Except for the issue of her pregnancy. It had been a week since her confirmation. Five days since she’d severed contact with Draco. She was still in turmoil about whether she should tell him or not. Her favorite option right now was not, even if it was horribly wrong. He deserved to know, but she didn’t want to tell him. She had no doubt he’d want to take control of her life at that point, and that was not going to happen. Not now, when she had everything else running exactly as she’d imagined when she took Carson’s over from her dad. Blair stopped in her tracks as she came across a high-quality envelope that had been hand-addressed to her. She flipped it over to see who the sender was and frowned as she identified the name as her landlord’s lawyers. She’d dealt with them over the lease for Carson’s when her name had been substituted for her father’s as the lessee. What on earth could they want from her now? She unlocked her car and sat down,

The next few days turned into a whirlwind of activity. Blair barely had the chance to set foot in the restaurant as Draco commandeered her every waking moment, even going so far as to accompany her to her doctor on the Monday morning before they were due to depart.She felt odd as they entered the doctor’s rooms with him at her side, the breadth of his palm nestled warmly against the small of her back. To all intents and purposes, they’d look just like a normal couple coming for a prenatal visit, but Blair knew they could never be anything so simple. “Really, Draco. It’s only two weeks since I last saw the doctor. Everything’s fine. I wasn’t due to see her again for another two weeks.” “Let me be the judge of what is fine and what is not,” he responded grimly. Blair rolled her eyes. “Are you a doctor now too?”“No, I am about to become a father, and I have a responsibility to ensure that my son or daughter is well.”

“I thought I’d take you to the furthest point of our land and then work our way back. Would you prefer we stay closer to home?” Home. His home perhaps, Blair thought, looking back at the size of the palazzo as he helped her into the car. “No, that’s fine. It’ll be lovely, I’m sure.” Draco slid into the driver’s seat, his strong, capable hands settling on the steering wheel. It occurred to Blair that this was the first time she’d seen him drive.“You don’t drive when you’re in New Zealand. Why is that?” “Parking in and around the city is at such a premium, I prefer not to bebothered with such things when I’m there on business. Generally, I keep a carthere for my own use, but for pleasure, I prefer to use my motorbike when I’m in Auckland.” “You ride a bike?” Blair was surprised. Draco had always struck her as so smooth and urbane. Imagining him in black lea

“Si?” “Is something wrong?” “Nothing is wrong. I will see you at dinner at eight. If you need me for anything before then, you’ll find my office extension on the list next to the phone in your room.” Blair nodded, but her mind latched on to his expectation that she’d spend the rest of her time in her room. Banished perhaps? She certainly needed to shower and freshen up, but she’d be darned if she was going to spend the next few hours hemmed up in her room, no matter how beautiful it was. There was plenty she could explore before meeting Draco for dinner. After Blair had showered and changed, she went back to the ground-floor level of the palazzo and headed in what she hoped would be the direction to the kitchen. If Cristiano was there preparing for their evening meal, she wanted to see if she could lend a hand. And if she couldn’t help, maybe she could learn something that she could t

A knock at the door dragged her from the mirror where she’d been standing, admiring the fall of the gown. “Ah, it looks even better on you than on the model,” Draco said, coming into her room and closing the door. Her eyes feasted on him. Dressed in a tailored, charcoal-gray suit, he was both formidable and undeniably sexy. Suddenly Blair felt self-conscious. She plucked at the fabric of dress. “Thank you, it’s beautiful,” she said softly. “It’s all lovely.” “I’m glad. I notice you haven’t worn earrings since you’ve been here, yet your ears are pierced. I hope you don’t mind, but I bought you these.” Draco withdrew a small jeweler’s box from his jacket pocket and opened it.All the breath in Blair’s lungs froze when she saw the platinum-set diamond ear studs there. “May I?” Draco asked. He put the box down on the table next to him, then