Page 52 of Conail
"Of course not. Let's get our coats."
"Good idea."
*****
She figured she had given her daughter enough time to recover before bringing up the tray.
She bustled into the room with the loaded tray and caught a glimpse of the bed with the tangled sheets. The only thing she was not pleased about was him leaving.
Her daughter was bundled up in a thick terry cloth robe and was at her desk, drawing furiously, her face set.
"I brought you some tea and cinnamon bread, freshly baked." Maeve made her voice sound brisk as she deposited the tray at her daughter's elbow. "I made the strawberry jam this morning. You should eat."
Yasmine barely looked up from the illustration she was fine-tuning. "You did not have to go to the trouble, I'm not really hungry."
"The babe you're carrying might not agree. You have to remember that you're eating for two."
Putting down the drawing pencil, she faced her mother. "It's clear what went on in here earlier."
"Yes." Deciding to linger, Maeve took a seat on the comfortable faded sofa.
Picking up the cup of steaming tea, Yasmine stared into it for a second before looking at her mother. "It's getting complicated. Mama, I want this baby."
"Of course you do honey. It's a part of you. You're giving it life, so naturally--"
"No." She shook her head, eyes bright with tears. "I cannot give him up."
Maeve's eyes brightened. "You think it's a boy?"
She shrugged. "I'm just being general." She picked up the cup again and took a sip. "I-- God!"
The cup clattered on the saucer and spilled some of the contents. "I have gone and done something very stupid. I'm in love with him."
She shoved to her feet and started pacing. "What am I going to do?"
Maeve folded her hands in her lap and tried to keep the pleasure from blooming on her face. She had prayed for this and now she was getting two in one. Her son was getting married, and her daughter was in love with a very good man. It wasn't because of his money of course, that did not matter. But she was surewhen Conail McLaughlin discovered that he was in love with her daughter, he was going to make an outstanding husband.
"You're going to be patient and wait for that man of yours to come to you."
Yasmine blinked at her. "Mama, we're talking about Conail McLaughlin, multi-billionaire. There's no way he will want to be with someone like me."
Her mother nodded pointedly at the bed. "That says otherwise."
"It was just sex." Yasmine muttered.
"Was it? I saw the confused look on that young man's face when he came downstairs. And his reluctance to leave."
"But he left."
"He did." Maeve nodded. "But I guarantee you that he'll be back."
She rose and crossed to her daughter. "You have to decide what your next step is. And be determined to follow through, even when the going gets rough."
She reached up to kiss her cheek. "Conail McLaughlin is not an easy man to love. But when you have his commitment, you'll have it for life. Go and eat."
Yasmine went back to sit at her desk, a frown on her brow. She had wanted him to stay and almost blurted it out, stopping herself just in time. Pressing a hand on her swollen belly, she smiled when she felt the shimmers. The lovemaking had been so intense, that she wondered how her skin had not been peeled off her bones.
Could it be? She wondered achingly. Did she dare allow hope to blossom inside her? He was Conail McLaughlin, a very powerful and rich man. The relationship she had had before made her incredibly wary. And what she had felt before was nothing compared to this. Sighing wearily, she turned towards the tray and started to eat. It was no use agonizing over it now.
