Anne regretted her impulsive outburst, but not the emotion that had triggered it. Yes, Jake was Beth’s father, but that gave him no rights over her.
‘You didn’t feel that way about me once,’ he reminded her.
‘Yes, once and only once, and look where it got me!’
He turned and met her eyes challengingly. ‘You could have had an abortion.’
‘No!’ She felt the heat drain out of her at his words. ‘Oh, no. Jake, I loved you. You were the best friend I’d ever had. How could I have killed your child?’
As she watched, the challenging anger faded from his eyes and they glazed with tears. ‘Why didn’t you tell me, Annie? I’ve missed so much …’
He bowed his head, and she watched in horror as a heavy tear slid down his cheek and splashed on to his sweatshirt, all the more shocking for being so unexpected.
She didn’t even stop to think. Her arms were round him, his head against hers, offering him wordless comfort while he struggled against the roiling tumult of his emotions.
After a while he lifted his head and tilted her chin, staring down searchingly into her eyes. His lashes, impossibly long, were spiked with tears, but his eyes were clear now, his emotions firmly back in control although his voice was gruff.
Thank you—for having her, for taking care of her, for not taking the easy way out.’
She shook her head. This was the easy way out—but not only that, for me it was the only way. Don’t thank me. I didn’t do it for you.’
‘I’m thanking you for my daughter,’ he reminded her softly, and then with a sigh he pulled her close again. ‘You said you nearly died …’
She nodded. ‘It was awful. Really she’s lucky to be alive. She was an awkward presentation, and I just didn’t have the pelvic capacity to cope with it.’
Jake led her to the sofa and sat, his arm still round her, while she told him about the fight to bring his daughter into the world.
‘Why didn’t they do a section?’ he asked in bewilderment. ‘Surely they could see you’re too tiny to deliver anything but a straightforward presentation?’
She shrugged. ‘It was a young doctor, and he kept saying she’d turn any minute. I knew he was wrong, I’d done my obstetrics, but you’re very vulnerable lying there, and you don’t feel like arguing. In the end I was too weak to argue, and then he called the consultant and they got her out in the nick of time. It’s a miracle she isn’t brain-damaged.’
‘Don’t,’ he groaned, and hugged her hard against his side. ‘Oh, Annie, love, I’m sorry. I should have been there.’
She laughed, a little shakily. ‘I’m glad you weren’t—you would have killed him!’
Jake chuckled. ‘Probably.’ He tipped her chin up with his fingers, and looked searchingly into her eyes. ‘Poor darling,’ he murmured, and then his mouth found hers, his lips soft and undemanding, his kiss a gift of devastating tenderness that brought a sigh to her lips.
Her body felt like liquid, melting against him as he deepened the kiss. She had missed him—oh, how she had missed him, but it had never been like this. Apart from that one wild, unforgettable night there had been only hugs and kisses of friendship, but this—there was something so right about it that it didn’t occur to Anne to stop him.
Gradually the pressure increased as the kiss became more demanding, and Jake eased her down until she was stretched out on the sofa, his body pressing against hers so she could feel the hard imprint of his desire.
With a moan of frustration she arched against him, and he lifted his head and stared down at her, his eyes almost black with passion.
‘What about Beth?’ he asked, his voice roughened with need.
‘What about her?’ Annie asked absently, her eyes locked with his, drowning in the deep, peaty pools that mirrored her own desire.
He laughed softly. ‘I’d hate her to come down and catch us—is there a lock on your bedroom door?’
‘Bedroom?’ she echoed stupidly, then suddenly reality came crashing back and she pushed ineffectually at Jake’s solid chest.
‘Dear God, what are we doing? Jake, let me up.’
He stared at her in disbelief for a second, and then with an untidy sigh he eased away from her and let her go.
She sprang off the sofa, her arms hugged around her waist, her whole body trembling. Dear heaven, what on earth was she thinking about to let things get so out of hand? And it wasn’t as if she could avoid him—he’d made it perfectly clear he was going to be part of her life as long as Beth was at home. That meant ten or fifteen years of his constant presence, countless hours of discussion over Beth’s upbringing and the direction of her life, and there was no way she could cope with that and an affair with Jake into the bargain.
Because that was all it would be. She knew him well enough to know that he was never satisfied for long with a woman, and that as soon as one had succumbed to his undoubted charm another would take her place.
No, life would be untidy enough without her own emotions torn to shreds by his devil-may-care attitude to sexual relationships.
‘Come and sit down, Annie. I won’t bite you.’
She laughed shakily. “It’s not your teeth I’m afraid of, Jake.’
‘What is it, then? I won’t hurt you, darling. Come here—I only want to talk.’
She hugged herself tighter and stared out of the window. ‘You weren’t talking just now.’
She could see him reflected in the glass, stretched out full length on the sofa, one arm bent, propping his head. He looked lazy and relaxed, like a big cat, and like a cat he was watching her steadily.
He came to his feet in one easy, graceful movement and came to stand behind her, his eyes never leaving the reflection of hers.
‘What’s the matter, Annie?’
She closed her eyes as he laid his hands on her shoulders and eased her back against him. ‘Jake, we mustn’t …’
‘Why?’ His voice was softly persuasive, his breath warm against her cheek. ‘What harm can it do? I meant what I said, Annie. I want to marry you, and adopt my daughter, and look after you both.’
‘No!’ She pulled away from the warm haven of his arms and crossed the room, turning to face him like a cornered animal at bay. ‘Jake, I meant what I said, too. I won’t marry you——’
‘You said you love me.’
‘Loved—a long time ago, when I was just a foolish girl, but that girl’s long gone, Jake. I’m a woman now, and I know what I want and need, and it isn’t you.’
His brows quirked. ‘Are you sure? That’s not the message I was getting a few minutes ago.’
‘Well,
