style="font-size:15px;"> “Mail came while you were out,” he informed her, still grinning. “I put it in the kitchen.”
“Thanks.”
Probably birthday cards from her family, she thought, wondering how they were going to react to a new birth. Plenty of time before she’d have to tell them, but Leo...only four hours before he swept in, probably expecting two appetising meals. He’d get one. Then...
Well, it wouldn’t be the end of the world if he dropped her flat. She’d coped fairly well after Wayne had walked out of their three-year marriage. She was used to being independent, working things out for herself, setting goals and reaching them for the most part.
At least this time, she wouldn’t be left with nothing.
She was going to have a baby.
CHAPTER THREE
LEO KINGSTON was smiling as he strode out of the airport terminal and grabbed the first cab on the taxi rank. His business in New Zealand had been successfully concluded, the flight had landed on schedule, he was bound to get the kind of food he really enjoyed eating at Teri’s restaurant—tasty but not too fancy, and a proper plateful instead of the skimpy servings the classy restaurants charged a fortune for—then to top off everything, a night of sheer, uncomplicated joy with Teri.
“Where to?” the driver asked.
“Jersey Road, Woollahra.”
Home first to drop off his bags, have a quick shower, change into more casual and cooler clothes than his suit, a three-block walk which was just about right to get rid of the claustrophic feeling of plane travel, and he’d be at the door of Full Tummy—Happy Heart.
He grinned over the great name Teri had chosen for her restaurant. It was spot-on. Delivered precisely what it said. No pretensions. Just like Teri herself. He was really looking forward to being with her again. Great woman. She didn’t nag, didn’t sulk, never called him to account over anything, had no unreasonable expectations of him, made no demands, didn’t keep a clock on him, always enjoyed their times together, and she had a fantastic body.
It stirred him just thinking about the way Teri was built. She was so curvy and female. No bones sticking into him, just soft rounded flesh a man could really sink into and revel in. A real woman.
He remembered when he first saw her. Must be almost a year ago now. It was soon after he’d bought the terrace house in Jersey Road, when he’d been scouting the area for restaurants that provided good meals. Teri’s place had been a great find. No waiting forever to be served, either, though he hadn’t minded sitting over his dinner because just watching Ten had been a real pleasure.
He’d liked everything about her—the way she smiled at customers and cared about them being satisfied with what they’d chosen. Beautiful eyes. Touchable hair. An efficient manner without being abrupt. And a body that most women—in Leo’s experience—would have traded on. But there wasn’t even a hint of The Princess Syndrome in Teri Adams. Which made her even more attractive. And desirable.
He hated the be-my-slave-because-I’m-beautiful attitude a lot of women gave out. He’d had a gutful of it from his ex-wife, expecting him to dance attendance on her, provide her with everything her greedy little heart desired, pouting and carrying on when he had to put business first.
It would be a long time before he shackled himself to another marriage. If ever. He’d been so deceived by Serena, how the hell could a man know when a woman was pulling the wool over his eyes? Besides, freedom was good. He’d had three years of it since the parting of the ways with his self-serving ex-wife and he liked it better all the time.
Teri obviously appreciated her freedom, too. Nothing like a failed marriage to get you thinking about what you really wanted to do with your life. She was a smart businesswoman. The way she’d tapped into a highly marketable idea was truly admirable. He had a lot of respect for Teri Adams. She could stand on her own two feet and meet him on equal ground.
The cabbie turned into Jersey Road and Leo directed him to the home he’d made his own, which was nothing like the status symbol house Serena had insisted upon, undoubtedly with an eye to taking half the proceeds of its sale as her divorce price. This place was all his.
It was ten past eight when he walked into his living room and glanced around, gleaning pleasure from the familiar, comfortable layout he’d chosen for himself and feeling a deep sense of satisfaction in his independence.
The cleaner had been in, leaving everything shipshape. Didn’t need a wife for that. There was his mansize leather chair and footstool with the coffee-table handy, placed directly in front of the maxi-screen television so he could watch his favourite sports in absolute comfort. No wife to complain about how much time he spent on it instead of sharing things with her—never mind her never trying to share things with him.
This was good. All it lacked was a woman in his bed. But the price of that was too damned high. And a wife didn’t guarantee it, either. Sex was doled out at her convenience, not his, and only when he’d performed as he should in her eyes. Well, to hell with that!
Teri suited him just fine and he obviously suited her. Which reminded him to get moving. Shower, shave...full tummy, happy heart.
A very happy heart tonight!
CHAPTER FOUR
TERI checked her watch again—8:31. This waiting was dreadfully distracting, not to mention nerveracking. So Leo was a minute late, she argued fiercely to herself. He might be half an hour late. He might not come at all. He hadn’t promised anything. It was stupid to be working herself into a state with this constant clock-watching.
If Dylan had kept his mouth shut, she would have been sailing serenely through the evening, doing her job as she always did, without feeling as though she had a hive of buzzing bees inside her. In actual fact, she’d prefer it if Leo didn’t turn up. Tomorrow night or any night in the future would be soon enough to tell him she was having his child. Then there’d be no possibility of feeling anything bad about going to bed alone on her thirtieth birthday.
Teri concentrated on counting notes out of the till. Most of her clientele were working people who didn’t want to cook for themselves and they’d either been and gone home or were still eating. Nine-thirty was closing time. Which would fit nicely into giving a baby its night feed, she assured herself.
The doors whooshed open.
Teri’s head jerked up.
Leo!
He came striding through the dining room, not glancing at the buffet section where a tempting array of food was still laid out, paying no attention whatsoever to the people seated at the tables, what they were eating or doing or chatting about. The bright, red-check cotton tablecloths, the little bowls of daisies, the framed black-and-white cartoons of people feasting that she’d hung on the walls...none of them rated the slightest bit of notice.
Leo made straight for the weighing counter behind which Ten stood, exuding an energy that instantly had her heart zinging. His blue jeans and royal-blue sports shirt meant he was well and truly off work tonight and the twinkle in his blue eyes held an almost wicked glee in the freedom to do whatever he liked.
“Hi!” he said, leaning his arms on the top of the cash register
