The Baby the Billionaire Demands Read online

  Ned Stone was the biggest agent in Hollywood, and a four-quadrant film was the holy grail of the film industry: a movie that would appeal to both men and women, young and old.

  But looking at it, Rodrigo didn’t feel elated. He just felt tired. So tired, in fact, the room seemed to swim in front of his eyes.

  “Take it back,” he whispered, not moving. “I don’t want it.”

  Marnie stared at him, her eyebrows lifted in shock. “You don’t care about a four-quadrant film?”

  “No,” he said slowly. “I don’t.”

  Since Lola had left, he’d tried to lose himself in work. He’d committed hundreds of millions of dollars to projects he couldn’t even remember now. Half his board was threatening to quit and muttering dark suspicions about his mental health. But for all that, he felt exhausted and numb. Hollow.

  He’d tried to run away from his feelings. He’d tried not to think of Lola. But he’d failed. She was all he could think about. He hated work. He hated home. Most of all, he hated himself.

  Because without his wife, nothing else mattered. Not success, not fame or fortune. Not even a four-quadrant film.

  Because he loved her.

  Rodrigo felt a whoosh go through his body, like vertigo. He staggered back beneath the weight of the realization. The duffel bag slid from his hands to the hardwood floor.

  Oh, my God. He loved her.

  All this time, he’d tried to keep his heart cold. But he’d been lying to himself. The truth was, in the depths of his heart, he’d known it was already too late. He’d loved her from the moment she’d kissed him in Mexico City. Perhaps even before.

  That was why he’d never slept with another woman. His body had known what his mind and heart refused to admit. He’d been too afraid to admit it, even to himself, after all the times he’d been hurt by the women he’d loved.

  Except he hadn’t loved his first three fiancées, he now realized. How could he? He’d barely known them. As a young man, he’d been so desperate for love, to have a real family, that he’d proposed marriage within weeks.

  Then he’d promptly come up with a reason to leave. Because he hadn’t loved those three women, any more than they’d loved him. If they had, they wouldn’t have been so easily lured away.

  But he loved Lola. It had terrified him. Seeing her in Morozov’s arms had been all the excuse he needed to end their relationship. He’d almost been relieved to accept the worst rather than let himself be vulnerable, and love her.

  But Lola, who’d also known pain and loss, hadn’t given in to fear. She’d been brave. She’d been loyal. She’d had his back, all along.

  Get this through your head, she’d said. I’ll never betray you, Rodrigo. Ever.

  And she hadn’t.

  Rodrigo was the one who’d betrayed her.

  “Are you all right, sir?” Marnie frowned, coming closer in the downtown office. “You don’t look well.”

  His jaw clenched. He’d betrayed Lola by not trusting her, when she’d been the best friend he’d ever had. He’d betrayed her by not being brave enough to give his heart.

  “Sir?”

  He slowly looked at his assistant.

  And he’d betrayed his wife by not believing her, when she was the smartest person he knew.

  Marnie wanted you for herself. So she’s systematically rid herself of any rival who crossed her path. She’s your assistant. She has access to everything.

  “Marnie,” he said quietly. “I know what you did.”

  His assistant’s eyes widened beneath her thick glasses. Then, slowly, she smiled. “I’ve just acted as any good secretary would. And kept my boss out of trouble.”

  Ice went down his spine. Lola had been right about everything. “You sabotaged my engagements.”

  Marnie’s eyes turned bright, eager. “It wasn’t even hard. They all fell for it so easily. They cheated. They proved they weren’t worthy of you.”

  He felt sick.

  “But Lola didn’t.”

  She scowled. “I sent the best porn actor from the agency. But she blew him off. I had to be more creative.”

  “So you sent the message to Morozov, pretending to be me.”

  “I knew you couldn’t actually want to be married to her.” Her expression darkened. “She doesn’t love you. Not like I do.”

  I love you. The memory of Lola’s beautiful face, her luminous hazel eyes in the moonlit night, came back to him. Only you. And I’ll love you forever.

