Page 56 of Claiming His Baby At The Altar

He grabbed his jacket off the coat rack, mimed a ‘call me’ gesture at Flora, and slipped out of the door.

The atmosphere in the narrow house turned frigid. Flora rubbed her arms for warmth then pressed a hand to her chest in an effort to temper the loud thuds of her heart.

An age passed with Alejandro’s coldly furious stare on her before he spoke. ‘Where is my son?’

‘Sleeping,’ she whispered.

His shoulders rose slowly in a deep inhalation. ‘Then let us speak where we will not disturb him.’

Somehow she managed to force her shaking legs into the kitchen, take hold of the baby monitor, and then open the integral door that led into the garage she’d had converted into a studio for her work when she’d bought the house two years ago.

Alejandro’s eyes flickered around, no doubt taking it all in.

He’d never been in her home before. She’d never invited him.

Flora’s studio was a small space but worked perfectly for her. She had a large table at one end with stacks of her designs, her sewing machine and other paraphernalia on it, and wide shelves filled with rolls of fabric and fat rolls of thread lining the walls either side of it. On the other side was a small sofa she often sat on when curled up hand-stitching.

She sat on her desk chair, leaving the sofa for him.

He hooked an ankle to a thigh and contemplated her with the imperious expression that took her back seven months to the day he’d blackmailed her, married her and then been the most supportive birthing partner a woman could have. The day he’d shown the best and the worst of himself.

‘Let’s get this over with, shall we?’ she said shakily, unable to bear the silence any longer. ‘I’m sorry for bringing Benjamin to London but I needed to escape Barcelona for a couple of days. I couldn’t leave him behind because Sinead’s on holiday.’

Barely a muscle flickered on his face. ‘Why didn’t you wait for me to call you back?’

‘I waited two hours. Why didn’t you answer my calls and messages?’

He unhooked his ankle, rested his palms on his thighs and stared her right in her eye. ‘One of my casino managers had a heart attack during our breakfast meeting.’

The shock of his answer made her gasp.

‘I performed CPR while we waited for the paramedics to arrive, then travelled with him to the hospital. His wife met us there. I stayed with her until the surgeon finished operating on him because she was in no state to be left alone.’ Something dark flashed in his eyes. ‘I don’t suppose you can imagine it, but she was distraught. I didn’t think it right to check my messages while she was out of her mind with fear that she would never see her husband again.’

Flora covered her face then dragged her fingers down it, utterly wretched for the poor man but even more so for his wife. She could hardly bring herself to imagine the agony she must have gone through knowing the life of the man she loved was hanging in the balance.

‘How is he?’ she asked hoarsely.

‘Stable.’

‘You saved his life?’

‘The doctors saved his life,’ he corrected before his lips curled. ‘When I left the hospital I saw all your messages but I could not get hold of you. I spoke to Madeline, who filled me in on what had happened and told me that not only had you left the country and flown to England but that you had taken my son with you.’

His voice dripped with barely concealed fury.

Flora held his stare and swallowed back a swell of nausea. ‘You were at her apartment last night.’

‘Myapartment,’ he corrected. ‘I kicked Aimee out after that little stunt she pulled for the paparazzi when Benjamin was born. I am selling it. I’ve had it refurbished and wanted to check the workmanship before I give the go-ahead to put it on the market.’

The relief that should have come at this explanation refused to form. Her heart was beating too fast for relief. It was Alejandro’s demeanour. The iciness in it. ‘Why didn’t you tell me any of this?’

‘I didn’t want to upset you. I know you hate my past. I was going to sell the apartment and then that would be it—the last link of any woman in my past gone. You know why I was doing that?’

She shook her head.

‘For you.’ He smiled. It was the coldest smile she’d ever received. ‘And you assumed I was cheating on you, didn’t you?’

‘I didn’t know what to think.’

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