Pregnant by the Rival CEO

She finally turned to look at him. “I can’t get pregnant.”

“What?”

“Or at least not until I get some of my plumbing fixed.”

“I’m sorry. You’ve lost me.”

She rolled over, pulled the sheet up over her chest and sat up in bed. He hated the fact that something he’d said made her want to cover up, but he did need to know what in the world she was talking about.

“A fertility doctor told me I can’t conceive. I’d gone to talk to him about artificial insemination.”

“You’re twenty-eight years old. Why would you think about doing something like that?” He watched a wave of embarrassment cross her face. It nearly took his breath away. He eased closer to her, craving her touch, her smell.

“Losing my dad really made me think about having a baby. About how much I want that in my life at some point.”

“Oh.” It was hard to imagine ever feeling that way, but lots of people did. Most people, in fact. Or so it seemed.

“All I could think was what if I never find the right guy? Being a female executive is tough. Most men let their ego get in the way.”

He had to wonder what sorts of men she’d dated, but he wasn’t about to ask. There was no point worrying about that particular obstacle. He’d never get past the barrier of Adam. “I hadn’t considered that.”

“I’ve never been serious enough about anyone to want to have a child. And losing my dad underscored how important my family is to me. My whole life revolves around them. Adam and Melanie are building a future together and...” Her voice wavered and she looked up at the ceiling. “This is the world’s worst pillow talk. I’m sorry.”

He hated seeing her upset. He tried to imagine a scenario in which he could share something like this, something so deeply personal, the sort of thing that left a human hopelessly vulnerable. He gave her a lot of credit for having the courage to be so open. “It’s okay. You should tell me about it, if you want to.”

“Really? Why?”

He took her hand in his. It wasn’t meant as romance, but his inclination to comfort her was strong. “Because I care.”

Anna explained everything her doctor had told her about scar tissue and surgery and how that affected her ability to get pregnant. He listened intently, saddened that she’d had to go through that. She clearly cared a lot about having a child. Why else would she have gone to a specialist about it?

“What did your mom say?” he asked.

“I never told her. I never told anyone.” The wobble in her voice was back, the one he hated hearing.

If she’d never told anyone, that meant he was the first. The weight of that wasn’t easy to bear. Here she was, in his bed, after giving him the most precious thing she could give to him, and now she was baring her soul. He never harbored guilt over a business decision, but his secret weighed on him. He was trying to engineer the takeover of her family’s corporation, and she had no idea. What if that came to light? She would never, ever forgive him. And why should she? “Why didn’t you tell anyone about what the doctor had said?”

“I wasn’t sure I could talk about it without crying.”

He was glad she’d been able to hold back tears. He didn’t do well when a woman cried. He never knew what to do or say other than give a hug, which he knew didn’t fix a damn thing. “But the doctor said it could be fixed, right? With surgery?”

“Yes, but the point was that I just wanted something to be right, to be easy. Everything over the last year has been a nightmare. This was supposed to be my way of looking to the future. I guess I felt a little defeated.”

“So we didn’t just make a baby.”

“We didn’t just make a baby.”

Relief washed over him again. No baby. Good. Things were tangled enough. Now he just had to deal with his own internal conflict over the LangTel takeover plan, and that might require action on his part. He was excellent at keeping the business and personal separate, and in this case, he’d clearly allowed the two to commingle far too much.

“Are you feeling better now?” she asked. “You were pretty panicked there for a minute.”

He laughed quietly. He had indeed let it get the better of him. “I’m fine. Although I wish you would’ve told me about this earlier. We could’ve skipped the condom all together. I’m clean. I get tested every year for my physical. Plus, I’ve never not used one, so it would be virtually impossible.”