Billionaire Baby Dilemma by Barbara Dunlop Read Free Book Online Page A

Lucas?” she asked.
    â€œLucas lets you see him coming.”
    Devin gave a nod to that. Lucas had certainly been up front about the fact that he wanted to take Amelia away from her. He’d also been pretty clear that his interest in the baby was financial.
    Devin found her hold tightening on Amelia.
    â€œListen up,” said Byron, shifting in the lounger so he faced Devin more directly.
    â€œNo, you listen up, ” Lexi interrupted. “You are not going to convince Devin to give up her lawyers.”
    â€œI had no intention—”
    â€œOf course you did. That’s what this whole pretty, ‘don’t trust the evil Steve’ speech was leading up to. And it’s not going to work.”
    â€œI’m simply suggesting she might want to be careful.”
    Lexi crossed her arms over her chest. With a glance at Amelia’s sleeping form, she lowered her voice. “We are being careful.” She paused. “We don’t trust anyone…including you.”
    Devin agreed with Lexi on that point. There wasn’t a single member of the Demarco family she could afford to trust. She was on her own in this. Well, except for Lexi.
    Byron heaved a large sigh. “I guess there’s nothing left for me to say.”
    â€œNo,” Lexi agreed. “There’s not.”
    Byron glanced back to Devin. “I’m on your side.”
    She coughed out a laugh of disbelief. “You’re on Lucas’s side.”
    â€œLucas is an honorable man.”
    â€œAn honorable man wouldn’t try to rip an innocent baby from the arms of her loving aunt.”
    Byron’s gaze moved briefly to the sleeping Amelia and then back to Devin. “You’re here, aren’t you?”
    â€œIt was his Hail Mary play in court,” she responded. “He only made the offer because he knew the judge was about to rule for me.”
    Byron came to his feet. He gave his head a small shake, making a clicking sound in his cheek that transmitted his disagreement with her statement. “You can’t trust Steve,” he said simply.
    â€œFunny,” Lexi responded. “That’s exactly what Steve says about the rest of you.”
    Â 
    â€œYou cannot leave Amelia with these people,” Lexi stage-whispered after Byron had disappeared into the house.
    â€œNo kidding,” Devin responded.
    She poured herself a glass of iced tea from a pitcher that someone had placed on the table. Devin felt a twinge of guilt for letting herself be waited on by the Demarco staff. But she was thirsty, and she didn’t want to disturb Amelia.
    Lexi followed suit. “Why can’t rich people be nice?” she asked as the ice cubes clinked against her glass. “If I was rich, I’d still be nice.”
    â€œThat should be my new book proposal,” Devin mused, getting another twinge of guilt when she talked about writing. She was behind on her manuscript, and her deadline was looming. “ Nice and Rich, ” she said, trying a title on for size. “The Art of Doing Them Both Together.” It actually wasn’t half-bad.
    Lexi lifted her glass in a mock toast. “The rich truly do need your help.”
    Devin grimaced. “Unfortunately, I don’t know the first thing about being rich.”
    â€œTake a look at all this,” said Lexi, gesturing in a circle. “What better place to do your research?”
    Devin rolled the idea around in her head.
    She glanced from the pool to the tennis courts, the private dock and boathouse, and the humongous mansion that required a map to navigate. It didn’t get much richer than this. And the Demarcos were certainly prime examples of nasty.
    Her editor would probably be a lot more forgiving of a late manuscript if she had another book idea in the hopper.
    â€œHere he comes again,” Lexi intoned.
    â€œByron?” Devin resisted the urge to twist her head to see the staircase behind