More Than Neighbors

by Isabel Keats

  “Wait! I’ll get them.” He quickly snatched them up and handed them to her.

  Cat couldn’t avoid meeting the icy gray gaze that seemed to burn with rage. A bit scared, she took a step back.

  “You’re right to be scared,” said her former neighbor in an oddly calm tone.

  “I’m not scared of you!” Her brown eyes challenged his, but he was aware of the way she bit her bottom lip to stop it from trembling.

  “So you threw yourself into the arms of your lover, did you? What does Fiona think about your relationship?”

  His accusation both surprised and wounded her. “You’re talking nonsense. For your information, though I don’t see why I should have to explain anything to you, a friend loaned me a little house in the south of France, and I went there for a few months to paint.” Making no attempt to hide her disdain, Catalina turned to open her door.

  “A friend . . . how convenient.” Blind with rage, Leopold grabbed her arm and turned her around.

  “Leave me alone; you can’t come here threatening me.” Furious, she tried to shake him off.

  “Oh, I can’t?” He kept his hold on her, gently shaking her arm.

  “Let go or I’ll scream,” she warned him.

  “I see you’re not married. Why?”

  “Married? You’re still not making any sense.” Catalina looked at him petulantly.

  “Does he not care about his child?”

  She looked at him with confusion, as if she didn’t know what on earth he was talking about. Suddenly, seeing her expression, an idea formed with blinding clarity in Leopold’s head. “Because it’s his, isn’t it? How far along are you?” he asked, turning pale.

  “About twenty weeks.”

  Leopold did the calculation in his head, and his face took on a bluish hue. “It’s not—”

  “What?” Cat looked at him challengingly.

  “It’s not . . . my child?”

  Without confirming or denying it, Catalina fixed her eyes on his. Stunned, Leopold stretched his hand out and put it on the slight bump.

  “Get your hands off me!”

  “It’s mine . . . ,” he said, as if he couldn’t quite believe it yet.

  “Don’t worry, I’m not going to ask you for anything.”

  “How could you?” Leopold had to take a couple of deep breaths before he could continue. His silver eyes looked crazed, and now Catalina was really getting worried. “How could you hide such a thing from me?” Though he was trying to keep calm, his words shot like arrows through his gritted teeth.

  “It’s not your problem,” she replied in a voice so low it was barely audible. Deep down, she knew she had been trying to silence her conscience for months.

  “It’s not? So whose is it, then?” Unable to bear his furious, wounded gaze, Cat lowered her eyes. “What I don’t understand is that . . . Didn’t you consider . . . ?” Leopold was unable to finish the sentence; just thinking about it made his stomach churn.

  She tried to hide the sorrow evoked by his question. “An abortion? It didn’t cross my mind. I’m a big enough girl to take responsibility for my own actions. It’s my child and no one else’s, so don’t worry.”

  “It’s my child, as well. I have the right to be worried. I’m responsible for my actions, too.”

  “Look, Leo, I’m tired and I want to go to bed. I don’t feel like having this conversation right now.” For the first time, Leopold noticed Catalina’s worn-out appearance and the slight bags under her eyes. Slowly, he let go of her.

  “All right. Get some sleep, but I promise we’ll talk this through. You won’t get rid of me so easily,” he said coolly. Then he turned and headed back to his car.

  Deeply relieved, Cat quickly opened the door and disappeared behind it.

  Leopold sat at the wheel for some time, his breathing still labored.

  Catalina was having his child.

  He ran a nervous hand through his hair. He wasn’t sure he was ready to be a father; it was certainly the last thing he had expected to discover tonight, and he felt like a battered boxer who didn’t know where the blows raining down on him were coming from.

  After several minutes, when he’d managed to calm down a little and the trembling in his hands had stopped, he started the engine and sped off.

  Two days later, when Cat left her house, she found Leopold leaning against his black sports car outside, waiting for her. “Good morning, Catalina. Get in. I’ll give you a lift,” he said in a relaxed tone.

