Her Pregnancy Secret Read online

  “Original, wide-plank floors!” Lisa Morris gushed. “Can you believe it? Well, what do you think?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “You already live in the neighborhood, so you know how wonderful the Upper West Side is. The people in this building are all young, hardworking professionals like yourself. Michael wants you to have the apartment so badly he’s willing to meet the seller’s first price. Believe me, sweetie, Michael never goes to contract without negotiating. You have no idea how utterly ruthless he can be.”

  “Oh, I have an idea.” A very good idea. That’s why she still felt wary about their relationship even though he’d been so nice of late.

  “For a lower floor, the apartment is amazingly sunny.” Lisa’s voice was as rapid as gunfire. She walked to a window and impatiently snapped open the blinds.

  If Michael’s high-powered Realtor was small in stature, she made up for it in presence. She was in her forties, fit and sexy in her own brash way. She had big orange hair and bright red lipstick. Nail polish of the same color matched her bright stilettos and the huge leather designer bag. Her short black skirt showed off great legs.

  “It’s modern,” she said. “And cheerful. And totally updated. The garden makes it so special.”

  If only the woman would stop pressuring her, maybe Bree could think.

  “You wouldn’t have to spend a dime. Not that Michael would be against remodeling it for you—if that’s what you want. He’s made it clear he’s willing to do anything to please you.”

  “I already owe him a lot because of an investment his brother made in my business, so I don’t want be obligated to him for this, too.”

  “I’m beginning to see why he’s so taken with you. Unlike the women I’ve seen him with before, you have principles. But trust me, principles will only carry a girl so far. If I were you, I’d snap this place up in a heartbeat. Then I’d snap him up, too. He’s a prize catch, sweetie. Nail the deal and the man before they slip through your fingers and you spend the rest of your life regretting it. This is New York. Beautiful women are throwing themselves at him all the time.”

  “He’s just trying to buy me.”

  “So, let him. He’s gorgeous and he can give you the kind of fairy-tale life girls dream of.”

  “He doesn’t care about anything but money.”

  “So? Sweetie, what do you think drives this city and everybody who lives here? What do you think buys all the goodies...like this apartment with its lovely garden and historic floors? Money. Always has. Trust me, you’re lucky if a chance like Michael North comes once in a lifetime.”

  “Okay, I’ll think about it,” Bree said.

  “You have my card,” Lisa said. Her phone rang as she headed for the door. “We’ll be in touch.” She smiled, lifted her phone to her ear and was gone.

  Giving the apartment a final look, Bree couldn’t shake the feeling that Michael was trying to buy her by offering what he’d offered every other woman in his life.

  Why say no to the apartment when you no longer say no to the flowers he sends, when you’re sleeping with him?

  Because I don’t want to give in to all his demands until I am sure of what I really want. I don’t like being pressured.

  Michael was nothing if not relentless.

  He could take care of her financially. She understood that. But could he love her?

  * * *

  Bree’s heart knocked as she followed Michael’s beautiful secretary down the marble hall to his office. She felt tense and defensive about her reason for visiting him on such short notice. The girl, a gorgeous brunette who had introduced herself as Eden, had told Bree in pleasant, hushed tones that Michael had canceled an important conference call to make time to see her.

  “I’m sorry to interrupt you without giving you more warning,” Bree said to him as soon as Michael opened the door and dismissed Eden. “I understand you postponed an important call.”

  “It’ll wait.” He looked deeply into her eyes. “You look upset. Are you okay?”

  When she nodded, he pulled her to him and kissed her gently. Then he let her go. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

  Putting his hand against her waist, he led her to a guest chair and then sat down across from her.

  She felt nervous, so she stared at his office. Compared to the glamorous marble lobby of his building and the waiting rooms and secretary’s office outside, Michael’s office was Spartan. Other than his sunny corner view of the city, no luxuries adorned his personal working space.

  His immense, sleekly modern desk was flanked by equally minimalistic tables with monitors. Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves and cabinets were stacked with documents and file folders. Here, there were no photographs, no evidence he had a personal life at all.

  “You have a nice view,” she said, feeling the need to say something.

  “Do I?” he replied, turning to look at it absently. Then he swiveled so that he faced her again. “I prefer this view,” he said, his intense gaze causing her to blush. She’d put on a black dress, dangly silver earrings and a red pashmina just to please him. “So—why the visit?”

  Feeling a mixture of pride and anxiety, she pulled an envelope out of her purse and pushed it across his desk.

  Watching her, he grabbed it, tore it open with his bare hands, pulled out her check and then whistled. “What is this?” he demanded almost angrily.

  “I made out a schedule,” she said in her most businesslike tone. “I intend to start repaying you on Will’s investment in Chez Z.”

  “That is not necessary.”

  “You’re saying that because I’m pregnant with your child, and you feel obligated to me now.”

  His black eyes narrowed. “I am obligated.”

  “I know how everything’s a deal to you....” Her cheeks turned red and her voice faltered.

