The Tycoon's Secret Affair (The Anetakis Tycoons #3)(30)

“It’s really her?”

Piers smiled. “Yes, our daughter is making her presence known.”

She caught her breath as suddenly she remembered the scene just before they’d taken her to surgery. At first she thought surely she’d imagined it, but no, here again he was staking his claim. Why had he changed his mind?

“Thank you for getting me here so quickly,” she said in a low voice. “I was so afraid I wouldn’t be able to get to you.”

He sobered as he gazed intently at her, his dark eyes seeming to absorb her. “You wouldn’t have suffered for as long as you did if I had been there with you. From now on, you’ll sleep in my room in my bed so if anything like this happens again, I’ll know immediately. I don’t like to think what could have happened if I hadn’t heard you call out.”

She processed his statement, blinking the cloudiness from her mind. Everything was so fuzzy, and he confused her more than ever. It was as if their argument had never happened, as though he hadn’t accused her of trying to pawn off another man’s child on him.

“There will be plenty of time to talk later,” he chided gently. “You’re worn out and in pain. You need rest. I’ll be here when you wake up. You can ask the questions I see burning in your eyes then.”

She shook her head and winced when the movement caused a ripple of pain through her belly. “No, I have to know now. You said—implied—some terrible things, Piers. I won’t stay with a man who thinks so little of me, not even for my daughter. Kirk is willing to help me get back on my feet. I should have called him in the first place.”

“But you didn’t,” he said mildly. “You called me, as you should have. I think it best if we leave Kirk out of the equation.”

She started to protest but he held a finger over her lips.

“Shhh, don’t upset yourself. I owe you an apology, yineka mou. I’m sure it won’t be the last I ever have to offer you. I would appreciate your patience with me. I’m not an easy man. I realize this. I should not have implied what I did. From this day forward, we go on as a family. You’re having my child. We owe it to her to be a solid parental unit, not one where I continually upset you and cause you such stress. If you’ll give me another chance, I’ll prove to you that our marriage will work.”

She stared at him in absolute stupefaction. His sincerity was etched on his face. His eyes burned with it. There was no arrogance to his voice, just simple regret.

Something inside her chest, perilously close to her heart, unfurled and loosened. Forgotten for a brief moment was the pain that throbbed in her abdomen and the fuzziness caused by the pain medication. Warmth, blessed and sweet, hummed through her veins. Hope. It had been so long since she’d felt such a thing that she hadn’t identified it at first. For the first time, she had hope.

He drew her hand to his mouth and pressed a soft kiss inside her palm. “Do you forgive me? Will you give me another chance to make things right?”

“Yes, of course,” she whispered, her voice so shaky that her words came out in barely a croak.

“And you’ll stay? There’ll be no more talk of leaving?”

She shook her head, too choked to say anything more.

“You won’t regret it, yineka mou,” he said gravely. “We can make this work. We can do this.”

She smiled and then grimaced as pain radiated from the center of her body. Piers leaned forward, directing her attention to the small device lying beside her on the bed. He picked it up and pressed it into her palm.

“This is for pain. You press the button here, and it injects a small amount of medication into your IV. You can press it every ten minutes if you have the need.”

He depressed the button himself, and a split second later, she felt the slight burn as it entered her vein. The relief was almost instantaneous.

“Thank you.”

“I will take care of you and our baby,” he said solemnly. “I don’t want you to worry about a thing except to get better.”

She smiled up at him, her eyelids fluttering sleepily.

“Tired,” she said in a half murmur.

“Then sleep. I’ll be right here.”

She turned toward his voice, and when he started to move his hand from hers, she curled her fingers around his, keeping them laced. He relaxed and tightened his grip on her hand.

“When am I getting outta here?” she mumbled as she fought the veil of sleep.

He chuckled lightly. “There’s no hurry. You’ll leave when the doctor feels it’s safe for you to do so. In the meantime enjoy everyone fussing over you.”

“Just you,” she muttered just before she surrendered to the dark.

“Are you sure everything is prepared?” Piers said into his mobile phone as he entered Jewel’s room.

Jewel looked up and smiled and Piers held up one finger to signal he would be finished shortly.

“Good. Very good. I owe you one, and I have no doubt that you’ll collect.”

He snapped his phone shut and hastened to Jewel’s side. He bent down and brushed his lips across hers in greeting.

“How are my girls today?”

“Your daughter is very active, which is a blessing and a curse.”

Piers gave her a sympathetic look. “Do her movements aggravate your incision?”