Page 42 of Staking His Claim

The question jolted him. “Nadiya?”

“Yes, Nadiya.”

He shook his head.

Ella hesitated. “I suppose I could join you. Now would be better than later. I’d planned to prepare for a meeting on Monday. So, as long as you give me a few minutes to get ready, I’ll come. Holly is taking a nap. I’ll need to tell Deb we’re going out so that she can get her ready.”

“It might be a good idea to leave Holly here.”

At the surprised look she shot him, he added reluctantly, “My Porsche is a two-seater.” It was becoming clear to him that, along with a new home, he was going to have to purchase a new car, too.

“We can take my car...it’s a station wagon,” she said wryly.

That amused Yevgeny. Ella didn’t have dogs or children yet she drove a station wagon? He kept the observation to himself. “We’ll take my car and leave Holly at home. That way the visit will take less time.” And as much as he adored the baby, this morning he wanted Ella’s undivided attention. It would be easier to assess her gut response to the house without the baby around to distract her. “I’ll call the Realtor to arrange access.”

“You’d better come in while I get ready.” She stepped away from the doorjamb to let him pass, and tossed him a prim smile. “I won’t be long.”

As Yevgeny followed Ella indoors he told himself it was going to be okay—everything would work out. The sunny morning. Her smile. The fact that Christmas was fast approaching.

All augured well.

He could sense that Ella was beginning to weaken.

* * *

As Yevgeny pulled the Porsche to a stop, Ella’s breath caught in her throat.

Nestled amidst sprawling gardens, the house was not a multimillion-dollar sculpture comprised of a series of post-modern boxes.

It was a jewel of a home.

With wide lawns and big leafy trees, it cried welcome to a family—not a bachelor billionaire.

Yevgeny unclipped his seat belt and turned to her. “I like the feel of this place. What do you think?”

What did she think? She loved it. But...

Ella stared through the tinted windshield trying—and failing—to imagine Yevgeny living here all by himself. “It looks...big.”

“Three stories, garage for half a dozen cars, several reception rooms, a home cinema, an indoor heated pool, staff quarters—and six bedrooms,” he recited. “But that’s not what interests me.”

He climbed out the sports car and came around to open her door before she could ask what did interest him—if not the sheer impressive scale of the residence.

“Come.”

Ella followed Yevgeny along the path that led up to the house.

Her emotions were all over the place. Why was Yevgeny considering buying such a house? He already had a penthouse apartment—from what she’d heard it was extremely luxurious. Why did he need a house, too?

Unless...

For Holly?

But Ella was not ready to face what the answer to that might mean. For the baby. For her. For everyone. Instead, she paused under the spreading, twisted branches of an old pohutukawa tree, and said, “Ah, a real, live New Zealand Christmas tree. It’s made for a tree house.”

His gaze followed hers to the beautiful branches loaded with bunches of red flowers. “I’m afraid I know little about tree houses—Dmitri and I never had one.”

“This calls out for one.” Squinting upward, Ella continued, “In fact, there’s enough space for a playhouse up there. It would need to be furnished. Chairs. A table. Kid-size crockery. Keira and I had a tree house growing up—we spent hours in ours.”

“What did you do?”

“We held tea parties. And played dress-up. And one summer we even made lemonade from the lemons that grew in the garden and opened a stall.” She turned her head to discover a slightly stunned expression in Yevgeny’s eyes.

Finally he said, “Then I’ll know who to call on to attend to the decor when the time is ripe.”

She smiled, but didn’t acknowledge the burgeoning certainty that the playhouse would be for Holly. Yevgeny had no intention of disappearing from the baby’s life.

It seemed like a huge amount of trouble to go to for a child

he would only see for periods agreed to by her adoptive parents. Unless...unless he still believed he could convince her otherwise?

No.

She’d made her position crystal clear—she wanted the baby to go to a family.... Yevgeny would have to accept that once she found the right parents for Holly.

And it was her choice.

Not his.

Hers.

This house was for him—not Holly. Although Ella recognized it would be lovely for Holly to have such a fantasy place to visit from time to time.