She gave him a direct look over the top of the cute little spectacles she wore for close work. ‘And I have arranged to speak to my family doctor, a woman who has known me all my life. I don’t need the foremost man,’ she added. ‘Birth is a natural process, Raffa. I’m not ill. I’m pregnant.’
‘You’ll do as I say.’
‘Really?’ she said mildly. Standing up to confront him, she added, ‘I think you’ll find that this is my body, my baby and my decision to make.’
‘This is our baby and I won’t take any chances with either of you.’
As Leila stabbed a look at him he reined back. She was sitting on top of a hormonal volcano. He should remember that.
‘You’re going to be a father, Raffa.’
Yes. He was going to be a father...
He tried to feel something.
He felt nothing but the customary throb of anxiety. He envied the contented smile on Leila’s lips. Knowing she was going to be a mother had lit her up from the inside out, while all he could do was dread the birth.
‘No,’ he argued flatly, forgetting everything he had vowed to do and say. ‘You will not be having your baby in Skavanga. You will have your baby here on the island, where I can keep you safe.’
‘But I’ve never suggested anything different other than having my baby in Skavanga,’ Leila protested, frowning as she looked at him as if he’d gone mad. ‘I can’t understand why you’re making such a fuss about it. We have a state-of-the-art hospital in Skavanga and excellent specialists, most of whom I know.’
‘I have no doubt that you have every confidence in them,’ he said, ‘but I have appointed the best.’
‘Oh,’ she mocked him. ‘I forgot for a moment that your money can buy anything, including guaranteed, trouble-free birth.’
He swung away so she couldn’t see the expression on his face. ‘It can provide a substantial buffer against any unpleasantness for you,’ he said, turning slowly round to face her. ‘And yes, in my experience, my money does buy the best.’
‘But it can’t buy me, or my agreement to your plan. Are you seriously suggesting a doctor who has known me all my life would let me come to any harm?’ she pressed him.
He shook his head. ‘I’m not prepared to take that risk.’ This wasn’t up for discussion.
‘Well, I’m not going to London,’ she said, holding his stare unblinking.
‘Did I say anything about London?’
She frowned. ‘No, but I thought—’
‘You’ll stay here on the island. The specialist and his team will come to you. You’ll have the finest midwife, nurses, and a paediatrician especially appointed for the baby. And as far as the accessories are concerned, you can order anything you want online.’
‘The accessories,’ she echoed as if mystified. ‘You make our baby sound like this season’s fashion must-have.’
‘Don’t be so ridiculous, Leila.’
‘But you don’t show any more involvement than that, Raffa.’ Leila’s face was tense with disappointment.