November Harlequin Presents 2(235)

‘What duty?’ Lily frowned. ‘Hunter…’ His words were starting to sink in—like the letters in a game of Scrabble, a seemingly jumbled mess but which, arranged properly, started to make sense. But she needed clarification, needed that one missing part before she made her next move. ‘Hunter, what do you think is wrong with you?’ He didn’t answer, just stared up at the ceiling as she gently explained what the doctors had told her. ‘You’ve got a bacterial infection,’ Lily explained softly, ‘a serious form of labrynthitis.’

‘You’re telling me I’ve got an ear infection?’ A laugh shot out of his lips, but it changed midway, and Lily glimpsed the burden he’d been carrying.

‘Hey,’ Lily said gently, reaching out and taking his hand, feeling the tight grip of his fingers as he held on, as he struggled to stay afloat. She held on, held on to him for just a little bit longer before she regretfully let go, before he took her under, too. ‘You’re not the only one to let your imagination run wild—I had you pegged as an alcoholic or drug addict.’ She tried to keep her voice light, only she wasn’t smiling. Tears spilled down her cheeks as she stared down at him. ‘What did you think was wrong with you?’

‘The same as my father…’ Cold with shock, she glimpsed his fear then, his very real, very genuine fear—the burden he had been carrying since the moment they had met. ‘I thought I was going to end up doing to you what he did to her. I kept getting dizzy…’

‘The infection caused the unsteadiness and the headaches,’ Lily explained, ‘but it’s not just that. The doctor said you’re exhausted, Hunter. You’re not just tired or a bit run down, you’re completely and utterly exhausted. The doctor said he had no idea how you managed to fly in your condition, that it would have been agony. Why didn’t you say something? Why didn’t you just tell me?’

‘Because it’s not your job to worry.’

He said it again, only this time, instead of running off, she faced him, answered him with his own words. ‘It’s not that easy, though, is it?’

‘You’d have stayed, wouldn’t you?’ He fixed her with the bluest eyes she’d ever seen or would see, his powerful question the most intense she’d ever confronted.

‘Not for the reasons you’re thinking.’

‘I’m not talking about money, Lily.’ He wasn’t—that much at least he didn’t have to tell her. Even if it had been a marriage of convenience, money had long since ceased to be the issue. ‘You’d have stayed because you felt you had to, out of duty, because, morally or legally, you considered yourself my wife.’

‘No.’ She shook her head, closed her eyes on his piercing glare, terrified of revealing the true depth of her feelings, scared of revealing the truth.

‘Lily.’ His hand released hers, cupping her face now, daring her to look at him, but still she refused. ‘I’d rather have died alone than have someone looking after me out of duty.’

‘Promise?’ She shuddered the question out, forced her eyes open to take in his confused reaction. ‘Promise me that you’ll remember that feeling, promise me that you’ll be honest with me now.’

Confused, he nodded

‘I’m pregnant.’ Hunter’s face was absolutely still. Not by a flicker did he divulge his reaction. ‘And, like you, I’d rather be alone than have you stay out of duty—I couldn’t stand it.’

‘You wouldn’t have to.’ He took her hand, sat up a bit in the bed, and even if he was sick, he was still the strong one. ‘Lily, a baby isn’t going to make us work, a baby isn’t enough reason to be together.’

‘I know,’ she gulped, hating the truth but grateful for his honesty.

‘Unless that’s what we both want.’ She felt her heart stop in her chest, honesty a breath away, and she was scared to take it, so Hunter did it for them. ‘Unless we both actually want to be together.’

It was the worst moment to think of her appearance, but good old vanity attempted to prevail, reminding her of her puffy eyes and running nose, reminding her that even on a hospital bed with a thousand tubes attached she was still facing the most beautiful man she had ever seen and showing him the most fragile, vulnerable part of her heart.

‘You don’t believe in love,’ Lily pointed out.

‘Neither do you.’ Hunter smiled. ‘Philistine.’

‘And you’re way too controlling.’ Lily clutched at straws as he dragged her back in. ‘I don’t know if I want to spend my life—’