LITMIR.BIZ

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      ‘I don’t know what you mean…’ She looked at him, confused.

      ‘When I find someone else…when she comes along with me on those weekly visits…gets to know our child, takes an interest, has input into my decision-making process…’

      Susie felt the colour leave her cheeks. Of course he would find someone else. He wasn’t a man who would be inclined to spend too much time celibate. He was rich beyond belief, even more powerful, and it would be a matter of seconds before he became an object of pursuit.

      She imagined what this fictitious pursuer would look like and it played on all the old insecurities she had—all the feelings of inferiority that she had spent a lifetime trying to put behind her. She would be hard as nails and ready to get stuck in when it came to all sorts of decisions that were none of her business. She would be a clever, brutally tall blonde, with a razor-sharp bob and a repertoire of hard and fast notions on how to bring up other people’s kids.

      And she, Susie, wouldn’t be able to do a thing about it. She certainly wouldn’t be finding solace in the arms of another man. No, she would be lurking in front of the television with the sound down, counting the minutes until her child was returned to her.

      Furthermore, even if Sergio stepped up to the plate financially—which she knew he would, however hard she objected—he would still be a billionaire, able to afford anything and everything.

      She had nightmarish visions of him buying up a toy store while she hovered in the background, clutching a bag of sweets and offering a trip to the park, hoping it proved a more successful lure.

      ‘Well?’ he prompted, snapping her out of her cruel reverie. ‘How is that scenario sounding?’

      ‘We can come to some kind of agreement on the financial side of things. As for the rest… Sergio, I’m exhausted. I’ve had this shock…on top of the wedding…I’m hardly thinking straight. I feel dead on my feet.’

      He looked at her, seeing the dark circles under her eyes for the first time. He shot to his feet and then screeched to a halt in front of her.

      ‘Okay. You’re right. We can carry on this conversation tomorrow. Right now I can see you probably need to…relax…’

      ‘Relax?’ Susie grimaced. ‘I don’t think I’ll be doing any of that any time soon.’

      ‘Come back with me,’ he urged tersely. ‘You can’t possibly intend to return to that dump.’

      ‘“That dump” happens to be my home.’

      ‘Only because you’re too proud. Have you ever felt that it’s your home? Somewhere you look forward to getting back to every evening?’

      No, Susie thought wearily. It was the sort of place any person would choose to avoid at all costs.

      The enormity of her situation crashed over her like a tidal wave, ebbing away to leave in its wake feelings of despair and robbing her of her naturally upbeat optimism. She didn’t want to return to her parents who, however hard they tried, would not be able to resist the occasional observation on the direction her life had taken.

      Lord help her if they found out that Sergio, the father of her baby, had proposed marriage—had offered her all the things most women in their right minds would accept with alacrity. For them, it would be a no-brainer. They would be shocked and appalled that she had turned him down.

      ‘That’s not the point…’

      ‘You moved there because you refused to accept help from your family, and I can understand that, but now isn’t the time for your pride to dictate your actions. You don’t only have yourself to consider. You have a baby to think about as well.’

      ‘And what do you suggest? I’m not going to marry you. Sex isn’t enough. Not for me.’

      She wasn’t going to accept his proposal, he thought. There was no way he intended to contemplate a negative response to what he wanted, but at the moment reminding her of all the benefits that came as part of the package deal if she married him wasn’t going to work.

      ‘I’ll find you somewhere to live. I have a number of apartments in central London…but I’m thinking that they might be a little too close to the City for you.’

      Thinking creatively and outside the box. Wasn’t that his speciality? There was always more than one way to secure your catch. He lowered his eyes, inclined his head to one side and gazed thoughtfully into the distance.

      ‘It would be a hassle for you, being in the centre of London,’ he mused. ‘In fact I’ll bet you find it pretty hectic even being where you are—and that’s away from the chaos of the City…’

      ‘It can feel a bit overpowering sometimes.’ She relaxed slightly. She didn’t want to argue with him. ‘I had to come to London for the work…’

      ‘Or you would have stayed out in the country? Growing up in Yorkshire must have acclimatised you to great open spaces…’

      ‘My parents told you where we lived?’

      ‘It must have come up in conversation.’

      ‘A lot seems to have “come up in conversation”…’ There was resignation in her voice rather than irritation, however.

      It was obvious that her family hadn’t been able to be in the same space as him for longer than two seconds without divulging everything there was to divulge about her childhood. They were so desperate to hang on to the first guy she had brought home who wasn’t a loser. She wondered what other little stories they had come out with… Her first steps? First words? First crush on a boy at the age of nine?

      But then they had believed that Sergio was a proper boyfriend, hadn’t they? Instead of a guy who wasn’t into making long-term plans and certainly wasn’t into love and marriage.

      Sergio shrugged. ‘So here’s what I’m thinking…’

      He leaned forward, all business now, and Susie looked back at him with guarded eyes.

      ‘You don’t want to marry me…and you’re right—I can’t force you. Naturally I believe that it is better for a child to have both parents, just as I believe that ours would be a union that stands every chance of working. We’re physically good together, and you can’t take away the fact that sex plays an intrinsic part in any relationship. However, if I cannot persuade you of that simple truth, then so be it.’

      Having been on the roller-coaster ride of having him propose to her, she was now dazed at the sudden turn the ride had taken—and, if she was being honest, a little taken aback.

      So much for his enthusiastic proposal. It hadn’t taken him long to fall in line with what she had said—that marriage would be a ridiculous sacrifice, way beyond the bounds of duty. Why didn’t she feel happier?

      ‘I’m glad you see where I’m coming from…’

      ‘I see it,’ he murmured. I just don’t accept it. ‘But back to what I was talking about…’

      She focused, even though her mind was still whirring on a different plane.

      ‘I intend to find you somewhere a little further out.’ He raised his hand, as though predicting an interruption. ‘Still accessible to central London, but with more of a country feel. Richmond… Yes… Somewhere like that would do very nicely. Naturally you would want somewhere to carry on painting? That’s the good thing about what you do—you can work from the comfort of your home. No nasty commuter trips into London.’

      ‘You’re going to rent somewhere for me?’

      ‘Buy,’ he corrected. ‘I’ve always thought that renting is the equivalent of throwing money down the drain. And,’ he carried on quickly, because he could glimpse her pride beginning to make an unwelcome appearance, ‘it won’t just be for you. It will be for you and our child. It won’t be

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