‘In an ideal world that’s certainly true,’ she said carefully. ‘But children grow up without fathers all the time. And isn’t that what you intended to do with Marlena’s child?’
‘That was the plan at the time.’ He ran his hand through his hair, the gesture weary. ‘But plans change. I couldn’t do that to my child. Not now.’
‘Why not?’ she asked, wanting desperately to know. Was it possible he wasn’t as indifferent to the prospect of fatherhood as he’d seemed? That he felt the same connection to this child that she did?
But instead of giving her a straight answer, all he said was, ‘It’s complicated.’
The fine hairs on the back of Tess’s neck prickled at the deliberately evasive answer, but she swallowed down her irritation. ‘That’s not very help—’
‘Have you got an ob-gyn yet?’ he cut in.
‘Yes, of course,’ she answered instinctively, her fine hairs prickling even more at the intrusive tone—and the deliberate change of subject.
‘Who?’
‘Dr Hillier in Pacific Heights. She handled my friend Eva’s pregnancy.’
He pulled a smart phone out of his back pocket and keyed in something. ‘Right, I’ll have her checked out and get her to bill me.’
‘No, you won’t,’ she said, adding a hint of steel to her voice as her fine hairs went haywire. ‘I can pay for my own medical care, thank you very much.’
He looked up from his mobile, apparently oblivious to the steel. ‘Uh-huh, how?’
‘Look, Nate,’ she replied, the hint of steel now replaced with a whole foundry. ‘This is not your responsibility.’
One dark brow lifted in a sceptical arch. ‘The kid’s mine, Tess,’ he said patiently, as if he were talking to an imbecile. ‘And I’ll lay odds that in your line of work you don’t have proper healthcare coverage,’ he added, with such implacable logic she wanted to scream. ‘So your healthcare costs are the least of my responsibilities.’
‘I have savings,’ she said, desperately trying to avert the conversation she had a bad feeling was heading her way.
Who knew Nate Graystone would turn out to have the most overdeveloped sense of responsibility of any man on the planet? He might not want to be a father, but he was obviously determined to do the right thing. And while on some levels that was admirable, on others it was terrifying. She didn’t want to become the responsibility of any man, least of all a man like Nate.
‘That’s beside the point,’ he said, tucking the phone back into his pocket.
‘No, it’s not,’ she blurted out, the thin note of panic making her voice rise.
He tucked his forefinger under her chin, nudged her gaze back to his. ‘Why are you so determined to do this on your own, when there’s no need?’
The penetrating stare made her insides feel as if they were shrinking. ‘Because I like my independence. It’s important to me.’ She didn’t want to become dependent on him, in any way. She’d survived on her own since she was fifteen, becoming emotionally and eventually financially self-sufficient. And she couldn’t afford to lose that. Especially not to a man who could make her body yearn for things it shouldn’t need. How did she know she could trust him not to use that against her?
The flush crawled up her neck as Nate leaned back in his chair studying her.
He gave a rough chuckle. ‘Tess, you’re having a child in seven months’ time. In case you haven’t figured it out already, your independence is history.’
She suppressed the silly little clutch in her chest at the easy affection in his tone. And realised that trusting Nate wasn’t her biggest problem.
How did she know she could trust herself?
* * *
Nate took in the bright flush of embarrassment on Tess’s cheeks, and had to resist the powerful urge to hug her. ‘Let me help.’
Despite being the one woman who genuinely needed his financial assistance and had every reason to demand it, Tess Tremaine really didn’t have a hidden agenda. The thought made the unfamiliar flutter of admiration under his breastbone increase. And the desire to help became all the more acute.
Placing his palm on her cheek, he hooked a stray tendril of hair behind her ear and wondered where her fierce desire to remain independent came from. ‘We made this child together, so it’s only fair that we both deal with the consequences.’
‘I don’t think that’s—’ she began.
‘And it isn’t only the cost of healthcare. What about your living situation?’ he interrupted, deciding to approach the problem from a more pragmatic angle—because while her insistence on not wanting his money was clearly genuine, and commendable, it was hardly practical. ‘You can’t stay on your friend Eva’s floor for ever, now can you?’