The Billionaire's Illicit Twins - Holly Rayner Page 0,28

an heir. I have the whole empire-must-pass-to-someone thing taken care of. And you guys can officially get off my back.”

Another thirty seconds of goggle-eyed swallowing went by before Dustin said, “Do you… have a girlfriend? Or is this something you’re somehow managing to do by yourself?”

I shook my head, grinning even harder, and leaned in. “That’s the beauty of it. I didn’t have to find a girl or get a girlfriend. Don’t have the time, don’t need the mess. But I did meet a girl, we did have a night, and the outcome is a pregnancy. I’ve offered to take the baby and take care of it, in exchange for a very healthy sum. And that answers all the problems, for both me and her.”

And instead of looking impressed or even amused, Dustin looked… horrified. Shocked.

Disgusted.

“What?” he gasped. “You offered to what, buy the baby from her? Ethan, are you actually serious right now? You can’t do that. That’s completely unethical. That’s just plain… wrong!”

I’d picked my beer up for another sip, but now I lowered it back to the bar, my smile gone, all traces of humor vanished.

“And what would have me do, Dustin?” I asked quietly. “You and the rest of the family have been riding me for months to find a wife and settle down, just so I could have some all-important heir. Even though I’m not even thirty-five yet. What do you think is going to happen, I’m going to keel over and die in my old age? You’re older than me, for God’s sake!”

“I’ve also already got kids,” he muttered.

I leaned further in, my voice turning even rougher. “And that’s all there is to life, now? Making babies? Populating the earth? Come on, man! I don’t even have a girlfriend. I’ve never had a woman I was all that interested in. I don’t even know if I want kids! But that’s all you people can think about. So now I’ve got one, and you can all shut up about it. You can all get off my back and maybe let me live my own life for once.”

I spun away from the bar and started to walk away, but a hand reached out and grabbed me, spinning me back around to face my brother.

“Don’t walk away mad, little brother,” he said quietly. “We just want to see you happy and settled.”

“Then maybe you should let me get settled with someone before expecting me to have a kid,” I replied, my heart burning with frustration. “Maybe you should let me go about it a more natural way. Until then, you’re going to have accept the kid I’ve got. And maybe someday I’ll be grown up enough to manage a relationship, too.”

I turned and walked out, the words ash in my mouth. Because in my heart, I knew Dustin was right. This wasn’t the way to be an adult. It wasn’t the way to become a dad. Yes, I was going to be a dad regardless. But this wasn’t… this wasn’t the way I wanted it to happen. Buying a kid from the girl I’d knocked up and then never seeing her—or my other kid—again. It felt all wrong, and it was gnawing at my gut like some sort of worm.

It had all seemed like such a good idea when I first thought of it. But now it was turning into something that felt a lot like a mistake.

Maybe there’s another way, a voice in my head whispered.

I stopped in my tracks, too caught by the idea to walk and think at the same time.

The voice was right. Maybe there was another way. Something less dramatic. I liked Bella—and Lord knew my body liked her. I found her incredibly intriguing and intelligent, and she had something sweet about her that not even the law had been able to crush.

I wouldn’t have complained about getting to know her better. Finding a different arrangement with her. Maybe something that allowed us to stay in each other’s lives. Keep the babies together.

Unfortunately, I also knew from previous experience that I was completely useless at relationships. I always ended up hurting people.

And I didn’t want to end up hurting her. I didn’t want to end up being the one who took that sparkle out of her eyes. That laughter from her face. That sense of dreams coming true out of her mind.

At the end of the day, though, was it any better to be the one who took her baby and gave