He glanced at her shoulder bag on the table and glimpsed her passport tucked in there. Edo was already—with very good reason—a distrustful man. Phoebe was in denial. She didn’t want to deal with this—hell, she couldn’t even have a conversation with him about it yet. Which meant she was a flight risk. He braced against another prickle of guilt, quietly slid the passport from her bag and crept out of the room. Of course he would return it to her, but right now he needed the insurance.
Then he moved. The most immediate issue was her safety. Security arrangements needed to be made before anyone found out about her. He’d never wanted the responsibility of caring for anyone. Ofprotectinganyone. He’d failed Dante and he couldn’t fail again. But he didn’t have time to panic, to gnash his teeth and shake his fist at fate. He had to fix this as best he could. But what was best for Phoebe wasn’t him. Yes, she needed his outward symbol of support and strength, but his personal support was severely limited. Because it wasn’t only his brother he had failed.
His mind raced, sifting through the possibilities. Only one option satisfied the anxiety rising within him. The right thing. He would stand with her—keep them safe—but at the same time keep his distance personally. Because he was his grandfather’s heir and the failings of that old jerk resided within him too. He would keep his cool and propose—but it would be like any other acquisition, a business deal for security and convenience only. He could do that—explain it coolly and rationally and she would understand. She would agree.
Back in his suite, he dictated instructions to assistants, swiftly repacked his bags and summoned a bell boy to collect them. He’d get her somewhere safe and alone so he could explain what needed to happen and why. She was smart enough to work with him on this. It would be completely manageable.
Less than an hour later, he strode back down to her room, hoping she was still asleep, but just as he got out of the lift, her door opened. He paused where he was while she paced towards him, dressed again in the bland shirt and trousers. It took her a moment to glance up. When she did, she skidded to a halt and paled.
‘You’re awake.’ He shoved his hand on his hips, trying to contain the rage that instantly surged. ‘Where are you going?
‘For a walk.’
‘With all your luggage?’
She bit her lip.
‘You don’t want to go to the meeting?’ he added when she still didn’t answer.
‘As if you haven’t cancelled it already.’
‘You’re right. I’ve cancelled all of them.’
Her eyes widened. She wasn’t pleased. Nor was he.
‘We need to work this out,’ he growled. Her behaviour fully justified the action he’d felt bad about. But he wasn’t absolved, he was irate.
‘You don’t have to have anything to do with it.’ She matched his anger. ‘You can just walk away. Right now. Go on. It’s obvious you want to.’
‘What makes you say that?’ He tensed.
Her gaze dropped. ‘You left.’
‘Did you think I wasn’t coming back?’ His stomach dropped, stunned she’d think that. Instantly defensive because he’d failed already. He curled his hands into fists, needing to vent the emotions rising within him. ‘I’mnot the one currently trying to run away. Where were you going?’
His anger mushroomed in direct correlation with her silence.
‘Well, you weren’t going to get far without this.’ He pulled her passport from his back pocket.
Her jaw dropped. ‘You stole my passport?’
‘Stole’ was harsh. Borrowed was better. He’d needed the information.
‘Good thing I did, given you were about to leave without even talking to me.’ He put her passport in the inner pocket of his jacket.
‘Because Ireallydon’t want to talk about it right now,’ she snapped with low voiced fury.
‘We have to discuss the future—’
‘Not now. I need space, I can’t think clearly—’
‘You can have space without walking out on me.’ He lost his temper entirely, asking everything that had been bothering him the last hour. ‘How could you not know you were pregnant? Have you been taking care of yourself? You’ve been working long hours.’
‘There’s nothing wrong with working long hours. You do that too.’
‘I’mnot pregnant,’ he gritted.
‘Edo.’ She closed her eyes and sighed. ‘I just want to gohome.’
