Billionaire's Pursuit of Love: Destiny Romance (9 page)

Sarah’s heart tore in two in her chest. Every instinct pushed her towards a fight for full custody. She only knew one way . . . the two of them battling . . . always battling. And Blake, well, he lived on the other side of the world and ran a global technology company. Big business. She’d been brought up despising big business. But seeing Daniel threw up questions she never thought she’d have to face. She didn’t want to face.

She rubbed her temples.

‘Mum, check this out,’ Daniel called.

Blake turned and smiled at her. That knowing parental smile. That smile that said everything in one brief communication. Isn’t our child great? Isn’t our child special? Isn’t our child the most precious thing in the world? In that moment it was so wonderful to share Daniel. Share the magic of her child. Their child.

Daniel bowled the ball down the pitch. One of Daniel’s cousins smacked it. Blake missed an easy catch.

‘That’s your fault.’ Blake’s smile was full of mock accusation.

‘Don’t blame your weaknesses on me,’ Sarah called.

He jogged to her side. ‘You’re my only weakness,’ he said, trailing a finger down her arm, his touch sending sparks through her body. A horrible thought struck with the force of a tsunami: was all this attention to lull her into a false sense of security? For her to drop her guard? For him to get close to Daniel, then snatch him away?

She swallowed hard and avoided his eyes. ‘Blake . . . don’t . . .’ She stepped away, feeling her tight control slipping. ‘Lunch,’ she managed to call.

A stampede rushed past her into the house. Daniel followed, keeping pace with Robert.

‘You should come and play next Saturday,’ Robert said to Daniel. ‘We’re a player down.’

‘Really?’ Daniel’s eyes shone as he disappeared into the house in Robert’s wake.

Sarah made no move to follow.

‘Coming in?’ Blake asked.

‘Um. I find your family a little overwhelming.’

Blake slipped his arm around her shoulders. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll protect you.’

She couldn’t help it. The warmth and comfort of his arm about her and his body so close dissolved her urge to flee and blasted away any negative thoughts.

Would it be so terrible to let Blake into their lives? Or, down the track, would she discover it was her biggest mistake?

Sarah slumped back into the comfort of Blake’s luxurious sofa. The evening sun dropped slowly behind the trees of Hyde Park. She rested her head and closed her eyes.

What a day. Despite feeling totally overcome by the sheer energy of Blake’s extended family, she’d enjoyed herself. She survived by remaining a silent observer, just watching the dynamics of the large, happy family. Not Daniel: he’d thrown himself into the fray and had clearly loved every minute of it. At the Sanctuary he was such a calm, quiet kid, who spent a lot of time with his own thoughts. Today, he’d seemed like a totally different child.

She opened her eyes and slid a magazine off the nearby table and flicked through the pages of designer fashions, fabulous homes and fancy gardens. She stopped at a page featuring a family enjoying a picnic, watching a county cricket game. So classically English.

Daniel was denied many things other kids took for granted, due to his isolation. But surely their lifestyle gave him so much more. Being outdoors. Enjoying nature. Doing something so meaningful, so valuable.

‘Sorry,’ Blake said, coming into the room. ‘Daniel’s certainly taken to cricket. He needed to go over every rule.’

Sarah smiled but conflicting feelings piled up again. All the eager cricket passion would have nowhere to go once they were back at home. The closest cricket club was hours away.

‘That boy’s definitely got some natural talent,’ Blake said, taking a seat next to her. ‘He really hasn’t played before?’

‘Never.’ Sarah sank back into the soft leather. ‘Your family’s quite something,’ she said, in a tone of exaggerated animation.

He placed his arm around her shoulders and snuggled her into the heat of his body. He felt so good. Too good for the enemy. Was he the enemy?

‘I’m still getting used to the idea of having my own family.’ Blake brought his face inches from hers. ‘But I think I’m getting the hang of it.’

His tender touch and sweet words messed with her logic. She blinked up at his gorgeous face. This was not a good idea. She placed her palms against his chest and pushed him gently away. ‘Blake, I don’t think we should confuse things.’

