His Brand of Passion by Kate Hewitt Read Free Book Online

as the father. You don’t have to be on the birth certificate. You’re free, Aaron.’ She flung her arms wide, the gesture mocking. ‘Breathe a sigh of relief, because you don’t have to have a single thing to do with this baby. I’d rather you didn’t. But I’m keeping it.’
    Aaron turned to gaze at her once more, his face utterly without expression. ‘Twenty thousand dollars,’ he said in a low voice.
    Zoe’s lips parted but no sound came out. ‘Twenty thousand dollars,’ she repeated tonelessly.
    ‘Fifty thousand,’ Aaron answered. ‘More money than you’ve ever had in your life, I’m sure.’
    ‘To have an abortion?’ she clarified. He blinked, set his jaw even as his gaze flicked away once more. Even he wasn’t willing to put it into such stark words. She stared at him for a long moment, wondering if he actually thought she might consider his offer for so much as a single second. ‘You’re serious,’ she said, and with obvious effort he glanced at her again.
    ‘I’m just trying to be reasonable.’
    ‘You call this reasonable?’
    Aaron’s jaw tightened and for a second, no more, he looked almost panicked. ‘I—I can’t be a father.’
    She let out a harsh, ragged laugh. ‘Guess what? I’m not asking you to.’
    ‘Zoe, think about it.’
    She shook her head, nausea roiling inside her. It would serve him right if she were sick all over his precious car. ‘Go to hell,’ she finally said, her voice raw and, with the limo stopped at a traffic light, she got out.
    Zoe walked down Christopher Street with her legs shaking. She felt physically ill, worse than any morning sickness she’d experienced so far. She thought of Aaron’s unyielding expression as he’d offered her more money than she’d ever had before to get rid of their child.
    Helplessly she turned aside and retched onto the sidewalk pavement. People hurried by, oblivious. Zoe didn’t think she’d ever felt more wretched and alone. She’d dated plenty of commitment-phobic jerks in her time, but never someone as deliberately cold and cruel as Aaron Bryant. And he was her baby’s father.
    She straightened, took a deep breath and wiped her eyes. ‘I hope, kid,’ she muttered, ‘that you favour my side of the family.’
    By the time she returned to the café she thought she’d got herself more or less under control, although she obviously didn’t fool Violet. The other woman raised her eyebrows as Zoe came in, handing a coffee to a customer.
    ‘So that didn’t go well,’ she said as Zoe came behind the counter and reached for her apron. She just shrugged in response.
    ‘Let me guess,’ Violet said after they’d dealt with the latest trickle of customers and the café was mostly empty. ‘That was the father.’ Zoe nodded. Violet waited a few seconds. ‘And?’
    Another shrug. ‘He’s not thrilled.’
    ‘We’re talking serious understatement here, right?’
    ‘Maybe.’ Zoe took a breath and tried to banish the sightof Aaron’s cold, autocratic expression as he’d offered her fifty thousand dollars. ‘To be fair, it had to have been a huge shock.’
    ‘To you, too.’
    ‘Yes, but even so—’ She stopped and shook her head. Why on earth was she defending Aaron to Violet, or to anyone? Why did she insist on believing the best about guys who didn’t deserve it? And Aaron Bryant most definitely didn’t deserve it. He was a cold-hearted bastard and she wouldn’t give him one iota of her compassion or understanding.
    And yet he was her baby’s father. They were linked, fundamentally and forever, no matter what his actions. That counted for something, whether she wanted it to or not. She let out a long, slow breath and turned to Violet. ‘Anyway, it doesn’t matter. He’s not going to be involved.’
    Violet frowned. ‘You’re going to raise this kid on your own?’
    Zoe heard the scepticism in her friend’s voice and bit her lip. She thought of Aaron’s scathing indictment:
your life is hardly set up