‘That’s not important!’
Once more she could see the arrogant glint in his eyes, the proud tilt of his head. Nicholas had insecurities that he hid well. Sophia was right—she could see that now. Maybe he wasn’t so different from her after all. They had both endured traumas in their childhood. They had both been hurt in adulthood and it had made them wary—too wary, perhaps. ‘I’m sorry my father hurt you so much.’
The gentleness of her tone tore at Nicholas. ‘It’s not your fault. It was never your fault.’
Cat shrugged. ‘I have a family I am ashamed of.’
‘I’m ashamed of myself right now.’
‘So you should be.’ For a moment there was a gleam of humour amidst the pain in her eyes. ‘But we can call it quits if you like,’ she offered softly.
Nicholas raked a hand through his hair. He felt awkward—like a complete rat. ‘It’s more than I deserve.’
‘That’s true …’ She smiled at him. ‘But holding on to anger isn’t good—we need to move on with our lives.’
He couldn’t believe that he had ever doubted this woman’s integrity. She was so gentle and honest and her family had hurt her so much in the past. That he had added to that pain was almost beyond endurance.
‘Anyway, I need to get back to London, so if you would just bring me my passport.’
Nicholas watched as she tilted her head upwards, a determined look in her eyes.
He should have read the signs—should have known that she was nothing like them. But he had been so bound up in his quest for revenge—so tied up with guarding his heart in case he made another big mistake in marriage that he had almost made the biggest one of his life and let her get away.
‘Cat, I don’t want you to go,’ he said quietly. ‘I realize that it’s going to take a lot to make you trust me again, but I’m willing to work at it. I meant what I said before. I love you very much and I want us to be together. No secrets—no hidden agenda. Just the two of us getting to know each other all over again.’
‘I think it might be a bit late for that.’
‘I don’t accept that.’ He moved closer towards her. ‘You have feelings for me—I know that you do.’
The arrogance was back in his voice. ‘Look at me and tell me honestly that you don’t want me.’ His voice was terse.
She looked up into his eyes and tried to find her voice but it seemed to have deserted her.
‘You see you can’t!’
‘Nicholas, things aren’t as simple as all that,’ she breathed huskily.
‘Things are as simple or as complicated as we choose to make them.’ He reached out and pulled her into his arms and then he kissed her. It was a hard brutal kiss and yet so filled with passion that she found herself yielding to it immediately. It felt so good to be in his arms.
She still loved him.
‘You see.’ There was a gleam of triumph in his voice as he pulled back from her. ‘You want me—it’s as simple as that.’
‘Not really.’ She pulled away from him with a frown.
‘Look, I know you are wary of me—I know I’ve messed up, but.’
‘Nicholas, I’m pregnant.’
The words fell from her lips before she could stop them. ‘It must have happened in Venice—that night—well … you know.’
There was a look of incredulity on his handsome features that would have struck her as amusing if she hadn’t been so tense. This was the real test. It was all very well pretending to love her—whispering glib words about trust and want. But a baby—well, that wasn’t something you could gloss over. It made everything real; it focused the mind and the emotions until there was no room for pretence.
‘So you see it isn’t just about you and me any more,’ she carried on quickly. ‘Which is another reason why we need to move on from anger and revenge and all of that. But don’t worry. I don’t want anything from you. I can manage on my own and—’
‘How long have you known?’
‘What?’ She looked up at him in trepidation. ‘Only a few days.’