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.She had noticed Lisa glance at her a couple of times, made more of an effort to join the conversation.Blake had walked past earlier; as he had stopped next to Lisa, Christie had been unable to look at him for any length of time, taking a gulp of juice, her hand trembling slightly.Her face had burned as she had heard Blake make a joking comment to Lisa, seen him casually put his hand on her shoulder as Lisa looked up at him, laughing at his comment, her dark eyes sparkling.Blake’s eyes had barely flicked over Christie, his gaze cold, impersonal as he continued to talk to Lisa.Eventually, at Lisa’s pointed look, Blake turned to Christie.“Hello, Christie.How are you this evening?” His polite, almost formal tone made another girl in the group look twice at them both, obviously curious.“Fine, thank you,” Christie said briefly, registering the other girl’s look, aware of the dark depths in Blake’s gaze.“How are you?” she added politely.Inclining his head, Blake said nothing further to her and left shortly afterwards, walking over to join a group across the pub.Christie’s hurt only intensified over the evening; the conversation of the group becoming a blur as her worry increased, the exchange with Blake playing on her mind.Lisa had just left the bar to make a phone call away from the noisy crowd and Christie looked around, resolving to say her goodbyes and find Lisa outside.She caught a glimpse of Ian across the bar, apparently also preparing to leave.“Stay for one more,” the guy who had been sitting next to Christie urged.“One more juice.” He laughed unpleasantly, too loudly.Christie shook her head; she had found him hard to talk to, conscious that he had obviously been drinking before he even got to the pub.She stood up, still worried, preoccupied, frowning to herself as he continued to make loud remarks about her leaving, his comments increasingly crude, even as she firmly told him to stop.Christie sensed others at a nearby table turning to see what the problem was as her workmates also urged him to be quiet.She stepped away from the table, relieved as she saw both Ian and Mark approaching.Both of them obviously realised what was happening; Mark stepped close to her, glancing across the pub briefly, shepherding her away from the table silently as she heard Ian speak to the drunken patron together with the bar staff, his air of quiet authority sobering the other man instantly.Christie started to feel disorientated as she realised the rowdiness of the pub was fading, dimly heard Lisa’s concerned voice as they walked into the foyer.“Mark, I don’t—” she said weakly, collapsing against him, barely aware of strong arms lifting her effortlessly before everything went black.— # —Christie opened her eyes groggily, heard Ian’s gruff voice talking to— Blake was carrying her! She tensed, tried to focus on Blake’s face, his dark eyes looking down at her as he realised she was conscious.“Just taking you to Ian’s place, Christie.His wife’s a retired nurse, and another nurse will meet us there.”“I just fainted, Blake,” she said softly.Cold fear invaded her as she thought of the baby, Blake’s reaction, the fact he was carrying her now.She repeated herself, becoming more and more aware of Blake’s body, so close to her, his distant, impersonal tone.“Fine,” he said gruffly.“Sort it out with Valerie.” Christie wavered on the verge of consciousness, blacked out again.When she woke up she was in a bed, fully clothed.Immediately, she sensed she was not alone, saw a lady sitting in a chair across the room, heard her introduce herself as Valerie, Ian’s wife.“You’ll be fine, Christie.You’re just very tired, I suspect, and need to take things easy.” Christie thanked her, wondering how to ask about the baby.Valerie smiled reassuringly.“Blake said you’re pregnant, that you’ve only just told him.The baby seems fine.At first I was concerned that you might be miscarrying.But everything looks good.”Christie barely heard the reassuring words.“Blake told you…”“Privately,” the other woman emphasised.“Only because he was concerned about you and the baby.” Christie’s mind whirled as she realised what Valerie was saying, the assumption she had made.That Blake had made.“I’m nearly three months pregnant,” Christie said, noticing the shock Valerie carefully concealed behind a professional mask.“Well, Blake’s been waiting outside with Ian, until recently, anyway.I think he’s just left.Let me see if I can catch him.” She smiled at Christie.“And of course you’ve had Mark waiting as well, and Lisa.Quite a support crew.” She left the room before Christie could protest, returned to confirm Blake had gone.“Christie.” She turned as Valerie spoke to her.“I would prefer that you stayed with us for a few days until you catch up on some sleep.I’m going over on the ferry early on Tuesday, why don’t you come with me, go to the doctor for a thorough check—up?”Christie nodded.“Thank you,” she said quietly.“I’ll get my roster changed.”Valerie pulled her chair closer to Christie’s bed.“Now, Christie,” she said in a more motherly tone, “what’s all this about a pregnancy?” Christie burst into tears.— # —Four days later, Christie was feeling much better physically, had been to the doctor, started making plans.The financial implications were huge; Christie had worried endlessly about how to support a baby she had resolved to keep, despite everything [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]