Free The Greek's Pregnant Lover by Lucy Monroe Page A

did. “We’re both adults. We both didn’t realize. The patch was my responsibility.”
    “That is like saying that remembering to use a condom was my purview alone and I know you did not see it that way.”
    “It’s not the same thing.”
    “Of course it is. Besides, sharing the blame does no good and makes no difference to the child we may have created.”
    “There’s no reason to assume I’m pregnant.” That was one leap of faith she did not want to make right now. “I told you, many women take months to get pregnant after they stop using the patch.”
    “You also called possible pregnancy a tragedy.” He didn’t look very happy about that. At all. “You would not consider termination?”
    “What? No, definitely not. That would never be an option for me.”
    He looked relieved, but no happier. “Still, you consider the possible consequences tragic .”
    “I didn’t mean that. Not really. I’m frightened of what this would mean for me, for us, if I were pregnant,” she admitted, emotion choking her.
    “I am neither of my parents. You understand?” He said something in Greek she had no hope of understanding, then gave her a look she wouldn’t want to see across a boardroom or in a dark alley for that matter. “I will not abandon my child.”
    That was one thing she would never have worried about, even if he hadn’t said it. Then a way of getting him off this line of enquiry came to her. “I would never expect you to, but could we please stop talking like pregnancy is a foregone conclusion?”
    “And you?” he asked, clearly ignoring her plea.
    She tried not to be offended he had even asked. In his mind, he had good reason for doing so. Irrefutable experience. But still, the question hurt. “I’m not your mother. I don’t have to give my child up in order to leave a soul-destroying life behind.”
    “How long since your last period?”
    “What, are you an expert on menstrual cycles?” she challenged.
    “No.”
    “I’m not, either.” She blew out a frustrated breath. “But I do know somewhere in the middle of your cycle is the most likely time for pregnancy to occur.”
    “And?”
    She winced, wishing she could say something else. “I’m pretty much smack-dab there right now.”
    “Even so, as you say, many women do not fall pregnant quickly after being on birth control for a prolonged period. How long have you been on the patch?”
    “I started taking it with Art and never went off, even thoughI was celibate until that first time with you. I liked the way it balanced my monthly hormone cycle.”
    “That is a significant amount of time.”
    “Yes.”
    “So, the chances you are pregnant are diminished?”
    “So I’ve been led to believe.” She looked at him worriedly.
    “But diminished is not nonexistent.”
    “No.”
    “Are you very angry?”
    “Angry? No. Well, maybe a smidge with myself. I feel like an idiot for not keeping more attentive track, especially when we stopped using condoms.”
    “But you are not angry at the prospect of carrying my child?”
    “No.” Oh, heck. She might as well go for broke. She was feeling reckless and tired of hiding feelings that were so strong they left little room for anything else. “I can’t imagine anyone I would rather have as the father of my child.”
    Shock froze his features for several long seconds. “You do not mean that.”
    “I don’t lie.”
    “No, you don’t. No more than I.”
    That was something she still had to work on believing, but she wasn’t going to tell him that. Because Zephyr had never done anything to earn her mistrust.
    “I guess a billionaire real-estate tycoon would make an admirable choice as father for your child,” he said in his second full-scale departure from tact.
    She just managed to stop herself clouting him. “This is more of that, they want me in their life for what I can buy for them garbage , isn’t it? I don’t look at you as a meal ticket, Zee.”
    And he’d better get that