Page 194 of Modern Romance Collection December 2024 Books 1-4

No one knew about the pregnancy yet, but she was already projecting forward to telling her parents and seeing their disappointment. Of course they would try and hide it, and of course they would be supportive all the way, but she had let them down and the thought of it put a pain in her chest.

She fled.

Standing behind his desk, for the first time in his life Mateo was immobilised. Shock had drained him of the ability to think in a straight line.

Pregnant? No!

Those were the first thoughts that had run through his head when she had detonated that landmine. She couldn’t be! He’d reacted with swift, instinctive denial as his mind had shut down.

And then she was half-running out of his office and here he was, still shell-shocked, but his brain was actually starting to engage. Why would she lie? She wasn’t a liar. It just wasn’t in her nature. And why would she have waited until now to find out who he was? If she’d been a mercenary gold-digger who’d somehow got a whiff of what he was made of, then why hadn’t she contacted him sooner? And why wouldn’t she have used the straightforward approach of trying to entice him back into bed?

She would have had to be crazy to make up a story about a pregnancy. She would have known that sooner or later she would be found out, and anyway, surely she must have suspected that he would insist on a pregnancy test, along with a medical examination and a DNA test?

And he knew, as well, that he had subconsciously been catapulted back to that time when a surprise pregnancy had forced him down a road he hadn’t foreseen, with all the predictable disastrous consequences. He’d been knocked for six but there was only the truth: she reallywaspregnant.

Mateo didn’t stop to think about the repercussions of what she had told him. There would be plenty of time for that later. He exited his office at speed and handed his PA the very unusual task of finding out exactly where St Christophers was located. Then he waited, impatiently, for the full twenty minutes as she went into action, checking online and making calls, calling in at least two favours from friends who were teachers, making sure that when he showed up there would be no obstacles regarding entry.

Alice had run away from him but there was no way he wasn’t going to find her. No way he was going to hang around and wait until she decided to get in touch with him again—ifshe decided to get in touch with him again. She’d come to do the decent thing and he’d reacted in just the sort of manner that would have had anyone in her position running for the hills. She’d come to deliver a message and he’d decided in his wisdom to shoot the messenger. He’d allowed shock, horror and a subconscious kneejerk reaction to something from his past dictate his response.

He remained in his office for half an hour more, thinking, allowing his head to be occupied with the practical issues surrounding the shock news. He avoided digging deeper into his own feelings about the thought of being a father. He didn’t want to confront the feelings of vulnerability he had had all those years ago, the yearning and thrill of having a child only for those hopes to be dashed.

It was another hour and a half and just after lunch by the time he made it to the school and was instantly ushered in, having had the head pre-warned of his visit. His PA had pulled some strings, but Mateo thought he would have been able to get in without that simply because he was who he was. His identity could easily be checked and he could have promised a sizeable donation.

He looked around at the shabby surroundings masked by cheerful banners and upbeat sayings printed boldly on bright pieces of card and artwork stuck on the walls in neat rows on either side of a corridor teeming with kids coming and going. An inner-city school in desperate need of refurbishment, relying on government funding and donations from strangers. These were the sort of surroundings he hadn’t been exposed to in a very, very long time and when he thought of Alice, actually imagining that she might have to face raising their child on a teacher’s wage, his heart squeezed tight. He would definitely be doing something to improve the place.

But all that for later. For now, Alice.

Alice was so absorbed in thinking about Mateo and his shock and horror at what she had told him that she kept losing track of what the kids were doing. Just now, four in the back row were passing notes between them and giggling. The rest had their heads down and were doing their best to ignore the unruly back row.

Clara, her teaching assistant, was sitting with three children around her, painstakingly going over some work which they were finding impossible to comprehend.

A normal day, but not for her. What happened next? She’d done what she’d known she had to do. She’d told Mateo about the baby, but it was clear from how he’d reacted that he wasn’t going to take any kind of active part in its upbringing. He had his gilded life, a life in which long-term commitment was not allowed to intrude, and there was nothing more long-term than a child. So he’d gone into denial mode and she had to accept that he might just stay there.

When she thought about the nuts and bolts of having a baby when she earned a modest income and rented a place, she could feel a headache coming on. She would have to move back home and live with her parents until she found her feet.

With those thoughts buzzing in her head, she was only aware of someone at the door when the entire class fell silent. The four at the back, all girls, were staring at the door with their mouths open and, as Alice slowly turned around, she knew who was at the door. Only one person could inspire that sort of reaction, and it wasn’t Mr Dennis the headmaster. He might inspire a bit of temporary silence but definitely no jaws on the ground.

Mateo.

He was lounging in the doorway, the very embodiment of sexiness, his brooding, green eyes lasered on her, and she could feel bright colour surge into her cheeks.

They could have heard a pin drop.

‘We need to talk,’ he drawled from the doorway.

Someone from the back row piped up in a ‘butter wouldn’t melt’ voice, ‘Miss, is that your boyfriend?’

Alice leapt to her feet, threw a stern look around her, told them that she would be back in ten minutes and then walked quickly towards Mateo, eager to usher him away from her gawping pupils. They might struggle to remember some basic rules of maths, but they would have memories like elephants when it came to rememberingthis.

Alice felt a wave of anger rush through her. First he had told her that he didn’t believe a word she’d told him and now, here he was inherterritory! If he thought that he could pursue a conversation about her making stuff up then he was in for a shock.

She didn’t glance behind her as she restrained herself from slamming the classroom door. Nor did she utter a single word as she dragged him down the corridor, quieter now that there was no change of class in progress, but still not empty.

There were three quiet rooms used for one-to-one teaching. She took him to an empty one now and shut the door behind her but she remained leaning against it while he turned to look at her.

‘First of all,’ he said before she could lay into him, ‘I want to apologise.’

CHAPTER SIX

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