Billionaire Reveals Secret Love-Child and Bride-to-Be!
With a noise of disbelief, she clicked the title and scanned the first paragraph.
Renowned bachelor Dimitrios Papandreo is leaving the singles market in a move that will shock and devastate women around the world in equal measure. Rekindling a romance with his childhood sweetheart, the magnate is said to be ‘looking forward’ to his impending nuptials.
‘When it’s love, you don’t want to wait.’
Love is something the tycoon has been seemingly immune to, dating often but never for long, but apparently he’s finally met his match—a woman with whom he fathered a secret son six years ago!
She clicked out of the article and groaned, stuffing her phone back in her pocket. What the hell was he playing at? God, what was she going to say to Max?
Her phone began to ring and she lifted it from her pocket in the same motion with which she answered it.
‘Hello?’
‘Are you at Max’s school?’ Over the line, Dimitrios’s voice took on a whole new quality. It was darker and deeper, with an even greater ability to reach inside and stir her up.
‘Yes. And, thanks to you and that bloody article, I was followed here by swarming paparazzi. What the hell were you thinking?’
‘The story was going to break one way or another,’ he said quietly. ‘I put a positive spin on it. Wouldn’t you prefer our son to think we’re a love match, rather than two people who couldn’t control themselves?’
That pulled her up short.
‘A heads-up would have been entry-level considerate.’
‘Yes.’ He drawled the word, so she shut her eyes, knowing that he could have said the same to her. Then, she heard him sigh. ‘I didn’t know when it would run. I was surprised by his efficiency. I suppose he thought I might leak the same story to a journalist from one of my own newspapers or magazines and wanted to be sure he got there first.’
That made sense, but it didn’t help. ‘Yeah, well, I’m at school, and Max is about to come out of his classroom, and the second we leave we’re going to be mobbed by the press. I’m not ready to tell him about this, damn it, but you’ve made that impossible.’
‘He deserves to know about me. You cannot put that off any longer. As for the paparazzi, I’ve sent a car.’
‘What car?’
‘A driver with a black SUV. He’ll meet you in the teachers’ car park. That should be safe from press.’
She looked over her shoulder to the path that led to the teachers’ private parking area. ‘I suppose so.’
‘Take Max there, then go home and wait for me.’
‘Wait for you to what?’
‘To arrive. What does Max like to eat?’
The question was such a swift change in conversation, she almost felt as though she’d sustained whiplash. ‘He’s not very fussy,’ she said. ‘For a six-year-old. Burgers, pasta, sushi. Why?’
‘I’ll bring dinner. Wait until I’ve arrived. We’ll tell him the truth together.’
He disconnected the call before she could argue—not that she was sure she wanted to. Everything had become so overwhelming and real. She felt as though the wind had completely gone from her sails.
But this wasn’t a time for self-indulgence, or reflection. She needed to act now, think later. She closed the distance to Max’s class room. When he emerged, she stood still and stared at him for several seconds, her heart in her throat. He was at least two inches taller than the other children, all legs and arms and intelligent eyes. His smile was quick, his face so handsome. She watched with heart-wrenching pride as a younger child stumbled and almost fell and Max, without hesitating, reached out and steadied the little girl, grinning at her before turning away. He grabbed his bag from the racks and then looked around, his eyes lighting up when he saw Annie.
He had no idea how his life was about to change.
‘Hello, darling.’ She tousled his hair. ‘How was your day?’ Such a banal question to ask when a thousand little explosions were rioting through her body and brain.
‘Good. Mr Peterson said I aced our maths test’
Pride stuck in her throat. He was an excellent student. His reception teacher had suggested his academic potential might warrant skipping a year, but Annie had been of the opinion it was important for Max’s social development that he spend at least a few years with children his peers in age.