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“Yes, pregnant. Not an invalid. I’ve lived in Linnaea for the past seven years, and I lived in England before that. Plenty of cold winters that I ventured out in.”
“Not when you were pregnant.”
She wanted to back up, to put physical space between them. Being this close to him, feeling the heat radiate off his muscular frame and the brush of his hard thighs against her legs, made her body respond in ways she didn’t want it to. But as soon as she did that, he would have the upper hand.
“Alaric, I’ve been cooped up in this house for two days. I’m going outside.”
She brushed past him and moved to the hall closet. Inside were several new coats, all from brands she knew cost a small fortune. Just like the closet in her room, she thought with a slight sigh as she brushed them aside and pulled out her blue peacoat. She’d brought her own outfits. But Alaric had had someone go shopping for her and stuff the closet in her room with clothes by Versace, Prada and Chanel.
An uncomfortable thought invaded as her hands brushed against the lush velvet of an emerald-colored coat. Miles had done the same thing. At first, she’d accepted his gifts of luxury dresses and expensive jewelry with gratitude, assuming he was showering her with the things he was used to giving. It hadn’t been until later when he’d gotten upset at her wearing her old clothes that she realized, too late, the gifts had been his way of molding her into the type of woman he wanted her to be.
Her stomach rolled and she nearly dropped the bagel she still clutched in one hand.
“Then I’m coming with you.”
She tugged on her coat, wanting to put as much distance between her and Alaric as possible so she could think. But maybe this was their chance to clear the air. There were so many questions floating around inside her head, so many possibilities of what his sudden change could mean. Unfortunately, without talking to him, she wouldn’t find any answers.
“That would be nice.”
She looked up to see Alaric blink, the only indicator he was surprised but a gesture she knew very well after working so closely alongside him.
“All right. I’ll get my—”
The shrill ring of his phone cut them off. He pulled it out of his pocket and grimaced.
“It’s the Swiss ambassador’s office.”
Her heart sank. She’d spent a year working with Alaric to get the ambassador to agree to an in-person visit to Linnaea to see the country firsthand and all the progress Alaric had made. That the ambassador had finally agreed and come shortly after Alaric’s half sister Briony had taken on Linnaea’s broken education system had been a stroke of luck that had solidified a new relationship with Switzerland.
It should have been a huge achievement. Instead, it had been overshadowed by their night together and the subsequent weeks of trying to regain her professional foothold. And now...now she had completely been kicked out.
“You should take it. Maybe you could visit with him in person while we’re here.”
He nodded.
“We’ll walk later.”
She forced a smile on her face. “Sure.”
But she knew later wouldn’t come. At least not today. She waited until he was out of sight before she unlocked the front door and walked outside. The cold filled her lungs and gave her a sudden burst of energy, a surprising welcome from the oppressive warmth of the house.
As she walked down the steps and onto the snow-covered circular drive, she let her hand drift down to her belly. She’d only known for a week that she was pregnant. But whenever she thought about the child growing inside her, about holding him or her for the first time in her arms, she knew that no matter what happened with Alaric, she would love this child with every fiber of her being. Her parents had set the example for the kind of mother she wanted to be. If she could be even half the mom her own had been, she would be doing something right.
She’d agreed to marry Alaric because she thought he’d been serious about his intent to be a better father than his own. And, she acknowledged with a small degree of irritation, he would certainly be a better father than Daxon. He was nothing like his sire, even though she sometimes wondered if he ran such a rigid government because he was trying to stay as far away from the erratic rule his father had imposed for so many years.
The wedding ceremony, the dresses...those small touches had eased so much of her trepidation. She knew Alaric didn’t love her. But seeing the evidence of his thoughtfulness, that he had meant what he had said about being involved and making their union a pleasant one for both them and their child, had made her cautiously hopeful.
But now...had she read too much into the wedding? Would he be involved in their marriage and their child the way he’d claimed he’d wanted to be? Or would he get so caught up in work he didn’t have time for his child?
“No matter what, baby,” she whispered to the tiny life inside her, “I’ll be here for you.”
CHAPTER TEN
ALARICGLANCEDOUTthe window and saw with surprise that the sky had already grown dark. He glanced at his watch and swore. It was just after five o’clock. The conversation with the ambassador had taken nearly two hours, followed by a virtual meeting with one of his economic committees and then another meeting with his new brother-in-law, Cass.
Briony and Cass were honeymooning somewhere in the Maldives for three weeks, but Cass had proven to be invested in Linnaea’s financial recovery, both literally and figuratively. His commitment was admirable given that Alaric’s father had once kicked Cass and his family out of the country.
Toward the end of their meeting, Briony had appeared onscreen, radiant with a big smile on her face as she’d kissed Cass on the cheek and admonished him for working so late before their dinner reservation. Cass’s indulgent grin as he’d told Alaric he’d follow up the next day before exiting out of the meeting had ratcheted up Alaric’s guilt to new levels. The former playboy billionaire was making time for his wife and he couldn’t even set aside five minutes to walk with his new bride.
