Chapter 1 #2
"It's my baby!" She slapped a hand on her stomach. "My body that will be going through the tortures of hell for nine months. You will not be feeling anything except pride that you've planted your seed. I'll be doing all the damn work."
"All right." He lifted his hands and tried for calm. "All right. I don't know what it is to carry a human being inside you, but I'm here and whatever it takes, I will be."
She glared at him, suddenly irrationally angry. "I love my job and will not give it up."
"Who's asking you to?"
"Your parents will. All of your sisters-in-law are stay at home mothers. Good for them. I'm not the type to sit around and crochet and have tea parties."
He raised a brow at the incredible insult to the three women who work their butts off in the charitable arm of the company.
"That's not all they do."
"I don't care." She paced to the window to look out, her shoulders tight with tension. This was not going well, and it was all on her.
Turning back to him, she shoved her hands into the pockets of her sweats.
"Look, I'm not in a very good place right now. Like I said, I've been ill. Sick to my stomach. I shouldn't have gotten involved with you. That was careless of me. You're my boss..."
"Technically..." His voice petered off at the heated look she shot at him. Spreading his hands wide, he gave her an appealing look. "What do you want me to say?"
"Nothing." She paced back to the window and then back again. "I'm just telling you like it is. I will go to the appointment tomorrow and hear what the doctor has to say."
"And then?"
She plopped down on the chair next to the fireplace. "And then I go on from there. I would like to ask that you do not tell your family yet, but that's not going to happen."
"No."
Shaking her head, she leaned back and closed her eyes. "I don't think your mother likes me very much."
His lips quirked in wry amusement. "That's because you called my family loud and boisterous. That might have something to do with it."
Her eyes popped open. "I was simply stating the obvious."
Crossing to her, he pulled up the ottoman and sat. "This is a good thing."
"For you it is. Your family is big on children. I never gave motherhood a thought. I have an exciting career and was just getting started."
"Having a child does not have to curtail that. I would never ask you to give up your job."
She arched a brow at him. "What on earth will your family have to say about that?"
His mouth tightened at her sarcastic tone. "I am my own person, and this is between us. Look..." He paused a little. "We could always get married..."
"No. We're living in the twenty-first century, where thank God, no one's going to stone me for being an unwed mother. I refuse to run to the altar just because I'm knocked up. That's not going to happen."
He had to force himself not to lash out at her. He was in love with her and it was a first for him. He had fallen hard, but to her it had been just a fling, and he hated her for it. Resented her for making him want to beg.
"As you wish." Pushing to his feet, he stepped back.
"I know you're upset."
"What gave it away?"
She bristled at his tone. "It's my body."
"As you keep saying. I'll meet you at the clinic in the morning. Just text me the address."
"I'll see you out."
"Oh please, don't bother." With that, he strode from the room.
She sat there until she heard the front door slam shut before getting up. Yes, she had handled it badly, but she didn't give a damn, not the way she was feeling. This was the last thing she wanted.
A child, one she was not prepared for. Sighing, she rose and went to lock up before heading towards the kitchen to make another pot of tea.
*****
He knew that as soon as he hung up from them, they would be coming and nothing he said would stop them.
He was starting to feel hemmed in by all the love and reluctantly acknowledged that Leanne was somehow justified in her thinking.
Not quite though. His family was the best and nothing was wrong with caring.
He uncoded the alarm and stepped back to allow his parents entry.
"Darling, you look awful." Mary-Ann Kostas folded her arms around his waist and placed her head on his chest. "What did that woman have to say to make you look so miserable?"
Bending from his lofty height, he kissed the top of the shiny sable brown hair, meeting his father's amused gaze when he lifted his head.
"A scotch would go down well."
"Not while you're driving." Stepping back, his wife said firmly.
"How about some tea?" She led the way into the kitchen, the sharp green eyes she had passed down to all of her sons darting around the immaculate space.
"I see the housekeeper is working out." She went straight to the stove to put the kettle on.