  “And where will you be taking me, may I ask?”

  “I spoke to your mother, and I know you have an appointment with the midwife. Come on, I’ll take you.”

  “You spoke to my mother?” She stared at him, openmouthed.

  “It seems you forgot to tell her the small detail that the father of your baby had no idea a child was on the way. I think you can expect a good telling-off.”

  Catalina looked at him, furious. “I don’t know why the hell you’re talking to my mother. Nobody asked you to stick your nose in, and I don’t want you to take me anywhere.”

  “Get in.” Leopold patiently held the car door open.

  Catalina was tempted to refuse, but his stern look left her with no choice—he seemed determined, and she didn’t want to make a scene in the middle of the street. Infuriated, she settled into the passenger seat. “I thought I’d made it clear that I don’t want you in my life.”

  “I’m sorry to disappoint you, Catalina dear, but I’m here to stay, and you can’t stop me.” His expression, resolved and implacable, made clear the secret to Leo’s success in the business world. Resigned, Cat told him which hospital to head to, before falling silent for the rest of the journey.

  Now and again, Leopold glanced at her beautiful profile, while she proudly kept her eyes fixed on the road. Despite her chilly attitude, he burned with the desire to stretch out his hand and take those slender fingers twisted with anxiety in his.

  “Come in, Catalina. Jump on the bed and undo the button on your trousers.” The smiling midwife showed her into a cubicle that contained an exam table and an ultrasound machine. “We’ll do your twenty-week scan today. Your husband will want to be present as well, I’m sure.”

  Before Cat could correct her, Leopold said, “Of course, I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

  Catalina noticed the midwife beam in response to her ex-neighbor’s smile, and she let out an indignant snort. As soon as they were alone together, Cat turned to him, annoyed. “I don’t like you pretending to be my husband.”

  “I wouldn’t worry; sooner or later, it’ll be true.” She looked at him, mouth agape, but before she could think of a response, Leopold added: “Come on, Catalina, do what the midwife said and lie down, for goodness’ sake.”

  Unable to utter a word, Cat finally obeyed and lay down on the bed, then unbuttoned her pants and lifted up her blouse. Leopold regarded the slightly rounded bump of her belly with fascination; with the exception of her slightly swollen breasts, it was the only sign that she was pregnant, and he felt an intense urge to stroke her stomach. The midwife’s return interrupted his thoughts. “So, how are you feeling, Catalina?”

  “Perfect. At least, I’m not falling asleep all the time anymore. Though ever since the sickness stopped, I’ve been permanently hungry,” she replied with a smile.

  “That’s all completely normal,” said the midwife, returning the smile as she spread a transparent gel across Cat’s abdomen. Then she took a probe and slid it over Cat’s skin.

  “What’s that?” Leopold asked, hearing a thundering sound.

  “The baby’s heart.”

  “Isn’t it beating too fast? Is that normal? Is there some kind of problem?” Full of anxiety, the poor man peppered her with questions.

  “It’s always like this. Everything seems fine. Baby’s now five-and-a-h
alf inches and weighs nine ounces,” the midwife replied amiably, trying to soothe him. “Do you want to know the sex, Catalina?”

  “Yes, please.” Cat had remained silent until then, observing the black-and-white image on the screen with wonder.

  The midwife examined the screen closely for a while before announcing, “You’re going to have a little girl. Congratulations to you both.”

  “A girl!” Leo exclaimed, a little hoarse. Unable to contain his emotions, he took one of Catalina’s hands in his. Their eyes met, and Leo saw Catalina’s tears glistening. They could not stop smiling, and a subtle, warm feeling passed between them.

  CHAPTER 19

  Upon leaving the hospital, Leopold broke the awkward silence that had enveloped them once more. “We must talk things over, Catalina. Shall we go to your house?”

  “We’d better not. I share with two other girls, and they might be home now.”

  “We’ll go to my place, then.”

