“Well,” Elena interrupted, standing and wiping an imaginary piece of lint from her dress. “I won’t keep you. Imogen, of course I would like to organize an afternoon tea to … celebrate … your pregnancy.”
“You want to throw me a baby shower?” Imogen repeated, her eyes flicking to Theo before dropping to Elena. She moved down the corridor, back into the lounge room, a frown on her pretty face.
“Not a baby shower, good heavens. Talk about tacky. No, a nice, sophisticated afternoon tea with some of my friends. They’ll naturally be … curious … to meet you.”
Imogen was pretty sure Elena was thinking the exact opposite of what she was saying but she had to give the woman credit for trying to do the right thing.
“It’s really not necessary,” she said softly, giving Theo’s mother every opportunity of an ‘out’.
“Of course it is. My circle of friends will expect it.”
“Oh.” Imogen nodded, but she was dumbstruck.
“Surely this can wait,” Theo said, the words edged with a hardness Imogen hadn’t heard from him before. “Months, at least.”
“Oh, yes, yes. We’ll wait.” Elena’s eyes narrowed imperceptibly and then she nodded. “Theo, darling. Let’s do lunch again soon.”
Imogen didn’t miss the way she was neatly cut from the invitation, but it hardly surprised her and it certainly didn’t offend her. After all, Theo and she were hardly an item. At least, not so far as Elena knew. Everything between them was new and fresh and Imogen wanted to keep it that way. The less Elena had to do with her, the better, Imogen thought with a polite smile frosted on her face.
“I’ll be in touch about the afternoon tea,” Elena promised, lifting a hand to her lips and kissing them, before waving them in Imogen’s general direction. She began to clip towards the entrance of the apartment and Theo threw a grin at Imogen before striding, fast and confidently, towards the door. He pulled it inwards, kissing his mother on the cheek and watching her disappear into the elevator. Then, he slammed the door shut exaggeratedly and turned a bemused expression on Imogen.
“My mother,” he said with a wriggle of his eyebrows. “And perhaps even more like herself than usual.”
Imogen burst out laughing, but she sobered quickly. “I don’t think I’m what she had in mind,” she said with a wrinkle of her nose.
“Probably not.” He walked back to Imogen, a spring in his step.
“Am I really different to your ex-wife?”
“Hell, yes. You are the polar opposite,” he said. “And that’s a compliment.”
“I think your mother disagrees.”
“Fortunately for us, her opinion has no bearing on mine.” He winked, linking his hands behind Imogen’s back. “Besides, she’s going to organize your baby shower so I guess she’s intending to try…”
“Uh uh,” Imogen corrected, a smile playing about her lips. “Not my baby shower. They’re so tacky, haven’t you heard?”
“I think someone did mention that.”
Imogen sucked in another breath and pulled her lower lip between her teeth. “Our baby’s doing summersaults.”
He dropped his hands to her stomach and shook his head. “That is just about the weirdest thing I’ve ever felt,” he said with a shake of his dark head.
“You try feeling it from inside your tummy.” She stepped around him, making her way to the tea they’d poured earlier. Hers was lukewarm but she didn’t mind. She lifted it and inhaled gratefully, the citrus fragrance making her feel even better.
“You know,” he said, propping a hip on the bench, his eyes holding hers as he sipped his own tea. “We should probably head back to Swan on Green one weekend.”
Imogen paused, her heart skittering in her chest. “Why?”
“To see your parents?” He lifted his brows. “Surely they’re just as curious as my mother? I mean, I suppose they’d want to meet the guy you’re living with? Having a baby with?”
“Oh.” She nodded jerkily, hiding her frown behind her tea cup. “Not really.”
“Not really?” Theo arched a brow, not entirely sure if he was surprised or pleased. It wasn’t ego, but he knew he held a certain fascination with people. And even if he was a nobody, surely Imogen’s parents would have wanted to meet the man their daughter was having a baby with?
“I haven’t exactly told them about you,” she said with a shrug.
“You haven’t… told them?”