She didn’t feel like engaging in a nice conversation just to pass the time. Although she and Dominic had spent many hours together poring over his financial portfolio, their meeting tonight would be altogether different. She was now a woman with a plan. And it was a plan that she hoped he would go along with.
“I should have asked before commissioning the cook to come up with something special for dinner tonight if you’re allergic to anything.”
She glanced up at him. “No, there’s nothing I can think of that doesn’t agree with my system.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
She met his eyes. They were staring deep into hers.
“And don’t be surprised if we see my parents at some point tonight.”
She arched a brow. “Your parents?”
“Yes. They’re here at the hotel. They flew in from California and are on their way out of the country.”
She nodded. “I’ve seen pictures of them together in various magazines. They make a nice couple,” she said, meaning every word. Marcello Saxon was an extremely handsome man with his classic French looks. And Dominic’s mom was a beauty, who didn’t look a day past forty. In a rare photo that Dominic and his parents had taken together that had appeared in People magazine earlier this year, Megan Saxon looked young enough to have passed for his sister.
“Thanks, and I agree. They do make a nice couple. I am fortunate to have them as parents.”
The elevator came to a stop and the doors swooshed open. Dominic stood back for her to walk out ahead of him and then he was there again, by her side, leading the way down an elegantly carpeted hall toward a set of double doors at the end.
They came to a stop at the doors. “The kitchen staff was arriving when I was leaving so everything should be set up now,” he was saying. “We can discuss things over dinner and, if need be, converse further afterward.”
As she stared into his green eyes she suddenly felt a heated rush, a swamp of sensations of the strongest kind. It was nothing more than a business meeting over dinner, yet she had to get Dominic to see how useful they could be to each other, how together they could bring something or rather someone special into each of their lives.
As he opened the door to his penthouse she knew she was about to have her one shot at it and she didn’t intend to blow it.
* * *
“So, Taylor, when did you come up with the idea of wanting me to father your child?”
Dominic watched as she took a deep breath before raising her eyes from her plate to look at him. He had caught her off guard. She hadn’t been expecting his question, especially not now. They were in the midst of enjoying a delicious and impressive entrée the hotel’s restaurant had prepared and had been discussing a recent documentary that had aired on television that focused on the plight of finback whales. He had discovered a while back that they were both lovers of sea life.
She put her fork down beside her plate. “I made the decision once I knew I wanted to move ahead with my plans to become a mother.”
He lifted his hand in the briefest gesture before asking, “And? What were your other options?”
“I had several,” she said, leaning back in her chair. Anyone observing would assume she was rather comfortable with their conversation, but he had a feeling she really wasn’t.
“I could have contacted a sperm bank where the identity of my child’s father would never be known by me or by him or her. Or I could have engaged in a one-night stand for the sole purpose of getting pregnant. Neither appealed to me.”
“But I did.”
“Yes, you did,” she answered in what he thought was a polite tone. “You had all the characteristics I looked for in a man and those I want to pass on to my son or daughter, as well.”
He didn’t say anything for a moment and then, “And you were sure I wanted a child?”
“Yes, after the night of the Christmas party, I was sure. Although there was the question of whether you would be interested in doing what I was proposing. For all I know you might already have a woman selected as the mother of your child.”
He took a sip of his wine, thinking that he didn’t. In fact he had pretty much dropped the thought from his mind. He figured that there were a number of women who would love the opportunity to mother his child—most of them were gold diggers and would use the child to keep a tight rein on him and his finances.
“If I decide to go along with what you’re proposing I know what I’ll be bringing to the table, Taylor. What will you bring?”
Again his question had caught her off guard. He knew what she would bring to the bedroom—that was a given. Sitting across from her, inhaling her scent while visions of all the things they would be doing together on that island ran through his mind was playing havoc with certain body parts. She was fully dressed now, but he could see her naked while he made love to her, day in and day out. She was temptation at its finest and the thought that he wouldn’t have to resist temptation for an entire week had his body throbbing.
“I’ll bring to the table the assurance that your child will be loved and well cared for. I consider myself intelligent, motivated and financially secure.”
“What about custody?” he asked.
She frowned slightly. “I’m open to joint custody.”
“So you won’t have a problem with me being a part of my child’s life?”
She shook her head. “No. I’m not one of those women who believes a child doesn’t need a male presence in its life. I have four male cousins who I’m close to, but still, I’d want my child’s father to be a part of its life if possible.”
Dominic absorbed her words while his gaze settled impassively on his wineglass. He then lifted his gaze to her. “And just what will our relationship be? After our visit to that island?”
“If I get pregnant…” She paused then corrected the sentence by saying, “After I get pregnant, then our relationship will become that of expectant parents and not lovers. The job at that point would have been done. Of course, I’m hoping that I will continue to be your wealth and asset manager.”
He thought she didn’t have to worry about that unless the island rendezvous turned into an absolute fiasco. He was one who normally didn’t mix business with pleasure, yet if he agreed to her proposal he would be doing just that. But she was right. He had on several occasions entertained the thought of having a child without having to deal with a wife. Since his wife’s death he’d dated but hadn’t yet met a woman he wanted to share his name again.
He and Camry had been childhood sweethearts, their parents the best of friends. It had seemed natural for them to eventually marry. In a way they had been best friends instead of two people who were deeply in love with each other. They’d shared a close relationship. He could talk to Camry about anything and she had understood him better than anyone. She had been his confidante as well as his wife. He doubted he would find such closeness with another woman. And to be honest, he wasn’t interested in doing so ever again.
“You seem certain that you will get pregnant,” he said, inwardly smiling to himself and thinking he was just as certain she would get pregnant. He wanted her and as far as he was concerned that said it all. Heat had been running through every part of his body since she had arrived. It wasn’t easy now sharing table space with her.
“I don’t have any reason to think that I won’t, given the planned agenda,” she said. “I’ve been under a doctor’s supervision for the past three months. I’ve been tracking my basal body temperature, which will help me to pinpoint the best time to conceive and that’s the week I want us on that island.”
“In