  “You’re not working today? I’m surprised you don’t have to go to the office on a Wednesday.”

  “Some things are more important than work,” he said forthrightly.

  “I never thought I’d hear you say that, Leo.”

  He gave her a serious look. “Maybe you don’t know me as well as you think.”

  “Maybe . . . ,” she whispered.

  When they arrived at his apartment, Leopold offered to make a quick lunch.

  “That’d be nice. As usual, I’m starving.” She followed him into the kitchen. “What can I do to help?”

  “You don’t need to do anything. Go sit in the living room and I’ll bring everything in.” Her ex-neighbor was already opening and closing drawers and taking things from the fridge.

  “Leo, you don’t have to treat me like an invalid. I’m perfectly capable of preparing a salad or whatever else.” Again, Catalina’s cheeks flushed with indignation.

  “Being pregnant seems to have made you awfully touchy,” he teased, a mischievous smile on his lips.

  “Only because I want to help. You don’t have to—”

  Without letting her finish her sentence, Leopold picked her up and, despite Cat’s protests, carried her to the living room and gently deposited her on an armchair. “I hope you have terrible back pain tomorrow from lifting all this weight,” she said, giving him a wicked look, and Leopold burst out laughing. Having Catalina near him always made him feel tremendously alive.

  It infuriated her to find him so attractive, so she gazed away from the dazzling smile that made her completely lose her senses, picked up one of the business magazines from the table, and began to read it as if it were the most interesting thing in the world.

  Before long, Leopold had returned with a hearty lunch. As they ate, Catalina forgot her anger and they chatted animatedly, as if the five months of separation had never happened. As he watched the young woman laugh at one of his comments, Leopold wondered how he’d managed to live without seeing her for so long. Catalina’s beautiful face glowed, and he had to hold himself back from pouncing on her and kissing her, again and again, until she finally surrendered and agreed to be his forever.

  When they’d finished eating, Leopold forbade her from helping him clear the dishes, and he took everything to the kitchen. Returning to the living room, he found that Cat had gone out onto the balcony, and he silently followed her, spellbound. Catalina, her gaze lost in the cityscape, was standing with both hands resting on her tummy and a dreamy expression on her face that captivated him.

  Unable to contain himself any longer, he approached her from behind and wrapped his arms around her. This time, she did not resist and simply rested her head against his shoulder. Leo kissed her hair and placed a hand on her tummy. To his surprise, he felt a tiny movement under his palm. “Our daughter’s saying hello to you,” Cat murmured with closed eyes.

  Leopold fell mute, incapable of expressing the profusion of emotions he felt building in his chest. Eventually, he managed to formulate the question he had wanted to ask for so long. “Why did you do it, Catalina?”

  The profound pain in his voice reached the depths of Cat’s soul, and without having to ask what he meant, she answered. “I panicked,” she admitted, with disarming sincerity. “When I woke up beside you, all I could think about was getting away for a while to think. Then I found out I was pregnant, and I guess that sewed it all up.”

  “Did you really think I’d be capable of turning my back on you under such circumstances?” he asked, tormented.

  “I don’t know what I thought. All I knew was—,” she broke off, anguished.

  “What did you know? Tell me, please. I need to understand,” he begged her.

  “All I knew was that I didn’t want you to be forced to make a decision against your will,” Catalina finally confessed.

  Gently, Leopold turned her around, held her firmly by the shoulders, and fixed his eyes on hers. “Catalina, I love you. I think I loved you the moment I saw you on the balcony wearing nothing but that towel; though I wasn’t aware of it, even then I knew without any doubt that you were someone special. I still remember how much I wanted to punch Paul when I thought you were his lover.”

  She stared at him, stunned. “Really, Leo? I was convinced when we first met that I set your nerves on edge.”

  “That, too. Somehow, your mere presence threatened to bring down barriers I had worked so hard to build. I was terrified.”

  The sincerity in his eyes was clear. Moved by his words, Cat timidly stretched out her hand and stroked his rough cheek. “You, scared of me? I don’t believe it.”

