Читать книгу Modern Romance December Books 5-8 - Дженнифер Хейворд - Страница 25

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

LEAVING QALALA WAS AGONY. Leaving on a commercial flight, which Lucy had insisted on taking, only made things worse, because she had to hide her emotions and pretend her heart wasn’t breaking. That shouldn’t have been too hard for someone who had learned to guard her feelings growing up, but it was, because she might be as buttoned up as Tadj, but surely they should have been able to talk and make plans for their baby? Wasn’t that more important than visits to a mine, and schemes for an exhibition?

They were both at fault, Lucy concluded. Tadj was duty-bound to Qalala, and refused to grant himself a private life, while she was equally inflexible when it came to remaining independent. Imagining Tadj marrying for the good of his country tore her up inside. It would destroy him, as well as his wife and any children they might have. Was that the reward of duty? If so, duty was a vindictive mistress, and it was up to Tadj to change things in Qalala. She couldn’t help with that, and must concentrate on moving forward to build a stable base for her child. If Tadj wanted to be involved in their baby’s upbringing, then so much the better, she would never stop him, but could she afford to put things on hold in the hope that he might?

As the aircraft soared high above the cloud line, she was sad for the things he’d miss. She wanted to share the first precious flutters of life with him, so he could feel the joy she felt at that moment. Maybe he’d had enough of her, and was glad to see her go. He hadn’t exactly helped her to pack, but once they’d returned to the fort he’d done everything possible to smooth her journey home. On the one hand, she’d been relieved, because there’d been no ugly scenes between them, but right up to the last minute she’d hoped he’d ask her to stay, so they could somehow work this out.

That was a fantasy too far, Lucy accepted with a sigh as she stared unseeing out of the small window at her side. Tadj’s position as the Emir of Qalala would always stop him following his heart. ‘I’ll get back to you,’ he’d said at the airport, where they’d both held in their feelings, parting with a dispassionate kiss on both cheeks.

‘About the job?’ she’d pressed.

‘About everything,’ he’d said, and then he’d turned and strode away with a phalanx of royal guards surrounding him, keeping everyone, including Lucy, at bay. That was Tadj’s life, his lonely life.

They’d have contact through their joint involvement in the Qalalan sapphire project, if nothing else, Lucy tried to reassure herself, and meanwhile she must concentrate on completing her studies and holding down her jobs. If Tadj delegated his side of the arrangements for their child to a member of staff, it would really hurt, but she’d have to get over that too. In this mood of absolute determination, she pulled out her sketch pad and started work on her initial design for the inaugural exhibition of the world-famous Qalalan sapphires.

* * *

Ruling Qalala ran through his veins alongside a rich vein of duty. Those two things had always been enough for him in the past, because he was devoted to his country and its people, but without Lucy in his life Tadj couldn’t rest, he couldn’t think straight, he couldn’t sleep, he couldn’t function.

After the longest span of loneliness in his life, action was called for. It was long overdue. If such a thing as a eureka moment existed, this was it, Tadj concluded as he slammed down the lid on the latest stack of royal papers. The most important document of all wasn’t there. Hardly surprising, when it didn’t exist yet. Now he knew what he’d lost, and what he stood to lose, he was ready to fight, not just for Qalala, but for Lucy and their unborn child.

Having called an extraordinary meeting of the royal council, he read out the marriage act, and when his twenty-first-century advisors heard the pronouncements of a bygone age, they had to agree with him that changes must be made.

‘Do I take it that love is in the air?’ Abdullah, his childhood friend who sat on the council, and who had first shown Lucy around Wolf Fort, asked him with barely concealed excitement when the meeting had concluded.

‘It means I will marry a woman of my choice,’ he told Abdullah. ‘If she’ll have me,’ he added dryly, with a hint of humility that was wholly unaccustomed.

‘Lucy! I knew it!’ Abdullah exclaimed, practically dancing on the spot with excitement. ‘She’s a challenging one,’ he added as if that were the greatest praise, ‘and just what you need.’

Tadj hummed as he strode away to put the change in the law into operation.

* * *

He grunted with impatience as he disembarked his jet. Lucy would be seven months pregnant by now. That was how long it had taken to ‘speed along’ the change to the law in Qalala. What had she done to him? Was this love? The thought hit him like a thunderbolt.

