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Shudders thudded down his spine every time he thought of that. He—a man for whom a dare was a delight. For whom nothing was worth doing if there wasn’t some risk involved. For whom the extreme was the pleasure. He was terrified of her being hurt by something supposedly more natural than any of the tricks he pulled. But then he had good reason to worry, and it was reason in itself to keep his mouth shut. She didn’t need anything to freak her out more. Not yet. So long as she saw the best doctor. Team of doctors. Bells, whistles, everything. He’d ensure she was okay, the baby was okay and that they had everything they needed to stay that way.
His lawyer tried to advise an overnight cool-down period, but his mind was made up. He wanted the paperwork signed and the process under way today. The sooner the place was fixed up, the sooner he could feel halfway to free again.
Kelsi took the morning off to see her doctor but went to work in the afternoon, sporting the rose-coloured contacts again. Anything to keep some positive in her perspective. Thank heavens for her overflowing inbox. Keeping busy was the only way to cope. She’d manage. She could totally manage all this—somehow—and keeping her job was a key element in her managing.
But when she got back to her home late in the day she saw a big new red Sold sticker slapped across the For Sale sign outside the building. The one she’d been ignoring for weeks now—hoping the building would be on the market for ages yet. Now she was going to have to move? Great.
She checked her box to see if there was a letter from the rental agency. There wasn’t. She got to the big door and saw it was ajar. Her pulse accelerated when she heard voices coming from inside. She pushed the door wider and walked to the stairs. There were four men at the top talking. One broke from the group and came down towards where she’d frozen, third step up.
‘What are you doing here?’ Her pulse just broke the sound barrier with its speed.
‘I live here now,’ Jack answered, as if it were nothing.
‘What?’ She managed to look past him and saw one of the men busy staring at the walls and writing things on a notebook.
‘I’ve bought the building.’
‘You’ve what?’
‘It was for sale. I bought it.’
‘Just like that?’
‘Cash buyer.’ He suddenly grinned. ‘Can move things fast.’
She swallowed, trying not to stare, because now his eyes were twinkling and hers were starved for the sight of him.
‘What are you going to do with four flats?’
‘I’m reconverting it into the one house.’
She gripped the banister to stop herself tumbling back down. ‘So you’re evicting me.’
He laughed and moved a couple more steps down towards her. ‘No.’
Oh, now he’d got close. Too close.
‘I’m converting the other three apartments and keeping yours. When the baby arrives you can move into the big space and when I’m here I’ll go into the flat. That way I’ll be near you both. You can work from home, and I’ll be involved with the baby. It’s the perfect solution.’
It sounded far from perfect to her. They were going to be under the same roof? He was going to move in and be some kind of flatmate? How was she supposed to get over the raunch feelings then?
‘Your rent payments cease immediately.’
Kelsi put both hands on the banister.
‘It’s going to be noisy round here for a while, but I want the conversion done as soon as possible.’ He took another step down so he was only one away from her. ‘The house will be vulnerable with the renovations going on. Can I move you to a hotel for the next few weeks?’
‘No. I’m staying here,’ she said firmly. So much was changing in her life. So much was out of her control. And she didn’t want him to suddenly be calling all the shots like this. This was crazy.
‘Yeah, I thought you’d say that.’ His lazy smile appeared again, ‘I’ve moved into the one next door.’
‘You’ve what?’
‘I’m in the flat next to yours.’
He was going to be through the wall? Now? No way.
‘You don’t need to stay here.’ She clamped down on the wayward lick of pleasure curling through her lower belly.
