The Billionaire’s Baby

by Nicola Marsh

  ‘My folks knew how much I wanted to move to Melbourne. It was all I talked about as a teenager, and I made it pretty clear that once I came into Nan’s money I was out of there. Not because I didn’t love them or Rainbow Creek, it was just my dream, you know?’

  ‘I know, sweetheart.’

  He did, considering the reason he’d left all those years ago was to let her pursue it. Crazy, infuriating man.

  ‘After you left we had this huge fight, a real monster blowout. They tried to tell me how stupid I’d been in marrying you, how I’d regret it for the rest of my life, and that it just proved I wasn’t ready to take control of Nan’s money.’

  Realisation dawned in his eyes, and she nodded. ‘Yeah, that’s right. Nan’s will stipulated I could have the money at eighteen, but Mum and Dad lied to me. They knew how much moving to Melbourne meant to me, but they manipulated the situation for God only knows what reason.’

  Even now, she couldn’t comprehend why they’d done it, apart from the fact they’d wanted to keep her chained to their sides like a little kid.

  Resting his hands on her shoulders, he gave her a gentle squeeze. ‘They must have loved you a lot to go to those lengths to get a few more years with you.’

  ‘That’s not love, that’s being controlling!’ Though a tiny seed of doubt unfurled amidst her residual bitterness as she absorbed what he’d said. What if he was right?

  She’d never considered the fact they might have acted out of love, that they might have wanted more time with her before she left town.

  Instead, she’d been so focused on the betrayal, of them lying to her, of how they’d blurted the truth in anger and would never have told her otherwise, that she’d shut herself off to their possible motivations.

  Smoothing back her hair, he said, ‘What they did was wrong, and I’m not trying to tell you what to do here, but I saw the pain on your face back there. Maybe you need to sort things out with them?’

  The mere thought congealed the ice cream in her tummy, and she surreptitiously rubbed it, wishing he wasn’t so damned intuitive, knowing it was part of his charm.

  ‘Maybe.’ She slid her hands up his chest to cup his face. ‘In the meantime, thanks for being such an amazing, caring man.’

  ‘I try.’

  His self-deprecating shrug and exaggerated modest expression had her chuckling, and she planted a quick kiss on his lips before giving him a gentle shove towards the steering wheel.

  ‘As a distraction technique, that was pretty lousy. Now, drive and take me to this great surprise.’

  ‘Right. We’ll be there in two minutes.’

  ‘Any hints?’

  She turned to face him, taking any opportunity to look at him. He hadn’t shaved this morning—after much badgering on her part, when she’d pleaded with him to leave the sexy stubble alone—and with his dark hair ruffled by the wind, what appeared to be his oldest polo shirt, bearing a faded athletic logo, and a pair of charcoal cargo shorts, he could have been a poster boy for a weekend by the sea.

  ‘I won’t give you any hints if you keep staring at me like that.’

  Her gaze lifted to his, her breath catching at the blatant desire there.

  Would it always be like this between them, the instant flare of fire deep within, the breathless feeling, the drop-away tummy?

  Surely something this powerful, this intense, this physical, should fade? But it hadn’t, not in the six long years they’d been apart, and it never would if she had any say in it.

  Reaching out to run a fingertip over his stubbled jaw, she murmured, ‘I was just admiring this.’

  ‘I could tell.’

  His eyes darkened to molten silver an instant before he ducked across the seat and hauled her against him, crushing her breasts to his rock-hard chest, plastering his lips to hers in the type of scintillating, breath-stealing kiss only he could deliver.

  Like a torch touched to tinder-dry kindling, she combusted, heat exploding in a chemical reaction which left her gasping as he broke the kiss.

  The sounds of ragged breathing filled the car as she flopped back into the passenger seat and he ran a hand through his hair, his shocked expression mirroring hers.

  ‘If you want to make it back to Melbourne and your café by nightfall, you better stop staring at me like that.’

  ‘Melbourne? Where’s that?’

  Smiling, she raised a hand to her sensitised lips, touching them, savouring the residual tingle, wishing she’d had the sense to get Anna to cover for her tonight, too.

