The Tycoon's Secret Affair (The Anetakis Tycoons #3)(24)

She nodded and rose from her perch on the couch.

When they arrived for her appointment, Piers surprised her by staying at her side every step of the way. She’d imagined that he might sit in the waiting room, but he went back and listened with concentration to everything the nurse and the doctor had to say.

When it came time for her sonogram, Piers was like a child in a candy store. He studied each image, and one time he almost touched the screen.

“Is that her?” he asked as he pointed to one tiny fist.

The sonogram tech smiled. “She’s sucking her thumb. Here’s her chin,” he said, tracing a small curve on the screen. “Here’s her fist. She’s got her thumb in her mouth.”

Tears simmered in Jewel’s eyes as she stared in awe at her child. “She’s beautiful.”

Piers turned to her, his voice husky and oddly emotional. “Yes, she is yineka mou. Very beautiful like her mother.”

“What about the cyst?” Jewel asked anxiously. “Has it gotten smaller?”

“Unfortunately no. I’ll have to compare the measurements to the last we recorded, but I think it’s grown a little larger.”

Jewel’s face fell, and she closed her eyes. Somehow she’d hoped for a small miracle. That maybe the cyst would shrink so she wouldn’t have to undergo surgery. She didn’t want to risk anything that would harm her baby.

Piers found her hand and squeezed reassuringly. “We’ll speak with the doctor and all will be well.”

She clung to him, basking in his confidence. She needed it desperately because hers was flagging.

The sonogram tech rolled the portable machine out of her room, and she and Piers waited in anxious silence. He seemed far too calm, but then what did she expect? He didn’t want this child. Didn’t even believe it was his.

But he’s here.

That meant something, didn’t it?

The silence was disturbed when the doctor came back in, his expression pensive as he studied her chart.

“Miss Henley, it’s good to see you again.”

Piers cleared his throat. “It’s Mrs. Anetakis now. I’m her husband, Piers.” He thrust out his hand to shake the doctor’s, and Jewel blinked as she watched Piers take control of the situation.

He and the doctor spoke of her condition and upcoming surgery as if she weren’t in the room. At first she listened in befuddlement, and then anger stirred. This was her health, her child.

“I will decide when the surgery is to be scheduled,” she said fiercely.

Piers touched her once on the knee. “Of course, yineka mou. I am merely trying to understand all that is at stake here.”

She flushed, sure she sounded petty and difficult, but she could literally feel the threads of her life slipping away, becoming permanently tangled in his.

“It should be done soon, Mrs. Anetakis,” the doctor said. “I’ve consulted with a colleague of mine who will be assisting. It’s a delicate surgery to be sure, but we feel confident of its success.”

“And my baby?” she whispered.

He offered a soothing smile. “Your child will be fine.”

“All right.”

As they prepared to leave, the nurse gave Jewel instructions for when to report to the hospital. The entire thing scared her to death. Before she’d been able to put it out of her mind, but now it was there, staring her in the face.

“Come,” Piers said quietly. He guided her toward his car and settled her inside.

For the first several miles, they drove in complete silence. Jewel stared out at the passing scenery, her mind occupied with the coming surgery.

“Tell me something. If you could live anywhere, anywhere at all, where would it be?”

Startled by the unexpected question, she turned to look at him. “The beach, I suppose.” She smiled suddenly. “I’ve always dreamed of one of those big houses that overlooks the beach from a cliff.” Her eyes closed as she imagined the sound of the waves crashing on the rocks. “A patio to watch the sun set in the evenings. What about you?”

His eyes never left the road, but she could feel him tense slightly.

“I’ve never given it much thought.”

“Where did you live before? I mean before all this?”

A sardonic smile quirked his lip. “I don’t have a permanent residence. I travel often and when I’m not away on business, I choose one of my hotels and I stay there.”

“Your life sounds a lot like mine.”

He cocked his head to the side and glanced at her for a moment. “How so?”

She shrugged. “No home.”

He frowned as though he’d never had such a thought. And then his lips twisted ruefully. “I suppose you’re right. Indeed I have many residences but no home. Perhaps you can solve that for me, yineka mou.”

They pulled into the long drive to the house, but it wasn’t until they came to a stop in the circle drive that Jewel saw the car parked in front of them. Was Piers expecting more company?

Then her gaze traveled to the front entrance and to the man sitting on the steps by the door.

“Kirk!”

As soon as the car stopped, she flew out and ran toward her friend.

Kirk rose when he saw her, a deep scowl on his face. But he caught her as she ran into his arms and hugged her fiercely.