Considering how thin Megan was from her morning sickness, it was hard to mistake her baby bump for anything other than what it was, especially in her stretchy maternity pants and fitted shirt with Peter Pan collars. The whispers started the moment she walked onto the stage to join the Chamber Orchestra for rehearsal. She’d been asked to fill in for the second violin, who was away on a family emergency. The conductor hadn’t joined them yet, so there was time for her fellow musicians to process their surprise.
“Congratulations, my dear.” The principal flutist was the first to approach. She surreptitiously checked her ring finger to make sure Megan hadn’t gotten married overnight. “Most of us have an artist’s heart, so there’s no need to fret about censure. But if you do want me to circulate an official story of sorts, I’ll be happy to spread the word to temper the gossip.”
“Thank you, Tiffany.” Megan smiled warmly at the older woman. She was a talented musician and a professional through and through, but she also had a kind heart. “I’d like that. It would take some heat off my sisters as well.”
“Of course.” Tiffany looked askance at her when she didn’t speak right away.
“Oh, right.” Megan shook her head. “The official story. The pregnancy came as a surprise but the baby’s father and I are looking forward to parenthood.”
The flutist raised her eyebrows at the very brief explanation but nodded and returned to her seat. Megan shared enough to prevent anyone from painting her as the poor little pregnant woman abandoned by her callous lover. Without that bit of drama, the gossip wouldn’t be juicy enough to last long.
Megan didn’t linger after the rehearsal and headed straight to her car—not to avoid people, but because she had a date with Daniel in a couple of hours. Her heart picked up pace and made a ruckus in her chest. It couldn’t be because she got to see Daniel—she’d seen him last night for God’s sake—but because she got to see one of her favorite musicians play tonight.
Child prodigy turned virtuoso, violinist Anthony Larsen was only eight years her senior, but she’d watched him perform since she was a little girl. The violin pieces she knew and loved became something new and dynamic with Anthony’s energetic and passionate interpretations. As the years passed, his performances only became richer and more nuanced without losing an ounce of passion. She didn’t think she’d ever shared her awe of the violinist with Daniel, but to her delight, he had secured them two orchestra seats to Anthony Larsen’s concert.
Once she got home, Megan took her time with her bath and styled her hair with loose curls. She applied her makeup with a light touch, using a petal-pink lipstick for both her cheeks and lips. Just as she pushed back from her vanity, she heard a knock at her bedroom door.
“Megan?” It was Mrs. Chung.
“Come in,” she said, turning around to face the door.
“I brought you some sandwiches.” Their housekeeper strode into her room with a tray laden with enough finger sandwiches for five people. She had been feeding Megan every two hours since she found out about the pregnancy. “You must be hungry.”
“You don’t give me a chance to get hungry.” Megan laughed. “But maybe I am a little peckish...”
A huge smile spread across Mrs. Chung’s face as she set out the sandwiches and lemonade on the coffee table in the sitting area. “The little darling is busy growing.”
“Yes, he must be. Thank you, Mrs. Chung.”
After eating a plate full of dainty sandwiches, Megan walked into her closet and fingered through her dresses suited for an evening at a concert. She opted for a simple boatneck dress in black with enough stretch to accommodate her growing stomach. She added a gold pendant necklace to her ensemble and reapplied the lipstick she’d eaten off with her snack.
Her father wouldn’t be home for a few hours, but she had insisted on meeting Daniel at the concert venue. She didn’t want to tempt fate by having him pick her up here. They only had a couple more board members to woo, then they could tell her father the truth about the baby’s father. She still had no idea how to explain her relationship with Daniel—or if she would tell her father anything about it at all. If it was just a temporary fling, there was no use upsetting him any more than they had to.
But Megan knew that it was not a casual fling for her. It had never been. The question was... Was she going to do anything about it? She’d told him she didn’t need promises and she’d meant it. She had wanted him even if it was only for a fleeting moment. She couldn’t stop herself from hoping for more, though.