  “I did it all for you.” Marnie’s thin face was triumphant. “Lived only for you. Sacrificed my life for you. You need me, Rodrigo. I’m the only one who can protect you from everything. From pain. From loss.”

  Rodrigo lifted his head.

  “I don’t want to be protected. Not anymore. I never wanted you to do any of this,” he said in a low voice. “I’m sorry, Marnie. It’s time for you to go.”

  She looked flummoxed. “Go!”

  “I’m in love with my wife. Because of you...”

  Because of you, I’ve betrayed her, he almost said. But that wasn’t fair. It hadn’t just been Marnie’s lies that kept him from loving Lola. He’d been scared. Scared of losing control. Scared of abandonment and pain. Taking a deep breath, he said quietly, “It’s time for you to find another job and a different man to love.”

  His assistant’s face crumpled. “No!” she cried. “I don’t know how to do anything else.” She gave a sob, wrapping her arms around herself. “I don’t know how to change.”

  He hadn’t either, Rodrigo realized. He might have spent the rest of his life focusing only on wealth and power, unloved and dead inside, as lonely as a mummy in a tomb full of cold treasures.

  If not for Lola’s warmth. Her bravery. Her love.

  Because of her, he had the chance to be better. To make better choices. To be brave enough to change.

  “I’m sorry,” Rodrigo said, looking down at his assistant. He lifted the duffel bag with the change of clothes back to his shoulder. “You’ll get severance for your years of service. But I love my wife. You have to know you can’t work for me anymore.”

  Marnie wiped her eyes. “Then what will I do?”

  “I don’t know.” Turning away, he paused to look back at the door. “I hear Sergei Morozov is moving back to Moscow and looking for a new assistant.”

  She blinked at him, looking like a mole who’s just seen the sun.

  “Good luck,” he said.

  Turning away, Rodrigo strode through his office, yelling right and left for everyone to go home, to spend the holiday with their families and friends. His employees’ eyes lit up with delight. But he couldn’t wait. He nearly ran out of the walnut-paneled lobby, holding his phone to his ear, telling his pilot to get the plane ready.

  He had to see Lola. Tonight. Before the New Year began. He’d be brave enough to tell her he loved her.

  But as he jumped into his car and stomped down hard on the gas, driving down the sunlit highway toward the airport, Rodrigo wondered if he’d be too late.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  WHY, OH, WHY had Lola ever let her friends talk her into this?

  “It’s almost time!” Hallie crowed, kissing her husband passionately in the crowded rooftop restaurant. “Just ten minutes left!”

  All around Lola, happy couples were counting down the minutes until the start of a new year. Nearby, she saw Stefano kissing Tess under the mistletoe.

  They were also celebrating Cristiano Moretti’s new acquisition of this building, an old, rundown chain hotel with a location overlooking Times Square. He’d closed on the hotel yesterday. Tomorrow, the vast remodeling project would begin, to bring the property into line with the high standards of his luxury Campania hotel brand.

  Only the rooftop restaurant was still open, with its Art Deco–style bar and enormous windows
and terrace overlooking Times Square; and it was only open to Cristiano’s closest family and friends, for his glamorous black tie New Year’s Eve party. Everyone was drinking champagne and ogling the bright lights and electronic billboards of Times Square, shining brightly and shimmering in the cold winter’s night below, as they, and about a million people on the streets, waited for the magical moment when the ball would drop, and a new year would begin.

  But Lola just felt sad.

  She shivered in the silvery, sparkly dress she’d borrowed from Hallie. Her friends were worried about her. Since she and Jett had arrived from Los Angeles last week, they’d complained that Lola didn’t seem like her old self. She didn’t brashly give her opinion. She didn’t boss anyone around. Even spending Christmas Day with her little sisters and their parents, as wonderful as they’d been, hadn’t healed her broken heart. Though Kelsey and Johanna would always be her sisters, she missed Rodrigo. She missed her husband. She wanted him.

