The Greek Doctor's New-Year Baby

She went white. ‘Are you suggesting that I have a termination?’

‘No, of course I’m not.’ He stared at her in disbelief. ‘What kind of man do you think I am? No. You’re pregnant with my baby, so you’re moving in with me.’

She blinked. ‘Don’t you boss me about, Theo Petrakis.’

‘In my culture, a man looks after his woman.’

‘I’m not your woman.’

‘You’re expecting my child. That makes you my woman.’ As well as the love of his life. But right now he had a feeling she was too angry to hear that.

‘Theo, you don’t even want children!’

Actually, he did. Though the potential for catastrophe turned his stomach into knots. ‘I don’t have a choice in the matter.’

She lifted her chin. ‘Yes, you do. You can walk away.’

‘No, I can’t. And I don’t want to either. I’m not going to walk away from you, Maddie.’ He reached across and took her hand. ‘You’re having my child. And no child of mine will have a single parent. You’re going to marry me.’

‘No way.’ She shook her hand free.

What? But…he’d thought that was what she wanted. Marriage and babies. ‘Why not?’

‘We’ve only known each other a few weeks.’

Now he knew what the problem was.

And he knew the answer, too. He recaptured her hand. ‘I know you got married to Harry in a rush, and it all went wrong, but this is different. I’m not Harry.’

‘But it’ll still go wrong. You said you don’t want marriage and babies.’ She lifted her chin. ‘You’ll resent me for trapping you.’

‘You’re not trapping me and I won’t resent you, Maddie. Far from it. I want to look after you.’

She rolled her eyes. ‘I’m a big girl. I can look after myself.’

‘True. But you don’t have to.’ He sighed. ‘Look, of course you have doubts. As I do. You’re afraid. As I am. But it’ll make a difference if we face this together. Because we’ll be supporting each other, we’ll get through the fear. We’re a great team at work. And we’re a great team outside work, too. The bits where I’m scared, you’re brave. The bits where you’re scared, I’m brave.’

She was silent, as if digesting his words.

He tried again. ‘I’m not going to lie to you the way Harry did. I won’t cheat on you, and I’m not going to make promises I won’t keep. The bottom line is, you’re having my baby and we’re going to get married.’

She shook her head. ‘There are plenty of single parents around. This is the twenty-first century. You don’t have to get married any more just because you’re having a baby.’

‘It works like that in my country.’

‘Well, we’re in mine—which, as you have English grandparents, is half yours anyway,’ she pointed out, ‘so tough.’

‘It will be tough, Maddie, going it alone. Especially because you don’t have to. Look, you grew up with two parents.’ He swallowed hard. ‘So did I. Eventually. And I think that’s healthy. In my view, a child is best off with two parents.’

‘Not if the parents are going to argue all the time.’

‘Have we argued before today?’ he asked. ‘I mean, seriously argued?’

‘We’re arguing now.’

He could see the glitter of tears in her eyes. Hell. He didn’t want it to be this way. ‘Matia mou, I’m sorry. I’m making a mess of this. And I really didn’t mean to hurt you.’ He sighed. ‘I don’t think I can make this any worse right now, so I may as well…’ He took the box from his pocket. ‘Here. I bought you this in Greece.’

She frowned. ‘I said you didn’t need to bring me anything back.’

‘This is different.’ He put the box in her hands.

She was still frowning, but then she opened the box. Saw the ring sporting a pink stone cut in a heart shape. Looked at him with a hundred questions in her eyes. ‘Theo?’

‘It’s an engagement ring, Maddie,’ he said softly. ‘Just so you know I’m not asking you to marry me because of the baby. I was going to ask you to marry me tonight anyway. Yes, I probably should have waited and chosen the ring with you, but I happened to see this and it was just so you. A pink diamond. Sparkly. Like the way you’ve put sparkle into my life.’

This time her eyes brimmed over and a tear trickled silently down her cheek. ‘So you don’t want to get married to me just because of the baby?’

‘I didn’t know about the baby when I bought the ring, kardoula mou. Yes, of course I want you for you.’