Daniel wanted her. She knew that. But what kept him from opening up to her? Why couldn’t something real bloom between them? With a sickening lurch of her stomach, she wondered if he was in love with someone else. Someone back East? An old flame? Maybe someone unattainable. She sighed. Letting her imagination run wild wasn’t going to help anyone, especially her.
The drive to the concert felt like an eternity. She needed to see Daniel. When they were together, it felt as though she belonged to him. They were discreet about their relationship, but he couldn’t hide the slight quirk of his lips whenever their eyes met, and he couldn’t seem to stop himself from touching her—innocuous and light—every chance he got.
Daniel had given Megan her ticket in case he was detained at work, so she went inside and took a seat. She willed her legs not to bounce as she waited for him, but she found herself tapping her index finger on the armrest. She curled her fingers and held tight to the armrest to stop herself from fidgeting.
“Hi.” Daniel slid into the seat next to her and offered her a crooked smile. His smiles came much more easily now, and she couldn’t help but feel a little responsible for that. “See? I can be on time for classical music.”
Her breath left her in a shaky sigh, but she said, “I guess it’s only when I’m the one performing that you run late.”
“I’m still waiting for that private performance.” He chuckled and brushed his knee against hers.
She shivered at the barely there touch, but its familiarity comforted her. The lights dimmed before she could respond, and they turned their attention to the stage. Anthony’s music seemed to suck the oxygen out of the concert hall, and Megan watched and listened, holding her breath. But everything in her relaxed as he played Brahms’s Hungarian Dance No. 1. The beauty of the song brought tears to her eyes and she reached for Daniel’s hand in the darkness. His fingers tangled with hers, but his enthralled gaze remained on the violinist.
The music brought her emotions close to the surface and she stared in awe at the beautiful man sitting beside her. No, a short fling was not what she wanted. She wanted Daniel to be hers—heart, body and soul. Was she willing to act on her desire?
Megan couldn’t stop to consider whether her heart already belonged to him. Then she would be too afraid to act. She wanted him. All of him. She would leave it at that for now. And she wouldn’t say anything to Daniel. There couldn’t be promises without words, right? She would show him that she wanted him by her side with her actions.
Anthony Larsen dove into his rendition of Bizet’s “Habanera” from Carmen, which brought entirely different emotions to the surface. Megan squirmed in her seat, much too aware of the heat coming off Daniel’s body. He ran his thumb over the sensitive skin on her palm. When she turned to glance at him, his gaze focused on her, and everyone else in the room melted away. Her chest rose and fell with each quickening breath as the heat in his eyes slowly burned through her body.
The resounding applause brought her out of the trance, and she rose from her seat and joined the rest of the audience in a standing ovation. Anthony bowed and walked off the stage for intermission and the applause finally quieted.
“Come on.” Daniel’s hand settled on the small of her back. “I want you to meet someone.”
She only had time to quirk her eyebrow as he propelled her through the crowd toward the front of the auditorium. She finally spoke up when he gave his name to a security guard, who opened the door to the backstage area. “Where are we going?”
“Daniel.” Anthony Larsen walked up to them and pulled Daniel into a one-armed hug. “It’s good to see you, man.”
“Good to see you, too.” Daniel returned the bro hug before stepping back. “Anthony, this is my...friend, Megan Han.”
Something clenched painfully in her chest at the term. She was being ridiculous. Hadn’t she introduced him the same way to all the board members? But that had been different. They were her father’s friends and they’d agreed to keep their relationship a secret from him. Anthony, it seemed, was Daniel’s friend. She shook off her pointless sense of hurt when the violinist beamed at her.
“Megan, it is an absolute pleasure to meet you,” he said, pumping her hand enthusiastically. His light brown hair fell into his striking hazel eyes, making him look boyish and charming. “You and your sisters are incredible musicians. I’m a true fan. I can’t believe we haven’t run into each other before now.”
