Page 39 of The Billionaire's One-Night Baby

Dodi winced. She hadn’t had the most functional of childhoods, it had been ridiculously unstable, but she hadn’t lived in a war zone. Theo had been an emotional abuser, she realised. She wondered if Jago knew and accepted that.

Jago picked up his beer bottle and pointed it at her stomach. ‘He’s the reason I’m terrified of being a father. I’m scared I will do to my kid what my dad did to me.’

Dodi’s mouth gaped open in shock. ‘That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard!’

‘Why? I am very like my father,’ Jago replied, sounding super-reasonable. ‘I’m demanding, competitive, married to my job. I’m impatient and abrupt.’

‘You also love your brother and sister and treat them with kindness and respect. Sure, you’re very straightforward, but you aren’t cruel and you don’t play mind games!’ Dodi protested.

‘How do you know, Dodi? You haven’t spent that much time with me.’

How did she know? She wasn’t sure, but she did. She’d somehow managed to pull away some of that hard shell and peek below the surface, and the man underneath the tough exterior was softer and more sensitive than the world realised. Someone who wanted a family, to love and be loved in return.

But he, like her, was too scared of taking that chance, of being hurt again.

‘Who was the guy at the farmers’ market today?’

Dodi blinked at his change of subject and flushed when his words sank in. ‘Uh...who?’

Jago glared at her. ‘Don’t treat me like an idiot, Dodi. You and Thadie were both staring at him like he was a threat.’

Dammit! She’d hoped Jago hadn’t noticed. A stupid wish because there was nobody more observant than the older Le Roux twin and she now knew why. It was because his father had made him that way.

‘Dan? Well...uh...that’s a long story.’

‘I’m not going anywhere,’ Jago told her.

Dammit.

CHAPTER TEN

ONLYTHADIEKNEWthe whole story, knew how Dan had blindsided and betrayed her. How much it hurt and that she felt like the world’s biggest idiot for not having seen through him years ago. That thinking of him, what he’d done, was like taking a knife to her belly and slowly cutting herself open.

‘Please tell me, Do.’

It was that soft ‘please’ that did it, the look in his eyes telling her she could trust him. But could she, though? She didn’t know...

But Jago had been brave enough to tell her about his father and his childhood. Surely she could tell him about Dan’s betrayal?

Where to start? When they’d met was as good a place as any. ‘Lily sent me to a high school down the road from her house, a huge school with thousands of students. I’d only ever attended small, rural schools, so I was lost and scared and completely overwhelmed. Dan found me, scooped me up and took me under his wing. He wasn’t the most popular guy around, but neither was he bullied...he was normal, I guess. He had a group of friends, guys and girls, and he pulled me into his group. I felt blessed and grateful to have a group.’

Jago’s gaze was steady on her face. ‘That sounds pretty normal.’

One would think. ‘Yes, it does. Except that I’d make a new friend or be invited out on a date, and it would be fine for a week or two and then I’d be dropped like a hot potato. It happened a few times and I couldn’t understand it because I didn’t do anything wrong. Dan would hold me while I cried and tell me not to worry about them, that he and I were friends and nothing else mattered. It happened five, maybe six times, and I stopped going on dates, trying to make friends, because it hurt so much. Dan became my only friend, and he was my lifeline, my support structure, everything that mattered to me. We became lovers in my final year of school and remained together until just before my grandmother died.’

‘So what happened that caused you to break up?’

Right, straight to the heart of the matter. ‘A couple of weeks before Lily died, I was trying to nurse her, run her salon, and also trying to come to terms with her imminent passing. One day I got a call from a woman telling me that she and Dan had been having an affair for a few months.’

Jago winced. ‘Ouch.’

‘Yeah. Naturally, I didn’t believe her, but she sent me pictures of them together, text messages, emails. Dan had told her that he didn’t love me, couldn’t stand me but he was worried I’d do something if he broke up with me. Some of the things he said about me were truly horrible.’

Jago said something indistinct but distinctly uncomplimentary about her ex and Dodi almost smiled.

She might as well tell him the rest, although it wasn’t a pretty story. ‘His lover, mistress, whatever, then told me something else that rocked my world.’

Jago’s eyebrows rose, waiting for her to continue.

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