A Film Star, A Baby, And A Proposal (4 page)

The scent of fresh roses awoke Eve from her nap.

There were at least two dozen long stems
arranged in a tall clear vase. Frost-white buds were just beginning to open. How beautiful. Checking the time on her cell phone she realised she'd been asleep for two hours. Rolling onto her back she stared up at the intricate mouldings on the ceiling and took stock of her body, especially her stomach. No queasiness, thank God. She'd no idea why they called it morning sickness because it hit her at anytime of the day or night. Then her eyes slid back to the roses and she spotted the little card tucked inside.

Gingerly she rolled to sit on
the side of the bed and stood.

No dizziness, another plus.

For a drawn-out moment Eve studied the small white envelope secured by a clear plastic stem in the flowers before she plucked it from the holder and opened it.

You look beautiful when you're asleep.

You will be an amazing mother.

Signed Matt.

The room spun, not with morning sickness, but with a light-headed kind of excitement.

Then she caught herself.
For the sake of the baby, don't get your hopes up,
a little voice warned. The flowers and the card did not mean Mathias Carter had a secret hankering to be the father of the year.

H
er cell buzzed with a voice message.

She pressed speaker.

"Eve."

And
went utterly still as the deep voice that turned the knees of millions to jelly said her name.

"
It's Matt. Sorry, hate these things. Of course you know it's me. Sorry. I hope you managed to rest. And the flowers are from me. Shit. I mean of course they're from me. I've popped out to get a little something for Bronte Ferranti. Ah, she's my friend Nico's wife, just in case you think..." There was a pause and a muttered curse that made her bite down hard on her bottom lip. "They've invited me and... er... you... I mean us... to their place for dinner tomorrow. Casual. By the way Nico owns Ludlow Hall. Actually I think you already know that. He's cool and you'll like him, them, the family. Ring me if you need anything." There was a pause while he took a breath. "So I'll see you later. Bye."

Grinning at how nervous one of the best actors of his generation sounded leaving a simple voicemail, she listened to it again. No wonder he sounded stressed. It wasn
't everyday a man was told he was going to be a father.

Tapping the
phone against her chin Eve again racked her brain trying to remember a time they hadn't used a condom, but nothing dinged. Matt was scrupulous about sheathing himself. But as her doctor had said himself the only fail-safe measure for birth control was abstinence.

Burying her
nose in the blooms, she recognised that Matt was trying to meet her half-way.

T
he least she could do was to thank him for the flowers.

She rang his cell and he picked up on the fifth ring.

"Hey, you."

"T
hank you for the flowers, they're gorgeous."

"
You're welcome. Good sleep?"

"
Yes, the tiredness is a killer," she admitted.

"
It should get better after the first trimester," he said.

Stunned, Eve just stared at the phone.

"Eve?"

"S
orry. I'd no idea you knew anything about pregnancy. You caught me by surprise."

"
I played a doctor in a TV series and in a movie. Plus Google is my friend."

She didn
't know what to say in response to that statement. But again that little thrill of excitement ran up her spine and she recognised it for what it was. Hope. But what if she was wrong?

"
Matt, I..."

"D
on't say anything. Look, Eve, I'm on my way back. We'll talk later, okay?"

She heard the
plea and the anxiety in his voice, was sorry for it, but she couldn't let it influence her decision to move on. She had a child to protect.

But hadn
't she just decided to meet him half-way?

"
Okay," she agreed.

After a warm bath she felt better, more relaxed
.

So E
ve took herself on a tour of the luxurious suite.

And quickly realised
that Matt was a slob.

He
'd abandoned what appeared to be a dog-eared manuscript on the floor next to the couch. On the coffee table lay a sleek silver laptop surrounded by candy wrappers. A half-eaten chocolate chip cookie and crumbs had been discarded next to an empty saucer and a half drunk cup of coffee. A pair of battered leather boots were dumped in the middle of the vast rug of ivory wool. Obviously emptied from his pockets in a hurry was a pile of detritus tossed on a beautiful antique serving table next to the door; a key, candy wrappers, coins in a variety of currencies along with scrunched up Euros. The man showed absolutely no respect for the polished wood. Irritation bloomed in her belly. More candy wrappers littered the couch. The way his body was honed and toned she was amazed he had such a sweet tooth. Who'd have thought it?

Eve
knew she was being nosy, but couldn't help but poke her head into his bedroom, wrinkling her fastidious nose at the trail of socks, jeans, underpants and T-shirt on the floor. The array of pocket crap on the bedside table mirrored the rubbish in the sitting room. Why hadn't she realised he was a pig? Probably because they'd been so busy ripping their clothes off she'd never had the chance to notice. Matt appeared to have the ability to make himself right at home in his chosen environment.

Eve
wasn't like that, she loved the stability of her gorgeous but homely apartment. She'd worked hard through school and at eighteen won a place to the university of her choice, Exeter, to read English literature. When a model scout had stopped her in the street, taken her picture and contact details and handed her his business card she'd thought nothing of it. But once she'd realised the scout was legitimate and represented
the
top agency in the country, she'd given them a call. University was expensive. Her mother had passed away, so the idea of reducing her student loans held plenty of appeal for Eve.

