happy, deep down. The question of whether or not to have the baby hadn’t even been brought up. She didn’t have much family, and now she’d have a baby to love, and he or she would love her in return. Her mother would have a grandchild. Circumstances weren’t ideal, but Tori had started thinking of this pregnancy as a surprise blessing.
The bagel caught in her throat and she took a deep drink of the milk to wash it down along with the unease that kept nagging her when she thought of her decision not to tell the father—at least not yet. Every time she’d determined to say nothing, she heard her mother’s voice telling her that Jeremy deserved to know. The problem was, she agreed with her mom. She wasn’t going to be able to keep this from him forever. She just had to figure out the logistics. The right way.
Jeremy Fisher… What had she been thinking, getting caught up with him last summer? It had been two weeks of sheer bliss, during which time she’d completely lost her head. They’d agreed it was a holiday romance, and boy, had they made the most of their time together. When it was over, he’d gone back to his life in New York and she’d been left behind in small-town Nova Scotia, in a tiny house on the water. And that had been exactly as she’d wanted it. She wasn’t a fairy-tale kind of woman, with dreams of being whisked away to a lavish lifestyle and a happy ever after. Well, she had been, once. She’d been swept off her feet by a handsome man with tons of plans. Riley had seemed perfect on the surface. And she’d fallen for him, hard.
Until she realized he’d been living a double life. He’d showered her with gifts and affection, but behind it all was a history of defrauding people and going into debt. For a long time she’d blamed herself for being so stupid.
She bit into a strawberry and considered her summer affair. Perhaps her “relationship” with Jeremy had been different because from the start there had been no question that it would be anything other than a fling. Indeed, it had been quite out of character for her, considering he was a guest at the resort. But they’d been discreet. And after two years of hard work, losing her dad and feeling alone, she’d given herself permission to enjoy this one thing.
She hadn’t thought there’d be these kinds of consequences.
The power dynamic hadn’t mattered during those few weeks. But it mattered now. Jeremy was a rich, powerful man, and she was…well, not nobody. She had enough self-esteem to give herself that much. But she certainly didn’t have the same clout and resources at her disposal, and it made for a very uneven balance between them.
She shook her head and pushed her plate aside, eager to get to work. The hotel manager, Thomas, was on vacation this week, so it was up to Tori to steer the ship. She spent the morning at her desk, then met with the housekeeping manager and the catering manager about requirements for a holiday function scheduled for mid-December. There was a Christmas wedding planned for the weekend before the twenty-fifth, and another on New Year’s Eve, where the ceremony would actually begin just before midnight so the bride and groom would be the first married couple of the new year. They were making a number of special accommodations for that event, from late checkout the next day to food service at one in the morning. The couple was willing to pay, so the hotel was willing to take their business.
It was mid-afternoon when she got up to do a walk-around, to get out of her office and to talk to staff and see what was happening. It was her favorite time of the day, actually, chatting with the staff, wandering through her second home, caring for it with love and affection. She made a note of a ding in a corner wall that would need to be touched up with paint, and gave a mental check mark to whoever had cleaned the public bathrooms on the lobby level. They sparkled and smelled like the hotel’s custom lemongrass-and-ginger scent. She greeted staff by name and made a few more notes about additional Christmas decorations that could be added to the dining room and small on-site gift shop. Maybe business was slower this time of year, but for those who did arrive for an escape or a special dinner, the hotel would show to best advantage.
She was just returning to the administration offices when the front door blew open, bringing in a smattering of brown leaves and rain; a man was propelled in with them, shaking his arms to rid his coat of water droplets.
She turned to the sound…and froze.
“Tori?”
She’d never known that a person could feel blood rush out of their face, but she felt it now.
No.
No, no, no, no, no.
He couldn’t be here. This was all wrong.
“Jeremy.”
He grinned widely, his thousand-watt smile hitting her right in the solar plexus. Why did he have to be so handsome? “I hoped you’d be here. What’s it been? Four months?”
Four months, three weeks, and five days, she wanted to answer, but nothing came out of her mouth. What was he doing here? And could she escape without him noticing the obvious?
No such luck. At her silence, his gaze swept down, then back up, and his eyes were filled with questions and confusion. Of course, she’d chosen today to unveil her new maternity wardrobe. Her condition was perfectly plain for all to see.
“Why don’t you step into my office?” she asked, pulling herself together. “We can catch up. What brings you back to the Sandpiper?” Her voice came out smooth and steady, thankfully. It wouldn’t do for him to see her discomposed.
She turned her back and started toward the offices, her body trembling. Not just because of the lie of omission he’d caught her in, but because just the sight of him still had the power to turn her knees to jelly.
It had been a very good few weeks, after all. Too good.
She heard his steps behind her and once they were in her office, she shut the door. Staff might be family, but they didn’t need to hear every conversation, and no one here knew the identity of her baby’s father. She and Jeremy had tried to be discreet.
Her office was small, and felt smaller still with him in it. She turned around and faced him, finally, attempting to put up an emotional wall so she could maintain her objectivity. It was harder than she’d imagined. Jeremy had a presence about him that was magnetic. Today he was dressed in a charcoal-gray suit with a precisely knotted tie, and an overcoat that protected him from the cold Atlantic wind. His hair was tousled, as though the ocean breeze had fingers it had run through the strands, making them seem carelessly styled, and tiny drops of rain sparkled on the top. And his eyes… Right now his eyes were the same steel gray as the white-capped waves along the shore. Cold and unhappy. Her tummy turned over with anxiety.
“What brings you back to the area?” she asked, feigning a smile, skirting around him to sit behind her desk. Her tummy was hidden that way…
“Real estate. And I thought I’d look you up again while I was here. I didn’t expect to find you pregnant.”
The blunt statement hit her like a slap. So much for the hope of him not cluing in. It had been a long shot but she’d held out a smidgen of hope that her top might have camouflaged her bump.
She shrugged. “To be honest, it was a surprise to me, too.”
“Is it mine?”
Her stomach plummeted. There was no beating around the bush with him. Never had been. Right from the start, he’d been up front about his attraction to her. He’d been staying in their best suite and she’d checked in on him on the first day to make
