Page 13 of The Billionaire's Bargain
“Don’t,” he growled, the warning low, rough. He’d never called her a whore; he detested that word. Even when he’d discovered his ex-wife was fucking one of his vice presidents, Darius had never thrown that ugly name at her. Yet to hear Isobel talk about Gage in that dismissive manner when his biggest sin had been loving her... “You don’t get to talk about him like that.”
“Yes.” Her harsh crack of laughter echoed in the room. “That’s right, another rule I forgot from my time in my loving marriage. I don’t get to speak until I’m spoken to. And even then, keep it short before I embarrass him and myself. Well, sorry to break it to you, but this isn’t your home. It’s mine, and I want you out—”
“Mommy.” The small, childish voice dropped in the room like a hand grenade, cutting Isobel off. Both of them turned toward it. A toddler with dark, nearly black curls and round cheeks, and clad in Hulk pajamas, hovered in the entrance to the living room. Shuffling back and forth on his bare feet, he stuck his thumb into his mouth and glanced from Isobel to Darius before returning his attention to her.
Aiden.
An invisible fist bearing brass knuckles landed a haymaker against Darius’s chest. The air in his lungs ejected on a hard, almost painfulwhoosh. He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move. Not when his best friend’s son dashed across the floor and threw his tiny but sturdy body at his mother, the action full of confidence that she would catch him. Which she did. Kneeling, Isobel gathered him in her arms, standing up and holding him close.
Over his mother’s shoulder, Aiden stared at Darius with a gaze identical to Isobel’s. A hand roughly the size of a toddler’s reached into his chest and squeezed Darius’s heart. Hard.
Christ.
He’d expected to be happy or satisfied at finally seeing Aiden. But he hadn’t been prepared for this...this overwhelming joy or fierce protectiveness that swamped him, weakened his knees. Gage’s son—and there was no mistaking he was indeed Gage’s son. He might have Isobel’s eyes, but the hair, the shape of his face, his brow, nose, the wide, smiling mouth... They were all his best friend.
The need to protect the boy intensified, swelled. Darius would do anything in his power to provide for him...raise him the way Gage didn’t have the opportunity to do. Resolve shifting and solidifying in his chest, his paralysis broke, and he moved across the room, toward mother and son.
“Hello,” he greeted Aiden, the gravel-roughened tone evidence of the emotional storm still whirling inside him.
Aiden grinned, and the tightening around Darius’s ribcage increased.
“Aiden, this is Mr. King. Can you tell him hi?” Isobel shifted so she and Aiden faced Darius. Her voice might’ve been light and cheerful, but her eyes revealed that none of the anger from their interrupted conversation had abated. “Tell Mr. King, hi, baby,” she encouraged.
“Hi, Mr. King,” he mimicked. Though it actually sounded more like,Hi, Mih Key.
“Hi, Aiden,” he returned, smiling. And unable to help himself, he rubbed the back of a finger down the boy’s warm, chubby cheek.
A soft catch of breath reluctantly tugged his attention away from the child. He glanced at Isobel, and she stared at him, barely blinking. After a moment, she shook her head, turning her focus back to her son.
What had that been about? He studied her, trying to decipher the enigma that was Isobel Hughes.
There’s no enigma, no big mystery. Only what she allows you to see.
As the reminder boomed in his head, he frowned. His ex-wife had been an expert at hiding her true self until she’d wanted him to glimpse it. And that had only happened toward the end of the relationship, when both of them had stopped pretending they shared anything resembling a marriage. Not with her screwing other men, and Darius refusing to play the fool or pay for the black American Express card any longer.
“Want milk,” Aiden demanded as Isobel settled him on the floor again. “And ’nana.”
She brushed a hand over his curls, but the hair just fell back into his face. “You want cereal with your milk and banana?” she asked. Aiden nodded, smiling, as if congratulating her for understanding him. “Okay, but can you go play in the room while I fix it?”
Aiden nodded again, agreeing. “Go play.”
She took his hand in hers and led him back down the hall, talking to him the entire time until they disappeared. Several minutes later, she returned alone, the adoring, gentle expression she gave her son gone.
“I have things to do, so...” She waved toward the front door, but Darius didn’t move. “Seriously, this is ridiculous,” she snapped.
“He’s Gage’s son,” he murmured.
Fire flared in her eyes as they narrowed. “Are you sure? You can tell that from just a glance at him? After all, I’ve been with so many men. Any of them could be his real father.”
“Don’t play the victim, Isobel. It doesn’t fit,” he snapped. “And I’m not leaving until we talk.”
“I repeat,” she ground out. “We have nothing to—”
“We’re getting married.”
She rocked back on her bare heels as if struck. Shock rounded her fairy eyes, parted her lips. She gaped at him, her fingers fluttering to circle her neck. He should feel regret at so bluntly announcing his intentions. Should. But he didn’t.
He’d had a week to consider this idea. Yes, it seemed crazy, over-the-top, and he’d rejected it as soon as the thought had popped into his head. But it’d nagged at him, and the reasons why it would work eventually outweighed the ones why it wouldn’t. Of all the words used to describe him,impetuousorrashweren’t among them. He valued discipline and control, in business and in his personal life. His past had taught him both were important. It’d been an impromptu decision that had robbed him of both his parents, and an impulsive one that had led him to marry a woman he’d known for a matter of months. The same mistake Gage had made.
