to lay her head on his broad chest and forget yesterday had ever happened.
She tuned back into the conversation in time to hear Dr Bell demand, ‘Do you really think this is the time or the place for this discussion, Mr Taylor?’
Lexi’s bemused gaze went from one man to the other, not sure who to believe; she wanted to believe Jake.
‘You’re right, Dr Bell,’ Jake agreed curtly. ‘But don’t think you have heard the last of this.’
‘Please, Jake,’ she reached out a trembling hand ‘No recriminations, I couldn’t bear it.’
‘Oh, hell! I’m sorry, Lexi,’ and swooping down, at last he cradled her in his strong arms. ‘Forgive me darling, it’s just I’m so angry, I wasn’t here when you needed me. No business deal is worth a fraction of what you mean to me.’ He tilted her head back to look into her bruised eyes. ‘You do know that, darling?’ With one long, tanned finger he traced the soft curve of her cheek, the dark circles under her eyes, then softly his sensuous mouth brushed lightly against hers.
‘Yes, Jake, of course,’ she murmured huskily, her voice thick with tears. But did she? the errant thought flashed in her mind. She glanced up at him and was stunned to see moisture glistening on his thick black lashes.
‘I called last night, after midnight, and they told me you were asleep. If only I’d known.’ His deep voice shook with emotion.
‘It’s all right.’ But he could have asked about the baby; if he weren’t such a workaholic he might have done. She banished the disloyal thought and added, ‘You’re here now and that’s all that matters.’
For a long moment their eyes clung. Pain, regret and deep sorrow; the message passed between them, too agonising to put into words.
‘There will be other children, love.’ Jake cradled her head against his broad shoulder, his strong hand smoothing the wild tangle of red curls back from her face and gently down her back in the age-old gesture of comfort. ‘Cry if you need to, Lexi, let it all out.’ His deep, rich voice murmured soft words of comfort and consolation.
To Lexi it was the care she needed and, held close in Jake’s arms, the familiar scent and feel of him enveloping her, she cried as though her heart would break. Finally, all cried out, she hiccuped and raised swollen red eyes to his handsome face.
‘I’ll be all right now.’
‘We both will be; together we can beat whatever the world throws at us.’ His dark head lowered and his mouth claimed hers in an achingly gentle kiss.
Lexi curled her slender arms around his neck, needing him as never before. His sensuous lips, warm and mobile, moved seductively over hers, his tongue slipping erotically into her mouth. Surprised by his turning the kiss from gentle to passionate, she tensed, inexplicably revolted. Jake groaned against her mouth, a flare of desire sharp and instant tautened his huge frame, and, pulling back, he looked down into her pale face.
‘God! What am I doing? You’re ill, you need rest.’ He pressed her back down against the pillows, and shifted his tall body uncomfortably on the bed. ‘It never fails. From the first day I saw you, I only have to look at you to want you.’ A rueful self-deprecating smile twisted his firm lips. ‘I shall have to learn to control my baser instincts around you, at least for a while,’ he teased lightly.
Lexi attempted a smile, but unsettling questions niggled at the edge of her mind. Was that all Jake wanted from her? A warm body in his bed? Was that all he had ever wanted? Their baby, a mistake!
Half an hour later, after Jake had left, promising to return in the evening, Lexi was informed by Dr Bell that she could leave the next day. She should have been pleased, instead all she felt was a mind-numbing exhaustion and physical weakness that made the thought of leaving the security of the hospital for their apartment and the bustle of the hotel, and the inevitable condolences of the staff, a terrifying prospect.
A deep, drawn-out sigh escaped her. It was so unfair, she thought hopelessly. On Friday afternoon she had been a happy, pregnant mum-to-be. She had driven into York to keep an appointment at four with Dr Bell, just routine, but first she had gone shopping for something glamorous to wear at the dinner party she was hosting the following night with her husband at Forest Manor. The manor, once her childhood home, had been converted by Jake’s property company into a country house hotel. Now only the west wing was home.
Unfortunately, it had started to rain, and, dashing to keep her doctor’s appointment, she had slipped on the wet pavement and fallen. She had jumped to her feet and run on, arriving at the surgery late and rather upset. Dr Bell had examined her, and said she was spotting a little, and insisted she stay in the local hospital for a day or two just as a precaution.
Lexi, slightly in awe of her sophisticated, dynamic husband, had dreaded telling him. She knew Jake was hoping to make a deal with Mr Stewart, an American tycoon who owned, among other things, his own airline, along with a tour firm that ran regular trips to England. Jake had explained that if Mr Stewart agreed to use the new Forest Manor hotel as a regular stop for his clients, the hotel was assured of being at least half-full all year, even if it never got another customer. A great deal if Jake could get it.
She need not have worried, because Jake had arrived on the Friday night from London and been a tower of strength, telling her not to worry, his PA, Lorraine, could host the party and all Lexi had to do was look after herself and the baby.
Lexi turned restlessly on the narrow bed. How could life change so drastically from Friday to Sunday? All her hopes and dreams squashed by a wet pavement. It seemed so pointless...
‘Come on, Mrs Taylor. Cheer up.’ The sister who had attended her the night before walked in. ‘You’re young, and time heals all wounds. I know you don’t think so at the minute, but it is true. And it’s also true that I did ring your home last night; a woman answered and promised to give your husband the message.’
Lexi looked at the sister, and she knew Jake’s hand was in the unsolicited statement somewhere.
‘The young woman sounded supremely efficient; I never doubted for a moment she would pass the message on.’
It could only have been Lorraine, Lexi thought resignedly. ‘It’s all right, Sister, I believe you. My husband has been in this morning. Everything is fine.’
‘I wish you would tell him that.’
Lexi heard the sister mutter under her breath as she left the room, and felt sorry for her. Lexi knew personally just how intimidating Jake could be if he thought he had been wronged in any way. She still shuddered to think of the way he had dismissed the foreman on the hotel project last Christmas, frog-marching the man to his car and tossing his gear in with him. Jake was not the sort of man one argued with. Lexi had never tried; far too much in love with him, she would do anything to appease him.
Now, why did that thought make her feel even more depressed? she mused. Maybe losing the baby had made her realise once again how fragile life was, and question her slavish acceptance to everything Jake said or did. She tossed her head to dispel the unsettling notion, and the bedroom door swung open to reveal what looked like a walking basket of flowers.
The junior nurse dropped it on the floor with a sigh of relief and a huge smile. ‘Somebody out there loves you,’ she teased.
Lexi eyed the huge basket with wonder. Masses of roses tastefully arranged with babies’ breath
