Page 34 of Cinderella's One-Night Baby

He took another large drink and sloshed it around his teeth, thinking hard through his spinning head for the reason his initial gut reaction had been that it was impossible for Gabrielle to be pregnant.

A tap on the door that connected the living room with the offices brought him back in the room.

His PA peered in. ‘The team in Japan agree with Kaito—you’re needed in Tokyo or the deal will be lost. Lara’s arranging the flight slots now—we should get you in the air within the hour.’

She disappeared without expecting a response. She didn’t expect a response because it was unthinkable that Andrés would do anything but fly to Japan to salvage a deal he’d long coveted and which he’d already spent millions in legal fees and other sundries on.

He threw the rest of the bourbon down his throat and headed to his offices.

An air of efficiency pervaded the room, laptops and tablets being packed into briefcases, translation apps being updated. His closest staff were well used to crossing continents without any notice. It was why he paid them such hefty salaries. That and their uncanny business acumen.

‘I’m not going.’

They all looked at him with a variant of the look they’d given when he’d announced he’d drive himself into Monte Cleure.

‘I’m taking the weekend off.’

His PA was the first to speak. ‘But... Kaito said...’

‘I don’t care. The three of you go and do the best you can to save the deal. I’ve got something much more important to deal with.’

Gabrielle put her mug of hot chocolate on the small pine coffee table, turned the television on with the remote and, exhausted, sank onto the sofa.

She flicked through the channels looking for something to catch her eye but all the titles were a blur.

She knew the sensible thing would be to go to bed even though it was much earlier than her usual bedtime but the thought of lying down and being alone with her thoughts...

All her thoughts made her want to cry.

Selecting the comforting familiarity of an action film she’d watched so many times she could recite the words, Gabrielle cuddled a cushion to her belly, snuggled down and tried to lose herself in it.

She’d thought telling Andrés would be a relief after the dread she’d carried all these days, but if anything she felt worse. Being with Andrés in the flesh, in all his physicality... She could still feel the longing that had gripped her, the ache deep in her bones...

She hadn’t expected it to be that strong. That intense.

Maybe it was for the best that things would be handled through his lawyers until paternity was confirmed to his satisfaction. It would give her the time she needed to really get a handle on the emotions thrashing through her. She’d left the ball in his court about talking things through but held little hope that—

There was a knock on her door.

Startled, she lifted her head and looked at her watch. Eight p.m. She rarely had unannounced visitors during the day never mind in the evening.

The second knock shifted her off the sofa.

She put her eye to the spyhole. Her heart thumped so hard she reared back.

It was Andrés.

Andrés had lifted his fist to rap on the door for a third time when he heard the distinctive click of a door being unlocked.

Gabrielle’s shocked face appeared.

His chest tightening, he took her in, the faded jeans, the loose white top that had slipped off a shoulder reminding him of the dress she’d dazzled him in at the party, the thick dark hair worn loose but no neater than it had been earlier, the bare feet with the pretty painted toenails.

Dark brown eyes wide with apprehension, her voice was shaky as she whispered, ‘What are you doing here?’

‘You have to ask?’ he said tersely. ‘Are you going to let me in?’

Top teeth slicing into her bottom lip, she looked over her shoulder and then back at him with a pained shake of her head. ‘Lucas is in bed. Let’s talk tomorrow after my mum’s collected him or we can—’

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