“Um, nice to meet you too.” Pepper looked utterly confused and he couldn’t blame her.
His mother gave him a butterfly kiss on the cheek and then left with a trail of Chanel No. 5 in her wake. His mother wasn’t born into money, in fact, she was born far from it. Still, when he’d established himself in the business world and was able to care for her, she’d taken to the elevation in her lifestyle like a duck to water. After what his father had put her through for years, Simon was glad she’d found some happiness—even if the uneasiness between them still existed.
He closed the door. He wanted to shield Pepper from the headlines, but he knew the reporters would flock to the building, if they weren’t here already. There was no hiding from this story.
“That was nice of your mother to stop by. You should have invited her to stay. I have your coffee started and there are plenty of pastries in the kitchen.”
He shook his head. “Now isn’t the time for visitors. You and I have something to discuss.”
Although coffee did sound good. He made his way to the kitchen and poured himself a cup. He nearly moaned in delight when he took his first sip.
His gaze moved to Pepper. “It tastes just like the coffee at the bakery.”
She smiled and nodded. “I take it you like it.”
“I love it.”
“Drink as much as you want. Now that I’m pregnant, I can’t have it.”
He hadn’t thought of that. There were a lot of things he hadn’t thought of yet. And he didn’t want to ruin this easy moment between them. But it was better she heard it from him than to be blindsided by the paparazzi.
“My mother stopped by for a reason.”
“Is something wrong?”
“In a way.” How did he tell her this gently? He didn’t think there was any way to do it. “She knows about the baby.”
“What? But how? I didn’t think we were to the point of telling people.”
“We aren’t. I—I didn’t,” he stammered. “I wouldn’t do that without talking to you first. She read it online.”
“What?” Pepper’s voice rose.
“Apparently, someone inside the doctor’s office spotted us and sold the story. I don’t know if it was staff, which I highly doubt, or if it was another patient.”
Pepper worried her bottom lip as though she was replaying the events. “There were a few people around when the nurse rushed into the waiting room to give me the prenatal vitamins that I’d forgotten in the exam room.” She looked crestfallen. “This is all my fault. If I hadn’t forgotten them—”
“It’s not your fault.” He stepped up to her and gazed deep into her eyes. “None of this is your fault.”
She pressed a hand to her abdomen. “I can’t do this.”
Worry gripped him. “Do what?”
She moved her hand between the two of them. “This. Everything you do is headline news. I don’t want our baby caught up in a media frenzy—”
“Don’t worry. We’ll work things out.”
Her eyes filled with fear. “You can’t promise me that.”
He sighed. “You’re right. I can’t promise the media will leave us alone, but there has to be a way to minimize their interference. We have a lot to figure out.” And then before he analyzed the right and wrong of it, he pulled her into his arms, attempting to will away her inner turmoil.
He wanted to make this better for her, but the problem with success was that everything you did made headlines.
He continued to hold her close. “Together, we’ll do what is best for the baby.”
CHAPTER TEN
AND SO SHE’D STAYED.