The Baby Swap Miracle Read Online Free PDF Page B

vulnerable pregnant woman. That again. Of course that was all it was. Anybody would care about her, it was nothing to do with the fact that this delicate, fragile-looking woman, with the bruised look in her olive green eyes and a mouth that kept trying to firm itself to stop that little tremor, was swollen with his child. That was just a technicality. It had to be. He couldn’t allow it to be anything else—and he certainly wasn’t following up on the bizarre attraction he was feeling for her right this minute.
    ‘You’re done in,’ he said gruffly, getting to his feet. ‘Come on, I’ll show you to your room. We can talk tomorrow.’
    He led her up the broad, easing-rising staircase with its graceful curved banister rail, across the landing and into a bedroom.
    Not just any bedroom, though. It had silk curtains at the windows, a beautiful old rug on the floor, and a cream-painted iron and brass bed straight out of her fantasies,piled high with pillows and looking so inviting she could have wept.
    Well, she could have wept anyway, what with one thing and another, but the bed was just the last straw.
    He put her case on a padded ottoman at the foot of the bed, and opened a door and showed her the bathroom on the other side.
    ‘It communicates with the room I’m using at the moment, but there’s a lock on each door. Just remember to undo it when you leave.’
    ‘I will.’
    ‘And if there’s anything you need, just yell. I won’t be far away.’
    Not far at all, she thought, her eyes flicking to the bathroom door.
    ‘I’ll be fine. Thank you, Sam. For everything.’
    He gave a curt nod and left her alone then, the door closing with a soft click, and she hugged her arms and stared at the room. It was beautiful, the furnishings expensive and yet welcoming. Not in the least intimidating, and as the sound of his footfalls died away, the peace of the countryside enveloped her.
    She felt a sob rising in her throat and squashed it down. She wouldn’t cry. She couldn’t. She was going to be fine. It might take a little time, but she was going to be fine.
    She washed, a little nervous of the Jack-and-Jill doors in the bathroom, then unlocked his side before she left, turning the key in her side of the door—which was ludicrous, because there was no key in the bedroom door and he was hardly going to come in and make a pass at her in her condition anyway.
    She climbed into the lovely, lovely bed and snuggled down, enveloped by the cloud-like quilt and the softestpure cotton bedding she’d ever felt in her life, and turning out the light, she closed her eyes and waited.
    Fruitlessly.
    She couldn’t sleep. Her mind was still whirling, her thoughts chaotic, her emotions in turmoil. After a while she heard his footsteps returning, and a sliver of light appeared under the bathroom door. She lay and watched it, heard water running, then the scrape of the lock on her door as he opened it, the click of the light switch as the sliver of light disappeared, and then silence.
    How strange.
    The father of her child was going to bed in the room next to hers, and she knew almost nothing about him except that he’d cared enough for his brother to offer him the gift of a child.
    A gift that had been misdirected—lost in the post, so to speak. A gift that by default now seemed to be hers.
    And now he was caring for her, keeping her safe, giving her time to decide what she should do next.
    Something, obviously, but she had no idea what, and fear clawed at her throat. Her hand slid down over the baby, cradling it protectively as if to shield it from all the chaos that was to follow. What would become of them? Where would they go? How would she provide for them? And where would they live? Without Sam, she had no idea where she would have slept tonight, and she was grateful for the breathing space, but her problem wasn’t solved, by any means.
    ‘I love you, baby,’ she whispered. ‘It’ll be all right. You’ll see. I’ll take care