Читать книгу The Dreaming Of... Collection - Оливия Гейтс - Страница 41

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

‘WELL, I THINK we’ve discussed everything that needs to be discussed. I hope I’ve proven that I can be trusted and that I will be discreet, especially in matters of media liaisons.’ Berenice Holden smiled at Reyes.

‘You’re comfortable with this arrangement being permanent? Or at the very least a long-term proposition?’ Reyes asked.

‘Of course. I like to think I’m bringing a lot to the table, but I’m aware I have much more to gain by ensuring any union between us works.’

Jasmine tried to keep her composure as the cold-blooded negotiations flew between Reyes and Berenice. They’d been hammering out terms for the last hour. And Jasmine had felt her heart wither each time they’d reached a compatible agreement.

She watched Reyes cross off the last item on his list, set his pen down and reach for his cutlery.

‘Excuse me.’ She rose and stumbled from the table. From the corner of her eye, she saw Reyes jerk to his feet, but she didn’t stop until she slammed and locked the toilet door behind her. Shaking, she collapsed onto the closed lid.

Breathe...

This would be over soon. The test kits had arrived. Her attempt to take the test had been thwarted when Reyes had summoned her to grill her about Berenice before his meeting with her, and then insisted Jasmine accompany him.

Breathe...

In just over an hour she would know. Among other things, she didn’t think it was healthy, if she was pregnant, to reside in this perpetual state of anxiety.

Her fingers trembled as the thought took root. She...pregnant...with Reyes’s baby.

She closed her eyes and forced herself to breathe through her anxiety. Waiting until it was impolite to linger any longer, she returned to the table, sat through the last course. Tried to stop herself from trembling each time Berenice looked at Reyes.

Vaguely she noticed Reyes stand. ‘Jasmine?’

She raised her head, met his probing glance. ‘Yes?’

‘Are you okay?’ he asked.

Her head hurt when she nodded. He touched her arm to get her attention. All of a sudden, each of her senses zinged to life.

She looked round. Berenice had left. Jasmine was alone with Reyes again.

‘Are you ready to leave? Or would you like dessert since you hardly touched your food?’ He frowned down at her plate.

‘I’m fine. I wasn’t that hungry.’ She rose and followed him out to the waiting limo. Heart in her throat, she slid in beside him. Silence throbbed in the car for several minutes, until she couldn’t take it any more.

‘So, you think she’s the one?’ Jasmine realised she’d stopped breathing as she waited for him to answer.

After a few moments, he shrugged. ‘Sí, she ticks all the boxes. I’ll call a meeting of the council when we get back to Santo Sierra tomorrow. Tell them to start planning my wedding.’

* * *

She was pregnant.

Three sticks had confirmed it. Several online translations of the word enceinte along with three thick blue lines had sealed her fate.

Setting the tablet down on the bedcovers, Jasmine lay back on the bed and spread shaky fingers over her stomach.

Several emotions eddied through her, but gradually the fear, the anxiety, the complete and utter paralyzing notion that she was in no way equipped to be a mother, fell away to be replaced by one paramount sensation.

Joy.

She had a child growing inside her. Not just any child. Reyes’s baby. The situation was completely messed up, but if fate had requested in a normal world that she choose the father of her child, Reyes Navarre would’ve been her first, her only choice.

Reyes...

She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. She had to tell him. No question about that. The pain of never having known her father was one she’d smothered away during her childhood and teenage years. And although Stephen had filled the desolate hole left by her father’s rejection, the dull ache remained.

She would never dream of subjecting her child to the same fate by choice. But then this wasn’t just any child...

The enormity of what this pregnancy entailed burned through her joy.

God, she was pregnant with the future heir of the Santo Sierran throne. And its father was getting married to someone else in a matter of weeks.

Jasmine rolled to her side and hugged a pillow to her chest. Her eyes stung. She blinked rapidly. When her vision continued to blur, she dashed her fingers across her eyes, cursing the hormones running riot through her veins.

