‘We’re leaving. Don’t argue.’
Maggie daren’t talk in the car on the way back to her place. Nash’s face, usually so laid-back and relaxed, was as dark as thunder. She knew he was blaming himself for their early departure and really didn’t want to hear an I-told-you-so from him.
He turned the engine off outside her place and she opened her mouth to speak, to tell him it had just been a bit of light-headedness.
‘Don’t,’ he growled as he let the seat belt snap quickly back into its receptacle, the buckle clinking loudly against the glass of the window.
Maggie sat while he strode around to her side, opened the door, helped her out and kept a firm grip on her as they walked up the path. ‘I’m—’
‘Don’t,’ he repeated.
Maggie waited while he opened her door and followed him into the lounge room. She’d left the Christmas tree lights on but even they failed to elevate his mood.
‘Sit.’ Nash pointed to the lounge chair.
Maggie was tempted to say yes master but thought it wise not to push. He paced for a bit and she watched without comment. He stopped and looked down at her then resumed his pacing, shrugging out of his jacket and flinging it on the coffee table.
She found herself hoping he wouldn’t stop there. There was something about brooding, intense Nash that was darkly sexy.
‘I’m not going to London.’
Maggie blinked, dragging her mind out of the gutter. So not what she’d expected him to say. She’d expected a lecture about the stupidity of going out after a concussion. That he’d warned her it was folly. Of thinking about her health and the baby.
All things loaded with duty and responsibility.
‘Wh-what?’
‘You heard me.’
He glowered forebodingly but Maggie stood anyway. ‘What are you talking about?’
Nash pointed to the chair. ‘Sit.’
Maggie raised an eyebrow at him. ‘Nash, for goodness sake — I was a bit dizzy. That’s all. Please refrain from talking to me like I’m a dog.’
Nash shut his eyes briefly and pushed a hand through his hair. ‘Sorry. I’m sorry, Maggie. It’s just that...’
He stopped, shoving a hand through his hair. How could she know what that dreadful, gut wrenching moment had been like when he’d rounded that corner?
‘I thought you were dead last night. I thought he’d killed you. For a moment. The blood was...And you looked so pale just now. Like last night.’ He faltered. ‘I just felt ill.’
Maggie frowned. He was talking like someone who really cared. Well, she supposed he did. She was his lover, the mother of his child. But his concern seemed to transcend the boundaries of duty.
‘So what are you saying? You look at me and feel guilty and because of that you’re not going to London?’
‘Yes. No.’ Nash clenched his fists. Yes, he did feel guilt, he should have been there. But it wasn’t why he was staying. ‘I’m not explaining this very well.’
‘So explain it better.’
Nash took a deep breath. ‘Dancing with you tonight, I had a sudden realisation. It’s never happened to me before, which is possibly why I didn’t recognise it ages ago when it first hit me between the eyes. I mean, I honestly didn’t think it ever would because it just wasn’t on my radar. I have my career and my promise to my sister and that just takes priority.’
Maggie looked at him even more confused now. ‘So...?’
Nash sighed. He was making a total hash out of it. ‘I love you, Maggie. I’m in love with you.’
Maggie stared at him for a moment before groping for the chair behind her and sinking into it. He wouldn’t joke about something like this, would he? Maybe he was confusing his fear for her and the baby last night with something else.
Nash rushed forward, kneeling before her. She’d gone pale again. Maybe he shouldn’t have dropped this kind of bombshell in her delicate state. ‘Are you okay? I think we should go back to the hospital.’
Maggie ignored him. ‘Nash, I understand that I gave you a fright yesterday but you really don’t need to make any rash declarations.’
Oh, God...She didn’t love him back.
An incredible bleakness swept through Nash as he contemplated life loving a woman who didn’t return his feelings. Even with his love beating a tattoo in his chest, the knowledge was devastating.
He took her hands. ‘There’s nothing rash about it. I think I’ve known since the day I met you, I just didn’t have any past experience to help me analyse it. I love you. And the baby. I want us to be a family. Together. Here. Not from the opposite side of the world. I’m just sorry it took me so long to get it.’
Maggie looked into his eyes and started to hope. He looked utterly sincere. His face solemn, his tropical-island eyes serious. There was no sign of laid-back Nash. In fact, he looked in pain, like he couldn’t bear the swell of feelings inside him.
And she knew he was telling the truth.
‘I know that you may not feel the same way and that—’
Maggie cut him off with her mouth, pressing a hard kiss against his unsuspecting lips. ‘Oh, Nash,’ she whispered as tears welled in her eyes. ‘Stupid man. Of course I feel the same way.’ She gave him a watery smile. ‘I know I wasn’t supposed to fall for you. I know we had an understanding. And I know that I went and mucked that up by falling pregnant. And I know that I’m older than you. But I’m sorry, I did anyway. I just went and fell for you anyway.’
Nash let her words sink in for a moment, settling around the lump of dread that had started to rise from the pit of his stomach. Pushing it down, dissolving it like a snowman in sunlight. ‘Really?’
Maggie nodded. ‘Really.’
Nash suddenly felt lighter than air. He grinned at her. Then he stood, dragging her up with him, lifting her in his arms and twirling her round and round. Maggie laughed and held on tight.
He finally placed her on the floor. ‘Are you sure, Maggie?’
She nodded. ‘But what about you? You’re the one who’s going to be lumbered with an older woman.’
Nash’s head swooped down for a deeply passionate kiss. ‘I love you, Maggie. For the first time in my life I’ve fallen in love with an incredible woman. Last night you were on the floor in a pool of blood and I thought I’d lost you. Age is so irrelevant compared to that.’
Maggie stood on tiptoes and kissed him. He was right. If last night had taught them anything it was that life was short and was there to be lived. They didn’t talk for a long time then. Their kisses got deeper and eventually they tumbled back onto the lounge behind them.
Maggie put a finger against his mouth as Nash homed in on her lips. ‘Wait a moment.’
‘I’m sorry.’ He took a breath, desperately trying to dampen the fiery furnace burning in his belly. ‘We shouldn’t be doing this. You must be exhausted.’
She traced his jaw line with her finger. ‘No. I meant we can do this any time. Let’s get the really important thing out of the way. Let’s go and book me an air fare.’
Nash frowned. ‘What?’
‘I’m going to London with you.’
The furrows in his brow got deeper. ‘It’s okay, Maggie. I don’t have to go to London. I can complete my training here in Australia. I know you don’t want to go and nothing is more important to me than you.’