Unbreak My Heart (Childhood Sweethearts Reunited) Read Online Free Page A

things in her backpack. "He's a reporter now, and he's on your trail I'm afraid."
    She looked up sharply. What had Andre told Jerry about her? Once, she trusted him implicitly. He'd been her best friend, and she thought he always would be. But when he went to boarding school, he made new friends and forgot her. The pain of the memory still had the power to make her cry. "Did you tell him I'm here?"
    "He knew. One of those photographers is working for him apparently."
    "That figures. What else did you tell him?"
    "As little as possible."
    Kate sat on the tapestry chair and laid Keiko on her lap, her heart fluttery with relief. She'd been wrong to doubt Andre. Why would he take her in if he weren't on her side? Andre stooped, picked up her backpack, and lifted it onto the edge of his desk. "Have you come across Jerry before?"
    Kate sighed and nodded her head.
    "Then you don't need me to tell you what he's like. Once he gets hold of a thing, he doesn't let go until he gets what he wants. He's checked Keiko's birth certificate and knows you didn't list a father. Look, is keeping it secret really worth all this trouble? You spent six years with Daniel. Why does it matter if people know he's Keiko's dad?"
    Kate pressed a hand over her eyes and blinked back tears. When she'd called Dan from the hospital to come and see his newborn daughter, he'd said no. "The stupid jerk is so impressed with himself and his famous model girlfriend, he doesn't have time for Keiko."
    Andre crouched at her side and laid his hand over where she held Keiko. "He's a fool, Kat. But that doesn't change the fact your little girl deserves a daddy. You can't keep her paternity a secret forever. One day Keiko will want to know her father."
    Kate shook her head but couldn't meet Andre's gaze. He sounded sympathetic, but all those years ago he'd done something similar to Dan, rejected her because he'd found someone better.
    "What about your friends in Somerset? Surely they'll talk," Andre said.
    "No. They think newspapers are part of a worldwide conspiracy to brainwash people."
    "Not even if they were offered cash?"
    She pulled her hand away from him. "No, Andre. They're my only real friends. They wouldn't accept money to rat on me."
    Andre raised his eyebrows. "Fine, let's hope you're right and this battle to hide the truth isn't for nothing." He rose to his feet and rubbed his hand across his mouth. "Talking about money, Kat, how are you managing?"
    A shiver of apprehension passed through her, and she let her gaze slide away from his face. She had no intention of telling him how she now earned a living. He'd only laugh. "I have savings. I can pay for my room."
    "That's not what I meant." He sighed and hooked her backpack over his shoulder. "Come on. Let's get you settled in."
    ***
    As they walked out the front door of the hotel, Andre glanced at his watch. With a sinking feeling, he remembered his dinner engagement with Elizabeth and Edmund. It was now too late to postpone.
    He set off across the lawn toward his cottage. Kate held Keiko against her chest and ran a few steps to catch up. "Where are we going?"
    He turned and suppressed a smile. He was looking forward to seeing her face when she caught her first glimpse of the cottage. "You must remember what's down here," he said, teasing her.
    When he reached the woods, Andre ducked beneath an overhanging branch and held it aside for her. He stopped in the middle of the small, wooden bridge over the stream and stared down at the bubbling water. The air was filled with the sweet scent of honeysuckle and the sound of water trickling between the rocks. He cast Kate a sideways glance. "I wonder if the troll still lives under here."
    As a little girl, she'd been afraid to cross the bridge on her own. He used to hold her hand or give her a piggyback ride. Sometimes he'd tease her and wait on the other side. She'd run across screaming and jump on him in retribution.
    She hesitated as she was about to step on and peered