Page 8 of Bound By Her Baby Revelation (Hot Winter Escapes)

Not that he hadn’t had his fair share of beautiful women. He had. Sexy women who aimed to please and were excellent when it came to stroking his ego. In a high-octane life, who didn’t enjoy the calming influence of a soothing, agreeable woman?

This particular woman was scowling. He wondered if she was ever soothing and agreeable but then concluded that she probably was, just not with him. And who in his right mind could blame her?

He watched as she stalked off to the cupboard and fridge, but there was a self-conscious hesitancy as she fetched out whatever she wanted and, as much as that wasn’t his concern, he actually felt a twinge of sympathy for the woman because this was not what she had expected.

‘I could do something for you,’ Kaya said grudgingly and Leo’s eyebrows shot up.

‘You make the offer sound so tempting.’

‘I’m here, and I don’t suppose it’s any extra effort. It’s just bread and jam.’

‘Thank you but I’ll make do with the coffee. I’m a guy who doesn’t need breakfast on a daily basis.’

Kaya shrugged. She wasn’t looking at him but his image was lodged in her head, and she was conscious of his eyes on her as she did some toast for herself, using the butter and jam he had bought and resenting him for crashing into her space without giving her the time or opportunity to take evasive action.

When she sat down, she made sure to position herself squarely in the chair furthest from him.

‘What do you intend to do with the house and the land and...everything else?’

‘“Highest bidder” are the two words that come to mind.’

‘Why?’ Kaya bit down on a piece of toast and resisted the temptation to launch into an argument with him because, if she faced it, she was in a weak position. How could she angle the conversation in a direction that might persuade him to think otherwise?

‘Why would I hang on to all of this?’ Leo stretched out his long legs and settled further into the chair to look at her over the rim of his cup as she sipped her coffee.

‘You don’t need the money,’ she returned bluntly.

‘Where are you going with this?’

‘You said that you’ve got enough money of your own so why does it matter whether you sell this or not?’

‘Are you suggesting that I hand the lot over to you?’ Leo burst out laughing. ‘Don’t get me wrong, I understand that you’re taken aback by my premature arrival on the scene, but I’ve never believed in Father Christmas and I definitely won’t be auditioning for the role now. I have no use for any of the stuff my erstwhile birth mother decided to leave me for reasons I can’t begin to fathom, but I won’t be handing it over to you as a gesture of good will.’

‘You’re really not a very nice person, are you?’ Kaya said through gritted teeth and, when he met her impotent fury with a grin, she had to clench her fists to stop herself from flinging her plate at his handsome head. ‘I’m not interested in trying to persuade you to give me this house!’

‘Good. Then we’re on the same page.’

‘There’s more to Julie Anne’s inheritance than bricks and mortar.’ She pushed the plate away. The toast tasted like cardboard and there was a tight knot in her stomach because the guy sitting opposite her was as implacable as granite. Yet more than anything she wanted him to at least try and see her point of view.

Leo stilled.

Did he want to talk about the woman who had given birth to him and then promptly seen fit to dump him in foster care? No.

‘Why did you bother to come here?’

‘Come again?’ His voice, though silky smooth, was laced with warning. Leo was a guy who had always been very clear when it came to boundaries. They were not meant to be stepped over—not by anyone. He was outraged at the open defiance in her dark eyes as she stared at him, her head tilted to one side, not backing down and certainly not intimidated.

‘You’re not interested in any of this, so why are you here? You said you could have sorted it out long-distance, so why didn’t you? I mean, you made the effort to trek all the way here from your billionaire pad, or wherever, so the least you could is...is...’

The ground in front of her shimmered. She knew from the hard, cold expression on his face that she was entering no-go territory, and yet how would she be able to express her point of view if she backed away? If she took Julie Anne out of the equation, then this legacy went beyond her—it was bigger than her and bigger than both of them, and she was determined to let him know that—however it was clear that he just wasn’t interested.

She would never forgive herself if the halfway house was dismantled, sold to the highest bidder and to heck with all the young girls who depended on it—the girls who had come and gone and who would come and go in the future.

‘You’re treading on thin ice here,’ Leo said with menacing softness.

In response, Kaya stuck her chin out with more defiance, although she felt a whoosh inside her, a tingle of excitement as she met the cool challenge in his eyes.

This guy was like no one she had ever met in her life before but, then again, how many men had she met before? When it came to the opposite sex, she employed a strict ‘hands off’ policy because it was important for her to get to know a guy before she even thought about committing to anything like a relationship with him.

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