Sensing her inner strength and determination, Quinn shrugged. ‘Looks like you’ve got it all in hand.’
Magenta smiled. ‘There still room for a father in the picture—if he wants to be included, that is. I can understand this has come as a shock to you.’
‘To put it mildly,’ Quinn agreed.
‘And I’m sorry if you think I’ve been keeping things from you.’
‘Aren’t women supposed to be enigmas?’
‘Like the sphynx?’
‘Like Magenta Steele,’ Quinn said, eyeing her keenly. ‘You’re definitely a one-off.’ He shook his head. ‘No one could deny that.’
She smiled at him a little hesitantly. With the bounce of joy when they talked about their baby came the dread of separation. And now Quinn had just made that worse by caring so much.
‘Whatever you want to do, I’ll be here for you, Magenta.’
Quinn couldn’t know how poignant a statement that was. And I’ll always love you, Magenta thought, staring deep into his eyes. If she could only bind this moment and keep it just the way it was for ever.
‘You’re sure you want this baby?’
‘Absolutely sure,’ she confirmed.
‘Good.’ Quinn stared at her for a moment, and then he drew her close. ‘Now all you have to do is tell me what you’re hiding from me, Magenta.’
He knew her too well. She might have known he would ask, and what could she tell him? If she told Quinn the truth he’d think her mad—and, worse, he’d think her incapable of looking after their child. ‘Can’t we just have now?’
‘Now?’ Quinn pulled back to stare at her with eyes that were shadowed with as many secrets as her own. ‘What is “now”, Magenta? This breath? This day? This dream we call life?’
She could feel him pulling away from her, feel the distance growing between them as surely as if Quinn had removed his hands from her back and his breath from her face. She wished she could find the words to heal the broken bond between them, but there were no words. Now Quinn was walking away from her, closing himself off in every way there was.
But then he stopped and turned. ‘We have to make this work,’ he said. ‘I’m not sure how we’re going to do that yet, but I’ll find a way.’
The breath caught in her throat. She knew she should be happy, and she would have been if she hadn’t known theirs was a problem Quinn couldn’t seize hold of and fix.
‘Don’t look at me like that,’ he said, sensing her concern. ‘This won’t come together unless you believe in me.’
Quinn was a warrior who refused to accept defeat, and for one crazy moment it occurred to Magenta that he might be wrestling the same mysterious forces that she was. That was too much for her bruised and battered brain to take in. But he did seem to be staring past her to some place she couldn’t see, and she let out a relieved breath when his storm-dark eyes focused on her face again. ‘You don’t have to be part of this, Quinn.’
‘I’m determined to be.’ A faint smile touched the corner of his mouth. ‘Who’d have thought?’
Yes, who’d have thought? But she could no more plan for a future with Quinn than she could wake up. And how long could she keep up this deception? Could she lie to the father of her child? ‘Quinn, there’s something I must tell you.’
‘Not now, Magenta. I know you’re worried about the future and I can understand why. I know you want me to tell you where this will lead, but truthfully I don’t know.’
How could he know when she was nothing more than a sham, an illusion, a figment of her own imagination? ‘This isn’t what you think.’
‘You’re pregnant with my baby. How different can it be?’
You have no idea, Magenta thought.
‘Unless it’s not my baby?’
Quinn’s stare frightened her. ‘Don’t say that.’ She couldn’t bear to see the doubt in his eyes.
‘Is this my baby? It’s a simple question. Is the child you’re carrying mine, Magenta?’
The air between them was suddenly charged with fury and passion, but she stared into Quinn’s gaze without flinching. ‘Yes, I’m carrying your baby. And realising that was a shock to me to begin with,’ Magenta admitted. ‘But now I can only think of my pregnancy as an unexpected blessing.’
Quinn stared at her in silence and then he said, ‘You are the mother of my child, and as such I will always protect you.’
‘I can look after myself, Quinn.’
‘You won’t have to. You’re not alone.’