Chapter 6

Rose arrived at the garden to find Tommy on a call in the gazebo, his assistant Drew Grey standing rigid at the top of the steps.

She caught the tail end of what Tommy was saying into the phone. "Break both his legs."

Her steps faltered to a dead stop. Had she walked in at the wrong moment? Had she just heard something she absolutely shouldn't have?

Would she be silenced for it now?

"Come here."

His low, resonant voice carried from the gazebo. Rose startled back to herself and looked up to find Tommy had already hung up and was watching her, seated at the stone table.

Pure survival instinct took over, and the words came out before she could think better of them. "I didn't hear anything."

Tommy took in the flicker of fear and unease in her eyes, one eyebrow lifting slightly. "Are you afraid of me?"

His gaze carried a weight that made it hard to hold, let alone meet directly.

Rose kept her eyes lowered and chose her words carefully. "You hold a position of great importance. Of course, people look up to you."

The corner of Tommy's mouth curved at her smart answer. "Come, sit."

Rose walked into the gazebo and lowered herself carefully onto the stone bench, one hand cradling her belly.

A full tea set and a box of fine Earl Grey sat waiting on the table.

Arthur was a devoted tea drinker, and Rose had once studied the art of tea properly just to win his favor. She kept her eyes fixed on the tea things now, careful not to let her gaze wander, and set about preparing the tea with deliberate focus.

Tommy stretched his long legs out in front of him, unhurried, fingers idly turning the bracelet at his wrist as his gaze settled on her.

No makeup, features clean and delicate, the kind of face that put a person immediately at ease. Pregnancy had softened and rounded her figure. Her belly was now swollen enough that it nearly brushed the table's edge.

Rose could feel his attention on her, a prickling sensation crawling down her spine. She liked to think of herself as fairly steady under pressure, but her palms had started sweating regardless.

"Still working?"

His deep voice cut through the quiet.

Her hand on the teacup went still.

Why did he want to know that?

She answered honestly anyway. "Up until today. My leave starts tomorrow."

"Everything arranged for the delivery?"

Was he actually asking out of concern?

But why would he care? They weren't close in any way.

He was the baby's uncle in name only, an adopted son of the Peytons with no blood tie at all to the child she was carrying.

Rose couldn't quite read what was behind the question, wanted to ask, but didn't dare. She answered as evenly as she could manage. "Everything's arranged. It'll be at the hospital where I work, all familiar faces there; I gave them notice a while back."

He gave a soft "Mm," then, after a pause, he asked, "Does Zach treat you well?"

Hearing Zach's name eased the tight coil of her nerves. The corner of her mouth curved on its own. "He treats me very well."

Tommy took in that small smile of hers for a beat longer, then looked away, rising and walking to the railing to gaze out at the flowers in full bloom.

Something about it settled his own mood, visibly.

He left the stone table, and Rose felt the whole atmosphere around her ease along with him, her hands no longer stiff as she finished pouring the water and letting the tea steep.

After it had sat a moment, she poured it out.

"The tea's ready, Tommy."

He didn't answer.

She looked up and found his back to her, tall and straight, his hair swept neatly back, not a strand out of place, everything about him precise and controlled.

Even from behind, he was intimidating enough to make her pulse race.

She looked away immediately and swallowed against the tightness in her throat, not daring to make a sound.

A good while passed with no movement from him at all. Rose wanted to remind him the tea would go cold if he waited too long, but she remembered the words "break both his legs" from a few minutes ago, and the urge died in her throat instantly.

What if he decided she talked too much and had her tongue cut out?

A familiar voice broke the silence. "Hi, Tommy."

Rose looked up and saw Zach stepping into the gazebo. Relief washed over her so fast it felt like coming back to life. The atmosphere in here had been suffocating.

"Zach, you're here." She rose and went straight to his side.

Tommy caught the warmth in her voice at the sight of him and turned to watch her cross the gazebo to stand beside Zach.

Zach steadied her with a hand, then looked toward Tommy, apology in his tone. "Sorry, traffic on the way. Kept you waiting."

Tommy's gaze lingered a moment on her hand clasped in Zach's, then he turned and walked out of the gazebo without a word, his expression unreadable.

Rose exhaled slowly.

Zach noticed the way she seemed to sag with relief. "He scared you?"

She nodded, honest about it.

"Don't be. Tommy's just got a heavy presence, that's all. He's actually a good person underneath it. A man in his position needs that kind of gravity, or he'd never keep people in line under him. Come on, let's go eat."

"Okay."

Zach walked her out of the gazebo. A breeze stirred as they went, and Rose caught a faint, cloying trace of perfume drifting off him.

That smell again. She'd caught it in his car before.

"You saw that female client again?"

Zach blinked at her, confused. "What?"

Rose leaned in and sniffed at him. "It's that same sweet perfume."

He glanced down at the shirt he hadn't had time to change. "Oh, right. She spilled some tea on herself during our meeting after the signing, and I helped wipe it off. That's probably how it got on me."

But perfume didn't just transfer onto someone by accident. It usually took close, direct contact. Did negotiating a deal really call for that kind of closeness?

Rose was still turning it over when Zach spoke again. "If it bothers you, I won't work with her anymore."

Ah. That explained it.

She laughed. "Using your position to solve my perfume complaints, that's an abuse of power if I ever saw one. You're going to spoil the baby before she's even born."

Zach grinned, indulgent. "Look at you, all wrapped up in this kid already."

They walked back to the dining room, laughing together. Everyone else was already seated. The head of the table, normally Arthur's spot, had Tommy sitting in it now.

Arthur gestured toward the food. "Tommy, these are all the things you used to love. Try them, see if they're still to your taste."

Tommy gave a slight nod and picked up his fork. Once he'd started, everyone else followed suit and began eating.

Zach spoke up. "Tommy, how long are you staying in Calizzy this time?"

Tommy's fork paused midway to a dish. He looked up, giving Zach a cool, sidelong glance.

Zach, for all his usual composure, found himself struggling to hold that gaze. He realized he might have overstepped and forced a quick smile.

"I wasn't trying to pry into your schedule. Just want to make sure we're prepared to host you properly."

Tommy set the food in his bowl and said, evenly, "Two weeks."

Zach was taken aback. Ginsberg Group had operations spanning the entire globe, and as the man at the helm of that empire, Tommy's time was worth an astronomical amount, calculated down to the second, practically.

For him to stay in Calizzy this long was almost unheard of.

Two weeks. That happened to line up exactly with Rose's due date.

He wasn't arrogant enough to think Tommy was staying behind just to offer congratulations in person. Zach wouldn't dare flatter himself that much.

Curious as he was about what had made Tommy decide to stay in Calizzy this long, he didn't push his luck by asking any further.