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‘They’ve met all right. Evidently your friend is good at keeping secrets. When I spoke to her months ago, she swore that she had no idea where you were.’
Kathy was very much disconcerted. ‘She didn’t tell me you’d contacted her, either.’
‘Renzo kept in touch with her and finally it paid off. But he also believed that she didn’t know where you had gone.’
‘I’m surprised that Bridget chose to tell Renzo.’
‘Are you? With you on the brink of giving birth or possibly even losing my child, it was time to stop playing games.’
Kathy registered the cold core of his anger. The very fact that he was struggling to hide it, that his diamond-hard façade was no longer impregnable, warned her how deep his hostility had gone. ‘Bridget was only respecting my wishes and trying to protect me—’
‘From me?’ Sergio sent her an almost raw glance and strode over to the window, his broad shoulders radiating his ferocious tension, before he swung back to look at her. ‘Do I deserve that? Did I frighten you in any way?’
‘No,’ Kathy conceded.
‘Perhaps something I did upset you…’
The verdant green eyes resting on him veiled. ‘You’re fishing.’
‘I need to know. I don’t want you pulling another vanishing act,’ Sergio traded in a direct challenge.
Kathy contemplated the swollen mound of her tummy and opted for honesty. ‘You asked for it.’
The silence fairly leapt and jumped and throbbed.
‘Are you saying what I think you might be saying?’ Sergio was studying her in disbelief. ‘Was that a reference to the stag cruise I organised for Leonidas Pallis? That event was blown up out of all proportion by the press. But was that what upset you?’
‘Lose the word, upset,’ Kathy advised, a shade tart in tone.
His brilliant dark eyes shimmering scorching gold, Sergio spread lean brown hands in a gesture that expressed his incredulity. ‘You were so angry about the cruise that you took off and put me through more than seven months of hell?’
‘Angry isn’t the right word, either—’
‘How about…revenge?’
‘I suppose there was a degree of that, although I didn’t see it at the time,’ Kathy conceded ruefully.
Sergio bit out a humourless laugh.
‘I think I’d just had enough of you. I didn’t want to be shipped off to France,’ Kathy confided. ‘There I was, throwing up every day and so tired I could hardly keep my eyes open at work and you were partying—’
‘I can explain—’
‘Don’t waste your time. In any case you don’t owe me any explanations,’ Kathy fielded with resolute brightness. ‘It’s simple—I needed to get on with my life just the same as you were.’
Sergio dealt her a measuring appraisal. ‘You don’t just get mad, you get even, delizia mia.’
Kathy experienced a very strong desire to get out of bed and slap him for his arrogance. ‘It’s not all about you—why do you think everything is about you? Stop trying to twist what I said into a backhanded compliment! I had no good reason to stay in London.’
Lean, darkly handsome face taut, Sergio stared down at her with brooding force. ‘You can’t afford to get mad with me at present. You’re supposed to stay calm and avoid all stress.’
In a frustrated movement, Kathy pushed her copper hair off her brow. ‘Then rewind my life and wipe the bit where we met!’
‘Even if I could I would not,’ Sergio admitted without hesitation. ‘I want that little girl. I also want you.’
Kathy was hugely unimpressed by that claim. Her green eyes glinted, her full rose-pink mouth curled with disdain. She was very tempted to tell him that the boat had not only sailed, but also sunk with all hands on board. He hadn’t wanted her enough when it had mattered. He hadn’t wanted her enough when she had been as available as a free sample. She said nothing, though, for telling him that would only make her sound sad.
‘And whatever it takes, I intend to have you,’ Sergio delivered in the same even tone.
