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His brief smile was unexpected, as was his nonchalant shrug. ‘There’s a reason I’m a planner. Because life is unpredictable. I learned very early to take control of what I can because life’s chaotic and you never know what’s around the corner.’ The grim set of his mouth, belying the smile of a moment ago, made her wonder what had taught him that lesson. ‘I plan so I can be prepared to deal with any eventuality.’ He paused. ‘I also learned that some things I can’t control.’
‘Youdocare about what people think. You married me for my connections. So you could be seen with the right sort of woman in the right sort of crowd.’
Jack tilted his head to one side. ‘Some saw me as a brash colonial. I wasn’t naïve enough to think I’d be easily accepted, breaking into new markets where the powerbrokers are connected by blood, marriage and old privilege. Of course I wanted you with me. That doesn’t mean I’ll upend my life and play safe to avoid scandal.’ A smile ghosted across his lips. ‘Been there, done that when you left me high and dry in Paris.’
He went on before she could think of a reply. ‘Iwantto take you to London. Not just to protect you from the press. I want to keep you company. And I want to be there to see our baby when you have your scan.’
How could she argue with that? She didn’t want to.
She had the unsettling feeling that she didn’t have Jack’s measure after all. Not just because there were chunks of his past he refused to discuss, but because his character was deeper, more nuanced than she’d believed.
Some things are more important...
He was putting her and their baby ahead of his reputation and his business.
In fact, she realised, if he intended to stay here, he must have upended his schedule completely, cancelling or deferring meetings. One of the reasons they’d moved so often was that, while much of his business was done at a distance via phone or video link, Jack preferred face to face meetings on key projects. He said that personal involvement avoided pitfalls and ensured things stayed on track.
Through their marriage he might have kept things from her but Jack had never lied. His statement about wanting to be with her and their baby wasn’t a lie. She knew it with a deep, abiding certainty.
And it threatened to turn everything she understood about him on its head.
CHAPTER TWELVE
JACKSAWTHEgrainy blob that was his child and his throat clogged. He leaned closer to the monitor as the technician explained that the foetus seemed healthy and was developing normally.
He hung on every word yet they seemed to wash over him from a distance. His pulse roared and he was so caught up in wonder it took everything he had to make sense of her words.
He looked at Elisabeth, lying between him and the monitor, her bare, slightly rounded belly cradling their child.
When she’d lifted her top and pushed the waistband of her skirt down to reveal that slight swell, he’d felt overcome. It was the first time their baby had seemed truly real, despite the extra fullness of her breasts that had distracted him more than once.
He breathed deeply, trying to master his voice to ask some important question. Then he saw the tears spiking Elisabeth’s lashes, her trembling lips. Jack closed his hand around hers. ‘Everything’s fine. The baby’s okay.’
She turned, blinking. ‘I know. I’m just...’
‘Me too. It’s amazing.’
That was when she smiled.
It was a smile he’d remember the rest of his days. Not a smile of gratitude because he’d paid her father’s debts. Not the sweet smile she bestowed when he took her to an event or an outing she particularly enjoyed. Nor the unforgettable smile that bewitched him when they made love.
Thissmile spoke of shared wonder and joy.
Jack realised they were truly united in this, equally stunned and excited. There was no give or take, just sharing.
In the early days of marriage he’d been conscious that she’d married him for his money. Not that you’d guess it from her behaviour, but theirs was a transactional relationship. He wasn’t foolish enough to forget that. As time passed he knew she’d become fond of him, as he had of her. As for their sex life, it had been amazing, and he prided himself on the fact that they were so compatible.
Lately things had felt different. Despite her desertion, Jack was aware of a bond between them that ran deeper than a marriage certificate or money. It had nothing to do with business or convenience.
Initially that worried him, remembering the invisible link his parents had shared, trapping them in a tainted, poisonous relationship.
Elisabeth squeezed his fingers and warmth stole through him. Jack smiled at her, overwhelmed by the peace that filled him.
Whatever this was, it was as unlike his parents’ relationship as an Australian summer to bleak English midwinter.
It made him feel good. It made him hope.
It made him more determined than ever to keep his marriage and his child.
