Page 30 of Prognosis Baby Daddy

Now it was done, there was a moment of awkwardness. ‘If you want to get a test organised and some papers drawn up, I’ll sign them,’ she said.

He nodded. ‘I’ll see to it. I’ll make sure you’re provided for as well.’

Katya’s heartbeat slow for a few seconds before it sped up and a spurt of anger surged through her bloodstream. This was the second time he’d try to buy her. ‘Like payment, Ben?’ she asked, her voice low.

‘No,’ he protested quickly. ‘No. I just meant...I don’t want the mother of my child to have to struggle.’

Katya could see his good intentions written all over his handsome face and her anger dissipated. She sighed. ‘I don’t want anything from you, Ben. I never have. Not money or property or anything else. I’ll be just fine. I was fine before you and I’ll be fine after you.’ Hopefully. ‘All I need is your assurances that you will love and care for our child.’

Ben believed her. She truly was a woman who didn’t seem to need anyone. Sincerity oozed from every pore of her body. Katya Petrova was a proud woman. Even a legitimate chance to improve her status was rejected. ‘On my family’s honour, Katya,’ he assured her, ‘I will be the best father I can be.’

‘Thank you. That’s all I want.’

Silence stretched between the two of them. Katya wasn’t sure what they should do next. What did people do after they’d haggled over the future of their baby and their lives?

Shake on it?

A few more moments passed. Ben roused himself from his still spinning thoughts. ‘How are you feeling now?’ he asked. ‘Do you think your stomach could stand the trip back? We may as well get the ball rolling. We’ll go to Positano and tell Mamma.’

Ben stopped and grinned for the first time since Katya had flipped his world on its head. ‘She’ll be ecstatic.’

Until she found out about the whole no-wedding thing, anyway.

A ghost of a smile flitted across Katya’s lips as she imagined Lucia clapping her hands in glee.

‘How about your mother? Have you told your family?’

Katya heard her mother’s words again about being nice to Ben and she shuddered, thinking about it. She wasn’t going to tell her mother about the baby - ever. Olgah was not going to get a chance to ingratiate herself with a rich Italian count.

‘No.’

Ben regarded her seriously for a few moments, her expression shuttered. ‘Katya, she’s our baby’s grandmother.’

‘No.’

He nodded. ‘OK.’ Now was not the time for pushing. ‘Do you reckon you’re up to taking the boat to Positano or do you want to head back in to Amalfi and drive?’

Katya looked at both alternatives disparagingly. Neither was particularly attractive. But her stomach was feeling much more settled now and at least on the sea they had more room than on those narrow twisting roads.

‘You really have to see Positano from the sea. I think it’s the best aspect. It gives you a true appreciation of its magnificence.’

‘OK,’ Katya agreed.

She followed him up on deck her head spinning at everything that had transpired but, soon enough, as the boat motored along, those thoughts dissipated. Ben had been right - the sea aspect was amazing. She sat on one of the side seats, the breeze blowing her hair, and watched the world go by as the powerful boat ate up the distance. Her stomach never quavered once and Katya actually enjoyed the warm sun on her face and arms.

He pointed out different areas of interest as they passed by and Katya took in the incredible edifices of the villas lining the cliff faces. They clung to the craggy rocks, some new, some looking almost as old as the mountains themselves. The sun beat down, bathing the scenery in an impossibly bright light, the villas almost glowing.

Each house seemed to have stairs cut into the stone of the cliffs that zigzagged their way down the rock face until they reached concrete platforms at the bottom. Many of the residents were availing themselves of these private balconies, using them not just for sunbathing but as a springboard into the inviting blue of the Med. Some of the people even waved at Ben as the boat sped by.

‘That’s mine,’ he said, raising his voice to be heard over the engine as he pointed to an impressive white villa dominating the rock face.

Katya stared at it. It was huge, sprawling along the cliff top, its clean white lines and arched windows elegant. Purple bougainvillea crept along the façade on one side, a colourful foil to the stark whiteness. It too had steps that led down the cliff to the sea below, with more bougainvillea creeping along the iron railings, blazing a trail of color down to the sea.

‘That’s where we’ll live,’ he said.

She glanced at him quickly meeting his unflinching brown gaze. So, he was taking her up on her offer to cohabit? She turned back quickly, her heart beating a mad tattoo. What would it be like living in this beautiful white home? It looked like a palace sitting atop the cliffs in all its dazzling white glory and Katya found it difficult to digest. In a couple of short months her whole life had been turned upside down and she wasn’t sure about anything.

She had a moment’s yearning for her previous life as the villa passed from her direct line of sight. At least she’d known who she was before she’d become pregnant. She’d been her own person. Now she was having a baby and was about to live in a palatial villa in Italy with a one-hundred-and-eighty degree view of the Mediterranean in the company of a devilishly good looking count.

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