Everything about Daisy drew him—not just her body, her pregnancy-swollen breasts, or the curve of her belly. Everything. The way she drew the chopsticks back slowly from her lips. The flutter of her dark lashes against her cheeks. The graceful swoop of her neck before it disappeared beneath the white cotton collar of her shirt. Her thick brown hair falling in waves over her shoulders. Even her voice, as she teased him about the fundraiser he’d held last year, because his favored politician had lost.
He looked at her. “Will you stay with me?” he asked quietly. “At least until the baby is born?”
Her seafoam green eyes pulled him into the waves, like a siren luring him to drown.
“It’s not that simple,” she said.
“I know. For you, it is not. But it is for me.” Folding his hands, he leaned forward. “Give me the chance to earn your trust. And show you that I can be the partner you need. That our baby needs.”
Her cheeks burned red beneath his gaze. He felt out of his element. He knew he should probably play it cool. Act cold. Manipulate, seize control.
But for the first time in his adult life, he could not. Not now. Not with her.
All he could do was ask.
Daisy looked away. “I’m planning to move to California in September. For nursing school.”
“Why? You don’t need to work.” The thought of her moving three thousand miles away chilled him. “I will always support you.”
“What if you change your mind?” She snorted. “Do you expect me to just give myself up to your hands?”
An erotic image went through him of his hands stroking her naked body. He took a deep breath. “At least stay with me until September. Let me take care of you while you’re pregnant. Give me a chance to bond with our daughter after she’s born. Then you can see how you feel.”
She bit her lip. “Stay here through the summer?”
He could feel her weakening. “As long as you like. Either way, you and the baby will never worry about money again.”
“I’m not asking you to support me, Leonidas.”
“You’re the mother of my child. I will always provide for you. It’s my job as a man.” Looking down at her, he said quietly, “You would not try to deny me that.”
She chewed her lip uncertainly, then sighed. “I guess I could stay until September. If you’re sure you really want me here that long?”
“I’m sure,” he said automatically.
“Three months living with a pregnant woman? A whole summer with a crying baby? That won’t cramp your style?”
“It’s what I want.”
“Well.” She gave a reluctant smile. “I’ve imposed on Franck’s charity long enough. I might as well impose on you for a while.”
“It’s no imposition. I want to marry you.”
She looked away. Her cheeks burned as she mumbled, “So does he.”
Leonidas gaped. “What!”
Daisy rolled her eyes. “It was a pity proposal. He felt sorry for me.”
Leonidas doubted pity had anything to do with it. “Did he try to kiss you?”
She looked shocked. “Kiss me? Of course not—Franck is old enough to be my father!” But Leonidas saw sudden uneasiness in her eyes, and he wondered exactly what Franck Bain had said to her. He made a mental note to keep the middle-aged artist on his radar.
He was furious that another man had made a move on her. How dared he? She was carrying Leonidas’s baby!
But could he blame Bain for wanting her? Any man would want Daisy. It made Leonidas all the more determined to marry her, and claim her as his own.
She tilted her head, looking up at him through dark lashes. “At least you have good reason to want me here. You love our baby.” She paused. “I never expected that.”