The Tycoon's Unexpected Baby (The Abbot Sisters #3) - Elizabeth Lennox Page 0,46

around his neck. She just…was.

“Pepper, you can’t go on like this,” he urged, sitting down on her purple, velvet couch. The couch she’d found at a yard sale and refurbished herself. It was stunning, with piping accents made from other materials and mismatched buttons on the tufting. It was so like Pepper…well, the old Pepper. He’d hated this sofa initially. But he loved it. He loved her, damn it!

Kissing the top of her head, he tried to infuse some of his strength into her. “What have you done to yourself?” he demanded.

For another moment, he felt her press herself against him and he closed his eyes, savoring the need he felt in her. For him, he thought. And memories of their time together flashed back into his mind. Memories of her curling into him at night, kissing him awake so that they could sit outside and watch the sun rise. Or…hell, there seemed to be a million small memories and yet, they’d had such a short period of time together before that bastard had devastated their lives.

Unfortunately, Pepper sniffed, then shifted away. “I’m fine,” she told him, even though it was obvious that she wasn’t. Not even a little.

“When was the last time you slept, love?” he asked, standing up and walking into the kitchen. He opened the refrigerator and cringed at the lack of food. “And when was the last time you ate something?”

He turned, watching Pepper’s hands flutter helplessly against the ties of her belt on her robe.

“You can’t remember, can you?” he asked. Dimitri slammed the door of the fridge closed, not worried that the contents would topple because there wasn’t anything in there to topple over!

“I’m fine,” she repeated tonelessly.

“Like hell! You are not fine! Neither am I! I…” he stopped when she turned that tragic gaze in his direction. “Damn it, Pepper. Why did you leave me?”

She shrugged and moved to the window. “I lost our…” her voice cracked. “It doesn’t matter now, does it?”

“Of course it matters,” he growled, coming over to stand behind her. He could see her reflection in the window and realized that she wasn’t crying. Not anymore.

He paused, his heart aching for her. “Do you still think about her?”

“I don’t,” she replied. But he knew she was lying.

“Why not?”

Pepper swallowed and he could feel her pain as if it were a living, breathing thing. “Because I couldn’t…I didn’t…protect…” she inhaled a shaky breath and tried again. “Because.”

His hands rested on her shoulders. “Pepper, you didn’t do anything wrong!”

The tears welled up in her eyes and she shook her head. “I didn’t protect our baby, Dimitri. Of course I’m to blame.” Those big, blue eyes looked up at him. “Are you here so that I can sign the divorce papers?” she asked, shrugging out of his arms.

He wanted to yell at her, to pull her into his arms and hold her close. He wanted to love her and show her that she was still alive! But Pepper wouldn’t let him do any of that. Not yet!

“There are no divorce papers,” he replied firmly.

That caught her attention. “No papers? But…we’re going to divorce! There’s no reason to be married any more. Why wouldn’t we divorce?”

He saw the panic in her blue eyes and had to hold onto his resolve. He couldn’t lose her! Not now. Not ever! “Because I love you, Pepper. And I didn’t marry you simply because you were pregnant!”

Pepper cringed as if he’d slapped her. “Yes. That was the reason we married. I told you that I was pregnant and you…we got married that weekend.”

He sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. “Pepper, think, honey. I already had the ring the day that you discovered that you were pregnant. I didn’t propose simply because you were pregnant.”

Her cheeks paled. “That’s a lie,” she hissed. “Don’t…don’t lie to me, Dimitri! After everything, all that we’ve been through, don’t lie. We’ve always been honest with each other.”

“Have we?” he demanded. “If we’re always honest with each other, then tell me you don’t love me anymore!” He waited as Pepper took pains not to react. She didn’t say anything. “You can’t say it, can you? Because you love me!”

For a brief moment, she felt a stirring in her chest. It might have been in the vicinity of her heart, but that was impossible. She didn’t have a heart any longer. It had died the day that she’d failed to protect their baby.

Fighting back the tears, she looked away from him. “I need