Think! She’d faced the worst dilemmas, protected herself and her mother from the most vicious thugs. She’d even faced bullies in juvie and emerged victorious. Stronger for it.

But did she possess the right skills to be a mother to a future king or queen? She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to ignore the tears. She wasn’t a crier. Never had been...

She just needed a minute to absorb the life-changing news before—

‘Jasmine!’

She started and opened her eyes to see Reyes crossing the vast suite towards her bed.

Sitting up, she eyed the tablet, breathing a sigh of relief to notice it’d gone dark. The actual pregnancy tests were safely tucked beneath her pillow.

‘Have you heard of knocking?’ she demanded. Her heart slammed into her ribs with its usual state of excitement at the sight of Reyes. But this time there was an added urgency. He was the father of her child. Which meant, one way or the other, they would be connected to each other for ever.

‘I knocked. Several times. I entered because I was concerned. Are you okay?’ He frowned down at her, those hawkish grey eyes tracking her face.

Too late, Jasmine remembered she’d been crying and probably had dried marks on her face. She dashed her hand across her cheeks.

‘I’m...fine. Just a little tired.’

His frown didn’t dissipate. Mouth dry, she slid her legs to the side of the bed and stood up. ‘Did you want something?’

‘You were supposed to supply my press secretary with Miss Holden’s details. He hasn’t received them yet.’ His eyes narrowed further. ‘Are you sure you’re okay? You look pale.’ He started to move forward, one hand raised to touch her.

She jerked out of reach, propelled solely by self-preservation. Her emotions were on enough of a roller coaster for her to risk disturbing them further by letting Reyes touch her. She needed to formulate her thoughts rationally before she broke the news to him. And Reyes touching her had never triggered rational thinking.

She risked a glance at him. His jaw was tense and his hand suspended mid-air. A look of hurt passed over his face before it was quickly veiled. She sucked in another breath. ‘I’m fine. Really. I’ll send the details now.’

He nodded tersely. Expecting him to leave, she gasped when he stepped closer and cupped her cheeks. ‘You’ve been crying. Tell me what’s wrong.’

‘Reyes—’

‘Don’t tell me it’s nothing. Something is wrong with you. You’ve been jumpy lately. The chef tells me you hardly touched your breakfast and I know you didn’t eat more than two mouthfuls at lunch. If you insist you’re not sick, then it must be something else. Are you worried about what will happen to you when we get to Santo Sierra?’

‘Should I be?’ Honestly, she’d been too preoccupied with whether she was carrying his child to worry about whether Reyes would throw the book at her once they arrived at his homeland.

‘I don’t condone what you did, but I understand the motives behind it.’

She searched his gaze, and only saw steady reassurance. ‘You do?’

He nodded. ‘You were boxed into a corner, trying to save what was precious to you. It felt wrong when I chose to pay the blackmailers for those compromising photos of Anaïs instead of turning the whole thing over to the police but—’

‘You were trying to protect your father from the pain of finding out.’

‘Sí. And also myself to some extent.’ His thumbs brushed her cheeks, traced the corner of her mouth. She locked her knees to keep them from giving way. ‘You did what you had to do to protect your family. I can’t condemn you for that.’

She swallowed hard as a lump rose in her throat. ‘Thank you.’

His gaze drifted from her eyes to her mouth. In that moment, Jasmine didn’t think she’d craved anything as she craved a kiss from him.

Her gaze caressed his mouth, and every nerve in her body screeched with delight. Then reality crashed. She couldn’t kiss him. Would never be able to touch him again. He was marrying someone else.

Resolutely, she stepped back. ‘I need to send the email. So if there’s nothing else...?’

He tensed. Then, without a word, he left her room.

Jasmine collapsed on the bed, her hands fisted at her sides. Ten minutes passed as she stared into space. Reyes had forgiven her for what she did in Rio. Which meant, she could leave once she’d finalised the task he’d set her. And once she’d told him about the baby.

