Baby for the Billionaire(126)

He hit a hand against his forehead. “The answer is simple.”





Five




“Come on.” Connor held open the door.

Victoria hesitated only for a second. No way was she abandoning Dylan to Connor and the powerful Maserati.

She stepped past Connor, catching a whiff of lemon and male, and settled into the passenger seat. The acreage of leather was seductively plush, and before she could protest Connor had leaned across her and clicked the seat restraint into place, strapping her in.

She’d barely recovered from the jolt to her senses of having him so close when he joined her in the intimacy of the cockpit.

“Ready?”

Victoria nodded, unsure what she was letting herself in for.

The motor roared, and the rich, husky voice of Nina Simone poured from the surround-sound system, silencing even Dylan. Connor’s hands slid over the steering wheel with such tactile pleasure that Victoria had to suppress a groan. A moment later he swung the vehicle out of the churchyard.

The journey passed in a flash. As Connor throttled back the surging engine, Victoria glimpsed through the side window a familiar oak with wide, spreading branches.

What were they doing outside Suzy and Michael’s home?

She struggled impotently to unlock the car door, until—to her immense frustration—Connor strode around and freed her.

Clambering out, she slung her tote over her shoulder and asked, “Why have you brought us here, Connor?”

“Let me get Dylan first.”

Nostalgia welled up as she stared at the Edwardian cottage that had been Suzy and Michael’s home since their marriage—and where she had spent so many happy hours.

She wandered across the sidewalk to the low, white wooden gate.

Dylan had been baptized in this garden. Right there in the arbor tucked into the east side, under the canopy of girly, pale-pink roses. It had been one of the few times she and Connor had visited the house at the same time. As the baby’s godparents they’d been forced to put on a façade of friendship for Michael and Suzy’s sakes.

The gate swung open under her touch. As she stepped onto the winding garden path a gigantic wave of sadness drowned her. The ghosts of Suzy’s laughter and Michael’s slow smiles lurked everywhere. In the pretty pansies that brightened the pots lining the pathway, in the fresh coat of lily-white paint on the shutters and in the shriek of a gull overhead, its wings icy-pale against the darkening sky.

She started as Connor came up beside her.

“Connor, I’m not sure that I’m ready to do this. I don’t think I can even go into the cottage yet.” A tempest of grief was imminent. Only Connor’s presence held the tears in check. “I need time.”

“Look.” Connor swung the baby seat forward. “I think Dylan knows he’s home.”

The baby was cricking his neck, and making gurgling sounds of pleasure.

Sorrow tasted bitter in the back of her mouth. What did poor Dylan know? “It’s not his home anymore,” she choked. “Michael and Suzy are gone.”

And she and Connor were going to have to decide—and agree—what to do with the house.

Michael had done a marvelous job restoring the old cottage—with Suzy and Connor’s help. But the maintenance would be a nightmare. Best to sell it and invest the proceeds for Dylan.

Moisture escaped from the corner of one eye and she quickly brushed it away before Connor could notice.

He swung around. “I’ve been thinking …”

She gave a surreptitious sniff. “What?”

“One of the reasons you felt that Dylan should live with you was because he’s grown accustomed to his surroundings in the past few days.”

“Well, yes …” It looked like she’d gotten through to him. Finally. The first thread of relief started to unwind. She glanced up at him, grateful for his understanding. “It’ll be much better for him than going to your home, which he doesn’t know.”

“I wouldn’t say he doesn’t know it,” Connor objected. “He has been there with his parents. But as you pointed out, it would be much better for him to be in familiar surroundings—like here.”

“Here?” Dismay filled her.

Connor nodded. “This is, after all, his home.”

In the distance thunder growled. Victoria decided that even the weather gods disagreed with Connor.