Opposing Forces (33 page)

Philippe was still reeling.  “I’ve been dating a Grundberg all this time.” He was more than a little shell-shocked.  The Grundbergs weren’t just elite, they were virtually in a class of their own. They were one of the oldest and wealthiest families in the country.  And he had fallen in love with one. “You weren’t joking when you said you were independently wealthy.  But what can I possibly give you?”

“Love,” she said softly looking up into his gorgeous eyes.  “It’s not something money can buy.”

His kiss took her breath away.   She could have had any man but she had chosen him.  He would do everything to make sure she never regretted that decision.

“Well, I can’t delay the inevitable any further. I need to see Steffen before he gets wind of this,” Sabina sighed.

Philippe stood up.  “Let’s go then.  I guess death by firing squad isn’t too bad.”

Sabina slapped him lightly.  “It will be fine.  Leave it to me.  Are you sure you want to be there? I know you wanted to meet my brother but there are other times.”

“I have met your brother once before, after the screw up at Maisie’s,” Philippe winced. “At least this time it’s in a slightly less formal setting.  Besides, it’s my child you’re carrying so it’s only fitting I’m there.”

Maisie was reading on the sofa in Steffen’s study whilst he worked at his desk.  The text she had been hoping for finally arrived.   If they were both on their way, it meant things had gone well for Sabina.  She was glad she hadn’t got Philippe’s character wrong. 

Now for a bit of softening up.  She slunk over to Steffen’s chair and spun it around.  Leaning down she kissed him enticingly.   His hand started to slide under her top.

“There’s no time for that,” she stroked his face.  “Your sister is on her way, she needs to speak to you.”

“What’s wrong?” He was instantly suspicious.

Maisie gave nothing away.  “You will be nice to her, Steffen, or I will move back to my apartment tonight.”

“Is that a threat?” he scowled.

“Most definitely.”  She heard the front door open.  “Now behave, she’s here.” She gave him one more kiss before leaving.

Maisie slipped out into the corridor and met Sabina in the hall.  “He’s all yours.  If he gets out of line, I’ll deal with him.”

Sabina took a deep breath and headed down to her brother’s study.  Maisie smiled warmly at Philippe.  “I hear congratulations are due.”

He laughed nervously.  “I’m beginning to wish I’d kept the Kevlar on.”

Steffen poured himself a large scotch.  “Do you want anything, Sabina?”

She shook her head and waited for him to sit back down.  Steffen was bemused by the visit, he could see his sister had been crying, her eyes were red and a still a little puffy.  Perhaps she had decided to move back to Zurich.

“Well, what do you need to tell me?” he said gently.

Sabina stood up and started pacing again, clearly agitated.  “There’s something I need to tell you before you hear about it from another source,” she wrung her hands together.  “I’m pregnant, Steffen.”

Steffen sprayed scotch everywhere as he choked.  “You’re what?” he thundered.

A second later he heard Maisie’s reprimand.

“I’m at least two months pregnant,” Sabina said flatly, sitting back down. “Closer to three, in fact.”

“Jesus, Sabina.  Haven’t you heard of contraception?”

She turned a little pink.  “My bout of flu in December obviously weakened its effect.”

“Do you want me to arrange a termination?”

“Absolutely not,” she was outraged.  “I’m keeping the baby.”

Steffen snorted.  “And how do you plan to raise this child?”

“With the help of its father,” she glowered at him. 

“At least you know who he is.”

Sabina stood up. “You can be such a dick at times, Steffen. I’ve been in a relationship with the father for some months now.  The only reason I am here is because he is one of your officers and I did not want you hearing about it from someone else.”

“He’s what?” Steffen barked. 

“He’s a police officer.  And I want to make sure there will be no repercussions for him on this.”

“He thinks he can screw my sister and get away scot free?”

“I go by the name Laroque here. Remember?  He had no idea I was connected to you.  The poor guy has not only found out he is to become a father, but that he has to deal with you as well.”

Steffen poured some more scotch.  “So put me out my misery, who is it?”

Sabina took another deep breath.  “Officer Philippe Thevenez.” She saw her brother go rigid. 

Steffen was frozen.  What was it about this guy and the two women he loved?  He had managed to prise Maisie away from him and in return, Thevenez had taken his sister.  “I’m going to kill him,” Steffen grunted.

“No, you’re not,” Sabina responded calmly.  “You’re going to be well behaved and adult about this.  His is, after all, the father of your future niece or nephew.  This is a personal matter so his work record will remain exemplary.”  Excluding the screw up at Maisie’s.

Steffen growled in response.  “Have you given a thought to your own parents?”

Sabina shrugged. “Father’s never given me a second thought in his life, so I shan’t bother with him.  Besides, he’s got much larger issues to deal with than his daughter’s unplanned pregnancy.  I’ll tell mother tonight. She won’t have a problem with it, she likes Philippe.”

“She knew you were dating a police officer?”

