November Harlequin Presents 1(94)

Erin stood rooted to the spot, stunned by the fact that Peter was behind this movie project. He knew who she was. He knew only too intimately who she was. He’d hauled his gaze up from her belly and his eyes were like icy steel, stabbing into hers.

“Back off, Zack!” he commanded in a voice that cracked like a whip, stopping the other man in his tracks. “This meeting is adjourned until further notice.”

“What?”

“Why?”

“But…”

He waved a sharply dismissive hand at the flurry of shocked protests. “Go back to the hotel and wait.” He dug in his trouser pocket, drew out a set of keys and held them out to his business associate. “Take them in my car, Zack.”

His gaze had not so much as flickered from Erin yet he emanated so much intimidating power, no-one was inclined to fight his edict. Besides which, he was the money man, and the flow of tension between her and the big billionaire undoubtedly telegraphed there was a huge hitch in this morning’s plan.

Richard was brave enough to ask, “Is it okay to leave you, Erin?”

“Yes. Go,” she croaked out, resigned to the inevitable confrontation.

They left.

Peter didn’t move.

Neither did she.

After a long nerve-tearing silence, he said, “It’s mine, isn’t it?”

No doubt in his voice. No doubt in his eyes. Just wanting the fact confirmed by her, forcing the admission with ruthless determination.

“Yes,” she acknowledged.

His mouth twisted in bitter irony. “So your fling with me had a purpose. Should I feel flattered that you chose my genes for your child?”

Her mind boggled over the assumption that her pregnancy had been planned, that she’d used him as a stud. “It was an accident! An accident!” she cried, appalled that he could think she would choose single parenthood after all she’d said on the issue.

He threw up his hands in contempt. “How big a fool do you think I am, Erin? You kept your identity a secret. You lied about contraception…”

“I did not lie about taking the pill!” she hurled back at him. “You can ask my doctor why it didn’t work because I don’t know. I was still taking it when I went to him five weeks after we parted.”

“Five weeks!” he mocked. “You’ve had a lot of time since then to let me know about this accident. Why did you keep it to yourself?”

“Because…” Her mind whirled around the reasons that had stopped her from making contact with him.

“Because…” he prompted with an air of relentless purpose.

“I didn’t need your…your financial support,” she blurted out.

Anger blazed from him. “Being independently wealthy does not give you the right to keep me in ignorance of my own flesh and blood.”

“I was going to tell you, Peter,” she pleaded.

“When?” he bored in.

“After the baby was born. When it was a real child.”

“A real child?” His voice rose in incredulity. His gaze targeted her baby bump. “You don’t think that’s real?”

“There have been complications,” she rushed out, trying to explain what she meant. “I almost had a miscarriage. I was in bed for weeks, trying to keep the baby safe. Then I still wasn’t well. The doctor diagnosed gestational diabetes so I’ve had to be very careful about my diet. It didn’t seem…necessary to tell you until—” her hands flapped in wild appeal for his understanding “—until the baby was born alive and well.”

“Necessary…” He turned the word into a savage indictment of her decision to leave him out of her pregnancy. “Who looked after you when you needed looking after? Didn’t it ever occur to you that I might want to provide every care to ensure that my child is safely born?”

No, it hadn’t. She’d had no experience of men caring to that degree. It was women who did the looking after. But maybe he meant doing what she’d done herself. “I hired a private nurse when I needed help.”

“So you shared with a stranger what you should have shared with me,” he slung at her in disgust.

Erin stared at him helplessly, unable to offer any further defence for her decisions. She simply hadn’t realised he would care so much about a baby who was yet to be born, that he would feel so responsible when she had assured him they were having safe sex. “I was going to tell you, Peter,” she said limply, despairing that he would believe anything she said.

“Were you?” His eyes glittered with biting cynicism. “If I hadn’t set up this movie deal and kept my name out of it until we met face-to-face, you could have gone on keeping me in ignorance of my child as long as you liked.”