The Doctor's Runaway Bride. Sarah Morgan

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СКАЧАТЬ in attack. ‘You were always at the hospital.’

      His black brows met in a frown. ‘Is that what this is all about? My working hours? I’m an obstetrician, Tia. You should understand the demands of the job better than most women.’

      Suddenly she didn’t feel at all well. She’d woken early that morning, been sick repeatedly and now he was expecting her to dissect their relationship. It was too much.

      Her eyes closed briefly and she took a deep breath. ‘Do we have to talk about this now?’

      ‘Yes.’ His voice was a deep growl and she flinched slightly. She’d always thought that Luca was very controlled, but suddenly he seemed like a stranger.

      Which was part of the problem.

      They didn’t really know each other. That fact had been brought home to her with shocking clarity on the day of her wedding. She should never have agreed to marry him, but she’d been so swept away by the way he’d made her feel…

      ‘We can meet up tomorrow or something,’ she suggested, hoping that she wasn’t going to embarrass herself by being sick in front of him. ‘Where are you staying tonight?’

      ‘Staying?’ One dark eyebrow lifted as if her question was wholly irrelevant. ‘Here, of course.’

      ‘No way, Luca.’ She shook her head vigorously. ‘This is my cottage.’

      Luca straightened in a fluid movement and moved purposefully towards her. ‘And you’re expecting our child, Tia.’ He said the words with careful emphasis. ‘Your place is with me.’

      ‘With you?’ Her heart started to gallop. With him? Surely he wasn’t serious—not after everything that had happened. ‘You’re not seriously suggesting that we should still get married?’

      ‘Hardly.’ His tone was dry. ‘You’ve made your feelings on that subject very clear.’

      Tia blushed slightly and looked away. Leaving him at the altar had been a lousy thing to do, but at the time she hadn’t been able to see an alternative. She’d just needed to get away as fast as possible.

      ‘So what exactly do you want, Luca?’

      There was a slight pause. ‘You,’ he said softly. ‘You and our baby.’

      ‘Luca, no!’ Her voice was suddenly hoarse and her heart was beating faster than she would have thought possible. ‘It’s time we were honest with each other. Our whole relationship was a mistake. We were just—very carried away…this baby wasn’t planned.’ Tia decided that it was time to voice at least some of her concerns. ‘A month ago when I told you I was pregnant, you couldn’t escape to the hospital fast enough!’

      He tensed and his mouth tightened. ‘That’s not true.’

      ‘It is true, Luca, and you know it.’ Despite her best intentions, she felt her voice wobble slightly and forced herself to stay calm. The last thing she wanted was for him to know how badly his reaction had hurt her. She had too much pride. ‘You were horrified to learn that I was pregnant and don’t try and deny it because I’m excellent at reading body language and yours was shouting at me!’

      His dark eyes were suddenly wary and for the first time since she’d met him he seemed slightly uncomfortable.

      ‘You misunderstood me. It’s true that the news of the baby came as a shock at first,’ he admitted finally, his voice quiet. ‘I would be less than honest if I didn’t admit that I would have preferred us to have more time together before we considered having children, but—’

      ‘You don’t need to make excuses. I know that you weren’t pleased, and nothing can change that.’ Suddenly Tia felt hideously sick and she took several deep breaths to try and settle her stomach.

      An ominous frown touched his forehead. ‘Tia, when you first told me that you were pregnant, I hadn’t been to bed for almost forty hours,’ he said, his dark eyes intent on hers as he paused only inches away from her. ‘I was called to one difficult delivery after another. By the time I saw you I was dead on my feet. The news that you were pregnant came as a shock, I admit that, and I probably didn’t react the way I should have, but…’

      Her eyes challenged him and she tried to ignore the effect that his closeness had on her. ‘So you’re saying that had you had a good night’s sleep you would have been delighted?’

      His dark gaze swept over her. ‘You need to calm down, cara mia. You’re very emotional.’

      ‘Emotional?’ Her jaw dropped and she gaped at him. ‘Of course I’m emotional. We had three blissful weeks together in Venice, but when we moved back to your home in Milan you changed, Luca. I barely saw you. You spent every available minute at the hospital. When I finally found time to tell you that I was pregnant, you reacted as though it was the worst news I could have given you and vanished to the hospital again. Then you came home and proposed. But obviously for all the wrong reasons. I think I have every right to be emotional.’

      Especially in view of what she’d found out since.

      He muttered something under his breath in Italian and raked long fingers thought his glossy dark hair. ‘Tia, I have already admitted that my reaction was less than perfect—’

      ‘Understatement,’ Tia muttered. ‘Major understatement.’

      A muscle worked in his jaw. ‘I think we both need to calm down and then start this conversation again.’

      ‘No.’ She shook her head vigorously, desperate to get rid of him. Being so close to him eroded her will-power. ‘There’s nothing more to be said. This isn’t about the baby, Luca, it’s about us. You and I. And the fact that our hormones got tangled with our common sense.’

      Nausea washed over her and she lifted a hand to her mouth. Oh, help! She was going to be sick again. She was sure of it.

      Luca frowned sharply and his long, strong fingers curled into her shoulders. ‘What’s the matter? Are you ill?’

      ‘No,’ she lied, steadying her stomach with a few deep breaths. ‘I’m just not enjoying this conversation. I want you to acknowledge that we both made a mistake so that we can move on.’

      His hands dropped from her shoulders and his face might have been carved from stone. ‘We’re having a baby, Tia. It’s too late to talk about making mistakes. We need to plan for the future.’

      ‘Luca, we don’t have a future,’ she said firmly, genuinely amazed that he’d even suggest such a thing. But it was because of the baby, of course. Whatever his initial reaction had been, he’d clearly decided that responsibility should come before personal happiness. ‘If a relationship isn’t right without a baby then it certainly won’t be right with a baby. We’re totally wrong for each other. Discovering that I’m pregnant doesn’t change that. I understand that you’re upset because I left you at the altar, but—’

      ‘I don’t care about that,’ Luca said dismissively. ‘That is in the past, but the baby is in the future and our future is together.’

      Tia stared at him. Sharon was obviously right. Luca Zattoni was a traditional Italian male to the core.

      He СКАЧАТЬ