Page 9 of Pregnant Behind the Veil (Brides for Greek Brothers #3)

Alessandra

Shock tethers me to my seat. A million thoughts rush through my head, ranging from heart-wrenching disappointment that my first proposal is more of a business proposition to barely contained fury that Michail would dare to suggest something so preposterous.

“An interesting idea.” Slowly, I stand and move over to the balcony. “Not a good one, but interesting.”

He arches a brow as he stands, too. “Running away already?”

I bristle. “I don’t run away from my problems.”

He advances toward me. A predator stalking its prey. I stand my ground even as the urge to flee pulses through me.

“You left my bed in Santorini. You damn near sprinted across the lobby two nights ago to get away from me. And now you’re walking away again.”

I stare up at him. My mind fumbles for words, trying to find a way to argue the point.

Except he does have a point. I woke up just before sunrise in Greece with Michail’s arm wrapped around my waist and his face buried in my hair.

The urge to stay there, in his bed, in his arms, had been so fierce it had been frightening.

I was certain in that moment that even though we’d only known each other for a few hours, this man had the power to not only bring me to incredible heights, but to crumble my heart into pieces so tiny I’d never be able to piece them back together.

So yes, I’d run. But I’m not the only one. He didn’t stick around to talk things out at the will reading.

“I understand you want the paintings for your mother.” I grab onto the railing with one hand, the cool metal a balm against my heated skin. “But you need to find someone else.”

“I don’t want someone else.”

Yearning weaves through me for one blissful second before reality crashes in. His words aren’t tender or loving. They’re calculating. I’m the easiest and most convenient candidate.

“No, you want me because I’m carrying your child and it would be another way to bind me to you.”

His jaw hardens. “You need to accept that I’m a part of his life, Alessandra.”

My head snaps up. “Don’t you dare tell me what I do or do not need to accept.

” Anger boils over at his nerve. “I’ve been stuck on an emotional roller coaster for nearly a year, and every time I think I’m about to get off, it just plummets down another hill I didn’t see coming.

You rejected me not once but twice, and the only reason you’re here now is because I’m pregnant.

We both know if there wasn’t a baby involved, you’d still be in the Hamptons or London or Paris, anywhere but here.

” I let go of the railing and stab a finger at his chest. “So don’t you dare tell me what I need to accept. ”

Silence falls. The wind stirs my hair, teasing stray strands over my face. The baby moves, a frantic sort of flutter as if he can sense my distress. I pause, suck in a deep breath and slowly move my fingers in a soothing circle over my stomach.

He closes the last bit of distance between us, stopping so near I have to tilt my head back to look up into his face.

“You and I are bound together, Alessandra. There is no escaping that. I won’t promise you a lifetime of love and romance. I’m not capable of such things.”

I look away. “I know. You told me before.”

“But I can offer you and the child almost anything else.” His breath is warm on my lips, his mouth inches away from mine. “Name it, Alessandra, and it’s yours.”

The deep timbre of his voice is a devil’s song, his conviction a dark melody that could tempt an angel to sin. The thought of spending a year married to Michail, of bringing my child into a home with a loving father and having that dream of a loving family is all too alluring.

But it would be a transient dream. One with a very firm deadline and no happily-ever-after.

The ache I felt as I walked away from his villa in Santorini had hurt enough.

I can’t begin to imagine the kind of pain I’d feel after living for a year as a family.

Michail isn’t the kind of man to give his heart away to a woman.

And I won’t settle for anything less than a man’s love.

“Nothing you can provide.”

His gaze hardens. “Try me.”

“There’s nothing, Michail. My answer is no.” One corner of my mouth twists into a slight smile. “Ironic, isn’t it? You thought for months I was only out for your money, only to learn I want nothing to do with it.”

“What about the baby?”

I tense. “I swear to God, Michail, if you threaten me—”

“Don’t, Alessandra.” The warning in his voice is lethal. “I would never separate you from the baby.”

“Then what—”

“You told me the one thing your mother never gave you was a father.”

I hate him. In that moment, I hate him and the fact that he remembers what I confided to him in the dark. That he’s now wielding my own words as a weapon against me.

