The Tycoon's Baby Revelation - Elizabeth Lennox Page 0,50

his keys.

“Time to get some answers,” he muttered.

Chapter 17

Sloane stared at the box, reading the directions for the tenth time. “Seriously? I pee on a stick and…and that’s it?” She sighed, pacing the small confines of the den. She’d gone to the drug store right after leaving the office.

With a groan, she closed her eyes and leaned her head back. “Just take the test,” she said out loud.

And still she paced, clenching the box as if letting it go might cause it to bite her.

Turning, she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. Thinking it was Wilma and she could ask her friend for advice, she hurried to the door, pulling it open. Wilma sometimes stopped by when Sloane came home from work, often dropping off dinner or a dessert. Over the years, Wilma had sort of become a mother-like figure for Sloane and her sisters, she had never invaded their privacy and yet, she was always there to offer a hug or sage advice.

But this wasn’t Wilma rounding the corner. It was Josh! His powerful, black Mercedes pulled to a stop right next to her sensible, much less expensive sedan.

“Shoot!” she hissed, wishing that she’d hidden her car. But even as she thought it, Sloane discarded the option. “Not like I could hide it from him. It’s a car and there isn’t really a lot of hiding places around for something that big.”

He stepped out of his car and looked at her. Instantly, Sloane knew that he knew! How could he know? Those green eyes narrowed and she tried valiantly to banish the stress she knew showed on her face. Well, not banish it exactly. But hide it. Josh wouldn’t want to know if she was pregnant, she thought as she watched him walk towards her.

Goodness, he was so strong and vital. The man didn’t really walk so much as prowl, she noticed, not for the first time. She remembered meeting him that first day and she’d thought him dangerous then. Now she knew that he was a sweet, gentle, kind man. Merciless in business, but he’d never hurt her.

Of course, he didn’t know that she was pregnant. Or might be, she thought. Looking down, she realized that she was still holding pregnancy test. She hid her hand behind her back, then looked up at Josh.

His eyes narrowed suspiciously as he neared the doorway.

“Are you okay?” he asked, his voice deep and husky. Usually, she only heard that tone when he was making love to her.

He stopped less than a foot from her, hands fisted on his hips and a concerned look in his wonderful, green eyes. “Yes. I’m fine,” she lied. For the second time in her life, she’d lied to Josh and it felt so completely wrong.

He didn’t stop when he moved closer and her heart pounded in her chest. He smelled so good and she knew from the past several weeks that he felt even better. When he pulled her into his arms…yeah, just like that!

“You’re not okay,” he replied gruffly.

Sloane wasn’t strong enough to resist the warmth and security of Josh’s arms. Instead of pulling away as she knew that she should, Sloane leaned into him, resting her head against his hard chest, breathing in the scent of man and spicy aftershave. He smelled so wonderful, she thought, closing her eyes against sudden tears. A sob broke through her control. Then another. And another until she couldn’t stop the tears or the inelegant sobs. She wasn’t aware of Josh lifting her into his arms, but she felt him cradle her and she pressed her face against the warmth of his neck, letting go of the tension that had been building inside of her. Her body shook with sobs and his arms tightened around her, just holding her until the storm passed.

When she took another deep, shaky breath, then pulled away, he looked down into her eyes, wiping away some of the tears with a thumb. “Feel better?” he asked gently.

Sloane nodded, lifting dewy eyes up to his. “I’m sorry. I don’t know where all of that came from.”

“You’re worried about being pregnant,” he replied calmly.

Stiffening, she looked up at him.

She started to slide off of his lap, her breath catching in her throat. He’d leave her if she admitted it! Sloane couldn’t take that right now and she realized that, in the back of her mind, she’d decided that even if she was pregnant, she wouldn’t tell Josh. Not right away. She wanted