“Perhaps you went about it the wrong way,” Cody countered.
Nathan crossed his arm over his chest. “Perhaps I did.”
There was no perhaps about it. Emma needed the sort of fairy-tale romance he couldn’t give her. She hadn’t been happy with his passion and promises of fidelity. She wanted him to love her. She thought that would make her happy. Ridiculous. Love only led to disappointment and heartache. Look how his mother had suffered as the mistress of a man who would never truly be hers. Look at how he’d been ostracized by his brothers. Look what trying to be accepted by them had done to his life. Love wouldn’t make anyone happy.
“Try asking her again. Things are a little different for her these days.”
“Because she’s broke?”
Cody stared at Nathan like he was the biggest idiot on the planet. “Because she’s pregnant.”
“Pregnant?” Nathan echoed. The floor shifted beneath his feet. “Are you sure?”
“As sure as a pregnancy test can be.” Cody put his hand on Nathan’s arm. “You look like you need to sit down.”
Nathan dropped into a chair. “Emma’s pregnant? Why didn’t she tell me?”
“I figured she had.”
Nathan pinned his best friend wi
th a hot glare. “And you thought I wasn’t going to do the right thing by her?”
Cody shrugged, but before he could defend himself against Nathan’s accusation, his cell phone rang. While Cody took the call, Nathan leapt from the chair and began to pace.
How long had Emma known she was pregnant? Why hadn’t she called or come by to let him know he was about to be a father?
A father. Nathan was lightheaded with relief.
He stared at the art on his walls. He and Emma were permanently linked now. She would marry him. He wasn’t going to give up until she agreed. No child of his was going to grow up illegitimate.
“Looks like I don’t have time for lunch after all,” Cody said. “Jaime’s water just broke. You’ve got to talk to my sister.”
“Tell me something I don’t know,” Nathan muttered.
After Cody left, Nathan grabbed his car keys and headed for the elevator. He got no farther than Sebastian’s office.
“What did he want?” Max demanded, stepping into the hall and blocking Nathan’s path.
“He came to have lunch.”
“That’s it?” Sebastian stepped from his office and exchanged a glance with Max.
Their nonverbal communication grated on Nathan. He wrestled with the resentment that had become such a part of him and the revelation that he wanted to work with Max and Sebastian instead of against them. But how was he going to make that happen when they shut him out? They’d always had each other. They didn’t need him. Disappointment made him surly.
“And to deliver a message that Silas is still interested in going forward.”
“We’ve already decided that we’re out,” Max said.
“I’ve got some friends who would jump at the chance to get in on this with me.”
Sebastian looked disappointed. “Are you considering it?”
“Any reason why I shouldn’t?” He looked from one to the other.
“Is that what you want?” Max demanded, frowning.
“I thought you came back to Houston because you wanted to work with us,” Sebastian added.