The Pregnancy Shock (10 page)

Billie breathed again at that evidence of native caution while he went about giving her instructions for the party he wanted organised to officially introduce Calisto to his family. With her dark auburn head bent, she took rapid notes from Alexei while he stood by her desk. The aroma of the peachy scent he always associated with her assailed his nostrils. He thought it was soap or shampoo, rather than perfume, and he had always liked it. He found himself gazing down at the pale crescent of skin exposed at the nape of her neck. That little bit of bare skin exuded an oddly erotic appeal. For a split second he was tempted to bend down and press his mouth to that delicate fine-grained flesh that never took any colour from the sun. The urge made him tense in surprise and frown.

Straightening, he strode over to the French windows overlooking the flower bedecked terrace and superb
gardens beyond the glass. There was a heaviness at his groin, a ready sexual urgency that startled him. Was it simply a reaction against the relationship he had recently revived? Too much familiarity and proximity could breed more than contempt, he acknowledged wryly. What had come over him? It was a source of pride to him that, with the exception of one weak and curious moment when he’d kissed her, he had never hit on Billie. He was fond of her, had always been fond of her, and he looked out for her much as though she were one of his youthful cousins. There was an innocence about Billie that he had always cherished.

Long after he had gone, Billie sat there wondering what theme the caterers would dream up for the Drakos family bash. It was to take place in London. She would ask if she could take that weekend off to see Hilary. Alexei would definitely not want her baby now and that conviction cut through her like a knife, sending a shard of pure panic travelling through her. The timing of her conception could not have been worse; it might wreck his romance if Calisto realised that she would not be the mother of his firstborn child.

Did that mean that she should keep quiet? Could she rise above her jealousy enough to let Alexei and Calisto continue to enjoy their happiness in finding each other again? She knew she wasn’t prepared to have an abortion. That option had been discarded early on, even though she had not yet admitted it to Hilary, who had become the safe repository for most of Billie’s turbulent thoughts and feelings. But surely her only other choice was to give up her child for adoption? That was another
painful sacrifice she could not face. After all, she might not be able to have Alexei,
but she could have his child.

And if he had no memory of sharing her bed, he would have no suspicion that he had fathered her baby. On the other hand, she reflected ruefully, he would be so shocked by her having a child out of wedlock that he would not rest until she had told him who the father was. He might have accused her of overstepping the line but, in truth, it had always been Alexei who was most inclined to interfere in
her
private life. Furthermore, if she wanted to keep her baby, how was she to afford to do so?

She earned a terrific salary, but she had poured every cent she earned into the building of her house, the price of that project far exceeding the original estimates. For the next year her earnings were committed to completing the house, which would be ready for occupation in six months’ time. A house she could never sell except at a bargain price, for all island property had to be offered to the locals first and it would be too expensive for most of them to consider. With single parenthood staring her in the face she could not afford to write off or sell her only asset at a huge loss, particularly when Alexei’s generous gift of that plot of land with panoramic sea views had to be reflected in ensuring he received a fair percentage share of any sale.

In short, Billie appreciated she was financially trapped on the island of Speros for the foreseeable future. She could not jack in her job either while she needed to settle the bills for the house. Her
dream
house, she reflected painfully, had suddenly become a burden, an anchor tying her to a place and a job that she now wanted to
leave. After all, how could she stand by and watch while Alexei romanced and married his long-lost first love? Getting ready for bed that evening, she studied her still-flat stomach with anxiety and wondered how much time she had before her condition became obvious.

Hilary was not impressed by her niece’s arguments against making Alexei aware of her pregnancy. ‘So, he’s spoken for now, well, bully for him!’ she snorted the following night when Billie phoned for a chat. ‘But he still has a big responsibility towards you and any other woman he impregnates!’

‘Legally, yes, but I don’t want or need his support…’

‘Don’t be so proud that you cut off your nose to spite your face,’ Hilary pleaded. ‘It’s unfortunate that at this point he’s met another woman and it seems to be serious, but that is not your responsibility.’

