Dream Lover (13 page)

To her amazement he smiled, ‘I’ll go, will you have breakfast with me in the morning?’ he looked into her upturned face and smiled again when she nodded. ‘I’ll knock for you at eight,’ he kissed her one more time while resisting the urge to pull her back toward the bed.

Quinn was still unsure she was doing the right thing getting involved with Maxwell, neither was she sure about letting him touch her they way he did. But heaven help her she was in with love him.

She woke early after sleeping quite well for best part of the night, as her eyes opened she remembered Maxwell was going to call for her for breakfast she jumped out of bed and showered, after washing her hair she left it loose. By seven forty five she was pacing the floor. Deciding she would surprise him she slipped from her room and made her way to his. This time they didn’t have adjoining rooms his was three doors down the corridor from hers.

‘I’ll see you later darling,’ a soft husky Italian voice broke the silence.

Quinn looked up to see Azzurra De Santos emerging from Maxwell’s room. If the other woman recognised her she did not show any outward sign but walked straight past her without a second glance. Quinn walked on past his room to the end of the corridor before doubling back to her own room.

No wonder he wasn’t pushing her to sleep with him, he already had Azzurra waiting for him! Safely in her room once again she slumped onto her bed, just what sort of man was Maxwell Cordell she found herself wondering? What would he have done if she had allowed him to take her to bed, spent the night dashing between the two rooms?

Of course he knocked for her and like a coward she hid in her bathroom and ignored him not wanting to get in to a row with him; no this was one conversation which could definitely wait until they arrived home. When her telephone rang she answered, deciding it was easier to lie if she wasn’t looking up into his handsome face.

‘Quinn are you all right I’ve been knocking for you?’ he sounded concerned.

‘Sorry I don’t feel very well, I couldn’t eat a thing,’ she hoped she sounded ill and not heartbroken, ‘I must have eaten something last night that didn’t agree with me.’ The lie burnt at her skin, while a voice in the back of her head taunted her calling her a coward for not opening the door and confronting him.

When he offered to get the hotel doctor she declined telling she would be okay if she just lay down for a while. ‘I’ll work from here,’ she told him, ‘please don’t fuss I’m sorry about breakfast,’ she added quickly, mentally she kicked herself for apologising.

If she hadn’t have known better she would have believed his concern to be genuine, especially when he told her, ‘I insist you go and see the company doctor when we arrive back, I’ll ring and make an appointment for you,’ he informed her with a tone of voice which advised she didn’t disagree with him.

Quinn didn’t argue with him, instead she replied with a small sound of acceptance.

Of course she couldn’t and wouldn’t stay the man was an unbelievable liar and seducer. She sat despondently on the side of the bed and dropped her head into her hands and wept for long minutes, after which she wiped her eyes telling herself he was not worth her tears she stood up washed her face then packed her case, there was no way she was staying to listen to more of his lies, to be seduced by his blue eyes and his devastating kisses. Well at least I didn’t sleep with him, she thought as she finished her packing.

Quinn was standing at the entrance to the plane taking a deep breath she repeated over and over, ‘
I can do this, I can do this,’
as she took her first step on board the plane she realised her mistake. She had changed her ticket for the first available, her seat was in economy class; it was only as she boarded the plane that she realised it was a smaller plane with smaller seats. Panic set in. Determinedly she sat taking deep breaths hoping to calm her raging heartbeat but to no avail. As the plane taxied down the runway Quinn collapsed in her seat. The flight was halted an ambulance sent for and she was taken away to hospital. Two hours later she was sat in a hospital bed feeling foolish and tremendously embarrassed and things were about to get worse, someone had contacted Maxwell Cordell.

Quinn was curled into a small ball when the door flew open, without looking up she knew it was Maxwell. No one else she knew made such dramatic entrances.

He stood at the foot of her bed with his hands thrust deep into his trouser pockets and glared at her for a full minute before speaking, ‘What the hell were you thinking of?’ he demanded, then started pacing back and forth across the small white room.

