He absorbed this. Another piece of Win’s past he didn’t know about. She must have felt exposed the whole time she was at Base Camp. “Why didn’t you say anything? I’d have stuck close.” Hell, he had stuck to her side as much as he could before she went away, but if he’d known what she’d just told him, he would have been more vigilant.
“When my dad called that day, he made sure to hammer that point home. That when I was here, I wasn’t nearly as safe as when I was with them. He was doing everything he could to tip the scales in their favor.”
He noticed she’d evaded his question. “Did you think you were in danger here?”
“I was worried for the baby.” She must have known he didn’t understand what she was trying to say, because she went on. “I was afraid if something happened, we wouldn’t have their resources.” She put up a hand to stop him when he moved to protest. “Think about it, Angus. If something happened, we’d call the police, mount search parties, get on the news, but my parents can send out armies of people to solve their problems. My dad—” She ducked her head. “My dad played on my fear. He told me they’d cut me off if I didn’t come home. Disown me. Do you understand?”
“Yeah, I understand.” Angus’s voice roughened as her meaning crashed over him. “Your parents have a ton of cash. And I can’t match that, so you chose their golden prison over me. Didn’t you realize they were wielding your fear like a sword?”
Even his mother’s abandonment hadn’t felt like this. Win hadn’t left because she was afraid for her mother’s life; she’d left because she was afraid she’d lose her inheritance.
“I realize that now.” Win struggled to lean toward him, the tightly tucked in sheets hampering her. “And I’m sorry I didn’t before. I wasn’t thinking clearly. I was too afraid.”
“Are you thinking clearly now?” He couldn’t help his tone. She’d hit him right where he was most vulnerable. Angus had known he could give her everything except the kind of wealth she’d grown up with, and now he knew that access to that kind of wealth had prompted her to leave.
He wasn’t good enough—again.
“I’ve always wanted to marry you,” Win said desperately. “From the first minute I saw you, Angus, I knew you were the one.”
Easy to say. But she’d left. She’d kept her pregnancy a secret.
“You didn’t want me enough to lose all that money.”
Her eyes flared wide. “It wasn’t about money—it was about safety! I was afraid for our baby,” she said again. “When my father called, I realized for the first time that safety net could disappear in an instant—not just for me but for our child. Our child, Angus,” she repeated when he didn’t respond. “What if our baby is taken? What if it’s hurt or needs medical care we can’t afford?” She stopped herself, closed her eyes and put a hand to her heart, fighting to calm her breathing.
“Most people don’t have the safety net you’re talking about,” he pointed out. She was letting her fears get the better of her. Since when had Win been so terrified of everything?
“I know. I know,” she repeated, opening her eyes again. “I know I can survive on my own. I know I can raise my child by myself, even if my mother had a whole army of help. I know I can be a good parent.” Win’s voice cracked. “I can,” she asserted. “My father caught me at a moment of weakness. He used all the right arguments. He’s good at that.”
But there’d been a lot of moments since then. Why hadn’t she called or emailed to set him straight?
“When did you plan to tell me about the baby?” Angus asked carefully.
She sent him that pleading look again. “Right… after the end of the show.”
Angus stared at her. Swallowed against the urge to be sick. She’d meant to wait until he was shackled to someone he didn’t even love?
“Let me explain—”
The door opened again, and Boone burst into the room, startling both of them. A camera crew followed them in. There was always a damn camera crew, Angus thought bitterly.
“What do you want?”
Boone looked from him to Win curiously and Angus wondered what he saw. Not two people engaged in a loving reunion like they’d been when they’d left the manor last night.
Boone nodded, as if he’d assessed the situation. “Win, I didn’t know if Angus would remember to tell you this, so I thought I would before it became a problem.”
“Tell me what?” Win asked.
Angus nearly swore again. The damn backup bride. He’d forgotten all about her. He should have warned Win—
“You might not have been following Base Camp these last few months, but all the women we’ve vetted for backup brides who never made it on the show got a little… upset. They’ve decided the whole thing was rigged against them and that they’ve been used as fodder for hyping up the tension without us ever having any intention of letting them participate. Now they’ve riled up the advertisers, in turn, and the upshot is we’ve agreed that their representative, one Leslie Baker, will come on the show for thirty days.”
“Okay,” Win said slowly, her arched brows indicating she didn’t know why that was important enough to bring Boone to the hospital.
“The thing is,” Boone went on, “Angus has agreed to date her for a month. Starting today.”
The look Win turned on him would haunt him for the rest of his days, Angus thought. He knew exactly how she felt. When she’d confessed she’d returned to California because she was afraid to lose her fortune, the pain of that betrayal had lanced right through him.
Now Win felt betrayed, too.
“No,” Win said, vehemently fighting her way out from under the covers on her hospital bed. “No way.
