The blood rushed to her head and there was a roaring in her ears. He was saying something, coming towards her. She could feel herself swaying for an interminable moment, but just before she fell strong arms came around her and then she was half-sitting, half-lying on some sort of chaise longue. Xavier was crouching down beside her, holding a glass with some dark liquid.
‘Here—take a sip of this. You’re whiter than a ghost.’
In such close proximity every cell jumped to zinging life. So much for hoping that any attraction might have diminished. It was still there, like a plug going back into a socket. The energy running between them was palpable.
She moved to sit up. ‘I’m sorry, I don’t know what happened …’
‘When was the last time you ate?’
‘What?’
‘Food—you know, we use it to stay alive. You look as though you haven’t eaten a square meal in weeks.’
Jane stifled a defensive retort. She knew she’d lost weight since she’d got home, but she just hadn’t had time … and the doctor had reassured her that it was quite a normal phenomenon to actually lose weight when first becoming pregnant.
‘I’m fine … it’s isn’t any concern of yours what I eat or don’t eat.’
He left the untouched glass on a table beside her and stepped away. ‘Of course not … To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?’
Jane stood, not liking the way he was towering over her, and was relieved that the dizziness had dissipated somewhat.
‘I’ve come to tell you something.’
His gaze slanted down at her, no trace of warmth on his face.
‘Ah … could it be that you’re having second thoughts about my offer? Back in the cold, grey reality of England you’re realising what an opportunity you passed up?’
She looked at him blankly for a second before exploding, nerves making her reaction stronger. ‘Unbelievable … how arrogant is that? You know, I never thought you had such an inflated sense of self, but obviously I was wrong.’
‘Well, then, why are you here?’ he sneered. ‘Hardly to catch up on old times, eh? As I seem recall you were only too eager to see the back of me that morning … couldn’t even wait to say goodbye.’
Her head started to pound. This wasn’t going to plan. First almost fainting, and now he thought she wanted to be his mistress after all.
‘No … I mean yes. Look, I really do have something to tell you, and it’s not easy …’ She looked at him beseechingly.
She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw him sit down behind his desk. Space. She sat down on the other side, her hands held tight together in her lap.
‘The fact is … I know I said that I thought it was OK, but I was wrong … the truth is …’
‘Yes?’ he bit out impatiently.
She squared her chin and looked at him unflinchingly. ‘I’m pregnant.’
The words dropped into a deafening silence. He didn’t react. His face was like a mask, Jane had a moment of clarity when she knew that was why he was so successful at business—a perfect poker face. He got up and went to stand at the window with his back to her.
‘Xavier …’
‘I heard you,’ he said, in a curiously flat voice. Then he turned around abruptly, green eyes pinning her to the spot.
‘It’s mine?’ A slight inflection made it a question.
She stood angrily, her whole frame quivering. ‘Well, of course it’s yours … how dare you imply that you might not be the father? I haven’t had time to do anything since I got home much less find a new lover and try to get pregnant in the gleeful anticipation of tracking you down and trying to pass the baby off as yours.’
He ran an impatient hand through his hair, and for the first time she noticed lines on his face that she didn’t remember. He looked tired.
‘Look, I’m sorry … it’s just a bit much to take in. How much … when are you due?’
‘In March.’
‘It must have been that first time.’
‘Yes.’ Jane felt a blush ascending from her chest all the way up to her face. Couldn’t stop the torrent of images that were all too frequent, haunting her imagination. She tried to avoid his focus. She started babbling. ‘Ah … look, I just wanted to let you know. The last thing I want is for you to feel that you have to be responsible for anything … I don’t expect anything from you at all. I’m going to bring the baby up myself. Of course you can come and see him … or her … whenever you want. Why don’t I let you get used to the idea?’
She placed a card on the table. ‘That’s my address and number.’
She was practically at the door before he seemed to break himself out of his stupor. ‘Jane, wait … we need to talk about this.’
Just then the door opened, and Molly appeared with some men behind her.
‘Not now, Molly, please.’
Even Jane balked at the barely leashed anger in his voice, but Molly seemed to have weathered worse, and stood her ground.
‘Mr Salgado, it’s the men from Tokyo … remember, they only have one hour in London before they have to fly to New York? You yourself specifically requested this meeting.’
Jane took full advantage of the opportunity and fled before he could stop her, grabbing her coat, mumbling a goodbye to Molly.
Xavier tried to keep his mind on the meeting after Jane left but, the truth was that he was blown away. Everything was distilled down to her and the fact that she was pregnant. He still felt remnants of the pure elation that had surged through him when he had seen her again. Then the concern that had ripped through him when she had gone so white and almost collapsed. The feel of her slender body in his arms … his inappropriate response.
Alone again in his office, he held her card in his hand. The truth was that he had been in possession of her address for a couple of months now. It hadn’t been hard to trace her. He wasn’t sure if he’d really planned on getting in touch with her. But one thing was for certain: he hadn’t been able to get her out of his head. Oh, he had tried. With various women. But when it had come to it, he just couldn’t. Her face, the smell of her body … the way she had responded to his touch … would flash into his head and render him more or less impotent.
Him … impotent!
He obviously just hadn’t had enough of her—needed to get her out of his system once and for all. When he’d heard she had phoned he had thought it was because she’d realised the same thing. But it wasn’t.
Pregnant. The word fell heavily into his head. It brought up images, memories … A dark emotion threatened to rise up. His fists clenched. He wouldn’t think about that now. Things were complicated. However, he knew what he wanted with a fierceness that surprised him. He didn’t want to look too closely at his reasoning yet, or why it was so strong, he just knew it was the only solution. And he knew exactly how to get to her to comply, whether she wanted to or not. Uncomfortably he was aware that it was more than likely not. And he didn’t like how that felt.
That evening Jane tried to relax. It was impossible. Her whole body felt as though it had received an injection of some vital life force energy. When she had got back to the flat she’d changed into tracksuit bottoms and an old baggy sweatshirt.
Xavier was in the country,