“Yes. But she made up for it.”

“Did she?” His voice is quiet, yet the certainty in his tone is as strong as steel. “I’m not negating what she did. But you wanted a father.”

“We don’t always get what we want.” I lean in, nearly falter when he doesn’t pull back. As if he’s testing me to see how close I’ll get. “She was twice the parent my father ever was.”

“A conviction I’m intimately familiar with.

” He cocks his head to one side. “My mother is a strong woman. She sacrificed a great deal to give me every chance at success. That didn’t stop me from craving a father.

Even after I accepted my birth father was a bastard, I imagined life with someone who gave a damn. Someone who wanted to be involved.”

I don’t want his words to resonate. Don’t want to remember how it felt to sit on my father’s lap as he helped me unwrap a doll with a red ribbon in her hair and gather me into a tight hug as he told me I was ten times prettier than any toy.

“We both imagined a lot as children.” I force the words out, stand my ground. His proposal is the definition of insanity. “I grew up. Fairy tales don’t exist.”

“Fairy tales, no. But an involved father who can be responsible and committed to your child? That can be a reality.”

A fact I thought I could accept. Except Michail wouldn’t just be a dedicated parent; he’d be the one man who would break me the same way my father broke my mother. But unlike her, I have ample warning that any type of relationship with Michail will end.

“I can offer you stability. Support. A guarantee that I will care for our son and give him everything both of us wanted.”

“Not love.”

He pauses. His eyes drop down to my stomach.

“When I read the paternity results, I knew there wasn’t a single thing in this world I wouldn’t do to be in his life.” He looks back up at me. “I don’t have to think about it. I just know.”

My eyes grow hot. I know what he means. I felt the same thing in the doctor’s office when I first learned I was pregnant. I just never expected Michail of all people to talk about love like this. To feel it unconditionally.

“Children can break your heart, too.”

A shadow crosses his face. “I know. And one day that may happen. But I can do everything possible as his father to help him grow into the kind of man who doesn’t hurt others.”

I fight for control, to keep my eyes trained on his even though I want to lean into him, to just let go for a few moments and revel in the strange intimacy of sharing such an incredible feeling with the father of my child.

Michail’s disclosure alters things. If I take myself out of the equation, I know what he’s offering is the best thing for our son. But if the thought of one week with Michail was enough to make my chest ache, what will an entire year do? Or more?

No, I can’t think like that. My attraction to Michail is something I’ll have to deal with. What he’s offering is worth far more than a stupid crush rooted in really good—okay, great—sex. Even if it means making a deal with a man who just days ago could barely stand the sight of me.

“How long would we be married?”

Triumph flashes in his eyes. If he wasn’t offering me the chance of a lifetime, I’d be tempted to tell him to take his proposal and shove it before walking out of the penthouse.

“The baby’s first birthday. Then we can reassess our relationship. You and the baby will live here during that time.”

I glance over his shoulder at the penthouse. It’s stunning, but it screams wealthy bachelor, not family of three.

“Could we lease a different apartment?”

He frowns. “What’s wrong with mine?”

“It’s just…it’s your space. Not mine.”

“We’ll make it ours.”

Ours . A tempting word that threatens to rekindle my yearning for something more.

I step back and cross my arms over my chest. “I need to think about that.”

“Do you want to go back to work after he’s born?”

“Eventually.”

Another big disappointment of having to switch careers. The leave I built up with Kingston would have allowed me to take six months off. Now, I’ll be lucky if I can scrape together three months with Regent before I have the abby.

“But you wanted more time with him?” Michail presses.

“I had hoped for it, yes. But I can’t just take a year off from working.”

“If you reside here with the baby during our marriage, I’ll pay for the rent on your apartment and all of yours and the baby’s expenses here, as well as creating an account you may use at your discretion for personal spending.”

My mouth drops open. “What?”

“You want time with the baby. I’m offering a way to make that happen.”

The bastard should have been a lawyer. “I don’t want your charity.”

“It’s not charity if I’m offering to help make the best scenario possible for both you and the child a reality.”

I grit my teeth. “But you’d be giving me an allowance—”