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“I…I’ll try.”
“This is going to sound crazy. I can’t really go into all the details right now and explain everything. You’ll have to trust me. There’s a logical explanation.” He hesitated, then plunged on, staring earnestly into her eyes. “The fact is, someone in this building is pregnant with my baby. And I need your help to find her.”
“Pregnant?” she whispered, stunned. Had she heard right? “How? I mean, wouldn’t you know who she is?”
He shook his head. “Artificial insemination,” he explained curtly. “It was a big mix-up. That was why I wanted to get in touch with the fertility clinic I asked you to call. It happened there.”
“Oh.”
The room was beginning to spin. It started very slowly, but she noticed right away. And at the same time, there was a strange buzzing in her ears. A funny little tune was playing in her head. “No, no, no, no,” seemed to be the words.
“Maggie,” he implored, holding her hand tightly. “I want you to know I’ve tried to do this on my own, but I’ve struck out every time. I really need your help.”
“No, no, no,” sang the little buzzing noise, and she realized she was holding her breath. What would happen if she let it go?
“You know a lot of the women here,” he was saying. “I’m sure you could get a line on who she might be.”
She tugged on her hand again, and he finally let it go, distracted by the plans he was making.
“Now, she should be about five months pregnant….”
She shook her head. This couldn’t be happening. “No, no, no,” she said softly, as though she could ward off the truth with the chant.
He looked at her strangely, but he was caught up in his agenda and didn’t realize her reaction was so strong. He didn’t seem to see that her eyes were slowly filling with tears.
“If you could just ask around, talk to some of the women you know, see what you can find out about anyone who might be five months pregnant….”
She sobbed. It came out involuntarily, like a big hiccup. He stopped dead and stared at her. She rose shakily from the couch. Tears were spilling from her eyes.
“Maggie,” he said, surprise in his voice. He reached for her. “Why, what’s wrong?”
The telephone rang. She turned as though to answer it, reacting automatically, and he let her go, though he followed her. She picked up the receiver and handed it to him without answering it herself. “It’s for you,” she said in a broken voice.
Confused, he took it and said, “Hello?” and before he could stop her, she was dashing from the room, and then onto the elevator and the doors were sliding shut.
Kane caught Maggie just before she reached her car. At first he thought she had herself under control again, but when she turned her tear-stained face up and he looked into the tragedy mirrored in her damp blue eyes and saw the way her lower lip was trembling, something skipped a beat near where his heart should be, and he felt an overwhelming urge to take her in his arms and comfort her.
“Maggie! What on earth?”
He resisted the impulse to pull her close, but he did take hold of her shoulders, holding her there and looking down at that beautiful mouth he was suddenly aching to kiss. Just for comfort, of course.
“Maggie, tell me what’s wrong. Did I say something? Or do something?”
“No. No.” She shook her head, her hair flying completely loose from the twist and spilling out over her shoulders. “It’s…I’ve got to go. Please, Mr. Haley…”
She seemed to be afraid of something. Was it him? He couldn’t stand the thought of it. He loosened his hold on her shoulders, caressing rather than gripping. And he tried to soften his face with a smile.
“Maggie, please. I have to know what’s wrong. What did I do?”
“Nothing. It’s nothing.”
He reached for her chin, tilting it up in gentle persuasion. “You’re going to have to tell me, you know.”
“No. Mr. Haley….” She stopped, feeling trapped. It’s none of your business. That was what she wanted to say. But she put her hand over her mouth because she was afraid it was very much his business. It was so much his business, she could hardly stand it. So she couldn’t really say that, could she? Her huge blue eyes implored him.
“I have to go. I have to get home.”
His long fingers curled around her fragile arms. “Why?”
She stared up at him. His face betrayed impatience, but his eyes shone with concern. It had to be done at some point. Why not now? She took a deep breath. “This is a terrible time to tell you, but I’m…I’m…I’m…”
She couldn’t say it. Mute, she stared up helplessly and shook her head.
“You’re what?” Frustration was beginning to take its toll. “Sick? Angry with me? Bored with the job? Getting a divorce? What?”
She closed her eyes. “I’m pregnant.”
There. It was out. She opened her eyes and looked at him.
His dark eyes were clouded, and she couldn’t read a thing in them.
“Well,” he said at last, speaking slowly. “I guess…well, congratulations.”
“Thank you very much.” She tried to peel away his fingers. “Now I’ve got to get home.”
His grip on her only tightened. Maggie was pregnant. It probably had nothing to do with him. She had a husband, after all. And she was very unpregnant looking, so she couldn’t be very far along. He would have noticed. So this had nothing to do with his situation, nothing at all.
“I suppose you’re anxious to get home to talk to your husband about it,” he said, his voice flat, his gaze probing hers.
She opened her mouth to tell him she had no husband, then closed it again. He noticed the gesture and a frown darkened his eyes, and then, quickly, a decision.
“Come on,” he said, turning and forcing her to turn with him. “I’m driving you home.”
“Oh, no! I can drive myself.”
“No you can’t. You’re too upset.”
Something was very wrong, and he was going to take care of it. If it had something to do with her husband, she might need him there as a backup. He didn’t know why he was thinking along these lines. Some instinct was telling him to take care of her and that was what he was going to do.
They reached his silver Mercedes and he used his remote to open the doors. “My car is right here. Hop in.”
“I’m fine,” she protested, looking back down the parking structure at her own car.
“No, you’re not. Get in or I’ll pick you up and put you in.”
She got in. “The contract!” she cried, turning to look at him as he slid into the driver’s seat.
“Hell with the contract, Maggie. Your well-being is much more important than any damn contract.”
Their gazes held for a long moment, and then she looked away. But it wasn’t a surrender, and he didn’t take it that way.
Still, he knew she was afraid of something. Was it her husband? Or something else? He didn’t know, but he was going to take her home and assess the situation for himself. Right now, making sure Maggie was safe and secure was the most important thing.
Pulling out of the parking garage, he glanced at her sideways. Maggie was pregnant. He had to digest this, take it in and evaluate it. He was not going to jump to conclusions this time. He’d done that too often already with other women in his firm. It had been downright embarrassing when the truth had come out—that they each had perfectly rational explanations for their pregnancies that had nothing to do with him. He’d sworn he wouldn’t get caught up in something like that again.
Besides, there was the husband. Was that what had her so upset? He’d brought up pregnancy and here she was, pregnant herself. Maybe her husband wasn’t happy about it. Maybe there was something wrong with the baby. Maybe…
He glanced sideways at her and saw what he was looking for. She wasn’t wearing a wedding ring. He remembered that she’d had one once. He’d noticed, because it had looked very much like the one he’d bought for his wife, Crystal, all those years ago. But it was gone now. His pulse began to race.
Don’t be a fool, he told himself. It doesn’t mean anything. A lot of women take off their wedding rings when they become pregnant. Sometimes it’s because their fingers swell, sometimes it’s because any kind of metal makes them itch during pregnancy. It’s a funny time for a woman.
She gave him directions and they pulled into the parking garage of a high-rise apartment building.
“I’m coming up with you,” he told her before she had a chance to dismiss him. “I want to make sure you’re okay.”
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