Undone by Her Tender Touch (Pregnancy & Passion #4)(35)

It wasn’t as if he was never generous with her. Quite the opposite. He went to great lengths to take care of her needs but he did so as impersonally as possible.

But now his caring seemed very personal. She didn’t know if this was a further attempt to make up for walking out of the sonogram or if he was genuinely softening toward her. Who the hell knew with him?

“I’ll take a bottled water. There’s one in the fridge,” she said as she settled on the couch.

She propped her feet on the ottoman and groaned in sheer pleasure. She leaned her head against the back of the couch and closed her eyes while she listened to him putter around the kitchen. Then she heard the rumble of his voice as he placed their dinner order. A moment later, he returned to the living room and handed her the drink.

“Thank you.”

“Your grand opening was quite the success,” he said.

He took a seat in her armchair and propped his feet just inches from hers.

“I owe a lot of my opening day success to you. Maybe all of it.”

He shook his head. “I gave you a place but it was your talent and hard work that made it happen.”

“Thank you for saying that. It means a lot. I’ve been working toward this for a very long time.”

He put his hands behind his head and cupped his nape. “Have you thought about what you’ll do after the baby is born?”

She cocked her head to the side and glanced questioningly at him. “What do you mean?”

“Will you keep your current schedule or will you employ others to run the shop so that you have more time with our son?”

For a moment she couldn’t respond. She was too struck by the reference to their son. And she was reminded that she and Cam weren’t a couple. Of course he would wonder what arrangements she’d made because he wasn’t going to be there on a 24/7 basis.

It shocked her how much that hurt. How much she wanted it to be different.

“I haven’t decided yet,” she said slowly. “A lot will depend on how the café is doing and if I can afford to hire more help. I have to train my assistant so that she can duplicate my recipes while I’m out on maternity leave. But I can’t close down. That’s not even an option.”

“Of course not. If you’ll allow me to help, I can certainly put some feelers out. We have a number of pastry chefs that work in our various hotels. I’m sure we could loan one to you for a few weeks.”

She stared back at him, mouth open. “Cam, you guys own five-star resorts. There is no way I could afford to pay even three weeks’ wages to a world-class pastry chef like the ones you guys employ.”

“He or she would of course remain on our payroll.”

She sighed. “I can’t keep relying on you, Cam. I’m only setting myself up to fail miserably. What you’ve done is so wonderful and so helpful but it also skews the results. When all your support goes away, I’ll be left in a lurch.”

He frowned. “No one says it’s going away.”

“I say it’s going away,” she said gently. “I have to make a go of this myself, Cam.”

He didn’t argue, although she had the distinct feeling that he hadn’t dropped the subject for good. Then a completely unrelated thought struck her.

“I didn’t frame my first dollar.”

He blinked in surprise and then seemed puzzled by her dismay.

Her lips turned down into a frown. “You’re supposed to frame the first dollar you make. You know, when you start a business. You didn’t do that with yours?”

“Hell, Pippa, your first sale was probably a debit card purchase. Nobody carries cash anymore. You could always frame the credit card receipt.”

She pulled a face. “You’re such a party pooper. You don’t have your first dollar?”

He shrugged. “I still have my first million.”

She rolled her eyes at him. “Somehow that doesn’t surprise me. Does money mean anything at all to you or has it lost its value?”

“Of course it means something.” He scowled, making her almost want to giggle. “It means I can support our child and you. It means I can live comfortably and not worry about where my next meal is coming from. It means you don’t have to worry about your lack of health insurance.”

She held up her hands in surrender. “Okay, okay, I was being a snot. It was an unfair jab. I’m sorry.”

“I’m not out blowing my cash if that’s what you were wondering.”

Her cheeks warmed and she glanced away. “No, I was just stereotyping you and being flip. I really didn’t mean anything by it. People who don’t have a lot of money tend to not really understand people who do have money. Or their attitude toward money.”

He lifted one eyebrow. “I hope you’re not implying I’m a snob.”

“No,” she said truthfully. “I truly don’t think you’re a snob. You can be a first-class jerk, but not a snob.”

He shot her a glare and she snickered.

The doorbell interrupted and Cam quickly rose to go answer. A moment later, he came back, followed by a delivery person who set up the food on the coffee table. The young man smiled at Pippa and then he and Cam disappeared from the living room once more.

She waited, sniffing appreciatively at the mouthwatering aroma floating from the covered plates. She’d leaned over to take a quick peek when Cam admonished her from the doorway.