Chapter 34
Chapter Thirty-Four
Amy
“How was it?”
I slipped behind the counter before I’d really heard her. Reaching for one of the white aprons, I tied it over my bump before I answered the other waitress.
“It was g—”
“Good?” she squealed. “I can tell by your face that it went well. Or was it better than good? Was it great?” Her arm went around my shoulder and squeezed before she went back to refilling coffee mugs.
“It was great. I love hearing her heartbeat. She’s healthy. And I’m measuring,” I giggled. “Big, so they think she’s a good size.”
“That’s great news, A, but are you certain it’s a girl? Your bump says boy to me.”
I didn’t believe in those old wives’ tales that you could tell the sex of the baby by the shape of the bump, but I did like hearing about them. Everyone here was so invested in my pregnancy that I knew my baby would have dozens of aunts and uncles, even if she didn’t have a father.
“I don’t know for sure.” I grabbed two plates from the pass. “But I think she’s a girl. It’s like a deep-down feeling.”
And that was all I had to go on. Just my gut feeling.
Alessia had died on the day my baby had survived the unthinkable.
I couldn’t help but read into that. Balancing the plates in my hands, I flashed a smile at a regular truck driver.
“I will be right with you sweetheart.” The words died on my lips as a sleek black car, its windows so darkly tinted that I couldn’t see the driver, pulled up right in front of the huge windows.
I couldn’t see who was driving, but I didn’t have to.
The plates tumbled from my hands to smash on the floor and send their contents everywhere. I swayed backwards, and it was only the truck driver’s hand on my elbow that steadied me.
“A?” The other waitress rushed forward. “Jesus, what just happened? Are you OK?”
No, I wanted to scream. I wasn’t alright at all because I knew who was in that car. Mutely, I shook my head, not trusting myself to speak. Instead, I pointed to my mouth, and she nodded.
“Go, if you’re going to be sick. Splash your face with cold water if you feel faint again.” Her eyes turned kind. “And don’t worry.” She darted a look outside, and a small frown drew her eyebrows together. “I’ll deal with the mess.”
I didn’t know whether she meant the mess on the floor or the absolute ruins that my life was about to be, but I didn’t wait around to find out. Clutching my stomach in one arm and with the other over my mouth so everyone would think I was sick, I ran as fast as my swollen feet would take me.
I didn’t stop at the bathroom. Instead, I pushed my way into the storeroom and then out to the bright sunlight at the back of the building. Taking a second, I tried to get my heart to slow down, but I could have counted to a million, and it still would be going a million miles an hour.
I didn’t know how the hell he had found me, but that had been close. Too close. My arms curled around my stomach so I could move more freely. I wobbled forward. If I could just get to my room, I could hide away until he left again.
No one knew my name, and even if they did, the staff here weren’t the kind of people to give information out to strangers. I would be safe, if I could just get to my room.
“Amy?” A man stepped in front of me. One second, the space was clear, and the next, it was taken up with a tall extremely handsome Russian in a navy suit. Fuck.
“Excuse me?” I wobbled closer and tried to move past him. “Sir.”
There was a pause as I brushed past him, and he tracked and blocked my path. “Are you really going to pretend you don’t know me, Amy?” His hand curled around my arm, and I froze, staring down at it before lifting my eyes to meet him.
It was stupid to think I could pull off not knowing him, but it was the only thing I could do.
“I am really sorry, sir,” I snatched my arm back. “But I think you have the wrong woman. My name isn’t Amy.”
Moving as fast as I could, I walked away from him, trying not to rush because that would give me away. I had taken five steps before he was in front of me again.
“Enough of this, Amy. I would recognize you anywhere.” He reached for me, sliding his fingers down my cheek and smiling like he had missed me more than life itself. “Even if your hair isn’t the same.” His eyes darted from my face and dropped lower.
I knew the moment he took notice of the huge beachball-size bump because his eyes widened, and his mouth fell open. It was like he had just noticed, which was just silly. It was impossible not to notice my massive bump.
“Amy,” he breathed. “Amy! Are you still pregnant? Oh, Jesus Christ, I thought I was seeing things, that it was just wishful thinking, but you really are.”
“For the last time, sir.” I couldn’t help it. My voice shook. This was all wrong. He couldn’t find me now. I settled here. I was happy. “My name isn’t Amy, and yes, it’s pretty obvious that I’m pregnant.”
“You’re still pregnant.” He crushed me to his chest. His arms were like two steel vices around me as he knocked the wind out of me. “Oh, Amy, I’ve been looking for you for so long. I thought you had lost the baby. I thought you were dead. Why didn’t you call me?”
I shoved at his chest. “Please let go of me.”
“Did I hurt you?”
He seemed genuinely concerned, but I had been down this road with him before. Nothing was ever what it seemed. For a brief moment, I remembered what I had seen last week with Violet and Kristoff, and I felt sorry for him, but it was short-lived. Alexei didn’t deserve sympathy.
“Are you?” he stepped back, his eyes moving over me. “Are you and the baby alright?”
I heaved one last attempt at pretending I didn’t know him, and then I would need to think of a different plan.
