Page 40 of The Billionaire's One-Night Baby

‘So, back at school, those friends I made? Well, Dan bragged to her that he poisoned the well. As soon as he saw there was a connection, he went to them and quietly told them I was talking about them behind their backs, that I was playing with them, that I thought they were trash. He said that I was a little unbalanced and that they shouldn’t confront me, that it might push me over the edge. Naturally, they dumped me, and I had no idea why.

‘It kept happening, even at university—Dan and I went to the same one—and into my twenties, and I eventually stopped trying to make friends altogether. I didn’t want to get hurt any more. I thought I was destined to have one friend, one lover.’

‘But you and Thadie remained friends. He didn’t manage to come between you.’

She shrugged. ‘We shared a flat. He couldn’t be there all the time. He and Thadie hated each other. She tried to tell me he was separating me from people, that he was trying to isolate me, but I didn’t—couldn’t, wouldn’t—believe her.’

Jago grimaced.

‘He saw me ashis, his project, his property. He didn’t particularly want me, hence the many flings and affairs, but he didn’t want anyone else to have me either. If his lover hadn’t called me, I would’ve married him,’ Dodi admitted. ‘It scares me to think that he would’ve manoeuvred me into marrying him.’

Dodi looked at Jago and tried, and failed, to smile. ‘I have this thing about being pushed where I don’t want to go, Jago.’

Would he hear her message, understand what she was trying to say?

Jago took a sip of his beer, looking thoughtful. ‘Doesn’t everyone want to make their own decisions, be in charge of their destiny?’ he quietly asked.

‘I’m sure they do.’ Dodi leaned forward and captured her hands between her thighs. ‘But it’s a big thing for me because I’ve found myself in situations that I didn’t choose, and they changed my life.’

‘Being sent to live with your grandmother without warning, being cheated on, inheriting a business you didn’t want,’ he mused.

Exactly! ‘I promised myself I wouldn’t allow myself to ever be put in a situation that wasn’t of my choice again.’ She looked down at her hands and sighed. ‘That’s why this...this...thing with you is so hard. I didn’t choose to have this baby—’

‘I thought you said you wanted it,’ Jago interjected, frowning.

Dodi waved her hands around, frustrated. ‘I do! I’m just getting used to the idea and the fact that it’s, once again, something that’s been thrust on me.’

‘And on me,’ Jago pointed out.

Fair enough.

‘I hear you, Elodie Kate. The thing is, we don’t have to figure everything out right now. We have time.’

Seven months could, and would, fly past. They didn’t have as much time as they thought.

The sound of Jago setting his beer bottle on the wrought-iron table disturbed the quiet, lazy summer evening. Here at Hadleigh House, she could pretend they weren’t in the middle of a metropolis, living in a sprawling city. She felt as though she were on a country estate, far away from the hustle of city life. It was fast becoming her favourite place to be.

But this place wouldn’t mean anything if Jago wasn’t in it. It would be just another house filled with expensive stuff, but Jago made it home.

Home. Dear Lord...home? Or was home wherever Jago was, where she wanted to be? She thought it might just be because... Oh,God.

‘Dodi?’

She blinked, trying to focus and his intense expression came back into focus. ‘I am your baby’s father and yes, while the thought of raising a child scares me, I do want to be part of the process. Don’t doubt that, sweetheart. I’m not going anywhere.’

She saw the sincerity in his expression and the tenderness in his eyes. She was starting to trust him, she admitted silently. Panic coated her throat and lodged on her tongue. She loved being with him, sleeping with him, enjoyed their chats, but it would be stupid to trust him, or anyone else, with her very fragile heart.

She should tell him they couldn’t go anywhere, that they’d run out of road. She wanted to suggest that they be lovers until they tired of each other...

She scoffed at her thoughts. She doubted she’d ever tire of having Jago in her arms, in her body or her bed. Because...

Could she say it, even to herself? Could she even think it?

Was she, maybe, possibly, falling for Jago? Could she be falling in love with him?

Dodi stared at him, knowing she needed to try and talk herself out of the notion but knowing it was impossible. Some part of her—whether it was little or big was yet to be decided—was in love with Jago. God help her.

He couldn’t know, not yet...possibly not ever. Would he hear it in her voice, see it in her eyes? She couldn’t let that happen, not before she regained control, pushed it away.

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