‘Any woman,’ she corrected.
‘If I don’t beat you pretty soon I shall be surprised at my control!’ Leon snapped harshly.
Helen’s face paled, her eyes violet smudges in her face. ‘You—you wouldn’t?’
He frowned, stepping forward to take hold of her shaking shoulders. ‘Did he ever hit you?’ he demanded to know.
She turned her head away from his probing look. ‘Only—only once. It was the night I—the night I lost the baby. I refused him and he—he—’
‘He hit you,’ Leon rasped. ‘At a time when he should have been treating you with kid gloves.’ He cradled her against his chest. ‘If you were carrying my child I would wrap you up in cotton wool.’
Helen pulled away from him. ‘You wouldn’t want that to happen?’ she gasped.
‘Have you carry my child? Why not? I love kids. I’d like a couple of them.’
‘So your mother really is waiting for you to produce her first grandson,’ she said dully.
‘I guess so,’ he admitted sheepishly. ‘And I don’t think they would mind at all if you helped me do it,’ he teased. ‘Of course, you’d have to marry me first…’
Helen turned away, forced herself to act calmly as she emptied the bath before refilling it. She took her time, finally turning to give him a bright smile. ‘You’ll have to count me out of that, I’m afraid.’
‘Getting married or having a baby?’
‘Both,’ she said firmly. ‘I’m not ready for either.’
Leon tapped her playfully on the nose. ‘You should wait until you’re asked before refusing,’ he mocked her lightly, moving to open the door to his bedroom. ‘And I didn’t ask,’ he grinned at her. ‘I shouldn’t be too late home tonight, and I expect you to have given up your job by then.’
‘You’re very persistent!’
‘I know what I want,’ he contradicted. ‘And that’s you here making a home for me.’
‘All right,’ she agreed, knowing she had been going to do just that all along.
‘I wish you agreed to everything that easily,’ he taunted before going into his room, closing the door after him.
Helen lingered in her bath, waiting until she was sure Leon must have left before emerging from her bedroom. She had been right to fear her growing feelings for Leon; the love was already too strong for her to do anything about it. She only hoped he had been teasing her about marriage and children—because there was still something about her he didn’t know, something she didn’t want him to know!
CHAPTER SEVEN
MR WALTERS was furious with Helen when she told him today was to be her last day at work, telling her she might as well clear her desk and leave now. She didn’t argue with him, but did as he said.
‘Does your leaving have anything to do with your Leon Masters look-alike?’ Sally whispered across the desk. ‘Larry, or whatever his name is.’
If only Sally knew it wasn’t a look-alike at all! ‘Yes,’ Helen whispered back, conscious of the angry glares she was receiving from Mr Walters.
‘Are you getting married?’
Helen smile contained a certain amount of irony. Poor Sally could only think in terms of love and marriage, whereas she didn’t even want those things mentioned, and neither did Leon, she felt sure. ‘Not quite,’ she replied truthfully.
‘What do—Oh!’ Sally blushed. ‘Oh well, I don’t blame you. He’s gorgeous.’
‘Thanks, Sally,’ Helen smiled gratefully. ‘And good luck with Steve and the move to Australia.’
Mr Walters wished her a stiff unfriendly goodbye before she walked out into the sunshine. It felt strange to be out of a job, somehow making her more dependent on Leon. Now she would only have him and possibly Max for company. It was because this made her feel slightly trapped that she telephoned Jenny and invited her out to lunch.
They met at a restaurant convenient to Jenny. ‘So he’s made you pack up your job,’ Jenny said slowly. ‘Are you sure that’s a good thing?’
Helen shrugged. ‘It’s what Leon wants.’