Page 21 of Billion-Dollar Baby Shock

Tara put her hand on Maria’s arm and hoped the debauchery of the last few hours wasn’t evident in her creased and sandy clothes. ‘I’m sure it’s just his teething and he’s probably overtired. I’ll shower and change quickly and I’ll take over, okay? You could do with a break.’

The young woman smiled gratefully. ‘I’ll get a bottle ready. He had some food earlier.’

Tara looked at Dion, who was rubbing Niko’s back. ‘I’ll be back in a few minutes.’

Dion looked tense. ‘It’s my fault, isn’t it? Because he’s had too many different people looking after him. I thought I could do this on my own but it was arrogant and short-sighted.’

Tara shook her head, her heart going out to him. ‘Niko is fine. He’s a happy baby and he’s surrounded by people who love him and want the best for him. You can’t ask for much more than that.’

‘Except a mother,’ noted Dion a little bitterly.

‘I’m here now. He has a mother.’

A moment passed between them, something very delicate and shimmering, but then Niko let out a little wail again and it was broken.

He settled again but Tara moved fast, going to the bedroom and undressing before stepping into the shower and sloughing away the sand and Dion’s touch. She lamented that.

Towel-drying her hair, she put on a robe and went into the dressing room and realised that the clothes from the boutique had already been sent to the villa and were hanging up or folded neatly into drawers. There was even underwear.

She also spotted the stunning midnight-blue evening gown that had been hanging in the window of the shop. She hadn’t even tried that dress on, but it was in her size.

But she didn’t have time to ruminate on that. She found a pair of super-soft sweatpants and put on a bra and vest top and twisted her damp hair up into a loose knot and went back out to where Niko had started cribbing again.

He saw Tara and leant out of Dion’s arms, reaching for her.

She couldn’t help but feel a surge of maternal emotion at his recognition of her.

She took him into her arms just as Maria reappeared with a bottle.

‘Thanks, Maria. I’ll stick with him in case he wakes during the night.

’ Tara knew she needed some space to try and gather her wits.

The girl looked a bit panicked. ‘But I’m happy to do the night-shift.’

Tara shook her head. ‘You’ve been working all afternoon. I don’t mind. He’s obviously teething a lot.’

A little reluctantly the girl said, ‘If you’re sure?’

Tara smiled, ‘Positive. I know the hours are a lot different than before but you shouldn’t have to do double shifts. We’ll work it out as we go along, if that’s ok?’

Maria relaxed and smiled a little, ‘Ok, thanks.’

Maria left and Tara noticed an expression on Dion’s face. ‘What?’

He noted dryly, ‘I’m the one who pays Maria’s wages.’

‘And I’m Niko’s mother, I’m entitled to have a say.’

For a moment he was silent and then he said a little grudgingly, ‘You are. To a point.’

The point where he expected her to leave her son? wondered Tara. She shut out that thought and said, ‘I’ll take him to his room to feed him and try to get him down afterwards.’

‘Daphne has probably left some food. I can prepare it.’

At that moment Tara’s tummy rumbled so she couldn’t very well feign lack of hunger. She cursed her healthy appetite. ‘Okay, thanks.’

After Niko had been fed and changed, he went down easily enough, obviously exhausted from his crying jag earlier. Tara stroked a downy cheek. She took the baby monitor and grabbed a loose cashmere cardigan from the clothes in her dressing room and went back to the main part of the villa.

When she went into the kitchen she saw Dion at the cooker, stirring something. He’d obviously showered and changed too, like her, into sweats and a clean T-shirt. He looked around and her heart skipped a beat.

‘Is he okay?’

Tara nodded and tried to get her rampant hormones under control. ‘He’s asleep.’

‘Daphne left some stew.’

‘Sounds lovely. Can I do anything?’

‘There’s bread and salad and wine on the counter. We’ll eat outside.’

Tara saw the table on the terrace near the pool. The sun had set but the sky wasn’t totally dark yet. It was a deep lavender. She brought the things out to the table. A candle was flickering. She hated the way she wanted to read something into the romantic setting.

When Dion came out with the plates of stew she said, ‘You didn’t have to go to this trouble. We could have eaten inside.’

Dion sat down and poured wine into their glasses. ‘It’s no trouble.’

Tara took a mouthful of stew and almost moaned aloud. ‘This is so good.’

Dion made a similar sound. ‘Daphne is renowned on the island for her cooking skills.’

