“You’ve changed your mind,” Aria said. “But so have I. You were right. It was naive of me to think we could work out. You saw the way your parents looked at me. I can’t handle being judged and found wanting for the rest of my life. I have more self-respect than that.” She inhaled unevenly. “While I appreciate your support, we can’t be together.”

He reached for her, but she dodged him, putting the bed between them.

“We’re from different worlds. I’m a reporter from a small town in the middle of nowhere. I live in a sixty-year-old cottage, and my idea of a good time is having my friends over for a few drinks and a facial. You’re a big-city businessman. You grew up in a mansion and date socialites. How could it work?”

“You could move in with me.”

She almost buckled at the hope in his voice. Pain tightened like a vice around her heart.

He stared at her eagerly. “You said you like it here.”

“It’s a nice apartment,” she agreed. “But I like my home. I like being near my family, and I think our child should have a back yard to grow up in.”

“We’ll buy a house in the suburbs,” he said with a hitch in his smile. “We can visit your parents regularly.”

Aria squeezed her hands into fists, angry at the unfairness of this. Why did she have to care for someone who was so different from herself? “I’m not cut out for living in the city, Eli.”

“We can negotiate. Find an arrangement that suits us both. I’m open to anything, sweetheart. I’m in this with you.”

She closed her eyes. It was too much. She’d longed to hear those words, but she couldn’t deal with this right now. “What brought on the change of heart?”

“You challenged me to think about myself,” he replied. “I realized I’m not like my parents. I can do better than they did.”

It was a revelation to him, but she had known it all along. Anyone who worried so much about their reckless little sister couldn’t be a total failure as a parent.

“Of course you can,” she said softly. She opened her eyes and looked straight at him. “But there’s something I need to tell you.” He would see her differently after this, she was sure of it. Her belly churned. It was right to tell him, but she wished it wasn’t necessary.

“What is it? Is the baby okay?”

“As far as I know, the baby is fine. This is about me.”

He didn’t look surprised. Maybe he knew more about her than she thought.

“I didn’t always want to stay in Itirangi,” she continued. “I spent several years in Christchurch, working for the Press.”

He nodded and gestured for her to continue.