‘I’m sorry,’ she whispered, wishing he would stop pacing the floor; the constant back and forth motion was making her feel ill.

‘You didn’t have to run away for God’s sake a simple no would have been quite sufficient,’ he gave her a long hard glare. ‘I’m not so strapped for female company I have to use force!’ he snapped.

‘I know you’re not,’ she threw back at him remembering the beautiful Azzurra De Santos, ‘and stop shouting at me,’ she shouted back at him.

He glared at her for a moment before carrying on, ‘Shout, you’re damn lucky I don’t strangle you, I’ve just had to leave a very important meeting,’ he raked his hand roughly though his hair.

‘I’m sorry…’

‘Stop saying you’re sorry,’ he snapped throwing himself down in to the chair by the side of her bed. He concentrated on the floor between his feet before speaking, ‘I’ve had enough of you answering back every bloody thing I tell you, this is the last straw…’ he ranted on and on until she wasn’t listening to him anymore. ‘I have never had anyone work for me who argued with me as much as you do. I must be loosing my touch, I’ve never had anyone who dared argue with me,’ he threw at her.

‘Well I’m not sitting back while you treat me like a door mat!’ she snapped at him eventually.

He kicked out at the leg of the bed, ‘For God’s sake be quiet,’ he warned, ‘you just can’t keep those soft lips together for a moment can you? You always have to have the last word,’ he shouted ignoring her pale face, so pale it made her eyes look like huge pots of molten gold. ‘Why the hell were you running away anyway?’ he demanded, ‘one minute you’re all over me the next…’

Quinn made an angry gasping sound, ‘I was not all over you… I think if you look back it was you that couldn’t keep his hands off me!’ she threw at him angrily.

Maxwell stood by the side of the bed towering over her, ‘Why?’ he demanded ignoring her comments.

For a split second she was uncertain if she would explain her actions to him, ‘Azzurra de Santos,’ spilt from her lips.

The other woman’s name hung in the air and for a moment they glared angrily into each other’s eyes. Eventually it was Maxwell cursing which broke the hostile silence.

‘She had nothing to do…’ he started only to be interrupted.

‘Coming out of your room before eight in the morning I think has everything to do with it!’ Quinn informed him angrily, resisting the urge to scream at him.

They were still arguing heatedly when the doctor came in to check on Quinn and to give her the results of her tests. The doctor unfortunately didn’t speak English so Maxwell spoke to him in French, after telling him she was fit enough to leave he gave him another piece of information that made his face pale.

‘What?’ Maxwell demanded lapsing back into English.

‘Enceinte,’ the doctor repeated.

Quinn watched with growing alarm as the doctor looked from her to Maxwell, while Maxwell went even paler still.

‘Vous êtes sûr?'

‘Oui,’ confirmed the doctor, ‘Oui je suis sûr.’

‘Oh my God!’ he gasped slumping into the chair.

‘Maxwell what’s wrong with me?’ she asked in a small shaky voice. ‘Please tell me,’ she begged, at the same time terrified at just what he would tell her. Whatever it was, it was serious. Very serious he looked ready to collapse.

Without thinking he passed on the news from the doctor, ‘You’re pregnant!’

Quinn laughed loudly, she hadn’t expected to laugh today but here she was having a really good chuckle. ‘I don’t think so,’ she giggled, ‘in fact it would be a miracle,’ she was still laughing when she asked, ‘can I go home now?’ totally unconcerned by the information he passed on to her.

Maxwell looked at her as though she had grown another head, ‘What? Yes, yes of course you can.’ He had not moved from the seat, too stunned to move he sat in a state of shock. What the hell had he done? He covered his face with his two hands, had unprotected sex with a woman and left her pregnant. The worse part was she didn’t remember because she had been asleep and still thought she was a virgin!

‘Do you mind?’ she asked pointing to the door, ‘I want to get dressed,’ when he still didn’t move she snapped at him, ‘Mr Cordell please get out of my room!’

