He muttered something that sounded remarkably like ‘Good question’, which made no sense all, but then added something that did. ‘Finn Calvert,’ he said. ‘Look me up some time. Right now, though, we need to talk. Or rather, you do.’
As his gaze drilled into her Georgie went still, her pulse beginning to thud alarmingly fast. ‘Oh, well, I really just came to say thank you and goodnight. It’s been quite a day.’
‘You’re telling me.’
‘I’m exhausted.’
‘Too bad.’
‘Any chance we could talk tomorrow?’
‘No.’
She stuck her hands into the back pockets of her jeans and shifted her weight from one foot to the other. ‘Because, ah, you know, I think I hear Josh crying.’
‘No, you don’t,’ he said, the brusqueness of his tone reflecting the flint in his expression. ‘Carry on prevaricating, Georgie, and I’ll have a team of investigators looking into you so fast it’ll make your head spin.’
Her eyes widened. ‘Are you serious?’
‘One phone call. That’s all it will take. I have them on speed dial.’
Why would Finn have investigators on speed dial? was her instant thought in response to that, but it was a question for later. Because clearly the moment she’d been dreading had come. Would he really get her checked out? Or was he bluffing? Either way, it didn’t really matter. She couldn’t take the risk that he would do precisely as he threatened. She needed to control the narrative. She needed to provide context and detail to the cold, clinical facts. It was important that Finn understood exactly what she’d been through and sympathised. She needed him on her side. It wasn’t going to be easy. In fact, it was probably going to be hell, but it had to be done.
‘All right,’ she said with a nod as her stomach began to churn.
‘Sit down.’
On legs that felt as weak as water Georgie walked over to the sofa Finn indicated and perched on the edge of it, because to sink back into the soft cushions would result in an inadvisable degree of relaxation. She waited until he’d folded himself into one of the armchairs on the other side of the coffee table, then took a deep breath. She opened her mouth, then closed it and gave a helpless shrug. ‘I’m not quite sure where to start.’
‘How about by telling me why I am only now finding out I have a six-month-old son?’
She inwardly flinched at his tone, but it was as good a place to start as any, so she pulled herself together and mentally spooled back to the beginning. ‘As I told you earlier this evening,’ she said, deciding to start with the marginally easier bit, ‘you’re a hard man to track down.’
‘You’ve had fifteen months.’
‘Not quite.’
His brows snapped together. ‘What do you mean?’
‘I didn’t know I was pregnant until I went into hospital with severe stomach cramps back in July and had Josh four hours later.’
The silence that suddenly fell vibrated between them, laden with astonishment and disbelief. The tick of the clock on the mantelpiece, marking the passing of the seconds that felt like minutes, was deafening.
‘You didn’t know you were pregnant?’ he echoed eventually, the intensity of his gaze pinning her to the spot and making her squirm.
‘No.’
‘How is that even possible?’
‘That’s a question I’ve asked myself many times.’
‘And?’
‘I apparently had what’s called a cryptic pregnancy,’ she said, rubbing her damp palms down her denim-clad thighs. ‘I carried on taking the pill, so I didn’t miss a period. I didn’t have morning sickness or any other signs. Because I was so busy at work I was exhausted anyway. Maybe I ate a bit more and gained a couple of pounds, but I put it down to stress-related comfort eating and cut back.’ She paused to give him time to at least partly absorb what she’d said, then added, ‘I realise how this must sound.’
‘You can’t have any idea how this sounds,’ he said darkly. ‘Implausible doesn’t come anywhere near it.’
She couldn’t blame him for his scepticism. If she’d been in his shoes she’d have dismissed the idea as ridiculous too. ‘It’s rare but it happens. To one in about two thousand five hundred women. I had an anterior placenta. If I ever felt any movements, I put them down to tummy rumbles. I really had no idea. When my waters broke and I started having contractions right in the middle of A&E, no one was more surprised than me.’