  He flushed darkly. “Our relationship is not a deal.”

  “I’m pregnant, and you feel you have to take care of me. I want you to understand that even though I am pregnant, I can take care of myself. And from now on, I’m going to do so.”

  “We’re sleeping together. Did it occur to you I might want to be generous to you?”

  “I don’t want our relationship to revolve around money.”

  “Then why are you here with this check?”

  “It’s a matter of principle. A time or two, you proposed that if I slept with you, you’d keep Chez Z afloat. Well, I refused that deal then, didn’t I? So, I don’t want you to think that because we’re sleeping together I don’t owe you that money.”

  “Damn it, Bree. You’re having my child. Everything’s different now.”

  “I don’t want you to think I’m greedy or that I’m only involved with you because of your money. That’s not the case.”

  “I don’t think that. The money’s a dead issue to me. So, can we not do this?”

  “But I don’t quite believe you. You’ve always bought your women, paid them off—”

  “You’re not like them, okay? How many times do I have to tell you that I was wrong about you before you’ll believe me?”

  “I...I don’t know.”

  Sometimes she did believe him. Other times she remembered how he’d crushed her.

  He must have seen her face fall because he said, “I guess I deserve that. I know I hurt you badly.”

  “Let’s just say the way you made me feel is burned into me like a brand. I’m having a hard time letting it go.”

  He cursed softly. “I want to make that up to you. I don’t want to hurt you like that ever again. As you know, I had a rough start and got knocked around a lot as a kid, so I’m not always an easy guy—and that’s when I’m not deliberately being a jerk. Not that my history is an excuse, but I was prejudiced against your sex after Anya. Now, t
hough...everything’s different. I only hope that someday I’ll be able to prove to you I’ve changed my attitude.”

  “For now—just take the money,” she whispered. “It’s important to me...in ways I can’t explain. I’m going to start repaying you in two-week intervals.”

  “Okay. Whatever you want. However you want.” His cynical tone was low and biting.

  When she stood up, he led her to the door.

  “One more thing,” he said. “Since we’re discussing finances maybe now would be a good time to inform you that I signed a contract on that building in your neighborhood.”

  “Oh, no. I wish you hadn’t.”

  “I know, more proof you’re nothing but a financial obligation to me, but hey, why don’t you look at this a different way? My purchasing the building gives you choices. You can continue to stay with me at the penthouse. I told you last night how much I look forward to coming home to you. Or if you need more independence you can move into the apartment and be on your own.”

  “I would not be on my own, if you own the apartment.”

  “Then you can pay rent.”

  “I have a lease where I am.”

  “I’m sure I could work out a deal with your landlord. I don’t want to force you to be with me. I just want you and the baby to be safe.”

  “Okay,” she said. “I’ll think about it.”

  “So—do we have any more finances to discuss?”

  She shook her head.

  “Good.” His gaze warmed as he took her hand and drew her to him. Realizing that he wanted her to kiss him goodbye in spite of their disagreement, she softened, too.

  Standing on her tiptoes, she closed her eyes and slid her arms around his neck. Against all logic, her resistance melted when his lips claimed hers. Why did she always feel that something was very right in her world when he held her like this?

  “See you tonight?” he whispered, sweeping the back of his hand across her cheek.

  She nodded. “I’ll cook. What are you in the mood for?”

  “Not food.” His hot glance and quick grin made her knees go weak.

  “We were discussing supper,” she whispered primly.

  “We were?” He arched his dark brows.

  She nodded.

  “How about steak and potatoes?”

  “Okay, then,” she said, her eyes aglow as she envisioned juicy slabs of beef topped with mushroom sauce, baked potatoes oozing with crunchy bits of bacon, chives and sour cream. She would buy a deep red wine for him, a burgundy maybe, and crisp garden-grown greens to make a salad for herself.

  “Followed by you for dessert,” he whispered with a sexy smile right before he kissed her again.

  Twelve

  Four weeks had passed, and in that time Michael had grown relaxed in his relationship with Bree. She’d allowed him to help her get out of her old lease and move into the apartment he’d bought for her. She’d agreed to pay him the same rent she’d paid her previous landlord.

  Tonight, Michael felt heavy and sated after an hour or so of deeply satisfying sex that had followed the lamb dinner she’d cooked for him. Funny how the more times he had her, the more his need for her grew.

  Utterly content, he pulled her closer.

  The doors to her garden were open. City sounds and moonlight crept over the walls and filled her bedroom. He was glad she’d relented about the apartment. Before she could change her mind, he’d sent a team of movers and packers to her old place.

  Maybe it was time he pushed on a much more important issue.

  “I want to marry you. I want you in my life forever,” he said, speaking softly as his hand caressed her arm. “We’ve had a month together. I think we work.”

  He felt her tense, but she stayed where she was.

  “We’ve been over this,” she said tightly.

  “Not lately.”

  “You only want to marry me because of the baby—your heir.”

  Damn it, he thought. Ever since her fall, he’d spent as much time as he could with her because he cared about her. Why couldn’t she see that?

