‘That would be dealing with the winding up of the store.’
‘And we can have some lunch.’
‘I…’
‘Please don’t tell me that you’re not hungry because I’ve offered to buy lunch for you. You need to eat—you’re pregnant. That much I do know without having read anything on the subject. Are you? Eating properly?’
‘Of course I am. I’m more than capable of looking after myself.’ She hesitated, then said in a semi-resentful rush, ‘I’ve been for a scan and everything is fine with the baby.’
‘Do you know…what we’re having?’
Ella stared at him.
She could feel a slow burn inside her, something different from the anger, hurt and resentment. Over the months she had become accustomed to this being her baby, her situation,herresponsibility. But now she saw that letting him in would unlock all sorts of other things. She would be opening the door to his presence in her life in ways that wouldn’t be politely respectful if she decided she didn’t want him to be there. He had a stake in what was going on inside her body and that scared her because she knew that she had feelings for him.
At least, for the man she’d thought she’d known. But Jose was Rocco and Rocco… For all the accusations she had thrown at him, he wasn’t walking away, wasn’t raging at her, wasn’t blaming her for what had happened and wasn’t telling her that he’d ruined his life even though he might think it.
‘I don’t want to know.’
‘Right, I’ll see you in a couple of hours, Ella.’ He paused. ‘And I should tell you that I won’t be impressed if you decide to bail onme because you want to give me space to process. Or any other reason, for that matter.’
‘Whether you’re impressed by anything I do or don’t do isn’t my concern.’
‘Listen to me. We’re in this together, so you will have to be civil at some point. I can’t keep explaining why I did what I did on an endless loop.’
‘I know that. Can you get that it hurt when I found out that you’d lied? My ex lied to me because he wanted my flatmate, not me. Do you get that it felt like a very similar road I was walking down? And then you show up here, telling me that you’re actually the guy who’s bought the store… Do you get that it all feelsa little bloody overwhelming?’
‘Ella…’
‘Forget it.’
She made to turn away and felt his hand circle her wrist, tugging her slightly towards him.
‘It matters,’ Rocco said gruffly. ‘Believe it or not, I’m not that guy. I don’t lie. Ever. What I did… Yes, I wasn’t straight with you, but I really never meant to get involved and, once I had, I couldn’t then tell you what was going on. I’m sorry.’
‘Okay.’ Ella pulled back but her heart was hammering and she could feel herself weakening at the sincerity in his voice and the gravity of his expression.
She wasn’t going to weaken. He might be sincere but, even so, he could never be her type: a billionaire who could have his pick of women, who lived life in the fast lane, who had basically dallied with her for a bit of fun because of a passing attraction. Besides, whatever he said about being unable to be honest with her, he could have been. Everyone in life had a choice.
‘Is it? Okay?’
‘It’s okay insofar as you’re right,’ Ella said coolly. ‘We need to be civil with one another. Basically, what we had wasmore or less a one-night stand between two people who aren’t compatible, who come from completely different worlds. I’ll try to forget the past and just think about what happens next in this scenario.’
‘We weren’tthatincompatible.’
‘We were good in bed,’ Ella said flatly. ‘So, sure, in that sense we weren’t incompatible, but I don’t go for rich, powerful guys who go through life knowing that they can do exactly what they want.’
‘Right. This rich guy will see you at midday.’
On the Tannoy system, Christmas music burst into life, tinny and joyful, and Rocco involuntarily grimaced. ‘It’s at least the season for goodwill,’ he said. He waited a couple of seconds, got nothing by way of response, then he spun round, half-turned to give her a small salute and was gone, closing the door to the boardroom quietly behind him.
Ella stared at the closed door until the tangle of emotions racing through her began to settle.
Over the months, she’d been lulled into believing that she was going to have to make the best of her circumstances. She would be a single parent, would struggle to make ends meet but would have the love and support of her dad and her friends. She was grateful for living in a small, close-knit community.
Now, walking into that boardroom, seeing the man who had haunted her waking moments and her deepest dreams, sitting there… Even thinking about it made her shiver with a sense of unreality. She’d fainted. Something she’d never done before in her life. The shock… In a single instant, the life she’d come to terms with had been turned on its head.
She did a few things that couldn’t wait, made some lame excuses to her colleagues, Vera and her boss and then, at exactly a quarter to twelve, she got a cab to the city centre.
