“How did she seem when you saw her?” she probed lightly.
“Kiara? Ordinary.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” She held out her arms to take back Locke, wanting to cuddle her baby now that she was awake and feeling her new station in life. Mother. It wasn’t so much a title as a compulsion. Why hadn’t Kiara told her about this intense craving to cosset?
“I don’t keep tabs on Val’s love life, but his world is nothing but supermodels. His ex-wife ticked all the boxes for “fashionable heiress.” When you said Kiara had kept his baby a secret, I imagined she was a calculating socialite. Instead she was very…”
Scarlett stared, daring him to say a wrong word.
“Understated. No flashy makeup or jewelry. Val doesn’t have a subtle bone in his body. I don’t understand how she caught his attention long enough to make a baby with him.”
“She’s very sexy! Don’t you think?” Kiara was average height with doe-brown eyes in an oval face that some might call cute instead of beautiful, but she was also very sensual looking with her masses of corkscrew curls, and full lips and ample curves.
“Is that a trick question?” He lifted a brow, one that made her realize she didn’t want to hear how attractive he found other women right now. Probably not ever. “I expected someone more hardened is all I’m saying.”
“No, Kiara’s a very gentle sort.” Scarlett latched on to thoughts of her friend, the one person in her life who at least tried to be supportive. “She’s very loving with Aurelia. She’s an artist. An extraordinary one.” Scarlett had always been envious of Kiara’s creativity. Her own life had necessitated she become starkly practical. Any ingenuity she possessed was confined to spreadsheet formulas or a database programming language. “Her first gallery show is in Paris in a few weeks.”
Scarlett knew she wouldn’t be able to attend. A deeper melancholy stalked her, one stemming from the fact that she and Kiara had both known their lives would change after Niko passed. They had talked about it in hushed tones while sitting at Niko’s bedside, wondering what would happen once Val and Javiero knew about their children.
Maybe nothing will change. Maybe they won’t care, Kiara had said in a whisper at one point.
They had joked that staying on the island, raising their children as a celibate same-sex couple might have its perks. At least the toilet seat would always stay down.
They both desperately wanted the fathers of their children to bond with their babies, though, no matter what that meant for their own futures.
“When I asked how Kiara seemed, I meant with Val. Was she upset? How did he seem to be taking the news about Aurelia?”
“I have no idea. It was all I could do to be civil to him. I turned them away and came back up here.”
“You turned her away? I can’t make you like your brother, Javiero, but I expect you to be nice to Kiara. From the time I told her I was pregnant, she’s only ever been happy for me, even though she knew it meant Aurelia’s portion of Niko’s fortune would instantly be cut in half. She and I have always agreed we would never behave like your mothers. We won’t fight over that money.”
Her superiority was wasted.
“She can have it, as far as I’m concerned,” he said flatly.
“Really? Because the conversation I overheard made it sound like you were anxious to get your hands on it.”
A chill like the creeping fingers of frost emanated off him to invade and stall her heart.
“What you heard was the lifetime of ravenous insecurity Niko instilled in my mother with his cruel dangling of that money only to snatch it away. His fortune has caused so much pain and strife for me and people I care about, I refuse to poison my son with a cent of it.”
She really had underestimated his hatred of his father. It made going to him nine months ago seem almost an act of maliciousness, embroiling him further in Niko’s affairs rather than allowing him the clean break he obviously preferred.
Recognizing that left her shaking at her core, but she had to make the situation clear. “It’s not your choice whether Locke gets it. Niko’s assets will be managed under a trust until Locke and Aurelia are old enough to decide what they want to do with their portion. There’s an allowance for me to support him—”
“I will support you and Locke.”
Scarlett licked her chapped lips.
“We can discuss that if it’s important to you, but I don’t expect you to support us. I might not have told you about my pregnancy, but I never intended to keep you from your son or use him to get anything from you. I have the means to give him an excellent life. Along with my allowance, I draw a salary for managing the trust. Plus, Kiara and I have the use of the villa. There’s a stipulation to maintain its staff and upkeep. Any material support you offer is strictly at your discretion.”
“I won’t live on the island and neither will he,” Javiero pronounced with every ounce of the implacable, single-minded stubbornness she’d witnessed in him over the years. “Your allowance can stay in the bank. You’re coming to Madrid and I’ll provide everything. You won’t need to work, either. We’re getting married as soon as it can be arranged.”
* * *
A nurse heard their voices and came in to check on them. Gently she encouraged Javiero to return to his hotel, insisting Scarlett needed her rest.
Scarlett tried to sleep, but Javiero’s pronouncement pressed on her, making it hard to breathe. She couldn’t marry him. It wasn’t just about fighting for her right to control Niko’s fortune—which she would do—or how thoroughly marriage would impact the freedom she had finally