‘I’m not confused,’ he said, leaning towards her again, desire firing in his eyes. ‘You belong here with me.’

‘And how exactly do you see that working?’ she demanded, moving away from him.

A flash of irritation crossed his face. ‘As it is now.’

‘So you expect us to uproot our lives and live here. What about the Sanctuary?’

‘A son needs his father.’ His lack of reference to her stung.

‘So move to Brunei,’ she challenged, standing.

‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ he said, matching her movement. ‘I’m the CEO of one of Britain’s biggest companies.’

She anchored her hands heavily on her hips. ‘So your work’s more important than mine?’ Her voice rose in volume and pitch as anger seized her fast and hard.

‘Don’t get hysterical, that’s not what I meant.’

‘The Sanctuary would close without me.’

‘Not if you actually had a decent funding model and succession planning in place.’

She ignored his dig at her business acumen. ‘And what happens when you get sick of playing happy families?’

He stood and gripped both her hands. ‘I won’t.’

‘That’s how you feel now and you probably believe it. But that will change,’ she said. The memory of her father walking out the door was etched on her life like a never-ending nightmare.

‘Where’s this coming from?’ His voice grated with concern and frustration.

‘Experience,’ she said. Hot tears threatened to expose her vulnerability.

‘I wouldn’t be like your other lovers.’

She had to stop herself from snorting. She pulled her hands from his grip. Other lovers. What a joke. Not many people wandered into her life and wanted a part of it. Moisture pooled at the edges of her eyes. No way would he see her cry. She rushed from the lounge and shut herself in her room. Sinking to the bed, she dropped her head in her hands.

How could she expose Daniel to that pain . . . the inevitable pain of a father leaving? It had shaped her life and her mother’s before her. Nobody would persuade her to take Daniel down that road. Blake knew nothing about being a father. Sure, he’d probably play happy families for a few months, or even years, but eventually . . . That’s what men did. Blake might be Daniel’s father, but that was a role he could play from a distance. She wouldn’t deny Blake access to Daniel, but the custody arrangements would be on her terms. Her job was to protect Daniel from as much of life’s pain as possible. That was part of her mission. A mission she’d execute.

Blake listened at the door to Sarah’s bedroom. He placed his hand on the door. He’d make her see reason. No way would his son grow up without being afforded every opportunity. Sarah was being selfish. A sniff from the bedroom stilled his hand. He leaned in close to the wood. Was she crying?

He pulled on the handle. Locked. His chest felt more tightly stitched than the seam of a cricket ball. The desire to kick the door in ripped through his body. What was it about this woman that made him so crazy? He stepped back, forcing himself to relax.

He slipped silently into Daniel’s room and stared down at the sleeping child. He knew he’d do anything for his son. Anything. Everything. But there were realities to face. Sarah needed to face them. He laid his hand on his son’s head and stroked his soft hair.

In time Sarah would see that his way was the only way.

Rain streaked the car windows. Sarah couldn’t help but admire the way Blake drove expertly through the heavy London traffic. They’d only exchanged stilted words over breakfast that morning.

Blake had arranged for Daniel to spend the day with Jemma and her family. Daniel had jumped around, thrilled with the idea of another day of backyard cricket.

Today Sarah would work at Blake’s office to develop a sustainable income stream for the Sanctuary. Blake had mentioned some idea he’d explain when they arrived at work.

She smoothed down her shirt. She couldn’t stop touching the jade-coloured silk fabric. She’d teamed the sleek top with tailored black trousers. She wiggled her toes in the inch-high heels. The height was nothing compared to the heels she’d seen on women tottering around Knightsbridge, but for her they were like stilts.

She decided it was pointless not to wear the new clothes hanging in her wardrobe, especially if she wanted the executives at Blake’s work to take her seriously. Of course she’d leave the clothes behind when she returned to Brunei. She’d have nowhere to wear them. But her designer outfit did make her feel that little bit special. A nice change from dungarees and steel-capped boots.

