Christmas at the Cove. Rachel Brimble

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ FOUR

      CARRIE STARED AT Scott as his hand slipped from hers. He dropped his head forward, his gaze glued to the floor between his feet. Her heart pounded, drowning out the Christmas carols that played quietly on an endless loop throughout the hotel lobby. Bells jingled and faceless characters sang their rejoices, even as her life changed forever. Whatever happened next—whatever Scott said or did—their lives had altered.

      She pursed her lips and fought the need to tell him how amazing his daughter was, that she was sorry and should have come clean before but had chosen not to rather than upset Belle’s family life for a guy she barely knew. That she knew deep down he wouldn’t be ready for a baby, but now he was older...they were older, and their baby was growing up quicker with each passing day and beautiful Belle had a right for the chance to know her daddy.

      Carrie’s heart beat fast as she waited for Scott to speak. His reaction would illustrate the way forward and what she said next. For now, she would relinquish her habitual need to be in control. Empathy rose for the man sitting opposite her. She remembered all too clearly the shock of the blue line appearing on the pregnancy test. Hadn’t she pretty much shown Scott the exact same thing?

      His sharp intake of breath broke the tension and he looked up. His dark, blue eyes blazed under the light and Carrie shifted in her seat. The intensity she’d found so appealing felt different now, making her stiffen with unease, rather than heightening her attraction. Uncertainty and shock showed in his expression, overshadowing the steadfast authority she’d gotten from him before.

      “You’re sure it’s mine?” The color in his face faded.

      Her first instinct was to be insulted, but she pushed it down. He didn’t have any more reason to trust her than she did him. She nodded. “Yes.”

      “Girl or boy?”

      Irritation bloomed and she raised her eyebrows. “Does it matter?”

      He closed his eyes. “No. That was a stupid thing to ask. Sorry.”

      Carrie released a shaky breath. An apology was unexpected—and appreciated. She swallowed against the dryness in her throat. “Her name’s Belle. She’ll be three in April. She has dark hair and blue eyes. Like you.”

      His gaze stormed with a myriad of questions and a depth of pain she’d neither anticipated nor prepared for. Her stomach clenched. She’d expected dismissal, denial, even accusation, but not this barely disguised anguish.

      “You’ve raised her with your husband all this time?” His voice was low, laced with a hint of annoyance.

      Further guilt slipped into her veins and sent her pride soaring to high-alert. “Yes. Gerard loved her like she was his own.”

      A flash of color darkened his cheeks and his gaze shot to her left hand. “Loved? Past tense? You’re not married now?”

      She glanced at her ring finger and her cheeks warmed. “No. Gerard’s dead.”

      “Dead?”

      “He was killed in a road accident over a year ago.”

      He stared at her for a long moment before glancing toward the people walking through the lobby. “I’m sorry.”

      “Thank you.” She cleared her throat and fought the painful beat of her heart. She had to take control and veer the conversation away from her personal life. Belle, and Belle only. Everything else was out of bounds. “I’m not here because I want anything from you. You have the right to know you have a daughter. I shouldn’t have kept it from you all this time. Before Gerard died we discussed bringing Belle—”

      “Stop.”

      She froze.

      His gaze ran over her face and lingered at her lips. “You don’t get to do that. You don’t get to tell me about your marriage or what happened before your husband died. Not yet.”

      Heat pinched her cheeks. “That’s the last thing I want to do. I was trying to explain...apologize, for not coming here before now. I don’t want to discuss Gerard with you any more than you want to hear about him, but he is a part of this. He was the only father Belle has ever known.”

      He glared. “And that’s my fault?”

      Carrie’s heart picked up speed to see such anger in his eyes. “No, but—”

      “Fine, then I’m not prepared to listen to you talk about the man who’s effectively raised my daughter for the last two years. Not yet.” He pushed to his feet and fisted his hand in his hair. “I need time to process the news I have a child I know nothing about. You disappeared, Carrie. Even knowing you carried my baby, you didn’t come back.”

      Irritation simmered deep inside and Carrie glared. “I didn’t disappear. I went back to my life after an insane few days with you.”

      His eyes locked on hers. “An insane few days?”

      She lifted her chin, steadfastly refusing to acknowledge the hurt that flashed across his gaze before he blinked and it was replaced with defiance. “Yes.”

      His jaw tightened. “Right. That’s all it was to you.”

      Carrie looked past him to the bustling lobby. “I didn’t know how else to do this but to just come right out and tell you.” She forced her eyes to his. “You’ve got my number. If you want to contact me—”

      “That’s it?”

      She frowned. “You just said—”

      “What did I say?” He glared. “That it’s okay for you to tell me I have a daughter and then you’re free to leave the Cove again? I don’t think so. I need some time to think. You’re going nowhere until I come find you and we decide what happens next.”

      Panic skittered up her spine and squeezed like a fist inside her chest. “What happens next?”

      “Yes, Carrie.”

      She swallowed hard as protectiveness for Belle rose up inside her. “Nothing has to happen straight away. I wanted you to know because I can’t live with this hanging over me anymore. I don’t expect you to step up...or see her...or—”

      “Be in her life any way at all unless it’s by your rules?” He huffed out a laugh and snatched his hand from his hair. “Who do think I am, Carrie? You’ve told me I’ve got a child. Now you wait for me.”

      “I wait for you?” Carrie barely stopped herself from teetering from the chair. “What do you mean wait for you?”

      “You wait for me to get my head around this.”

      The anger emanating from him spilled like poison across the table between them. Carrie stood, her body shaking. “I’m leaving.”

      He gripped her arm, his eyes blazing. “I don’t know what you expected, but if you thought I wouldn’t give a damn, you’re mistaken. I don’t walk away from the problems that drop into my lap uninvited. I never have before, and I’m not about to start now.”

      She glared. “Belle isn’t a problem. СКАЧАТЬ