The Heiress's Pregnancy Surprise (Heirs to an Empire 2)

“It’s complicated, Maman.”

“It usually is when a man is involved.”

Charlotte glanced up sharply. “There is no man.”

“If you say so.”

The coffee service arrived, and Aurora went to fix herself a cup. Charlotte held back. She was so out of sorts today that the smell of the coffee wasn’t as inviting as she would have hoped. It actually smelled a bit sharp, acrid. “Is the coffee burnt?”

“I don’t think so.” Aurora liked hers black and took a sip. “Tastes fine to me. Now, tell me what happened in New York. You gave up your signature look midtrip and then you dealt with Amelie and the canceled show. And then went on to host the party. You did a wonderful job, Charlotte. You really stepped into your own. So why have you been so sad since your return?”

Charlotte’s stomach turned at the scent of the coffee, and she reached for one of the peppermint tea bags that were usually meant for Arabella. “I haven’t been sad. I’ve just been tired.”

Aurora’s brow creased in concern. “You’ve been working too hard. Getting run-down. Have you had your iron checked?”

“Don’t fuss, Maman. I’m fine.”

“It has to do with Jacob Wolfe, doesn’t it?”

Just hearing his name made her heart ache. How ridiculous. “Jacob Wolfe was my bodyguard. He’s a nice man. That’s all.”

That’s all there could be. In six weeks, not once had he tried to make contact. That said it all.

“He’s six foot three of gorgeous male that you shared an apartment with for nine days. I would have thought he’d be irresistible.”

Charlotte nearly ripped the tea bag in half, taking it out of the paper. “Maman, stop. Please.” She dropped the bag in the cup and then added hot water. Mint rose in the steam and she breathed it in. Yes, that was better than coffee.

“Oh, ma petite. I am sorry. I was teasing but I can see it is not amusing.” She retrieved the magazine and flipped to the page with the picture of them dancing. “You look very happy here. And relaxed. You became...friends?”

Charlotte nodded slightly, a lump in her throat.

“Lovers? Oh, I know, I’m not supposed to ask that of my grown children. But the party was after the sabotage, and he stayed in New York. With you.”

“His contract was until the Saturday.”

“Sweetheart, I spoke to both of you on that Wednesday. His services were no longer required. He got his fee, but he wasn’t under obligation to stay. But he did. Why?”

Holding it inside was killing her. It was silly to think that she’d fallen for someone so quickly, but here she was six weeks later, unable to eat or get enough sleep. She went to a chair and sat down, cradling her cup of tea. Aurora followed and took a chair next to her.

“He stayed because I asked him to. Because he went to the party with me as my friend and that night he became my lover. He made me feel...different. Braver. He let me be myself and wasn’t threatened. And he wanted nothing from me. Do you know how rare that is?”

“Oui, ma petite.” Aurora put down her cup. “I do.” She took Charlotte’s hand in hers. “So what went wrong?”

Charlotte pulled away. “Nothing. We have very different lives, and we don’t even live in the same country. It would never work.”

“Your brother is doing fine with that with Gabi,” Aurora pointed out.

“Just because it works for them doesn’t mean it would for us. Besides, our jobs keep us both very busy. We don’t have time for a relationship.”

Aurora sighed. “Well, perhaps it’s for the best, then.”

Something twigged in Charlotte, got her hackles up just a bit. Whenever her mother took that “it’s for the best” tone, it was never quite sincere. Indeed, it usually ended up with

Charlotte feeling flawed and a disappointment.

“What do you mean?” She put down her cup. Maybe the tea wasn’t a good idea, either. Her stomach turned over. Or maybe it was conflict making her nauseated.

Aurora crossed her legs and waved a hand in a graceful gesture. “Oh, it’s just that if you were really smitten, you wouldn’t be finding all kinds of excuses.”