Her mouth opened and closed several times before she could form proper words. “I’ve hero-worshipped you since I was four. The pleasure is all mine.”
“Okay. Now you’ve gone and made me feel old.” Anthony chuckled a bit sheepishly.
She realized he was embarrassed by her fangirling and decided that she liked him—not the musician but the man—immediately. She was glad he wasn’t the superficial playboy the gossip columns painted him to be. Not that she gave them much credence in the first place.
“Hardly,” she said with an easy smile. “You were all of twelve yourself.”
“We should let you rest and prepare for the second half,” Daniel said. “I knew you were going to be bombarded with reporters and fans after the show, so I wanted to come by to say hello and introduce you to Megan.”
“I appreciate that.” Anthony’s gaze turned a bit speculative as it rested on her before he turned back to Daniel. “But you and I should meet up later tonight. I have something for you.”
“Yes, right.” Daniel nodded quickly. “I’ll come by your hotel. Around eleven?”
“That works. See you then.” Her idol turned to her with a brilliant smile. “Glad to finally meet you. Will you introduce me to your sisters next time I’m in town?”
“Oh, they wouldn’t let me hear the end of it if I didn’t,” Megan said honestly. Chloe used to have a huge crush on Anthony Larsen in her tender teenage years.
When they left the backstage, Daniel asked, “Would you like something to drink? We still have a few more minutes until intermission ends.”
“No, thanks. I have to pee.” Megan crinkled her nose. “I always have to pee these days.”
“That must be a hassle.” Something tender flitted across Daniel’s face as if she’d said something endearing. “I’ll wait for you here, then.”
“Don’t be silly.” She felt herself blushing for some reason. “I can find my way back to my seat. Go get settled. I’ll be right there.”
The line at the restroom was longer than she’d expected and the lights were blinking to signal the end of intermission by the time she arrived at her seat.
“I thought you got lost,” Daniel teased, leaning close to her ear as the lights dimmed.
She only had time to stick her tongue out at him before the concert resumed. The only things she was aware of were the music and the warmth of Daniel’s hand in hers. When she turned to look at him yet again, he met her eyes in the semi-darkness, as though he felt her gaze on him. She smiled at him with her heart and the corners of his lips turned up in response.
No, she didn’t need words to tell him that she wanted him by her side. She would tell him with her whole being.
“Scotch?” Anthony asked him.
“Oh, yeah.” Daniel settled back into the plush couch of his friend’s hotel suite and accepted the glass of amber liquid. “Thanks.”
He’d had a hard time parting with Megan after the concert. Something had shifted between them tonight. He could feel it. He could feel her. Her warmth and affection infused him with emotions he couldn’t begin to identify—emotions he didn’t want to identify. He wasn’t sure what he was more afraid of...his own feelings? Or of losing that sense of rightness with Megan?
“All right.” Nursing his own drink, Anthony plopped down on the sofa next to him. “I’m ready. Spill it.”
“Spill what?” He took a sip of his Scotch, enjoying its smooth heat as it went down his throat.
His friend scoffed and aimed straight for the jugular. “Who is she?”
Daniel stopped pretending he didn’t know what Anthony was talking about. “She’s a...friend.”
“You bought a Stradivarius for a friend?” Anthony’s eyebrows rose high on his forehead.
“She’s a friend who is...pregnant with my child,” Daniel said quietly. “We’re coparenting partners.”
“Holy shit. A baby?” His friend took a big gulp of Scotch. “And that’s all she is to you?”
“Isn’t that enough?” Daniel glanced down at his drink. It had to be enough.
“I saw the way you looked at her.” Anthony leveled him with a no-bullshit stare. “She’s more than a friend or a coparenting partner to you.”
“Think what you want,” he said with a shrug.
“She couldn’t be the musician that she is if she wasn’t strong, dedicated and courageous.” Anthony paused for a beat. “She is nothing like Sienna.”
