Page 37 of Prognosis Irreconcilable Differences

‘Because that’s what I demand. At least if you’re going to have a baby with me, that is,’ she continued. ‘I’m not going to take some kind of arrogant offer from a man who’s going to be too busy building an empire to spend time with his kid. Or do you not want anything to do with this child at all other than providing the sperm? You’re okay with being a stranger to your kid like your father was to you?’

Nathan felt her barb pierce the centre of his chest, and sucked in a breath at how deep it tore. ‘Damn it, Jacqui!’ he growled. He would never wish the torment of knowing it wasn’t loved on an innocent child. ‘Of course I want to be there for my child. And you. I want a reconciliation for real. To live together for real. I want to be a family.’

It was Jacqui’s turn to feel the tear of the barb. How many years had she yearned to hear those words coming from his mouth? And he offered them up now in some half-baked, ill-thought-out plan. Because his life was empty.

Because billions of dollars weren’t enough.

He hadn’t even mentioned love. Had he become that arrogant, that cynical, that detached he could contemplate being a family without love?

It hurt. It hurt a lot.

‘You’re not going to use me to paper over the cracks, Nathan. And I won’t let you use a child, either.’

Nathan studied her intently, his heart crashing in his chest as his grand plans slipped slowly out of his grasp. She returned his gaze unflinchingly. Her chin had a proud tilt; her toffee eyes were deceptively hard. How could she stand there, vulnerable in so many ways, and yet seem so resolute in the hard beam of his glare?

More importantly, how could he convince her that it wasn’t some whim? That he really wanted this?

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