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Her eyes widened. It was not an unknown assailant. It was someone much more dangerous.
“Coburn.” The word came out half croak, her eyes moving over his tall, lean body clad in black jeans and a black T-shirt. “What are you doing here?”
He stepped fully into the light, moving lithely, catlike, toward her until he was so close she could see the ominous glitter in his beautiful blue eyes. A shiver went down her spine. She was in trouble. So much trouble.
His gaze locked onto hers. “When were you going to tell me, Diana? How long did you deem it acceptable to keep from me that I’m going to be a father?”
Her heart leaped into her mouth. He knew. Of course he knew. He was here. She pushed a breath past her locked set of lungs. “How did you find out?”
“Your doctor’s office called looking for you. Apparently the new receptionist hasn’t yet learned the ropes because she let your big secret slip.”
Oh, God. Her knees went weak at the thought of how angry he must have been. Still was...
“And the hotel?” she asked weakly. “How did you find out I was here?”
“Your father. He was more than happy to address this insane behavior of yours.”
Her heart dropped. “You told him about the baby.”
His mouth compressed into a straight, forbidding line. “I did what I needed to do. And believe me, they were just as shocked as I was that you would travel halfway across the world pregnant and suffering from morning sickness to take up a physically grueling position you know you shouldn’t be doing.”
Her shoulders shot to her ears. “I don’t know anything of the kind. There is absolutely no reason why I, a perfectly healthy woman in my first trimester, shouldn’t be here.”
“No reason?” he repeated, the glint in his eyes turning positively flammable. “I stopped at the hospital and met with your supervisor. He had no idea you were pregnant. He said you’d been sick on the job yesterday and he’d been concerned but had put it down to first-day jitters.”
Her jaw dropped open. “You talked to my supervisor?”
“Didn’t you just hear me, Diana?” His lips curved in a savage twist. “I will do whatever it takes to make you see sense since you obviously can’t do it for yourself.”
Which meant what? Fury at the boundaries he’d crossed mixed with fear to render her speechless. Her gaze flicked over the clenched muscles of his jaw, the tendons and veins that stood out in stark relief against the strong column of his throat. Anger seemed to vibrate from every pore of him. He was beyond furious with her.
“Congratulations,” he rasped, reading her expression. “You have successfully diagnosed my current mood. Now answer the question, Diana. When were you going to tell me? After you had this all figured out in that structured brain of yours? After you’d worked out how we divide our paternal rights? Exactly how you want this to play out... What roles you’d like me to assume in our child’s life?” A dangerous glitter stoked his gaze. “Because I can assure you, after this stunt, it has backfired on you.”
The breath whooshed from her lungs. “Coburn, I needed time to think, time to process. You can’t blame me for that.”
“No,” he agreed tightly. “I can’t. What I can be livid about is you waltzing off to take this assignment when you knew you were carrying our baby. Without telling me.” He shook his head, a vicious expression darkening his eyes. “I knew you were selfish, but this, this was unforgivable.”
Her heart thudded in her chest. “I was going to tell you this week as soon as I got settled.”
“Instead, I found out from a receptionist I was going to be a father. A receptionist. While I was getting into my car on the corner of Fifth and Fourteenth to be precise.” He stepped closer, until she could feel the fury emanating from him. “You were afraid I would have made you cancel your trip if you’d told me.”
Her jaw dipped. He slid his fingers beneath it and brought her gaze back up to his. “Unbelievable. You are unbelievable.”
She pulled out of his grip. “I am exercising my right to be an independent human being. I was planning on consulting you with this pregnancy every step of the way.”
His mouth tightened. “Unfortunately for you, the time for consultation and negotiation is over. You gave away that right the moment you elected to leave the country without coming to me.”
The ice in his tone spoke a dire warning. She swallowed hard as it slid through her, chilling her despite the sweltering air. “You are upset,” she reasoned, laying a hand on his arm in an attempt to redirect the storm. “I agree I shouldn’t have left without telling you. Let’s sit down and talk about it.”