  ‘You’re a bad girl.’

  He turned the ignition till the diesel engine rumbled to life and, with a pat on the dashboard, steered the lumbering ute into the deserted street.

  ‘And you love it.’

  ‘I do,’ he said, so softly she barely caught it, and a thrill—part exultation, part fear—shot through her.

  She’d realised she still loved him last night, but what about him? He’d wanted to get reacquainted, but did that mean he felt the same way?

  Yes, he’d found her and, yes, he wanted to reunite, but he hadn’t exactly said those magical three little words yet, no matter how much he hinted at it.

  ‘You don’t have anything to worry about.’

  ‘Who said I’m worried?’

  She shot a glance at him, and, while he hadn’t taken his eyes off the road, the corners of his mouth were twitching with amusement.

  ‘You’re playing with your hair. You always do that when you’re worried about something.’

  Eyes narrowed, she shot him a mock-exasperated glare. ‘Mind reading again?’

  ‘Just observant.’

  Tossing her ponytail over her shoulder, and clasping her hands in her lap to stop fiddling, she said, ‘What would I have to be worried about, anyway?’

  Apart from the fact they were moving so fast and she was willing to risk everything and take a chance on their marriage despite what had happened last time round?

  ‘You’re scared.’

  He indicated and turned left, pulling onto a dirt track with fine white sand along the edges, indicating they weren’t far from the beach.

  ‘About us,’ he added, as if he needed to! ‘You’re worried I’ll let you down, maybe even leave again.’

  ‘Is that your professional opinion?’

  He darted a quick glance at her, smiling when he saw her tongue firmly planted in her cheek.

  ‘From a construction CEO moonlighting as a shrink, yes, it is. But you’ve got nothing to be concerned about. I’m not going to hurt you.’

  She hoped not, for it had left her heartbroken six years ago; this time it would devastate her.

  Determined not to spoil the mood for his surprise, she touched his arm. ‘Okay. Are we nearly there yet?’

  Apparently satisfied with her change of topic, he waved his hand towards the left.

  ‘Just around this next bend.’

  ‘So what is this place…’

  She trailed off as he negotiated the tight hairpin bend, her mouth dropping open. ‘Oh, wow.’

  Smiling at her shock, he slowed the ute to a crawl to give her time to appreciate the full impact of the view. ‘Not bad, huh?’

  ‘It’s beautiful.’

  She’d never been an ocean girl, spending all her life in dusty, dry Rainbow Creek before falling for the big-city lights of Melbourne, but with this incredible vista before her—deep indigo ocean dotted with whitecaps crashing onto pristine sand, the occasional dolphin flipping through the waves and an endless expanse of bright blue sky—she definitely understood the attraction.

  Pulling over to the side of the road, he turned to face her. ‘This isn’t the surprise.’

  Her eyebrows shot up. ‘It isn’t?’

  ‘Uh-uh. That’s around the next bend.’

  ‘You’re such a tease.’

  She sent him a coy glance from beneath lowered lashes which said he could tease her any time, any where.

  Chuckling, he indicated, did a quick
check over his shoulder and pulled back onto the track, the ute doing a little sideways skid that had her laughing along with him.

  ‘What is it with boys and their big toys?’

  He shrugged, his attention fixed on negotiating another hairpin bend. ‘Don’t you know? We never grow up.’

  That wasn’t entirely true. While Blane’s blundering red-and-white ute with its fancy chrome bull bar might be a big boy’s toy, he’d grown up in all the ways it counted, namely into a strong, capable man not afraid to revisit the past and come clean as to why he’d done what he did.

  It must have taken a lot of courage for him to walk into her café that first day, not knowing how she’d react, ready to bare his soul to her.

  Then again, maybe he had known how she’d react for she’d always been his, from the first minute he’d smiled that sunny, lopsided smile at her six years earlier.

  ‘You’re plenty grown up for me,’ she purred, laughing as he growled, gripping onto the dashboard and holding her breath as he rounded the bend, the anticipation buzzing through her body an absolute rush.

