Page 30 of The Billionaire's Accidental Legacy

He made her feel beyond herself.

She was going to have to find a way to...feel. Just for the child. Just open herself up just enough to be what her baby would need. She couldn’t have him anywhere in the vicinity when she was...open.

He saw too much already. She couldn’t take the risk.

She had to be the best mother she could be—and she had no earthly idea how good that actually was.

She had deliberately avoided looking at any photos of him in the months since they parted. She didn’t think she could stand to see him with another woman, and worse, if she did, she would never be able to get that out of her head. And at night she replayed the hours they’d spent together. He was so beautiful.

Her memories of him were so vivid it was like she could reach out and touch him.

As if she could feel it all over again.

He was red.

And so was wanting him.

It painted every day.

It was why he needed to stay away.

“We can go away to my castle,” Maren said stoutly.

She was adorable when she tried to be the protector.

“No. This is my home. Mine. And if I have to hire a security detail to keep me safe, then I will do it. But I won this place. It belongs to me. Just like your castle belongs to you. We set out to make new lives for ourselves, and I’m doing it. I’m...” She decided it was time to say it out loud. “I’m going to be a mother.”

“Oh, Jessie,” said Maren, her eyes filling with tears. “Do you want that?”

“I don’t know. But it’s happening. At least it was because of something I did. Think of all the terrible things that we went through in our childhood because of what our parents decided for us. I went to bed with him of my own free will. I wanted him. I wasn’t careful. I knew better. I realized that the time when... I knew he didn’t get a condom. The last few times. I didn’t care. I didn’t care about anything but having him. It’s my consequence for my mistake. From the beginning I made mistakes with him. He’s the only one who has ever affected me like that...”

“I don’t ever want that,” said Maren, looking away. “It sounds terrifying.”

“It is,” she said. “But it was wonderful.”

“One night, and you’re going to have a baby that you have to take care of for the rest of your life.”

“In fairness, it isn’t going to stay a baby forever,” Jessie said, putting her hand on her stomach. “I really do need to see a doctor, probably.”

“Yes. You definitely do. But thankfully, you have enough money to have private visits at your estate.”

“Very thankfully.”

It was the roar of an engine that broke the conversation. Not a car engine. The plane. They both startled.

And she ran as best she could to the back window of the sitting room, to look out at the vast field behind them. Just in time to see a sleek white plane disappear behind the rise of one of the hills. There was a landing strip back there; she knew that. One of her favorite parts of the estate was the horses.

And even though she had to be a bit careful riding, she had gone on very mild rides in the past few months, all over the grounds. And she had explored what was obviously a place for planes and helicopters to land, plus a few other spaces that spoke to the wealthy excess of the previous owners. She knew. Immediately.

“He’s here,” she said.

“Father?”

“No, Maren. It’s the duke. Ewan Kincaid.”

CHAPTER FOUR

ASTHEPLANEtouched down, adrenaline fueled Ewan’s veins.

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