Page 32 of A Baby to Make Her His Bride

“If he’s not too busy. I’d love to see him again.” Vienna had fought to keep her voice at exactly the right balance of friendly without betraying anything more.Shehadn’t said anything more to Hunter and Amelia about her intimate relationship than her first report that Neal had misconstrued what he’d seen when he found them there together.

Neither had Jasper, apparently, because Amelia had only mentioned him in passing when Vienna arrived last night, saying he was very busy finalizing some things before his trip, but had agreed to come to dinner Saturday night.

Vienna had barely slept. Now she was on pins and needles, struggling to appear nonchalant while sneaking glances at the clock.

Peyton let out a robust burp.

“Is that how you thank Auntie when she’s spoiling you?” Amelia wiped the chin of her grinning baby. “Give Auntie a proper hug.” She tipped the baby into Vienna’s lap, handing her the spit-up towel as well. “Just in case.”

“Oh, sugarplum.” Vienna hugged the warm little midge into her chest, enjoying the sensation of her toes digging into her thighs and not minding the pull of her hair in a tight fist.

It struck her that soon she would have her own small and mighty love machine to give her gooey kisses and wobbly bounces on her lap.

The specialist she’d seen had confirmed her pregnancy and assured her there was no reason to fear pregnancy loss. Not any more than the average first-time pregnancy, but after so many disappointments in her journey to getting pregnant, Vienna couldn’t help worrying that this miracle wouldn’t stick.

Those misgivings were cast away in a sudden rush of anticipation, however, when she wondered if her baby would look like her cousin Peyton. How magical!

Her eyes welled with such joy that Amelia might have noticed, but the doorbell rang.

“That’s Jasper.” Amelia slipped away to let him in.

Vienna hugged Peyton, trying to get hold of herself, but fresh nerves attacked. She was dying to see him, yet filled with trepidation. How would he react to her, let alone her news?

She heard them exchange a few words at the door. The timbre of his voice seemed to resound in her own ears, sending trickles of excitement down her shoulders and spine.

Amelia led him into the living room and a painful flash of nervous excitement struck Vienna, stealing her breath.

“Hunter’s in his office,” Amelia was saying. “Still playing catch-up from while we were away. I’ll go down and tell him it’s time to be sociable.”

“No hurry,” Jasper said, but Amelia was already trotting down the stairs, leaving a weighted silence behind her. “Vienna,” Jasper said with a distant nod of greeting, staying by the windows instead of sitting down near her. “It’s nice to see you again.”

Not Vi. Vienna. Her mouth went dry.

Her whole being was reacting to him. He had a fresh haircut and had let his beard grow in, but wore it closely trimmed. His striped button shirt over suit trousers and polished shoes made her wonder if he’d come straight from the office, since these clothes seemed so much more formal than the ones she was used to seeing him wear.

Was it the clothes that made him appear so remote? He looked like the man she had felt so close to, the man she had longed to see again, but his flat mouth and lowered eyelids made him more inimical than ever. He struck her as even more guarded than he had been in the first moments when they had met.

His gaze flickered over her, his expression softening marginally when he looked at Peyton. That tiny, indulgent curl at the corner of his mouth gave her so much hope. It wrapped around her like a hug until his cool blue eyes lifted to hers again and sent a chill into her chest.

“It’s good to see you, too.” The pale platitudes sounded ridiculous, especially in her abraded voice. “I—” She looked over her shoulder, aware Amelia would be back with Hunter any second. “I need to tell you something.”

He lifted inquiring brows.

She shifted forward and rose with Peyton still in her arms. As she took a few faltering steps toward him, she searched for the man who had shown her those brief moments of tenderness and understanding, but all she saw was enmity.

“This is hard to say.” She glanced over her shoulder again. “I’m...”

Amelia and Hunter’s voices were coming up the spiral staircase. The desire to put this off nearly overwhelmed her, but this was why she was here. To tell him. She needed him to know.

“I’m pregnant,” she whispered.

“You’re...” His brows flew upward and he rocked back on his heels, then held himself so still it was as if he had hardened to stone. Only the flare of his nostrils told her he was still breathing. “How? And why are you telling me? Are you sayingI’m—” He jabbed the knife of his fingertips against his chest, then dropped his hand, cutting off his words as Amelia and Hunter appeared.

The other couple halted, sensing the wall of tension they’d walked into.

Vienna didn’t know what to do except to look at Peyton. She was blissfully ignorant of these undercurrents. All she wanted to do was bounce and chew her own fist.

Vienna felt Jasper’s outraged glare radiating against her cheek, though, and the bounce of her brother’s attention striking her then Jasper and coming back to her.

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