The hour went by quickly. Suddenly she was shaking hands with the committee, having earned a doctorate and a grade of Excellent. She should expect a cum laude distinction, one informed her on the sly.
“I imagine your father will be very proud,” her mentor said. “I would have thought your whole family would turn out for this.”
Pia didn’t mention that her father, a PhD himself, had a copy of her dissertation and would provide notes over Christmas with the expectation that she would incorporate them before final publication.
“They were tied up,” Pia murmured as a tingle like radiant heat accosted the right side of her body.
He hadn’t been wearing that cologne at the ball, but she recognized his scent all the same. Her throat flexed with the effort of maintaining her screen of calm as she turned to face him.
“Señor Na
varro,” she said, offering her hand.
“Angelo,” he corrected. His clasp sent electricity through to her nerve endings as he took the liberty of greeting her with, “Pia.”
“Thank you for coming,” she said, desperately pretending they were strangers when all she could think about was how his weight had pressed her into the cushions while her entire being had seemed to fly.
“An informative talk.” His eyes dazzled, yet pinned her in place. There was an air of aggression about him. Hostility even, in the way he had appeared like this, when she had literally been on the defensive. He seemed ready for a fight.
She had almost hoped he would leave her hanging after her note. She could have raised their baby with a clear conscience that she had tried to reach out while facing no interference from this unknown quantity.
As for what would happen if he did get in touch? She had tried to be realistic in her expectations, but Poppy had stuck a few delusions in her head. They seemed even more ridiculous as she faced such a daunting conversation with him. How had she even found the courage to say such frank things that night, let alone do the things they’d done? Wicked, intimate, carnal things that caused a blush to singe up from her throat into her cheeks.
“I need a moment,” she said, voice straining.
She had already declined invitations for drinks, fearful her avoidance of a glass of champagne would make her condition obvious. She only had to say a last goodbye to the committee and, “Thank you again, but I must take this meeting.”
Moments later, trembling inwardly, she led Angelo into the small office off the lab where she had worked the last three years when not in the field. She had already packed her things into a small cardboard box that sat on the chair. She was shifting from academic work to motherhood and marriage. That was all that was left of her former life.
Angelo seemed to eat up all the air as he closed the door behind him and looked at the empty bulletin board, the box of tissues and the well-used filing cabinet.
Pia started to move the box, but he said, “I’ll stand.”
He was taller than her, which made him well over six feet because she had the family’s genetic disposition toward above average height. His air of watchfulness was intimidating, too, especially when he trained his laser-blue eyes on her again.
“Your card was very cryptic,” he said.
She had spent a long time composing it, wondering why he had sneaked into the ball when he could easily have afforded the plate fee. At the time, she had thought his reason for being on the rooftop was exactly as he had explained it—curiosity. She had many more questions now, but didn’t ask them yet. There was every chance she would never see him again after she told him why she had reached out.
Memories of their intimacy that night accosted her daily. It was top of mind now, which put her at a further disadvantage. Her only recourse was to do what she always did when she was uncomfortable—hide behind a curtain of reserve and speak her piece as matter-of-factly as possible.
“I’ll come straight to the point.” She hitched her hip on the edge of her desk and set her clammy palms together, affecting indifference while fighting to keep a quaver from her voice.
“I’m pregnant. It’s yours.”
* * *
Angelo took it like the sucker punch it was. He jerked his head back in reflex and physically rocked on his heels to recover his equilibrium.
“That’s the reason you tracked me down?” What about his brothers?
“It seemed a significant enough reason to. And I know what you’re going to say.” Her lashes swept down and her mouth tightened. “I take full responsibility. I had what I thought was my cycle the next morning so I didn’t consider taking any precautions. Feel free to mock my extensive education in biology.”
The silence ticked out for a full minute as he absorbed news that changed his life. All he could wonder was why he wasn’t more shocked.
Probably because he’d had sex without protection, same as she had. He didn’t need anything but adolescent whispers to know this was exactly the consequence he had risked that night. Only an adolescent would behave that recklessly and not expect this outcome. He wasn’t a teenager. He had known the risk he was taking and he’d done it anyway.
He didn’t let himself ponder why.