He lifted her chin and his amber gaze met hers, held hers... And, yes, she was nervous, and worried, but more noticeable than that was the absence of fear. It was as if the terror that had resided in her heart had simply exited, and now she looked back at the man she trusted, with all her heart.
Even the wobbly bits.
Even the scary bits that might blow up their plans and change their lives.
For the first time in as long as Roula could remember, she believed that she wasn’t on her own.
Yes, there might be an issue, but she didn’t have to face things alone.
‘My period’s a bit late,’ she said.
‘How late are we talking?’ Galen asked.
‘Late!’ Roula said. ‘Quite late, actually.’
‘Have you done a test?’
‘No.’
‘Why not?’
‘I don’t want to know.’
‘Well, I do.’ He handed her a paper cup. ‘Go and pee in that.’
‘Pardon?’
‘I bought a test this morning. We’ll deal with facts.’
‘But I can’t have babies.’
‘Who told you that?’ he said. ‘A qualified fertility specialist?’
He tried to rein in his contempt, but he did know a little bit about it—not that he’d tell her about Kristina and Ruben’s battles. Somehow he could not picture Roula and him sitting nervously, holding hands in a waiting room, awaiting results.
‘On a trip to Athens to check if anything was wrong?’
‘No...’ She shook her head. ‘I feel so naive.’
‘And I feel I let you down.’
‘No.’
‘Roula, go and pee.’
She took a breath as she climbed out of bed.
He caught her wrist. ‘I love you.’
‘Stop...’ She shook her head. ‘You’re just saying that in case I am...’
‘Roula, why would I say it?’
‘I’ve trapped you.’
‘How?’ he demanded. ‘I can have only monthly access, send a card now and then, pay you maintenance—we have a lot of choices.’
‘Do we?’