Restless Billionaire (11 page)

 
          
She’d
meekly followed him around his state-of-the-art penthouse apartment with its
stunning views of London and had lightly asked, ‘
Always
the penthouse?’

 
          
And
he’d answered glibly, ‘It’s the best.’ And had winced at how crass that
sounded.

 
          
His
housekeeper, Daniel, a man in his fifties who Sebastian would trust with his
life, had immediately taken Aneesa under his wing, and when Sebastian had been
leaving, she’d been sitting in the kitchen on a high stool, looking about
sixteen and discussing Indian curry recipes.

 
          
As
his focus came back into the exclusive restaurant, Sebastian felt suddenly
impatient. He cut abruptly across the woman, whose name he struggled to recall.
‘I’m sorry but I’m afraid I’ll have to go …’

 
          
Her
lipsticked mouth opened and closed, making a coil of disgust settle in
Sebastian’s belly when he remembered another mouth, with naturally red lips,
full and infinitely more kissable. His body tightened in response.

 
          
He
hustled them out of the restaurant, ignoring her protests, and bundled her into
a taxi, and with that impatience rising he got into a taxi himself and headed
home. When he got to his building, he strode straight past the concierge and
into the lift.

 
          
And
it was only when he went in his front door and let the quiet of the apartment
wash over him did he realise how fast his heart was hammering. He prowled
silently to the bedroom he’d shown Aneesa to earlier and pushed open the door.
A bedside lamp threw out a halo of light over where she had fallen asleep half
sitting up in the bed. A book lay open by her side and Sebastian went over and
picked it up, only noticing then what the title was:
What to Expect When You’re Expecting
.

 
          
With
a funny feeling in his belly he put it down and looked at Aneesa. Her long
lashes were fanned out, casting shadows on her cheeks. He’d only met her once
before, as cataclysmic as that meeting had been, and yet, he felt as if he’d
known her forever.
Exactly as he’d told her that night, like
a gauche teenager.

 
          
Seeing
her again, having her here, a physical reality in his home, the knowledge that
she was
pregnant
was a shock to his
system that was only now beginning to wear off. And on the heels of that was a
disturbing build-up of ambiguous emotions he didn’t want to look at.

 
          
Physically
he wanted her with a fierceness that scared him. And yet he knew if he so much
as touched her, a storm would be unleashed. A storm he didn’t want to deal
with. A surge of emotion made his gut clench even though he denied it
furiously. He couldn’t afford to forget that if she wasn’t pregnant, she wouldn’t
be here now.
She wouldn’t have come just
because she wanted to
. He wouldn’t have to be dealing with this. His
conscience pricked—tonight’s date would have still been a disaster, even
without Aneesa’s arrival. The truth hurt; he’d been dealing with her presence
since that night in Mumbai….

 
          
His
eyes drifted down, and feeling like a voyeur but unable to stop himself, he
could see that the soft rise and fall of the swells of her breasts under her
T-shirt looked fuller. Was that because of the baby? Suddenly the thought of
watching Aneesa’s body ripen with his child made him feel alternately euphoric
and claustrophobic.

 
          
He
backed away and out of the room again and it was only when he was fighting his
usual losing battle with sleep some time later did he register his dominant
emotion when he’d returned home to find her asleep in bed; it had been
relief
. To Sebastian’s disgust, when he
closed his eyes, all he could see was an image of storm clouds threatening over
every horizon.

 
          
The
following morning, when Sebastian returned from his regular six-mile run, the
sun was rising in earnest and he was disconcerted to find Aneesa up and
pottering about the kitchen. Her hair was tied back in a high ponytail and she
was wearing sweatpants and a long-sleeved T-shirt.

 
          
Hardly
out of breath, Sebastian said, ‘You’re up early.’

 
          
Aneesa
whirled around, colour flooding her cheeks, and it made inexplicable
satisfaction course through Sebastian. She recovered swiftly though; he could
see that faint reserve return.

 
          
‘I’m
always up around dawn to do my meditation and yoga practice.’ She looked at him
steadily. ‘Will that bother you?’

 
          
Sebastian
shook his head and tried to ignore the vivid mental images flooding his brain
of Aneesa doing stretches. He brushed past her and her fresh scent teased his
nostrils. Almost angrily he yanked out the coffee beans to make fresh coffee.

 
          
Hesitantly
Aneesa asked, ‘Are you sure you don’t mind? You seem a little … edgy.’

 
          
Sebastian
gritted his teeth. ‘I’m sure. I’m just not used to living with someone, that’s
all. Was there something you were looking for here?’

 
          
Now
she shook her head, wide eyed. ‘No, I just made some herbal tea, which Daniel
got for me yesterday.’

 
          
She
was standing by the solid-wood island, sipping her tea. There was feet
separating them and yet Sebastian could feel sweat breaking out on his brow,
which got worse when she asked politely, ‘Did you have a nice dinner last
night?’

 
          
No!
Sebastian wanted to shout, but
calmed himself down and said smoothly, ‘Lovely, thank you—pleasant food and
pleasant company.’

 
          
Now
why had he said that when it had been anything but? Feeling seriously
disgruntled he left the coffee and muttered something about taking a shower and
walked out of the kitchen.