  Her heart felt broken.

  Lola looked down at her palm. She held the plain gold wedding band she’d had engraved for him. The ring she’d meant to give him for Christmas. She’d brought it with her tonight, telling herself that she’d toss it away at midnight and start the new year fresh.

  But feeling it in her hand, she couldn’t let it go.

  Oh, if he had only loved her!

  Wiping a tear savagely before anyone could see it, she left the bar and went out onto the rooftop terrace. It was very cold, but the frigid, numbing air was a relief against her hot skin. It was also a relief to get away from her friends.

  Hallie and Tess kept giving her worried looks, trying to tempt her to eat from the appetizer trays. They’d bullied her into coming tonight. Even the fact that she’d given in—meekly, without a fight—had seemed to worry them. She could still see them peeking at her through the windows, even as they danced in the arms of their adoring husbands.

  Lola felt hollowed out.

  She was glad for Tess and Hallie. She truly was. But they’d risked everything for love, and won.

  Lola had risked everything, and lost.

  A lump rose in her throat. Stop it, she told herself furiously, hating her self-pity. She was lucky. Her son was healthy and well. She had custody. Her baby sisters were back in her life. She had good friends. She had a place to live, at the Morettis’ large, comfortable home in the West Village, where Jett was now being watched by their longtime nanny, along with Hallie’s baby, Jack.

  She’d even been offered two different jobs, one in Cristiano’s hotel business, the other in Tess’s growing fashion company.

  Lola had refused both. She’d told her friends she intended to go to community college, and maybe even law school. They’d loved that idea. So did she. It was Rodrigo who’d given it to her. In that sense, he’d believed in her, in a way no one else ever had.

  But for now, she couldn’t think of the future. She still had money saved. She’d think of it all later.

  She looked down at the diamond Rodrigo had given her, sparkling on her left hand. She should send it back, she knew, like she’d sent back the necklace. But as heavy and cold as the ring was, she hadn’t been able to take it off.

  Their divorce would be simple, at least. All the details had been arranged in the prenup. Any day now, she expected to get the paperwork from Rodrigo’s lawyers. Lola looked out at Times Square gleaming around her. She was lucky, she thought dully. It all would be easy. Happy New Year.

  Enough, she told herself savagely. Go back to the party. Pretend you’re having a good time, for your friends’ sake, if not your own.

  Wiping her eyes one last time, she forced her face into a smile and turned around. Then she stopped with an intake of breath.

  There, standing in front of her, was Rodrigo.

  Lola’s legs went weak.

  “What are you doing here?” she whispered, wondering if he was a dream wrought by her feverish heart.

  Rodrigo’s chiseled face was darkly handsome beneath the bright lights of Times Square as he came toward Lola on the rooftop terrace. He was dressed in a black shirt and trousers beneath a black overcoat. His jawline was dark with a five o’clock shadow. His voice was low and deep. “I came for you.”

  He was real. He had to be. She could see the white cloud of his breath in the cold air. And she’d never seen anything so beautiful in her life.

  Shaking, Lola took a step forward. Reaching up, she put her hand against his rough cheek. She felt him tremble beneath her touch. Just like she was trembling.

  There were shadows beneath his eyes. As if he hadn’t slept all week, any more than she had. “For me?”

  Rodrigo put his hand over her own. “I came to tell you that you were right.”

  Lola’s hopes, which had been rising as high as the Empire State Building, crashed to the ground.

  “You mean about Marnie. I was right about her.”

  “Not just her.” His dark eyes searched hers. “About everything.”

  “What are you saying?” she asked breathlessly.

  Slowly, Rodrigo pulled her into his arms. His body felt so powerful. So solid. So strong. And so were his black eyes as he looked down at her.

  “I’m in love with you, Lola.”

  Her heart stopped in her chest. “What?”

  “I’ve always loved you.” Gently, he moved his hands down her hair, against the bare skin of her shoulders above her party dress. “I loved you so much, it scared the hell out of me. Because I knew I’d someday lose you, just like I lost the others.” He paused. “But now...”

