When the seventh test came back positive, Emily had to face the facts. It was time to face the truth. It was either that or rob every pharmacy until there wasn't a single pregnancy test left for sale in all of London. Which would be ruinous, humiliating and totally unnecessary. We had to accept reality, even if there was nothing pleasant about it. She was pregnant. Not that she doesn't want to have a child. One day, with a man madly in love who would have first married her in a white dress. The first one-night stand of his life and this is the result. How could she be so fertile? How could condoms be so unreliable? How could she sleep with such an inaccessible man? Okay, she believed that you should have ambition in life. But a Greek billionaire? And not just any one. Not a little paunchy bald guy. A tall, gorgeous brunette with coffee-black eyes so deep you wanted to drown in them. Which she did without delay. She had let herself be carried away in a whirlwind of burning sensuality that surpassed anything she had known until then. Which didn't mean much, really. Her experience remained very limited after seven wasted years in the company of her ex, Daniel. Seven years. Argh! Why did the number seven bring luck to everyone except her? For seven long years, she had waited for a marriage proposal. Which had never happened. ? instead she had been treated to a betrayal. And, if being betrayed was painful, being left for a man was the height of humiliation. How could she have been so blind? She was the only one who didn't know that Daniel was gay! But the worst thing wasn't being betrayed. It was no longer being a couple. Going out alone at night was as weird as walking in just one shoe. When we dined alone at a restaurant we had the impression of giving the image of someone who had been stood up. She loved dining out with Daniel, who was a foodie. They often tried new restaurants and sat at the table for hours discussing the food, the presentation, the wine and even the other customers. Besides, it was a great pleasure to come home from work knowing that she had someone to whom she could say, “Guess what happened to me today?” ". Daniel was her confidant, her support, her anchor. The person who gave her the stability she had craved since childhood. She hadn't had much luck with her romantic adventures since. According to her mother, a New Age relationship therapist, she sabotaged her relationships with men because of her relationship problems with her father. Problem with her relationship with her father... Who is to blame if she didn't have a father? His mother had failed to obtain his name and telephone number after she had sex with him under a rain-dripping tarpaulin at a music festival. Emily looked at the test for the umpteenth time. No. It wasn't a nightmare. Finally Yes. A waking nightmare. Which involved confronting Loukas Kyprianos and his commitment phobia, to tell him that he was going to be a father. Oh ! great. This ordeal would seem a little less insurmountable if he had called her since their torrid night. Or if he had texted her. Or an email. Or even a carrier pigeon. In short, if he had given her the slightest hope he might want to see her again. It was true that for her part she had done nothing to arouse this desire. She could write a book on the thousand and one ways to turn men away after the first date. When she was nervous she talked too much. Too much. It didn't spread, it spread. From the second glass she had revealed the dream of his life. Get married and have four children. Not a dog anymore ? an Irish setter, no less. To a man who had a reputation as a serial seducer. What was wrong with her? Emily came out of the bathroom and checked her phone. No missed calls. No texts… Except four from his mother with links to the daily meditation and yoga exercises she prescribed. It was easier to let her believe she was using these links than to explain to her why she wasn't. She had learned long ago that arguing with her mother was a waste of time and energy. Even if she managed to find the courage to call Loukas, she didn't have his number. She could get it through her friend Allegra, who was married to Loukas' best friend, Draco Papandreou, but breaking the news to Loukas over the phone didn't seem like a good idea. “Hey, you know what? We had a baby! ≫ would probably not be the best way to approach the subject. No. The situation required a face-to-face conversation. She needed to gauge his reaction. Not that it's easy to decipher. He had one of those faces that left nothing to guess. As if we were trying to see what was happening behind a lowered theater curtain. However, he had a kind of nonchalant confidence that she found incredibly attractive. And she had been intrigued by his distant attitude. He didn't seem to need to mingle with others, like her. As she flitted from group to group in search of recognition, he looked like a statue. Emily's phone rang. Surprised, she flinched and almost let go. The number being hidden, she put on her best legal secretary voice. ーEmily Seymour, hello. ー It’s Loukas Kyprianos. She thought her heart was jumping out of her chest. He called me. He called me. He called me. His heart was still in place and it had never beaten so fast. She needed more time. She wasn't ready for this conversation. She had to rehearse in front of a mirror, like when she was a child and she spoke with a brush in her hand as if it were a microphone. But first, she had to calm down. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe. Now would be the time to use your mother's mindfulness techniques... ー Um... Hello... How are you? - GOOD. And you ? ー Uh... Well, thank you. Very good. Fantastic. Except for some morning sickness . There was a silence. - You are free tonight ? She swallowed hard. Free for what? A hot night? You shouldn't seem too available. She had her pride and all that... But she had to tell him about the baby. A dinner at a restaurant might be the best solution. No. No. No. Not in a public place. In private it was better. ー I need to check my diary. I think I have something... At the other end of the line there was a little noise that sounded like a chuckle. ー With me there's no point in making you want me, Emily.画面が切り替わりますので、しばらくお待ち下さい。 ※ご購入は、楽天kobo商品ページからお願いします。 ※切り替わらない場合は、こちら をクリックして下さい。 ※このページからは注文できません。
