Billionaire's Pregnant Bride

Chapter 17

EYES AS BRIGHT AS STARS, Kathy studied her reflection in the mirror.

‘Put on a pair of sunglasses and a bored expression and you’ll be taken for a celebrity!’ Bridget Kirk teased, her cheerful face wreathed in smiles.

Kathy was dressed in a vintage sixties dress the zingy yellow of a citrus fruit. It was a sleeveless sheath that hugged her slight curves as though it had been custom-made, and Kathy thought it gave her an amazingly classy look. She felt that that was an important consideration for a date with a guy who had been born into a family with a history that stretched back several centuries. While she was by no means intimidated by Sergio Torrente’s background, which she had checked out on the internet, she had cringed at the reality that he might well wince if she turned out to see him in another pair of jeans. In actuality her wardrobe contained nothing fancier than black trousers.

And trying to remedy that problem on her income in the first weeks of a new job was out of the question. The struggle to survive until she received her first pay as a receptionist was proving a major challenge, even though she had worked almost every night at the café. She was very lucky that Bridget had come to her rescue with the suggestion that she might borrow an outfit from the café manager’s vintage fashion collection accumulated from various charity shops.

‘I don’t know how to thank you.’ Kathy enveloped the older woman in an impulsive hug. ‘I know how proud you are of your clothes and I promise I’ll look after the dress.’

Delighted to see Kathy so animated and talkative, Bridget returned the hug with enthusiasm. ‘I’m pleased that you’re finally going out on a date!’

‘But it won’t last five minutes with Sergio.’ Kathy delivered that forecast with a shrug of a narrow shoulder to show how low her expectations were and reached for her jeans, intending to get changed. ‘I think he’s just curious about how the other half lives.’

‘Will you tell him?’

Kathy paled and tensed. She knew immediately that Bridget was referring to the prison sentence that the younger woman had served. ‘I don’t think Sergio will be around long enough for a heartfelt confession to become necessary. But if he asks too many awkward questions, I won’t lie—’

‘Give things a chance to develop first,’ Bridget advised hurriedly.

‘He’s too sophisticated and well travelled to fool. If I tried to pretend I spent all that time abroad I’d soon trip myself up,’ Kathy countered gently.

‘He’s not going to ask for map references, Kathy,’ the little brunette scolded. ‘Don’t go spilling it all out when there’s no need. You’re entitled to a few secrets until you know him better.’

Bridget was very much a romantic and Kathy wouldn’t have had her any other way, but Kathy had not been able to bring herself to the point of confessing to her friend that she had already been intimate with Sergio. In fact, the more Kathy thought about that, the more disturbed and ashamed she became over her behaviour. She was annoyed that she had not had more sense. The fear that there might be consequences from their contraceptive accident was one she kept pushed to the back of her mind; she was planning to do a pregnancy test in a couple of days.