“I know that,” Daniel scoffed as though he truly believed it. But he knew Megan would leave him just as his mother and Sienna had done. Why would someone like her stick around for him?
“You can’t let one bad relationship dictate your life,” Anthony pushed.
“Oh, that’s rich,” Daniel drawled. “We both know you’re in no position to give relationship advice.”
He immediately regretted lashing out at his friend when Anthony’s face paled. He was a dick.
“Shit.” Daniel tugged his hand through his hair. “Anthony...”
“You’re absolutely right. What would a player know about relationships?” Anthony said with a smile that held a tinge of sadness. “Let’s not waste time talking about women. We have a lot to catch up on.”
Daniel hadn’t been able to get Megan out of his mind—the soft brush of her hand against his on the arm of the chair...the warmth of her gaze in the dim concert hall. He’d hardly slept, desperate to have her in his arms. And he asked himself for the umpteenth time what the Stradivarius violin in his closet meant. Damn Anthony and his prying questions.
“Wouldn’t you agree?” Walter Liu said, wiping his mouth with a cloth napkin. He’d invited Daniel to lunch as promised.
“I’m sure I do—” it took Daniel two full seconds to realize he’d been asked a question “—but you’re going to have to repeat everything you said before that, because my mind wandered for a minute.”
Chris Tanner, another longtime member of Jigu Corporation’s board of directors, roared with a belly laugh. “Your story clearly bored the man silly, Walter.”
“Not at all,” Daniel said sheepishly. “I’m running on less than four hours of sleep. It’s making me daydream about my bed.”
Everything he said was true except that his daydreams about his bed usually included Megan. He took a long sip of ice water to cool down his thoughts and wake himself up. He and Anthony hadn’t seen each other in close to a year, so catching up—and emptying a bottle of Scotch—had taken longer than practical for a weeknight. Tossing and turning, dreaming of Megan all night, probably hadn’t helped either.
“Or you might be being diplomatic by not participating in our roasting of the venerable Minsung Han,” Walter Liu said with a good-natured chuckle. The mention of Megan’s father made Daniel’s stomach twist uncomfortably. Guilt was a bitch. “But a word of advice...you’re young but you’re not invincible. You need food and sleep like any other human being.”
“Well, being Minsung’s protégé, he’s bound to be a workaholic like him,” Chris added, pointing his fork at Daniel. “Even so, I agree with Walter about the necessity of food and sleep.”
“Speaking of food, thank you for letting me join you for lunch.” Daniel took a bite out of his club sandwich, hoping it would settle his churning stomach.
This lunch brought him one step closer to telling Mr. Han that he was the baby’s father. But would it be the whole truth? He knew, but didn’t want to acknowledge, that the only way to truly assuage his guilt would be to stop sleeping with the CEO’s daughter behind his back. Even the thought of letting Megan go, however, made his blood run cold. He would rather live with the guilt, even if that made him an ungrateful bastard.
He managed to focus on the conversation for the rest of lunch, which he enjoyed more than he’d expected. Walter and Chris were wise, intelligent and very much not full of themselves. He had a lot to learn from them. They parted with a promise to get together again soon.
Daniel had left himself plenty of time to make it to Megan’s prenatal appointment, so he was sitting on the bench outside the medical building, checking his email, when she walked up to him.
“You don’t have to come to every one of my appointments, you know,” she said by way of greeting. “This one won’t be very exciting. There isn’t even going to be an ultrasound or anything.”
“It doesn’t matter.” He got to his feet, pocketing his phone. “I want to hear for myself that you and the baby are doing well.”
“What? My word isn’t good enough?” she asked, arching her eyebrow.
“You’re not a medical doctor, are you?” He took a gentle hold of her elbow and led them inside the building.
Once she’d checked in, Megan handed him her purse and said, “I have to go pee in a cup. Wait for me here.”
“I wasn’t planning on going anywhere,” he said with wry grin.
