Contract with Consequences

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

SCARLET ate breakfast, had a shower and got dressed in record time, choosing white capri pants and a salmon-pink top which had a not-too-low sweetheart neckline and capped sleeves. The same speed was applied to her hair, which she only half blow-dried before scooping it all up into a high pony-tail, anchored by a white elastic band. Make-up was none, other than some tinted sunscreen plus her favourite coral lipstick. She didn’t spray on any perfume or don any jewellery, having resolved not to dress or act provocatively. After adding flat white sandals, she extracted her phone from her bag and set about taking photos of the main bathroom and the floral quilted guest bedroom, careful not to make either look too large or too luxurious.

Once satisfied with her snaps, Scarlet made her way out to the kitchen, half-expecting John to be in there, having breakfast. But he wasn’t. She frowned. Surely he’d be showered, shaved and dressed by now? Clearly not, however, the living room proving as deserted as the kitchen. His bedroom door remained shut, she noted, so it was likely he was still in there, but no way was she going to knock, or go in search of him. Instead, she returned to the kitchen, where she took a couple of photos of just one section before moving back to the living room and shooting only a fraction of that area, getting in just one of the sofas and rugs.

It wasn’t till she went out onto the balcony with the intention of snapping the spectacular harbour view that she found John sitting out there with some toast and coffee. No doubt he’d showered but he hadn’t shaved, looking like a beach bum with the stubble growing on his chin and nothing on but a pair of bright board-shorts.

A very sexy beach bum.

‘So here you are!’ she exclaimed, doing her best not to stare at his beautifully bare chest, resentment rising with the thought that he was being deliberately provocative. After all, it wasn’t that warm out there on the balcony. It was, in fact, quite fresh, with a stiff sea breeze blowing.

‘Aren’t you cold?’ she asked somewhat tartly.

‘I never feel the cold,’ he said, his eyes lifting to run over what she was wearing. ‘We inveterate campers are a tough breed. Taking photos for your mum, are you?’

‘I promised her last night.’

‘Yes, I heard you. You and your mum are obviously very close. Is that why you’re still living with her?’

‘I didn’t plan to but then I also didn’t plan to deliberately become a single parent,’ she shot back. ‘Once I made that decision, it made sense to stay on at home.’

‘But you’re not going to become a single parent. Not now. You’ll have me to help out.’

‘Come now, John, even if things work out and I do fall pregnant with your child, I’ll still need my mother’s support. You’re not going to be around most of the time-it isn’t part of our deal. You’ll be off working in some far-flung corner of the world most of the time and only come home to visit at Christmas every year. More importantly, I like living with my mother. We’re best friends.’

‘I see. Fair enough. Get on with your photos then,’ he bit out, and fell broodingly silent.

Scarlet held her tongue with difficulty whilst she took a lot of snaps. Normally, she would have made admiring comments about the beauty of the view. But she didn’t trust herself to speak right at that moment. Why she let John get under her skin so much, Scarlet wasn’t sure. But he did. He always had. She had a feeling John felt exactly the same about her. It was a shame, really, given the situation. If only they could become genuine friends, it would make life so much easier.

It’s up to you then, Scarlet, the voice of common sense advised her. Don’t expect John to make the move to cease hostilities between you. Men don’t do things like that. It’s the woman who usually makes the peace when a relationship becomes rocky.

Not that they had a relationship. Up till now, all they had together was a shared childhood and one night of sex. Great sex, admittedly, but still just sex. Shared parenthood, however, would definitely change all that.

The enormity of what they were planning to do suddenly struck Scarlet like a physical blow, doubts shooting to the surface of her mind as she tried to work through what having John as the father of her baby really meant. It could become quite complicated, she realised agitatedly. And messy. Going to that clinic and having an anonymous sperm donor had been a simple plan. Lonely, maybe, but simple. No one else was directly involved. With artificial insemination, she was master of her own destiny and the controller of her child’s upbringing. Could she trust John not to want more involvement once his son or daughter became a reality? A few of her girlfriends had told her how their husbands had not been so keen when they had become pregnant early in their marriages, but each had become besotted once the child had arrived. Would John have an epiphany once he became a father? It was possible, she supposed.

Scarlet stopped taking endless photographs and whirled to face him.

‘I think I might have made a big mistake by accepting your offer,’ she blurted out, still shaken by her thoughts.

An emotion close to panic sent John leaping to his feet. ‘What?’

‘You heard me.’

‘I heard you, but I don’t understand what’s behind such a sudden turnaround. You contacted me, Scarlet, not the other way around.’

Now she looked decidedly shame-faced.

