Page 17 of Pregnancy Clause in Their Paper Marriage

Lana hesitated, caught between wanting to ignore it, in the hope that it was an Amazon delivery, even though she knew she hadn’t ordered anything. Her home, three floors of an old brownstone with comfortable furniture in the shabby chic style, was her sacred space, the private sanctuary where she could be safe and alone. She didn’t invite people over, and people in Manhattan never just dropped by.

If she ignored it, she thought, whoever it was would probably go away. The microwave dinged, and she opened it and reached for her meal.

The doorbell went again, and then, to her surprise, her phone pinged with a text. Everything, it seemed, was happening at once.

She glanced at her phone, shock icing her insides when she saw it was from Christos.

Open the door. It’s me.

What? A ripple of surprise, mixed with both alarm and pleasure, went through her.

She was still staring at the screen when another text appeared.

Seriously, open the door.

What on earth was he doing here? Yes, he’d spent the night sometimes, but in the guest suite on the lower floor, with its own separate basement entrance. And he never came unannounced; that was always one of their rules. Her rules, actually. Visits were always scheduled, because she really didn’t do well with these kinds of surprises.

Her phone started ringing.

Warily, Lana swiped to take the call. ‘Christos?’ she asked cautiously.

‘Are you going to open the door?’ His voice was rich, velvety, with that hint of humour, and somehow, despite her unease, she found she was smiling.

‘How do you even know I’m home?’ she asked teasingly.

‘I saw you walk up the steps, so that was a clue. Are you going to let me in?’

There was no reason not to, and yet... ‘Why didn’t you tell me you were coming over?’

‘I wanted to surprise you. And we have things to discuss.’ His tone managed to seem both playful and firm.

‘Do we?’ The prospect gave her a deepening sense of alarm. ‘I thought we discussed it all already.’

‘There are a few salient details I’d like to go over,’ he replied easily. ‘And after tomorrow, aren’t we both living there, anyway?’

‘Wh—what? No,’ she stammered. ‘That was after we had the baby.’ How had he not realised that? Of course they wouldn’t live together until they needed to.Right?‘There’s no need to live togethernow, Christos,’ she told him, her tone turning almost stern.

‘Well, it might help with the baby-making,’ he replied dryly. ‘Don’t you think?’

‘We’re going to ahotel.’ It was important to her that their union took place on neutral territory. She still wasn’t ready to let him that much into her life, and yet...she was willing to have a baby with him? It didn’t make sense, sheknewthat, and yet she felt it all the same.

‘Lana,’ Christos said gently, ‘will you please open the door?’

Underneath the gentle tone, Lana sensed an intractability she realised she had always known he possessed, underneath, but had never actually seen, at least not directed towards her. This was the multimillionaire tech entrepreneur who made unflinching deals, negotiating terms most people would find shocking, even as they were relentlessly fair. This was the man who exuded a quiet authority so powerful he never needed to raise his voice, just an eyebrow. The man so charming people forgot he could also be ruthless, at least in business.

‘Lana.’ Now, although with the same gentleness in his voice, it was clearly a command.

Lana disconnected the call, too disorientated by the unexpected turn of events to think about what she was doing—or wearing. It wasn’t until she’d run down the stairs to the ground floor and unbolted the front door to see Christos standing there, dressed in a charcoal-grey suit, his hair rumpled from the spring breeze, that she remembered she was in her pyjamas, and braless to boot.

Great.

‘Good evening.’ He smiled and stepped across the threshold, forcing her to scoot out of the way.

Lana crossed her arms across her chest, suddenly, agonisingly conscious of her nipples on display. ‘You could have warned me you were coming,’ she said. ‘I’m in my pyjamas.’

‘They’re delightful, I must say, especially the slippers.’

‘You know I like to be warned about any visits,’ she persisted.