Suddenly she wished she’d made a little more effort. Put on lipstick. A push-up bra. Gotten a new wardrobe and magically lost ten pounds.
Their eyes met, and as he gave her a hot, dark smile a sensual shiver ran through her body. He ended the call and came to her at the base of the stairs. Reaching for her hand, he kissed it.
She smiled at him, then bit her lip. “Why are you dressed like that?”
His dark eyes seared through her. “I’m taking you out.”
“Out?” She came slowly down the last steps with a nervous laugh. “Out where?”
“Paris.”
She stopped with an intake of breath.
Paris. The city of lovers. The city of dreams. The City of Light.
As a teenager she’d had a picture of the Eiffel Tower that she’d ripped from a magazine on her wall—an image showing the rooftops of the city at the violet hour of dusk. She’d never stopped dreaming of seeing it for real, even when she’d grown older and the dreams had started to seem unlikely.
“Just—just the two of us?” she said hesitantly.
He gave her a single, sensual nod.
“But I couldn’t leave the baby—”
“Just for a few hours.” He leaned against the smooth wood of the banister, looking casual and debonair. “We’ll be back before dinner,” he promised.
Her heart pounded in her chest. She couldn’t possibly go to Paris. It was too dangerous by half. Between Théo’s desire for her and her own wanton dreams of them being a family she would find herself in a white dress in no time flat. And then her baby would be the one to suffer for the inevitable, painful, slow failure of their marriage.
She shook her head. “No. We’re going to wait here for the results of the paternity test tomorrow. Then I can go home….”
The expression on his face became dark. Gone was the playful father who’d held their baby so tenderly in his arms. In this moment he looked hard and ruthless, like the corporate raider he was. “You are home.”#p#分页标题#e#
“Théo—”
“We’re leaving in ten minutes for the airport,” he said shortly. “We’ll be there and back on my jet in a matter of hours.” He moved closer, and his eyes seemed to go right through her soul as he said softly, “Don’t you want your childhood dream?”
Yes. A million times yes. Carrie forced herself to shake her head. “I don’t have time.”
“There’s always time for dreams,” he said quietly. He took her hand. “I want to make them all come true.”
But there was only one dream she really needed. For him to love her. She closed her eyes, the truth hovering on her lips. If she told him she loved him, this all would end. He would stop asking her to be his bride. He would kick her to the curb, as he’d done before.
But would he also desert Henry?
“If we go to Paris,” he said, “we can go directly to the main lab and find out the results of our paternity test a day early.”
Her eyes flew open as she sucked in her breath.
A day early. That could save her—save everything!
One day less to hide her feelings. If she could get out of France without Théo discovering she loved him, he might still stay in Henry’s life. They could share custody—at a distance. Henry would have two parents to care for him. And Théo wouldn’t be miserable in their marriage, trapped by her love.
Carrie took a deep breath. She could feel the tears behind her eyelids as she surrendered to her only hope. “All right,” she whispered. “Paris.”
“There can be no doubt, Monsieur le Comte. This child is your son.”
The head of the main Paris branch of the lab spoke gravely, acting as if he expected this news to come as a surprise to Théo. Just as Théo had arranged earlier on the phone.
Feeling Carrie’s anxious gaze upon him in the white-walled office in the fifteenth arrondissement, Théo widened his eyes, as if it were news he hadn’t already heard. With a satisfied sigh, he pulled Carrie into his arms.
“I knew you wouldn’t lie to me,” he whispered in her ear. “I knew Henry was my son.”
Théo felt her shiver in his arms. Shivering with relief? Or something else?
As she pulled away, her hazel eyes were dark with a hidden mystery he couldn’t solve. He no longer knew how to win her. And so out of desperation, he’d brought her to Paris.
He could not understand why she continued to resist his proposal. He knew she no longer loved him—she’d stopped loving him long ago. So why did she refuse?
Théo had promised her she could take Henry back to Seattle once they had the results of the paternity test. His time was almost out. Only one day left. After almost a week together he hadn’t been able to convince her, in spite of his best efforts both in bed and out of it. He felt frustrated to no end. Didn’t she see how good it was between them? Didn’t she see how necessary it was for their son’s future happiness?