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‘If we’re going to get to the Register Office on time then we shall have to leave now. Are you ready?’
Was she? Was she ready to take a step which could turn out to be a huge mistake? But if she refused to go through with it then there would never be a second chance. David would never ask her again, she knew that, and the thought frightened her even more. She should have hated him for what he’d done in trying to teach her such a bitter lesson, should have loathed the fact that his kiss had wiped away the memory of Andrew’s kisses, yet, as she turned to look at him standing quietly waiting for an answer, she knew that wasn’t how she felt at all. Right or wrong, she couldn’t imagine life without David now.
‘Yes.’
He smiled suddenly, the aloofness fading as he held out his hand to her. ‘You won’t regret it, Beth.’
She slid her hand into his, shivering despite the warmth of his fingers. Someone walking over her grave, or a premonition of things to come? She had no idea. All she could do now that she had given him her answer was pray that it would turn out right in the end. The last thing she wanted was to get hurt again, and something told her that David had far more power to hurt than he should.
CHAPTER FIVE
‘THANK you, Mrs Kane. Here’s your card and your receipt. Mrs Kane?’
Beth jumped, taking the cheque card from the assistant with a murmur of thanks. She picked up her parcel and made her way from the counter, wondering when she would ever get used to being called by that name. They had been married for almost a month now, but she didn’t feel any different from how she’d felt before. David treated her with an unfailing courtesy, but that was it. They could be two polite strangers working together and sharing a flat, yet what more did she expect? She knew why he had asked her to marry him and should be glad that he was keeping to the guidelines. So why did she sometimes find herself watching him and wishing for something more?
‘Beth! It is you, isn’t it?’
She turned when she heard her name being called, smiling as she recognised the beautiful redhead hurrying towards her through the crowd. ‘Hello, Maggie. How are you?’
‘Fine. And how about you?’ Maggie laughed, her green eyes sparkling with mischief as she glanced pointedly at Beth’s stomach. ‘Starting to bloom from the look of it.’
Beth returned the smile, unable to feel uncomfortable at Maggie’s good-natured teasing. David had been right about it being easier for her now that she was married. She could accept her pregnancy so much better. Perhaps it was old-fashioned, but it had been the way she had been brought up and it was difficult to change such ingrained views.
‘I feel fine, thank you. Well, maybe that’s an exaggeration. Most days I feel fine until I look in the mirror and see what I’m starting to look like!’
Maggie laughed again, slipping a hand through Beth’s arm to draw her away from the crowds milling between the racks of clothes. ‘I know exactly what you mean. What are you now…four…four and a half months pregnant? This is the worst stage, believe me. You’ve reached the point when nothing fits yet you aren’t yet big enough to fill out all those voluminous maternity dresses!’
‘Precisely. Still, I suppose I can look at you and hope. You did say that you’d had a baby just a few months ago?’
‘I did indeed, and you will get your figure back. Mind you, I’ve still got a few pounds to lose before I’m down to my usual weight. I shall have to try harder to cut out all those tempting little goodies, but not right now. Now I’m going to whisk you upstairs and buy you coffee and a slice of the most sinfully delicious fresh-cream gâteau you’ve ever tasted. And I won’t take no for an answer!’
‘Who’s arguing? I’d just about finished here anyway.’ Beth followed the other woman through the crowd to the lift, clutching the paper parcel in her hand.
‘Finished? With only one parcel? Matthew would start worrying that I was ill if I went shopping and came home with that!’ Maggie pressed the button to summon the lift, raising an amused brow as she studied the package.
‘Oh, I didn’t want to buy much. I can’t afford…’ Beth broke off, colouring as she realised how it must sound. Apart from the household budget she’d not touched a penny of David’s money, not even the salary he continued to pay her for working as his secretary. She was saving all she could to buy things for the baby when it arrived. She couldn’t expect David to pay for any of that, despite what he had said. This child was her responsibility, not his. It surprised her, suddenly, just how much that thought hurt. What would it have been like if she’d been having David’s child, not Andrew’s?
