Page 37 of The Billionaire's One-Night Baby

Thadie rubbed her upper arm, giving her comfort. ‘Still hurts, huh?’

‘I think it always will,’ Dodi reluctantly admitted. She wished she could forget about him, forgive him for what he’d done, but she couldn’t. He’d played with her mind, her life and her emotions, and betrayed their friendship.

She’d never allow anyone to do that to her again. She’d never give anyone that amount of emotional power over her again.

Dodi glanced over to Jago and saw that he was standing a little way from them, talking to the bodyguard and Micah. The three men, tall, fit and devastatingly good-looking, were garnering a lot of attention, mostly female. There was a lot of hair-twirling, flirty smiles, looks over shoulders. None of them noticed.

Dan was in the past, and she had a baby to focus on, so Dodi pushed back her shoulders and decided to forget about her waste-of-oxygen ex and enjoy the time with her best friend.

Thadie pulled her glasses off her face, folded the arms and tapped them against her palm. ‘So, did you hear that Jago has rented out his house?’

It was a blatant change of subject but one that made Dodi’s mouth drop open in shock. Hadleigh House? His family home? ‘But that house has been in your family for decades! Where are he and Micah going to live? What about the staff?’

Thadie rolled her eyes. ‘Not Hadleigh, goose! His own house, the one he lived in with Anju.’

Oh!Thathouse. Dodi raised her eyebrows. ‘Really?’

‘Mmm. He sent in the movers, and they packed everything up. He asked me where he could donate her clothes, sent her books to a second-hand shop, sent other stuff to her family. He took a couple of days off work last week to sort through the house.’

Really?Wow.

‘My oldest brother is different,’ Thadie commented after a short silence. ‘More relaxed, warmer. Would you know why?’

Oh, God, the interrogation was about to start. Dodi placed her hand on her heart, forcing her eyes wide. ‘Why would I know?’

Thadie narrowed her eyes at her. ‘You suck at lying, Do. What is going on with you two?’

Dodi was about to reply when Jago’s familiar scent hit her nose and his hand landed on her lower back. ‘The boys want to visit the mini petting zoo, so Micah and I thought we’d head over there. It’ll give you two a little time alone,’ he said.

She scowled at him. Honestly, this wasn’t the time for him to be considerate! Dodi widened her eyes in panic, desperately hoping Jago would read her mind and suggest something they could all do together. Anything to prevent the cross-examination she was bound to face if she and Thadie were left alone.

Thadie sent her a wicked grin. ‘What a wonderful idea! Dodi and I have so much to catch up on and we’d love a little girl time!’

Dodi grimaced. Thadie was her best friend and she loved her, but knew how relentless she could be when she knew something was afoot. Dodi looked at the broad backs of the departing Le Roux brothers and wished she were going with them. Dragging her feet, she followed Thadie to a table under a white tent and knew that within ten minutes Thadie would know that a) Dodi was sleeping with her brother, and b) she was going to be their baby’s aunt.

She and Jago wanted to keep the news to themselves for a bit longer, but that wasn’t going to happen because there was no way she was going to lie to her best friend. Oh, well, Dodi thought, shrugging.

It was all Jago’s fault for being kind and thoughtful. As they said, no good deed went unpunished.

‘I cannot believe you didn’t tell me earlier! How could you keep this from me?’ Thadie demanded via a video call, later that evening.

They’d covered this ground earlier when Dodi finally admitted that she was pregnant and that Jago was the father of her baby.

‘You have a lot on your plate, Thads, and I didn’t want to take attention away from you and your wedding,’ Dodi explained,again.

Thadie waved her words away. ‘My best friend is having my brother’s baby! That’s something I needed to know.’

‘Sorry,’ Dodi apologised. Again. For what felt like the hundredth time. But she knew Thadie was more excited than mad, and that there wasn’t any heat behind her accusations.

‘I hope you have a boy—I really do. But I also hope you have a girl...oh, a girl would be magical!’ Thadie rattled on, her dark eyes dancing with joy. ‘Maybe you’ll have twins!’

Her heart lurched in fear. Two babies? No, thank you! ‘Shut your mouth,’ she told Thadie.

Thadie’s laugh sounded a little wicked. ‘Twins are exactly what you deserve for keeping this news from us.’

When Jago, Micah and the twins had rejoined them this morning at the market, Thadie immediately asked Jago whether he had something to tell Micah and Jago instantly knew the game was up. Their eyes had connected, she’d shrugged and, after scowling at Thadie, he told Micah that she was pregnant and that the baby was his.

Micah, to his credit, had simply raised his eyebrows, kissed her cheek and given Jago one of those half-hugs men excelled at.

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