Billionaire Baby Dilemma

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“I need to talk to you,” he whispered.

“You can use your normal voice,” Devin responded, finding herself watching him closely, thinking about his life and his world and how she might use the Demarcos as fodder for her next book. “Just don’t shout.”

“Okay,” he agreed, testing the chair that Byron had vacated earlier with the back of his hand. Apparently, satisfied that it was dry, he sat down sideways, those expensively shod feet firmly planted on the textured, concrete deck.

He gazed at Amelia for a long minute. Then he glanced to Devin, uncertainty plain on his aristocratic face. “I can…uh, hold her. That is, if you don’t mind.”

Devin’s mouth quirked in a reflexive grin. “You want to hold Amelia?”

He smoothed his palms along his suit pants. “Yes. Sure.” He nodded, still watching Amelia as if he was afraid she might explode. “I’d like to hold her.”

“Why?”

His gray eyes narrowed. “Because she’s my niece.”

Devin shifted a little, but Amelia didn’t stir. It was probably a good time for Lucas to take another shot. “Have you ever held a baby before?”

“Just the one time,” he admitted.

Devin couldn’t help but note the wary expression on his face. “Okay.” She scooted carefully forward.

At the last minute, she realized that once Amelia was out of her arms, she’d be sitting here in nothing but her bikini. She gritted her teeth and told herself to buck up. Lucas would probably be so busy worrying about Amelia that he wouldn’t even notice.

She rose and placed the baby carefully in his arms.

His gaze shifted to her cleavage and stayed there.

She quickly straightened and stepped back. She briefly debated dashing across the deck to get herself another towel, but she decided that would be too obvious.

She sat down on the lounger and laid back, pretending she didn’t care about the bikini and truly appreciating the empty arms. She enjoyed holding Amelia, but the baby girl did get heavy after a while.

Lexi had kept silent, watching with undisguised interest while Lucas held Amelia.

He seemed to relax ever so slightly, turning, shifting back and putting his legs up on the lounger. He gingerly moved Amelia to a more comfortable position. She wriggled in the big towel, but then went still.

Devin tried not to notice how good he looked with a baby in his arms. For some reason, the bundle of sleeping Amelia seemed to soften the edges of his expression. He came across as protective instead of harsh. It made him even more attractive, if that was possible.

“What did you want to talk about?” she asked him, hoping he wasn’t round two of a tag-team match with Byron.

“A nanny,” said Lucas, his attention still fixed on Amelia.

“There’s no rush,” she responded. “I’m perfectly capable of taking care of Amelia.”

“I know you are,” he acknowledged. “But you might not always be here.”

She glared at him.

“Is that a threat?” Lexi asked.

Lucas seemed to remember she was there. “I’ve never made a secret of the fact that I intend to win guardianship,” he told them both.

“As do I,” said Devin.

Lucas stared evenly back at her. “If you do, you can fire the nanny. If not, I thought you might like to help me choose.” He paused, while Devin sorted the offer out in her mind.

She didn’t want to even consider the possibility of leaving Amelia with Lucas. Her brain almost refused to go to the worstcase scenario. But it might come to that. And if it did, and she had to leave… Her stomach contracted with pain, and she had to resist the urge to snatch Amelia out of Lucas’s arms.

If it came to that, wouldn’t she feel better knowing who was caring for Amelia? And would it not be in her best interest to develop a positive relationship with her?

“I’m not a monster,” said Lucas.

Lexi gave a grunt of disbelief.

Lucas shot her a quelling look before returning his attention to Devin. “I’m after exactly the same thing as you.”

“For very different reasons.”

He shook his head and sighed. “I’m going to choose a nanny, Devin. You can help me or not, it’s entirely up to—” He gasped in horror.

Devin sat bolt upright in shock. “What?”

Lucas nearly leveled her with a look. “Is this child wearing a diaper?”

Devin shouldn’t laugh. She couldn’t laugh. Oh, dear. She quickly clapped her hand to her mouth.

“I am wearing a Brioni suit,” Lucas ground from between clenched teeth.

“Sorry about that,” Devin managed to say.

“You might have mentioned—”