“I’m pregnant.”
His heart pounded so loud that it echoed in his ears. As though all the energy had been drained from his body, he fell back on the bed. His fingers combed through his hair as his palm rubbed against his forehead, where a throbbing headache was starting.
The silence grew heavy. He should say something. Anything. But what? He’d never been in this position before.
He needed time to think because right now all that was going around in his mind was that he was going to be a father. He wondered if this was what shock felt like.
“I... I need a little time to absorb this,” he said. “We’ll talk soon.”
He wasn’t even sure if he said goodbye before disconnecting the call. He had no idea how long he lay there staring into space before the buzz of an incoming text jarred him back to reality.
I’m going to be a father.
The profound words echoed in his mind.
How could this be? Well, of course he knew how it happened. It was a weekend that he would never forget, much as he had tried. Lea’s stunning image was imprinted upon his mind.
Still, he’d never thought he’d hear that he was going to be a father.
A father.
Those two little words sent his heart racing as his palms grew damp. His mind slipped back to the time he’d spent on Infinity Island. He’d never expected it to change his life. But it had. And now he had to figure out a plan. He was known for thinking on his toes, but this was different. This was a baby. His baby.
And he had to do whatever was best for the child.
But what was that?
HAD HE BEEN STUNNED?
Was that why he’d ended the phone call so quickly?
Maybe he’d been in shock. He had said that they’d talk soon. What exactly did soon mean?
The next day Lea was still playing over her conversation with Xander. It had ended so abruptly that it startled her. She didn’t know what she’d been expecting, but it hadn’t been for him to become so quiet. Perhaps she’d been waiting for him to lob questions and accusations but none of that had come.
Did he outright not believe her? She knew that was always a possibility, but she just wanted to believe that Xander was more of a man than to shirk his responsibilities. Granted she didn’t know him that well, but she sensed he was a good guy—a man who cared for those closest to him—even if to the world he portrayed himself as a ruthless businessman. In private, he was a very different man. That much she was certain about.
Or the other possibility—the one that she was going with—was that she had absolutely blindsided him with the news of the baby. How could he not be shocked? She certainly had been. A baby was the last thing she’d had on her mind at the moment. Her priority had been trying to keep a roof over her head in the upcoming year.
She sighed, not about the baby but about the state of the island. She straightened up the papers on her office desk. She felt as though she were letting down her family, which was silly when you thought of it, because she didn’t know any of the people who had run the island before her. And her parents, well, they wanted nothing to do with the island. So perhaps she felt as though she were letting down herself.
When she first learned that she’d inherited this gorgeous island, she’d imagined swooping in here and making it the best—the most shiny, sought-after wedding destination. Instead she was patching holes, painting walls and duct-taping hoses. Half of the guest rooms were shut down due to one reason or another.
In addition, she’d had to reduce the staff. As a result, she’d had to take on additional responsibilities that took up any free time and had her falling into bed at night utterly exhausted.
She stood and moved out from behind her desk that still had a slew of unfinished tasks. A more urgent problem needed her attention. A leaking faucet. Thankfully her parents had had no gender bias when raising her. She used to assist her father with all sorts of tasks around the house—including plumbing.
Lea moved to the closet, opened the door and retrieved a red toolbox. She almost felt as though she needed a tool belt to sling around her waist—to give her that authentic fixer-lady look. She wondered what Xander would make of the look. A giggle rose in her throat as she imagined a horrified look on his handsome face.
Dressed in a loose T-shirt and a pair of old jean shorts that had the top button loosened to make room for her expanding midsection, she set off for the bungalow midway across the island. She hoped it was just a worn-out washer and nothing more serious. She had a big wedding this weekend. She couldn’t afford to lose yet another accommodation because there was nowhere else to house people unless she gave up her bungalow.
She’d just placed the toolbox in the golf cart when she heard the whoop-whoop of a helicopter. This couldn’t be good. They weren’t expecting any new guests today.
The people on the island either lived and worked there or were lingering guests from the past weekend’s wedding. There was also a couple celebrating their fiftieth anniversary. Some of their guests liked to return every year for their anniversary, sort of as a reminder of how it felt when their love had been so new, fresh and exciting.
She worried her bottom lip. Could it be a medical emergency? No. She would have been informed.
But as the warm breeze caressed her skin, she put a hand to her forehead, blocking the bright sunshine. She tilted her chin upward to watch the helicopter descend to the helipad not far from her office. Whoever this was, they weren’t a guest.
Her body tensed as the long seconds dragged out. She never knew it could take so long for a chopper to land. But she knew that in reality not much time had passed at all. It was just her anxiety that seemed to have slowed the world down as she waited to see what new problem awaited her.
And then the door to the helicopter opened. And...
The breath of anticipation hitched in her throat. And...
A man emerged from inside. His head was ducked, but he had dark hair. And his clothes appeared to be a business suit. Her heart plummeted to her tennis shoes. Could this be an attorney putting some sort of lien against the island as she wasn’t quite on top of all of her bills. She tried. But some months she had to pay some accounts and then the next month she paid others.
But as the man rushed away from the helipad, there was something familiar about him. She couldn’t put her finger on what exactly it was, but she sensed she knew him. And then as the man reached the steps leading away from the helipad, he lifted his head.
A breath hissed past Lea’s teeth. Xander. She blinked. He was still there and he was staring directly at her.
She sucked in a deep breath, pulling in her baby bump, but that only succeeded in making her ever-expanding breasts stick out even further. She immediately released the pent-up breath. There was no hiding that her body was changing.
What was he doing here? And then she realized that in her shock, she’d asked the most ridiculous question. He wasn’t here to see her—not like she’d dreamed about at night where they’d rushed into each other’s arms. No, he was here about her baby—their baby.
She’d only told him the news yesterday. She couldn’t believe he was standing in front of her. But he was looking a little out of sorts. His necktie was missing. His collar was loosened. He hadn’t shaved, leaving a dark shadow of stubble to highlight his squared jaw.
It was then that she noticed he wasn’t smiling as he made his way to