Page 5 of Twins to Tame Him

“Yes, but I would like to know how involved you want to be. I have my own life and we’ll have to figure out sharing custody and other co-parenting—”

“Ah... Dr. Jaafri. Now I know you didn’t really pay attention to Annika.”

For the first time since she’d arrived, a flicker of confusion showed in her amber eyes. Sebastian lapped it up as if it were life-giving ambrosia. “What do you mean?”

“I will not be relegated to weekends and holidays.”

“It’s better if you chew on this before you make grand declarations. Parenthood is a one-way road with very little incentive in terms of excitement. It means giving up quality time for yourself.”

“So you think I should cancel my date tomorrow night with the hot lingerie model?”

She blinked owlishly. “No, you do not have to be celibate to raise your children well,” she said, adding her own silken thrust knowingly or unknowingly, though he had a feeling that it was the latter, “but it demands some sacrifices. It’s not my expectation that you upend your life.”

Behind him, he heard Annika’s sigh and Alexandros’s choked outrage. “How very magnanimous of you, Dr. Jaafri. Why the change of heart after two years?” he said, biting down on the last words.

Hesitation danced across her face but she pushed it aside with the practicality he was coming to both like and abhor. “I would like financial assistance,” she said, sticking out her index finger, as if she were highlighting bullet points. “Being a woman in an extremely competitive academic field with two little boys means I’ve already lost my edge, even before I returned from maternity leave.” Out popped her middle finger to count out the next one. “I would also like some kind of reassurance that the boys will have a home in case I die suddenly.” Third finger out now. “I would also like for them to have extended family. I grew up mostly fending for myself and it has dictated how I relate to people in general, although nature versus nurture is not completely out of the scope of our discussion. After meeting Annika and learning of your brother’s strong family values and your grandmother’s hand in raising you both, I felt reassured that Nikos and Zayn would benefit from being part of such a tight-knit family.”

This time, the sound that escaped Ani was that of a wounded animal. If Sebastian hadn’t had a father who’d tried his damnedest to break him as a boy with his incessant taunts and meaty fists, he might have made the same sound.

“Are you unwell, Annika?” Laila said, completely and clearly missing the nuance in Ani’s response.

“She’s dismayed at how, in all of your myriad considerations in coming to such an important decision,” Sebastian drawled, “I seem to have very little role to play.”

Fiery red streaks painted Laila’s high cheekbones, and a soft “oh” escaped her mouth.

He didn’t know whether to be relieved or horrified that he was a genuine oversight on her part.

“I will not lie to save your pride and say that you were a big consideration. Ani reassured me that you would never harm the boys or me, in any way. But not harming is not being a good parent.”

“I know the distinction very well, Dr. Jaafri. And it’s a good thing, no, that I don’t give a damn about how much consideration you gave me in all this?”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t have to feel bad about railroading you into what I’m about to do. Even Ani couldn’t have foreseen this, so don’t blame her.”

“Railroad me into what, Sebastian?”

“My sons will be legal Skalas heirs. Which means we’ll have to get married.”

“That’s...unnecessary,” she said, her amber eyes widening into large pools. A strange mixture of outrage and innocence shone from them. “You don’t trust me and I...have no interest in marriage.”

“Your wishes and dreams and plans don’t matter anymore. Isn’t that one of the first lessons you learn about being a parent?” He took a step toward her, gentling his voice. “I do not give a fuck about whether you intended to marry or if you have a loving fiancé back home, wherever that is. Only my sons matter now.”

CHAPTER TWO

LAILA WALKED AROUND the enormous bedroom she’d been shown into, feeling untethered from her own life.

Sebastian had walked away after telling her he would see her when the boys arrived in an infinitely polite voice. If she hadn’t seen and understood the scope and depth of his art, she’d have thought him the uncaring, ruthless, powerful man who had exploited an old man’s weakness and driven him to losing his home.

But that night three years ago, she had not only stolen the promissory note he had taken from Guido as guarantee for his gambling debts, but had also gotten a glance at what Sebastian Skalas hid from the world.

The true core of the man he hid beneath his useless playboy persona. The profound beauty of his art had stolen her breath, pulled the very foundation of her assumptions about him, making her wish she’d met him under different circumstances.

But that kind of stupid wishing was not her. Neither had it stopped her from taking pictures of his art on her phone, to use as further guarantee that he would leave Guido alone. Even then, flushed with guilt and pleasure at sleeping with him, she had known that he wouldn’t want the world to know who he truly was.

With that perspective that she had of him—that she knew no one else in the world did—Laila shouldn’t be surprised by his easy acceptance. But she was.

Apparently, he believed her sons were his just like that, and it was a big deal that he had two sons. She’d expected, at least, garden-variety accusations thrown around about her character, her sexuality, her conduct and her tactics for gold-digging.

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