  ‘What do you think?’

  Swivelling her head to the left, she couldn’t believe her eyes. If the ocean view on the right was something else, the enormous mansions lining the track were out of this world.

  ‘Those are some houses,’ she said, admiring the clean, crisp lines of the beautiful houses and the way they blended into the environment.

  ‘Here’s the one I really want you to see.’

  He swung into a gravel drive, the ute bumping on a potholed, deeply riveted driveway which wound its way slowly upward. She craned her neck, a little confused as to why he’d drive her out here to see some house.

  Snapping her fingers, she said, ‘You’re building a place out here. Is that the surprise? You want to show off your work?’

  ‘Something like that.’

  He sent her an enigmatic smile, his eyes crinkling into those adorable lines she’d personally kissed each and every one, last night, as the ute crested the drive and the land plateaued to reveal a house.

  Not just any house.

  The most exquisite house she’d ever seen.

  A house she knew intimately.

  A house she’d envisioned so clearly many years before.

  ‘I can’t believe it,’ she breathed out on a sigh, gobsmacked by what she was seeing, her head computing it, her heart aching with the poignancy of what this meant.

  Perched on an outcrop, her dream house—the one she’d imagined them living in one day and told him about when they’d first married—saluted the cloudless sky with its sharp triangular lines, classic two-storey design and enough glass to redo the Louvre.

  Pale blues, dove greys and pristine whites highlighted the light, breezy feel of it, instantly bringing to mind images of soft spring days, fluffy white clouds and a man with incredible grey eyes.

  Her dream house. He’d brought her to an exact replica of the house she’d wanted for the two of them.

  ‘You built this?’

  He nodded, pride tinged with a hint of bashfulness flashing across his face. ‘With a little help from the odd plumber, electrician and carpenter or two. So you like it, huh?’

  ‘Like it? I love it!’

  She opened the door and jumped down, landing with both feet squarely in a mound of muddy clay, grimacing as her new tan leather ankle boots sank into the gooey mess.

  ‘Guess I should’ve warned you city shoes and country living don’t mix,’ he drawled, the crinkles around his eyes a dead giveaway he was fighting a grin.

  Sending him a mock glare, she picked one foot up at a time, the horrible slurping sound making her see the funny side and, with much laughter, she shook each foot and set off for the house.

  ‘Don’t forget I’m a country girl at heart. You coming?’ she tossed over her shoulder, a flush of pleasure spreading through her body when she caught him ogling her butt, her two-hundred-dollar boots forgotten, his grin forgiven.

  ‘Oh, yeah.’

  He fell into step beside her, taking hold of her hand and swinging it between them. ‘Want to take a look inside?’

  ‘Will the owner mind?’

  They stopped at the front door, an elaborate double-door with frosted glass, so she couldn’t see inside no matter how hard she tried.

  ‘Why don’t you ask him?’

  Realisation dawned as he squeezed her hand, a tiny thrill of anticipation racing through her.

  ‘This is yours?’

  ‘Ours.’

  Pulling her flush against him, he slid his arms around her waist, anchoring her nice and tight.

  ‘I started building this the moment I located you. I wanted to prove how much you mean to me, how much I believe in our future together.’

  Tears filled her eyes, brimming over and trickling down her cheeks. ‘So you did remember?’

  ‘That this is your dream house for us? Yeah, I remembered.’

  He brushed her tears away with his thumbs, following their trail with his lips. ‘How could I forget? How could I forget anything about you when you’re the only woman in the world for me? Always have been, always will be.’

  ‘Stop it,’ she sobbed, burying her face in his chest, comforted by his cedar smell, her heart overflowing with so much love for this incredible man she thought it would burst.

  Pulling away, he brushed her mouth with his in a slow, sensual kiss that reached all the way down to her very soul. ‘What, stop loving you? Never.’

  ‘I love you, too,’ she said, sniffling and laughing and crying all at the same time, her last lingering doubts fading away under the intensity of his love and the lengths he’d gone to in proving it.

