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‘I’m not,’ Matt replied softly. He rounded on her in the large, airy lounge, sliding his hand into his pocket, feeling the scan against his palm. ‘But I don’t want to hear all your talk about doing this on your own. You don’t just get to make an excuse and leave,’ he said lowly.
‘What are you talking about?’ she asked, closing the distance between them.
He dropped the scan photo onto the coffee table. ‘You’ve kept me away all this time, Hannah. From taking this journey with you. With my child,’ he ground out. Hearing his son’s heartbeat, seeing the proof of his existence and how much of it he had missed out on, hurt.
How could Hannah have kept this from him?
‘Matt, that’s not what I meant to do!’
Matt forced himself to push away the emotions clouding his head and, in the wake of the quiet that settled in him, there was calm rationality. ‘Then what did you mean to do?’
‘You know why I couldn’t tell you.’
‘I heard what you said. And after everything we experienced you didn’t trust me enough to tell me. You trusted me with your body but not this.’ He pointed at the image lying benignly on the table. ‘And it was trust. Trust that went both ways. I never once slept with anyone without protection until you.’ Sex had always felt good, but the lust had never been so overwhelming that he’d lost control. Yet, he had with her.
‘Why couldn’t you have taken the risk to tell me?’ His voice was a near-whisper.
‘I’m sorry, Matt. If I could do it over, I would. But we’re here now. We can only move forward.’
‘You’re right. We can only move forward, and we’ll be doing so as a family.’ He was determined to embark upon this new life. ‘And we’ll start tomorrow. I happen to have the ideal event to take you to to kick things off.’
CHAPTER TEN
WITH A STEAMING cup of herbal tea in her hands, a sleepy Hannah thought she would enjoy the morning on the sunny terrace. Except, when she walked into the lounge, she could barely see the glass door that led outside.
Racks upon racks of clothes had been wheeled in. Matt was leaning against the couch, eyeing the rails.
‘What’s all this?’ She was suddenly a lot less sleepy.
‘Come here.’ Matt beckoned. She went to him and he spun her round, his hands landing on her shoulders as she faced all the clothes. ‘It occurs to me that you need something to wear tonight.’
‘These don’t just look like evening dresses, Matt, unless this gala of yours is exceptionally casual. In which case, I’m deeply grateful.’
His chuckle next to her ear sent her heart into a frenzy. ‘No, smart-arse, I want you to choose a wardrobe off these racks. Whatever you want, for every occasion.’
She turned. ‘I have clothes.’
‘Not nearly enough. That suitcase will barely get you through the next two months. Or year.’
‘Year? What happened to our trial period?’
‘Let’s just say I’m quietly hopeful.’
Hannah gestured around the room, a challenge in her eyes. ‘Quietly?’
Matt sank down into the couch, draping his arm along the back rest. ‘Pick,’ he instructed. ‘Or I’ll buy everything in this room.’
‘That’s outrageous!’
He simply smirked in response. Hannah rolled her eyes ‘I am quite capable of buying my own clothes, you know.’
‘I am well aware.’
‘I’m not sure how comfortable I am with you spending so much on me. I don’t think I can owe you that much.’
‘You will owe me nothing,’ Matt said firmly. ‘Believe me, I can afford this, and I want to give you everything you need.’
That sounded dangerously like a promise for more. Hannah approached the clothing racks. Flipping over a tag on a dress, she nearly passed out at the eye-watering price. And he wanted her to fill a wardrobe with this?
