“Talk? Like baby talk?” Duncan grins.
At the word ‘baby’ I sit up straighter. “Not necessarily. You can just talk to him normally, but involve him in your day. Bring him to the office.”
We both look up as the door opens and Duncan jumps up to help Mrs. Harold, who’s carrying a large tray with two steaming bowls of stew on it and a plate of buttered cornbread. I take the opportunity to empty my glass into a large plant that’s on the side of the fireplace. The big yellow cat watches me curiously and then jumps down off my lap.
Duncan takes the tray from Mrs. Harold and puts it on the dining table.
“I’ll see to your rooms, if you’ll excuse me. Back in a minute.” She leaves, holding the door open for the cat.
My stomach growls at the tantalizing aroma coming from the bowls. Duncan reaches for my arm and leads me to the table.
“Eat. Now.”
I laugh. “Is that an order? Or do you talk like that to all your employees?”
He shakes his head and sits down opposite me. “Only you.”
“I can look after myself. I’m pretty resilient, you know,” I say, in between mouthfuls of the delicious stew.
“How so? Not that I doubt you, but I’d like to hear why.”
“Are we crossing some sort of boss-employee boundary here if I’m honest with you?” I ask.
He stretches his arms behind his head. “We crossed that boundary a while ago, if you remember.”
My cheeks flush. “Okay, so part of the reason I wanted to get out of the city and come to Snowflake Falls was to get away from my father. He reappeared in my life after he abandoned me as a kid, just because he wanted me to marry some old crony of his for money. I said no. You have to be strong to put up with that kind of crap from your own family. I’m happy there’s some distance between us.”
Duncan’s hands tighten into fists, then he flexes them and puts them on the table. “I am too. That sounds like a dangerous situation.”
“Oh, my Dad’s harmless but this guy he wanted me to marry was a real sleazebag.” I scrape the bottom of the bowl with my spoon and take another piece of cornbread.
Mrs. Harold comes back in. “Bad news, folks. My ditzy sister-in-law forgot to close the window in one of the bedrooms. So we have only one guest bedroom available. It’s better than sleeping in the car or down here with the cat.”
I open my mouth to say something but Duncan speaks before I can. “That’s no problem. We’ll work it out.”
I nod and smile but my heart starts beating a staccato rhythm in my chest. First the kiss, now I’m going to have to spend the night with him in the same room.
“Here’s the key. I’m going to hunker down for the night. I’m in the basement of the building, but you can reach me by dialing zero on the telephone on the desk. Help yourself to more brandy and there’s some apple cake in the kitchen if you like. Goodnight.” Mrs. Harold leaves the room.
Duncan and I stare at each other before he clears his throat. “I’m not complaining, but are you okay?”
I nod, incapable of speech. My life is a joke.
Upstairs, the laughs just keep on coming. Mrs. Harold didn’t mention that there was only one bed. It’s a small double, neatly made with a floral quilt. The room itself is cozy, with a bathroom down the hall.
I sit down on the bed and Duncan sits beside me. “Do you want me to sleep on the floor?”
I shake my head. “I think we crossed that bridge a while ago, remember?”
“We did.”
After I’ve used the bathroom, I make my way back down the hallway, shivering a little. Duncan gave me his shirt to wear in bed, but my legs are bare and it’s getting colder.
He’s in bed when I come back in. I gawk at him for a second, drinking in his broad, tanned chest and muscled shoulders, before averting my eyes and slipping in the other side of the bed. It creaks as I turn and lie on my side.
His breathing is steady and I wonder if he’s fallen asleep. I, on the other hand, am probably going to lie here awake all night, trying not to touch him with any part of my body. Because if I did, I think I’d rip off this shirt and straddle him in a second. That kiss woke me up. Even though I’m pregnant and his employee, it doesn’t stop the fact that I want him desperately. To feel his big hands caressing me in my most intimate places, his body moving above mine.
I shiver and the springs creak as he turns over.
