AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She sucked in a startled breath and frowned as she looked at Nik. Why should she care how he looked at her?
Because being ignored by him hurt her feelings. No, it was worse than that. She kept remembering the horrified expression he’d had when she’d told him she was pregnant. He hadn’t been able to get out of the room quick
ly enough, but she’d still seen his face. That horrified look still haunted her.
He’d started playing with Danny now, and Helen stood awkwardly to one side. As Carrie watched them heading along the water’s edge together, splashing as they went, she felt a cloud of misery settle over her.
Now Nik was on the beach there was nothing else to look at. Whenever he was around she found her gaze drawn to him like a bee to a honey pot. She noticed his hair had been trimmed, and his skin was a shade darker. His bronze skin obviously tanned easily in the Greek sun, despite the number of hours he spent inside on the telephone or his computer.
She wondered who had cut his hair. She’d been away from home so long that her own fringe was in desperate need of a trim. She bit her lip and frowned—this was her home now, and she needed to start thinking of it that way.
She drew her knees up to her chest and wondered why she felt so unhappy. Nik had come down to the beach to see Danny, and that was good. But that was just it—he obviously couldn’t stand to see her. He always came to see Danny when he was with Helen, because he simply couldn’t bear to spend any time with her.
Suddenly her vision blurred with tears. Her eyes filled up as she watched Nik playing with Danny and no one knew or cared. She hugged her knees tightly, suddenly overtaken by sadness. Why did she long for Nik to come under the olive tree and talk to her?
She remembered how happy she’d felt the night he’d come back from his business trip. He’d made love to her and it had been truly wonderful. The following morning she’d been filled with happiness and everything had felt perfect. But that had been just a hollow illusion that had quickly fallen apart.
She gazed at Nik through a haze of tears, wishing she could have that feeling back. For such a short time she had been full of happiness, full of love.
She sucked in a startled breath and stared at Nik with wide, shocked eyes.
She loved him.
Somehow she had fallen in love with Nik.
Her heart started to thump in her chest and her mouth suddenly felt dry. It couldn’t be true. She couldn’t have fallen in love without realising it.
She pressed her front teeth into her lower lip to stop her jaw trembling. How was it possible? Did she really love him or was she just imagining it? She pushed shaking fingers through her hair, brushing her long fringe back from her eyes, and looking at Nik.
It was true. She loved him.
She could feel her love for him flowing though her, making her chest ache, causing a tremor to run through her from the tips of her fingers to the ends of her toes.
But wasn’t being in love supposed to be a good thing? If she was in love with Nik, why did watching him make her feel so bad?
She knew the answer.
Because he didn’t love her.
CHAPTER TWELVE
BY THE time Danny was bathed and ready for bed that night Carrie felt utterly drained. It had been a difficult day—and realising that she’d fallen in love with Nik had made everything seem so much harder.
She sat on the rug with Danny before bed, and an overwhelming feeling of loneliness welled up inside her. The time she spent alone with Danny had always been precious to her, but now it was all she had.
She felt like a traitor—to herself, to Danny, and also to her unborn child. She was locked in a marriage with a man who would never love her. Surely they all deserved more than that?
Without her compliance none of this could have happened—yet what choice had she had? There was no doubt that Nik would have kept his word to take Danny away from her if she hadn’t married him. And now her innocent unborn child would be part of this appalling charade as well.
Suddenly an impatient cry cut through her thoughts. It was Danny.
She lifted her head to see him standing on the other side of the room, waving a large toy at her.
‘Sorry, Danny,’ she said. ‘Was I ignoring you?’
With her attention now firmly fixed on him, Danny squealed with delight and threw the toy down. Then, with a totally mischievous look on his cute little face, he took a step towards her. Then another. Then one more.
‘You’re walking!’ Carrie breathed, her worries momentarily blotted out as a smile of wonder spread over her face. She held out her arms towards him. ‘Come on,’ she called in encouragement. ‘You can do it!’
