“Of what?” he asked impatiently.
“Of all the violence and crime in the news every day.” She gestured towards the silent television. “We're bringing a child into a world that is rife with uncertainties.”
“And you're smart enough to know that there are no guarantees in life.” He shrugged out of his shirt and pulled the undershirt over his head, revealing the corded muscles in his chest. Donna shook her head and tried to concentrate on the conversation they were having. “I need to ask you something and I want you to be honest with me.”
“I'm listening,” he told her coolly as he sat on the sofa to take off his shoes and socks.
“Please don’t take that tone with me.”
“Ask your question, Donna.”
“Okay fine,” she said huffily. “Why are you acting different where I'm concerned? I recalled a conversation I overheard when you were talking to your mother and sister and you told them that after the year was finished that you would gladly hand me my marching papers. Is it because I'm carrying your baby?”
“Why are you asking me that?”
She shrugged. “I need to know, Thomas.” She pulled her robe closer around her shoulders and her eyes met his. “I'm sorry if this isn't something you want to talk about, but I have to know.”
He got to his feet and unbuckled his pants, the zipper making an unusually loud sound in the room. Her eyes followed his hands, mesmerized as he took off his trousers, disappointed when he reached for his robe and put it on. He tied the sash at his trim waist and walked back to sit on the edge of the bed. “That was the case before, but it's no longer that now.”
“Why?” She asked him bluntly.
“Because I've fallen in love with you.” He smiled grimly at the shocked look on her face.
“I'm not your type,” she said stupidly.
“Apparently you are.” He dragged his fingers through his hair. “I want this baby, Donna, and I want you. I don’t care about the violence and crime—” He shook his head. “That came out wrong. I want us to be a family and I want that family with you. I hope this is something you can live with—”
“I have been in love with you for months,” she blurted out. This time, it was his turn to be shocked.
“What?”
“Your dad knew.”
“How?” He frowned at her.
She closed her eyes briefly before she plunged on. “I don’t want you to think that this was something that we hatched together. I would never have agreed to something like that. I loved talking to him because he was always there for me—always encouraging me. It took me a long time to accept that a man like your dad could be interested in my wellbeing. But he showed that he was. I let it slip one afternoon when I was in his office and apologized right after. He never mentioned it again and neither did I.”
“That’s why he put the proviso in his will,” Thomas said slowly. “He was hoping that by doing so he could bring us together.” His green eyes searched her face. “Was that why you married me?”
She nodded as she stared at him anxiously. “I fell in love with you Thomas, but I never expected the feeling to be returned, and I learned to live with it. Are you upset?”
“A little bit.” He lifted his hand and cupped her cheek. “You hid it well.”
She put her hand over his. “I had to. You were so horrified at the idea of marrying me that I knew that it was the right thing to do—to keep my feelings to myself. You really love me?”
He smiled slightly. “I couldn't help myself. Even before I made love to you, I felt the connection and I did my best to fight it,” he told her wryly. “When we were in Ricci island, I tried to stay away from you, but I couldn't resist you. The only thing I could do was to avoid you, and even that didn't work.” He bent his head to hers and took a deep breath. “I'm in love with you Donna, more than I thought it possible to love someone.”
Chapter 12
“I was reading up om the best schools,” Donna murmured as he rubbed the cream over her belly. It had been a week since he'd declared his love for her, and she was still in a daze. From that point he'd proceeded to show how much he really loved her by coming to her office on a whim and pulling her out of her chair and kissing her right in front of her assistant. They'd gone out to dinner a few times and when they did so he would hover around her protectively. He no longer stayed late at the office but would bring home his work and sit on the sofa in the bedroom while she lay in bed and watched television or read some report she'd brought home. “Do you know that in order for us to get on the waiting list of the best schools, I would have to start now? And I'm not quite six months into my pregnancy yet? Don’t you think that’s ridiculous? And the cost per term for these is nothing short of highway robbery. I went to public school and I turned out great.”
“Our child is not going to public school,” he told her mildly as his hands made rhythmic movements over her bulge. “I went to private school from the very beginning.”
“How was it?”
“School is an institution made up of many different individuals. You're going to have the good and the in between.” He capped the bottle and put it away but put his hands back onto her stomach, marveling as he felt the movements there.
“You haven't answered my question, Thomas.”
“You aren't going to find a perfect place because there is no such thing, but at least the violence and bullying is at a minimum.”
“Sandy Hook was a private school, and looked what happened there.”
“We'll research the best schools and go on from there. I'm on the board of several of them.” His eyes met hers. “You're obsessing over nothing.”
She put her hands over his. “I'm scared.”
“Of what?”
“Of bringing a child into a world like this. Of worrying each time he or she goes out without me. That he or she grows up to think that they're better than others because of your enormous amount of money.”
“With you as their mother, there's no chance of that.” He moved his hands from hers and she watched as went into the bathroom and she heard the water running. He came back out with the towel in his hands as he wiped them. Tossing the towel onto the sofa he came over and climbed into bed. “I love that you're passionate about these things. That you're grounded and direct. You're going to make a very good mother. Every day we wake up we face a day where we aren't certain what's going to happen. The stock market can crash, war can be declared on this country, we might get sick and die, but that doesn't mean we stop living and try to enjoy our lives.” He turned onto his side and framed her face with his hands. “There are no guarantees, but we live each day and try to make the most of it. This is as close to perfection as we'll ever get.” His voice had softened, and his eyes became slumberous. “You; right here with me. You love me and I love you and the baby we made. Nothing else matters. Everything else will fall into place.” His thumb caressed her full bottom lip and she felt the fire igniting inside her.