Page 24 of Her Forever Billionaire

Absolute fury overruled her. ‘You want anything that moves.’

His head jerked back, rigid with shock. Oh, she’d overstepped it now. But she didn’t care. She could hardly speak for the anger. So angry with him but even more angry with herself—that in this moment, when her life was about to go through the shredder, she was still turned on by him. She was breathless from one itty-bitty kiss, she was thinking about sex instead of the far more serious issue she had ahead of her. That anger made her even bitchier. ‘How often have you done it? You take many women there? Is it your usual modus operandi? Take them to the beach and seduce them stupid in the sand?’

‘If that was the case, don’t you think I’d have had the sense to carry more than one condom on me?’ he shouted back. ‘Yes, I’ve had lovers, Kelsi, but I’ve never taken anyone else to that beach. I’ve never done that in the middle of the day like that before. I’ve never blown off meetings that I should have been in all afternoon just to spend a few more moments with some weird-looking woman who just tried to run me over. It was a first for me, too. These are all firsts.’

Weird-looking. Of course.

‘Why don’t you just walk away, Jack?’ she pleaded desperately. ‘I release you from any obligation. Walk away, forget about me. The baby and I will be fine.’

‘I can’t do that, Kelsi,’ he said furiously. ‘As much as I would like to take you up on that offer, I just can’t do it.’

As much as he wanted to.

Now she hurt even more. ‘Why not? You need your freedom, Jack. You like going from season to season. You said yourself your lifestyle doesn’t fit with family. And that’s okay. This isn’t about you. This is about what’s best for the baby. Walking away now is the best thing you could do.’

He had to see that this wasn’t going to work. That it wouldn’t be fair on any of them if they tried to force something that hadn’t been meant to be.

He froze, then took the three paces to tower over her again. ‘Walking away might be the best option for you Kelsi, but it is not for our child. And you will never get me to believe it is. A child deserves to have two parents who love it.’

What—as her father had ‘loved’ her? Who’d let her down time after time? Her father, a player just like Jack, who’d always put fun before family. And who’d then found a more perfect daughter to replace her.

‘Are you capable of loving it, Jack?’ she flung back at him, ancient hurts making her shrill. ‘Are you capable of being there for it? Of being responsible?’

When the silence became too uncomfortable she finally looked up at him. He was pale, the energy barely contained in his rigid stance. Kelsi knew his anger before was nothing on the blazing fury he was feeling now.

‘I don’t need you to lecture me on what kind of parent I should be,’ he said, scarily quiet. ‘You know nothing about me, Kelsi, but I can promise you that’s about to change.’ He turned. ‘I’m leaving now before either of us says something else regrettable. I’ll be in touch tomorrow.’

The heavy wooden door slammed, shaking the foundations of the building that had stood rock solid for the best part of a century.

SIX

She knew nothing? She knew enough. And Kelsi knew she was right. She didn’t want to trap Jack. He had his life, his plans and they didn’t fit with family. And she didn’t want her child to have a father who wandered in and out of its life—who let the kid down time and time again. She knew how much that sucked. So many times as a girl she’d hoped that her dad would show up when he’d said he would. But he never had. She knew how bad it had felt when he’d found another family he’d rather be with. Rejection like that dug in so deep it was a part of you. A part that was impossible to shed.

Kelsi would do whatever it took to prevent that from happening to her baby. Her baby would be better off without a father at all than one who hurt it like that. And while Jack’s intentions might be good, it was only a matter of time before he let them down. So she had to convince him it was fine for him to go—somehow.

But he rang first thing.

‘How can I help?’ she asked, as if she were a receptionist taking a customer service call.

‘Kelsi, don’t act dumb. We have to talk.’ How could he sound so good-humoured again?

‘Actually we don’t, Jack.’ She braced herself and made her move. ‘In fact I think it’s better if we don’t see each other again.’

‘You what?’

‘We should end it all here and now.’ She held her breath, waiting for the bomb to explode.

All he did was laugh. ‘You actually think that’s possible?’

‘Sure.’ She was so glad he couldn’t see her shaking.

‘You’re not doing this on your own, Kelsi.’

‘Watch me,’ she said. ‘My mother managed. Millions of women manage.’

‘You don’t have to just manage.’

She gripped the phone harder. Oh, yes, she did. And she would.

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