“Yes.  As far as I’m aware, dating an officer of the law is not illegal.”  She was tired of getting the third degree from her brother.  “Sleeping with someone whilst they are in your protective custody does however blur the boundaries a little.”

Steffen opened his mouth to say something then thought better of it.  “Is Thevenez going to marry you?”

Sabina smiled.  “Steffen, this isn’t the dark ages.  Philippe and I will most likely end up living together, but marriage is out the question for now. I’m only twenty-one for Christ’s sake. And to stop you fretting about your precious reputation, I’m going to keep using the name Laroque.”

“Have you really thought this through, Sabina?”

“There’s not a great deal to think about.  Philippe and I love each other.  If we end up going our separate ways in the future, then so be it, but it does not alter how we felt about each other when the baby was conceived. At least we’re not contesting the father’s name on the birth certificate.”  Her big brown eyes rested on her brother.  “How would you feel if Maisie fell pregnant and wanted to get rid of your child?”

He knew Sabina had him there.  The difference was he and Maisie were older and he would do everything in his power to persuade Maisie to marry him.  He would never allow her to get rid of their child.  All of a sudden his baby sister seemed so grown up.  Well she had to be, in seven months she would become a mother herself.

“I guess there’s not much more I can say,” Steffen sighed.

“No,” Sabina said brightly standing up. “Now I’m going to bring Philippe in and you’re going to be very nice to him.”

“He’s here?” Steffen sounded quite surprised.

“Of course.  He was keen to face the firing squad as soon as possible.”

Sabina saw the corners of his mouth twitch.  “Show him in.  I think it better if we do this man to man.”

“Just be nice to him.  Or you’ll have not only my wrath but Maisie’s as well. She’s rather fond of him too, remember?”  Sabina reached up and kissed his cheek.

Steffen snorted in response.

Sabina retreated down the corridor to the hall.  Philippe was looking decidedly nervous. 

“He only raised his voice twice,” Maisie grimaced.  “That has to be a good sign.”

“He wants to see you on your own, Philippe” Sabina pulled a face.  “I have threatened dreadful repercussions if he’s horrid.”

Philippe kissed her forehead.  “Should have taken the Brazil option,” he sighed before heading down the corridor into the lion’s den.

Sabina was curled up next to Philippe on the sofa at her apartment.  “See, that didn’t go too badly, did it?”

Philippe had to admit that the Chief was actually very decent about it.  OK, Steffen had threatened to cut off various parts of his anatomy if he hurt his sister, but apart from that was fairly forgiving.  “But you bore the worst of it,” Philippe stroked her head.

“Bah. Steffen has a temper but it soon blows out.  He’s a pussy cat really.”

Philippe laughed.  That’s not how he would describe the Chief of Police. “You are so decidedly gorgeous that it is impossible for anyone to stay cross with you,” he kissed her softly. 

“It is also none of his business what I do with my life, as long as it is legal. I only told him about it because you come under his command, so to speak.”  Sabina gave a deep sigh.  “I hope you won’t get too much aggravation at work, being in a relationship with the Chief’s sister.”
 

“I should get an award for bravery,” Philippe grinned.  Most people were scared witless of the man.

A while later Philippe left.  He needed to speak to his parents and Sabina had to most definitely update her mother.  At least now he knew why Sabina was so reluctant to talk about her family.  Had he known, their relationship probably would never have got off the ground. He smiled as he remembered asking if he could meet her brother.  And now he fully understand why she loathed her father so much; the guy was reprehensible, sleeping with girls as young as his daughter. 

Philippe was not sure how to break the news to his parents. He would have preferred to do it face to face, but with Sabina being who she was, there was a slight chance it might get picked up by a tabloid and he certainly did not want them reading about it.  He was glad James was working so he could not overhear the phone call.

“Hey, Mum,” he tried to keep his voice as casual as he could.  “Do you and Dad have a minute to talk?”

“Is something wrong?” Estelle was instantly worried.

“No. But I’d rather talk to you both at the same time.”

“Let me just grab him.”  He heard his mother’s dulcet tones as she called for his father.  “Dad’s here so I’ve got you on speakerphone.”

Philippe took a deep breath.  “There’s something I need to tell you both before you hear it from another source.” He paused for a moment.  “Sabina’s pregnant.”

He heard his mother gasp.  “Oh, Philippe.  I take it this was not planned?”

“No, Mother,” he chuckled softly.  “It was rather a shock but one I’m actually getting used to surprisingly quickly.”

“And how is she dealing with it? She’s so young.”

“She’s handling it very well, considering.”

“How far along is she?”

“About ten weeks, she thinks.  She’ll see an obstetrician later this week to get a due date.”

“Have you decided what you’re going to do?”

“I’ll move in permanently with Sabina over the next few months and we’ll see how it goes.  Beyond that, we’re not making any plans.”

Anton spoke up.  “It’s all very well setting up a love nest together, but have you given any serious consideration on how you’re actually going to support mother and child.  Having a baby is an expensive business and she’s just a student, not earning. And your salary is not overly large.”