Obediently he leapt to his feet and dashed out in to the corridor; Quinn shook her head, what a day she thought as she dragged on her clothes again. Well if she never laughed again she had today. Pregnant!

When Quinn eventually left her room she found Maxwell sitting outside with his head in his hands. He looked up and gave a small grim smile, ‘We need to talk,’ was all he said wrapping his hand round her arm and leading the way out from the hospital.

CHAPTER NINE

Maxwell hardly spoke for the short journey back to the hotel, for some reason that escaped her understanding he looked pale and shocked and was unusually quiet as their taxi crawled through the Brussels traffic. Stealing a quick glance at him she shrugged her shoulders and wondered he couldn’t really think she was pregnant, could he, and even if she was why it should trouble him?

‘We need to have a serious talk,’ he repeated to her as they sat in a traffic jam.

‘Yes of course, I understand,’ she said in a quiet voice. Deep inside she knew he was going to fire her; she had finally taken one step too many and she had the feeling mentioning Azzurra de Santos was possibly the one step, a bit like the straw that broke the camels back.

‘No you don’t Quinn,’ he said gruffly, ‘no you bloody don’t,’ he repeated grimly. When they arrived at the hotel he took her straight to his room, ‘Sit down,’ he ordered as they walked through the door.

Quinn was in no mood for more of his ranting and instead of sitting down waited until he walked further into the room, she was no fool if he became too argument she would walk out. ‘Mr Cordell I’m tired, I think they gave me some kind of sedative at the hospital, can’t this wait?’ she sighed, what did if matter when they had their ‘
talk
’ he was only going to fire her anyway that much she was resigned to.

‘No it can’t wait, and stop calling me Mister,’ he shrugged off his jacket and picked up the phone, ‘have you had anything to eat?’ he asked,

She shook her head, ‘I couldn’t eat a thing,’ she informed him quite sure she would choke if she tried.

But he ignored her and ordered sandwiches from room service for them both anyway.

Maxwell looked across the room to where she stood hovering by the door, he slid his hand into his trouser pockets and held up a key, ‘You may as well sit down, you can’t get out.’ He watched her focus on the key following its progress back into his pocket.

Quinn pressed her lips together and said nothing; instead she walked further in to the room and sat in the armchair furthest away from him.

Max moved quickly toward her taking hold of one hand he gently pulled her from her seat and led her toward the sofa. ‘Sit with me.’ He waited until she was sitting before he joined her on the wide padded cushions. He reached out and took hold of both of her hands, ‘There is no easy way to tell you this,’

She waited for him to tell her she was dismissed; it was no less than she expected. But why was he holding her hands to tell her? But what he said was totally different to what she had expected to hear.

‘Quinn, there is no mistake, what the Doctor told you at the hospital....you are pregnant.’

He watched her lovely face break into a smile, ‘I am not, believe me...’

‘No you believe me, you are,’ he insisted holding tightly onto her hands when she tried to pull away.

Still smiling she shook her head, ‘I can’t be pregnant I’ve never… you know... I’m still a virgin,’ she said quietly as her face went a delicate shade of pink.

He shook his head ‘No you’re not…’ His guilt multiplied as the colour in her cheeks deepened.

‘I am….’ she insisted while wishing he would not harp on, this was personal and really nothing to do with him.

‘Shut up Quinn,’ he said softly, ‘you’re pregnant and the baby is mine...’

He watched as the colour drained from her face and for one awful moment he thought she was going to pass out. She blinked quickly as her soft golden eyes filled with tears.

‘It can’t be…tell me you’re joking…’ she stammered there were so many thoughts hurtling through her mind at the same time she could hardly think at all. ‘Why would you say that …why would you…’ deep inside Quinn knew he was telling her the truth she just refused to accept it. ‘No…you’re lying…’

He shook his head not realising his own face was as pale as hers.

Flashes of her erotic dream played before her eyes. ‘No…I can’t be …it was just a dream....’ she whispered, pulling her slender hands from his grip she quickly lifted them to cover her pale face.