Page 20 of Billion-Dollar Baby Shock

Dion looked insultingly relieved.‘So you’ll leave even if Nikoisyour son?’

Tara shook her head, frustrated at the way he was so quick to jump to conclusions.‘No, that’s not what I meant.If he is my son, then there is no way I will be turning my back on him.’Especially not now she knew that his fatherbarely knew how to hold him and had palmed him off on nannies.

Tara’s conscience pricked.He had his reasons for having a child and it must be hard to bond with a baby with no natural bonding hormones to help.Still, she wouldn’t be abandoning her child.

Dion made a scoffing sound and said, ‘I’ll believe that when I see it.’

Tara forced out the sympathy she felt when she thought of his experiences and just said, ‘I have no intention of leaving my son.’

He just looked at her but then he was asking for her hotel details and at the same time a cry came from the baby monitor.Niko was waking up.Tara gave him the details and said, ‘I’ll go and tend to Niko.’

Dion said, with a warning tone that Tara really didn’t appreciate, ‘I’ll be here, working from the home office.Needless to say I won’t be leaving you alone with my son.’

Tara curbed the urge to say something in response, but in truth she wasn’t sure what she would say because in that moment she was also realising the full extent of just how much her life was about to change,ifNiko was hers.And so she lifted her chin and walked out with as much dignity as she could muster in her bare feet.

* * *

A couple of hours later, after Dion had made some calls and had a couple of online meetings with his team, he went looking for Tara and Niko.He’d alerted Security to make sure that she didn’t try to escape or do anything foolish with the baby.

That conversation with her, earlier, hadn’t been what he’d expected at all.Of course, he couldn’t trust a wordout of her mouth, but, even if she’d made it all up, it was a compelling story.

He had to concede that he could see her stepping in to take responsibility for her family.She gave off an air of practical capability, as evidenced by her reaction earlier and initiative in taking the baby to settle him.

He stopped in his tracks when he heard the sound of the baby laughing.He walked to the door of the baby’s suite of rooms and stopped again at the sight in front of him.

Tara had pulled up her hair into a loose knot that sat slightly askew on top of her head with tendrils falling down around her face.She sat on the floor with legs spread out and Niko was in between them and she was bending down and blowing raspberries on his belly and then playing with his legs, pumping them up and down, before blowing more raspberries.He was ecstatic, laughing and gurgling, a big grin on his face.Pudgy arms flailing about, eyes glued to Tara.

As were Dion’s eyes.Taking in those pale arms and legs.He could see tantalising glimpses of the curves of her breasts under the shirt as she moved and it made him think of how they’d felt in his hands, under his tongue.

At that moment she looked up and saw him, as if hearing his thoughts.He couldn’t help but scowl in response and he saw how her own expression became wary.

The baby obviously noticed a change too and his head came around, two huge eyes looking at Dion.Mirror images ofhereyes.He couldn’t unsee that now.The laughter had stopped and he felt unaccountably guilty.

She scooped Niko up and stood up gracefully in one movement.‘We were just playing.I hope we didn’t disturb you?’

Now he felt even guiltier.He had a memory flash of his mother—who he’d realised in later years was probably an alcoholic—shouting at him to stop making noise because she had a headache.

‘No, my office is the other side of the villa, but it’s after lunchtime, you must be hungry and I’m not sure what Niko’s eating routine is.Will you come to the kitchen?’

At that moment Tara’s stomach made a noise and she blushed.‘Okay, food would be good.I can check out Niko’s bottle and food situation.The nannies might have started him on solids by now.’

They went back to the kitchen and Dion pulled out some prepared food the housekeeper had left.Salads and cold meats.Bread.He directed Tara to where Niko’s supplies were kept and she had a look, returning with a container.She held it up and it had a sticker on the side.‘Puréed vegetables, made yesterday.We can try this and I’ll give him a bottle and put him down after.’

Dion looked at his watch.‘The night nanny will be here in a couple of hours.She said she’d come early to help out.’

After warming the baby food in a microwave, Tara set Niko up in a high chair by the dining table and sat down to feed him.Dion came over with two plates loaded up with food and put one down for her nearby.He sat down too.She thanked him and fed Niko, who seemed to love the food, smacking his hands on the high-chair table, inevitably spraying some purée everywhere.

Onto Dion’s shirt.Tara looked at him and he could see her struggle to keep in a laugh as she said, ‘Sorry, they’re not the tidiest of eaters.’

Dion had a sense that she saw him as being stuffy or uptight and didn’t like it.He wiped his shirt with a napkin.‘It’s fine.It’s true that I leave most of his care to his nannies, but I don’t have any previous experience with babies.’

Tara took a bite from her own plate in between feeding Niko.She seemed to be totally at ease with everything that—admittedly—had been thrown at her since she’d arrived.

Since last night…the most spontaneous and responsive lover you’ve ever had.

Then she asked, ‘So…why embark on having a child on your own?’

Dion once again lamented divulging so much to her earlier.He wiped his mouth with his napkin and shrugged minutely and said, ‘I’ve created a very successful business and I would like to hand it on to someone.’