She had to leave. The longer she stayed around him, the more she yearned for things she had no business yearning for. As for the baby, parents hashed out living arrangements every day. She was sure they could come up with an arrangement that suited them both.

So why the hell were her eyes brimming again at the thought of returning to London on her own?

Shaking her head, she forced her thoughts aside and dealt with the email to Reyes’s royal press secretary. Once it was done, she went to the bathroom, washed her face and brushed her hair. Taking a little bit of pride in her appearance bolstered her confidence. And for what she was about to do, she needed all the armour she could muster.

Her knock on his suite next door received a deep-voiced response to enter. She’d never seen the inside of Reyes’s suite and stopped a few steps after entering.

Decorated in bold swathes of black and white, the luxurious space was dominated by a king-sized bed with four solid posts made of cast iron.

The carpet was stark white and contrasted stunningly with the black velvet curtains. The design was bold, masculine and oozed quiet sophistication.

‘Did you come to admire the décor?’ Reyes said from where he stood at the window, gazing at the Parisian skyline.

Once her eyes fell on him, she couldn’t look away. Dear God, she was like a crazed moth, obsessed with this particular flame. A flame that didn’t belong to her.

She cleared her throat. ‘There’s something I...need to tell you.’ Her voice was little above a whisper.

He tensed. Then slowly turned and strode to where she’d stopped in the room. His hands remained in his pockets as his gaze raked her from head to toe. ‘So speak.’ His tone was rough, terse.

‘I don’t know how else to say this so I’m just going to spill it,’ she said.

He stared at her. Silence stretched. He quirked an eyebrow.

Heart hammering, Jasmine closed her eyes for a split second and gathered her courage. ‘I...we...’

‘Jasmine?’ he snapped.

‘Yes?’

‘Take a breath and find the words.’

‘I’m pregnant.’

* * *

He was a crown prince. He was allowed a gamut of emotions. Courage under fire. Pride. Anger. Even bewilderment at times.

But Reyes was certain that somewhere in his kingdom’s constitution, there was a clause that said he couldn’t feel blind panic.

And yet that was the emotion that clawed through him once he convinced himself he hadn’t misheard her. Panic and intense, debilitating jealousy.

Stop, he admonished himself. Think for a moment.

But he couldn’t think beyond the naked fact that she’d slept with someone else, was pregnant with another man’s child. That in the very near future she would no longer be in his life. She would belong to someone else.

He turned abruptly and headed for the living room adjoining his bedroom. ‘Come with me.’

She followed. When they reached the set of sofas, he jerked his chin at the nearest one.

‘Sit down.’

‘I don’t need to—’

‘Sit down, Jasmine. Please.’

She sat, crossed her ankles, and folded her hands in her lap. He tried not to stare at the silky fall of her hair. The perfection of her face.

She belonged to someone else.

A piercing pain lanced his chest. He paced to the window, as if the different view would provide cold perspective.

‘Obviously this changes things. You wish me to release you from your obligations?’ The words felt thick and unnatural. Not at all what he wanted to be asking her.

When she remained silent, he turned. Her mouth was parted in surprise. And shock?

‘Umm, eventually, yes. But I’m not doing anything that would risk the baby’s health, so I can see this task through.’ She stopped and bit her lip. ‘If you want me to, that is.’

Did he want a woman he’d made love to, who was now carrying another man’s child, completing her task of seeing him wed another woman?

Dios. When had his life turned into a three-ring circus?

‘Who is he?’ he bit out before the words had fully formed in his mind.

Realising the panic had been totally annihilated by jealousy didn’t please him. Nor did he welcome her confusion.

‘Who is who?’

‘The father of your baby.’ Why did the words burn his throat so badly?

Her eyes widened. ‘The father? You mean you think...’ She shook her head. ‘It’s you, Reyes. You’re the father of my baby.’

He willed the cymbals crashing through his head to stop. ‘What did you say?’

‘I said this baby is yours. Ours.’

Panic. Bewilderment. Panic. Pride.

Elation. Pride. Anger.

