Page 94 of Heart of Stone (Dark Billionaires)

“No need to apologise. I suppose out of context it does seem harsh.”

Perhaps too harsh for mine. Especially if…

“But Warren definitely discussed the legalities of adopting her even when he believed she wasn’t his?”

“He did, yes. He filled out the necessary forms, in fact, but a day or two after that we received instructions to halt the proceedings.” The solicitor’s lips thinned somewhat. “Does that change things?”

“I…” Kate’s speech faded into nothing.

What was it he’d said in her bedroom that night? He’d loved her from the beginning. And yet that couldn’t be further from his behaviour, from him treading her scan photo into the carpet like she meant nothing to him.

“Do you mind if I make another appointment at a later date?” Kate asked, after her silence had become deafening even to her. “I need time to consider the next steps.”

“Of course,” the solicitor said, getting to her feet. “I’ll give you our business card, or you can ask Rhys to get in touch. I’m sure he won’t mind.”

The manner in which the solicitor spoke of Rhys indicated some measure of informality. “Is he a friend of yours?”

Jennifer opened the door for Kate. “I actually went to university with Aldous. He was one of my housemates.” Sighting Rhys in the reception, she shook Kate’s hand. “I look forward to hearing from you.”

“Thank you for your help.”

“It was a pleasure, and congratulations on your upcoming arrival.”

Kate thanked her again, letting Rhys lead her out of the building with idle chit-chat that lapsed into silence on the drive home. At least until—

“Did you know Warren wanted to adopt her, even when he thought she was Graves’s biological daughter?”

Rhys took the sharpness of her question in stride. “Yes.”

“Did you know he told me he was going to have her placed in the care system against my will?”

He sighed, flicking his indicator on as they joined the motorway. “What someone says in anger and what they actually mean are often two—”

“Not when it comes to stealing someone’s fucking baby, Rhys!” Another suspicion occurred to her. “Did you take me to that precise solicitor’s firm because Warren had gone there regarding adopting her?”

A side-eyed glance. “Maybe.” At her jaw drop, he threw all pretence out of the window. “Would you have believed me if I’d told you? No. Was Warren a dickhead? Yes. Obviously. Was he saying things to hurt you? Yes. Was he out of line? Massively. Did he intend to adopt her and love her as his own, even when he thought she was the daughter of the man who’d destroyed his life? Yes.”

Kate huffed, repositioning the seatbelt over her stomach, but Rhys wasn’t finished.

“Are you now punishing him by threatening to keep him from the daughter he would love to the ends of the earth? Jesus fucking Christ, Kate, do you know how much of a mess he is right now? He’s sold his house and moved back in with me because he couldn’t bear the thought of being there without you. He’s up at all hours of the day and night, reading fucking baby books and buying anything that you might want.” Rhys hit the steering wheel. “If you want my advice, stop trying to punish him and start thinking about what’s best for your daughter.”

Kate said nothing, because what was there to say? Was that what she was doing? Was that herintention? And he’d sold his house? When had that happened?

The thought of Warren staying up into the small hours for a baby that would never know him damn near broke her heart.

By the time Rhys pulled into the driveway of their new house, he’d calmed down a bit. “I’m sorry I shouted.” Helping her out of the raised SUV, he hugged her. “It’s just… a sore subject for me.” He let out a heavy breath. “I’ll see you in a bit, okay?”

“With Warren?”

“Yes,” he opened the duck-egg blue front door for her. “With Warren.”

Kate bade him goodbye, feeling overwhelming sadness—and a sudden craving for cheese. Mozzarella, specifically. She rushed to the kitchen like a panda on the hunt, ungracefully closing in on her prey: the fridge. She swung it open, sighing with relief at the grated packet of mozzarella in her sight.

Was it the best mozzarella that money could buy? No.

But was itexactlywhat she wanted in that moment? Oh yes.

Shifting from foot to foot in her excitement, Kate shook out a decent portion into a bowl before digging in, settling into a seat on the breakfast bar.

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