to eat lunch, and we have a business meeting at three.’
Lunch was the last thing she was bothered about.
What was she going to do if this test was positive?
CHAPTER SIX
KATIE stared at the thin blue line in disbelief. According to the test she was pregnant! How could that be—how could she have had a negative result four weeks ago and now this? Maybe she’d done the first test too early. Or maybe this test was faulty, she thought frantically. Perhaps she should buy another kit? Third time lucky and all that …
If it weren’t so serious it would be funny. Because, deep down, she knew that this result was the right one.
She kept the leaflet that came with the kit and threw everything else away. Then, in a state of shock, she left the ladies’ room and merged into the crowds of shoppers in the busy department store.
Saks of Fifth Avenue was a strange place to discover that she was pregnant, she thought as she walked dazedly through one department after another. But then all her surroundings were rather bizarre at the moment. Would it have been better to find out at Alexi’s apartment? Or on board his ship? Maybe four weeks ago back at the shipping office before she had finished with him would have been better, but the truth was it wouldn’t have made much difference. There was no best time or place because it was an absolute disaster!
How was she going to tell him? The question seared through her like an instrument of torture.
Maybe she shouldn’t tell him at all. Maybe she should just check herself into a clinic somewhere and have it dealt with secretly. It was probably what he would want her to do, especially if the rumours about why his marriage had failed were true.
Alexi had never talked much to her about his marriage. She knew it had only lasted twelve months, but that was all she knew. Every time she had tried to draw him out on the subject he had clammed up or changed the conversation abruptly. It had been obvious that he didn’t want to discuss it, and she hadn’t wanted to press the subject, hadn’t wanted him to know how much she would have liked to know the facts. Reading between the lines, she guessed Alexi had loved Andrea; he must have done to have committed to her. But they had wanted different things out of life and it had made him determined to steer clear of another full-blown relationship.
Eight years was a long time to be on his own, and she’d heard it said that if a man didn’t remarry within the first couple of years after a split then it was unlikely he ever would.
In Alexi’s case that was probably very true.
She noticed suddenly that she was entering the mother-and-child department. Pictures of pregnant mothers looked down at her, the women all radiantly happy in maternity wear that showed off their proud bumps.
Katie did an abrupt about-turn. She couldn’t walk through there! Out of the corner of her eye she saw a cot, decorated with lace and pink frills.
It was fragile and sweet, and enough to intensify the cold churning feelings inside of her.
Could she really go through with an abortion?
And, if she didn’t, how would she manage with a baby on her own? She had always sworn that she would wait until the time was right for her to have a child, because she wanted to give her baby all the things she had missed in her childhood; she wanted her to feel secure and loved. She wanted a tightly knit family unit … and that unit included a loving father.
This situation was far from her ideal dream. And how would she work and look after a child? Her job demanded long hours.
She couldn’t think straight. She couldn’t decide how she was going to deal with this at all!
The blare of traffic and bright sunshine hit her senses as she left the store, and it was a relief to slide into the waiting limousine and sink back into the comfortable darkened interior.
As the car sped smoothly through the traffic Katie remembered the look in Alexi’s eyes only this morning when she had mentioned wanting a meaningful relationship. The word ‘fatherhood’ would probably freak him out completely! A baby was the biggest commitment in life.
Katie had never felt more alone in her life. And she suddenly had an overwhelming need to speak to her sister; she needed someone who would understand how she was feeling right now, and Lucy was that person.
Without even stopping to think about what time it was in France, she took out her mobile and dialled the number. But all she got was her sister’s messaging service. Disappointed, Katie hung up. This wasn’t the kind of predicament that could be revealed in a voicemail message.
She closed her eyes and tried to relax, tried to think logically.
When was her last period—how far into the pregnancy would she be? By her reckoning, it was only two months. However she did need to get to a doctor as soon as possible to have things verified.
Katie didn’t open her eyes again until the car had pulled up down at the dock area and the chauffeur came round to open the door for her.
A warm breeze washed over her, filled with the tangy scent of the ocean, and she took deep breaths of the fresh air.
The Octavia was berthed a few metres away. She was a sleek ocean-going liner with stylishly impressive lines. Katie had worked on some of the correspondence connected with this vessel, and she knew she was one of the most prestigious ships in Alexi’s fleet, and possessed luxurious passenger accommodation and reception areas, a shopping mall, some top celebrity-chef restaurants and even a chapel.
If circumstances had been different she might have enjoyed going aboard. But right now all she could think about was escaping. How could she have lunch with Alexi and pretend that nothing was amiss? Things had been difficult before, but they were impossible now!
She made her way down towards the gangplank where a man in uniform was waiting.
He wanted to see her passport before allowing her on board, and she fished it out for him.
‘Welcome to the Octavia, Ms Connor,’ he said as he scanned it and handed it back. ‘Mr Demetri has left a message for you to go directly to his private quarters on the top floor. Have a nice day.’
Katie continued up the gangplank and was directed towards the lift at the end of the corridor.
She was going to have to tell Alexi. The first clear thought struck her as the lift doors opened on the top deck of the ship and she walked out. This wasn’t something she could keep secret.
This was about a baby, a living entity. It wasn’t just about her any more. And Alexi had a right to know.
Katie found his private suite without any difficulty; it was a few yards down from the lift. But she stood outside for a few moments, trying to gather her composure before knocking.
Her hand was poised above the door when it swung open. Alexi was on the phone taking a business call, but he waved her inside.
‘This has happened before, and I can’t have someone on the team making those kinds of mistakes,’ he told someone forcefully. ‘You will just have to get rid of him straight away. Time is of the essence.’
He