She walked off with a huff. She seemed cranky today. It was kind of cute, but he hoped nothing was wrong.
They didn’t have to wait long to be shown to an examination room, and the doctor joined them soon with a cheerful knock on the door.
“Hello,” Dr. Pinkus said. “Good to see you guys. So how are you feeling today?”
“I feel good...” Megan chewed her bottom lip. “But I haven’t felt the baby move, yet. Is...is that normal?”
Daniel shot her a sharp glance. She sounded nervous. If she’d been so worried, why hadn’t she said anything to him? He held his breath as he waited for the doctor’s answer.
“Let’s see.” The doctor flipped through her chart. “You’re at twenty-two weeks, right?”
“Yes,” Megan said in a near whisper.
“It’s perfectly normal not to feel the baby move yet, especially for a first pregnancy.” Dr. Pinkus smiled reassuringly. “There’s absolutely no reason to worry. It’ll happen sometime in the second trimester. You still have a ways to go.”
“Okay.” Megan’s shoulders slumped with relief. “Thank you, Doctor.”
The doctor ran through a series of routine questions and nodded with satisfaction. “You’re doing great, my dear.”
Daniel finally felt himself relax, but his heart still pounded uncomfortably in his chest. He didn’t speak until they stepped into the afternoon sun.
“Why didn’t you tell me? If you were worried about not feeling the baby move, why didn’t you say anything?”
“You’re not a medical doctor, are you?” She mimicked his words, but her eyes were soft with understanding. “I didn’t tell you because I knew you would react like this. This way, you were only freaked out for a couple of minutes.”
“Next time, you don’t need to spare me the worry.” He stopped in front of her car and placed his hands on her shoulders. “I told you I wanted to be here for you. Let me shoulder the concerns with you. You don’t need to do this alone.”
Her breath left her in a tremulous rush. “Goddammit, Daniel.”
His eyebrows rose on his forehead. He didn’t know what response he’d expected, but that wasn’t it. Neither did he expect her to tug his head down and kiss him senseless in the middle of the parking lot.
When she leaned back and glowered at him, he said, “I’m not sure I understand what’s going on here, but could we continue this at my place?”
Her lips quirked up at the corners, but she quickly pulled them down. “Don’t you have to get back to work?”
“I’ll be useless at the office after that kiss,” he said in a low growl.
This time she didn’t hold back her smile. “Well, in that case...”
His cell phone started ringing just as their lips were about to meet again. He planned on ignoring it, but Megan put a hand on his chest and pushed him back.
“You’d better get that.”
“Shit,” he muttered when he saw that it was his executive assistant. “Yes, Terri.”
She wanted to know if he could move up his dinner meeting to an hour from now. The investment banker he was scheduled to meet had to fly out of the country for an urgent business matter later in the evening and wouldn’t be back in town for at least a week.
“Have him come into the office. I’ll be back—” he glanced at his watch “—in forty-five minutes.”
Daniel stuffed his phone back in his jacket and sighed. “Megan...”
“I know,” she said with a shrug. “Duty calls. You shouldn’t have tried to play hooky in the first place.”
He grabbed her by the shoulders and kissed her firmly on the lips. “Have dinner with me tonight?”
“Okay. Sure. Dinner sounds good.” She sounded a little breathless, and her eyes were glued to his lips.
He couldn’t stop the wolfish grin that spread across his face. “After dinner, we’ll finish what we started.”
“Twice.” Her gaze finally rose to meet his and the seductive promise in them sucked the breath out of him.
The power she held over him sang in his blood, and a part of him desperately wanted to answer the siren’s call. But a bigger part of him told him to run and hide—to keep himself safe.
He would do neither. He wouldn’t let her go—he couldn’t—but he wouldn’t fall for her. He had to protect himself and remember that he wasn’t meant to be loved. She would leave him eventually. That was inevitable. He just had to make sure that she didn’t take his heart with her.