Page 17 of The Baby His Secretary Carries

With a wistful sigh, she walked back to the table.

“That’s disturbing,” Gio murmured.

“What is?” She curled one leg beneath her as she retook her seat.

She expected him to mention a conflict or disaster somewhere. Perhaps an unexpected plunge in market numbers.

“Do you remember the Zamos couple? You were with us on their yacht last year, when we began putting together a partnership agreement with their container division in Athens. We were actually due to finalize that next week.”

Molly knew that, butwere?

“I—I remember them,” she said hesitantly, weirdly feeling as though the walls were both closing in and disappearing. Her ears were filling with water. “Why?”

“They’ve been in a terrible car crash.”

“What?”

Gio thought Molly was leaning down for the phone she dropped and only realized at the last second that she was fainting. He barely reacted in time to catch her, saving her slumping body from crashing onto the floor. Her chair fell over with a clatter and he must have shouted something because Nelo came running.

“Signore?”

“Call the doorman. There’s a doctor in this building. See if he can come. If not, an ambulance.” Gio’s knees were throbbing from the way he had plunged to the floor to catch her. Molly was a rag doll in his arms, but even as Nelo was snapping out instructions and Gio was still gathering her to pick her up, her eyelids began to flutter.

He got her onto the sofa, only then realizing how hard his heart was pounding. What thehell?

“The doctor is coming. I have first aid,” Nelo said. “Please, let me do an assessment?”

Gio left Nelo taking her pulse while he opened the door to the doctor. As he showed him into the lounge, Molly was brushing Nelo away, trying to sit up.

“I’m fine. I was light-headed from moving too fast.” She was still white as a ghost. The way she covered her mouth suggested she was fighting not to throw up.

“If you’re finished here, Nelo, head into the office. I don’t need to tell you this doesn’t leave this room.”

“Understood.” Nelo nodded. He sent one worried glance backward and left.

Molly was hollow-eyed as she had her blood pressure taken, but didn’t seem inclined to share her condition with the doctor even when the man asked point-blank, “Is there a possibility of pregnancy?”

“I’ll follow up with my own physician on that,” she said firmly and shot Gio a glance that warned any word out of him would be grounds for her to walk.

The father must not know of her pregnancy. It was the only explanation for her secrecy. Who was he? Someone abusive?Married?

That started to make sense.

“I’m very sorry to have inconvenienced you,” she said. Her voice was still shaky, but she was giving the doctor a firm brush-off. “Could we offer you coffee or croissants for your trouble?”

“No, thank you.” The doctor sent a puzzled look to Gio, then cautioned her to have her iron levels checked. He accepted promised tickets to the opera as compensation for his house call.

Gio showed him out, then came back to find Molly had walked herself to the table and was texting someone.

“What are you doing? Sit down,” he ordered. “And why thehelldidn’t you tell him you’re pregnant?”

“I’m texting my physician right now, giving her my vitals. She’ll tell me if she thinks it’s serious.”

“Itisserious,” he insisted. She was still pale. He came across to right her chair and pointed at it. “Sit.”

“I don’t want to talk about this right now.” She set aside her phone, hand shaking, but did lower into the chair. She glanced at her half-eaten breakfast as though it was a bowl of worms. “Your grandfather is expecting us. We have a full day at the office.”

“Molly, you have to tell me what is going on. Is he married?” That didn’t fit with the type of person he thought her to be, but perhaps she hadn’t known. Lots of people lied about that sort of thing.

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