Realizing she’d spent too much time daydreaming, she hurriedly ate. After showering and dressing, she ventured downstairs where she found Piers in his study on the phone.

When he looked up and saw her standing at the door, he held up one finger to signal he’d be just a minute and then turned back to the phone.

Not wanting to intrude, she retreated back to the living room to wait. He wasn’t long. He was tucking his phone into his pocket when he strode into the living room.

“I’ve arranged for a chef for the time we’re here. He’ll arrive this afternoon in time to prepare tonight’s dinner.”

“You didn’t really need to do that. I was only teasing.”

“On the contrary. It was an excellent idea. You certainly don’t need to be on your feet cooking, and if it was left to me, I’m afraid you’d grow tired of my limited culinary repertoire.”

“You’re shamelessly spoiling me,” she protested, though it sounded weak even to her.

He half-smiled, something flickering in his eyes. It was that same look he always seemed to wear around her. “That’s the idea.” He looked down at his watch. “Are you ready? We ought to leave now in case traffic is bad.”

She nodded and rose from her perch on the couch.

When they arrived for her appointment, Piers surprised her by staying at her side every step of the way. She’d imagined that he might sit in the waiting room, but he went back and listened with concentration to everything the nurse and the doctor had to say.

When it came time for her sonogram, Piers was like a child in a candy store. He studied each image, and one time he almost touched the screen.

“Is that her?” he asked as he pointed to one tiny fist.

The sonogram tech smiled. “She’s sucking her thumb. Here’s her chin,” he said, tracing a small curve on the screen. “Here’s her fist. She’s got her thumb in her mouth.”

Tears simmered in Jewel’s eyes as she stared in awe at her child. “She’s beautiful.”

Piers turned to her, his voice husky and oddly emotional. “Yes, she is yineka mou. Very beautiful like her mother.”

“What about the cyst?” Jewel asked anxiously. “Has it gotten smaller?”

“Unfortunately no. I’ll have to compare the measurements to the last we recorded, but I think it’s grown a little larger.”

Jewel’s face fell, and she closed her eyes. Somehow she’d hoped for a small miracle. That maybe the cyst would shrink so she wouldn’t have to undergo surgery. She didn’t want to risk anything that would harm her baby.

Piers found her hand and squeezed reassuringly. “We’ll speak with the doctor and all will be well.”

She clung to him, basking in his confidence. She needed it desperately because hers was flagging.

The sonogram tech rolled the portable machine out of her room, and she and Piers waited in anxious silence. He seemed far too calm, but then what did she expect? He didn’t want this child. Didn’t even believe it was his.

But he’s here.

That meant something, didn’t it?

The silence was disturbed when the doctor came back in, his expression pensive as he studied her chart.

“Miss Henley, it’s good to see you again.”

Piers cleared his throat. “It’s Mrs. Anetakis now. I’m her husband, Piers.” He thrust out his hand to shake the doctor’s, and Jewel blinked as she watched Piers take control of the situation.

He and the doctor spoke of her condition and upcoming surgery as if she weren’t in the room. At first she listened in befuddlement, and then anger stirred. This was her health, her child.

“I will decide when the surgery is to be scheduled,” she said fiercely.

Piers touched her once on the knee. “Of course, yineka mou. I am merely trying to understand all that is at stake here.”

She flushed, sure she sounded petty and difficult, but she could literally feel the threads of her life slipping away, becoming permanently tangled in his.

“It should be done soon, Mrs. Anetakis,” the doctor said. “I’ve consulted with a colleague of mine who will be assisting. It’s a delicate surgery to be sure, but we feel confident of its success.”

“And my baby?” she whispered.

He offered a soothing smile. “Your child will be fine.”

“All right.”

As they prepared to leave, the nurse gave Jewel instructions for when to report to the hospital. The entire thing scared her to death. Before she’d been able to put it out of her mind, but now it was there, staring her in the face.

“Come,” Piers said quietly. He guided her toward his car and settled her inside.

For the first several miles, they drove in complete silence. Jewel stared out at the passing scenery, her mind occupied with the coming surgery.

“Tell me something. If you could live anywhere, anywhere at all, where would it be?”

Startled by the unexpected question, she turned to look at him. “The beach, I suppose.” She smiled suddenly. “I’ve always dreamed of one of those big houses that overlooks the beach from a cliff.” Her eyes closed as she imagined the sound of the waves crashing on the rocks. “A patio to watch the sun set in the evenings. What about you?”

His eyes never left the road, but she could feel him tense slightly.

“I’ve never given it much thought.”

“Where did you live before? I mean before all this?”

A sardonic smile quirked his lip. “I don’t have a permanent residence. I travel often and when I’m not away on business, I choose one of my hotels and I stay there.”

“Your life sounds a lot like mine.”

He cocked his head to the side and glanced at her for a moment. “How so?”

She shrugged. “No home.”

He frowned as though he’d never had such a thought. And then his lips twisted ruefully. “I suppose you’re right. Indeed I have many residences but no home. Perhaps you can solve that for me, yineka mou.”

They pulled into the long drive to the house, but it wasn’t until they came to a stop in the circle drive that Jewel saw the car parked in front of them. Was Piers expecting more company?

Then her gaze traveled to the front entrance and to the man sitting on the steps by the door.

“Kirk!”

As soon as the car stopped, she flew out and ran toward her friend.

Kirk rose when he saw her, a deep scowl on his face. But he caught her as she ran into his arms and hugged her fiercely.

“What the devil is going on, Jewel?” he demanded.

“I think that should be what I’m asking,” Piers said coolly.

Jewel turned to see Piers staring at them, his eyes steely.

“Piers, this is a good friend of mine, Kirk. Kirk, this is Piers…my husband.”