"She is. You didn't need to come over."
"Of course we did." With a wave of one elegant hand, she went to the pantry to take down an apron. Tying it around her narrow waist, she put the kettle on before facing her two men.
"Now, tell us everything."
Sliding onto the stool next to his father, he began. "I'm going to be a dad."
The silence in the stark black and cream kitchen stretched for several seconds, before the clamor began. His mother rushed over to practically jump into his arms, with screams of delight. And his father thumped him hard enough on the shoulder to have him jolting.
Excited murmurs from both of them continued and Christos let the conversation go over his head. The kettle squealed just then and had his mother whirling away towards the stove.
"We need to plan a wedding." Getting out cups, she selected some chamomile and dug around for the honey.
"The sooner the better. How far along is she?" She stirred in the honey and passed a cup to each of them. "If she's not too far along, she can still wear that lovely ivory gown your grandmother passed down."
Walking around the counter, she wrapped her arms around her son and beamed.
"There's not going to be a wedding." He would have given anything not to see the look of profound disappointment on her beautiful face.
"Darling, what are you saying?"
"She doesn't want to get married." He stated flatly.
"Of course she does. Have you proposed?"
"I suggested that we do the right thing and get married, and she said no." He wished he had something stronger than tea to drink.
"She turned you down?" Narrowed green eyes spit fire. "Is she mad?"
"She's also not sure she wants to be a mother."
Christos watched as the fire in his mother's eyes died to be replaced by absolute disbelief. "What are you saying?" She whispered.
Reaching out, she closed her hand over her husband's large one and clung as if seeking support.
"She said she would decide as soon as she visits the doctors tomorrow."
"She's reluctant to have your child?" Mary-Ann looked to her husband for support. "Please say something." She demanded.
"I'm sure it has come as a shock to her." Her husband gave her a helpless look. "She just found out?"
His son nodded. "Yes."
"There." Petros Kostas bent a loving look at the tiny woman who had captured his heart forty-five years ago and wanted to wipe the distress from her lovely face. "You were quite overcome when you discovered you were pregnant with Andreas. Remember, my love? You were scared to your bone."
"I was nineteen years old and had no idea what to expect. This woman... how old is she? Twenty-eight? She's old enough to be a mother. Does she know what a privilege it is to be carrying a Kostas inside her womb? Darling, I should speak to her..."
"No." Christos held up a hand wearily. "And I mean it mother. I don't want anyone to interfere. I know you all mean well, but I can handle this by myself."
"You shouldn't have to. Oh darling, I wish you had chosen that lovely Chelsea. We wouldn't be in this predicament right now."
"You called Chelsea greedy and an opportunist." He reminded her dryly. "And declared that she's not good enough for me."
"Did I say that?" She mused. Taking a sip of her tea, she considered. "Anyway, that's beside the point. What's done is done. I want her to start using our family OBGYN. Dr. Montrose has been taking care of the family since I was pregnant with Andreas and he's the best in his field."
"Dr. Montrose is in his nineties and on the verge of retiring."
"Christos..."
"Mother, please allow me to deal with this in my own way. Leanne is more than a little spooked right now." He took another sip of the tea before pushing the cup away. "And I would like to end this discussion."
He rose and went around to hug her. "It will work itself out. I promise."
"You want us to go."
"I'm tired and I have a long day ahead of me." Forcing a smile to his lips, he included his father.
"All right." Hopping off the chair, she wrapped her arms around his waist. "Call as soon as you leave the doctor's office."
"I will." He promised as he led them to the door.
Locking up, he dumped the cups into the spotless sink and went to the living room to pour himself a glass of scotch. He had promised himself on the way back that he would not brood, but it was difficult not to.
What should have been the most wonderful news had been marred by Leanne's mood and unhappiness. Taking the drink with him, he walked over to stare into the mesmerizing flames.
Tossing back the drink, he sat down heavily, his own mood turning decidedly sour and wished to God he had stayed away from her.