Page 103 of The Billionaire's Demand

‘I was there. It happened.’

She pulled a face. ‘Yeah, I just mean...’

‘I know what you mean.’

‘In the blink of an eye, I feel like my life has changed so much.’ She looked around the room, gesturing distractedly to the grandeur of the restaurant. ‘I mean, look at this place. It’s the sort of restaurant my clients go to, not me.’

Raul was a study in relaxation. ‘What did you see as your future, Libby?’

‘I hadn’t worked it out yet,’ she said honestly. ‘I thought I’d study, do something so I could work from home and take care of the baby.’

He nodded. ‘I mean if there was no baby. Before meeting me, what was your long-term plan? At one time you wanted to be a chef. But after that, was there anything else?’

It wasn’t an unreasonable question and yet, for some reason, Libby felt her defensive hackles rise. ‘I didn’t think about it. I just had to work and earn enough to get by.’

‘I admire that,’ he surprised her by saying. ‘But surely at some point you wanted something more?’

‘No.’ She ran a finger over the condensation on her glass. ‘Although...’

‘What?’

‘It’s stupid,’ she said with a wry smile, but the smile slipped when she saw the look in his eyes—a look of such intense interest that heat bubbled in her veins. ‘When I was a kid, I wanted to be a doctor.’

Raul lifted one brow. ‘Why is that stupid?’

‘Well, I can’t stand the sight of blood, for one thing,’ she said, sipping her drink. ‘But when I was a little girl, maybe seven or eight, my mum passed out. She’d had too much to drink, but I didn’t know that then. I just remember seeing her on the floor, not being able to wake her up and panicking. We’d had firefighters come to our school earlier that year, talking to us about what to do in an emergency, so I knew to call emergency services. An ambulance came with flashing lights and kind, confident people who made me feel so good and like everything was going to be okay. My mother was furious with me,’ she added, grimacing.

‘Why?’

‘For one thing, she was embarrassed. For another, there was a cost for the callout.’ Libby scrunched up her nose. ‘But I’ll never forget my sense of helplessness, contrasted with the relief I felt when the paramedics arrived and knew exactly what to do. I wanted to be that person who could walk into a room and fix people, make everything okay for everyone.’ Libby bit down on her lip. ‘Instead, I clean houses. And boats.’

Raul reached across the table, put his hand on Libby’s, and her heart jumped into her throat. She felt his sympathy and immediately wanted to push it away.

‘It’s not like I hate it,’ she said. ‘In fact, there’s a lot to like about it. The pay’s okay, and I get to choose my schedule.’

‘Not to mention the occasional adventure on the high seas,’ he pointed out.

‘Right.’ She was surprised by how natural it felt to smile. The waitress returned to take their orders. Libby hadn’t even looked at the options. Raul suggested a tasting menu and she readily agreed.

‘You have some food allergies though, right?’ the waitress said, referring to her notepad.

Raul spoke before Libby could respond. ‘Shellfish and soft cheeses.’

Libby’s eyes widened. He’d read the pregnancy books? Of course he had. Raul was taking no chances with this baby. Her stomach did a funny little loop.

‘Got it.’ The waitress smiled as she departed.

Libby propped her elbows on the table, resting her chin on one palm. ‘What about you?’ she asked, fascinated by the strength in Raul’s face, the symmetry of his features. ‘What did you want to be when you were a kid?’

He grinned. ‘A builder.’

‘Really?’

‘I loved watching high-rises go up. I was fascinated by the way they could be shaped almost as if from the ground. The steel, concrete, the structures. I would skip school and watch the work all day. Sometimes, I’d get to help, earn a few bucks. I loved the feeling of creating something with my bare hands,’ he said, looking down at them, almost as if surprised by the admission. ‘I haven’t thought of that for a long time.’

‘But instead you became...well, fabulously wealthy,’ she said, crinkling her nose again. ‘I don’t even know what you do, besides make a lot of money.’

‘I started off investing in companies,’ he said, as though it were that simple.

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