Page 19 of Billion-Dollar Baby Shock

‘Not for a long time, I guess.’ To her shock and horror, emotion rose up, making her eyes prickle ominously. She reached for the very cool sunglasses Michaela had furnished her with and put them on before Dion could see how his words had affected her.

Luckily he hadn’t seemed to notice. He said then, ‘By the way, I’ve had my legal team contact the clinic about the mix-up.’

Tara took off the glasses and looked at him. She could feel the blood draining south—she hadn’t even warned her sister Mary. ‘I asked you not to.’

‘I had to. Their negligence could have affected people who were using their own sperm and eggs to create a baby. But I’m not suing. I’ve told them I won’t, if they conduct a thorough investigation and give me a report on measures they’ll take to ensure it doesn’t happen again.’

Relief swept through Tara. ‘Thank you. And you’re right, they should have to answer for their negligence.’

The waiter arrived with their starters, light seasonal salad with zesty feta cheese that melted on Tara’s tongue. She decided to put the emotion, the clinic and boutique incident out of her head, for now, and enjoy the surroundings.

And Dion, whispered a sly voice.

Her gaze kept straying to him like a magnet.

Even sitting down and while engaged in the very civilised activity of enjoying food at a clearly sophisticated restaurant, he still oozed a very masculine, sexual energy.

So much so that Tara couldn’t help but find herself responding, watching his hands, and those long fingers, imagining him gripping her, squeezing her flesh—

‘Tara?’

She looked at him, feeling a little dazed. Maybe she really did have sunstroke. The very chic straw sunhat that Michaela had given her was on the table nearby and Tara planted it on her head.

‘Are you okay?’

She nodded. ‘Fine, I’m sorry…so, apart from the villa, are you doing anything with the land you bought?’

‘Actually, yes, I’m building a luxury eco-friendly fully sustainable hotel and spa resort on the other coast. And I’m involved in trying to resurrect the old and disused farming industry here—they have vines, olives, lemons…

but it’s all died out. If we can get it going again the island has a chance of year-round employment, instead of seasonal. ’

No wonder he’d been treated so warmly by the locals. Their mains were delivered now—a tasting board of different Greek specialities. Dion explained what the different foods were. Tara found herself unwinding even more as she indulged in the food and crisp white Greek wine.

Impulsively she asked, ‘Is the eco resort you’re building far from here?’

Dion shook his head. ‘Not far, no, about thirty minutes. Would you like to see it?’

Tara felt shy. ‘If you didn’t mind? Projects with sustainability at the core of their genesis are the ones I’m most interested in working on.’

‘Sure… I was planning on going to see it tomorrow but now is as good a time as any. There won’t be any workers at the weekend so it’ll be quiet.’

After lunch Dion drove them out of the small harbour town and this time they cut through the middle of the island.

He pointed out the old olive and lemon groves.

Where the vineyards had been. It all looked sad and overgrown and neglected but Tara could envisage it thriving again.

It was an ambitious project but she had no doubt Dion could pull it off.

After a while Tara could see the glitter of the sea appearing again, and when they crested the brow of a hill they were suddenly looking down at a vast area all along a stretch of the coastline with waves crashing along a pristine beach.

Behind a tall chain-link fence, Tara could make out low-rise stone buildings and little pathways between them.

One larger, slightly domed building, which presumably would be the hub of the resort.

It all faded into the landscape beautifully.

Dion stopped the car and said, ‘It’s laid out over twenty-five acres. We’re building stand-alone suites among the hills and sand dunes. There’s a private beach. Each suite will have its own private pool. There’ll be a spa with every kind of wellness therapy you can think of.’

‘Wow.’ Tara was surprised to feel a little emotional.

She confided, ‘You know, I haven’t been on holiday since my parents died and I’ve never been to a spa…

’ She continued hurriedly, ‘It’s not that I’m sore about it, I just never had the chance, but this sounds amazing.

Maybe when it’s open I’ll treat myself.’

Dion looked at Tara with a funny expression but she didn’t see it. He put the car back into gear and kept going to where a security guard came out of a little hut. He greeted Dion with a little salute and opened the gate to let them through.

He parked up near the big main building with its slightly domed roof and they got out. Tara kept the hat on her head. It was later now though, so the sun’s rays weren’t as merciless.

He brought her through the half-finished buildings and she could already make out the vision of how it would all seamlessly fade into the background and yet provide a luxurious setting.

They came out at the other side, near where a path went directly down to the beach.

Feeling the need to cool off a little, Tara made her way down the path and then onto the sand.

It was gorgeous. Empty. Peaceful. Only the sound of the waves lapping against the shore.

Some trees along the shoreline provided shade.

She slipped off the sandals and left them on the beach as she went towards the water.

Dion called from behind her, ‘What are you doing?’

She threw back over her shoulder, ‘Going for a paddle!’

She lifted the trousers and stepped into the water and it was gorgeously cool and refreshing. She closed her eyes and let the scents and sounds wash over her. It had been so long since she’d experienced quiet like this.

And then she opened her eyes again and the ocean seemed to be calling to her.

Asking her to be audacious. She turned back to Dion, who was standing where the beach met the path.

Something about that made her feel reckless.

She walked out of the water and took off her hat and let it fall to the sand, then she undid the buttons on her waistcoat and took it off.

She could see Dion frowning over his glasses. ‘Tara?’

She had her hands on the button of her trousers and was pulling down the zip. Dion started walking towards her, his face tight. She pushed the trousers down and stepped out of them. Now she wore only her underwear. Plain and very un- sexy. White.

Now he was close enough for her to see his jaw twitch. He took off his glasses and that dark gaze looked suspiciously golden. He gritted out, ‘What are you doing?’

Tara put out her arms. ‘There’s no one here. I’m going for a swim. You can join me if you like.’

She turned around and all she heard was, ‘You can’t just—’ before she walked into the water and, as soon as she was deep enough, she dived under an oncoming wave.