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“Does this mean you’re going to be moving back downstairs?” Stella asks, taking a sip of her drink.
I don’t say anything.
“Leah?”
“I don’t know,” I tell her honestly. “Gabriel and I haven’t discussed it.”
“But you will?” When I don’t say anything, she leans forward and grabs my hand. “Have you fallen for him?”
I think back to our weekend. The bitches and their snide comments, to Gabriel’s family, all of whom made me welcome despite our bombshell. All apart from Elijah, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out that man has more issues than a tabloid newspaper.
“Oh, Leah, does he feel the same way?” I look over at Stella, her face a mask of sympathy.
“We haven’t discussed it,” I tell her honestly.
“I knew this was going to happen. You were never one for one-night stands... clinical sex, my ass. I doubt the man knows what clinical sex is. All the dark, silent, brooding testosterone.”
“Enough,” I say, unable to keep the laughter in. “Yes, to all of the above. But you don’t have to worry about me. I promise. I’m happy. Truly happy. Whatever this is. I’m enjoying myself. When it ends.” I take a deep breath and force a smile. “And I know it will. I will have had the best time. I’ll also be coming away with an amazing gift.”
I let my hand wander to my stomach, where our tiny life is blooming.
A furrow appears between her brows. “But...oh hell. You’ve fallen in love with Gabriel Frazer.”
“No,” I say, although I realise the words are a lie as soon as they leave my mouth.
“Really? From where I’m sitting, I’d say that’s exactly what you’ve done. Does he love you too?” Stella asks quietly.
“It’s not something that’s come up. We told his family about our arrangement at the weekend.”
“And?”
“They took it remarkably well. Of course, they were shocked,” I admit.
“Leah. I’m worried,” Stella says, her face echoing her concern, her hand gripping my forearm.
“I know. But it’s complicated.” I sigh and shake my head. My heart clenches as I try to articulate what’s going on inside my head and heart. “I don’t know what to do. I need to talk to Gabriel. Reaffirm the terms and conditions we set out at the very start. Everything has changed. But, if I question them, it makes a mockery of everything I asked of him in the beginning. I don’t want our relationship to be awkward. Gabriel made it very clear from the outset that he didn’t do relationships. Apart from the sex, nothing else has changed.”
Although I know in my heart it has. We’re spending more and more time together. What started out as dinner, is now gaming, swimming, curled up watching old movies. But he knows there’s an end date. Is he merely pretending to keep me happy while I’m carrying our child? I know I’m overthinking things, but...
Stella flops back in her chair, her arms folded over her chest. “So clinical isn’t how it remained?”
I shake my head, not quite able to meet her gaze. Our sex life couldn’t be further from clinical if we tried.
“Oh, Leah,” she says. “Be careful. After what Vince did to you.”
“Gabriel is nothing like Vince. He certainly hasn’t promised me one thing and then gone back on it.”
“No, he’s made you fall in love with him. Now you’re going to have a child together. That links you for a minimum of eighteen years. What happens if he meets someone else, or you do?”
I feel my body sag, knowing she is only voicing the same fears I have.
“I don’t know,” I tell her truthfully, my eyes welling.
“You either need to talk to him or put some space between you,” Stella, the voice of reason, states.
I know she’s right. The tightness in my chest has grown since the weekend. I feel like I’m walking an emotional tightrope. But then Gabriel takes me in his arms, and it all disappears. We disappear back into the bubble we’ve created.
As if sensing I’ve reached the end of my rope, Stella leans forward and grips my hand. “When’s your first scan?” she asks, changing the subject.
