BEST FRIEND’S BROTHER

The doctor hid a smile. “Good. That’s all I needed to know.”

Kaleb waited until she was safely strapped into his car before he reinforced what they had both heard. “You heard what the doctor said, Sasha. I hope you’re going to take notice.”

Stay calm, she told herself, stay calm. She cleared her throat. “No matter what the doctor said-I still have a business to run. I can’t just pretend it doesn’t exist.”

He didn’t answer immediately as he maneuvered the car out of the hospital gates and drove as carefully as if he had a consignment of raw eggs on the seat beside him.” You’re not to worry about the business. That’s all going to be taken care of.”

Not to worry, indeed! “But how, Kaleb?” she wailed. “We can’t cope with just one staff and I haven’t got enough money to pay someone else if I can’t work myself.”

He stole a glance at her. “Let me concentrate on the road,” he said abruptly. “I don’t want to have a row in the car.”

“Who said anything about a row?” she asked.

“That mutinous look on your face did. We’ll talk about it when we get home!”

She sat back in her seat and sighed, knowing that it was pointless to argue.

But she protested when he drew up outside his house. “Would you mind telling me why you’ve brought me here? I want to go home! And I mean my home… Not yours. u can send my car over later. I want to go home, Kaleb,”

“I know you do, but your house isn’t very close. We need to talk without interruption.”

It seemed easier to agree than to protest-and besides, the sensible side of her knew he was right. So she let him lead her into the house. In fact, he actually tried to scoop her up into his arms to carry her, but she drew the line at having that happen. Last time he had picked her up it had been to take her up to bed, and look where that had led.

“Don’t carry me, Kaleb,”

“Why not?”

“Because I want to walk. I need to feel I can.”

“Don’t you want to be cosseted?” he questioned softly.

“No, I prefer to be independent.” She smiled serenely. “It gives a woman security-surely you know that?”

“I think I’m just beginning to find out,” he answered wryly.

But she allowed him to settle her on a beautiful chaise longue which stood in the bay window of the sitting room, overlooking the garden. And she lay watching the trees blowing gently in the breeze while Kaleb went away to make tea and sandwiches.

He sat down on a chair opposite her and waited until she had worked her way through two rounds of egg and cress, pleased to see her devouring the sandwiches with that desperate kind of hunger-and the color slowly returning to her cheeks. His own appetite seemed to have disappeared, along with his unshakeable belief that whatever he wanted in life he would somehow be able to achieve.

Because he had never felt quite so powerless as he had done while he’d endured the long wait through the doctor’s examination. He had imagined losing the baby. Losing Sasha. The world had tipped and shifted on its axis. It had been a sobering experience.

“Now,” he said. “I have a proposition to put to you.”

“Go on.”

“Will you promise to hear me through without interruption?”

Sasha pulled a face. “That’s a very mean request!”

“A very necessary one in your case. Will you?”

“How can I possibly answer that until I know what you’re going to ask me?”

“Please, Sasha,”

She smiled. “I guess if you’re pleading with me it must be important.”

“I’ll take that as a yes.” He smiled back at her, unable to resist her at that moment and thinking what a mass of contradictions she could be. “I know you said you didn’t want to come and live here-” He held his hand up because he could see that she was itching to butt in with an objection. “Remember what you promised!” he warned.

“But nothing has changed. I still don’t want to live here.”

“Of course things have changed! You’re not in a position to allow yourself the luxury of pleasing yourself. Not any more. You need to rest, Sasha-you heard what the doctor said. You can’t possibly go back to work right now. What if you wake in the night with pain, or-God forbid-another bleed?”

“Don’t!” She shuddered.

“Well, the doctor said it was unlikely-as long as you look after yourself-but it’s still a possibility. You need another person around-night and day. If you’re here I can look after you-and I should be looking after you.

Hell, I want to look after you!”This is property © NôvelDrama.Org.

Sasha looked at him steadily.” Finished?” she asked,

“Yes.”

“Can I speak now?”

He gave a longing kind of sigh. How could she be expecting his baby-slumped and recovering on the sofa-and yet still have the sexy air of the minx about her? “Yes, Sasha,” he said gravely. “You can speak now.”

“Who’s going to run your business for you while you’re looking after me?”

“My general manager, of course.”

“Exactly!” She leapt on his answer with triumph. “So who’s going to run mine? And you do know that I still have school to do with.”

Fortunately, he had anticipated just this question and prepared for it. “Like I said-there’s absolutely no cause for concern. I’m going to send over one of my cooks, who can help your assistant with the truck. She’s also prepared to wait tables or serve customers if she needs to, but there are other staff I can supply, too.” He tried to tempt her a little bit more. “To be honest, Sasha, I employ a lot of people, and they are at your disposal for as long as you need them. You’ll probably find that you’ll be better staffed than you ever were before! As for school, I promise not to bother you when you need to study, and you’ll be graduating in a few months so we can handle that,”

Her face was stony. “But you still haven’t answered my question, Kaleb. Who is actually going to run the business?”