Page 36 of The Baby Behind Their Marriage Merger

He rubbed the back of his neck. ‘I am sorry,’ he said again, not knowing what else to say.

And he was—desperately so. He’d let her down, disappointed her. He was just another in a long line of people who’d done that to her, and he hated the thought. He’d never meant to, obviously, but he could kick himself for being just another in the long line of people who’d let her down. It wasn’t his finest hour. ‘I let you down, failed you. I promise I won’t do that again.’

She looked up at him and raised her eyebrows. ‘That’s a huge promise to make, Jude.’

He dropped to his haunches in front of her and lifted his hand to touch her face. ‘I admit I am selfish, that I don’t think of much beyond Fisher International, but that will change, Addi. Today was a huge wake-up call.’

He dragged his thumb over her cheekbone, her blue eyes meeting his. ‘Will you forgive me? Please?’

Addi closed her eyes but she did push her face into his hand. When she opened her eyes again, he saw resignation in those blue depths, and extreme exhaustion.

Her words confirmed his suspicions. ‘I’m too tired to argue with you, Fisher,’ she told him. ‘Just...don’t, okay? Just don’t do it again, alright?’ she continued.

Let her down? No, he wouldn’t. At least, he’d try his very best not to.

Jude stood up and bent down to scoop her into his arms. He sat down on the couch and held her against his chest, his arms wrapped around her. Addi rested her cheek against his chest and, after a few minutes, he heard her sigh and felt her body relax. She yawned and wiggled closer to him, and he suspected her eyes were closing.

He placed a kiss on her hair, wondering why he instantly relaxed when she did, why holding her in his arms was his form of meditation, his way of feeling zen. After what he’d put her through, he didn’t deserve to feel this comfortable. At some point, he’d have to stop kidding himself that she was another fling, someone he could easily walk away from. He’d have to face that something was bubbling between them, something potent.

Just not today. He wasn’t ready.

‘Have you eaten, Ads?’ he asked. He’d noticed that her tummy was a little rounder, her breasts a smidgen bigger, but her arms felt scrawnier, her legs thinner.

She shook her head. ‘No energy.’

He’d thought as much. While he was tempted to walk her up the stairs, find her bedroom and put her to bed, he knew that she needed sustenance, and that not eating wasn’t good for her or the baby. He needed to keep her awake while he made her something. And he hoped there were eggs in her fridge—his culinary repertoire only extended as far as making scrambled eggs on toast.

She’d fall asleep in a hot bath, and if he told her to watch some TV she’d probably do the same.

The only thing that would hold her energy for a decent time, just fifteen minutes, would be to get her to work. He looked at the open laptop.

‘I was looking at the spreadsheet earlier and I think there’s a formula error on sheet eight,’ he lied.

As he expected, Addi sat up, leaned back and frowned at him. ‘I don’t make formula errors,’ she told him firmly.

‘Sure looks like you did,’ Jude quietly replied. As he’d expected, she scrambled off his lap and sat on the edge of the couch, her back ramrod-straight as she pulled her laptop onto her knees. She muttered something indecipherable, and Jude took the opportunity to walk into her kitchen and inspect the contents of her fridge. There was eggs, cheese, some salsa and rye bread.

He could work with this.

Digging around, he found a pan, oil, a bowl and a whisk. Within ten minutes he managed to pile a plate high with reasonably fluffy scrambled eggs. He buttered some toast, found a fork and walked back into the lounge, to find her sitting cross-legged on the couch and cursing her laptop.

‘I can’t find an error,’ she told him, sounding grumpy.

He shrugged, whipped the laptop away from her and handed her the plate. She took the eggs and looked up at him. ‘What’s this?’

‘If you don’t recognise scrambled eggs then I’m far worse at cooking than I thought I was,’ he told her. He sat down next to her and nodded at the plate. ‘Eat.’

‘I’m not that hungry—’

‘Addi, eat the eggs,’ he told her, his voice hardening.

Addi glared at him but lifted a forkful of eggs to her mouth and chewed. Her eyebrows raised and she dug in for some more, alternating between eating the eggs and munching on the bread. Within minutes she’d polished off all the food on her plate. She leaned back and placed a hand on her stomach. ‘Feeding me is becoming a habit, Fisher.’

If that was what it took... He pulled the plate out of her hands, put it on the coffee table and stood up, bending down to lift her into his arms. For a tallish woman, she weighed next to nothing.

‘Have you been to see the doctor yet?’ he demanded, walking her out of the room.

Her eyes met his. ‘We’ve been in and out of the country for the past two weeks, Jude. When would I have had the time?’

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