The Virgin's Secret

With a sinking feeling Angel knew that now was the time. Distance hadn’t healed her hurt or clarified things; it had made it worse.

‘Found out what, Angel?’

She felt a delicate fluttering, as if their baby was already siding with its father, demanding she tell the truth.

‘I’m pregnant, Leo.’

For a long moment nothing happened. Neither one of them moved. And then Leo did the last thing Angel had expected. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected, but it had something to do with a horrorstruck expression or disbelief.

He reached around behind her neck and pulled the apron over her head. Then he pulled her forward and opened the apron at the back. His big hands on her made Angel’s pulse quicken, her breathing catch.

‘Leo, what are you—?’

But he just stopped for a moment and put a finger to her mouth. ‘Shh.’

Then he pulled the apron away, and her bump was bared in all its tiny proud glory, revealed in her figure-hugging black stretchy top. Leo put his hands over it, fingers stretching out around the sides. Angel held her breath, her eyes widening at seeing him like this, prostrate at her feet.

The feel of his hands on her belly was bringing up so many emotions. Angel looked at Leo, and she could see a look of wonder come over his face. She shut down the impulse to indulge in a dangerous fantasy.

‘Leo, why did you come here?’

He shook his head, his hands still on her belly. ‘How can you ask that? You should have told me, Angel.’

Shame lanced Angel. Leo being disappointed was so much worse than Leo being all arrogant and demanding. She hung her head. ?

?I didn’t know until about two months ago, and then when I found out…’

The moment she’d found out about the pregnancy hormones had taken over, and the thought of bumping into him, or seeing him with a new woman, had been too much to bear. So, like a coward, she’d run to the farthest place she’d known.

Angel lifted her head, feeling some fire come back. She couldn’t think with Leo looking at her so closely, touching her. She stood up with effort, dislodging his hands, and stepped away. Instantly she felt bereft.

‘Look, Leo, our relationship was never about a happy-ever-after, even if you did want me to stay on as your mistress. I overheard your conversation with Ari Levakis in your office.’ Angel waved her hand in agitation, aghast she’d let that slip out so easily. ‘What I heard doesn’t matter. The thing is, I knew that things would come to an end eventually.’

Her eyes flicked to him, but he looked stonily impenetrable. Angel was so emotional at the moment the smallest thing could set her off. ‘Look, Leo, if you’ve come just to ask me to be your mistress again—’

He crossed his arms and sent a pointed look to her belly. ‘I think that we’ve gone beyond that point now, don’t you?’

She reacted from a deep desire to self-protect. ‘Leo, I won’t have you think that just because I’m pregnant I’m going to submit to some sort of marriage of convenience. I know from what I heard you tell Ari that you’d no plans of settling down with me—I can only imagine how the thought of having to settle down with a Kassianides must turn your—’

‘Angel, stop talking.’

Angel stopped. Emotion wasn’t far away. Leo’s arms dropped and he came closer. Angel would have backed away, but a table was behind her. She put up a hand. ‘Leo, please don’t…’

‘Don’t what, Angel? Touch you? I can’t help it if we’re in the same room. What else? Don’t come after you? I can’t help that either. I would have gone to the ends of the earth to find you.’ His voice was rough.

Angel’s heart started beating very rapidly. ‘Leo, stop this. Don’t think you’re going to get the package now, just because you’ve found me and I’m pregnant and it’s all convenient. That’s exactly what I don’t want.’

Leo seemed to ignore what she’d said, and reached out to loosen the pin holding her hair up. She hadn’t had it cut in months and it had grown longer, falling heavily around her shoulders.

‘You seem to be doing enough thinking for the both of us.’

He was twining a piece of her hair around his finger, and Angel felt curiously paralysed. He came closer, until she could feel her belly touching him. A fire started down low, preparing her body for him in a way that she hadn’t felt for long weeks.

‘When you left me, Angel Kassianides, I went to a dark place.’

Angel looked up, mesmerised despite herself. ‘You did?’

Leo nodded and grimaced. ‘I came home from New York, found your note and you gone. I trashed the jewellery workshop and promptly flew back to New York for a month, where I spent far too much time in a dingy Irish bar.’