, then?” he queried silkily, his gaze instantly moving to her stomach.
Her spine kissed the steel refrigerator as he suddenly swallowed her space. “Any child who’s the product of you and me is of course not a good thing.”
“You make it sound like it’s a product we designed together.”
His words were soft, even amused, and yet they lanced through her. “Excuse me if I’m not the perfect vision of maternal instinct you were expecting.”
He stared at her, his gaze searching hers. “Your genes needed a bit of diluting anyway, and you need a bit of softening up. All work and no play makes Kimberly a crabby girl.”
“Yes, well—look where all that playing has landed me.”
She sucked in a deep breath, sheer exhaustion finally catching up with her. Trust Diego to force her to face the one thing she didn’t want to think about.
“We can’t even have a conversation without jumping at each other’s throats, Diego.” Every dark fear she was trying to stay above bled into her words. “How do you think it bodes for the...the child?”
Without looking away from her he pulled her hands from behind her and tugged her gently. Stupefied, she went along, for once lacking the energy to put up a fight. With a hand at her back he guided her to the lounge and pushed her onto the couch.
He settled down on a chair opposite.
She felt the force of his look down to her toes. “You might not want this baby, but you want to do the right thing by it—right?”
She swallowed and nodded, a fist squeezing her chest. It was the only thing she was capable of at this point.
“Good. And, as much as you were hoping that I would walk away, I won’t.” His gaze was reassuring, his tone comforting. “Believe me, gatinha, that’s a whole lot more than most kids ever have.”
Was it?
Maybe if her mother hadn’t left that night...and even when she had maybe if she had at least included Kim...would her life have been different, better, today? No, there was no point in imagining a different past or present. Being weak, trusting her heart, only led to unbearable pain. She had learned that twice already.