  “Well, you should. Meeting you made the foundations on which I’d built my dependable existence tremble. I didn’t understand why, but you made me dissatisfied with the life I led, which seemed to me the height of rudeness on your part.” A smile spread across her face at that. “I needed to see you, to touch you, all the time. When we danced together at the ball, I realized I’d fallen in love with you.”

  “Was that why you were acting so weird?” Catalina was beginning to understand a few things.

  Leopold nodded without taking his eyes from her tender gaze. “I fought with myself, refusing to believe it. I told myself that all I felt for you was sexual desire, that once I’d slept with you, it would all disappear.”

  “So you decided to get me drunk.” Cat frowned and looked at him with feigned resentment.

  “I got you drunk, but as you well know, I didn’t have my evil way with you, and it only made me want you more.” Delicately, he brushed a lock of hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear. “That day I saw you naked at the beach, I thought I’d explode.”

  “You spied on me when I was changing! Leopold Sinclair, remind me never to trust your boy scout’s word, or your gentleman’s honor, or—” Her brown eyes sparkled, and Leopold found her utterly adorable. Unable to restrain himself, he held her face gently in both hands and touched his lips against hers, cutting her off midsentence.

  That same jolt she felt whenever Leopold kissed her made its appearance again, and Cat had to rest her hands against his chest to prop herself up.

  “Leopold,” she whispered against his lips several minutes later. “I have a confession.”

  Very slowly, Leopold separated his mouth from Catalina’s and stood gazing in wonder at her beautiful flushed face and the velvety brown eyes that could not hide her passion. Her whole being shimmered like a million diamonds, and he was incapable of tearing his eyes away from her. “Come on, spit it out.” The rasping of his voice made Cat shudder with something more like anticipation than fear.

  “I . . . I spied on you, too, when you were dressed only in your boxers on the beach.”

  Her ex-neighbor tipped his head back and bellowed with laughter. “Catalina Stapleton! I knew you had no shame! Remind me to spank you later for your impudence, but now I’m going to continue with
my story.” His hand stroked her smooth cheek, and Cat nuzzled into the long, warm fingers that she’d missed so much the last few months. “I don’t know if you’re aware, Catalina, that I gave up my plans to seduce you a long time ago. I reached the conclusion that I enjoyed your company too much to risk it for the sake of a fleeting sexual encounter. However, I was incapable of admitting, even to myself, that I was terrified. Terrified that once your desire was sated, you’d get bored with me and in the end I’d lose everything. But then, the night I saw you kissing Atkinson, all my plans flew out of the window.”

  “Hang on! I didn’t kiss him, he kissed me. Robert just wanted to console me after I caught you with Pamela.” Catalina interrupted him, eager to make her point clear.

  “I’ll say it again: I didn’t kiss Pamela. As you well know, I haven’t had eyes for any woman but you for a long time,” he answered, looking at her with stern impatience.

  “I don’t know about that,” Cat protested. Still staring into his gray eyes, she asked, “Who was the dark-haired woman you brought to the exhibition? Did I dream her up, too?”

  “Are you jealous?” Leopold smiled in a way that irritated her.

  “Should I be?” she shot back.

  “Lisa is Harry’s wife; Harry, my best friend.” Leopold’s face grew serious again. “Since I met you, Catalina, I haven’t been with another woman. I couldn’t even bring myself to sleep with Alison again.”

  “I had no idea,” Cat said sincerely, and feeling deeply moved, she put her arms around Leopold’s neck and sank her fingers into his short hair. Feeling his large frame tremble under her touch, Catalina delighted in her newfound discovery.

  “If you keep doing that, I don’t know if I’ll be able to finish explaining,” Leopold warned, slightly breathless.

  Cat quickly took her arms away and put her hands on her hips. She raised an eyebrow wickedly and said, completely blasé, “All right, carry on then, neighbor, you’ve piqued my interest.”