A red sports car cut them off. Blake braked hard and avoided a crash by an inch. He swore under his breath. Further up the road, the red car pulled the same vexatious manoeuvre.

‘I don’t know how you live in this city. I’d be stressed all the time,’ Sarah said.

‘It’s my home.’

She turned in her seat. ‘Like the Sanctuary’s my home,’ she said, dosing her voice with a full serve of petulance. Her lack of sleep was overriding her usual even temper.

‘Let’s not discuss that now,’ Blake said, pulling into the Hunt-F Tech’s car park. ‘Today, we’ll review the Sanctuary’s finances.’

A few minutes later, the lift opened on a level of the building she hadn’t been to before.

‘This is our development floor,’ Blake explained. ‘Programmers, designers and the like. In here,’ he said, guiding her into a large room packed with computers. Young people, mostly guys who looked like they’d stepped out of some hip-hop dance troupe, hunched over keyboards. All had earphones jammed in their ears. A ping-pong table stood off to the side, where a furious battle played out between two men.

Blake led her over to a young man in his mid-twenties. He wore faded jeans and a black T-shirt with the slogan
So much code, so little time
. His fingers raced over his computer keyboard faster than a racehorse at Ascot.

‘Tom, this is Sarah Walker. She manages the Hope Orangutan Sanctuary.’

‘Hi,’ Tom said, barely glancing up. ‘Have you got the photos?’

Okay, so social skills weren’t Tom’s forte. Sarah pulled a USB from her bag. Blake had asked her to bring the images he’d seen that first day in the conference room. Tom took the drive. The computer loaded up the images.

‘Wow,’ Tom exclaimed. He looked up and gave Sarah his full wide-eyed attention. ‘Brilliant. These’ll work perfectly.’ He pulled over a chair and indicated for Sarah to take a seat next to him.

‘What for?’ Sarah asked.

‘I briefed Tom last night. We’ve going to develop an orangutan game.’

‘What will that achieve?’ Sarah sighed out the words.

‘Angry Birds. Plants versus Zombies,’ Tom said, as if this answered her question.

She looked at Blake sideways with a what-the-hell expression.

‘There’s huge money in games for mobile phones, tablets and computers,’ Blake said. ‘I’ve developed a concept that will be the start of sustaining the Sanctuary’s income.’

‘How?’

‘We’ll develop a very cool game and sell it for ninety-nine cents and will donate a portion of the profits to the Sanctuary,’ he said. ‘When it takes off, which it will, you’ll have an ongoing funding stream.’

She shut her eyes briefly to prevent Tom seeing them roll around in her skull. Great. Blake didn’t get it. The Sanctuary needed hundreds of thousands. ‘How are a few pounds going to help?’

‘Angry Birds made two hundred million in 2012. Plants versus Zombies sold three hundred thousand units and made one million dollars’ profit in its first nine days,’ Tom said, turning back to his screen.

Sarah’s jaw dropped so fast, she felt like a cartoon character. ‘Are you kidding me?’

‘There’s a whole world out there, you know,’ Blake said, in an annoying know-it-all voice. ‘You just have to get out and explore it.’

‘Wait, wait, wait,’ Sarah said, holding up her hands. ‘I don’t want you making a mockery of the Sanctuary. We do vital work. A game like this could destroy our credibility.’

‘Why don’t you sit here with Tom and see what we’ve come up with,’ Blake said, patting her shoulder. ‘I’ll be back in an hour or so.’

‘These pictures are awesome,’ Tom said. ‘Did you take these?’

She nodded. ‘A couple were featured in
National Geographic
a long time ago. I actually wanted to be a photojournalist.’

‘You have an amazing talent,’ said the designer, moving his chair and computer closer to Sarah. ‘The way you’ve captured the light here is incredible.’

Blake laid his hand on her shoulder and leant in for a closer look. ‘They’re spectacular, Sarah.’

She couldn’t help the smile that crept across her face and the warm glow that settled her in chest. It had been a long time since anyone had commented on her photos. This game idea sounded completely far-fetched, but those words of praise did more to lift her spirits than anything had in what seemed like an eternity.

