When she’d married Wayne, she’d imagined having two children by the time she was thirty, their own little family. She certainly hadn’t imagined having a baby on her own, by a man who had no desire whatsoever to become her husband. So here she was, presented with two big milestones in her life, and a very different kind of future in front of her.
There was no question about what she was going to do. Fate might have thrown her a curve with this accidental pregnancy, but it might very well be the best thing that could ever happen to her. She would get to be a mother, which she didn’t want to miss out on. There was no guarantee about how long Leo would stay in her life. Or any other man, for that matter. A child was forever. Someone of her very own to love...without question...without limit.
Excitement at that thought welled and ebbed as she waited on the sidewalk for the traffic lights to change. Traffic roared up and down Oxford Street. Sydney was enjoying a brilliant summer and the late afternoon sunshine basked her in warmth. The fifteen-minute walk back to her restaurant in Paddington was an easy stroll and gave her time to recollect herself.
The red light changed to green and she pushed her legs into action, pushing her mind out of its fuzzy maternal wallow, as well. Single motherhood was not going to be easy. Maybe she was mad to take it on. But she couldn’t bear not to. And one thing she could definitely say about Leo Kingston. He had fantastic genes.
If she’d actually been planning to have a baby without the support of a husband, and looking around for the best possible male specimen to supply the necessary, Leo would be a five-star choice...healthy, intelligent, good-looking, athletic, possessing the drive to get ahead in the world, and loaded with sex appeal.
How he’d react to being told he was going to be a father, Ten had no idea. Right at this moment, she didn’t really care. She could do without spice...if she had to. A baby represented far more essential things to her.
Apart from finding her desirable, and companionable enough to enjoy chatting with her—occasionally—when it fitted into his business schedule—she didn’t think Leo attached any importance to her role in his life. All his energy was poured into making his computer company more and more successful. Well, not quite all. When he focused his energy on bedding her, Teri still found it an irresistible force.
But he didn’t even know it was her birthday today. Maybe over the past ten months she should have tried to make more of their relationship, though her experience with her ex-husband had taught her that pressing for anything would get her nowhere. Impossible to force what didn’t come naturally. Leo had set the limits. He hadn’t tried to change them, which surely meant he hadn’t wanted to.
However, it was one thing to be free and easy lovers.
Parenthood was an even more permanent tie than marriage!
Having arrived back at her restaurant, Teri paused to view its street frontage, feeling a sense of pride in what she had achieved here. The idea of selling meals by weight had really taken off. Patrons could pile as much or as little as they liked on their plates and the price they paid for it was commensurate with how much they chose.
It was perceived as an exceptionally fair deal, the food was tasty, and Ten knew she had a lot of satisfied customers because they kept returning. In droves. Most lunches and dinners were sell-outs. It had become a nicely profitable little business. Nothing grand. But she could afford to employ a chef and a kitchenhand.
She didn’t need financial support from Leo, should he choose to...not be around any more. She was capable of standing on her own two feet. Living in the apartment upstairs made the situation manageable. She would still be able to work and look after a baby.
As her gaze belatedly registered the name she’d given her restaurant, laughter gurgled up in her throat and spilled into a slightly hysterical peal. Full Tummy—Happy Heart was printed across the two front windows in a semicircular hump. A very pregnant hump, she thought in ironic amusement, and determined then and there, no matter how Leo reacted to her full tummy, she’d still have a happy heart about having his child.
She checked her watch as she pushed open the door. Four-thirty. The lull before the next onslaught of fast and furious activity. The tables were cleaned up and set for the evening meal.
Behind the weighing counter, Dylan, her chef, was busy cleaning up his open grill, ready for the dinner orders. Chunky, ginger-haired, freckle-faced, and invariably good-natured, he swung around as he heard her come in and shot her a cheerful grin.
“Leo called”
Teri’s heart fluttered. Leo never called. Why today of all days? “What for?” she asked, hoping her voice sounded normal.
“Said he was flying in from New Zealand, and he’d be here about eight-thirty and if I was making that chicken mince stuff wrapped in spinach leaves, would I please keep him some?”
Food! Nothing personal. She heaved a sigh to get rid of the surge of absurd emotional hope for something different from Leo and aimed a smile at her chef. “Guess you made a hit with that dish, Dylan.”
“Yeah.”
He looked pleased. At twenty-two, he was still fresh from his long apprenticeship in a hotel and enjoying making his own little specialties.
“Mail came while you were out,” he informed her, still grinning. “I put it in the kitchen.”
“Thanks.”
Probably birthday cards from her family, she thought, wondering how they were going to react to a new birth. Plenty of time before she’d have to tell them, but Leo...only four hours before he swept in, probably expecting two appetising meals. He’d get one. Then...
Well, it wouldn’t be the end of the world if he dropped her flat. She’d coped fairly well after Wayne had walked out of their three-year marriage. She was used to being independent, working things out for herself, setting goals and reaching them for the most part.
At least this time, she wouldn’t be left with nothing.
She was going to have a baby.
CHAPTER THREE
LEO KINGSTON was smiling as he strode out of the airport terminal and grabbed the first cab on the taxi rank. His business in New Zealand had been successfully concluded, the flight had landed on schedule, he was bound to get the kind of food he really enjoyed eating at Teri’s restaurant—tasty but not too fancy, and a proper plateful instead of the skimpy servings the classy restaurants charged a fortune for—then to top off everything, a night of sheer, uncomplicated joy with Teri.
“Where to?” the driver asked.
“Jersey Road, Woollahra.”
Home first to drop off his bags, have a quick shower, change into more casual and cooler clothes than his suit, a three-block walk which was just about right to get rid of the claustrophic feeling of plane travel, and he’d be at the door of Full Tummy—Happy Heart.
He grinned over the great name Teri had chosen for her restaurant. It was spot-on. Delivered precisely what it said. No pretensions. Just like Teri herself. He was really looking forward to being with her again. Great woman. She didn’t nag, didn’t sulk, never called him to account over anything, had no unreasonable expectations of him, made no demands, didn’t keep a clock on him, always enjoyed their times together, and she had a fantastic body.
It stirred him just thinking about the way Teri was built. She was so curvy and female. No bones sticking into him, just soft rounded flesh a man could really sink into and revel in. A real woman.
He remembered when he first saw her. Must be almost a year ago now. It was soon after he’d bought the terrace house in Jersey Road, when he’d been scouting the area for restaurants that provided good meals. Teri’s place had been a great