“Fine, thank you, sir. If you’d like something to eat, you can go in.” I pointed to the diner. “The apple pie is particularly good.”
Even as I spoke, the door to the office opened, and my boss appeared with a baseball bat swinging against his leg and his bald head glinting in the sun. “Everything OK out here, A?” He eyed the man blocking my path like he wanted to take a swing at his head.
Exasperated, I sighed. The game was up. I couldn’t deny who I was any longer. It was stupid to even try anyway.
“It’s fine. I’ll be back in a second. I’m almost done here. “Defiantly, I lifted my eyes to meet my husband’s. “What are you doing here, Alexei?”
A triumphant smile spread across his face. “I knew it was you.” He reached a hand out, not to touch my face, but to press it against my stomach, and I stumbled backwards.
“Don’t touch me,” I snapped, my voice rising. Protectively, I crossed my arms. “What are you doing here, Alexei? I’m trying to work.”
Dark eyebrows slammed down. “I’m not allowed to touch my child?”
“No.” I didn’t know where this new-found strength was coming from, but I kind of liked it. Arms still crossed, I stamped away from him, knowing full well he would follow. “No, you don’t get to touch me without my consent, Alexei. Whether I am carrying your child or not. You made your choice.”
My door was in view now. And I let out a sigh of relief. Of course, a thin wooden door would not keep Alexei out, not much would, but my little room was home, and I would feel better with a wall between us. Or maybe a continent. The thought made my lips curl up in a smile.
“Is that smile for me?”
“No.” I increased my pace, my face turning beet-red from the exercise and the bright sun. “It’s not. Leave me alone, Alexei.”
God, he was impossible. Even now, he was trying to control the situation with orders and flirting. Alexei was so used to getting everything his own way that he didn’t see that it was useless with me now.
Three more steps and I would be able to slot my key into the door and slam it in his face. The keys fell from my shaking, sweaty fingers.
“You know I can’t do that, Amy.” Smoothly, he bent down and lifted my key. “You live and work here?”
“That’s none of your business, Alexei. Anything I do with my life has nothing to do with you.” I snatched the key from him and slid it into the rusty slot, twisting it angrily. “Leave me alone.”
“I just want to talk.”
Maybe there was something in my new-found anger that was worrying him, and he should be worried. I’d built a life here. Sure, it was hard, but it was mine. I wouldn’t let him come in and steamroll it like he had last time. The last time had cost me my sister. I wouldn’t let him cost me my child.
“Unless it’s about our divorce, then I don’t think we have anything to say. And I sent the papers to Nikolai when he asked that I sign them.”
Alexei’s eyes slanted upwards to disappear into his hairline. “My grandfather knows where you are?”
Biting my lip, I shook my head. I loved Nikolai like he was my own grandfather. I didn’t want to get him into trouble. “No, I have a postal box.”
“So, you’ve been speaking to him all this time?” There was definitely a hint of anger in Alexei’s voice.
“No, there were a few times where he sent me paperwork.” I couldn’t help it. My hand caressed my stomach. “I always send the checks back. But two weeks ago, he sent the divorce papers.” Slowly, I lifted my eyes to meet him. And the first twinge of sadness tightened my chest.
“I sent it back.” My hand closed around the doorknob. “You should be free to marry now.”
“I’m not marrying Violet,” he snapped. “And I haven’t received any divorce papers. I wouldn’t sign them even if they were placed in front of me. You are my wife, Amy.” His eyes darted downward and softened. “The mother of my unborn child.”
“Then you should have thought about that before. Alexei.” Sighing, I swung the door open. “Months ago, you should have chosen your wife and your child. But you didn’t. You choose Violet.” I took a startled breath. I almost sounded jealous there. I wasn’t jealous.
Alexei and Violet were my past. They deserved each other.
Turning in the doorway, I lifted my chin at him. “I’m sorry, Alexei, but it’s time for you to move on with the woman you have always loved. Please leave and don’t come back. The divorce papers are signed. There is nothing stopping you from marrying Violet now.”
He took an almost threatening step forward, forcing my head back as he crowded close. “There is one thing stopping me from marrying Violet, Amy. You.”
My eyes widened. “Me?”
God, was he here to hurt me?
“Yes, you, Amy.” Alexei sucked in a deep breath and froze. He had seen the sudden fear in my eyes, and it seemed to stop him in his tracks.
His chest heaved as he took a deep breath, and those icy blue eyes turned almost soft.
“Forgive me, Amy,” he said quietly. “I forgot myself for a moment. I’ve been praying for so long that I would see you again, and I lost control of my emotions.
” Another deep breath. “I don’t want to marry Violet.
She is nothing compared to you. So yes, the thing stopping me is you.
Just you, right from the moment I first saw you.
It’s always just been you and no one else.
” His eyes bored down into mine. “Now, do you have five minutes to talk to your stupid husband? After those minutes, if you never want to see me again, then I will walk away.” He reached out a hand and stroked his fingers down my hand. “Please.”
I stared at him for a second and then swung open the door with a sigh. “You have five minutes before I have to go back to work, Alexei.”
What the hell was I doing?