“I knew that we had started up something. It was a sexual obsession that could keep us from what we really wanted. I knew if I told that lie you wouldn’t forgive me. You could cast me out of your life and both of us could move on.”
Stergios pushed away from the bed. It sickened him that Jodie, of all people, knew how he would react. She had used her intimate knowledge of him against him. “All this time I wondered why you singled me out and told me.”
“Listen to me, Stergios,” she pleaded.
“I don’t want to hear any more lies,” he said as he turned away.
“Are you and Aleka engaged?”
He froze and his back went straight. No one knew about those plans. What did Jodie know and how was she going to use it against him? “How do you know about that?”
She dismissed his question with the wave of her hand. “My father mentioned that when he visited me in October. Yes or no, Stergios. Are you engaged?”
“Oxi. No.” They were finalizing the deal and he would formally ask Aleka in the New Year. He dipped his head. Those plans were ruined. His family would not strengthen their power base because he had to marry the mother of his child. “This does not explain why you lied. Why you were hiding my child from me!”
She took a deep breath. “I thought I was doing you a favor.”
“A favor?” The rage pressed against his skin, ready to burst free. “Denying me my child is a favor?”
“We’re a burden to you.” Her voice cracked as if it hurt to say the words out loud. “You are marrying someone else so you can get everything you want in life.”
“Not anymore.” Having a baby changed everything. “This child is mine and I want him to know his father.”
Only Stergios didn’t know the first thing about being a father. His pulse raced at the idea that there was a baby relying on him. He had always known that once he had children, he would be nothing like his father. Now the time had come and he was scared that he would be just like Elias Pagonis. They shared the same blood and the same mannerisms. Hell, he even looked like his father.
His stomach churned. “I’m going to be part of this child’s life,” he said in a low, harsh tone. “I’m giving him the protection of my name and I’m going to guide him through every milestone. Do not assume that I have no interest in becoming a father.”
“I know I am the last woman you’d want to carry your child,” she retorted.
He clenched his jaw. “That’s not true.”
“I remember what you said on the island.”
He rubbed his hands over his face, regretting those words of anger. I’m grateful that my child wouldn’t have you for a mother. A whore, a liar and an outcast. At the time he had meant them. He had said those words to wound, to make Jodie suffer with him.
“You are the mother of my child and how I feel about you is irrelevant,” he said coldly as he pushed back the memory of the lancing pain her lies had caused. “All that matters is that we get married.”
Her mouth twisted with defiance. “No.”
Stergios began to pace around the suite. She would come around. Once she realized all he had to offer to her and the child, she would grab at the engagement ring. He would be the one who had much to lose. The marriage to Jodie would cause a scandal. She was his stepsister and a woman who had encouraged a questionable reputation.
The Diamantopoulos family would be furious and humiliated no matter how much diplomacy and tact he used. They had been important friends of the family and would have been good allies. Now they would become powerful enemies.
“You’re not listening to me.” Jodie’s voice filtered into his troubled thoughts.
And he would have a war on his hands with his board of directors. When news of his hasty wedding and unsuitable bride came out, it would reflect poorly on him and the Antoniou Group.
“Stergios!” Her frustrated tone rang in the suite. “We don’t need to get married.”
He gradually turned around and glared at Jodie. She should be grateful that he was accepting his responsibility. “We do and we will.”
“Let me rephrase it.” She flattened her hands against her chest. “I don’t need to get married. I have my money, a place of my own and the ability to give this child every opportunity.”
“This is the heir to the Antoniou fortune,” he declared as he thrust his hands in the air. “We have to get married.”
“No one needs to know, especially if I live in America and—”
He jerked his head back. “You are going to deny me access to my child.”
She blinked hard. “No, we can come to an agreement before the baby is born.”