Prognosis Baby Daddy - Amy Andrews Page 0,62

All a baby really needs is love. It just took me a little while to realise that.’

‘Well, whether you like it or not, this child is the heir to the entire Medici fortune, Katya. You think I should let you raise him in some grubby little Islington bedsit?’

Katya gasped. ‘How did you...?’

He shrugged. ‘As you pointed out, I’m a wealthy person. I have ways.’

The whole time she’d thought he’d been giving her space, respecting her independence, he had known where she was? Had she been watched the entire time? Tonight she was seeing a Ben she didn’t like or know. She’d seen glimpses of him in the past, but he was front and centre at the moment.

‘What do you want, Ben?’ She needed to get away from him. Every minute she spent in his company was torture. Even through her anger she wanted him to kiss her again.

Ben regarded her seriously. She sounded tired. He would like nothing better now than to take her up to his suite, undress her and rock her to sleep with his hand cradling her stomach.

‘You. Back in Italy. I’ll set you up in a flat in Ravello. But we share the parenting half-half. It’s that or I take you to court and get full custody. And I’ll win.’

Katya felt as if he’d thrown knives at her. She knew he was right. What hope did a Russian nurse from a poor background with an average income have against a rich, titled surgeon? Even if she was the mother.

‘So I’ll be like your kept woman? Like a whore? Like how you offered me a job the morning after we slept together for the first time. Payment for service?’

Ben shut his eyes. He’d known that morning, from her vehement rejection, that he had made a gaffe but he hadn’t realised that he’d hurt her quite so much.

‘No. I’m sorry, I handled things badly that morning. I didn’t mean to make you feel cheap. I was going back to a world and memories I didn’t want to confront. I was trying to get my head around all that and I spoke without thinking.’

Katya could hear his sincerity but was too angry to cut him slack. ‘I am not my mother,’ she said frostily. ‘I can get my own place.’

‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ he snapped. ‘You’re the mother of my child.’

She folded her arms mutinously against her chest. ‘You want me back, this is non-negotiable.’

‘Places are hideously expensive, Katya.’

‘I’ll manage,’ she said tightly.

Ben realised they could argue the logistics later. The important part was that she was agreeing to return. ‘So, you’re coming back? And you agree to equal parenting?’

‘Yes,’ Katya said, removing the napkin that an attentive waiter had placed on her lap and throwing it on the table.

How was it possible to still love him? Because she knew he was just doing whatever it took to be with his baby. Just as she was doing. She had no doubt that he would love and dote on their son with every breath in his body.

A streak of jealousy burned through her gut and Katya knew it was wrong. Knew it was twisted.

All the fight suddenly left her. ‘I’ll be back this time next week. I’ll let you know when I’m getting in.’

She stood to leave. There was no point in staying. Her heart was breaking in two and she might just do something stupid, like tell him she loved him.

‘Katya.’

Ben stood and put a stilling hand on her arm gazing at her face, trying to read her thoughts. She looked sad and defeated and exhausted. Tears shimmered unshed in her eyes. And something else he couldn’t put his finger on.

He almost told her then.

He hated himself for being so harsh. So cold. All he wanted to do was pull her into his arms. Kiss away the tears. Tell her he loved her. But he couldn’t make the words come out of his mouth.

She looked down at where he was holding her arm and Ben slowly let her go watching her walk away without looking back until she disappeared from sight.

‘Everything OK, Count Medici?’ the head waiter asked anxiously.

‘No. May I have another Scotch?’

Ben ate his meal. He had won. Why didn’t it feel like a victory? Seeing her all pliant and docile had left a bitter taste in his mouth. He preferred the Katya who had first arrived at the table. Maybe once the baby was born and she was too busy to resent him, they could eventually be