 
          
Aneesa
watched Sebastian leave, taking his intense force field of energy with him, and
sagged back against the counter. She put a hand on her belly and tried to
breathe deep to calm her thundering heart. Surely this intense physical
reaction every time she saw him couldn’t be good for the baby? But he’d smelt
so
good
, of musky sweat and pure man.
He’d obviously been out jogging, dressed in sweats like her and a T-shirt which
had been all but welded to his damp chest.

 
          
If
it hadn’t been for Daniel distracting her yesterday evening and making her feel
thoroughly at home, she was afraid she would have let Sebastian see exactly how
affected she’d been by watching him go out for the evening, dressed in a black
suit and crisp white shirt. His subtle aftershave had told her, with a woman’s
intuition, that
he’d most definitely been going on a date.

 
          
And
yet what could she say or do? He patently didn’t welcome her presence, baby or
no baby. He had a life; he must have lovers. He’d been very clear that night in
Mumbai that he didn’t want anything more to do with her. And yet here she was.

 
          
A
wave of loneliness and homesickness washed over her and she escaped into her
bedroom before Sebastian could come back and see her distress.

 
          
After
pacing impatiently in the main drawing room of the apartment for about an hour,
Sebastian looked at his watch for the umpteenth time.
Where
was she? He needed to speak to her before he went out to work
but there was no sign of her.

 
          
Finally
he went to her room and knocked lightly on her door. Hearing nothing he went in
and saw her sitting cross-legged in the middle of the room, eyes closed, back
straight and palms facing up resting on her knees. She looked so serene and
peaceful that Sebastian tried to creep back out again but just then her eyes
opened. In a second she’d got to her feet in one graceful motion. ‘Was there
something …?

 
          
‘Just
what do you expect to happen here?’ The words came out baldly and Sebastian
winced inwardly. He seemed to lose any ability to be suave and smooth around
this woman.

 
          
She
frowned. ‘What do you mean?’

 
          
He
gritted his jaw. ‘What I mean is that I hope you haven’t come here with some
notion that we can happily play house just because we have a baby coming.
Because that scenario is not something I am interested in.’

 
          
Anger
bubbled within Aneesa, and something more emotional that she valiantly tried to
keep down. A dark flush rose into her pale cheeks; her eyes flashed. ‘You’re
afraid that I’ve got some plan up my sleeve to get you to marry me and make an
honest woman of me?’

 
          
Sebastian
threw out a hand. ‘How would I know? Isn’t that what every woman wants?’

 
          
Aneesa’s
hands clenched to fists at her sides, the calming benefits of the past
half-hour of meditation wasted. ‘Not this woman. After what I have been through
recently, marriage or getting married is the last thing on my mind, believe me.
To be perfectly frank, I don’t think I
ever
want to get married. It’s obvious that this is all a massive inconvenience to
you. I can leave today, it’s no problem. The last thing I want to do is cramp
your bachelor lifestyle.’

 
          
Anger
blurring her vision now, Aneesa went to her suitcase which was still half
unpacked. She hauled it to the bed and with hands shaking started to throw
things in. ‘I’ve told you about the baby, and that’s enough. Now I should leave
and let you get on with your life. I can let you know when the baby is born and
perhaps we can come to some arrangement where you can visit when you want. That’s
if you’re interested.’

 
          
She
stopped for a moment, her chest heaving and her eyes blurring with tears this
time.

 
          
‘And
where exactly are you going to go?’

 
          
Sebastian’s
voice came from much closer and was so unexpectedly gentle that, to her horror,
tears started to fall. She dashed them away angrily. ‘I don’t know. I’ll think
of something. This is one of the biggest cities in the world—I’m sure I can
find somewhere. I should never have bothered you.’

 
          
She
felt his hands on her shoulders and then she was being pulled around. Sebastian
handed her a handkerchief. He led her over to the bed to sit down. She pulled
back from him, her breath still jerky. ‘I really didn’t think beyond getting
out of India so that the story could die down. I don’t have some dastardly plan
to trap you in a marriage or a relationship you clearly don’t want.’

 
          
She
shrugged one slim shoulder and looked at him. ‘I felt I owed it to you to at
least tell you face to face. Do you think I would have asked for any of this in
a million years if given a choice?’

 
          
Aneesa
bit her lip before continuing. ‘By the time I was getting married, my father’s
business was almost bankrupt. The wedding was a huge burden on him financially.
I’ve paid him back every penny and made him sell the apartment he bought in
Juhu as part of my dowry. I couldn’t stay and have them suffer the media on
their doorstep every day. At least now they have some peace and my father is
back on his feet and can provide for the rest of my family again. My career is
over and

 
          
I’m
going to have to start all over again. But right now that’s the least of my worries.’

 
          
She
felt fierce when she said, ‘But I don’t regret what happened between us that
night and I don’t regret becoming pregnant. This child will be loved, and
wanted. And I’m not telling you this because I want your money. I can look
after myself and I’ll look for somewhere else to stay. I’m sure I can get a job….’

 
          
A
look of stoic determination came into her eyes. ‘I could work here for my
board?’

 
          
Something
about the way she’d asserted that their child would be
wanted
struck Sebastian deep down inside. The reality was sinking
in more and more by now and he knew that despite his own woeful upbringing, he,
too, wanted any child of his to have a stable and loving environment. However
that might be achieved.