  He’d taken her to the theater, to movies and out shopping. He’d joined her on her afternoon walks in Riverside Park. They’d picnicked in Central Park, enjoyed dozens of fabulous dinners in New York’s top restaurants. Then there were the countless rounds of mutually satisfying sex.

  They got along. More than got along. He looked forward to every moment he had with her. They enjoyed friendship as well as sex. Weren’t those things they could build on?

  “As soon as I found out you were carrying my child I wanted to take care of you. I asked you to marry me then, remember?”

  “Because you felt obligated.”

  “You said no, and because you felt that way, I’ve worked hard to develop a relationship with you.”

  “Because you just see this as the best solution, the best deal. Or you feel you have to do this, maybe for the baby—”

  “What if I said that maybe I do feel obligated because of the baby, but I want you in my life, and that maybe I do...love you.”

  Hissing in a breath, she pushed away from him, plumped her pillows and sat up straighter. “Well, I wouldn’t believe you, Michael.” She crossed her arms over her breasts. “So don’t do this.”

  “Why the hell not?”

  “Because loving me has never been part of your agenda. You’ll say or promise anything to close this deal.”

  “I admire you. I like hanging out with you. I can’t keep my hands off you. I miss you when we’re not together. I miss you so much it consumes me. If what I feel isn’t love, it’ll do until love comes along.”

  “Marriage demands a total commitment. For me, it demands love. Even then, there’s a fifty percent divorce rate.”

  “Love is just a four-letter word for a complex emotion that means different things to different people.”

  “Look, Michael, Will told me you would say anything to get what you want. Look at this apartment. Look at the way you’ve been sending flowers to the bistro for months. You got my mother and everybody who works for me to badger me until I agreed to move in here. They’re all on your side. You’ve totally won them over.”

  “So, I’ve been vetted. Maybe you should take that as a sign we belong together.”

  “No, I take that as a sign you’ll do anything to close the deal. I can’t believe that even you would stoop so low as to try to trick me into letting myself believe you could love me. Do you think I’m such an illogical romantic that I’ll do what you want if you just toss out the word love?”

  “You think that my reasons for proposing to you have to do solely with a pragmatic concern for gaining more control over my heir?”

  “I didn’t at first. In the beginning I was starry-eyed about you. But the way you treated me that first night and right after Will died burned away my romantic illusions. I can’t help it if I see you plainly now. I don’t dislike you, Michael. Far from it. You have to know I’m crazy stupid about you in bed. And you’re fun to hang out with. But this is an affair. Nothing more. An affair I think I’m stupid to engage in because I’m not sophisticated enough to keep my emotions guarded all the time.”

  “Guarded?”

  “Yes. Guarded. I can’t let myself care too much again. You have affairs all the time with women like Natalia.”

  “What I have with you isn’t like that.”

  “I may be naive, but I know that an affair between people like us, who have different values about life, will end. I don’t want ours to end now...so let’s not discuss this. And let’s not talk about marriage, either. Let’s just enjoy each other while we can. Later, we’ll part, and when we do, we’ll work out a way to raise our son, okay?”

  “Not okay!” He threw off his sheet, stood up, s
cooped his clothes off the floor and began to throw them on.

  “Oh, so now you’re mad at me? This is so unfair, Michael. You’re the one who seduced me and got us into this mess. No matter what you say, I know the only reason you’d ever want to marry me is because I’m pregnant with your heir!”

  “Well, I don’t deny I’ve been a damned fool when I stupidly thought you were using my brother. If I was prejudiced then it was because I couldn’t see who you were. But now you’re the one who can’t see who I am. For the past month I’ve tried to show you that I’ll be good to you. Maybe I deserve this. I thought we were happy together.”

  “It has been fun,” she agreed.

  “It’s been way more than fun. But if you don’t want this to go any further, then I won’t push myself on you any longer. If you think this relationship is all about closing a deal, well, the deal’s off.”

  “Michael, stop this. You’ve got to see that we could never have a real marriage. My mother married my father because she was pregnant with me and she was miserable. The only thing you and I have in common is the baby. You do international deals. I’m the owner of a bistro. I’d hold you back.”

  “The hell you would.”

  “You’d resent me just like she resented him. Why don’t we just enjoy our affair until its natural conclusion...and then we’ll figure out a way to raise our baby together?”

  He felt raw and sick to the core at that prospect—devastated. Bitter pride made him mask the deep wound she’d inflicted.

  “If that’s the way you really feel, maybe you’re right.” His voice was cool. “Maybe you are better off without me. I’ve given it my best shot. I’m through.”

  “Michael!”

  He tore his key to her apartment off his key ring and flung it on her bedside table. “Consider our affair concluded. No deal.”

  His heart wasn’t in what he was saying as he shoved his shirt into his slacks and picked up his cell phone. Why couldn’t she see who he was now? Why couldn’t she accept that he truly wanted to be with her? That he could come to love her? That he didn’t want this half-assed deal she was proposing?