The Virgin Cowboy Billionaire’s Secret Baby(6)

After a long, uncomfortable silence, he asked, “Is everything okay?”

Not really, no.

“There’s…” She stopped, her back to him. She was trying to start in the wrong place. There was no way she could have this conversation with him until they’d had a different conversation first. Without facing him, she said, “I think we need to clear the air first.”

“Okay.”

She gnawed her lip, and her stomach lurched as she finally turned around. “I’m sorry. I know that doesn’t change a damned thing, but—”

“Me too. It shouldn’t have gone on that long.” He shifted his weight, staring down at the rug beneath her feet. “I’m sorry I never called.”

“Yeah. Me too.”

Their eyes met. She was right—it didn’t change a damned thing. She’d still missed ten years of his life, and he’d still missed ten years of hers. But maybe it did change something. Though it would take more than a couple of apologies to completely mend fences, the fact that he hadn’t gone off on her meant there was hope.

Or maybe it meant he didn’t care anymore.

Matt tilted his head slightly and came closer. “What’s this about? What’s going on?” His voice was laced with nothing but concern, his brow pinching as he spoke.

And she suddenly realized what he was probably bracing himself for.

“I’m not sick again,” she said. “The cancer never came back, thank God.”

“Good. Good.” He exhaled, though the tension in his shoulders remained. “I’ve, um, worried about that a lot over the years.”

The admission made the guilt twist even harder in her stomach. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” He took another step, and it had never been this hard to be this close to him. “For the record, I know things didn’t go so well back then, but it really is good to see you.”

Dara swallowed, forcing her emotions to stay in check. “It’s good to see you too. I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too.” His eyebrows lifted a bit. Can we please get to the point of why you’re suddenly here?

She could only imagine what scenarios he was playing out in his mind while she spun her wheels. What cards he was expecting her to show. At least one was probably in the vicinity of the truth, though he wasn’t going to like how it was being played.

“Do you, um, remember…” She cleared her throat. “Do you remember when you helped me out when I was sick? When you donated so I could, um…”

His features tightened. “So you could freeze some embryos?”

“Yeah.”

Matt nodded slowly, eyebrows raised as if to add, Go on.

Dara chewed her lip. “Long story short, I’m pregnant.”

Matt held her gaze and then smiled, though his eyes didn’t quite echo it. “That’s great. Congratulations.” Twin creases formed between his eyebrows, and he studied her as if he could see the apprehension in her eyes. This is good, right? What am I missing?

“It’s…” She sighed. She’d had it all scripted and rehearsed for days, and now that was all gone. Mind racing, she folded her arms beneath her breasts and started pacing again just to get rid of some nervous energy. She’d been lucky—sort of—and her morning sickness really had been just in the mornings, but this afternoon was threatening to change that.

“Dara? Is something wrong?”

Oh, just a few things.

She pinched the bridge of her nose. “It’s such a long, messed-up story.” She dropped her hand and faced him. “I’m not even sure where to start.”

He leaned against the desk. “It’s me. Just say whatever it is, and I’ll let you know if any details need filling in.” That was true. They’d always been able to talk about anything. But even then, this might’ve pushed that limit.

She took a deep breath. “I found out I was pregnant a month ago. Three days before that…” Her chest tightened. She forced back the queasy feeling.

“What?” His tone was soft, the way it always was back then, when he’d figured out she was upset and gently dragged it out of her. There was movement beside her, and then his hand materialized on her shoulder. “Dara? What’s going on?”

She swallowed hard. “Three days before that, my husband walked out.”

His fingers twitched. “Oh my God.”

“Yeah.” She sniffed and couldn’t look at him. “We started trying with the frozen embryos two years ago, and everything was fine between us. Then last year, he got laid off and ended up taking a position that paid significantly less. About the same time, my consulting business took off, and I started making a lot more than he’d been earning before. And that bothered him. Suddenly he decided that me carrying a baby that was biologically someone else’s was more than he could take.” She clenched her teeth as she added, “I was emasculating him, I guess.”