‘He’s happy. I don’t want to wreck it,’ Billie confided heavily. ‘In addition, since he’s forgotten what happened that night, telling him and convincing him will be a very undignified battle…’

‘Even a Drakos can’t fight a DNA test,’ Hilary opined. ‘Perhaps it would be as well to wait until the baby is born before making a claim.’

‘I really don’t want his money, Hilary. I’m more concerned about finding a way to keep my baby and stay in my job.’

‘But how on earth could you do that and work at the same time? If you’re thinking of Lauren helping out, I don’t think—’

‘Of course I’m not—’

‘If only it was me that lived on the island and not my
sister, the problem would be solved,’ Hilary commented. ‘I would love to look after your baby.’

‘Well, you could if you were willing to move out here. My new house has plenty of room. Of course you couldn’t leave John,’ Billie realised, referring to her uncle who was living in a care home where Hilary visited him almost every day.

‘John might not be here for much longer,’ her aunt divulged tautly. ‘He’s fading away before my eyes.’

‘I’m so sorry,’ Billie responded, having also refused to think about the near impossibility of concealing her baby’s parentage if she tried to raise her child on the island. ‘I was lost in this wonderful daydream of having you here on the spot, instead of thousands of miles away. I was being silly.’

‘No, if it wasn’t for John, I would agree like a shot. I would just love a fresh start, new faces, new possibilities…’ Hilary confided breathlessly.

The germ of an audacious idea came to Billie. ‘I think I know how we could do it and nobody would ever be able to guess that it was Alexei’s baby.’

And that was the moment that the plan of concealment was born, laid out at first to an unimpressed Hilary, who thought her niece was utterly crazy to suggest such a thing; there was no question of Hilary leaving her sick husband alone in the UK. ‘But who would ever believe that your baby was mine?’

‘Why not? You’re only thirty-eight. Nobody here but Lauren knows about John’s illness,’ Billie argued with growing enthusiasm. ‘And we wouldn’t have to live the lie for ever, Hilary. Once I’d saved enough money up,
I’d sell the house and find another job and we would leave the island with the secret intact. But there would be no need to continue the pretence once we settled somewhere new—’

‘Even if I was ever in a position to help you, Lauren would know we were lying—’

‘I’m sure we could persuade Mum to keep quiet. Hilary, if it was possible—it would allow me to keep my baby without causing a big furore,’ Billie reasoned fiercely. ‘Please think it over and say yes.’

‘If it’s what you really want, I would do it simply because I love babies and I’d love to live on the island. But not while John is still alive. He may not recognise me most of the time when I visit,’ Hilary admitted painfully as she referred to her husband’s dementia, ‘but he does have occasional moments when he’s quite lucid. I know he hasn’t long left but let’s not talk about the impossible right now.’

‘No, let’s not,’ Billie said, guiltily aware of her insen-sitivity.

‘I don’t understand how you’re planning to hide the fact that you’re pregnant from Alexei,’ Hilary declared.

‘I’ll conceal it for as long as I can and then I’ll ask Alexei to give me a career break so that I can return to England to stay with you for a while. It’s a reasonable request.’

‘If you give birth here you could leave the baby with me to look after. I haven’t been able to find another permanent teaching job yet and I could manage fine,’ her aunt asserted. ‘It wouldn’t be easy for you to leave your child behind with me but I’d love him or her like my own.’

‘I know you would,’ Billie replied warmly.

Billie slept right through that night for the first time since she had discovered that she was pregnant. In the dawn light she wakened and ran back over the plan, worrying over the weak spots while wincing over the idea of plunging both herself and her aunt into living a lie. No solution would be perfect or foolproof, she reasoned frantically, but one that ensured her child enjoyed loving care and security would definitely be worth bending a few rules for. She splayed her hand over the deceptive flatness of her stomach. She wanted to keep her baby; she wanted her unborn child very, very much. In the short term, if nobody was harmed by her concealing her secret, surely a few lies could be no great sin?

The next day, Damon Marios asked her to meet him at the site of her new house to discuss the terrace. She had hired him to not only design her new home, but also as project manager to supervise the building, ensuring that she endured minimal disruption to her life. In the slumberous heat of the afternoon, Billie drove up the rough gravelled lane and parked at the edge of the site beside Damon’s SUV, wondering how she would ever turn the baked-dry dustbowl of her surroundings into a garden.

