Chapter 30

By the time I turned into the driveway at Butterworth Wines, I was shaking like a leaf. The doors to the winery were closed and there were no cars in the yard. Even if I’d been planning on calling in reinforcements from the rest of the team, I wouldn’t have been able to. Maybe I was being a bit foolhardy, but this was my mess and I was going to be the one to clear it up. Before getting out of the van, I slipped off Jensen’s ring and shut it into the glove box.

Harvey might have been controlling and a little forthright in his views at times, I told myself firmly, as I made my way up the path towards Betsy’s front door, but he had never been a violent man. Well, not until I’d left him unexpectedly with only a note to let him know why. Mind you, there was that time when he’d pulled my hair. Still, inside he was a good man, someone I’d loved and who’d loved me. He wouldn’t lay a finger on a pregnant woman.

As I reached the front step, I touched my tummy soothingly in case the baby was feeling my anguish.

‘We’ll be fine, I promise,’ I murmured under my breath and raised my hand to knock on the door.

Before my knuckles had even made contact, the door opened and Harvey stood in front of me.

My heart rattled with fear and instinctively I took a step back.

‘Surprise, surprise,’ he said with a wolfish smile. He leaned casually against the frame of the door, arms folded.

The blood drained from my head and for a moment I was worried I might faint. I reached a hand out to lean on the wall and inhaled sharply.

‘There’s no need to look so petrified,’ he said.

‘Isn’t there?’ My mouth was so dry I could scarcely get my words out. I rubbed my tongue over my teeth.

Ignoring my question, his eyes roamed down to my stomach. Even though the dress was loose fitting he knew my body well enough to notice the changes. The thought of that made me feel sick.

‘There’s a bit more of you than the last time I saw you,’ he said in a dangerously low voice.

I took in his appearance properly. Ironically there was less of him. He looked like the old Harvey. His black hair was longer, like it had been when I’d first met him, and he’d lost a lot of the muscle that had built up on his neck, shoulders and arms, which had made him appear quite bullish. He looked much better for it.

‘Yes, well, I don’t have to have those awful breakfast shakes any more,’ I said defiantly.

‘Don’t joke.’ He leaned forward and his eyes glittered with anger.

I stumbled backwards, regretting my flippancy, and he caught hold of my wrist and grabbed me back.

‘Let go!’