“You seem to be prepared to go to a great deal of trouble for my daughter, Mr. Sandrelli.”
“Draco, please, and believe me when I say I will do everything in my power to protect Blair through this pregnancy. The hours she’s been working, the responsibility and pressure she’s put upon herself. None of it can be good, long-term, especially as she gets bigger.”
An image of Blair, swollen with his child, sprang into his mind and a rush of pride rose within him so strong and so deep it made his heart ache.
“No, I agree. Well, Draco,” Blair’s father extended his hand, “it looks as if you have yourself a deal.”
“Thank you, sir. You have no idea how much this means to me.”
“And Blair? I take it she isn’t yet aware of your plans, because to be honest, I know exactly how stubborn she can be, and I can’t see her agreeing to this in a hurry.”
Draco smiled. Her father knew her well. “I will take care of Blair. You can rest assured of that.”
At ten the next morning Draco pulled up outside the restaurant. Before he could rap his knuckles against the glass-paneled door it swung sharply open.
“What have you done?”
Blair looked furious.
“I warned you not to underestimate me. Did you think I said those words in jest?”
“How could you go behind my back before I’d even given you an answer?”
Draco stepped past her and waited for her to close the door before responding. “I did what was necessary.”
“Necessary? Do I have to remind you this is my restaurant?”
“Not at all, nor do I need to remind you that I own the roof over this restaurant, the walls that surround it and the floor beneath it. You want Carson’s to continue, then yes, it will. But it will be without you slaving yourself to exhaustion in the kitchen.”
“My father isn’t well. He can’t take over my role here full-time.”
“I’m well aware of your father’s limitations, Blair. I’m not inhuman, despite what you think. He has instructions to appoint a new chef in your absence. However, I think it will do him good to have his hand back in, rather than moldering away where he is now.”
“Moldering? He’s having a well-earned rest.”
“Tell me, Blair, does your father really strike you as the kind of man who would be happy to ‘rest’ for the balance of his years?”
He could see he’d made his point when she ceased pacing back and forth across the floor and her hands, which had been so animated as she spoke, fluttered uselessly to her side.
Draco stepped closer to her and took her chin in one hand, forcing her to meet his eyes.
“Well? Does he?”
He felt her capitulation in the frustrated breath she let out in a rush through her delectable lips.
“No. He doesn’t.”
“Then we are settled. We leave at the end of next week.”
“What? So soon?”
“There is no reason to linger, Blair. Everything will be under control here. Who is more eminently qualified than your own father to make sure of that?”
“Me. I’m more qualified. I’m younger, I’m fitter and this is my restaurant.” Blair’s voice rose, her tone becoming frantic.
“And you are also pregnant. Pregnant with my heir. That is a responsibility you must put before all others now.”
Her brown eyes blazed her frustration and her fury back into his.
“Fine. I’ll go back to your precious palazzo with you. I’ll have your baby. But know this, I will return home to New Zealand as soon as I can after the birth.”
Draco held his breath a moment, his jaw clenched as he bit back the retort that immediately sprang to mind. Instead, when he spoke, he did so with a voice that was level and which showed no indicator of how he felt inside.
“If you return, it will be without the baby.”
Blair’s response was vehement. “Whatever it takes to be free of you.”
Eight
The next few days turned into a whirlwind of activity. Blair barely had the chance to set foot in the restaurant as Draco commandeered her every waking moment, even going so far as to accompany her to her doctor on the Monday morning before they were due to depart.
She felt odd as they entered the doctor’s rooms with him at her side, the breadth of his palm nestled warmly against the small of her back. To all intents and purposes, they’d look just like a normal couple coming for a prenatal visit, but Blair knew they could never be anything so simple.
“Really, Draco. It’s only two weeks since I last saw the doctor. Everything’s fine. I wasn’t due to see her again for another two weeks.”
“Let me be the judge of what is fine and what is not,” he responded grimly.