  With the smile of a man who’d just won the lottery, he slipped an arm around her waist, drew her close, and gestured towards the soaring glass-enclosed atrium entrance.

  ‘Come on. Why don’t I show you around our place?’

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CAMRYN floated through the house, her feet barely touching the floor.

  With Blane’s arm firmly anchored around her waist, his body heat enveloping her in a warm, intimate cocoon and his low, soothing tone washing over as he spoke of his plans, their plans for the future, she couldn’t be happier.

  Until they entered the master bedroom, and her dreams of happily ever after blew away on the brisk ocean breeze entering from the open window.

  ‘What’s that little nook over there for?’ She had to ask the question, needed to hear him say it, even though she already knew the answer.

  The rest of the palatial home screamed family, from the huge rumpus room to the family games room, from the five spare bedrooms to the family-friendly meals area, and the little added-on space within the grand master bedroom could only be for one thing. A makeshift nursery. Large enough to fit a cradle and feeding chair and, in Blane’s case, a whole lot of futile dreams.

  How could she have been so stupid? She’d meant to tell him as soon as she realised she loved him but had been so wrapped up in their reconciliation, so high after realising he loved her as much as she loved him, that the truth had taken a back seat to their reunion.

  They’d never discussed having kids in Rainbow Creek. Heck, they’d practically been kids themselves back then.

  Ironically, it wouldn’t have been an issue back then. But what she’d gone through the last few years would have an impact now, with the potential to ruin any chance of happiness before they’d really begun.

  ‘That’s a temporary baby station,’ he said, sending her a bashful smile which broke her heart. ‘My sisters have two kids apiece and were always going on about the risk of SIDS being reduced dramatically if you keep the baby in your room for the first six months, so I figured it was easier to add the extra room into the plans now rather than fiddle with the house later.’

  He made it sound so logical, as if planning for future babies was the most natural thing in the world. Maybe it was, but not for her. She’d given up on that
dream about the same time she’d given up on ever finding him again.

  ‘Hey, don’t you like it?’

  He snuggled up to her from behind, sliding his arms around her waist and holding her close, his chin resting on her head as she blinked rapidly, the sudden sting of tears burning her eyes and clogging her throat.

  ‘It’s not that,’ she rasped, clearing her throat several times, knowing she had to tell him the truth, hating what this was going to do to them.

  He wanted kids.

  Probably a whole band of boisterous, beachcombing ruffians to fill every room of this fabulous house with love and laughter.

  She could see the vision so clearly in her head, a vision she’d deliberately obliterated when she’d hobbled from the hospital that last time.

  But now, in this man’s arms, in her dream house, the vision was real, very real, and she wanted it as much as he did. Sadly, wanting something so badly you could taste it and having it come true were worlds apart.

  She had to tell him so.

  Gently turning her in the circle of his arms, his smile faded, the tenderness in his eyes quickly replaced by concern as she slowly raised her stricken gaze to meet his.

  ‘Hey, what’s wrong? Am I moving too fast? I know we never talked about kids but I thought—’

  ‘It’s not that.’

  She laid a finger against his lips, wishing she could trace its sensual contours, cover them with hers, and lose herself in the moment, effectively eliminating the need for words or painful truths.

  But she had to do this. It was the only way if they were to have any chance, remote as it was.

  With her heart aching from the unfairness of it all and the growing confusion on his face, she dropped her hand and eased out of his embrace.

  ‘I don’t think I can have children.’

  His eyes widened in shock, the cobalt flecks sparking to life as she shook her head and crossed to an enormous window overlooking the ocean, bracing herself against the frame and staring out at the endless azure expanse.

  ‘I’ve had pelvic inflammatory disease for the last few years. It’s been pretty bad. The docs did exploratory surgery, cleared away scar tissue, had a general poke around. They said it’s not impossible for me to have kids, but it’s going to be tough. Very tough…’ She trailed off, suddenly overwhelmed by the thought of not giving this incredible man the babies he deserved, and she inhaled a sharp breath, hoping the sea air would stave off the deep, heart-wrenching sob bubbling in the back of her throat.