Thankfully, being the Emir of Qalala, as well as one of the richest men in the world, came with advantages, one of which was access to the royal fleet of aircraft as well as a royal yacht, added to which were the lack of formalities confronting him when he landed in a foreign country. His yacht was berthed at King’s Dock, and he was soon on his way to join it.

He should never have let Lucy go, and he willed the limousine to travel even faster. Seven months pregnant. Only two months to go. Valuable time in a pregnancy. It wasn’t too late for him to share the birth of their child, but they still had to discuss the details of what would happen next, and Lucy had steered every conversation they’d had towards talk of the exhibition she was planning with his team. A child mattered more, to both of them, he was sure. She was still suffering from the damage her stepfather had inflicted, and it was up to him to make a difference, so she could face the future with the happiness she deserved.

He had half expected to find Lucy still working at the laundry. He wasn’t disappointed. Ruffled and sleep-deprived, with his collar pulled up against the awful weather, as he peered through the steamed-up window his spirits rose. Serving behind the counter, Lucy was as cheerful as ever as she chatted to customers in her usual friendly way.

Pulling back, he felt the loss of her keenly, as if he were a child with his nose pressed against the window, viewing a treat he couldn’t have, a gift he had forfeited for the sake of Mother Duty. He had to take a moment. Seeing Lucy again wrenched at his heart. There was no one like her, and there never would be. He’d never felt like this before. Laying his heart on the line was new to him. Raw sex and power, together with huge wealth and the mystique of royalty, had always been enough to open any door, but these things didn’t mean anything to Lucy. She trod her own path, couldn’t be wooed with promises of wealth or position. He would have to dig much deeper than that, or he’d lose her for ever.

The doorbell chimed with irritating optimism as he walked into the shop.

‘Tadj!’ Paling, Lucy gripped the counter.

Horror-struck that the sight of him might harm Lucy or the baby, he was holding her in a second. He should have warned her to expect him. Having plunged over the counter to grab her by the arms in case she fell, he held her in front of him to check she was okay. He could breathe again when the colour returned to her face. ‘We have to stop meeting like this,’ he murmured, drinking her in with all the fervour of a parched man in the desert.

With a hum, she broke free. The customer had left by now, so they were alone. Lucy had snapped back into work mode, pinning tickets on garments, before handing them through the hatch opening onto the steamy heart of the laundry. She was so graceful, so vulnerable, and desirable. Images collided in his mind of her cool hands on his body, and her soft lips on his mouth. ‘Can you take a break any time soon?’

‘I break for lunch in half an hour,’ she said, glancing at the clock.

His spirits lifted, though he was careful to keep his tone casual. ‘May I take you for coffee?’

‘In the café where we first met?’ she said, staring at him as if seeing him for the first time.

‘I’ll meet you there,’ he confirmed.

‘It will be busy at lunchtime,’ she called after him as he left the shop. ‘Bag a table if you get there first.’

Not the best offer he’d ever received from a woman, but, where Project Wooing was concerned, he thought it a reasonable start.

* * *

Lucy was late. Where the hell was she? Was she coming at all? He stared at the door, wondering if he’d been stood up, or if she’d run from him again, to some place where he’d never find her. The thought that he’d been stood up amused him, but if she’d gone—he couldn’t even contemplate that, so, ordering another coffee, he told himself to use the time to plan and think. Impatience made that impossible. What use was planning, when Lucy was unpredictable? He had to find a way to pin her down, but he needed her here first... He stared with unblinking attention at the door, as if that could make her appear. She was more precious than he’d realised, which was why he hadn’t come here with a better offer, but with the ultimate offer, and one he was confident she couldn’t refuse.

If she turned up, that was.

* * *

Tadj’s arriving at the laundry unannounced had really thrown her. What did he want? Did he think she’d changed her mind about becoming his mistress? She racked her brains to think if there was a single problem where work was concerned, but she couldn’t think of one. As she’d thought all along, they could communicate perfectly well over the internet, and plans for the various exhibitions of the Qalalan sapphires were progressing well. Hopefully, he was here to talk about the baby. She longed for a compromise, her heart picking up pace just thinking about Tadj, and discussing with him the most important topic in their lives. The prospect of that was like all her Christmases and birthdays come together. But he mustn’t think he could rule them as he ruled Qalala.

