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“Could you be pregnant?”
Bianca scoffed. “You know I can’t have children.”
“You told me you’ve never seen a doctor about that. Are you seriously taking your monster-of-an-ex-husband’s word for it?”
Katie was not a fan of Thomas. She was the only person outside of Christian and John that Bianca had confided in about her short mess of a marriage. Bianca’s brows drew together. Why would Thomas have lied about something like that?
“I guess I’d better get a home pregnancy test.”
“No. Uh-uh. Go to a doctor. Now. Then call me immediately from his office. I mean it. I don’t care what time it is here. Call me.”
After making a million promises that she would follow Katie’s advice, she disconnected the call. Being new in town she didn’t have a physician, so she asked Anya to make an appointment with someone she was familiar with. She also asked her not to tell Christian. There was no sense in upsetting him over something that was highly unlikely.
Hope bubbled in her heart, but she shut it down abruptly. There was no sense in her getting excited over something that wasn’t true. She couldn’t possibly be pregnant.
Could she?
Despite the warnings coming from her inner voice, she found herself picturing a sweet little face. The thought of creating a baby with Christian, a beautiful life that was part him and part her took her breath away. A few minutes ago she would have denied wanting it, but now she wanted it more than she wanted to breathe.
♥♥♥
Worry and frustration over Bianca’s health and their budding relationship had Christian once again thinking about her instead of working. Before meeting Bianca Dawson he’d been a workaholic, first one in the office and last to leave. His weekends were usually spent behind either the desk at home or in his main office. When he attended events, they were social obligations more often than not.
What had that woman done to him? In a relatively short time, she had turned his life upside-down. He didn’t recognize himself. He’d gone from being a man who valued privacy and total control over his surroundings to being someone that wanted to share every aspect of his life withonewoman. Somehow she’d become his every waking thought.
Was it too late to apply the brake?
The real question was did he want to slow things down?
His housekeeper called his private line, something she only did if there was an emergency, and his blood ran cold. When she told him Bianca had gone to a doctor, his heart nearly stopped. He had his answer. The man that hadn’t believed in love was hopelessly, helplessly caught in its snare.
He loved Bianca Dawson with everything in him.
He wondered if that was good news or bad news for him. Should he pursue it or run in the other direction? Although he’d talked about marriage, worried about her cold feet on the subject, he was equally worried about committing to one person, even if she was the most incredible person she’d ever met.
He didn’t want to make another mistake.
His secretary buzzed him. “Your mother is on line one.”
The last thing he needed was his mother nagging him about his choice of lovers. He almost refused to take the call. Heavy sigh, he picked up the receiver. “You caught me at a bad time, Mother. I am extremely busy.”
“Make time,” she said with a clipped tone. “There is something you need to know about that girl you’re sleeping with.”
“Did you hire another investigator? You know what? I don’t care. I don’t want to hear it.”
“I didn’t have to hire anyone. It turns out your father’s mistress was married to the son of old family friends. You remember the Carstairs?”
His hand gripped the receiver tighter, and his eyes narrowed. “Are you saying Bianca was married to Thomas Carstairs?”
“That’s right.”
Isobel Christos-Sabatino went on a rant, describing all the manipulative horrible things Bianca had supposedly done to poor little Thomas. Christian didn’t hear any of it. His brain focused on what he was going to do to Thomas when he got his hands on him. Murderous rage filled him to capacity, and he settled on a plan.
Trying not to sound too eager, he asked, “Do you know where Thomas is living right now?”
“Do you want to hear it straight from his mouth?”
“Do you have an address for him?”