The Boy Toy - Nicola Marsh Page 0,94
Tullamarine, he’d almost kissed the ground. He was a city boy through and through, and being stuck in the outback for eight weeks, faking it in front of a bunch of tossers, had made him crave home.
Now that he was back and re-bonding with Samira, he knew it would be damn near impossible to leave her again; this time for much longer.
He would miss the entire pregnancy: the five-month scan where they’d discover the sex if they wanted to, the fitting out of a nursery, the Lamaze classes.
It sucked.
He didn’t like being an absentee boyfriend, and he sure as hell didn’t like the thought of Manish hanging around Samira to pick up the slack. He’d be gone for a long time . . . unless . . .
“Do you mind if I don’t come in?” Samira kept the engine running. “I’m beat.”
“You’ve never been inside my place. Aren’t you the slightest bit curious?”
She recoiled at his abrupt tone, and he dragged a hand over his face. “Sorry. I guess I’m beat too.”
“Then let’s catch up tomorrow—”
“I’m thinking of quitting Renegades,” he blurted, knowing it sounded ludicrous but strangely relieved.
He knew it wouldn’t be easy getting out of the contract he’d signed, and the money would help support the baby beyond the ten grand he’d given Amelia, which they couldn’t take back thanks to careful wording in his contract courtesy of Chris’s astute wrangling, but he wanted to gauge Samira’s reaction. Did she want him around for this pregnancy as much as he wanted to be?
“Where’s this coming from?” She switched off the engine and swiveled to face him, her expression inscrutable in the dim lighting. “It’s your dream job. You said so.”
“I want to be here for you and the baby.” He reached across and placed his palm flush against the curve of her belly. “I don’t want to be stuck in the outback at the other end of the country if something goes wrong.”
She stiffened slightly. “Is this about you being jealous of Manny? Because I already told you, we’re friends, that’s it, and he happened to be working in the ER the morning after the miscarriage scare.”
“Why did you choose that hospital?”
“Excuse me?” Her eyebrows shot up, disapproval radiating off her. “It happens to be the best in Melbourne, and in case you were wondering, I’m booked in there to have the baby too. Got a problem with that?”
He’d riled her. Her eyes flashed with anger as she shoved his hand off her belly.
“It’s not about being j-jealous,” he said, hoping he could get the rest of what he had to say out without stumbling. “It’s the thought of some other guy being around for you when you need support most, and that guy isn’t me when it should be.”
He held his hands out, hiding nothing. “I can get other jobs. But I won’t have this time with you again, and I want to be here for you and our child.”
If she heard his genuine intent behind his impassioned declaration, she didn’t show it. Instead, she scuttled back in her seat until her back pressed against the car door. She glared at him with wide eyes, as if seeing him for the first time; and she didn’t like what she saw.
“You should honor your commitment to Renegades,” she said, her tone oddly devoid of emotion. “Go. You can be involved with your child when you come back.”
His blood chilled. What did she mean “involved with your child”? It sounded like she didn’t want any part of him.
“What are you saying?”
She sucked in a breath and wrapped her arms around her middle, shrinking back from him farther, if that were possible.
“You were there tonight. You saw what it’s like for my mom and me. She’s old, and this pregnancy will bring a lot of judgment and shame on her, from her closest allies who’ve been around for her when I wasn’t. So I should do the right thing. Embrace tradition rather than run from it.”
Icy trepidation washed over him. She couldn’t be saying what he thought she was saying . . .
“Manish has offered to marry me, and I should accept.”
She sounded like she’d rather have a root canal, and he knew in his gut she was lying.
“Look me in the eye and tell me you want to marry him.”
She couldn’t, and his gut instinct intensified. Did she feel guilty for abandoning her mom all these years and that was why she was doing this? But if so, why