Bound By Their Christmas Baby. Clare Connelly
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because she knew what was coming and she had about two seconds to decide what she would do. Step backwards, away from him, or surrender to the intimacy of his kiss, even knowing it was stupid and wrong and wouldn’t achieve anything?
But oh, how she craved him. Ached for him. Desperately longed for him.
He was going to kiss her and she was going to let him. Heck, she was going to kiss him if he took much longer. The air around them seemed to hum and crackle with anticipation, their eyes locked, their lips parted. Time seemed to stand still. It was madness, but hadn’t it always been for them?
He dropped his head infinitesimally closer and she pressed a little higher, waiting, her mind blanked of the myriad reasons she shouldn’t let this happen.
Then he blinked and straightened.
‘What the hell is that?’
The question jolted her, dragging her out of the sensual fog.
‘Raf!’ She shot him a look of frustration and sanity began to seep back in. Gratitude too. How could she have let herself get sucked back into his sensual, distracting appeal?
In the seconds it took her to compute the situation, Gabe was already moving to the hallway. There was a bathroom on one side and a bedroom on the other. He followed the sound of the crying and pushed into the bedroom. He stood just inside the door, staring at the crib as though he’d never seen a baby in his entire life.
‘Excuse me,’ Abby said, moving past him to scoop up Raf. He nuzzled into her and she stroked his head, her eyes lifting to Gabe’s with a hint of triumph in their depths.
‘What is this?’ he finally asked, dumbfounded.
‘What do you think?’
‘It’s a baby.’
She could have laughed; it was so absurd. ‘Yes, it’s a baby. This is your son. You may remember I told you about him this afternoon?’
‘I...’ Gabe stared at the child with a look of utter confusion.
‘He needs to go back to sleep,’ she said, nodding towards the door. And purely because he was at such a loss he did as she suggested and stepped out of the room, leaving her to settle Raf on her own.
When Abby emerged a few moments later, Gabe was in the centre of the tiny living room, his expression grim.
‘You were telling the truth.’
‘Yes!’ she said emphatically. ‘Why would you think I wasn’t?’
He frowned. ‘You need to ask that?’
‘Gabe, I made a mistake that night. Admittedly, a big one. I get why you’re mad. But it was a mistake. A stupid decision. Contrary to what you might think, I don’t make a habit of lying to people.’
He rubbed his palm over his face and shook his head. ‘How is this even possible?’
‘Really? You need me to explain how that works?’
‘I mean, we used protection.’
‘Yeah. The doctor said that’s not infallible.’
He grimaced. ‘It was your first time. This shouldn’t have been possible.’
‘Okay, you need to stop saying that. You’re the only man I’ve ever been with and nine months after that night, almost to the day, Raf was born. So, whether it should or shouldn’t have been possible, that’s what happened.’
‘You should have told me,’ he said, harsh judgement in the statement.
Abby made a primal noise of irritation, a growl born of pure annoyance. She would be the first to admit she’d messed up the night they’d met, but she wasn’t going to be tarred with that brush for evermore. ‘I tried to! Damn it, Gabe, why did you think I was calling you?’
He paled visibly beneath his tan. ‘You... I presumed to apologise, or make up excuses.’
‘No. I mean yes to the apology thing, but mainly, Gabe, I needed to tell you about Raf.’
‘You’re saying you didn’t keep him from me intentionally?’
‘Are you serious? Do you really think I’d do something so immoral?’
His eyes locked onto hers and she sighed.
‘I guess you do think me capable of that. But Gabe, I would never, ever keep someone from their child. He’s your son. I had no intention of doing this alone. That’s why I went to Rome...’
‘Rome.’ His eyes swept shut, anguish on his features. ‘You knew you were pregnant then? You came to tell me?’
‘Yes!’ Pique at his reaction darkened her expression. ‘And you had me dragged out like some kind of criminal.’
‘Madre di Dio, Abigail. I didn’t know.’
‘Yes, well,’ she said stiffly. ‘If you’d given me a minute of your time, you’d have seen for yourself the evidence of my condition.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘I was six months along.’
‘And they just dragged you out of the building?’
‘Well, they told me in no uncertain terms to go before the police arrived,’ she conceded.
‘I asked them to do that,’ he admitted darkly. ‘I didn’t want to see you. I was so angry you’d come.’
‘I know.’ She lifted her chin, defiance radiating from her slender frame. ‘But don’t you dare accuse me of intentionally keeping Raf from you.’
He shook his head, as if to clear the memory. ‘I cannot believe I have a son.’
What could Abby say to that? It was the truth. She waited for something—perhaps an apology. A commendation of how well she’d done? An admission that she’d tried to do the right thing, to tell him the truth?
And got instead: ‘And you’re raising him here? Like this?’
Her spine straightened and she squared her shoulders. ‘What’s wrong with it?’ she said.
‘It is a hovel.’ He glared at her. ‘How can you live like this?’
Her jaw dropped. His assessment wasn’t wrong but how dare he?
‘It’s fine,’ she said through gritted teeth. ‘And I’ll find something better before he’s big enough to notice. For now, this is fine,’ she amended.
‘This isn’t fine for a pack of rabid dogs, let alone my son.’
She stared at him as though he’d called her the worst name in the book. ‘I’m aware that it’s not ideal. I’m not blind. But it’s the best I could do at short notice and with very limited means.’
A muscle in his jaw throbbed and Abby stared at it, fascinated by the pulse point there. ‘So when your father discovered you were pregnant with my child, he turned you out of his home?’
She winced. ‘It was more complex than that. I mean, it proved that I’d lied about that night. That I’d let him down.’
‘Let him down?’ Gabe repeated incredulously. ‘Dio! He is unbelievable.’
‘I know that,’ she said. ‘I never thought he’d react like this. I mean, I thought he’d be angry, but not...’
‘To remove all financial support from his pregnant daughter, just because he hates me?’ Something in Gabe shifted and he was very still, his expression faraway, as though completely consumed by unpleasant thoughts.
Abby waited, her breath unconsciously held, for him to elaborate.
But in the end he shook his head. ‘It