Page 17 of Texas-Sized Scandal

She looked breathtakingly lovely as she stood there in her blue dress and bare feet. It was all he could do not to sweep her up in his arms and carry her to bed. But he knew that was a temporary distraction and not what was needed right now. He rubbed the back of his neck to get rid of the tension there, but it didn’t help.

“Would you like something to drink?”

“Hard liquor might be nice, but I don’t think Nonna would appreciate it,” he said. “So I’m fine.”

“She definitely wouldn’t. Okay, so let’s sit down and talk this out,” she said, leading the way into her formal living room and taking a seat on the armchair, leaving the love seat for him.

The room was so feminine with delicate-looking furniture and more flowers and stripes than he had ever seen before. It was classy and elegant and a part of him always felt out of place here, as he knew he was neither of those things.

“First, thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” he said, “but for what?”

“Trying to help me by suggesting we get engaged and then giving me time to think it over,” she said, twisting her fingers together.

“It was the least I could do.”

“It wasn’t and I appreciate it. I’ve thought about your suggestion that we live together, and I must say I don’t think that will work for me. I’m too used to being alone and I need this time to get ready for the baby,” she said.

“Fair enough,” he said, feeling a bit hurt, but he reminded himself that he didn’t want to raise a child. “That’s probably for the best, as I’ll be a financial support for you and the child but not physically in your life.”

Her mouth tightened but she nodded after a moment. “Right. So we should set an end date for this engagement. I’m thinking three months? That’s enough time for the interest in me to die down and hopefully Daddy’s mess will be sorted by then.”

Three months.That was longer than any of his previous relationships, and yet with Melinda, it almost felt too short. Which meant it was perfect. “Why don’t we reassess the situation then? If we need to keep it going, then we will. And it will be before Christmas, so that will give the society bloggers something else to write about.”

“Okay.” She bit her lower lip and turned her head away. “This next thing is... Well, it’s awkward so I’m just going to say it. I think we should definitely try to keep it platonic from here on out.”

Hell, no.

“I’m listening,” he said instead.

“The thing is I don’t know what my body is going to be doing... I haven’t had a chance to read any of the books I picked up today,” she said. “Plus, you and I should be focused on keeping up appearances when we’re out at events but in our private lives, we should be trying to work out how our lives will be after the baby comes. I know you don’t want to be a part of the child’s life...so us hooking up is probably not a good idea.”

He leaned back against the love seat and pretended to be considering her idea. And he was doing just that, but he was also trying to manage the realization that this pregnancy had changed everything. He couldn’t end the relationship with Melinda the way he normally would have, letting it trickle off and then having one big explosive sexual encounter at the end before he walked away. Instead, he had to end it now and then pretend it wasn’t over.

He was about to just walk away from everything when his phone vibrated in his pocket and he got a notification of a new post about himself and Melinda. He couldn’t leave her to face this alone. It was the least he could do for her and for that child she was carrying.

He knew he had to do whatever he could to make them as safe as possible. If that meant agreeing to no sex, he’d do it. But he suspected she wouldn’t find that any easier than he would. There was something between them that Slade hadn’t experienced before. An attraction that made it impossible for them to stay apart.

“Okay,” he finally said. “But if you change your mind, let me know.”

She gave him one of those unexpected grins of hers that made his pulse race. “Honey, you’ll be the first to know.”

He laughed as she intended him to but inside, he was beginning to wonder if he’d made a huge mistake in ever asking her out. She’d been different and he’d thought that meant something exciting. But maybe it had been dangerous.

Nonna Conti was seventy-eight but looked more like she was fifty-eight. She had a trim figure that she kept by playing tennis three times a week, something Slade had confided she did as much for the gossip as the exercise. Her hair was a deep auburn color and always perfectly coiffed. She smiled warmly at Melinda as they entered her house and swept her up in a big hug.

The entry to the palatial neoclassical River Oaks mansion was all Ferrara marble. It was ivory and shot with gold and had a thick four-inch panel of dark brown marble that framed the entryway. Her designer had hung luxurious gold and white curtains in alternating panels along the wall that was framed with hand-carved molding. There was a thick carpet in the center that led to the sitting room.

The sitting room followed the same design but instead of the hanging panels, there were alternating mirrors, which made the room seem even larger and reminded Melinda of Versailles but not as gold.

After the day she’d had, she just let herself enjoy the hug and soak up the joy and affection from the older woman. Most days, Melinda didn’t let herself dwell on the fact that she really missed her mom over the last ten years since she’d died, but today she had reached for the phone more than once to call her.

“It’s so good to see you. You look cute as a button as always. I had Henri mix us up some gin and tonics and he’s waiting in the sitting room with them,” Philomena said, turning to greet her grandson.

Oh, it wasn’t going to be as easy to hide the pregnancy as she’d wanted it to be. Obviously, she couldn’t drink gin and tonic but Slade sort of indicated with his head for her to go ahead to the sitting room, which she did. She knew Henri, the butler, would be circumspect about her choice if she had a quiet word with him.

She heard Slade telling his grandmother about the opera as she rounded the corner and walked into the sitting room. They were the first of Philomena’s guests to arrive, so the room was empty except for the butler, who wore a crisp white jacket and black trousers.

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