The Baby the Billionaire Demands

She tapped her fingertips angrily on the table. His trophy, was she? His pet? As she signaled for the bill, her heart thrummed with anger. Lola was his wife! The mother of a tiny infant! She had plenty going on!

But the insult burned through her.

For most of her life, Lola had prided herself on working longer and harder than anyone else. Just as her mother once had. Being an assistant to a powerful tycoon was long, difficult work, and she’d done well. She’d thrived. And being the logistics and operations manager of their household was no joke. She—

A man walking through the restaurant patio paused as he went past her table. “Oh. Hello again.”

Still lost in her indignant thoughts, Lola looked up.

For a moment, she struggled to recognize him. Tall and blond, wearing a tight T-shirt and board shorts over his muscled body, he was handsome, tanned with a white, gleaming smile.

A chill went down her spine.

“Don’t you remember me?” the man said, drawing closer to her table. His eyes seemed to caress her, and so did his smile. “We met by chance a few weeks ago? On the beach?”

Lola rose up, trembling.

“Who sent you?” Her voice hardened. “Who hired you?”

The young man went pale beneath his tan. “What? Nobody!”

“Tell me!” she demanded, pounding the table.

“You’re crazy,” he said, backing away nervously. He looked around the patio with its view of the ocean across the street. “She’s crazy!”

Turning, he practically ran from the café.

“Don’t ever harass me again!” Lola yelled after him.

After the man was gone, it took some moments for her to calm down. Blood pounded through her body, making her shake. Ignoring all the open stares, she knelt before the stroller to comfort the baby, who’d started to cry. Trying to comfort herself.

“Is everything all right, Mrs. Cabrera? What did that man do?”

Looking up, she saw one of their bodyguards, whom she’d purposefully left behind at the beach house today. And not even her favorite one, Tobias. “What are you doing here, Lester?”

“Boss told me to keep an eye on you.”

“To spy on me?”

The man looked uncomfortable. “He just wanted—”

“I don’t care what he wanted,” she snapped. “Stop following me.” Tossing money on the table for her cappuccino and croissant, she tucked her bag into the stroller and stomped away from the bodyguard, to her husband’s Mercedes SUV parked behind the café.

She felt sick.

Could Rodrigo have hired the handsome stranger, who looked like a cross between a surfer and out-of-work soap opera actor, to try to seduce her?

Was that why Lester was there—to follow and get pictures?

No, she told herself fiercely. But her hands shook as she buckled her baby into the SUV and tossed the stroller into the back. Taking calming breaths, she reminded herself that Rodrigo was in San Francisco on business today. He couldn’t know Lola would be at this café with his ex.

The thought reassured her as she started the engine. Then she stopped, staring out at the blue ocean.

Elise Patel’s phone number was unlisted. Lola had gotten it from Marnie yesterday. Rodrigo could have easily found out where she planned to be. He could have sent the stranger, either as some kind of loyalty test, or something more malicious.

Was it possible that Rodrigo was trying to get rid of her, just like the rest? Trying to end this marriage as cheaply and easily as he could, by luring her into an affair—or even just the appearance of one?

Fear went through her, followed by rage. She gripped the steering wheel.