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Josie’s fingers touched his arm. And he glanced over his shoulder to see the serious expression on her face. Uh-oh, this couldn’t be good. ‘Is the baby yours, Coop?’
He dumped the plate on the table, and grasped her forearm, pulling her away from the crowd of people behind them. ‘How do you know about that?’ he whispered furiously.
‘Because it’s obvious. Especially if you know how petite she was four months ago.’
He thrust his hand through his hair. ‘Damn, please tell me you haven’t said anything to Ella.’
He knew she’d wanted him to tell people before she met them. If she found out they’d guessed about her condition, she’d be hurt—and that had never been his intention.
‘Of course I haven’t. It’s not something you can bring up in a conversation with someone you’ve only met twice.’ Josie tugged her arm out of his grasp. ‘But damn, Coop, why the hell didn’t you say something? If the baby’s yours? Why keep it a secret? And why keep Ella’s being here a secret too?’
‘Because...’ His mind snagged—because he’d wanted to keep things as light and non-committal as possible. Because dealing with the baby had felt like enough already. But even as the excuses sprang into his head they sounded like just that. Excuses. ‘Because it’s complicated,’ he managed at last.
‘Why is it complicated?’
‘Because she lives in London,’ he said, reciting the reasons he’d been giving himself for weeks, but didn’t seem to fit any more. ‘She’s only here for a couple of weeks and it was an accident. And we hardly know each other.’ Although that too didn’t seem true any more.
He did know Ella: he knew how much he liked to wake up and spoon with her in the morning. How much he’d come to depend on her smile, that sunny, optimistic outlook that was so unlike his own. How addicted he’d become to her company, her enthusiasm, her bright, lively chatter about anything and everything. ‘She’s going to have the baby...’ he paused, then soldiered on ‘...because we both want it.’
The admission might have surprised him, but for the rush of emotion as he recalled feeling those flutters against his palm the night before, when Ella had been snuggled against him. And seeing that tiny body on the sonogram five days ago, as the doctor had counted all his son’s fingers and toes.
How had that happened? Somehow, in the last few weeks, the thing that had terrified him the most didn’t terrify him any more; it excited him. He actually wanted to be a dad. But more than that, he wanted to be with Ella in a few months’ time, when her body became round and heavy as it cradled their baby.
Damn, was that the reason he didn’t want her to leave? It seemed so obvious now he thought about it. No wonder he got edgy every time she mentioned going back to the UK. He wanted her to have the baby, his baby, here in Bermuda. He knew he could do this thing now, and he didn’t want to miss a moment of it.
‘We’re trying to work stuff out,’ he said, seeing Josie’s eyes go round with astonishment at his declaration. ‘And we don’t need anyone butting into our business while we’re doing it.’
‘Okay, I get that.’ Josie nodded, surprising him. ‘But I still don’t see why it’s that complicated, if you both want to have this baby.’
‘Coop!’ They both turned to see Rhona, Josie’s mom, descending on them.
‘Hi, Mom,’ Josie answered.
Rhona fanned herself with the hat she’d been wearing during the ceremony. ‘Coop, honey, I thought I should tell you, Ella went off home.’
‘What? Why?’ The low-level feeling of panic that had been bugging him for days resurfaced in a rush. ‘Is she okay?’
‘I think she’s just tired.’ Rhona sent him a sharp look. ‘Now, don’t take this the wrong way, honey, but is that girl expecting?’
Oh, hell.
‘I’ve got to go, Rhona,’ he said, ignoring Josie’s muffled snort of laughter and Rhona’s question before he got bombarded with a million more. He’d have a lot of explaining to do next time he saw them, but that could wait.
Bidding both women a hasty goodbye, he rushed out of the bar, and broke into a run as soon as he hit the beach.
He needed to get home, and tell Ella she didn’t have to go home, that he wanted her to stay—for the baby’s sake. She’d be sure to welcome the news, because she always put the baby first, and having two parents had to be better than having just one.
As he jogged up the beach steps to the house he saw the light in the bedroom window and grinned.
I love it when a plan comes together.
She was still awake. He’d tell her about his plans for their future and then they could finish what he’d been trying to start before the wedding.
‘Hey, Ella,’ he shouted up the stairs as he heard the whizz-bang of the fireworks Sonny had organised to finish the celebrations on the beach. Glancing over his shoulder, he caught the dazzle of light and colour as a shower of golden rain cascaded into the night sky. ‘You missed the fireworks—how about we watch the display from the terrace?’ He bounded up the stairs, then strode down the corridor. ‘I’ve got something I have to tell you.’
But then he pushed the door open and spotted Ella, her arms full of silk panties, and her neatly packed suitcase laid open on the bed.
His grin flatlined as all the adrenaline that had been pumping round his system during his jog home slammed full force into his chest.
