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“I apologize. I shouldn’t have brought this up so soon.”
Irritation gives my flagging energy a small boost. “I’m not a porcelain doll, Michail. I can handle reviewing a will and making some inquiries.”
He stands. “You need to rest.”
“I have been. I barely left my bed in the hospital, and I’ve been doing nothing but sitting and reading since I got here.” I fold my hands together and inhale deeply. “If you’re marrying purely for the sake of the will, then it doesn’t really matter. But if you’re considering proposing to someone who might be involved in your life, then we would need to discuss the potential impact her presence could have on the baby.”
The thought of another woman holding my son, of sharing those moments with Michail, creates an ugly swirl of hurt and envy inside me. It’s just because of the baby. Nothing to do with Michail.
Yeah, keep telling yourself that.
His deep chuckle interrupts my thoughts. I frown. “What?”
“I’m not marrying someone else, Alessandra.”
“Oh.” My relief is short-lived when he kneels in front of me. The weight in my chest shifts, gravitates downward toward my stomach. Surely he can’t be suggesting that we…
“You and I will get married.”
CHAPTER FIVE
Alessandra
Shock tethers meto my seat. A million thoughts rush through my head, ranging from heart-wrenching disappointment that my first proposal is more of a business proposition to barely contained fury that Michail would dare to suggest something so preposterous.
“An interesting idea.” Slowly, I stand and move over to the balcony. “Not a good one, but interesting.”
He arches a brow as he stands, too. “Running away already?”
I bristle. “I don’t run away from my problems.”
He advances toward me. A predator stalking its prey. I stand my ground even as the urge to flee pulses through me.
“You left my bed in Santorini. You damn near sprinted across the lobby two nights ago to get away from me. And now you’re walking away again.”
I stare up at him. My mind fumbles for words, trying to find a way to argue the point.
Except he does have a point. I woke up just before sunrise in Greece with Michail’s arm wrapped around my waist and his face buried in my hair. The urge to stay there, in his bed, in his arms, had been so fierce it had been frightening. I was certain in that moment that even though we’d only known each other for a few hours, this man had the power to not only bring me toincredible heights, but to crumble my heart into pieces so tiny I’d never be able to piece them back together.
So yes, I’d run. But I’m not the only one. He didn’t stick around to talk things out at the will reading.
“I understand you want the paintings for your mother.” I grab onto the railing with one hand, the cool metal a balm against my heated skin. “But you need to find someone else.”
“I don’t want someone else.”
Yearning weaves through me for one blissful second before reality crashes in. His words aren’t tender or loving. They’re calculating. I’m the easiest and most convenient candidate.
“No, you want me because I’m carrying your child and it would be another way to bind me to you.”
His jaw hardens. “You need to accept that I’m a part of his life, Alessandra.”
My head snaps up. “Don’t you dare tell me what I do or do not need to accept.” Anger boils over at his nerve. “I’ve been stuck on an emotional roller coaster for nearly a year, and every time I think I’m about to get off, it just plummets down another hill I didn’t see coming. You rejected me not once but twice, and the only reason you’re here now is because I’m pregnant. We both know if there wasn’t a baby involved, you’d still be in the Hamptons or London or Paris, anywhere but here.” I let go of the railing and stab a finger at his chest. “So don’t you dare tell me what I need to accept.”
Silence falls. The wind stirs my hair, teasing stray strands over my face. The baby moves, a frantic sort of flutter as if he can sense my distress. I pause, suck in a deep breath and slowly move my fingers in a soothing circle over my stomach.
He closes the last bit of distance between us, stopping so near I have to tilt my head back to look up into his face.
“You and I are bound together, Alessandra. There is no escaping that. I won’t promise you a lifetime of love and romance. I’m not capable of such things.”
