The Millionaire's Pregnant Mistress. Michelle Celmer

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СКАЧАТЬ a maid, you probably work with harmful cleaning solvents, and heavy lifting must be involved. It could be damaging for the baby.”

      Whoa. Someone had serious control issues. Did he really think she would allow herself to become totally dependent on him? She’d been on her own since she was sixteen. She knew how to take care of herself, and she would take care of her baby. She just needed a little help—emphasis on little. A couple hundred bucks a month to help cover her extra expenses.

      She glanced at the crystal tumbler filled with some sort of amber colored alcohol sitting on his desk. Warning bells clanged like crazy through her brain. She’d heard rumors from the other employees at the resort that he’d become a reclusive alcoholic since he’d lost his wife. The reclusive part she believed, the alcoholic part she’d only hoped wasn’t true. Looks like she might have been wrong.

      Not that everyone who drank was an alcoholic, but she wasn’t taking any chances.

      “I’m not quitting my job. I’ll give you weekly updates on my condition if it will make you feel better, but that’s it.”

      “That reminds me,” he said. “I’ve picked an obstetrician I’d like you to see. He’s the best in the area.”

      And it just kept getting weirder. Now he wanted to pick her doctor? Next he would be telling her how to dress, and what to eat.

      “I already have a doctor I’m comfortable with that takes my insurance,” she told him.

      “Expense isn’t an issue.”

      “It is for me, since I’m the one paying for it.”

      He folded his arms across his chest and leaned back in his chair. His face was partially hidden in shadow, but if she could see it, she was sure he would look annoyed.

      It was so darned dark in here.

      “What are you, a vampire? Could we maybe open some drapes? Turn on a light or two?”

      He unfolded his arms, leaned forward and switched on the desk lamp. Yep, he looked annoyed all right.

      “You mean to make this as difficult as possible, don’t you?” he asked.

      Was he kidding? “I’m being difficult? You’re not the one whose life is going to drastically change. You don’t have to suffer the morning sickness and the weight gain and the stretch marks. And let’s not forget hemorrhoids and heartburn and hours of hard labor. The day you can do all that for me, I’ll let you start calling the shots. Until then, this is my body and my baby and I will go to whichever doctor I choose, and live wherever the heck I want. Is that clear?”

      “If you don’t cooperate I could fight you for custody. I have unlimited financial resources.”

      She knew he was desperate when he started tossing around legal threats.

      “I’ve done my homework. I’ve got the numbers of half a dozen high profile bleeding heart attorneys who would just love to handle a case like mine pro bono.”

      She could swear she saw a hint of amusement in his eyes. “Would you really want to put yourself through that? Agree to my terms and I’ll grant you full custody and adequate financial assistance to have you living in luxury for the rest of your life.”

      She took a deep, calming breath. “Apparently you’re not hearing what I’m saying. I don’t want to live in luxury. I want a little help. Got it?”

      He stared up at her, a vague smile curling his lips.

      She propped her hands on her hips and glared at him. “I fail to see what it is about this situation you find amusing.”

      He leaned back in his chair, gazing up at her. “I was just thinking about that night in the resort.”

      Oh great, now did he think sex would be a part of the deal? “What about it?”

      “I knew there was a reason I liked you.”

      Now he liked her? That didn’t make any sense.

      “You are the most stubborn, self-centered, confusing person I have ever met,” she said, and his grin widened. She never imagined a man so dark and sexy could look so…cute.

      Cute? What was she thinking? He wasn’t cute. He was a big pain in the neck.

      She flung her hands up. “Fine, don’t help me. Because frankly, it isn’t worth the trouble. The baby and I will manage without you.”

      She turned to leave and was halfway to the door when she heard him call, “Tess, wait.”

      No way. She was through arguing about this. She and the baby would make it without him. She wasn’t sure how, but she would manage.

      She made it to the door and had her hand on the knob when she heard him say, “Please, stay.”

      She reluctantly turned back to him.

      “I know there has to be a way we can make this work.”

      “Unless you’re willing to compromise, I don’t see how.”

      “I am.” He gestured to the chair across from his desk. “Please, sit.”

      Because he said please, she crossed the room and took a seat.

      “Tell me what works for you, then we’ll figure something out.”

      “You’re serious?”

      “Absolutely.”

      “First I have to ask, why the change of heart? Why are you willing to compromise now, when fifteen minutes ago you were being an ogre?”

      He wasn’t insulted by the observation, in fact, he smiled. “Fifteen minutes ago I thought I knew who you were.”

      “And now?”

      “Now I realize I was wrong.”

      Tess prayed silently the way she did every morning as her old junker chugged its way up the mountain to the staff parking lot behind the resort. It had stalled twice on the way here. Once she’d flooded the engine and had to wait several minutes, holding up traffic, before it would turn over again.

      Her carburetor was terminally ill, but it would be at least three or four months before she had the money saved to replace it. And that was if she did the work herself—which she was pretty sure she could manage given the time to figure it out. She’d blown her entire savings plus a week’s groceries on a gas pump last month. The co-pay for her monthly doctor visits and prenatal vitamins was eating up the rest of her extra cash.

      The downside to residing in a resort town was the astronomical cost of living. If she skipped grocery shopping again on Sunday, that would shave a week off her expenses, but the doctor had already expressed concern that she wasn’t gaining enough weight, and a healthy diet was critical for a healthy pregnancy.

      She’d spent the last few days thinking about Ben’s offer. As far as she could tell, when she’d threatened to leave, he finally realized she was telling the СКАЧАТЬ