A few days later, Sarah stepped from the car into another brilliant summer’s day. Blake had told her it was the best summer they’d had in years. The warm breeze played with her white cotton skirt and she inhaled the scent of summer flowers and peppery oak. A bright-green cricket ground spread out before her. It was a wonderful relief after being holed up in Blake’s office.

Blake opened Daniel’s door. ‘Are you coming?’ he asked.

Daniel hadn’t taken off his seat belt. ‘I think we should go back. I don’t feel well. It feels like Atlas beetles are chewing my stomach.’

‘Atlas beetles?’ Blake asked.

Sarah tried not to smile at her son’s apt description. ‘The rhino of the beetle world at home,’ she clarified for Blake’s benefit.

‘I think I want to go home,’ Daniel whispered. ‘Back to the Sanctuary. I know what to do there. I don’t know what to do here. I don’t know anyone here.’

‘Blake, I think —’ Sarah began. But he sent her a look that said,
let me handle this
.

Blake leant into the car and unclipped Daniel’s belt.

‘I remember my first game,’ he said. ‘I was so nervous, but you know what?’

‘What?’ Daniel asked quietly.

‘Even though we lost by a hundred and six runs I had the best time.’ He took Daniel’s hand and helped him out of the car.

‘Really?’ Daniel looked doubtfully across the green.

‘Really.’ Blake slung his arm over the boy’s shoulders. ‘There’s one simple trick with cricket.’

Her son looked up with childlike anticipation. Sarah’s heart contracted to the size of an acorn.

‘Keep your eye on the ball and you can’t go wrong.’

‘Eye on the ball,’ Daniel repeated seriously to himself. ‘Eye on the ball.’

‘Daniel, Daniel! Over here.’ Robert raced towards them. Sarah loved the way Jemma’s son had formed such a strong friendship with Daniel so fast. It was as though they’d been friends since birth. Robert grabbed Daniel’s arm. ‘Come on.’

The two boys ran onto the field and joined a huddle of others receiving a briefing from a man who was presumably the coach.

‘Do you think this is a good idea?’ Sarah asked, unable to take her eyes from her son.

‘It’s only cricket,’ Blake said.

‘He doesn’t knows the rules. He could drop a catch. He could . . . bowl badly.’

Blake pulled an enormous Harrods picnic basket from the back of the car, slammed the boot closed then clasped her hand. His reassuring touch eased away some of her building anxiety.

‘Or he could have a really good time playing his first ever cricket match while his parents sit together and watch.’

‘But —’

Blake pulled her into a stand of trees and placed the basket on the ground. He slipped his arms about her waist and her body settled gently against his. His warmth penetrated the light fabric of her clothes, making her blood heat and her pulse pound. He waited until she met his gaze.

‘The sun is shining,’ he said. ‘We have a gorgeous son together. Why don’t you relax and enjoy the day.’

‘It’s just —’

He stole the protest from her lips with a kiss brimming with tenderness. A kiss that melted her apprehension and messed with her heart. This felt so good. After so many years alone, being like this with Blake felt better than magic.

The gentleness turned to searching as he deepened the kiss. He still tasted of his morning coffee. Running his hand down her spine, he pressed their bodies closer and moulded against her. She couldn’t help it. She ran her hands up his neck and into his hair. The warmth turned incendiary. She wanted him closer. She wanted more. She could so easily lose herself to this man. He filled an aching void she’d ignored forever.

Voices nearby shattered the dream. She pulled away from his body but it felt like a wrench.

‘We’d . . .’ She drew in a deep breath to centre herself back on the earth. She blinked hard, hoping the action would steady her racing mind and rioting body. ‘We should watch the game,’ she managed, her breathy voice barely louder than the whisper of the oak trees.

Blake stared at her for a long moment, his eyes burning fierce with desire. X-rated images speared her mind . . . them partially naked, up against a tree. The flush in her cheeks fired even hotter. She lowered her eyes. His gaze, his body, his desire flayed her defences. She needed to stay strong. To be clear about the future for Daniel, for the Sanctuary.

