Free One Night, So Pregnant! by Heidi Rice Page A

that,’ she said.
    ‘Especially as she didn’t need to,’ he said, making it clear he was speaking about Tess as well as Marlena. ‘I gave her the money she needed anyway.’
    ‘Why did you do that?’ she asked, not sure where the twinge of jealousy came from. If he still had feelings for the woman, why should it matter to her?
    He shrugged. ‘Why make the child suffer? The boy’s father had dumped her as soon as she told him about the pregnancy. She didn’t have any other means of support, which was why she’d tried to trick me.’
    He said the words dismissively, but Tess wondered how many other men would support another man’s child in those circumstances. Hardly any.
    ‘Just so you know, Nate,’ she said, deciding it was way past time they cleared the air completely. ‘I’m not Marlena and I’m not after your money.’
    ‘I know that, Tess.’ The reluctant smile that curved his lips made her heart tumble over in her chest. It was a shame he didn’t smile more often.
    ‘Just so you know,’ he said, ‘I never had any intention of making you get rid of the baby.’
    ‘I know that too now,’ she said, echoing his words as relief flowed through her. Thank goodness, she’d been wrong about that. But that didn’t really alter the fact that he’d made it fairly clear he had no desire to be a father, and she did want to be a mother.
    ‘The way I see it,’ she continued, ‘I’ve made the decision to have this baby, so it’s my responsibility to bring it up, both financially and emotionally. There’s absolutely no need for you to feel any responsibility towards it. I think that’s fair.’
    The reluctant smile disappeared. ‘I don’t.’
    ‘Why not?’
    ‘A child needs a father.’
    The simple, stoic words surprised her. And she had no idea how to respond to the statement, because she had firsthand knowledge of how right he was. How desperately had she needed her own father, after her mother’s death? How much had she yearned for his approval and affection? She’d planned to protect her child by shielding it from a man who didn’t want it, and couldn’t love it. But did she really have the right to make that decision?
    ‘In an ideal world that’s certainly true,’ she said carefully. ‘But children grow up without fathers all the time. And isn’t that what you intended to do with Marlena’s child?’
    ‘That was the plan at the time.’ He ran his hand through his hair, the gesture weary. ‘But plans change. I couldn’t do that to my child. Not now.’
    ‘Why not?’ she asked, wanting desperately to know. Was it possible he wasn’t as indifferent to the prospect of fatherhood as he’d seemed? That he felt the same connection to this child that she did?
    But instead of giving her a straight answer, all he said was, ‘It’s complicated.’
    The fine hairs on the back of Tess’s neck prickled at the deliberately evasive answer, but she swallowed down her irritation. ‘That’s not very help—’
    ‘Have you got an ob-gyn yet?’ he cut in.
    ‘Yes, of course,’ she answered instinctively, her fine hairs prickling even more at the intrusive tone—and the deliberate change of subject.
    ‘Who?’
    ‘Dr Hillier in Pacific Heights. She handled my friend Eva’s pregnancy.’
    He pulled a smart phone out of his back pocket and keyed in something. ‘Right, I’ll have her checked out and get her to bill me.’
    ‘No, you won’t,’ she said, adding a hint of steel to her voice as her fine hairs went haywire. ‘I can pay for my own medical care, thank you very much.’
    He looked up from his mobile, apparently oblivious to the steel. ‘Uh-huh, how?’
    ‘Look, Nate,’ she replied, the hint of steel now replaced with a whole foundry. ‘This is not your responsibility.’
    One dark brow lifted in a sceptical arch. ‘The kid’s mine, Tess,’ he said patiently, as if he were talking to an imbecile. ‘And I’ll lay odds that in your line of work you don’t have proper