Kirk swore. “Damn it, Jewel, I told you to wait until I got here.”

She swung back around to Kirk. “What are you talking about?”

“I e-mailed you after you e-mailed me telling me your situation and that you were marrying this guy.” He made an angry sweeping motion toward Piers.

“But I didn’t get any e-mail. I swear. I had no idea if you’d even get mine.”

Piers stepped to Jewel’s side and wrapped an arm around her. He held her so tightly that she couldn’t move.

“And did you rush all this way to offer us your congratulations?” Piers asked smoothly. “I’m sorry to say you missed the ceremony.”

Kirk frowned even harder. “I’d like to talk to Jewel alone. I’m not leaving here until she convinces me that this is what she wants.”

“Anything you have to say in front of my wife, can be said in front of me.”

“Piers, stop,” she said sharply. “Kirk is a very dear friend, and I owe him an explanation.” She pried herself away from Piers and laid her hand on Kirk’s arm. “Have you eaten anything?”

Kirk shook his head. “I hopped a flight and came straight here.”

“Come in then. We can go out on the patio to eat, and we can talk.”

She could have broken a stone on Piers’s face. Without a word, he turned and stalked away, disappearing into the house.

“Nice guy,” Kirk muttered.

Jewel sighed. “Come on in. I’ll get us something to eat.”

Eleven

P iers stood in the living room, sipping his drink and staring broodingly to the terrace where Jewel sat entertaining her guest.

Just who was this Kirk to her? Was he the father of her child? Had he left her high and dry and now had a change of heart? For all he knew, the two of them could be taking him on the ride of his life.

His eyes narrowed when he saw Jewel smile and then laugh at something Kirk had said. Then they both stood and Kirk drew her into his arms, hugging her tightly.

Piers’s fingers curled into tight fists at his side. Then, before they returned inside, he walked away, determined not to give her the satisfaction of rising to her bait.

He was halfway across the room when he realized what he was doing. Running. That made him more furious than the thought of her making a fool of him. No woman was going to force him into retreat.

He turned to face them when the French doors opened. His gaze swept coldly over Kirk and then Jewel. She answered him with a frown, her eyes reproachful.

“Everything cleared up?” he asked mildly.

“Not really,” Kirk said in a tight voice. “I’ve offered my assistance to Jewel so that her only alternative isn’t marriage to you.”

“How kind, only it’s too late. She’s my wife.”

“Divorces are easy enough to get.”

“I suppose they are, providing I was willing. I’m not.”

“Stop it, both of you,” Jewel demanded. “Kirk, please. I appreciate your help more than you know, but Piers is right. It’s too late. We’re married, and I want to make the best of it.”

Kirk’s expression softened as he looked at Jewel. “If you need anything at all, get in touch with me. It might take me a few days to get to you, but I’ll be there, okay?”

Jewel smiled and hugged him tightly. “Thank you, Kirk. I appreciate everything you’ve done and for letting me stay in the apartment.”

So it was Kirk’s apartment and not Jewel’s. She obviously hadn’t been exaggerating when she said she had no money and no place to stay.

Guilt crowded into his mind again at the idea of her alone and in desperate need of help.

Kirk kissed her forehead and then pulled away. “If you’re sure there isn’t anything I can do, I’m going to head back to the airport and see if I can hop a flight today. If I’m lucky, I can be back on location in a day and a half.”

“I’m just sorry you made the trip for nothing. If I’d gotten your e-mail, I would have told you not to bother coming.”

Piers fought to maintain a neutral expression. Deleting the e-mail had backfired on him. If she was telling the truth.

She walked Kirk to the door, and they both disappeared outside. A few minutes later, Piers heard the car drive away and then Jewel came back inside, her expression stormy.

“What the hell was all that about?” she demanded.

He raised an eyebrow at the force of her anger. She was bristling from head to toe and her eyes shot ocean-colored daggers at him.

“Funny, I should be asking you that question.”

“What are you talking about? Kirk is a good friend of mine. The only friend I have. If you have a problem with that, you can take a hike.”

“So fiercely loyal,” he murmured. “I wonder, though, if that loyalty extends to me?”

“Cut the crap, Piers. If you want a fight, let’s fight, but I don’t have time for little psychological games.”

“Is that what we’re doing? Fighting? It’s a little soon for our first marital spat, wouldn’t you say?”

“Go to hell.”

With that, she turned and stomped up the stairs. A few seconds later, the door to her bedroom slammed with enough force to shake the house.

So she had a temper. He’d purposely baited her for no other reason than his anger over his apparent jealousy. The woman had him tied in knots, and he didn’t like that one little bit.

If this Kirk was so hot to trot to come to Jewel’s aid, where had he been when she really needed him? If he was the father of her child, had he deserted them both and was now only back because he had competition? Or was this an elaborate hoax for them both to con him out of a fortune? He must have played right into Jewel’s hands when he offered her a generous settlement if the child turned out not to be his and they divorced. It was probably her plan all along.

But then the entire scheme hinged on him granting her a divorce. He smiled coldly. He couldn’t wait to inform her that there would be no divorce.

Dinner was quiet and strained. Jewel was still furious over the way Piers had acted toward Kirk, and Piers’s face was cast in stone. He ate as though nothing had occurred between them at all, and that made her even angrier. How were they supposed to have an argument when he didn’t cooperate?

Dessert was served, and as much as she wanted to enjoy the decadent chocolate tart, it tasted like sawdust.

“I’ve been thinking,” Piers said. He spoke coldly, with no warmth or inflection in his voice.

She didn’t answer and continued to concentrate on dissecting her dessert.

“I no longer feel that divorce is an option.”

Shocked, she dropped her fork, and winced at the loud clatter. “What? You believe that the baby is yours now? Before we get the results?”