She hurried to take a shower, and, as she was seven months pregnant, getting dressed meant exchanging one shapeless sack for another. Staring at herself in the mirror brought an image of Tadj into her mind. How could he possibly find her attractive in this condition? And why should she care? Surely that meant he wouldn’t want her as his mistress, so that was one hurdle she’d jumped over.

The fact that they hadn’t exchanged a single personal word since Lucy had left Qalala was as much her fault as his. She’d thought it better to let things cool down, but that meant he’d missed scans, and hearing the heartbeat of their child. She felt bad about that, but he couldn’t walk back into her life and think that nothing had changed. She hadn’t been sitting around doing nothing these past few months; if he thought that, he was due a surprise.

Snow flurries were settling on the ground as she prepared to leave. It would soon be Christmas. Before then, she’d stop work and concentrate on getting ready to welcome the baby. Her mother had booked a cruise over the holidays, and Lucy planned to spend the time alone. Several friends had offered alternatives, but enjoying the festivities in the midst of a happy family would only remind her how much she missed Tadj.

Anyway, enough of that, she thought, mashing her lips together to blend in the lip gloss. If only she weren’t so pregnant and unwieldy—but she was pregnant, and she was unwieldy, Lucy concluded with a wry smile, so, suck it up!

She strode to the café with her head bowed against the wind. Otherwise, she was in no way bowed, but was striding to this meeting loud and proud. And, instead of a shapeless sack, she had shoehorned her body into a figure-hugging dress she’d been saving for Christmas. She didn’t want Tadj to think her weak, just because she was pregnant, and she was proud of her baby bump. Which was just as well, Lucy concluded, catching sight of her reflection in a shop window. There was no hiding her condition now, and why should she? With an Honours accreditation in her back pocket, and the promise of a great career ahead, she was doing okay without Tadj. If he wanted to be part of her life, he would have to...

He would just have to ask, Lucy thought wryly as she reached the café and spotted him waiting inside.

* * *

The day was transformed from grey and dismal to something vibrant as Lucy breezed in. Her presence cheered everyone up, and turned every head in the café. She approached the table he’d ‘bagged’ as instructed, in a flurry of flying scarf and watchful eyes. Her cheap red coat refused to fasten over her baby bump, which made her seem even more vulnerable to him than she had in the shop. The bitter wind had turned the tip of her nose the same colour as her coat, which he found endearing.

Standing, he held out her chair. ‘How’ve you been?’ he asked as soon as she was settled.

‘Pregnant.’ Her gaze was steady and long. ‘And busy,’ she added, softening her tone. ‘Did you see the latest drawings I sent?’

‘Not only have I seen them, I’ve approved them,’ he confirmed. His team had agreed that Lucy had a real talent when it came to capturing a person’s interest before leading them through the story of a sapphire, from its discovery as a rough, unpolished stone, to a glowing gem that added lustre to some of the world’s most beautiful women. ‘But that isn’t what I’m here to talk about,’ he said. ‘I want to know about you.’

‘Me? I feel fantastic,’ she said, ‘and very excited about the baby.’

‘And ready to talk?’

‘I am,’ she confirmed.

He wanted her alone so much it was eating him up inside. ‘I gather you’ve taken the rest of the afternoon off?’

‘I’m not being awkward,’ she said, ‘but, no, I haven’t. I really need this job, and the money it brings in.’

Fortunately, the waitress chose that moment to arrive with coffee, as well as the slices of toasted cheese he’d ordered, anticipating Lucy’s pregnancy craving for food. ‘I took the liberty of—’

‘Brilliant,’ she exclaimed. ‘I’m famished. But you decided what I should eat?’ she added, frowning deeply. Then she burst into laughter. ‘You should see your face. But, seriously, thank you. I’m hungry all the time, and this does look delicious.’

‘Tuck in,’ he encouraged.

‘It won’t make any difference,’ she assured him as she polished off the first piece of toast, wedging the last chunk in with her fist. ‘Excuse me while I munch this—the baby eats everything before I get a chance. Or, at least, that’s what it feels like,’ she said, laughing again.

‘Take your time, finish up. Are you sure you’re getting enough to eat?’ he asked with concern as she devoured every scrap of food on her plate, then picked off the crumbs with the pad of her forefinger.