After a few more mouthfuls of food, Tara said, ‘The clothes from the boutique… There are too many, Dion. I don’t need all those clothes and they sent over the evening dress too.’

He put down his cutlery and sat back, picking up his glass of wine. Tara wondered a little churlishly how he could look so suave in just a T-shirt.

‘I asked her to include the dress.’

‘Oh…but why?’

‘Because I’ve been considering some things and the fact that it’s bound to come out sooner rather than later that I have a son. The interest will be intense.’

‘And what does this have to do with me?’

‘Well, as you’re his mother, I’d imagine people are going to want to know who you are.’

Tara felt a shiver go down her spine. Her life was not remotely in the media spotlight and she liked it that way. ‘Can we avoid it?’

‘I can do my best but generally it’s better to give out some information rather than have people go digging for it. There’s nothing worse than a vacuum of information.’

While Tara was absorbing this, Dion said, ‘There’s a party I’ve been invited to on another island near here, tomorrow night.

It’s a gala opera performance with proceeds going to charity.

I think we should go together, be photographed, and then when I release a statement about Niko I can name you as his mother and mention a relationship. ’

‘A relationship?’ Tara said, aware that she was focusing on that and not on the fact that Dion was prepared to name her as Niko’s mother, which was obviously huge.

He nodded, totally sanguine about all of this. ‘They’ll be interested for a bit but, if there’s nothing more to it, the interest will soon die down.’

‘What if they find out how Niko was conceived?’

‘They won’t.’

Feeling agitated, and her appetite fading fast, Tara stood up and paced away from the table. The moonlight rippled over the calm water of the pool.

‘What are you thinking?’ Dion asked.

Tara turned around and admitted, ‘I hadn’t considered this part of it…the fact that you’re… you and that people might be interested in who I am.’ She looked at Dion. ‘I’m not cut out for any kind of attention. I’ll embarrass you.’

‘Nonsense,’ dismissed Dion.

‘And what happens when…this is over?’

Dion shrugged, unflustered. ‘Then we’ll issue another statement saying something about co-parenting amicably.’

After a moment, Dion said, ‘You do have a choice here, Tara. You could go home.’

It took a second for what he’d said to sink in and it caught at her on lots of levels.

The main one being that he still didn’t really want her around.

Or, expect her to stick around, as his little comment had alluded to earlier.

She was Niko’s mother, to a point. And, that perhaps, in spite of their passionate moment on the beach earlier, his desire was not as all-encompassing as hers felt.

It made her feel hurt and vulnerable. And defensive.

She folded her arms. ‘I told you, Dion, I’m not leaving.’

‘You will one day.’ He said this with such absolute surety that it almost took her breath away.

Confirmation, if she’d needed it, on how little he trusted her.

She knew what lay behind it, she could even understand it, but she still wanted to go over and slap that cynical assurance off his face. And she was not remotely violent.

She went over and picked up the baby monitor and said, ‘I’m tired. I’ll sleep in Niko’s room tonight in case he wakes.’

She went to leave but from behind her Dion said, ‘Tomorrow night?’

Tara turned around. ‘I will do whatever it takes to be a part of Niko’s life.’ She turned and walked away.

* * *

Dion watched Tara leave, every line in her body tense. He could still see the emotions that had crossed her face when he’d told her she could go home. Even though every cell in his body had protested at that notion.

He wasn’t ready to let her go.

She’d looked wounded.

But that only firmed his resolve now, to put some boundaries down. Lines were getting blurred. Today, at the beach, was unprecedented. He’d…lost control. Taken her like a callow teenager on the sand. Without protection. The memory of that made his blood run cold.

He still didn’t know that he could trust Tara Simons. And yet he’d trusted her in that moment.

He’d forged his way to success by maintaining absolute control and never letting his hormones or emotions get the better of him. Even deciding to have a baby had been a decision made with cool logic and a desire to pass his legacy on and give a child a better life than he’d experienced.

Tara had to know that he knew that she would go. And that that was okay. They’d establish her as Niko’s mother, they would exorcise this chemistry that burned between them and Dion would make sure that Tara knew she could have a very good life—free of all responsibility.

Obviously if she wanted to maintain contact with Niko he would facilitate that but it would be on his terms. She wouldn’t have the power to derail Niko’s life.

Or yours, you mean? asked a little voice.

Dion scowled and stood up and went over to the spot where Tara had been standing, dressed in nothing special, just sweatpants and a vest top, and yet he’d had to focus hard to not get distracted by memories of that afternoon and how hot it had been.