“Oh, yes! I’d love that,” Didee said, linking her hand through Imogen’s arm.
At the same time, Brian said, “Don’t want to keep you from work.”
“I’m working from home until the baby’s born,” Theo said with a shrug.
Imogen saw her father’s lips curl with disapproval and she knew exactly what he was thinking. Nice for some.
Leave it to Brian Harper to be the only person on earth to see Theo Trevalyan as some kind of lazy, sponging ne’er do well, when he was the very definition of driven determination and work-ethic.
“That’s good to know. This way?” Didee had no such concerns.
But, as they neared the building, Imogen bent her head closer to her mother’s. “I
should warn you, Theo’s place is very…”
Didee squeezed Imogen’s arm and looked over her shoulder, checking to see that the two men were a little way behind them. “Darling, stop apologizing.”
“I’m not,” Imogen denied, though she had been.
“So he’s rich. Who cares? I certainly don’t. Are you happy?”
Imogen ran a hand over her full stomach, feeling its roundness. She nodded then. She was. Ridiculously happy. “Okay. So? He’s aristocratic. Divorced. Who cares? You love him, he loves you. What more is there to care about?”
Imogen was so shocked by the summation that she almost lost her footing.
Theo was there immediately, distance apparently no impediment to watching her like a hawk.
“Imogen?” He put a hand around her waist, supporting her. She looked at him, words locked in her throat.
She loved him?
Did she?
Her eyes swept closed as she looked into her heart and saw the truth written in such large letters it might as well have been sky-written. She did love him. She’d fallen completely, head over heels in love with the man who hadn’t even remembered sleeping with her. Her fingers curled into his shirt and she stared up at him, her expression unreadable.
“What is it?” He asked urgently. “Is it the baby?”
The baby. God. That’s why they were together, whatever her mother thought otherwise.
She marshalled her thoughts, shaking her head, and trying to string together some words that made a semblance of sense. “I’m not… Everything’s fine. I just felt a big kick.” She fibbed.
“Let’s get you back upstairs,” he said softly, pulling her to him and holding her tight for the rest of the way. It wasn’t far, just one block further and then they were moving into the large glass doors that led to the foyer of Theo’s exclusive building. There were two suited doormen on duty and they both greeted first Theo and then Imogen by name.
Imogen didn’t look back to see her parents’ reactions. She was too busy trying to compute why it had taken her so long to realize.
Had pregnancy made her stupid?
How had she let them get into this situation?
Sleeping together. Her being in love with him. And a baby on the way? This had the potential to explode in her face if she wasn’t careful. But her heart was braver than her mind and her heart was reminding her of all the delicious details that were easy to forget.
He’d been perfect, since she’d moved in with him. A perfect lover, friend. Companion. Everything. He was the one who’d said he wanted to get to know her better; who’d suggested ‘dating’. He was looking after her impeccably and he had called her his girlfriend at the baby shop, and then his fiancé at the hospital.
These were not the actions of a man who didn’t see a future for them.
Didee stepped out first, her mouth a perfect ‘O’ as she spun on the spot and took in the details of subtle, overwhelming wealth.
“Let me show you the nursery,” Imogen said quickly, her smile over-bright.