Secret Son, Convenient Wife(34)

Shrugging aside a growing sense of despondency over it all, Gemma eventually took Nathan back upstairs for a mid-morning nap. He cried a little in resistance, but if he was going to be awake all afternoon then he needed some sleep first. A couple of minutes later he was out like a light.

She’d just put on a dress and was finishing her makeup in preparation for the luncheon, when Tate knocked on her door. He always knocked before entering now, except that time the newspapers had called his father and broke the news about Nathan. Tate had been angry enough to walk right in then.

“Your parents are here,” he said without preamble.

The closed tube of lipstick slipped from her fingers and onto the vanity. “My pa-parents?”

His gaze sharpened. “The guard rang from the front gate. I knew who they were as soon as I saw them on the security camera. You once showed me a photograph, remember?”

“Oh, my God,” she muttered, her mind agog. Her parents were here? They were back from their Mediterranean cruise? They wanted to see her?

“I told them to wait.”

She blinked. “You did?”

“I didn’t know if you wanted to see them or not.” He left a longish pause. “Do you?”

Did she?

“I’m not sure,” she admitted, then realized he’d seen more than she knew when a frown creased his forehead.

“Do I let them in, Gemma? You have to make a decision. I can tell them to go away or—”

She couldn’t bear that. “No, let them in.”

He stared a moment more as if judging her sincerity, then, satisfied, he walked over to the bedside table and used the telephone to talk to the security guard.

Gemma stood there, still reeling from the news. This didn’t seem real. She’d wanted their support for so long…yearned for them to ask to see her and Nathan. She could admit that to herself now.#p#分页标题#e#

He hung up the phone. “Right, they’re on the way.”

The words somehow pulled her together, reminding her that this was her problem, not Tate’s. It was best she handle it herself. And she had to admit she was a little ashamed for him to know what had happened with her parents. Was loving a daughter through thick and thin so very difficult?

She veiled her expression. “Thank you, Tate. I’d like to see them alone.”

“No.”

“Tate—”

“What’s going on with you and them anyway? I know there’s something wrong, so don’t tell me there isn’t.”

“I’ll tell you later. There’s no time right now.”

“There’s time enough to give me the gist of it.”

She deliberately hadn’t told him what had transpired, not wanting him to tap into her emotions and use her pain against her. Now she knew that was one thing he wouldn’t do, at least where her parents were concerned. He valued family too much. And while she didn’t want his sympathy, she wanted him on her side. She needed his support right now, if only for this short time.

She took a shuddering breath, the words harder to say than she’d expected. “If you really want to know, they kicked me out when I told them I was pregnant.”

Rage erupted in his eyes. “What the hell! God, what type of parents do that sort of thing?”

She wasn’t totally sure if the rage was for her or for his son. “They couldn’t handle the shame of their daughter being pregnant and unmarried.” She tried to sound uncaring, but it still hurt deeply that her mother and father had turned their backs on her when she’d needed them most.

And on their grandson.

Tate’s jaw flexed. “Shame on them.”

Something softened inside her. “Thank you,” she whispered, then drew her shoulders back. It was time to move.

“Gemma, look, I’d fully understand if you don’t want to see them.”

She appreciated the turnabout. “No, it’s best this way.” Otherwise she’d always wonder why they’d come. Besides, she needed to think about Nathan. If there was a chance they wanted their grandson in their lives, she couldn’t deny him that opportunity. Anyway, once they saw Nathan they would fall in love with him. She was certain of that.

For all her self-assurance, when she and Tate reached the bottom of the stairs, she hesitated. She saw their shadows through the glass door and was unable to bring herself to open it. Reminiscent of their wedding day, when they’d had to face the reporters outside, Tate gave her shoulder a squeeze. Then he moved forward.

She quickly grasped his arm. “They’re really not so bad, Tate.” She didn’t want him to think it was all their fault. For good or bad, she had made some unwise choices.