An Act of Persuasion(92)

Her screech was so loud it made her denial ridiculous. He moved toward her then, trying to calm her with his tone. “Listen to me, Anna. We can do this. We can make this work. I’m an open book. Whatever I need to do for you to trust me I’ll do.”

He was close to her now. So close he could reach for her hand, but she yanked it away.

“An open book? Really?”

Her low tone confused him. He felt like a witness who had said the wrong thing on the stand and was about to be cross-examined. Then it occurred to him. The one thing he hadn’t told her. He knew he should have come clean earlier. Knew it was a risk to keep it from her.

Mark. The man was, unfortunately, too good at his job.

“What do you want to know Anna?”

“Why won’t you tell me about my parents?”

Then she didn’t know. Not everything. This was a very careful line he had to walk. Especially given how upset she was.

“What do you think I know and aren’t telling you?”

A harsh laugh escaped her throat. “And doesn’t that answer my question? I gave you that certificate almost four months ago. I’ve seen you take less time to divert an international crisis. You haven’t said a word about it and any time I ask you about it you change the subject.”

“Why is it so important for you to find them? Why are you looking to the past when the future is right in front of you?”

“I told you.” She looked away from him. “Having a family medical history only makes sense.”

“This isn’t about our baby’s DNA. This is about you, Anna. What do you want? What possible outcome could there be to finding out about whoever these people are? These people who left you. The baby is coming. And I’m here. Let us be your family.”

* * *

ANNA COULDN’T RESPOND. The fear inside her was suddenly paralyzing. Her stomach felt tight and her mouth was so dry she thought she could drink a pool filled with water. He was asking too many questions. She didn’t want to think about why finding her parents was important. She didn’t want to say why she was keeping him at bay.

She couldn’t believe he sensed something was wrong. How clever she thought she was going through the motions, thinking he was fine with her level of commitment. She actually started to believe that she could make this arrangement work permanently. He could move in and she could have all the comforts and joy of having him here but still hold a little of herself back. As long as she didn’t give him everything, as long as there was something that was still hers and not his, then it didn’t matter if he left.

Or if in the end he didn’t love her the way she loved him. Or whatever it was that she was afraid of.

But now it was Ben who wanted more. Ben...the guy who wasn’t supposed to know what real love was all about. She’d gone from despairing that he would ever feel the way she wanted him to feel about her, to being content with what he was willing to give her because it meant she didn’t have to give as much to him.

Only now he was changing the game and every instinct she had said to run.

Fast before he catches you.

Except an eight-months-pregnant woman wasn’t running anywhere. Which only left her one other option. She needed him to leave. And to accomplish that she needed to start a fight she could win.

“See? There you go again changing the topic. You think I don’t know you? You think I can’t tell when you’re being purposefully vague. The fact that you have to play that game means one of two things. Either you already have the information I want and you’re withholding it from me for some reason, or you chose not to go looking for it after I asked you to. And what about Mark? Is he in on this? He told me he was working another case, but maybe that’s a lie, too. Maybe you’re working together to hide the truth from me.”

“It’s not a conspiracy, Anna. You’re becoming paranoid.”

Paranoid. Furious. Righteous. Whatever it took to start the fight. “Oh, so this is in my head? You’ve had that birth certificate for four months but you’re telling me you haven’t learned anything? Nothing at all?”

She watched him close his eyes and knew he was deciding how to tell her only what he wanted her to know without actually lying to her.

“I have information, but you’re going through a lot right now. I don’t know if this is the best time...”

He served up that concession like a softball. How easy this fight was going to be. Part of her felt bad because she knew it wasn’t the truth about her parents she was needling him for. It was only the fight she wanted.