Page 42 of Marriage Bargain with His Innocent
‘You’re right.’
Matias scowled. ‘Yes.’ His voice was tight and clipped. ‘I am.’
‘Let’s go and hunt down your mother—but before we do I just want to say that I’m willing to go along with this business of not sowing the seeds of discontent because you feel you’re finally building a relationship with your mother. But at some point we’re going to have to put a timeline on this...’
‘And we will,’ Matias inserted smoothly. ‘Now, let’s drop the subject and find my mother—before she comes looking for us and discovers the love birds in the middle of a row. And don’t eventhinkof saying that that would be just what the doctor ordered.’
She was whisked out of the sitting room, and before she’d had time to wonder why he was in such a foul mood, when all she’d done was reassure him that she wasn’t going to become clingy and needy, even though she blushed and had been a virgin when they’d gone to bed together, they were in the kitchen.
Georgina had thought that they would find Rose doing what she seemed to enjoy doing—namely, preparing something for them to eat, with the television or radio on in the background.
They didn’t. Rose was sitting at the kitchen table and staring off into the distance, ashen-faced and as still as a statue.
‘I was just about to come and find you two,’ she said quietly. ‘But I wanted to have a few minutes to myself first.’
‘What’s going on?’ Matias questioned urgently, while Georgina did what seemed to come naturally to people in tense situations...went to make a pot of tea.
Concern made her want to rush and sit next to Rose, hold her hand. Instinct told her that this time it was Matias who needed to do that—as he was doing now.
‘That was the consultant on the phone,’ Rose was saying, after clearing her throat and breathing deeply. ‘Remember those tests I was waiting for results for? Well, it seems that I haven’t been given the all-clear after all.’
‘I’ll get the guy on the phone now. Find out what’s going on.’
‘Matias, no.’ She laid her hand on his and patted it. ‘I’m more than capable of handling this situation.’
From where she was standing, Georgina thought that that looked very far from the truth. She met Matias’s panicked gaze and her heart went out to him. He was so strong, and yet right now so vulnerable. And she could understand why. His newly burgeoning relationship with his mother was still as delicate as a green shoot finding the sun. He wasn’t quite sure how to deal with her obvious distress. He had conditioned his responses for so long to be dispassionate. Would he be able to handle the depth of his emotions?
In a flash, Georgina realised that she seemed to be reading him so thoroughly, and she wondered whether this was a by product of her love.
Wasit?
She rested a cup of tea in front of Rose and drew up a chair next to her. ‘So, word for word, what did he say?’
‘I need an operation,’ Rose said flatly. ‘And sooner rather than later.’
‘You’re scared,’ Georgina said quietly, ‘and I get that. You’d got your hopes up that you’d be given the all-clear. But there’s nothing to be afraid of.’ She could feel Matias’s eyes on her. She took Rose’s hand and held it between her own. ‘If there was anything truly concerning they would be sending an ambulance over for you right now.Arethey?’
Rose shook her head and relaxed a little.
‘When are you due to go in?’
‘He wanted to see me the day after tomorrow, but I managed to persuade him to see me this afternoon.’
‘See?’ Georgina said reassuringly. ‘The day after tomorrow? I’ll bet this operation will be as straightforward as pulling out a tooth.’
She heard herself saying all the right things, and in between Matias chipped in, but on this rare occasion, words didn’t come easily for him.
‘I just worry,’ Rose concluded, sighing. ‘However straightforward an operation it may or may not be, who knows what will happen? General anaesthetic carries risks—especially for someone like me whose health has been compromised. And there’s another thing...’
‘What’s that?’ Matias questioned in a roughened undertone.
‘It’s been so wonderful seeing the two of you together,’ Rose began. Her eyes welled up and she looked away quickly. ‘When Georgina told me that you were going out...well, I could hardly believe it.’
Georgina fidgeted, but remained smiling. ‘Perhaps you should try and get a little rest?’ she murmured. ‘You’ve had a bit of a shock. I can bring your tea up to your bedroom...’
‘I thought that it couldn’t possibly be true. But I’ve watched you together and I’ve hardly been able to credit it. Matias, you’re my son, and I love you very much, but I know what you’re like with the ladies.’
Matias flushed.
