The Pregnancy Proposal

The Pregnancy Proposal
HELEN BIANCHIN

Tasha is overjoyed to discover that she's pregnant. But telling Australian tycoon Jared North that he's the father of her baby is the hardest thing she's ever had to do. For three years they've shared an intensely passionate relationship but marriage has never been on the agenda….Then Jared stuns Tasha with a marriage proposal, but, convinced he's just offering marriage out of a strong sense of duty, Tasha is reluctant to become his convenient bride….

“We’ll get married.”

Tasha’s whole body stilled. “Why?” Because you love me?

“It’s an expedient solution,” Jared replied.

She felt as if her heart tore, and then shattered into a thousand pieces. “I don’t want a marriage based on duty.”

His eyes darkened. “We’re sexually compatible.”

On a scale of one to ten, she’d agree that what they shared was a twenty. Mind-blowing. She hadn’t experienced anything like it.

Aware she was dying inside, Tasha said, “Pregnancy wasn’t part of it. Nor was marriage.”

“You’re carrying our child.”

The Pregnancy Proposal

Helen Bianchin

CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

EPILOGUE

CHAPTER ONE

SURPRISE, shock, were only two of the emotions swirling inside Tasha’s head as she walked from the doctor’s office and slid in behind the wheel of her car.

For seemingly endless minutes she sat staring sightlessly through the windscreen as the words echoed and re-echoed inside her head.

Eight weeks pregnant.

How could she be pregnant, for heaven’s sake?

A tiny bubble of hysterical laughter rose to the surface. She knew the how of it… She just didn’t understand why, when she’d taken the Pill as regular as clockwork and never missed.

Nothing was infallible, the doctor had informed as he listed a few exclusions. One of which proved startlingly applicable, pinpointing a nasty gastric-flu virus that had laid her low for a few days when she hadn’t been able to keep anything down.

Including the Pill, obviously. Sufficient to throw protection from conception out the window for that month.

Dear heaven. The groan was inaudible as it echoed in her mind. What was she going to do?

She was twenty-seven, a corporate lawyer. A good one. She had a career, a partner. Her life was carefully planned…

Pregnancy wasn’t on the agenda.

She closed her eyes, then opened them again.

Jared. Her heart lurched in tandem with her stomach. What would his reaction be?

One thing was sure…his surprise would match or outstrip her own.

How would he accept fatherhood?

A few differing scenarios swept through her mind, from enthusiasm and warmth, support…to the opposite end of the spectrum.

No, a silent voice screamed from deep inside. Termination was out of the question. Without thought she placed a hand to her waistline in a gesture of protective reassurance.

There could be no question this child was Jared’s…but it was also hers. And no matter how Jared viewed its existence, she intended to have it. Life as a solo mother wouldn’t be a piece of cake, but she’d manage.

What if Jared proposed marriage? Oh, sure. Pigs flew, and cows jumped over the moon!

There was little doubt he viewed their relationship as permanent…well, as permanent as any intimate liaison could be. Commitment, sans the sanctity of marriage.

Until now, she’d been fine with the arrangement.

Except there was a third life to consider in this equation. Decisions would need to be made. Only then would she know which direction her life would take.

Without thinking she instinctively reached into her bag and retrieved her cell-phone, only to pause as she keyed in the first digit, then disconnect the call.

Jared was due in court this afternoon, and his cell-phone would be switched through to his rooms. Any direct contact would have to wait until this evening.

Besides, this sort of news should be imparted in person, not via a telephone!