Pregnant At Acosta's Demand

Folding the paper, she pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes. Seriously, she needed to stop crying. Tears didn’t solve problems. Besides, things were beginning to look up. In the last few hours she’d been given a chance to say a proper goodbye to Luis, and granted a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Losing her baby after months of frantically trying to sustain her pregnancy had wrecked her. When the discharge nurse had given her the packet of leaflets the day she’d left hospital, Suki had almost thrown them away. It’d been days before she’d bothered to sift through the brightly coloured pamphlets prescribing various ways to move on from a loss she knew she would never get over.

At first, she’d dismissed the charity offering women in her situation a new alternative. She hadn’t planned to get pregnant, nor had she imagined that her one night with Ramon would result in such a staggering roller coaster of joy and turmoil.

All she’d craved was solitude to mourn her lost child and lick her wounds. But those wounds had grown larger every day, with the hole in her heart widening until she feared it would swallow her whole. When she woke up one morning clutching the leaflet, she chose to believe the same fate that had ripped her child from her was offering her a way to heal. Her child would never draw breath, but she had more of the joy she’d felt for that child to give to another.

She hadn’t planned on motherhood the first time round. But this time, she would do things her way, without the fear of a man who wouldn’t stick around, as her own mother had experienced from her father, or, even worse, infidelity from someone she opened her heart to.

It had been a long shot because the charity accepted only twenty-five non-paying cases a year, so, although she’d secretly hoped, she’d been prepared for a rejection.

She opened the letter again, her mouth slowly curving in a whisper of a smile as she absorbed the soul-saving words.

She retrieved her laptop from the dark nook and took it into the kitchen. Fully immersed in the brilliant sunshine, she first answered Ramon’s lawyers giving the time and date of her arrival in Havana, then sent an email confirming the appointment at the fertility clinic.

Then with the hopeful smile on her face, Suki flew up the stairs to her room, dragged the suitcase from her closet, and began to pack.

* * *

Havana in early September was a sweltering vision of vibrant colour. The brief rain shower that had engulfed the plane as they came in to land had already disappeared by the time Suki retrieved her suitcase and made her way through Immigration. Travelling first class had been a singularly unique experience, one she would’ve appreciated even better had the purpose of this trip not weighed so heavily on her heart. She was thankful that for the most part she’d been left alone to grab what sleep she could, which meant she arrived a lot more refreshed than she had on any other previous plane trip.

Spotting her name on a whiteboard held by a sharply suited chauffeur further hammered home the fact that she was in Luis’s homeland. That she was about to come face-to-face with Ramon, the man she’d shared a torrid night with only to wake up alone with no inkling as to the devastating trail of consequences of her actions. The man who still had no clue what had happened to her after he’d walked away in the early hours of the morning.

As she often did when thoughts of Ramon surged, she shoved them back into the box labelled out of bounds.

She stood by the decisions she’d made regarding her pregnancy, even the ones involving swearing Luis to secrecy about the fact that she was carrying his brother’s child. He hadn’t been pleased, but he’d respected her wish to inform Ramon at a time of her own choosing, once she’d come to terms with the new direction her life had taken.

As it turned out, there’d been no need to involve Ramon because fate had had other ideas...

Following the chauffeur who had taken control of her case, Suki emerged into blinding late afternoon sunshine and a cacophony of Spanish and blaring horns.

Outside José Martí International Airport, the iconic brightly painted nineteen fifties’ style taxis lined up in rows next to buses and private cars. Sliding on her sunglasses, she hitched her handbag onto her shoulder and summoned a smile as the driver held open the back door of a stretch limo.

Unlike the luxury car she and Ramon had shared that night a lifetime ago, this car was a silver affair, gleaming in the sunlight and catching the eyes of passers-by. Fighting the strange urge to refuse the ride and find her own, she slid into the car. The tinted windows and the bench seats were identical, the scent of leather engulfing her and catapulting memories she didn’t want to remember straight to the forefront of her mind.

Except this time she was alone, reliving every single moment of that night. Just as she’d been alone when she’d learned that her baby would most likely not survive.

Resolutely, Suki turned her thoughts outside, looking out of the window as Havana unveiled itself. It was just as Luis had described often and passionately. Most of the buildings were stuck in their pre-Communism era, with many severely dilapidating as a result of a less than thriving economy. But at every corner there were signs of restoration, pride in a rich heritage exhibited in statues, mosaic-tiled squares, a baroque cathedral and even in the graffiti that littered centuries-old buildings tucked between narrow lanes.

The two-line response from Ramon’s lawyers to her email had informed her she would be staying at one of the Acosta hotels in the city. Suki wasn’t ashamed to admit to her relief when she’d read the email.

She welcomed the chance to arm herself thoroughly for the next meeting with Ramon.

Traffic was light, and the limo slid beneath the porticoed entrance of the hotel a little over half an hour later.

The Acosta Hotel Havana was a stunning ten-storey building holding pride of place on a palm-tree-lined street that dissected modern Havana City from the world-renowned Old Havana. Straddling the best of both worlds, the six-star hotel had been painstakingly converted from a baroque palace, the designers having retained as many of its original breathtaking features as possible.