‘Haven’t you heard about eating for two?’

‘Are you sure you’re not eating for a litter?’

They both laughed this time, and it felt as if the sun had just come out.

‘Quite sure,’ she said. ‘I’ve seen the scans. Just me and one baby.’

Carried away on a wave of euphoria, he insisted, ‘I still think you need someone to look after you.’

‘Do you now?’

He’d been too fast, he thought as she lost the smile, and he would have to be more measured to stand a chance of winning Lucy’s trust. Unfortunately, with Lucy sitting there, smiling her challenging smile, that proved impossible.

‘Have you finished? Shall we go?’ he pressed, standing up, ready to leave.

‘Impatient to the last,’ she commented as she stared up at him.

‘Remember that clock ticking,’ he said.

To his relief, she stood too. ‘Where were you thinking of going for this talk? I’ve only got half an hour before I have to be back at the laundry.’

‘My yacht’s berthed in the marina.’

‘Of course it is...’ There was a pause and then she said, ‘You’re not kidding, are you?’

He shrugged. ‘Do I ever?’

‘Well, I’m not going on your yacht. I don’t have time, or the inclination to risk you sailing away with me still on board.’

He curved a smile. ‘Why would I subject myself to that?’

‘Fair point,’ she conceded. ‘So, you’re really here to talk about the baby.’

‘I really am,’ he confirmed. ‘And talk about us.’

‘There is no us,’ she said as he ushered her out of the café. ‘And I haven’t changed my mind,’ she added the moment the door to the busy café closed behind them. ‘I won’t agree to becoming your mistress,’ she informed him. ‘And I can’t be late back, because they’re giving me a bit of a send-off tonight—’

‘A send-off?’ he cut in, feeling as if a cold hand were clutching his heart.

‘Yes,’ Lucy told him matter-of-factly. ‘I’ve decided to set up a small design company—just one team player, namely me. I’ve managed to save enough from my jobs for the deposit on a small rental property, so I can work from home when the baby arrives. It’s all thanks to the start you gave me. News spreads. As soon as the press got wind of the part I’m playing in the tour of the Qalalan sapphires, it was all over the news, and the phone never stopped ringing. By the time one becomes two,’ she added with a beatific smile as she cupped her hands protectively over the pronounced swell where their baby resided, ‘I should be well into my next contract.’

‘Bravo,’ he said flatly, ‘but as you won’t be working once the baby arrives I can’t see how that’s relevant.’

‘I’m sorry?’ she said.

‘Just that,’ he said curtly. ‘Once our child is born, I’ll support you both.’

She stopped dead in the street. ‘Maybe I should get back now.’

‘No—please,’ he added in a more conciliatory tone. ‘Just give me half an hour, and I’ll explain.’

‘I could give you all week, and you still couldn’t say anything to change my mind.’

‘Hear me out,’ he insisted quietly.

She stared at him for a few moments, and then conceded, ‘I agreed to make myself available to talk about our baby, and I will.’

‘Thank you.’

Available? He seethed in silence as they walked on towards the marina. He had come here to take care of Lucy and the baby, and to do his duty by them, not to have Lucy set the rules.

‘I understand how busy you are, so you don’t have to do this,’ she said. ‘You can leave me here.’

‘And we’ll communicate via our monitor screens? I don’t think so,’ he said.

‘What, then?’ she said, throwing her arms wide. ‘As you can see, I’m managing very well without you—’

‘But you don’t have to,’ he broke in. ‘That’s why I’m here. Will you listen to my proposal or not?’

‘Not.’

‘I beg your pardon?’

She shrugged. ‘We need some cooling-off time. I’ll be free from around eleven tomorrow.’

‘You’ll see me now, or not at all,’ he insisted as he linked her arm through his.

‘You can’t just frogmarch me onto your yacht,’ Lucy protested as he strode with her towards the marina. ‘I have my own life, and free will.’ Steel gates swung open at his approach. ‘No, Tadj,’ she said firmly, pulling back.

Feelings roared inside him, and for a moment he felt like a youth again who’d been played. ‘Must we do this in the middle of the street?’

‘No,’ Lucy said in a maddeningly reasonable tone. ‘We can meet again at eleven o’clock tomorrow, when we’ve both had chance to calm down.’