He sat back in his chair and gazed upon her as if she were a child ready to leave the nest. “Then I’ll support you any way I can.”
“Gee, thanks,” she muttered, feeling churlish and self-righteous all at the same time.
When Victor leaned forward, his eyes grew even more sincere. He opened his hands on the desk, palms up, as if he were offering the world. “What can I do to help make this happen?”
“For God’s sake, Victor. I don’t need your help. I’m totally capable.”
“You might not need me, but I want to help. I love you, Olivia.”
Her stomach burned with sudden rage. “You know who I think needs your help? And your love? Your pregnant girlfriend.”
His face changed color so quickly she almost reached forward to make sure he didn’t fall face-first onto her desk. “What are you talking about?” he breathed.
“I saw her at the restaurant. She’s pregnant.”
The grayness of his skin slowly warmed to pink. The tips of his ears turned red as he scrubbed his hands over his face. “God,” he groaned.
“Why do you keep telling me that you love me when you’re having a baby with Allison?”
“I don’t want this.” He dragged his fingers through his hair. “I don’t want this. Listen—” When he reached for her, she jerked away. “Please, Olivia. I never stopped loving you. I know I screwed up, and I couldn’t figure out how to fix it—”
“There’s no way to fix it! You betrayed me!”
“I know, but I thought…I thought if I just gave it time, you’d realize how much you need me.”
She sprang to her feet, pressing her fists against the desktop. “I don’t need you!”
“Okay. Okay, fine.” He held up both hands and smiled gently. “I get it. I meant that I thought you’d realize how much you love me. I was waiting for you.”
“You certainly managed to occupy yourself in the meantime.”
“Did I think you might get jealous? Yes. I thought the women would work to my advantage. But I’ve never loved any of them. And now… Shit.” He crumpled, collapsing back into his chair as if his bones had turned to mush. “I don’t want her, O. I want you.”
Her outrage drained away, and Olivia carefully lowered herself down to her chair. “Victor…she’s having your child. You’re going to have to try to love her.”
“Maybe it’s not mine,” he muttered.
“Was she dating anyone else?”
The way his eyes slid away made it clear he was only grasping at straws. “I don’t even want kids.”
It didn’t matter that she’d known that—her heart still wrenched at the words. He’d never said it so bluntly, never admitted it to her. There had always been excuses, reasons to delay, but he’d never admitted the bare truth…and now it was probably too late for her.
“I don’t love you, Victor. I haven’t loved you for a long time. And you owe it to this child to try. You can’t just pretend it doesn’t exist. You can’t treat her mother like crap. This will probably be your only child.”
“I can be a good father to it whether I’m with Allison or not. In fact—” his eyes glinted with a flash of sudden thought “—I’d probably be a much better father if I were with you. I’d be happy. I’d want to make you proud. And you’d be a wonderful stepmother. You’ve always wanted a baby.”
That blow fell so hard that Olivia felt numb from the force of it. “You bastard,” she whispered.
“What?”
“You bastard. I blamed myself, you know that? I thought maybe I hadn’t been straightforward enough. Maybe you didn’t realize that I wanted to be a mom. But you knew. You knew and you didn’t give a damn.”
“That’s not true. We were so busy, I just kept thinking we’d put it off, and then—”
“You’re a liar, Victor. And I’d never be with a man who could sneer about his own child the way you have with Allison’s baby. Get out of my office. Get out of my life.”
He stood but didn’t move away. “This has been a shock to you.”