One Night On The Virgin's Terms - Melanie Milburne Page 0,59

gone better for him just lately. His father was back home after having had a stent inserted and was recovering well, even talking of retirement. Louis had seen a remarkable change in how his parents spoke to each other. The health scare had helped each of them realise the deep care and affection they still had for each other. And he liked to think he saw a change in how they spoke to him. Each time he visited, he enveloped both of them in a hug, enjoying their new-found closeness. He had come to understand his father’s sacrifice of his own dreams and aspirations, and it humbled Louis to think of how difficult and painful that must have been for him, and why it had impacted his relationship with his only son.

Louis recalled Ivy’s comments about him not being true to himself about what he really wanted. He had been true to himself about his desire to pursue architecture. He hadn’t let anything or anyone get in the way of his hopes and dreams. But his personal life had suffered. He had fixed things with his parents but his relationship with Ivy was still a sore point. He kept revisiting it, mulling over each moment he’d spent with her, wondering if he could have done anything differently and not ended up with this infernal pain burrowing into his chest. It wasn’t indigestion. It wasn’t a heart attack...or maybe it was. Not a genuine, medical heart attack, but his heart was definitely hurting in a way it never had before.

But he would have to get over it. Work would have to go back to filling the hole Ivy had left in his life. A hole he had foolishly allowed to open.

Louis was thinking about how much he needed a coffee when his office door opened after the briefest of knocks. He looked up to see Natalie, his secretary, who was currently on maternity leave, standing there with a baby strapped to her chest in a sling carrier.

‘Hi, Louis. How come no one’s manning the desk? Where’s the temp—Maureen?’

Louis pushed his computer mouse aside and scowled. ‘She called in sick.’ He didn’t wish ill health on anyone, but he was relieved he didn’t have to deal with any more of Maureen’s questions about why he’d come home early from Paris.

Natalie’s brows rose and she came further into the room, one of her hands carefully cradling her baby’s downy head. ‘Do you want me to call for a replacement? You look busy as usual, and more than a little frazzled, to be perfectly honest.’

His scowl deepened. ‘You’re supposed to be on mat leave.’

‘And you’re supposed to congratulate me on the birth of my baby and gush over him like everyone else does.’

‘Didn’t you get the flowers and presents I sent you?’

‘Yes, they were lovely. You’re great at buying presents.’

‘Glad somebody thinks so.’ His tone was so dry, he could have offered his services as a nappy for the baby. He still had those wretched pink diamonds. He looked at them every day just to remind himself of his foolishness in agreeing to Ivy’s plan.

He moved a little closer to Natalie. She could have been carrying a bomb strapped to her chest by the way he was feeling. Babies freaked him out a bit. More than a bit. They were so tiny and needy and...and cute. Yes, heart-squeezing cute, even if he said so himself. ‘What’s his name?’

‘Thomas Charles,’ Natalie said, unclipping the carrier, taking the sleeping baby out and handing him to Louis. ‘Want to have a cuddle?’

Louis wanted to say no but didn’t want to offend her. Mothers had a thing about their babies. His mother had told him recently about her utter devastation as each of her subsequent pregnancies since his birth had failed—how she had loved and grieved for those unborn children, even though she had only been a few weeks along. Somehow, he found himself holding the baby, not as expertly as he would have liked, but the kid didn’t seem to mind. Thomas opened his tiny mouth and yawned, and one of his little starfish hands came out. Louis offered his index finger and the baby grasped it. His chest felt as if the baby had grasped onto his heart as well. ‘Oh, wow, he’s really cute. I can’t believe how tiny he is.’

‘He didn’t feel tiny when I was pushing him out.’

‘Spare me the details.’ Louis couldn’t stop staring at the baby’s tiny features and thought about