He half wondered why it was so important to her. But then, he didn’t understand why this baby and what happened to it was so important to him. Once upon a time he’d been happy that Carla had never managed to conceive, resigned never to having children of his own because he was so angry with her and what she’d done to herself, so angry that she could have left a child motherless by virtue of her own self-destructive actions.
So why did he feel so strongly about it now?
Other than it was his child. It existed. It belonged with him.
And the woman alongside him was making that possible.
God, but he’d been hard on her. But he’d had to find out. Had to test her. ‘I’ll speak to my lawyers. There has to be some kind of precedent for this kind of thing. They’ll work something out.’
He heard her breathe in. Wondered if she was going to argue again. Then she huffed out a wary, ‘Thank you. Maybe that would be helpful.’ Some new quality in her voice alerted him and, curious, he glanced her way. The frown was gone, from what he could see, her lip liberated from her teeth and, if he wasn’t mistaken, there was almost the hint of a smile at her mouth.
He turned his eyes back to the road though his attention stayed firmly with what he’d witnessed. It was the first time he’d seen her face come anywhere near a smile. He wasn’t entirely sure she knew how to. And while the business part of his brain told him it was only because he was insisting she take his money, his gut was not so convinced.
Whatever the reason, the expression took years off her.
He glanced again, not sure if he’d imagined it, and, as if sensing his gaze, she looked around and for one solitary moment as their eyes jagged and caught it was still there on her lips, until she blinked, her eyes filling with confusion as the smile slid away.
‘Oh,’ she said, jumping when she saw where they were, ‘you have to turn right at the next intersection,’ even though he was already in the slip lane indicating for the turn.
What was happening to her? Angie pushed back in her seat and took a deep breath, suddenly too warm despite the air-conditioned interior. It was because of his eyes, she realised.
Because for the first time he’d looked at her as if she wasn’t something he might find on the bottom of his shoe. He’d looked at her as if he was actually seeing her—the person—and it had thrown her, that was all. Coming on top of learning that he definitely wanted this child, of course it would throw her.
‘Where exactly do you live?’ he asked as the turning lights went green.
She gave him the address, expecting him to ask her for directions, surprised when he didn’t, but he looked so deep in thought as he drove—more than a mere frown tugging at his brows—that she didn’t offer. Besides, there was plenty of time before the next turn.
‘We’ll have to meet again to sign some kind of agreement,’ he said a little while later, his rumbling voice sounding distant, and, when she turned to look at him, his gaze was still firmly fixed on the road ahead, his expression still tight. Even the fingers that until now had seemed so relaxed and composed on the steering wheel were curled tightly around it. And then he turned to her, blinking as he focused, and Angie got the distinct impression that while he’d been telling her one thing, his mind had been miles away. ‘Don’t worry,’ he assured her. ‘It will be drawn up to protect your interests too.’
She wasn’t even sure what her interests would be but for some strange reason she trusted him. ‘I understand.’
‘Will your husband be able to join you next time?’
Shayne? She looked away, suddenly nervous again. ‘Does he need to be there?’
‘Of course. The way I understand it, as birth mother, this child will be legally yours, regardless of where the embryo originated. As your husband, any agreement to hand over the child will no doubt require Shayne’s signature too.’
Angie’s spirit slumped. Damn. Why—just when it looked as if things were going to work out—did something have to go wrong? How was she ever going to convince Shayne to help her with this when he’d been so opposed to what she was doing from the start? She sighed. She doubted he’d even take her call. ‘I’ll see what I can do.’