LITMIR.BIZ

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and fed him before turning back to Connor. “How would you know anything about my business?”

      He couldn’t blame her for being mad, but he wouldn’t apologize for doing what he had to do to look out for his kids. If that made the relationship between him and Dina tougher for a while, he could deal with that. Connor had the taste of her inside him now and he wouldn’t stop pushing until he got more. Eventually he knew he’d have his kids and Dina, too.

      But for now he said only, “First, my lawyers have a private investigator on retainer—”

      “You had me investigated?”

      He nodded, ignoring the shocked expression on her face because it was just going to get worse in another minute or so. “And for another, I looked through your bills last night.”

      “You did what?” Her voice dropped to a new level of cold that sliced at him like shards of ice. She shot a glance at her laptop, lying innocently on the counter, then looked back at him. “You went through my records?”

      “I did, and if you’re waiting for an apology, don’t hold your breath.” His gaze speared hers and he didn’t flinch away from the pure rage spitting back at him. Those dark brown eyes of hers flashed with heat in spite of the cold in her voice. “You’re taking care of my kids and I needed to be sure you can do that properly. As it turns out, you can’t.”

      “Is that right? Well, I’ve been managing all right so far. The babies are fine and you know it. They’re fed, they’re happy, they’re loved.” She stiffened, squared her shoulders and lifted her chin. “The four of us are getting along great. You want to pay child support, I’m happy to take it for them. But I don’t need your help to run my business or our lives.”

      Connor could admire her pride even as he dismissed it. Being proud was one thing. Being too stubborn to see the truth was another. “Of course you do, and you know it. That’s why you contacted me in the first place. It’s not just the money and you know it, Dina. You’re running yourself into the ground trying to do everything by yourself. You’re behind on your bills, and you haven’t had a good paying job since before the triplets arrived.”

      She flushed and again, it wasn’t embarrassment but anger that flooded her cheeks with color. “I admit, my business suffered some when the babies first came to me. I had to back out of jobs and spend most of my time with them. They were traumatized—not that you’d know anything about that since you weren’t here—because they’d lost their parents and their home. It took weeks to get them settled into a routine. Make them feel safe.”

      She glared at him and those eyes of hers were damned captivating.

      “I was the one who held things together. And they were my priority. I’m so very sorry if you think my business isn’t doing too well.” She took a breath. “Now that the kids are settled in, I’m bidding on jobs again and—”

      “Birthday and anniversary parties,” he finished for her. “Not exactly big-paying jobs.”

      Dropping her gaze, she scooped up more oatmeal and spooned it into Sage’s waiting mouth. “No job too small,” she said tightly. “Besides, one job leads to another. Catering is a lot about word of mouth and—”

      “Admit it, Dina. You’re in the water, holding onto a lead ball and trying to kick your way to the surface.”

      “Could you please stop interrupting me?”

      “Admit it,” he urged again. “At this rate, you will never reach your goal of opening a restaurant. Hell, you’ll be lucky if you can keep the catering going through the rest of the year. And once it fails completely? Then what? What’s your backup plan? Or do you even have one?”

      Con watched her and saw in her eyes that she couldn’t argue with him, but that she was going to give it a try anyway.

      “These children will never suffer.” She swore it, meeting his eyes, willing him to believe her. “It doesn’t matter what I have to do, they will never go without.”

      “I know they won’t,” he said quietly and set small plastic bowls of sliced bananas onto the triplets’ food trays. Connor waited until she turned to face him. When he had her complete attention, he said, “I’ll give you two hundred and fifty thousand dollars to sign over custody of the kids to me. Right now. Today.”

      He saw confusion obliterated by fury in her dark eyes an instant before she exploded in a wild burst of rage. “You would dare to offer me money? You think you can buy me? That I would sell my family?”

      She stood up slowly, as if every bone ached. The babies watched her with curiosity. They didn’t cry, because even in her anger, Dina kept her voice a hushed whisper that somehow made her temper sound even more volatile than if she’d been shouting.

      “Do it and open that restaurant you want so badly. Build your dreams. I’m offering you a way out of the financial hole you’re sliding into.”

      “Build my dreams by selling the babies? Do you really think so little of me?”

      “Not at all,” he countered smoothly, refusing to match her temper. “I think you’re smart, clever and wise enough to recognize a real opportunity when it presents itself.”

      She choked out a laugh. “You think I want your money?”

      He shrugged. “You’re the one who sued me for child support.”

      “For them,” she snapped. “Not for me. My God, you’re incredible. Because I asked for child support you believe that means I’d be willing to be bought off?”

      He shrugged, not letting her see that he was pleased at her reaction, if surprised. Not many people would have turned down a quarter of a million dollars without at least thinking about it first.

      “You rich guys are all alike. The world runs on money. Well, maybe in your universe, but not here in reality. I want nothing from you. I make my own way and I always have. My business is exactly that—my business.”

      “Your business,” he argued as he slowly pushed himself to his feet to face her across the kitchen table, “became mine when you became the guardian of my children.”

      He’d let her rant and rage, but she was going to understand this if he had to repeat himself ten times a day. “Those kids are what concern me. My children. Not yours.”

      She snorted. “You were the sperm donor. You’re not a father.”

      Everything in him went still. Her words, practically spat at him, hung in the air between them like an ugly smear. “You don’t get to say that to me,” he said, his voice low and hard. “You know what Jackie and your sister did to me. You know the truth.”

      She gritted her teeth, pulling in a breath with a soft hiss. “Fine. You’re right. About that. I shouldn’t have said it. But you’re not right about everything else. I don’t want anything from you, Connor.”

      “Then you’re the first woman I’ve ever met who didn’t have an agenda. What’re the odds on that?”

      “What are you talking about?” Anger shifted to confusion.

      “Every woman I’ve ever known has tried to use me—my name, my money, my family.” His ego took a slight beating at the admission, but he was going to let her know from the jump just who was in charge here. “You think you’ve got issues with rich guys? Well, how would you like it if everyone you’ve ever known approached you with their hand out at one point or another? Jackie,” he continued, “was the only woman who didn’t try to use me in some way.” A hard lump settled in his throat as he admitted tightly, “And in the end, she—and your sister—used me, too.”

      He hadn’t meant to go that deeply into his own life. This was about Dina, the failing business she depended on and the welfare of the triplets.

      It was a second or two

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