‘You’re right,’ he said, picking up the basket and taking her hand. ‘Come on.’

They walked around the edge of the field, but Sarah could only focus on Blake’s palm flush against her own, their fingers intertwined. Sunshine danced in her eyes. All around, music sounded from the birdsong and children at play. For a few seconds she fantasised about an easy life, a family life. A life without struggle and the dull ache of loneliness.

She spied Jemma on a picnic blanket under a tree a little way off. Blake dropped her hand and shifted the basket between them. She hoped his action was to keep their relationship from becoming family gossip and not something more ominous.

When Jemma spotted them, her expression morphed into a look of faux shock.

‘I don’t believe it,’ she exclaimed. ‘Who is this man and where is my brother?’

Blake ignored her. He spread out a rug next to Jemma’s.

‘What?’ Sarah asked, looking from one sibling to the other.

‘What!’ Jemma snorted. ‘Blake hasn’t taken a Saturday off work in ten years, that’s what.’

‘My sister is a high priestess of exaggeration,’ Blake said, sitting on the rug and gently pulling Sarah down next to him.

Jemma leaned forward to catch Sarah’s eye. ‘He only just managed to walk me down the aisle before he started texting.’ Her tone was light, but clearly this had been a well picked-over bone of contention.

‘You’re kidding me,’ Sarah exclaimed.

‘No,’ Jemma said.

Sarah searched Blake’s face for the truth.

‘Lies. All lies,’ he said, keeping his eyes on the field.

Daniel warmed up for the game. He raced around, shouted and joined in as though he’d been part of the team since its inception. Sarah battled nagging doubts about their life at the Sanctuary. She couldn’t deny that his life was lacking. But it wasn’t like she had a lot of choice in the matter. So many people relied on her. So many animals depended on her. The viability of so many things all came down to her.

She shifted around on the rug but couldn’t find a comfortable position.

Her mother’s whole life had been dedicated to the Sanctuary. As she’d lay dying, she’d begged for one thing – keep the Sanctuary going. Grow it. Make it better. Sarah had shoved aside all her own dreams and promised.

Blake passed her a Pimms and lemonade complete with ice in a glass tumbler. She idly wondered how he’d produced the luxury from the picnic basket.

‘You seem a world away,’ Blake said.

‘Just thinking.’

Daniel took his position in the outfield. She closed her eyes and sent out a silent prayer to the universe. Blake clasped her hand. A comforting warmth with a major dash of delight spread over her. She opened her eyes.

‘He’ll be okay,’ Blake said.

‘He’s never done anything like this before.’ Her voice tittered, threatening to break.

‘That’s why it’s good for him. It’s important to prepare for life in this big, bad world.’

‘I think it’s important to protect him from it.’

‘You can’t do that forever.’

She could try.

The bowler took up his position. Blake squeezed her hand, his thumb caressing the top of her knuckles. For just a moment she wondered what it would be like to build a life with this man beside her. Maybe he’d break the mould and be a man who stayed?

Blake’s phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled his hand free from hers, yanked the phone from his pocket and answered the call. ‘Yes?’

He listened. ‘One minute.’ He stood and without a backward glance, walked out of earshot, his back to the game.

‘I knew it couldn’t last,’ Jemma said, shaking her head. ‘It’s impossible to make him take a break. He thinks every project will be the one that seals the company’s future. Then, off he goes again onto the next. He’s hopeless.’

Blake strode back and forth between the trees at the edge of the field.

‘Game’s started,’ Jemma said, pointing.

The first ball flew down the pitch. Daniel ran his hand over his thighs again and again. His anxiousness radiated across the pitch and straight into Sarah’s heart. Her throat dried. She needed Blake’s support. Daniel needed his father’s support.

‘I have to go,’ Blake’s tight voice sounded behind her.

‘What?’ she said, tearing her eyes from the field. ‘You can’t leave.’