“For a time it will probably be better between us.”
“I’d bet money on that one,” Keane remarked drily. “She’s a strong woman who knows what she wants.”
“Amen to that. Actually, I don’t think we’ll see any more of each other in the future.”
“Maybe so. You’ll work it out, I’m sure.”
Tony focused on his foreman because it sounded as if Keane was trying to hold back laughter. “Ready to get back to work?” Tony asked, standing because he wanted to end the conversation about his private life.
“Sure. You can hold one of these boards in place for me.”
Silently, Tony followed directions from Keane, but his thoughts drifted to Lindsay. He didn’t want to go back to his empty house. He missed her and didn’t want to think about her staying or having her in his arms in his bed tonight.
Once Keane stopped to look at him.
“What?”
“You’re getting ready to hammer that board in and it’s in the wrong place.”
Startled, Tony looked at the narrow board he held in his hands. “Sorry,” he said, adjusting it as he felt his face heat. He had been lost in thoughts about Lindsay. He made an effort to stop thinking about her and focus on the job at hand.
Tony managed to keep his thoughts on the task and, in minutes, Keane stepped back to look at his completed shelves.
“With your help, we’re through,” Keane said. “Thanks, boss. That went quickly. I’ll put away the tools.”
“I’ll help,” Tony stated, acting quickly. In minutes they parted, Keane for his house and Tony walking back to his, which was dark and empty.
He stepped inside, locked the door and went to the kitchen to get a beer. He carried it out to the patio to sit and gaze at the pool, gardens and fountain while he thought about Lindsay.
He had to get her out of his thoughts. They had no future together and neither one wanted a future together. It still amazed him how much she was in his thoughts.
“Goodbye, Lindsay,” he said aloud, as if he could get her out of his thoughts that way. He didn’t expect to see her again soon. He tried to ignore the pang that caused.
Lindsay stood in front of the calendar the next morning counting the days. Once and again. No matter how many times she counted it, the results were the same. She had missed her period by almost a couple of weeks now, and that had never happened before. Common sense said there could be a host of reasons and she should give it more time. But could she be pregnant? Tony had taken precautions, but there was always a chance. She knew the statistics.
Anxiety washed over her with the force of a tidal wave, and she pulled out her desk chair to sit down.
After a few minutes, she reminded herself that women were late all the time without it meaning they were pregnant and she should give it a few more days. No sense worrying needlessly. She simply put it out of her mind and got ready for work.
But when the next two days passed with no change, she had to get a home pregnancy test. She couldn’t get it in Verity or any town in the surrounding counties where she knew nearly everyone.
She was having Tony’s baby. She knew it. Shock buffeted her. How could she deal with it?
She was going to have to figure out how to deal with it. She picked up her phone to send a text to her foreman. Something’s come up. I’ll call later.
In a minute she received a reply: Okay. She put her head in her hands. If only she could undo everything and go back to the way she and Tony had been before the auction. She didn’t want to be pregnant with Tony’s baby. She’d always thought someday she would marry and have a family. Now she was going to have the family without the marriage.
She didn’t want Tony to know yet. She had to have plans in place so he couldn’t take over.
She ran her hands through her hair. She wasn’t ready for this. Tony would want to be part of his child’s life, and he would take charge and tell her what to do the moment he learned she was carrying his baby.
Telling her how to run her ranch would be nothing compared to telling her how to raise a baby.
Theirbaby.
A Milan baby.
A Milan baby fathered by a man she could never marry.