Right to know? His heart pounded harder and he shook his head. Was she ill?
Tension coiled through his muscles. The sounds from the party swelled, Andrés covered his left ear to block them out. “Know what, Chloe?”
There was another pause and he could’ve sworn he heard her sniffling.
“Andrés.”
Andrés cursed and cast a glare at the hostess of the party as she crossed the foyer toward him.
“Are you coming back to the party, darling?”
“Give me a moment,” he bit out and strode in the opposite direction.
“I’m sorry,” Chloe said, sounding almost deflated now. “You’re busy. Perhaps I should call—”
“Basta. Tell me now.” He cursed. If she was sick, or facing losing her apartment, or—
“I’m pregnant.”
There was a roaring in Andrés’ ears and his vision narrowed. The word looped in his ears. Pregnant. He could hear the furious pounding of his heart while he reached out to place his palm against the nearby wall.
Chloe was pregnant.
Sweat broke out on the back of his neck and he struggled to breathe.
“But you don’t have to worry about anything, Andrés. Though I felt you have every right to know, this isn’t your problem,” she said firmly. “I’ll deal with it myself.”
And then the line went dead.
The bell from the kitchen chimed, signaling her order was up. Chloe drew in a harried breath as she grabbed a tip from one table and rushed back to pick up the food for another.
Eleven hours on her feet. Gosh, was that what she was going on now? Thank heavens it was almost nine and the dinner rush was over. Just one more hour and then she could go home.
“How are you holding up, Chloe?” Martha paused on her way back to the kitchen and cast her a sympathetic look. “It’s not right. You working doubles in your condition.”
Chloe loaded up the plates full of food onto her tray and managed a faint smile. “I’m pregnant, not terminally ill. I’m doing all right. Besides, it’s just the mornings where I pretty much wish I were dead. Be back in a second.”
She balanced the tray on one hand and went to deliver it to the family at table five. The diner wasn’t overly busy, but alive with atmosphere. Getting into the spirit of fall, it was decorated with oversized cutouts of leaves, while pumpkin lights were strung around some of the windows.
A few minutes later she’d returned behind the counter to where Martha was scooping butter into little containers for the morning breakfast rush.
“So I called him,” Chloe admitted quietly, setting the tray back down.
Martha’s eyes widened but she didn’t slow her pace scooping. “And?”
The memory of the conversation knotted her stomach. Chloe’s throat burned with despondency. “He was with another woman when I called.”
Sympathy flared in her friend’s gaze. “Oh, Chloe, I’m sorry.”
She forced a light shrug. “I really shouldn’t have expected anything less.” Not with Andrés. Spain’s elusive bachelor billionaire, the tabloid’s had dubbed him. Women were probably as common to him as breathing.
“Well he’s a fool to let you go,” Martha muttered. “Two months pregnant and already glowing. You’re so pretty.”
“Thank you.” Chloe gave a small smile. Though pretty was stretching it with her hair in two braids and the blue calico dress she had on that was the uniform at Dixie’s Diner.
A commotion outside had Chloe’s attention jerking away. All the kids in the restaurant had their noses pressed to the window and were chattering in excitement.
“What’s going on outside?” Martha asked.
Chloe frowned slightly and stepped forward. “I haven’t a clue. But I’ll go check it out.”
She was almost to the window when the front door dinged and someone stepped inside. No. The blood drained from her face and she took a quick step backward.
No, it couldn’t possibly be him.
Tall, dark and daunting, Andrés strode into the restaurant, waving and smiling at the children, who stared at him as if he were Santa Claus. Outside the front door, which was still open, she spotted the source of the children’s fascination. A black stretch limo.
Andrés’ head lifted then to sweep around the restaurant. His gaze connected with hers.
All sounds around Chloe dimmed to nothing. Her world shrunk to just the two of them. Her heart pounded in her throat and her body began to tremble. All the fear, excitement, and uncertainty of the past couple of days caught up with her. She remembered how it had felt to be in his arms in Spain after the attack on the beach, the comfort she’d found there.