She nodded. “I suppose he takes after his uncle.”
A smile pulled at Apollo’s lips. “Do you really think he’s like me?”
“I think he looks a lot like you.”
His smile broadened. “But I think you’ve totally won him over. Every time I pick him up, he cries. When you hold him, he’s all smiles.”
So, he’d noticed that too. She hadn’t said anything about it, as she didn’t want to make him feel bad. Seb was just as much Apollo’s nephew as he was hers. They’d been dancing around the subject of a split-custody arrangement since they’d been discharged from the hospital.
She couldn’t stay here forever. The repairs to Infinity Island were almost complete. They had to get the legal issues taken care of so that they could both move on. Because even though they’d become friends, there was nothing more to this arrangement than mutual respect for each other and their devotion to the baby.
“Apollo, we need to talk—”
“I agree. I’ve been giving this a lot of thought. And I think I’ve come to a solution.”
“A solution?” Was he talking about the same thing as her?
He nodded. “We both love Seb. And he is the Drakos heir. That little boy will one day come into great wealth and wield unimaginable power.”
She had an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. When he started talking about the baby being the heir, she knew she was in trouble. Apollo was seeing Seb not as a sweet baby in need of love and nurturing but rather of the power that the baby will hold one day and the guardian that must handle the business affairs for the baby until its of age.
Apollo continued, even though she’d missed part of what he’d said. “It’s for this reason that the baby should remain here—at the Drakos estate.”
“I thought we’d agreed on split custody.”
“I said I’d think about it. And I did. It’ll will be less confusing for him to stay here at the estate. He’ll have an entire staff to watch after him.”
Popi set aside her coffee, no longer having the stomach for it. She sat up straight. “I didn’t know that you still looked at Seb that way.”
“What way? You mean as the heir?”
She nodded. “He’s just a little baby.” She waved her hand around. “None of this means anything to him.”
Apollo’s eyes became shuttered, blocking her out. “This place means everything. I may have walked away from here because I didn’t feel as though I belonged here, but I never doubted the importance of the estate. My brother was always the chosen one. He was the one my father appointed to step into his shoes. And that role will now fall to my nephew.”
That was a lot to put on a small, helpless baby. “But what about you?”
“I will help the army of trustees selected to run the business until Seb is old enough to take over.”
“And then what? You’re just going to turn your back on your family’s business again?”
“Sure. Why not? It was not my calling like it was my brother’s. Nile was the one obsessed with all things Drakos. He would want his son to be raised here.”
“And what about you and your future children? Won’t they want a place in the family business?”
He gave a firm shake of his head. “I’m not having children. I’m not going through that again.”
“Through what?”
He glanced away. “Nothing.”
“It was definitely something.” She didn’t understand why he would resolutely write off the possibility of children. He surely didn’t think he would be climbing mountains and hiking the Amazon the rest of his life, did he? “Apollo, talk to me.”
He looked at her with emotions reflected in his eyes. But she couldn’t discern if it was anger at her for pushing the subject.
He cleared his throat. “I won’t be responsible for another person dying.”
“What?” Was he referring to his brother? If so, she didn’t see how he could feel responsible. He wasn’t even in the country at the time. Or was it someone else? “Who?”
A few seconds passed before he said, “My mother.”