She had nightmarish visions of him buying up a toy store while she hovered in the background, clutching a bag of sweets and offering a trip to the park, hoping it proved a more successful lure.
‘Well?’ he prompted, snapping her out of her cruel reverie. ‘How is that scenario sounding?’
‘We can come to some kind of agreement on the financial side of things. As for the rest... Sergio, I’m exhausted. I’ve had this shock...on top of the wedding...I’m hardly thinking straight. I feel dead on my feet.’
He looked at her, seeing the dark circles under her eyes for the first time. He shot to his feet and then screeched to a halt in front of her.
‘Okay. You’re right. We can carry on this conversation tomorrow. Right now I can see you probably need to...relax...’
‘Relax?’ Susie grimaced. ‘I don’t think I’ll be doing any of that any time soon.’
‘Come back with me,’ he urged tersely. ‘You can’t possibly intend to return to that dump.’
‘“That dump” happens to be my home.’
‘Only because you’re too proud. Have you ever felt that it’s your home? Somewhere you look forward to getting back to every evening?’
No, Susie thought wearily. It was the sort of place any person would choose to avoid at all costs.
The enormity of her situation crashed over her like a tidal wave, ebbing away to leave in its wake feelings of despair and robbing her of her naturally upbeat optimism. She didn’t want to return to her parents who, however hard they tried, would not be able to resist the occasional observation on the direction her life had taken.
Lord help her if they found out that Sergio, the father of her baby, had proposed marriage—had offered her all the things most women in their right minds would accept with alacrity. For them, it would be a no-brainer. They would be shocked and appalled that she had turned him down.
‘That’s not the point...’
‘You moved there because you refused to accept help from your family, and I can understand that, but now isn’t the time for your pride to dictate your actions. You don’t only have yourself to consider. You have a baby to think about as well.’
‘And what do you suggest? I’m not going to marry you. Sex isn’t enough. Not for me.’
She wasn’t going to accept his proposal, he thought. There was no way he intended to contemplate a negative response to what he wanted, but at the moment reminding her of all the benefits that came as part of the package deal if she married him wasn’t going to work.
‘I’ll find you somewhere to live. I have a number of apartments in central London...but I’m thinking that they might be a little too close to the City for you.’
Thinking creatively and outside the box. Wasn’t that his speciality? There was always more than one way to secure your catch. He lowered his eyes, inclined his head to one side and gazed thoughtfully into the distance.
‘It would be a hassle for you, being in the centre of London,’ he mused. ‘In fact I’ll bet you find it pretty hectic even being where you are—and that’s away from the chaos of the City...’
‘It can feel a bit overpowering sometimes.’ She relaxed slightly. She didn’t want to argue with him. ‘I had to come to London for the work...’
‘Or you would have stayed out in the country? Growing up in Yorkshire must have acclimatised you to great open spaces...’
‘My parents told you where we lived?’
‘It must have come up in conversation.’
‘A lot seems to have “come up in conversation”...’ There was resignation in her voice rather than irritation, however.
It was obvious that her family hadn’t been able to be in the same space as him for longer than two seconds without divulging everything there was to divulge about her childhood. They were so desperate to hang on to the first guy she had brought home who wasn’t a loser. She wondered what other little stories they had come out with... Her first steps? First words? First crush on a boy at the age of nine?
But then they had believed that Sergio was a proper boyfriend, hadn’t they? Instead of a guy who wasn’t into making long-term plans and certainly wasn’t into love and marriage.