Her Christmas Pregnancy Surprise

He made a mental note to speak with Elaine at a later date about removing Pepper from their list of vendors. No matter how good Pepper was, they needed to maintain their distance. He felt bad about having to do it, but it was for the best—for both of their sakes. Because no matter how much they both wanted to deny it, there was still chemistry sizzling between them.

His gaze kept straying to Pepper. He assured himself that it was his job to keep an eye on the staff, to make sure the party was running smoothly. He noticed her on the phone. He couldn’t have his employees chatting while they were supposed to be working. She turned her back to him and headed toward the kitchen with the phone pressed to her ear.

His jaw tightened. Surely she had to know how important this party was to him. He set off after her. When he stepped into the kitchen, the door almost bumped Pepper.

“Are you sure?” she said into the phone. “Okay. Okay. I... I’m out of town. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

He couldn’t see her face, but he could hear the tremor in her voice. “What’s the matter?”

She turned to him. Her face was white like the frosted snowflake cookies on the buffet. Her eyes filled with unshed tears, but she didn’t speak.

“What’s the matter?” He repeated with more urgency.

“I have to go.” She rushed to the coat check.

He followed her. “Go where?”

She attempted to shove her hand in the sleeve of her coat, but missed. She tried again and got it. Her movements were quick and jerky. She muttered something under her breath.

“What did you say?”

“My backpack. I need my backpack.”

It was hanging right in front of her. He took it down from the hook. “Here you go. Now tell me, what is going on?”

“I don’t have time. I have to go.”

Concern pumped through his veins. He took her by the shoulders. “Pepper, look at me.” When her wide-eyed stare met his, he said, “Tell me what’s going on.”

“The bakery. It’s on fire.”

“Fire?” This was the very last thing he was expecting her to say. “Are you sure?”

“It was the alarm company.”

“Okay.” He rushed to process this information. “Maybe it’s a false alarm. Those happen all of the time.”

“I have to go.” She looked as though she was trying to figure out how to get around him, as he was blocking the doorway.

There was no way she was in any condition to drive. Before he could decide the right and the wrong of it, he said, “I’ll take you.”

“Fine. Let’s go.”

The fact that she didn’t argue with him let him know how scared she was of losing the most important thing in her life. He texted his driver to meet them in the back. And then he texted Elaine to let her know that she was in charge of the party, as he had an emergency.

Once they were seated in the back of the black sedan, the driver wasted no time heading south to the city. Simon wasn’t sure what to do to comfort Pepper. She wrung her hands together as she stared out the window at the passing lights.

He wanted to say something—do something—to lessen her worry. “Everything will be all right.”

Her head whipped around and her worried gaze met his. “You don’t know that. I was certain I’d forgotten something when we left. What if it was the stove? What if I started the fire?”

He reached out, taking her hand in his and giving it a squeeze. “If that’s the case, we’ll deal with it.”

“Everything I had—everything I dreamed about—is tied up in the bakery. What will I do? How could I be so stupid?”

“Calm down. You don’t even know if anything happened.”

She left her hand in his. It felt comfortable there, as though they’d been doing it for years. And though it was a small gesture, at least he was able to do something for her.