‘You’re kidding!’ Matt was appalled. ‘So what happens next? You get married and share everything?’
‘Oh, Matt.’ She shook her head. ‘You couldn’t be more wrong where David is concerned.’ She bit her lip and then added, much against her better judgement, ‘He’s more likely to be interested in you than in me!’
Matt was stunned. ‘I can’t believe it.’
‘No, well, it’s David’s business, not mine. FYI, he has a partner. They’ve been together for—oh, I don’t know—about five years.’
Matt absorbed what she’d said with relief and incredulity. Relief, because it meant his fears so far as David and Joanna were concerned were groundless, and incredulity because David had always seemed to treat her as a man treated the woman he loved.
And perhaps he did love her. Whatever the situation, Matt owed the man an apology. An apology he could never give, he realised, not without betraying Joanna’s trust.
Joanna took a deep breath now. ‘Anyway, as you heard, I’m taking a temporary leave of absence at the end of this week.’
‘To go stay with your mother?’ Matt regarded her closely. ‘Is that what you really want?’
Joanna shrugged. ‘It was her idea,’ she said defensively, tracing a pattern on the counter with her fingernail.
She hesitated and then added, ‘I should tell you, she didn’t approve of me keeping the baby’s existence to myself. When I first saw you, I thought she’d contacted you.’
Matt hesitated, and then said, ‘So how do you feel about spending the next couple months in Cornwall?’
‘Well...’ Joanna sighed and Matt waited somewhat curiously for her reply. ‘I can’t go on working at the gallery, and she and Lionel have been very good to me,’ she added, jiggling the straw in her glass.
Matt realised that she’d probably thought it was a good solution. But that was before he’d been involved. This was his child she was carrying, he thought possessively. He should have some say in where she spent the rest of her pregnancy.
‘I saw from your solicitor’s letter that you’re living in the Bahamas these days,’ she said, probably hoping to divert him, but she’d inadvertently given him an idea.
‘I told you I was going to buy a couple of businesses on Cable Cay,’ said Matt casually. ‘I guess you could say I’m helping to bolster the tourist trade on the island. And I’ve done some writing, too. Not the great American novel,’ he added, as her eyes widened. ‘Just a couple of articles for the local rag.’
Joanna was impressed. ‘And does it keep you busy?’
‘Well, that and some sailing,’ agreed Matt, wanting to get back to the real reason he’d brought it up. He paused. ‘When is the baby due?’
Joanna hesitated, and he wondered if she was thinking of lying to him. But she evidently thought better of it, and replied quietly, ‘Around the middle of March. The second week, I think they said.’
‘Do you have a date?’
Matt regarded her enquiringly, his arm brushing her sleeve as he reached for his coffee, and Joanna felt her awareness of him rocket up a notch. Hormones, she reminded herself again, drawing away from him. One of the women at the clinic she attended had been talking about how sexy she was finding her husband these days. A crazy admission, but Joanna couldn’t say her reactions where Matt was concerned were all that different.
Now she said shortly, ‘Really, Matt, what does it matter? I doubt if you’ll be around when he’s born.’
‘He?’ Matt was instantly distracted, picking up on that before anything else. ‘You’re having a boy? For God’s sake, Joanna, were you going to deprive me of seeing my own son?’
Joanna’s face burned. Matt had spoken thoughtlessly, and his voice had been much too loud. She doubted anyone in their immediate vicinity hadn’t heard that damning accusation.
Eyes turned in their direction; curious eyes, eyes that held a certain amount of sympathy—for him. She wondered if she’d ever be able to come into this coffee shop again without being recognised, or meeting someone’s censorious gaze.
‘I want to go,’ she said abruptly, sliding off her stool, and draping the strap of her bag over one shoulder. ‘Thanks for the drink.’
‘Wait!’
But Joanna wasn’t listening to him. With her head down, she headed for the exit. Let Matt deal with the fallout, she thought resentfully. He’d created it. All she wanted to do was go home and lock herself in her apartment.
And give way to the tears that were threatening to destroy what little confidence she had left.
JOANNA WASN’T SURPRISED when Matt followed her out of the coffee shop. She doubted if even he was prepared to face the sympathy of the customers. For herself, she wished ardently that she’d brought her car this morning. It would have been so much easier to slide behind the wheel of her little Mini and make her getaway.
But these days, she used a bus to take her to and from the gallery. Using her car meant she had to find a parking space, and often that meant a seriously long walk to the gallery. Something she preferred not to do in her present condition.
It was certainly not a day for hanging around. The rain was coming down in sheets. A glance at her watch informed her that the next bus wasn’t due for another fifteen minutes. And there wasn’t even a bus shelter to offer some protection.
Dammit!
Now Matt would offer her a lift, something she had hoped to avoid. Okay, she accepted that he was probably not going to be satisfied until he knew every minute detail of her plans. But being alone with him, talking about their son, meant she was admitting him back into her life.
Yet did she have a choice?
Joanna swallowed a little convulsively. When had she started thinking of the baby as their son?
‘Where the hell are you going?’
Predictably, Matt had caught up to her and he grabbed her sleeve as she hurried along the pavement, bringing her to a standstill. Strong fingers sent bolts of fire up her arm, and, controlling her unwelcome reaction, Joanna turned to give him an indignant look. ‘I’m going home,’ she said, aware that she sounded defensive. ‘Where else?’
Matt seethed. ‘Where did you park your car?’
‘I didn’t.’ Realising that he probably wouldn’t believe her, Joanna sighed. ‘I generally use the bus,’ she appended, watching as Matt fished his mobile phone out of his pocket. ‘There’s never anywhere to park around here.’
‘Is that so?’ Matt flicked open the phone, punched one of the keys and then spoke into the mouthpiece. ‘Now, Jack,’ he said without preamble, and closed the phone again.
Joanna’s shoulders sagged. ‘Look, I know this meeting hasn’t been very satisfactory—’ she began, and Matt gave her an ironic look.
‘You think?’
‘But it’s a bit early to be discussing what’s going to happen after the baby’s born.’ She paused. ‘Don’t you think?’
‘Dear Lord, I’m still getting used to the idea that you’re having a baby,’ said Matt harshly. ‘And now I hear you’re having it in less than three months.’ He shook his head. ‘I want to know everything about it. And that definitely includes where the baby is born.’
Joanna sighed. She was getting wet and, with an effort, she pulled her arm away.