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‘No, actually, I don’t know that at all.’ She struggled against her feelings. ‘It’s just a physical thing.’
‘If you don’t want me, and it’s just a physical thing, why have you been wearing my ring around your neck for four years?’
Kelly’s eyes flew wide. ‘Who told you that?’
‘I saw it after we made love in your kitchen,’ he said huskily, brushing his mouth over hers. ‘I didn’t know you’d been wearing it for four years. That was a guess that you just confirmed. But you have to admit that it says something.’
‘It says that you’re devious.’
‘It says that what we shared has never gone away.’ He leaned his forehead against hers. ‘Stay, Kelly. Stay, agape mou.’
‘No, because I can’t think straight when I’m near you, and I need to decide what to do without being influenced,’ Kelly moaned, turning her head away. ‘I’m pregnant, Alekos, and you don’t want children. So, tell me how this can ever work! Or are you suddenly going to pretend you’ve discovered this is what you’ve always wanted?’
He breathed out slowly. ‘No, I’m not pretending that. But it’s happened. That changes things. I admit that hearing about the baby is a shock, but we will work it out.’
‘How?’
‘I don’t know.’ He was brutally honest. ‘I need some time to get used to the idea. But, in the meantime, you leaving won’t help the situation.’
‘If I stay, we’ll just end up in bed, and that won’t help the situation either.’ Ripped apart with indecision, Kelly stared at him. ‘Last time it was all about the sex. You said that yourself. If I stay, then it has to be different.’
‘Different in what way?’
‘It has to be about the whole relationship.’ She pulled away from him and stared at her suitcase. She didn’t know what to do. And the only person she could talk it through with was the same person who made it an impossible decision. If his desire not to have children was so deep rooted that he’d left her on her wedding day, that wasn’t going to change, was it?
On the other hand, it was impossible not to admire the fact that he was still standing here. That took courage, didn’t it? That showed he was serious about trying to make it work.
Unless it really was all about the sex.
There was only one way to challenge that possibility.
‘We’ll sleep in separate bedrooms,’ she blurted out impulsively and his eyes flared dark with shock.
‘Fine,’ he said tightly. ‘Separate bedrooms. If that’s what you want.’
Astounded that he’d agreed so readily, Kelly didn’t know whether to be impressed or disappointed. Was it what she wanted? She wasn’t sure, but now that she’d suggested it she had to follow through. ‘And you have to tell me what you’re thinking. All the time. I want to know, because I’m obviously not good at reading your mind and it’s exhausting trying to guess.’
His gaze slid over her. ‘You’re hot, and you should get out of your clothes. I want you naked.’
Feeling as though she was boiling inside, Kelly glared at him in exasperation. ‘I’m trying to have a proper conversation! Do you think you could possibly think about something other than sex for a moment?’
‘You told me to tell you what I’m thinking,’ he said silkily. ‘That’s what I was thinking.’
Kelly’s face burned. ‘In that case, I want you to censor your thoughts. I don’t want to hear the ones that involve sex.’
‘Censor my thoughts.’ Alekos arched an eyebrow and his eyes gleamed with sardonic humour. ‘So you want me to tell you everything I’m thinking, as long as it’s what you want me to be thinking. This is complicated, isn’t it?’
‘You built a billion-dollar business from nothing but a rowing boat,’ Kelly said stiffly. ‘I’m sure you can rise to the challenge if you really want to. And now I’m going to unpack my case.’
‘The staff will do that.’
‘I’d rather do it myself.’ She needed an excuse to have a few minutes without him looking at her. She needed to think, and she couldn’t do that when he was standing this close.
A faint smile touched his mouth. ‘Why not just tip the contents of the case over the floor and have done with it?’
‘You may think I’m messy, but I happen to think you’re far too uptight and controlling.’ Flying into defence mode, Kelly lifted her chin. ‘There’s something suspicious about someone who needs everything in their life to be neatly ordered. Spontaneity can be a healt
hy thing. You might want to remember that.’
