“Because your life was as different from mine as it could possibly be. Your upbringing was different. Your life experience. Let’s be honest. You wouldn’t normally have been seen dead in that bar. You went to concerts and book groups and had friends over for dinner.” He reached out and brushed a strand of hair away from her face. “That night was a departure for you, and you only did it because of Alix. She was trying to encourage you to let your hair down.” He gave a wry smile. “In the end I was the one who did that. You had it all coiled up in a fancy twist, and I pulled out the clip. Remember?”

“I remember.” She remembered all of it, including the way she’d felt. The excitement in her belly, the delicious sense of anticipation as she’d felt his fingers in her hair and then his hands cupping her face. The flash of his smile. The look in his eyes that was just for her. The level of attraction had left her breathless and overwhelmed. She hadn’t known what to do with all the feelings, but she’d known she wanted to hold on to them forever.

He touched her face now, his fingers as gentle as the look in his eyes. “It was supposed to be one night of fun with the bad boy, wasn’t it? Except I made you pregnant and ruined your perfect life. I’m sorry, Princess.”

She pulled away sharply. “Don’t call me that! And please don’t ever say you ruined my life. I wouldn’t change a thing.”

“Wouldn’t you?”

No, she wouldn’t. But she was beginning to wonder if he would, and it was a terrifying thought.

He’d finally given her a glimpse of what was going on in his head. What his life had been, and what it was like now. The difference was stark. The whole thing had been as big a change for him as it had been for her. The difference was that she’d relished the change. Yes, her pregnancy had been an accident, and a surprise, but it had been a pleasant surprise. For her it had been a whirlwind romance, intense, intoxicating, but also deep and real. And she’d always wanted to be a mother. But for him...

He’d felt nothing but pressure. Pressure to settle down. Pressure to give up the life he loved. Pressure to provide. And that pressure had slowly crushed him.

Now, finally, she saw it all clearly, and what she saw was scary and threatening. She longed for the time only days earlier when the biggest problem in her life was a leaky cottage.

Part of her wanted to run from the problem, but a bigger part of her knew that she had to face this. For his sake. She wanted him, yes, but more than anything, she wanted him to be happy. And yet he’d been on his own with this, and miserable.

“You didn’t ruin my life, but from what you’ve been saying, I ruined yours.” She stepped to one side as a family walked past, dragging a large Christmas tree. “Drinks after work, clubs, women—you gave all that up. You loved your work because you felt no pressure, but suddenly you felt pressure, and it sucked the joy from it. And I didn’t know that you felt this way.” Something she’d done had made him feel he couldn’t talk to her and tell her the truth. He hadn’t felt able to confide in her. She thought about Alix and how there had been a time when they’d told each other everything. She’d wanted it to be that way between her and Seb.