She sipped the sparkling water to soothe the irritation burning her insides. ‘Perhaps he’s wary of you.’
His smile broadened, like a shark’s. ‘I don’t think you really appreciated his concern.’
She drew a breath. It was kind of someone to worry about her, especially given this extraordinary situation. ‘It took courage for him to check on me in front of you. Of course I appreciated that.’
‘But it still annoyed the hell out of you.’
‘Well, at least heaskedme if he could help and thenacceptedmy answer. He didn’t just try to railroad me into whatever solution he thought best, like some power-hungry bully.’
‘You think that’s what I’m doing?’ Roman positively smouldered.
‘Isn’t it?’
‘What’s your solution, then?’
‘Time,’ she said bluntly. ‘I need time to get my head around all this.’ Frankly she didn’t have any solutions yet. She was still processing the simple facts. ‘This wasn’t supposed to have happened. We were temporary. One night.’
His jaw locked. ‘But now you’re having my baby.’
She shifted uncomfortably. She still wasn’t thinking about that too closely. It was like a secret inside her. A massive, overwhelming secret that she couldn’t yet look at directly because it might burn her eyes. It terrified her because she wanted it so very much.
‘I don’t think these are the best circumstances in which to begin a relationship,’ she said.
‘Nevertheless, we now have to. But I don’t want to marry you because I’m in love with you, I’m proposing an arrangement to preserve all our best interests. Security and stability.’
She stared at him disbelievingly. ‘You’re okay about celibacy for the foreseeable future?’
That topaz patch in his eye gleamed. ‘I think we have some options that we could consider. Later. When you’re ready to talk about it.’
Options? Later? No, she was clarifying his intentions now. ‘You think we should sleep together again.’
He half laughed. ‘Does that really surprise you?’
‘You think you can seduce me into saying yes to you. Yes to everything.’
‘I’m not that arrogant.’
‘Yes, you are.’
‘I think we have unfinished business in that arena.’
‘That’s unrelated to the long-term problem.’
‘It’s kind of related. But, for now, let’s relax and enjoy the journey. You get to be the tourist you wanted to be. You can sit and watch the landscape.’
Well, shewasn’tgoing to look at that bed but she really had little choice. He was right. There was no point going somewhere else to sort this out. They had time and privacy here. She just needed to think about it all herself first.
As the train departed the station she felt a flutter of excitement. She liked to be on the move, not bogged down in one place. She’d been looking forward to meeting the other passengers, but equally she could appreciate the chance to sit and take in the view, especially in such incredible luxury. She curled her feet up beneath her and fixed her attention on looking out of the window. Except her mind whirled. She’d wanted independence—the freedom to travel and explore and decide what she wanted to do and when and where and with whomever she chose. She’d only just got it. And now?
Now there was a miracle. An absolute gift. But it dragged Roman Fraser right behind with it—powerful. Determined. Successful. He was so beyond her league and she had no idea how to handle him or how to handle the fact that she was still crazily attracted to him.
There was a knock on the door and she saw Frankie had brought her bag into the antechamber. She went to fetch it but Roman beat her to it.
‘You don’t need to do that,’ she said awkwardly as he brought it into the main compartment for her. ‘It’s a small bag.’
‘It’s a stupidly small bag—are all your clothes in there?’
‘Yes, and clearly I can manage it all by myself.’