She badly wanted to tell her best friend the truth. Sooner or later she would have to. Her fingers gripped the phone more tightly.
‘I’m pregnant, and Ram’s the father.’
Her words hung in silence down the phone and she closed her eyes, equal parts of hope and fear rising up inside her. What if Anna was disgusted? Or never wanted to speak to her again?
‘That’s why I’m here. We’re talking things through.’ Breathing out shakily, she pressed the phone against her face. ‘I wanted to tell you before, but—’
‘It was complicated?’
Nola opened her eyes with relief. Her friend’s voice was gentle, and full of love. It was going to be okay.
‘I’m sorry. I just couldn’t get think straight.’
Anna laughed. ‘That’s okay. I forgive you as long as you tell me everything now.’
She didn’t tell Anna everything, but she gave her friend an edited version of the last few days. But even while she was talking she was thinking about Ram. Having finally stopped fighting him, all she wanted was to concentrate on the two of them building a relationship that would work for their child.
That was, after all, the reason she’d decided to stay.
The only reason.
Her cheeks grew hotter.
Try telling that to her body.
Her mouth was suddenly dry. Staring across the deck at Ram, she felt her breath catch fire. It was true, she did want a relationship with him that would work for their child. But that didn’t mean she could deny the way her body reacted to his. Even now, just looking at him was playing havoc with her senses. And up close he seemed to trigger some internal alarm system, so that she felt constantly restless, her body shivering and tightening and melting all at the same time.
But her relationship with Ram was already complicated enough. So it didn’t matter that no man had ever made her feel the way he had. Giving in to the sexual pull between them would only add another layer of complication neither of them needed.
Her mouth twisted.
Maybe if she told herself that often enough, she might actually start to believe it.
* * *
‘So,’ Ram said softly, as she sat down beside him and handed him the phone, ‘is everything okay?’
She nodded. ‘Yes. I told her about the baby. She was a little...’ she hesitated, searching for the right word ‘...stunned at first, but she was cool about it.’
Ram studied her face. Since agreeing to stay, Nola had seemed more relaxed, but he couldn’t shift the image from his head of her looking so small and crushed, and impulsively he reached out and ran his fingers over her arm.
‘You need to be careful. Are you wearing enough sunblock?’
She grimaced. ‘Loads. I used to try and tan, but it never works. I just burn and then peel, so now I am fully committed to factor fifty.’
‘Is that right?’ His gaze roamed over her face. ‘Then I’m jealous. I only want you to be fully committed to me.’
Nola blinked. He must be teasing her, she decided. Ram might want to marry her in order to legitimise this pregnancy, but he didn’t do commitment. And jealousy would require an emotional response she knew he wasn’t capable of or willing to give. But knowing that didn’t stop her stomach flipping over in response to the possessiveness in his words.
Hoping her thought process wasn’t showing on her face, she said lightly, ‘You’ve got bigger competition than a bottle of sunblock.’
His eyes narrowed. ‘I do?’
He let his fingers curl around her wrist, and then gently he pulled her towards him so that suddenly their eyes were level.
‘I thought you said you didn’t have anyone missing you,’ he said softly.
She bit her lip. ‘I don’t think he does miss me. He’s quite self-sufficient...’ Glancing up at the stubble shadowing his jaw, she smiled. ‘A little prickly. A bit like you, really. Except he’s green, and he’s got this cute little pot like a sombrero.’