  “Now?” she choked out, searching his gaze.

  “I’m not scared anymore.” Rodrigo looked down at her, giving her a smile that seemed lit up from within. “After you left, everything fell apart. And I realized nothing else matters. You’re all I want. All I need. You’re everything. Because I love you.”

  As she stared at him, her heart twisted in her chest.

  “And I was a fool.” Rodrigo searched her gaze fiercely. “Marnie might have sabotaged those other relationships, but so did I.”

  “You?”

  “The moment they agreed to marry me, I became restless, wanting to be away from them. But with you, it was different. With you... I admire you. Respect you. You’re not just my lover. You’re my friend. My partner.”

  As if from a million miles away, she heard noise from the party, as someone shouted, “The countdown has begun!”

  “All I want is to be with you,” he whispered. “Forever and always.” His hand tightened against her shoulder. “You’re my soul mate.”

  “Twenty...”

  “And I know I ruined everything,” Rodrigo said. “Leaving you like that, kicking you out of my car just for telling me the truth...” He shuddered. “You don’t know how much I wish I could go back. But all I can do is go forward. And hope you’ll forgive me. Tell me,” he whispered, running his hands through her hair. “How I can win you back...”

  “Ten...”

  Lola stared at him, too overcome with emotion to speak.

  His expression fell. Then his jaw set as his eyes narrowed with determination. “I’ll do whatever it takes to win you back, Lola. Anything. Even if it takes everything I possess. Even if it takes the rest of my life—”

  “Stop.” Trembling, she reached her finger to his lips. They felt soft and sensual, warm to the touch. A shiver of desire went through her.

  “Five...”

  Opening her hand, she held out the golden wedding band on her palm. “This is my answer.”

  Emotion was raw on his face as he took the ring. Then he saw the inscription: I love you now and always.

  Rodrigo looked up with an intake of breath.

  “One! Happy New Year!”

  A growl came from the back of his throat, and he pulled her into his powerful arms, w
rapping her tight. And lowering his head, he kissed Lola as she’d never been kissed before: with pure, heartfelt love, holding nothing back. She returned his kiss, with the same promise and need.

  They were fated. Bound. Married.

  Soul mates.

  A cheer rose up behind them, yanking Lola out of her spell. Pressing her cheek against his chest, she saw the Morettis and Zaccos and all the rest of the party pressed against the restaurant’s double-height windows, grinning and applauding. Hallie and Tess were giving her beaming smiles and holding up champagne glasses, as if they’d always known love would win.

  And it was true, Lola thought with tears in her eyes. Love won. No matter how difficult and awful life could be, no matter how much grief and pain a person endured, love could always win.

  “Let’s live in New York,” he murmured suddenly.

  She looked up at him joyfully. “Are you serious?”

  “Why not?” He gave her a sudden wicked grin. “I hear it’s ‘a hotbed of media companies that will dominate the future of the entertainment business.’”

  She giggled. “Not to mention it’s near all our family and friends.”

  “Yes. Not to mention that.” Rodrigo’s face grew serious. “I’ve realized whatever makes you happy, makes me happy, too.” Sliding the golden band on his left ring finger, he cupped her face in his hands. “I’ve spent my whole life looking for you, querida,” he said huskily, looking down at her with tears shining in his black eyes. “And now I’ve found you, I’m never going to let you go.”

  “I love you,” Lola whispered, smiling through her own tears.

  “I love you. Now and forever.” And as Rodrigo lowered his lips to hers, they started the new year, their new lives, with a kiss she’d never forget.

  * * *

  Summer had come to New York at last. The trees were green, the sun was shining and the tourists were in full bloom, returning to the city with the faithful constancy of the swallows of San Juan Capistrano.

  Three friends were giggling together in the spacious, flower-filled backyard of a West Village mansion, watching as their three billionaire husbands argued loudly about the best method of barbecuing steaks.