‘I know. I guess I was desperate at the time.’

Desperate. John could not believe how much it hurt, hearing her say that. But then he remembered the way she’d been with him last night. That hadn’t been desperation. That had been desire, pure and simple. Not so pure, either. His flesh stirred at the memory of her touching him, of her begging him to just do it to her.

He gritted his teeth as he willed his body to behave itself. This wasn’t the right time to use sex to sway her mind. At the same time, if Scarlet thought for one moment he was going to let her leave, then she was dead wrong.

‘Why do you think you made a big mistake accepting my offer?’ he asked with forced calm as he came forward and cupped his hands over her shoulders.

She immediately clasped her phone with her two hands and held it up against her breasts, as though she was afraid of his chest touching hers.

Good, he thought.

‘I just don’t think it’s wise for you to be the father of my baby, that’s all,’ she said with her usual stubbornness. ‘It could become complicated.’

‘In what way?’

‘You might change your mind about your level of involvement. You might… Oh, I don’t know what you might do, exactly. I just want my son or daughter to have a secure, happy life. I would hate there to be any conflict.’

‘Well there certainly won’t be any conflict if you don’t have a child at all! Which could be the case if you cut and run now.’

‘The clinic said I just had to be patient.’

‘The clinic has vested financial interests in saying that.’

‘That’s a horribly cynical thing to say!’

‘I’m a horrible cynic.’

‘You just don’t understand,’ she said with a ragged sob.

The sounded affected him. He didn’t want to make her cry. He just wanted to soothe her worries and make her stay with him. The thought of her leaving still filled him with alarm.

‘But I do understand,’ he told her gently. ‘I do. You’re afraid of my interfering in your role as a parent even though I promised not to. You’ve lost your trust in men, which includes me.’

‘But how can I trust you when I don’t really know you any more?’

‘Ah. Back to that again.’

‘I think it’s only fair that you answer at least some of my questions if you’re going to be the father of my baby.’

That was fair, John accepted grudgingly.

‘Okay,’ he said. ‘Fire away.’

Her eyes narrowed. ‘You’ll tell the truth?’

‘Cross my heart and hope to die,’ he said. ‘But only if you promise to stop this nonsense about leaving.’

Scarlet thought about that for a second, deciding that she wasn’t going to let John steamroll her into anything. It had been foolish of her to come up here without thinking everything through. Uncharacteristically foolish. But of course she had been desperate at the time.

‘I reserve the right to still leave if I find out you’re not suitable father material,’ she told him firmly.

‘I thought you found that out last night,’ he returned with a wicked little smile.

She blushed. Again.

Scarlet itched to stamp her foot in fury at herself. Blushing was hardly the way to convince John she had the upper hand.

‘Must you remind me of that?’ she threw at him.

‘No need to be embarrassed. Now, how about you send those photos to your mum whilst I go put some clothes on? Then we’ll get out of here.’

‘But you were going to answer some questions.’

‘You can walk and talk at the same time, can’t you? Women are always claiming they can multi-task.’

Scarlet wanted to hit him. But not as much as she wanted to kiss him. Oh Lord, she was one mixed-up girl at the moment!

‘Must you tease me all the time?’ she snapped.

He smiled. ‘Absolutely. I find you very sexy when you’re angry.’

‘Well it’s no wonder you’ve wanted to screw me silly all your life, then,’ she retorted, blue eyes flashing. ‘Because I’ve been bloody angry at you since the first day we met!’

He tried not to laugh, but he couldn’t help it. Neither could she. Her lips just twitched at first, then her chin started to quiver. And then they were both laughing, loud and hard.

Their laughter broke some of the sexual tension which had been steadily growing in Scarlet since she’d stepped out onto the balcony and spotted John sitting there with no shirt on. But even as she laughed she knew it would be wise to get out of this apartment as soon as possible. The physical chemistry between them was dangerously strong and extremely seductive, which was perverse, since they didn’t see eye to eye about much. She was a person who valued family and community above all else. He was a loner who spurned involvement with others, even his family. She worked to live. He lived to work. Or he used to; she wasn’t sure what his work ethics were now that he was rich.

These last thoughts reminded Scarlet of all the questions she wanted to ask John. Questions which had always plagued her about him. She was relieved that he’d agreed to satisfy her curiosity, because what if he hadn’t? Scarlet doubted she would really have had the courage to leave. She was too close to achieving her goal of a baby. On top of that the prospect of more sex with John was a wickedly corrupting temptation, especially when she was alone in his half-naked presence. She needed to get him dressed, pronto, then get them both out of here.