Page 20 of Staking His Claim
A jab pierced Ella’s heart at the sight of the three dark heads so close together. To her horror she felt her throat tighten. She swallowed. The tightness swelled more.
She couldn’t have said anything even if she hadn’t felt so awful.
“No, that’s not a yawn—it’s laughter,” the billionaire insisted.
Nadiya moved even closer, and Ella was sure that Yevgeny and the baby would be asphyxiated by Nox Parfum fumes.
“This is something I know a lot about,” Nadiya said. “I’ve handled many babies... I’ve got four sisters and about a dozen nieces and nephews.” Nadiya took the baby from him with an easy competence that Ella found herself envying.
Maybe Yevgeny hadn’t made such a mistake in picking the supermodel to marry. Clearly Nadiya knew something about babies—despite her glamorous exterior.
Loneliness swamped Ella, dismaying her. To ward it off, she said, “You’re happy to adopt her?”
Startled eyes met hers. “Adopt her?”
Yevgeny moved. All too soon he stood between Ella and his bewildered fiancée like some oversize sentinel. He shot Ella a fulminating look.
“Nadiya and I have yet to discuss the specifics.”
No...it wasn’t possible, he couldn’t have been that...arrogant...that dumb. Could he?
Over the head of the oblivious baby, the supermodel’s attention shifted to her fiancé. “The specifics of what?”
Yes, he’d been that dumb.
He hadn’t told Nadiya.
Now he looked hunted. Then he smiled at his fiancée—a slow, deliberate smile that oozed intimacy. “We will talk later. In private.”
Ella watched as he gave the supermodel a slow once-over that was clearly intended to turn her legs to water. She knew she should’ve experienced distaste at the obvious sexual manipulation he was using on the young woman. Instead, to her utter dismay, her own stomach started to churn at the blatant sensuality in that hard-boned face. What would it feel like to be the object of this man’s desire? To have him gaze at her with such unwavering intensity?
Heat, wanton—no, unwanted—blazed through her.
To rid herself of the emotional storm she didn’t want, Ella said with a coolness she was far from feeling, “Yevgeny intends to adopt the baby.”
Nadiya stared down at the wrapped infant in her arms. “This baby?” She lifted her head and turned her attention to her fiancé. “But why?”
“He didn’t explain it to you—that I told him he needed a wife?”
Ella couldn’t stem the words.
Pity for the younger woman filled her. Yevgeny hadn’t taken Nadiya’s wishes into account. He’d simply assumed she would fall in with what he wanted. Once again he was putting what he wanted first, not thinking of anyone else. What arrogance! The dislike Ella already felt toward him escalated, not helped by that surge of awareness that he had unwittingly aroused.
But to Ella’s surprise, Nadiya was glaring at him. “You asked me if I wanted children...” As her voice trailed away, the frown marring her forehead deepened. “You weren’t talking about the future, you were talking about now. About this baby.”
“Nadiya—”
But Nadiya held up a hand, interrupting whatever he’d been about to say. A couple of quick steps brought her to Ella’s side and she deposited the baby into Ella’s lap. The baby started to cry—a gruff, growly sound that caused Ella to freeze. She stared down at the crumpled, red face and panic pierced her.
What the hell was she supposed to do now?
From a distance she could hear Nadiya angrily saying something to Yevgeny, but Ella was in no state to listen. She stroked the baby with a tentative hand. The cries continued. Awkwardly she patted the baby’s back...then rocked her a little. There was a pause. The tightly pressed eyelids opened. The baby’s eyes were a dark shade of midnight. Ella stared, transfixed.
“You need to support her neck.”
The voice came from far off. The words were repeated and a hand with a flashing diamond appeared in Ella’s peripheral vision. It cupped her own.
“There. Like that,” said Nadiya.
Ella looked up. “Thank you.”
But Nadiya had already spun to confront Yevgeny. Ella couldn’t look away as Nadiya hissed, “Why this child?” Her hands were on her hips. She shot a quick look over her shoulder at Ella, then moved her attention back to the Russian. “Is it your child?”
“Nadiya—”
“Answer me!”
Holding the now quiet infant, Ella wanted to cheer.
But before she could make any sound, Nadiya’s gaze arced to her “...and yours?”