Confessions of a Pregnant Cinderella

He folded his arms and arched a brow. ‘You mean the way you embarrassed me in front of all my peers and several members of the press just a couple of months ago?’

That took the wind out of her fury a little. But not totally. ‘What are you doing here, Lazaro? You could have phoned me. I gave your assistant my contact details.’

‘I could have, yes. But that wouldn’t have been as satisfying as this.’

‘This? What do you—?’

Her words were stopped because Lazaro had crushed her mouth under his in a deep, drugging kiss, arms wrapped tight around her body. Her bag and her coat fell to the ground.

When he lifted his head Skye’s felt heavy. Blood was thundering through her brain, wiping out rational thought. But it trickled back slowly, as oxygen returned to her brain cells. The fact that their desire burned as hotly as ever was a bittersweet revelation.

She pushed herself out of Lazaro’s embrace and bent down to get her coat and bag. When she straightened up she saw Lazaro’s eyes resting on the swell of her belly, evident under her very boring stretchy black top.

‘It’s bigger,’ Lazaro said.

‘Yes,’ said Skye, suddenly shy. The enormity of him being here sank in. ‘Lazaro...what do you want?’

He lifted his gaze. ‘I’m in the same hotel as last time. Come with me? Please? I have some things to say to you.’

That sounded ominous—in spite of the kiss, which Skye put down to a moment of madness. But they did need to talk. ‘Okay.’

He helped her to put on her coat and then took her bag. She decided not to fight the battle to get it back. A part of her was enjoying seeing such an Alpha male carrying a small patent cross-body bag over his shoulder.

They walked the short distance to the hotel in silence. And when they entered the lobby Skye felt a sense of déjà vu wash over her again. She remembered how excited she’d been. How in awe of Lazaro. How life-changing that night had been. Literally.

The feeling of déjà vu got worse when they stopped outside the same suite. And then went in. Not that Skye remembered much about it from the last time. Her head had been too full of Lazaro and what was to come.

Now it was different. Even though she couldn’t deny the awareness humming under her skin.

Lazaro took off his coat, revealing a long-sleeved sweater and dark trousers. He looked totally urbane, but when he turned to face her she could see the strength of his chest under the thin material and her mouth dried.

‘Do you want tea, coffee?’

Skye shook her head. He came over to her.

‘Let me take your coat.’

Ridiculously, she felt like saying no, but she let him take it, wondering if it was her imagination that his fingers l

ingered on her neck.

Tension wound tight inside her. ‘What do you want to talk about?’

Lazaro stuck his hands in his pockets. ‘I want you to come back to Madrid with me. I don’t want you living in another city. I want you to have the baby in Spain. And I’m prepared to compromise on the house. I looked at that one you liked near the park...it’s beautiful. The kind of place I would never have considered. It needs some work, but it should be ready by the time the baby is here.’

Skye absorbed this, and then realisation sank in. ‘You’ve bought it already?’

He nodded.

‘But...what about the park across the road...? Won’t it be difficult for you?’

He made a face. ‘If anything, I fantasised about living in one of those palatial houses by the park more than I ever did about living in the suburbs. I’d just forgotten...’

‘I didn’t think you were going to live with us.’

‘I don’t think I’d truly considered doing that either. But I want something different now. I want to give this a go properly. A life together.’

Skye’s legs felt suspiciously wobbly. She moved over to a chair and sat down. ‘What’s changed?’