âI canât!â he grated. âForgive me. I should neverâ¦.â
Heâd left the bed. Was picking up his shirt, sweaterâ¦shoes heâd somehow discarded.
âYou canâtâ¦go like this!â she gasped jerkily, raising herself on her elbows.
He stopped, his back to her. âI must!â he insisted.
âButâ¦why? You wanted me!â she accused, deeply hurt, and unable to pacify her demanding body.
He remained silent, biting back an urge to tell her why he couldnât make love to her. Pounding relentlessly into his head had come the realization that he couldnât make love to the open and trusting Jodie under false pretenses. Either he had to tell her the whole truth of the situation or he had to leave her aloneâ¦.
Heâs a man of cool sophistication.
Heâs got pride, power and wealth.
At the top of his corporate ladder, heâs a ruthless businessman, an expert loverâ His life runs like a well-oiled machineâ¦.
Until now. Because suddenly heâs responsible for a BABY!
HIS BABY
A miniseries from Harlequin Presents>®.
Heâs sexy, heâs successfulâ¦and heâs facing up to fatherhood!
Thereâll be another HIS BABY title out soon.
JODIE looked around the immaculate apartment, gave a satisfied twitch to her hip-hugging skirt and went to unbolt the door.
âHi, Chas! Come in,â she invited amiably.
A flurry of New Yorkâs winter snow hurled itself past Chasâs muffled figure and settled on the newly polished wood floor.
âYouâll have to clear that up before it stains,â he directed, frowning at the innocent flakes. âHurry up! Fetch theââ
âNo, Chas,â she purred, very cat-got-the-cream. âI wonât!â
She had no intention of slaving away for him. She was waiting for his reaction to her outfit, and when it came it was highly satisfying. Startled by her refusal, he looked her up and down and then did the tour again, all the way from her high-heeled red thigh boots to her new and classy hair-style.
âWowee, babe! Youâre a real knockout!â he declared in surprise.
She smiled to herself, thinking of the blow she was about to deal him. âIn more ways than one, Chas. Would you help me on with this?â she asked sweetly.
âSure⦠Uhâ¦are we going somewhere?â
He was more than puzzled by her assertive attitude, and his fingers hesitated on the warm amber-red jacket sheâd handed to him.
âJust me!â she trilled.
Wonderfully in control, Jodie slipped her arms into the jacket then flung a heavy honey-gold cape around her shoulders, her once-nervy hands as steady as a rock. Then she dropped her bombshell.
âIâm leaving. Permanently. Here are my keys. The apartmentâs all yours. You go wipe the floor!â
He gaped. Jodie noticed for the first time that his teeth were rather uneven and his lips were thick and wet. She shuddered. Love really had been blind!
âButâ¦but youâre crazy about me!â he protested. âAndâ¦I love you!â
âNo,â she corrected, feeling contemptuous because heâd deliberately turned on his low, sexy voice. It was so gravelly it could have gritted Manhattan. But it did nothing for her. He was out of her system! She jammed her fabulous felt hat over her shiny chestnut bob and set the brim at a wicked angle. âYou love yourself and you love the person you tried to create,â she said, exulting in her coolness. âEver since I came into your office as a junior youâve done your best to make me into what you wanted: a cross between a domestic servant, a hard-nosed career woman and an insatiable tigress in bed. Iâm fed up with being on anti-depressants because I donât measure up, and Iâm sick of trying to work out some PR promotion for you whilst scrubbing saucepans in a thong!â
âYouâre exaggerating!â he gasped.
âPerhaps, but you canât deny that would have been your wildest dream come true!â Her eyes flashed, green and sparkling, as she warmed to her theme. âNo wonder I was a bag of nerves! No wonder this kitchenâs seen more charred remains than a fire fighter on overtime! Well, if you want Superwoman, go train someone else. I want out.â
âYou canât!â Chas said in desperation, as she picked up her new suede gloves purposefully.
âWatch.â
âButâ¦we could have babies!â
She froze at his last-ditch, sneaky attempt to keep her, then swivelled around, her jade eyes glittering with such ferocity that Chas quailed. For the past six years sheâd longed for marriage and children. Chas had refused.
âGoodbye!â she said coldly. âYou can pick my car up from JFK airport!â
âYouâre not serious! Whereâs your luggage?â he scorned.
âIn the car already.â Feeling free as a bird, she opened the door.
âWait a minute! Whereâwhere are you going?â he wailed.
âEngland,â she replied more softly, happiness lighting her face. âTo be with my father.â
âWhaaat? Youâre mad! I know he wrote to you, but that was six months ago and you havenât heard anything since! If heâs the sort of guy to abandon you and your mother when you were barely a year old, heâs hardly going to cheer when an emotional cripple lands on his doorstep!â Chas bellowed nastily.