walk.”
The phrase “too stupid to live” flashed through her mind. Had she just become one
of those women who’d walked willingly to their doom?
She quickly scanned the restaurant. A few straggling diners occupied tables, and there
were plenty of front-of-house staff still milling about. She’d be safe, she decided,
getting to her feet. The gardens couldn’t be that extensive. Besides, she had a foghorn
of a scream. And although she intended to put this man fully in his place, she’d never
had the stomach for humiliating someone in front of an audience.
She picked up her pace while threading a route to the French doors opening into the
gardens. Antila, with his hand at the small of her back, might think it a common courtesy
to guide her, but frankly, her skin screamed at his touch, and she’d never allowed
any man to steer her. Not even Nick.
“Two things bother me, Antila,” she said pulling to a halt in the middle of the manicured
lawn, well away from all shrubbery. “How do you know men are following me? And how
can you possibly know enough about my ex-husband to guess he is responsible?”
“Because I make it my business to know everything, especially where you are concerned.”
His compliments, accent, and inflection were beginning to grate on her nerves. Niva
Antila was too smooth for words, suave, keenly intelligent but a little too…well,
slippery.
“I’d be flattered, if that didn’t completely creep me out. What exactly is your business?
And please don’t give me any more crap about being a venture capitalist.”
Though his eyes were hidden behind dark glasses, Antila suddenly looked decidedly
pleased with himself. “I chose well. Your reputation for being both smart and indomitable
is more than accurate. Even beyond your looks, you please me greatly.”
She frowned. “Glad I could oblige, but forget creeped out; now I feel sick. May I
suggest you ‘choose’ again, this time someone else? I’ve sworn off relationships.”
Antila’s lips thinned into a tight, smug smile, reminding her of a lizard that had
just caught and swallowed an insect. “Good, I don’t need the added complication, though
never doubt that I would deal with it.”
Unease snaked her spine; goose bumps pebbled her skin. Neither stopped her raising
her chin. “Now you sound positively unpleasant. Shall we return to the restaurant,
Antila? I don’t respond well to threats.”
“No, you take them in your stride, which is not only foolish but most frustrating.
How many warnings do you need, Anna, before you will accept you are in grave danger?”
Her stomach gave a warning heave. She almost gagged. But she refused to retreat. “What’s
your interest?”
The Finn pushed his sunglasses down his nose and stared at her across the top of them,
the flat absence of any life in his eyes numbing her soul. “My son and heir, whom
you currently carry in your womb.”
Chapter Five
“No…No…No.” Anna covered her ears. She wanted no part of this man inside her, not
even his words. “The sperm donation is supposed to be anonymous…”
She felt like she was teetering helplessly on the edge of a vast body of dark water,
its depths unfathomable. Hungry to drag her down. Down and farther down. Water. Drowning.
She’d been phobic since a child, when she’d been held beneath the surface of a pond
by a foster father looking to teach her a lesson in obedience.
Dots danced before her eyes. Instinctively, she reached for something solid. Bloody
Antila was closest.
“You need to sit; there is a place over there.”
With her legs threatening to fold and her world spinning drunk, she had no choice
but to let the man she’d never wanted to know, let alone conceive a child with, lead
her toward an ornate, wrought iron bench positioned parallel to a gravel path thirty
yards away. “I’m not a fan of weakness,” the man chided, “but given your
The phrase “too stupid to live” flashed through her mind. Had she just become one
of those women who’d walked willingly to their doom?
She quickly scanned the restaurant. A few straggling diners occupied tables, and there
were plenty of front-of-house staff still milling about. She’d be safe, she decided,
getting to her feet. The gardens couldn’t be that extensive. Besides, she had a foghorn
of a scream. And although she intended to put this man fully in his place, she’d never
had the stomach for humiliating someone in front of an audience.
She picked up her pace while threading a route to the French doors opening into the
gardens. Antila, with his hand at the small of her back, might think it a common courtesy
to guide her, but frankly, her skin screamed at his touch, and she’d never allowed
any man to steer her. Not even Nick.
“Two things bother me, Antila,” she said pulling to a halt in the middle of the manicured
lawn, well away from all shrubbery. “How do you know men are following me? And how
can you possibly know enough about my ex-husband to guess he is responsible?”
“Because I make it my business to know everything, especially where you are concerned.”
His compliments, accent, and inflection were beginning to grate on her nerves. Niva
Antila was too smooth for words, suave, keenly intelligent but a little too…well,
slippery.
“I’d be flattered, if that didn’t completely creep me out. What exactly is your business?
And please don’t give me any more crap about being a venture capitalist.”
Though his eyes were hidden behind dark glasses, Antila suddenly looked decidedly
pleased with himself. “I chose well. Your reputation for being both smart and indomitable
is more than accurate. Even beyond your looks, you please me greatly.”
She frowned. “Glad I could oblige, but forget creeped out; now I feel sick. May I
suggest you ‘choose’ again, this time someone else? I’ve sworn off relationships.”
Antila’s lips thinned into a tight, smug smile, reminding her of a lizard that had
just caught and swallowed an insect. “Good, I don’t need the added complication, though
never doubt that I would deal with it.”
Unease snaked her spine; goose bumps pebbled her skin. Neither stopped her raising
her chin. “Now you sound positively unpleasant. Shall we return to the restaurant,
Antila? I don’t respond well to threats.”
“No, you take them in your stride, which is not only foolish but most frustrating.
How many warnings do you need, Anna, before you will accept you are in grave danger?”
Her stomach gave a warning heave. She almost gagged. But she refused to retreat. “What’s
your interest?”
The Finn pushed his sunglasses down his nose and stared at her across the top of them,
the flat absence of any life in his eyes numbing her soul. “My son and heir, whom
you currently carry in your womb.”
Chapter Five
“No…No…No.” Anna covered her ears. She wanted no part of this man inside her, not
even his words. “The sperm donation is supposed to be anonymous…”
She felt like she was teetering helplessly on the edge of a vast body of dark water,
its depths unfathomable. Hungry to drag her down. Down and farther down. Water. Drowning.
She’d been phobic since a child, when she’d been held beneath the surface of a pond
by a foster father looking to teach her a lesson in obedience.
Dots danced before her eyes. Instinctively, she reached for something solid. Bloody
Antila was closest.
“You need to sit; there is a place over there.”
With her legs threatening to fold and her world spinning drunk, she had no choice
but to let the man she’d never wanted to know, let alone conceive a child with, lead
her toward an ornate, wrought iron bench positioned parallel to a gravel path thirty
yards away. “I’m not a fan of weakness,” the man chided, “but given your
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