Wit
hin months she'd been travelling the world, making more money than she'd ever dreamed of. Via distance learning she'd studied and gained her degree on the day she'd taken the Paris Spring Collection by storm. Her independence, financially and emotionally was very important. Karma had been good to her. The stars of success all standing in alignment. Until she'd met Matt, Eve reckoned she hadn't put a foot wrong.

He'd asked her to stay with him to talk.

She wanted to talk to him too.

But she was craz
y about the son-of-a-bitch.

S
pending too much time with him in such close proximity without going to bed with him was going to be a challenge. Eve was always honest with herself. Her heart might never recover from walking away from him when this meeting was all over and Matt moved on to his next big film.

Scooping up the candy wrappers from the couch she tossed them in the trash and couldn't stop her over-active brain chewing on her problems.

It was all such a terrible waste.

Before
Matt had walked out on her, walked out on
them
as a couple, she'd recognised he had the potential to be a wonderful partner to her. Something deep in her heart believed it was possible that he might be a good father to their child, too. But again her head told her to be very careful. Would he, as he'd done in the past, walk away from getting in too deep? He was already in too deep, he'd said so hadn't he? Worrying her bottom lip she wondered what he'd meant by the statement. Let's face it, there was nothing emotionally deeper than parenthood. Did the fact Matt felt he was in too deep with her mean that he cared for her? Maybe too much? Or did it mean he recognised she had strong feelings for him and perhaps he didn't return those feelings?

She had no idea.

But life had taught Eve that there were times when a person needed to take a leap of faith. Like her modelling for instance. Good things in life didn't happen unless a person was prepared to take a certain amount of risk. A calculated risk. So she would give Matt one chance to be a good father to his child. One chance. For herself she wanted nothing from him. Liar, a little voice whispered. Okay, she might dream of having his undying love and devotion but she was a realist. By his behaviour it was obvious he cared more about his freedom than he did about her. She was a big girl and knew she couldn't have everything she wanted in life so she'd just need to suck it up. Dreams had no place in the real world. She owed it to herself and to the child she was carrying to never live with regret.

Carrying the vase of roses from her bedroom, she wandered through the sitting and dining part of the suite, appreciating the old-world splendour, the height of the
coffered ceiling, the big bay with arched windows. The scent of the flowers she carried mingled with wax and vanilla from giant candles flickering in urns of clear glass on the mantelpiece. The tick, tick of the carriage clock was restful and peaceful. She placed the vase on the marble coffee table in front of the fire.

Eve's
London apartment was nothing flashy but it was immaculate and it was home and anchored her in the peripatetic world of her chosen career. Deep down inside her she'd always hankered after the things she'd never had. A normal life with a normal house, the white picket fence and two or maybe three children. Simple things that she knew would make her happy. In her mind the man in her future would want those things too. Now anxiety had her teeth worrying her bottom lip. Somehow she couldn't quite see Mathias Carter mowing a lawn, washing a car or taking out the trash. Or, the little voice whispered in her head, changing a dirty diaper.

Matt strolled through the door laden down with parcels and e
xpensive looking shopping bags. The sight of him with a beanie pulled low on his forehead, most of his face hidden by a matching muffler of black cashmere, made her smile.

"
Is that supposed to be a disguise?"

She looked
stunning Matt thought as he stepped through the door and saw her.

Any man would be a lucky bastard to find a woman like that waiting for him at home.

She was wearing skinny jeans under an overlarge sweater of soft wool the colour of clotted cream. Her feet were bare, toenails painted in clear varnish. And her fabulous hair was loose. It hung to her waist in a copper waterfall. No jewellery, he noted. Well, he'd bought a couple of pieces for her for Christmas. He'd had plenty of time to think while putting a hefty dent in his credit card. And he'd decided she was spending the holidays with him. She looked rested now. Not as fragile, thank God. Because that fragility had touched something deep within him.

"T
he disguise worked," he said, dumping the bags on a couch. Pulling off the beanie he unwound the scarf from his neck, tossing them and his thick quilted jacket on top of the bags on the couch. He remembered Eve liked order and everything in its place, so he found the little frown of irritation in her eyes absolutely adorable.

"
You look good," he said as he walked to her.

Christ, she smelt amazing. Fresh honey and warm woman.

Whisky coloured eyes critically studied his face.

"
You look like a scruff. You need a shave."

Delighted with her,
the bossy attitude thrilled him, made a man want to grab her and kiss her until his head spun. He'd never been stupid with a woman and Matt wasn't about to start being stupid now. If he touched her, she'd deck him.

Instead
, he thrust his hands into his pockets and grinned at the irritation in her eyes.

"
I'm incognito."

"
You still need to commune with a razor," she said. He took her arm and turned her

towards a couch next to the fire.
"What are you doing?"

"
Making sure you rest."

They sat and he didn
't miss the way she moved out of his hold to tuck herself into the corner of the couch. In a defensive move, she grabbed a big cushion to hug. A shield. An act that made him bite down hard on the inside of his cheek.

His gaze met hers.
"Eve, I'm not going to jump you."

Then his eyes narrowed at the heat that rose into her fabulous face. And was that disappointment he read in those vivid eyes? Something like relief uncurled the nerves in his gut. Maybe she
'd give him a chance?

"
I miss your smile," he told her. "Am I ever going to see it again?"

Wary eyes stayed on his and the fact he
'd put that expression there annoyed the hell out of him.