Princess's Secret Baby(60)

                ‘No,’ Leila said. ‘I stopped trying to be her when I met you.’

                Why wasn’t he telling her she was stupid? Instead his hand was at her cheek, wiping away a tear, and he revealed a fear of his own.

                ‘I go over and over that night,’ James said. ‘I’m terrified that if I hadn’t been there what might have happened to you, because despite what everyone thinks, I did take care of you that night.’

                ‘You did,’ Leila said. ‘And no, it could only have been you. As I walked into that bar I had realised just how mad it was.’ She took a big breath and said the bravest words of her life. ‘And then I saw you. It could only have been you because had you not turned around when you did, then I would have run back to my suite. I would have taken off those clothes. I would have gone back to my parents and tried to somehow make it work, except I walked towards you.’

                ‘Good.’ James smiled. ‘I can breathe better now.’

                ‘I got us into this mess.’

                ‘Where’s the mess?’ James asked, and she looked deeply into his eyes and there was no mess to be seen. ‘The best thing that ever happened to me was the night you walked into that room.’ James admitted it not just to Leila but to himself. ‘We made a baby and while it’s taken some getting used to I don’t see that as a mess. You’re going to be an amazing mother. I’m going to do all I can to be the best father that I can be. I’ve never taken something more seriously in my life. I promise you, I will sort things out with your parents.’

                ‘You can’t,’ Leila said. ‘Please don’t make me a promise that you cannot keep. I want to ring my mother but I am too scared. I don’t want to know that she’s disowned me and that she might want nothing to do with my child.’ Leila let out a breath. ‘Maybe if I have a girl and call her Jasmine...’

                ‘Okay, let’s not make any decisions about that yet,’ James said hastily, because the more he heard about Jasmine the less he liked her. ‘I’ll try to at least not make things any worse with your parents, but I do promise you that I won’t cheat. Can you believe that much?’

                Almost.

                She wanted to believe that much, that this beautiful man actually wanted her, that love was coming into her life.

                ‘I’ll try.’

                ‘Bloody hell,’ James said. ‘Best speech of my life, lukewarm reception.’ He gave her his smile. ‘I’ll take it.’

                Leila had her sleep and James played the stock market, but every now and then he looked over to where she was sleeping, and at five, he called her name.

                ‘You’ve got work.’

                ‘I know.’

                ‘Now, I know that I’m going to sound really chauvinist,’ James said, ‘but I don’t want you working nights, not because I don’t want you working nights but because...’

                ‘I don’t want to go in either.’ Leila smiled because she wanted tonight to be with him.

                ‘Can you call in sick?’

                ‘No.’

                ‘You can.’

                ‘I won’t do that to them,’ Leila said, and took a breath, ‘though I was thinking of telling them that I won’t be coming back,’ Leila admitted. ‘Maybe on occasions but I like that season ticket that you got me for the orchestra and I love watching them rehearse.’