Andrew smiled down at her somewhat apologetically. “Did I get carried away? Sorry. December was a long time ago.”
Surely he wasn’t implying that he hadn’t—
“There hasn’t been anyone since,” he said as if reading the question in her eyes. “I’ve been really busy and traveled a lot and...well, there just wasn’t anyone else I wanted to be with.”
Had he thought of her during those months? Could she possibly have crossed his mind as often as he had hers?
She couldn’t stop herself from flashing back to that morning when she’d awoken in his arms before dawn, opening her eyes to see his sleeping face on the pillow next to hers. There had been very little light in her hotel room, but she’d had no trouble seeing his relaxed features. Perhaps because they were so strongly imprinted in her mind.
She had panicked. It was the only word to describe the sudden, throat-closing, heart-stopping fear that had gripped her in response to seeing him there. In response to her own momentary jolt of sheer happiness at waking beside him. She couldn’t allow herself to feel that way, she’d immediately told herself, furiously. She would not allow her happiness to be dependent again on any man. Wade had burned her, but she suspected that Andrew had the power to reduce her to ashes. A wise woman would send him away. She’d wanted to believe that experience had brought her a measure of wisdom—despite one night of reckless weakness.
Slipping from the bed, she’d wrapped herself in a robe, closing it to the throat and tightly knotting the belt. “Andrew,” she’d said too sharply.
His eyes had immediately opened, without visible confusion or disorientation. “Yes?”
“You need to go.”
She had watched his eyebrows knit, the shadows concealing the expression in his eyes. “What time is it?”
“Late. Or early, I guess. I’m meeting my college friends for breakfast before I head back to the resort. I’d like some time to myself to get dressed and packed.”
Andrew studied her a moment before climbing from the bed. She’d averted her eyes when he reached for his clothes, afraid that the sight of his naked perfection would weaken her resolve. He dressed quickly, then circled the bed to stand in front of her. “I’m sure you need a little time to process this,” he’d said, his voice so gentle and understanding that a lump had formed in her throat. “I’ll call you in a few days.”
“No,” she’d quickly said, hoarsely. She’d swallowed, then continued more steadily. “It would be better if you didn’t, really. The holidays are going to be very busy, and after that we’ll start gearing up for the busy season at the resort and I—”
“Hannah.” He’d silenced her with his fingertips on her lips. “I wasn’t looking for a one-night stand with you.”
He’d probably thought the reassurance would allay her fears. Instead, it had only made her more nervous.
“That’s all I have to offer,” she had answered him simply, drawing on all her strength to directly meet his eyes. “I want—I need to be on my own now, to focus on myself, my job, my family. Last night was great, Andrew, but let’s just leave it at that, shall we? A pleasant memory.”
And then, like a fool, she’d offered her right hand to him for a shake, a memory that still embarrassed her as she stood in his arms now, her lips still tingling from his kisses. Her face heated, both in response to those painful memories and the feelings being roused in her again tonight.
Andrew studied her with narrowed eyes, trying to read the expressions that must have flitted over her face in the past few moments. Did he remember that awkwardly extended hand, the way he’d looked in disbelief from her face to her hand and back again before turning toward the door without touching her? He’d let himself out after telling her she knew where to find him if she ever needed him. She had spent the hours until sunrise sitting in an uncomfortable chair and wondering if the hurt she’d seen in his eyes had been because of wounded male pride, or if she had truly disappointed him when she’d sent him away so unceremoniously.
Despite her request, he’d tried to call a time or two afterward, but she had neither answered nor returned his calls. Cowardly and rather rude, perhaps, but she’d needed the distance...especially after the shock of finding herself pregnant. The fact that he’d been with no other woman since—and Andrew was nothing if not truthful—had her wondering all over again what that night had meant to him. Her confusion only reinforced that she still couldn’t think coherently where Andrew was involved.
He drew a deep breath, making her aware of how long she’d stood there without saying anything since he’d admitted she’d been the last woman he’d been with. Brushing his lips lightly over the tip of her nose, he then stepped back. “You asked me
here to talk. I promise to behave myself now.”
How ridiculous was it that she was rather disappointed to hear him say that? Smiling wryly at her own folly, she shook her head. “You’ve always befuddled me, Andrew. How do you do that?”
He laughed softly. “Befuddled?”
She shrugged. “Seems like a fitting description. When I’m around you, I can’t seem to think clearly, which makes me wonder what you think of me. Despite the turmoil that always seems to surround me when you’re here, I really am an intelligent and competent woman.”
“Surely you don’t believe I have any doubt of that,” he said with one raised eyebrow. “I certainly don’t think any less of you because of your ex-husband’s actions. I admire you for kicking him to the curb as soon as you became aware of his true nature, and for cooperating so fully last year in my investigation, even when you felt obliged to tell me things you understandably wanted to keep private. As for our current situation—” he motioned vaguely toward her midsection “—I’m as responsible for this as you are, if not more so. I thought I was taking adequate precautions.”
“Accidents happen,” she murmured, resting a hand on her tummy.
He nodded. “I know.”
But they didn’t usually happen to him, she added silently.
Her hand still resting over their daughter, she lifted her chin and met his eyes. “I want you to know I don’t regret this. This child will be greeted with love and joy, and raised to be proud of her family and her heritage.”
“I don’t regret it either,” he replied just as firmly. “Maybe we didn’t plan this, but I consider it a blessing rather than a mistake. We love kids in my family. I’ve always imagined myself as being a dad someday, though it was always in some vague future.”