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He pressed the buzzer and her voice, sounding tired and wavering, came through the intercom.
‘I’ll be right down.’
Tense with anxiety, he shoved his hands in the pockets of his trousers and scanned the building again. It looked run-down and dangerous, a drift of takeaway menus littering the front step, the bins outside overflowing. This was no place for the mother of his child to live.
Moments later Allegra appeared in the doorway. As she opened the door, Rafael tried to hide his shock. She looked terrible—her face was pasty and pale, her hair lifeless and dull, and she’d lost far too much weight. The T-shirt and light trousers she wore for a humid summer’s day in the city hung on her like rags on a scarecrow.
Rafael stepped forward to take her arm. She recoiled slightly at his touch, but he held her arm anyway. ‘You look as if a breath of wind might blow you away.’
‘I’ve been ill.’
‘You should have called me earlier.’ He could not keep the recrimination from his voice.
‘Please, let’s not argue. It’s taking all my strength to get through this day already.’
Rafael nodded tersely, knowing she was right. Every instinct in him clamoured to demand why she’d hidden the pregnancy from him when he’d been as clear as he could that he’d wanted to know. But now was not the time. Still, he determined grimly, the time would come. He’d make sure of it.
He helped Allegra into the car, noting the way she sank into the seat with a relieved sigh, resting her head against the leather cushions.
‘What did you mean, you’ve been ill?’ he asked as the limo pulled away from the kerb.
‘Morning sickness,’ she murmured. ‘I’ve had it terribly. I’ve hardly been able to keep anything down.’
You should have told me. He bit back the words. ‘Isn’t there anything the doctors can do? Medication...?’
‘I was prescribed something, but it didn’t really help. It’s started to get a little bit better recently, thank goodness, and my doctors think it might go away soon if...’ She bit her lip, her eyes bright with tears.
Rafael could finish that awful sentence. If she continued with this pregnancy, if their baby was healthy. ‘We need more information,’ he said gruffly, ‘before any decisions are made.’ But already he’d made a decision. He wasn’t leaving her, and she wasn’t staying in a walk-up flat in a run-down neighbourhood. Her place, no matter what happened, was with him. He would protect her and their baby. He thought back to that terrible day, outside his father’s study door. He’d failed in protecting those he loved that day. He’d been too weak, too slow to act, too naïve. But he would not fail again. The need to protect his ill-gotten family burned within him, brighter and fiercer than anything he’d ever felt before.
* * *
Allegra could feel the tension emanating from Rafael, but she didn’t have the energy to wonder or worry about it. All her strength was taken up with preparing for what lay ahead.
She’d barely slept last night, too worried by both the procedure and its possible results. She hadn’t even had time to think about Rafael and seeing him again.
And yet now that he was here...she inhaled the saffron scent of his aftershave, felt the coiled, restless power of him, just as she had before. It made her ache. It made her remember. Even now she felt a treacherous dart of desire. How stupid, considering their situation, and the way he’d treated her.
They didn’t speak all the way to the hospital, but that was okay. Allegra didn’t think she could manage chit-chat, and talking about what mattered felt too hard. The limo pulled up to the front of the hospital, and Rafael leapt out before Allegra could so much as reach for the handle.
He opened her door and with one arm around her shepherded her into the building. She wasn’t that fragile, but she craved his protectiveness now. It felt strange, when she’d taught herself not to rely on anyone. Now she wanted to. She needed to.
Before long they were in a treatment room, with Allegra lying down on the examining table and Rafael sitting tensely on a chair next to her. A technician prepared her for the ultrasound, and the now-familiar whooshing sound of her baby’s heart filled Allegra with both relief and joy.
