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She shivered and looked away. She knew the freezing-cold fury that Theo was holding battened down under tight control was just as lethal as anything he’d been feeling earlier.
The limousine pulled up by the grand entrance of a top London hotel, and Kerry unfastened Lucas from his safety belt. She carried him inside and they were shown immediately up to a massive luxury suite. But if she’d expected separate rooms she’d been mistaken, because Theo insisted they all share one room.
‘We are a family now,’ he said, as he oversaw the arrival of a cot for Lucas. ‘Because of his fall we will have our son in our room with us for a few days. Then he will have his own room.’
Theo’s words sent a prickle of warning running down Kerry’s spine—but she was totally exhausted and not entirely sure that she had heard him correctly when he’d said our room.
She bent over the cot to lay Lucas carefully inside, and as she straightened up she felt every muscle in her aching body protest. The last couple of days had been tough—physically and emotionally. And the last few hours had been overwhelming. She’d known that telling Theo about Lucas would change things—but even so she wasn’t prepared for what happened next.
‘In our room with us?’ she repeated, feeling a shiver of anxiety as she straightened her shoulders and turned to face him. ‘I don’t understand what you are saying.’
‘We are a family now,’ Theo repeated.
Kerry drew in a shaky breath and lifted her eyes to meet his gaze. It was as hard and impenetrable as ever—but Kerry knew he meant business. A frozen wedge of ice settled in her stomach, and suddenly she was dreading what he would say next.
‘Let me make myself clear,’ Theo said. ‘We will be married immediately.’
CHAPTER SEVEN
‘MARRIED? You want me to marry you?’ Kerry gasped.
This time she knew what Theo had said—she just couldn’t believe it. After everything that had happened, how could he want to marry her? And why would he assume that she would accept?
‘No—it’s not what I want,’ Theo said. ‘But the situation has forced my hand.’
‘I’m not forcing you to marry me,’ Kerry said in shock, staring at him with wide eyes. He was making it sound as if she had done this deliberately—had his baby to coerce him in some way. ‘It’s not what I want either!’
‘That much is clear,’ Theo said flatly. ‘Considering you took my son and hid him from me.’
‘Then why are you telling me this?’ Kerry said, raking her hands through her hair in frustration as the long fringe kept falling in her eyes.
‘Because it is what’s best for my son,’ Theo said, walking across the room and looking down at the baby where he was lying in the cot. He was awake—looking sleepily at the lights moving across the ceiling from the city outside.
‘Our son,’ Kerry said automatically, feeling a shiver of foreboding as she saw just how intensely Theo was staring at Lucas. Already he seemed as possessively protective of him as he’d been of his nephew, Nicco. ‘How is it best for our son to be brought up in a loveless marriage?’
‘What do you think is best for him?’ Theo asked harshly. ‘To live in poverty in an inner-city studio flat, being looked after by st
rangers while his mother works?’
‘It’s not as bad as you make it sound,’ Kerry said defensively, not even wondering how Theo knew exactly what kind of flat she lived in. ‘I’m still getting myself back on my feet. Soon I’ll be able to move—then he can have his own room.’
‘Then he can have his own room?’ Theo bit out incredulously. ‘Stop being ridiculous. Now that I know I have a son he will never live like that—but that is not what’s important.’
‘You’re right—material things don’t matter,’ Kerry said, hating the way Theo was tying her up in knots. ‘I love him—that’s all that matters. That’s all he needs.’
‘He needs his father,’ Theo grated.
Kerry bit her lip and looked up at him. His eyes were narrowed dangerously, and he was staring at her with an expression of pure dislike. It cut her to the core. She’d never meant any of this to happen the way it had—but when he’d thrown her out she hadn’t felt she had a choice. She’d been so scared that he would take her baby—just as he’d told his brother to take Nicco from Hallie.
‘I’ll move to Athens. Find a job.’ Her voice was quiet but she managed to keep it steady—to show him she was serious about meeting him halfway. ‘You can see him whenever you want. You can be part of his life.’
‘This isn’t a discussion,’ Theo said coldly. ‘We’re not doing a deal here. I have told you that we will be married. That is the only option open to you.’
‘I can’t marry you,’ Kerry said. ‘You don’t love me. It would be a sham. How would that be good for Lucas?’ Or for her, a little voice inside her wept.
‘Let me make it simple for you.’ Theo took a step closer, so that he was looming over her. ‘I realise I don’t know much about your background—about the way you were brought up. But obviously you are close to Bridget, so you understand something about the importance of family.’
‘Don’t patronise me,’ Kerry said, horrified that he was referring to her past. As far as she was aware he knew nothing about the awful truth of her upbringing. ‘My past isn’t relevant.’
