Page 51 of Billion-Dollar Baby Shock

‘And you’ll be in your villa.’

His gaze got darker, golden, igniting every nerve-end in Tara’s body.He said, ‘I’ll visit you here.’

‘I can’t see you at the villa?’

‘I think it would be best for Niko to minimise that association, of you and me together in his domestic sphere.’

‘But what if he’s here and you come here and we…?’

‘I don’t really envisage that happening.Not in the long term.’

Because it would be over.She really did need him to spell it out for her, didn’t she?She castigated herself—this development was unexpected but not inevitable.It wasn’t as if she could continue living with Dion, she knew that.But to be faced with it so abruptly was jarring.

Things moved swiftly after that.They went back to the villa and Thea gave Tara a sad look—she obviously knew.

Dion disappeared to work and sent a text later.

I’ll be back late, don’t wait up.

Tara packed up her meagre belongings.It seemed like aeons ago that she’d travelled from Dublin to Athens to find the father of her baby.She had, and she’d found so much more.

Maria had been due to do the night-shift but Tara told her she could go home—she wanted to spend as much time with Niko as possible.They agreed that Maria would work the following day while Tara moved out.

The next day, movers appeared in the morning and she rode with them in the van to the apartment.When she gotto the apartment, she was surprised to see that the dressing room had already been filled with the clothes from the island and also new clothes.

After the movers left, Tara was standing alone in the huge sleek space, feeling hollow inside.She heard the melodic chime of the bell.Her heart started pounding.Maybe Dion had come to tell her it was all a mistake and that she could stay with them at the villa, even though she knew that wasn’t really— She pulled open the heavy door, a tentative smile on her face, which faded as she took in three women, one older and two about her age.

An efficient-looking blonde stepped forward, hand out.‘Kalimera, Miss Simons, I’m Athena, Mr Dimitriou’s executive assistant.’Tara shook her hand a little dumbly.The woman indicated the older woman on her left.‘This is Sara, she will be your housekeeper and you can give her instructions on your wishes, and this—’ she indicated the other woman, an attractive brunette with a nice smile ‘—is Georgia, she’s an interior designer and will have a consultation with you about how you’d like to do up the apartment.’

Tara felt an absurd urge to giggle.The apartment couldn’t be more ‘done’.

Georgia said, in an American accent, ‘Apparently you need to baby-proof the place?’

Tara’s urge to giggle faded to be replaced by something much sadder as the full enormity of her new life here hit her squarely in the solar plexus.She nodded and stood back.‘Please, come in.I’m afraid I don’t have anything to offer in the way of drinks yet.’

Sara smiled and said, ‘That’s my job.I’ll see what’shere and arrange for shopping to be done.’She bustled off in the direction of the kitchen.

Athena said to Tara, ‘Do you have a driver’s licence?’

Tara nodded.‘Somewhere… I’ll have a look.’She went to her bag and dug it out and handed it to Athena, who said, ‘Thank you, I’ll be back soon.’

Tara forced a smile at Georgia, who was taking in the apartment with a low whistle of appreciation.‘Wow, this is some place.’She turned to Tara.‘So, what do you envisage exactly?’

Tara knew exactly what she envisaged but it had nothing to do with soft furnishings and everything to do with a life with the man she loved and her son.

CHAPTER TEN

Later that day, Tara was looking into her fully stocked fridge.She shook her head at how money could just conjure up things.

She took an apple out of the fruit basket and bit into it as she wandered through the apartment, stopping at one of the guest bedroom doors.She and Georgia had designated that this room would be Niko’s as one of the doors opened into the master bedroom—Georgia, who had a young child of her own, about Niko’s age—was going to come back with some drawings based on their discussion of how to do it up.

The doorbell chimed.Tara’s heart stuttered even though she didn’t expect it would be Dion.But when she opened the door, he filled the space.She drank him in.

‘Can I come in?’

Tara stood back and swallowed the piece of apple in her mouth before she choked on it.‘Of course.’

He was wearing a suit, tie slightly undone, top button open.