Inside, a stunning gold-leaf ceiling depicting an intricate map of the world was highlighted by huge, staggeringly beautiful half-century-old crystal chandeliers, while across the potted-palm foyer, several groupings of stylish leather chairs invited guests to sit and enjoy the formidable architecture.

Suki dragged her avidly exploring gaze away long enough to cross gleaming black and white mosaic tiles to the intricately carved wooden reception desk where a petite, dark-haired receptionist smiled in welcome.

‘Miss Langston, welcome to Havana. We hope you will enjoy your stay with us.’ She waved over a middle-aged man dressed in burgundy and gold monogrammed uniform and handed him the plastic room card. ‘This is Pedro, he’ll be your personal butler for the duration of your stay. If you need anything else, please let us know.’

She didn’t ask how the receptionist knew her by sight. On the few occasions she’d ventured into Luis’s world while he’d been alive, she’d quickly realised that the wealthy and powerful led very different lifestyles. One she got a taster of when, upon arrival in the luxury suite, two additional members of staff unpacked her clothes and a light lunch was set out on a sun-drenched private terrace within minutes.

Suki refused the welcome champagne and mostly picked at her grilled seafood salad. The preoccupation of readying herself for the trip to Cuba had briefly suppressed the jangling nerves that the thought of meeting Ramon again awakened.

They clanged harder now, questions she’d resolutely driven out of her thoughts resurging with brutal force. No matter how many times she tried to tell herself what happened that night had been on equal terms, she still couldn’t understand why he’d left her without a word. Was that the done thing? Had she misstepped somehow?

Was that why he’d fast-tracked Luis into moving to New York?

But one question burned most of all, one question she knew deep in her heart had informed some of the decisions she’d made regarding her pregnancy.

Why had he lied about no longer being engaged?

Finding out that Ramon was still engaged to Svetlana after their night together had filled her with numbing disbelief, then horror when Luis had confirmed it. The shock and resulting bitterness at being made an accomplice to infidelity had stayed with her for a long time, and even risked her friendship with Luis. Only her confession about her pregnancy and the associated problems with it had brought a much-needed perspective and support from her best friend.

But now those questions, and more, crowded her brain.

Although her butler spoke perfect English, Suki was reluctant to ask him anything about his employer. The fact that Ramon was choosing to deal with her through his lawyers also indicated that he wished to maintain a distance.

That was fine by her. It should make the decision to tell him about the child they’d lost much easier.

Abandoning her meal, she retreated into the cool suite. A quick check of her emails showed another message from Ramon’s lawyers, telling her she would be picked up at nine a.m. for the memorial.

Suki spent the rest of the evening laying out her clothes and taking a bath, after which she slid into bed for an early night.

The soft knock on her door came seconds before her phone’s alarm went off at eight the next morning. After trying and failing to swallow more than a bite of the scrambled eggs and toast or stop the ever growing butterflies in her stomach, she took a quick shower and donned her simple black dress and heels. Tying her hair in a knot, she picked up her black clutch just as another knock came on her door.

The butler beat her to it. Which was just as well because the sight of Ramon Acosta filling the doorway wasn’t one she could’ve withstood well up close. Because even across the vast distance of the living room, every single particle in her body clenched tight on seeing him.

He prowled into the room, tall and powerful, his strides measured and predatory. Eyes that had never been soft were now even harsher as they mercilessly raked over her. His mouth, still sensual, still unsmiling, had developed a layer of cruelty and, almost impossibly, his shoulders seemed broader, as if they’d had to expand to accommodate the harrowing circumstances thrown at him.

Even though a part of her heart went out to him for the unthinkable loss he’d suffered, Suki was too busy building the foundation of her own self-preservation as the ground beneath her feet tilted crazily.

Many times before and even after the doctors had informed her of the state of her pregnancy, she’d wondered what their child would look like. She’d eventually discovered she was carrying a girl. Imagining a female version of Ramon had been a little harder than a male version, and perhaps a blessing in disguise in the long run, a way the cosmos chose to help her cope.

Because the man dressed from head to toe in bespoke black standing in front of her was every inch as formidable—goodness, even more so—than her imagination had conjured up.

He stopped before her, eyes of chilled green glass fixed on her. ‘Are you not going to greet me, Suki?’ he asked icily.

Her gut clenched harder at the sound of his voice. Although it was now arctic, she didn’t need much prompting to recall it in a different tone. A huskier, headier timbre. A tone she had no business recollecting right now. She bit her tongue against informing him that he’d entered her domain and therefore etiquette dictated he needed to greet her first. There was no use because men like Ramon played by their own rules. And for her own peace of mind, she wanted the next two days to go as smoothly as possible.

Clearing her throat, she strove for an even tone. ‘Good morning, Ramon. I... I wasn’t expecting to see you.’

‘Were you not?’ he countered, unforgiving eyes still hooked into her. ‘What were you expecting, exactly?’

‘Well...not you...here...’ She stopped, silently cursed the silly stammering she’d thought was far behind her. ‘I mean, I was expecting your driver, not you...to come in person.’