Page 21 of The Billionaire's One-Night Baby

Dodi placed a bottle of white wine, glistening with condensation, on the table and handed him a wine glass. Lifting the bottle, she started to dash some into her glass before pulling a face.

‘Problem?’ he asked.

She nodded. ‘Being pregnant, I shouldn’t be drinking alcohol...’

He was desperate for the soothing effects of the fermented grape, but if she had to have this conversation sober then so should he. He pushed the wine bottle back into her hand, asked for a glass of water and tried not to think about the case of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti he’d received just yesterday. Rare and fabulous in contrast to the fruity combination of chemicals Dodi had just offered.

She went back inside to get his water and he wondered if he was turning into a snob. No, thanks to a lifetime of privilege, he’d probably always been one. He’d grown up as a child of extreme wealth and was used to the best money could buy. His father had many faults, but Theo had worked hard and insisted they did too, at school, university and then in the business. Theo hadn’t made any allowances for his sons—if anything, he was a lot harder on them than on his other employees.

There was one element of his father’s life that Jago wouldn’t emulate: he’d vowed not to have children. He refused to inflict another generation with a screwed-up father.

But one tiny mistake, one impulsive action had led to the creation of life, and he’d been, without any warning, promoted to being a trainee father. He wasn’t ready, didn’t want the responsibility. Was scared to his soul.

Jago rubbed his hands over his face and when he dropped them he looked at Dodi, who sat down opposite him.

For the first time in what had to be years, decades, he didn’t know what to say, how to act. What to think. He felt as if he was standing in a dense web, unable to think, breathe, speak. What was the next step? Where did they go from here?

Dodi broke their tense silence. ‘Why are you here, Jago? You made your feelings very clear this morning when you hustled me out of your office.’

He hadn’t known what to think, had still been processing her news, trying to understand, so there had been no feelings to transmit. He’d still been trying to wrap his head around her grenade-exploding news. He frowned. ‘I didn’t say anything,’ he protested.

‘Exactly!’ Dodi hotly replied. ‘I told you I’m pregnant with your child and you told me that you had a meeting. Hell, Jago, that reaction would’ve made a robot proud!’

He was robotic? Her words were a whip slicing across his soul. He was aloof, distant, standoffish but he hadn’t always been that way. As a child, he’d been more communicative, quick to laugh, to have fun. To give and receive affection. But after his mum’s death he’d started to retreat from people, made sure to keep his distance, and made it a habit to scan the horizon for potential emotional traps.

Drama—verbal, physical, emotional—had become something to avoid.

Dodi closed her eyes, took a deep breath and linked her hands across her flat stomach. ‘Finish your water, walk out of my house and out of my life. Neither of us needs you.’

He lowered his glass. Had he heard her properly? ‘I’m sorry?’

Dodi rubbed her forehead with the pads of her index finger and thumb. ‘I’m going to keep this baby, Jago, but that’s my choice. I can afford to be a single mother, to give this baby everything it needs. We agreed to a one-night stand and I’m not looking for more. Go back to your normal life and pretend this never happened.’

What. The. Hell.

She couldn’t possibly think that he’d stroll out and leave her, well, literally holding the baby. He knew he had a reputation for being ruthless, driven and obsessed when it came to his family and Le Roux International, but he also took full responsibility for his actions. And he certainly wasn’t going to allow her to dictate the terms of this strange situation, to kick him out of her and his baby’s life.

She was the mother of his child, and he was tied to her, in a fundamental way, for the rest of his life.

He swallowed some hot words and hauled in some air. ‘There’s no way in hell that’s going to happen.’

‘You only wanted a one-night stand, so I’m not stupid enough to believe that you suddenly want to play daddy.’ Dodi narrowed her eyes, now as cold as a Highveld winter’s morning.

He’d never wanted children so he couldn’t argue with her reasoning. ‘True enough.’

‘Well, then, for God’s sake, go! I’m giving you permission to walk!’ Dodi cried, her voice rising with frustration.

Jago felt his temper bubble. ‘Firstly, I don’t need your permission to do anything. Secondly, there’s another option.’ He needed to have her close, for how else would he be able to protect her from anything ugly heading her way? Like Micah and Thadie, she and his child were now under his protection. How could he do that if he wasn’t close by?

‘What? Are you going to tell me we should get married?’ she asked him, her expression mocking.

The thought was initially, just for a few seconds, jarring.

‘Yes.’

The axis holding the earth in place shook and he wondered what entity had taken control of his mouth. He’d never intended to marry again or planned on having a child, but once his shock had receded the thought, surprisingly, didn’t scare him.

Or didn’t scare him as much as he thought itshould.

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