her wide hat, she settled back on her heels, listening for another whistle blast in spite of her resolve.
With a determined sigh, Caroline deposited her small scissors in the basket and stood up, wiping her dirty hands on her skirt. She'd take the herbs to the kitchen and then occupy herself elsewhere. This time, she would not be the one to seek him out.
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None of the arguments mattered. No matter how fiercely he tried to convince himself to do otherwise, he could think of nothing but seeking her out. He didn't want to face her. He'd spent the last five months hiding from her and the unwanted emotions she stirred in him. He didn't want to wonder if she'd look the same, if her skin would be as clear and sweet as he remembered it.
And yet somehow, without making a conscious decision, he found himself in Ines's herb garden. Caroline was there, as Ines had said she would be, bending over the plants that had pushed their way through the earth. Her light dress of pale rose cotton swathed her body in a way that made it evident she'd forgone corset and petticoats.
A wide straw hat shielded her face and head from him, but he heard her sigh before she straightened wearily and wiped her hands on her skirt.
He couldn't help marveling at her ethereal beauty, her fragile grace, her sensual power. She stood for a moment, her face lifted, her eyes straining toward the distant dock, and his foolish heart quickened at the thought that she was looking for him, thinking of him.
Oh, Caroline, how I've missed you. The thought leaped to mind before he could crush it.
Why was she still here? Why hadn't she left while he was gone? It would have made it so much easier all the way around. Unless....
His gaze followed her hand as it moved caressingly over her gently rounded abdomen.
"Hell and damn," he muttered under his breath, shock vibrating through his being. He'd known it was possible, but somehow he hadn't really believed it would happen.
He couldn't take his gaze away from her belly. He couldn't stop thinking about his seed growing inside her, his child. It filled him with joy and terror.
Stepping back so that the shadows of the jungle concealed him, he watched her walk away toward the house. He'd gotten what he'd wanted, what he thought he'd wanted. A child. His own child. The very thought scared the hell out of him.
Chapter Fourteen
The door to the study flew open and Caroline glanced up from the ledger with a gasp. Jason stood in the doorway, his face registering shock as he stared at her in wide-eyed confusion.
Her heart hammering in her chest, Caroline tried to still the trembling that had overtaken her at the sight of him. He looked the same but not the same. Lines of fatigue creased the flesh around his eyes. His hair had grown longer and hung nearly to his shoulders. A day's growth of stubble shadowed the lower half of his face. His wrinkled clothes appeared as worn as he did.
Anger and joy mingled in her chest. How she'd missed him, even if he was perpetually angry. They had parted so bitterly. The months of waiting, waiting for another chance to reach him, to make him love her, had seemed interminable.
"What are you doing in here?" he asked as he moved toward her like a jaguar stalking its next meal.
Swallowing hard, Caroline managed to find her voice. She would not be intimidated by him. "Senhor Aveiro received word that his father was ill."
He placed his hands on the desk and leaned across it toward her. She'd forgotten how tall he was. Even when she stood before him, his size dwarfed her, made her feel small and helpless. But seated as she was now, he towered over her like a tall Amazon canopy tree over a palm.
Fighting the urge to recoil from the cold anger in his eyes, she continued, "He—he had to leave immediately for Portugal. There was no one else...."
Jason slammed his fist on the desk and Caroline jumped. The force of the blow set everything on the desk to trembling.
"Why didn't you send word?" he asked between clenched teeth.
"I knew I could do the job," she replied, unable to keep her voice from shaking. "I kept the books for Derek."
Jason seemed not to hear her. Reaching into his shirt pocket, he withdrew a piece of paper that he flung onto the desk. "Are you