‘Mine. Do you take me for a fool?’ he rasped.

‘No, of course not. Reyes—’

‘Or did you think you’d wait until I’d forgiven you before you sprang this happy surprise on me?’

‘I really don’t know what you’re talking about,’ she replied. Her bafflement was almost convincing.

‘You know exactly what I’m talking about. Was that the plan all along? To innocently run into me at the embassy in London and plot your way to a higher payday?’

She shook her head. ‘Plans and plots? Next you’ll be accusing me of mind-controlling you into forgetting to use a condom in the shower back in Rio.’

The bolt of shock rocked him backwards. Frantically, he searched his memory.

The shower...no condom...Madre di Dios...

He stared at her, rooting for the truth. ‘The child is mine?’ he croaked.

Her eyes met his. Bold and fierce. ‘Yes. I know my credibility isn’t worth much to you, but believe me when I say that I’d never stoop to such deplorable deception. No matter what.’

He nodded, still reeling. He believed her. But the inherent need to seek the absolute truth pounded through him. The past still had a stranglehold on him he couldn’t easily let go of. ‘You weren’t on the pill?’

‘No. I didn’t need to be.’

He paced in a tight circle. ‘When did you find out?’ he asked.

‘I did the tests an hour ago.’

She pulled three pink-and-white sticks from her jeans pocket and held them up.

Reyes forced himself to move. He took them, examined them. And slid them into his own pocket.

Somehow their presence finally hammered reality home.

He was going to be a father.

Jasmine wasn’t carrying another man’s child. She was carrying his.

Elation. A strange, undeniable possessiveness.

‘I’ll arrange for the doctor to see you. We need to address that poor appetite of yours.’

Jasmine licked her lips. ‘There’s no hurry. It can wait—’

‘No, it cannot wait. Nothing can wait. Not any more.’

‘What does that mean?’ she enquired.

‘It means everything has changed.’ Reaching down, he stroked her cheek. He wasn’t sure why it hadn’t occurred to him before. Jasmine wasn’t the perfect candidate but she was miles better than anyone he knew. There would be no false proclamations of love to confuse issues. They were compatible in bed.

And she was carrying his child...

Her silky skin made his pulse jump. Or was it his own senses jumping from the situation presented so perfectly before him? So perfect, he wanted to kiss her!

Walking away before he was tempted to give in to the hunger churning through him, Reyes strode to the polished teak desk.

‘Reyes, you’re not making much sense.’

They both stopped at the knock on the door. ‘Yes?’

His young aide entered. ‘The council is here. I’ve put them in the conference room, as you requested.’

Reyes nodded. ‘Gracias, Antonio. I’ll be there shortly.’

Antonio retreated and Reyes rounded the desk. There was so much he wanted to say, and yet he couldn’t find the right words to say it. In the end, he crouched in front of Jasmine and took both her hands in his.

‘This was as much my responsibility as yours. I failed in my duty to protect you, and for that I apologise. I got carried away...but I can assure you I don’t have any adverse health issues you should worry about.’

‘Neither have I,’ she blurted.

He nodded. ‘Good. I hope you’re agreeable to what needs to happen next, too.’

She frowned. ‘I’m not sure I follow.’

‘It means I’m calling off next week’s wedding. And I’m getting married in three days instead.’

Jasmine felt the blood drain from her head. It was a good thing he was holding on to her because she was sure she would’ve collapsed in an agonising, pathetic heap.

‘I... Okay. Leave it with me. I’ll call Miss Holden and arrange for her to fly to Santo Sierra,’ she replied through numb lips. Her whole body was going numb and she really needed to sit down before she fell.

Reyes’s brows bunched. ‘Why would you be calling her?’

‘Because you’re marrying her?’

‘You misunderstand, Jasmine. The wedding is for you. I intend to marry no one else but you.’

As proposals went, it wasn’t the most romantic she’d heard. But even through the shock engulfing her, she realised there would be nothing resembling romance, or love, in whatever Reyes planned for them.