For ever?
What?
Why would she want that?
Why would she even think that?
Theo wasn’t for ever.
But she was.
And, oh, dear Lord, she’d fallen in love with him.
As the truth of it landed like a blow to the chest, Kate reeled, her heart pounding, her skin tight and damp. She loved everything about him. He wasn’t ruthless; he was dynamic. He wasn’t lacking in empathy; he was understandably guarded. He was everything she’d ever dreamed of, plus he was sexy as hell and the father of her child and he’d been planning to take her to a maths museum.
All those feelings that she’d tried to prevent and then deny... The thrill whenever he called... The exhilaration when she was with him... The sympathy and the fury, and the leap of her heart whenever she looked at the ring... They all suddenly made sense. But how had it happened? And when? Only a week ago she’d hated him. What had changed that? Or had she never really hated him in the first place?
The questions spun around her head, tangling with the realisation that she was crazy about him, making her heart thump with hope and bewilderment.
And despair.
Because she couldn’t possibly tell him. Love had never been part of the deal. She’d merely be setting herself up for brutal rejection and abject misery. He’d be appalled.
Or would he?
What if his feelings had changed, too? What if the chilly distance he’d put between them emanated from a similar epiphany? What if he too was battling feelings he wasn’t sure would be reciprocated?
No. She would not think like that. She mustn’t
. When it came to speculation about what Theo might or might not be thinking she was always wrong. Besides, he didn’t do uncertainty.
And, actually, with regards to one particular aspect of their relationship, neither did she. Because while she still needed time to process how she felt about him and figure out what she was going to do about it, if anything, suddenly she was damned if she was going to let him drop her off and drive away without at least having tried to persuade him to change his mind about his involvement with their child. She wasn’t going to go back to the Kate of before, afraid and in hiding. She was going to fight.
‘So, Theo?’ she said, nerves nevertheless tangling in her stomach as he turned a corner and her building hove into view, an indication that time was running out.
His brows snapped together. ‘Yes?’
‘I was wondering... What are you going to do once the deal’s gone through?’
‘What do you mean?’ he said, shooting her a stony glance that would have had her backing right off had she not strengthened her resolve.
‘Well, once you’ve achieved global domination, what’s left?’
‘Nothing,’ he said. ‘I’ll be done.’
‘Will you?’
‘Yes.’
‘Are you sure about that?’
‘Quite sure.’
She took a deep breath and mentally crossed her fingers. ‘Because if you do need another project, there’s one cooking away right here.’ She indicated her abdomen and watched as his gaze flickered across and down, his jaw tightening in that familiar way.
‘That won’t be necessary.’
‘Why not?’