‘I thought we’d have some lunch while we talked,’ Damon remarked, a smile on his handsome face as he indicated the picnic lunch already artfully arranged in the shade of a gnarled olive tree.

‘Oh…what a lovely idea,’ Billie said in surprise, lowering herself down onto the rug with a soft sigh. Damon offered her food while trying to persuade her to do something more elaborate with the terrace than
had been planned. ‘The views are so spectacular,’ he pointed out.

Billie breathed in deep and shook her head at the wine he offered in favour of the bottled water. ‘I’m afraid I want the house finished as soon as possible and I would prefer not to incur any extra expense. I do still have to furnish it!’

Scanning the taut pallor of her face, Damon frowned. ‘You’ve been so stressed these past weeks, Billie. What’s wrong?’

His perceptive powers were unwelcome and her face tightened and she munched busily at her sandwich, finally pausing to murmur, ‘Nothing’s wrong. The summer heat here sometimes tires me out—that’s all.’

‘Alexei does like to get his pound of flesh. I don’t know how you stand the pace. And if the press are on the right track, he’s got that bitch Calisto back to keep him busy.’

Billie stiffened. ‘Why do you call her that?’

‘If she is back in Alexei’s life to stay, you’ll soon find out. According to my mother, Calisto was horrible to the household staff at the villa last time around…a real diva. There’s also a rumour that his parents disliked her so much they threatened to disinherit him and that that’s why she married Bethune instead.’

‘People change and she was young,’ Billie said wryly.

Damon reached for her hand. ‘We used to be close friends, Billie.’

‘I hope we still are.’ Billie gently slid her hand free again.

‘But I’d like us to be something more than friends,’ Damon was honest enough to admit as he retrieved her fingers with dogged determination.

And it was at that opportune moment that Alexei strolled out of the back of the house and stood lazily studying them from the shadows. Black hair swept back from his brow, sunglasses anchored on his arrogant nose and sheathed in a soft grey summer-weight suit, he was as stylish and sophisticated in appearance as a model on a cat walk. ‘Don’t mind me,’ he urged silkily. ‘I thought it was time I came for a look around.’

Instantly, Damon released Billie’s hand and sprang up. ‘Let me give you the official tour.’

‘I didn’t hear a car,’ Billie commented.

‘I walked over from the villa,’ Alexei fielded, eyes framed by dark-as-midnight lashes skimming over her blushing face. ‘Sorry if I interrupted something.’

‘You didn’t,’ Billie countered flatly, tugging her skirt down to her knees and reaching defiantly for another sandwich.

The two men walked round the house while Billie sat outside in the shade, fed up with both of them as she listened to snatches of their revealing dialogue. Damon was so deferential around Alexei that he set her teeth on edge and Alexei had no business declaring that a larger terrace was a necessity, rather than an extravagant extra. And what was Damon playing at? Why did men always refuse to take no for an answer? How many times did she have to tell him that she wasn’t interested now in dating him?

Alexei reappeared and asked her for the keys of the car she had driven over, which did after all belong to him. ‘Come back with me. I have some calls for you to make.’

Ignoring Damon’s look of disappointment, Billie
scrambled up and smoothed down her skirt. Red-hot temper made her hands tremble a little. It was not that she wanted to stay and risk encouraging Damon, it was resentment at being smoothly manipulated into doing what Alexei wanted her to do.

‘You’re about to overstep the boundaries again,’ she warned Alexei fiercely as she climbed into the hot car with him.

‘He’s not the guy for you. A bloody picnic on a building site…’ he breathed with incredulous derision. ‘How cool is that?’

‘If I listened to you, I’d never get a guy! Every time one comes near me, you interfere and stick a spoke in the wheels. I’d like to know how you justify that when I’m not even allowed to call a doctor if you hurt yourself!’ Billie launched back at him in an angry hail of words that she shot at him like bullets.

‘You can trust me to put your interests first,’ he drawled with unblemished assurance, his bold bronzed profile relaxed. ‘Damon will most probably end up returning to his wife and children. Don’t get caught up in their drama.’