Her chin jutted out. “Pulling rank?”
“Pulling strings, if I have to,” he replied.
“Charming.”
“I’m glad you’re still impressed by my charm, among my other sterling qualities.”
Abruptly, she turned, leaving him to follow her into the vestibule of her building.
“Pressing your case?” she tossed out as they crossed to the elevator and she jabbed a button. “I think we’ve said all there is to say.”
“Hardly,” he contradicted, his voice too close for comfort.
Out on the busy street, at least the forcefulness of Sawyer’s presence had been muted by the crowd. Here in her building, though, she felt its full, unmitigated effect.
He was big and overpoweringly male, and despite herself, she felt a primitive awareness.
They rode up in the elevator in silence, and then he let them into her loft with her keys.
She should have bristled at his presumption, but the truth was, she admitted to herself with disheartening frankness, if not for Sawyer, Pink Teddy Designs would no longer even exist.
And yet, he didn’t own her.
She dropped her purse on her desk and turned to face him.
“I have to admit,” he said with unreassuring calm, “it didn’t occur to me initially to look for you in the most obvious of places. You’ve surprised me.”
She felt her pulse thrum through her veins. “I’m not hiding, Sawyer. I just chose to leave you. Unlike you, I have nothing to hide.”
“Don’t you?” he said, his facial features tightening, and anger lacing his soft words.
Her chin came up, but she didn’t answer him. She wasn’t sure she trusted herself to repeat the lie.
Instead, she walked over to her safe and used the combination she’d committed to memory to open it. She kept Pink Teddy’s more precious pieces inside.
Since he’d presented her with an opportunity, she thought she’d hand over his purchases to him—perhaps that would convince him that the two of them were really finished.
She retrieved two green felt boxes and walked back toward him. “I’ve finished the pieces you commissioned.”
As she opened the bigger box, her gut twisted. All this time, she’d been working on this project—his gift to another woman—and he’d been deceiving her.
She watched now as Sawyer stared at the glittering gems.
She knew what he was seeing. Initially by chance, and then by design, she’d fashioned a necklace with alternating emeralds and diamonds that complemented the Langsford tiara.
She knew she’d outdone herself, though pleasure had mixed with pain as she’d worked, so that the project had become a sweet torment. Presumably, Sawyer’s mistress would get the emerald necklace, and in all likelihood, sometime in the future, another woman would wear the Langsford tiara as Sawyer’s wife.
The creation of the necklace had been an act of self-flagellation, she admitted to herself. It had perhaps started as a reminder not to fall for Sawyer, but it had evolved from there. Had she been half hoping to foster feelings in him for her? Had she begun to hope she’d be the owner of the jewelry she fashioned?
Except she hadn’t counted on becoming pregnant. Except she hadn’t known of his ultimate treachery.
His face inscrutable, Sawyer lifted the necklace with one hand, letting the jewels run over his fingers like a waterfall.
Tamara placed the now-empty jewelry box on her work table, and then opened the smaller velvet case.
Emerald earrings immediately caught the light.
In her opinion, the earrings were just as breathtaking as the necklace.
She glanced at Sawyer’s face and noticed his eyes had narrowed. Did he see the similarities to the Langsford emerald tiara here, too?
His face unreadable, Sawyer took the case from her. “They’re exactly what I was looking for.”
A fresh stab of pain shot through her, and she called herself all kinds of fool. “You know what they say. Give the client what they don’t know they want.”
“Is that what you do?” he asked, setting aside the case with the earrings with what seemed like deceptive calm.
Tamara raised her chin. “Now you can leave.”
“I disagree.” He quirked a brow. “When were you planning to tell me you’re pregnant?”
He said it so quietly she looked at him blankly for a second. He couldn’t possibly—
Then she froze. “What makes you ask that?”
“Don’t bother to deny it,” he said with sudden and quiet force.
She searched his gaze, holding her ground. “And what if I am?”
His eyes locked with hers. “Then a divorce is bloody well off the table. There is no way I’ll let anyone call into question the legitimacy of the heir to the earldom.”
Of course, Tamara thought with a sinking heart. Even apart from his agreement with her father, Sawyer’s concern was with his potential future heir, not with her.
“It could be a girl,” she pointed out challengingly.
“Regardless.” His eyes traveled down her dress, intimate and probing, reminding her all too forcefully of all they’d been to one another.
“How did you find out?” she asked.
His eyes flashed. “A phone message left by the doctor’s office. You need to reschedule your appointment.”
Tamara closed her eyes briefly. She’d had her home number transferred from the SoHo loft to Sawyer’s town house after the wedding. In her turmoil, she couldn’t believe she’d forgotten to do something so basic as to call her doctor’s office and update her contact information.
So Sawyer knew all, and much earlier than she’d anticipated and hoped. So much for keeping a secret. She hadn’t even had time to marshal her forces.
She looked at Sawyer challengingly. “This pregnancy doesn’t change anything.”
“Permit me to disagree. It changes everything.”
“All right, it changes everything,” she retorted. “I’ll never forget that this baby was conceived to fulfill some—” she waved her hand “—deal with my father.”
They were too close, furious with each other.
“All those pretty words,” she scoffed, “when you were just deceiv—”
He cut her off with a hard kiss, reaching deep into her soul.
She breathed in his musky male scent and sensed the leashed power in him. He caressed her mouth, demanding a response from her that she unwittingly gave.
When he raised his head, he demanded, “Does this feel real to you?”