Her shocking Tokyo revelation:

She’s carrying his heir!

When innocent Hana Everly tumbled into the arms of her billionaire boss, Antonio Delacruz, she knew it would be for just one night. Then she discovers she’s pregnant! Hana knows the life this playboy leads. And it doesn’t include room for anyone else...

Abandoned as a baby, Antonio decided early in life he’d never become a father. So Hana’s bombshell, delivered among the cherry blossoms of Tokyo, seems impossible. But the undeniable proof awakens in Antonio a ruthless need to secure what’s his...

USA TODAY bestselling author JENNIE LUCAS’s parents owned a bookstore, so she grew up surrounded by books, dreaming about faraway lands. A fourth-generation Westerner, she went east at sixteen to boarding school on a scholarship, wandered the world, got married, then finally worked her way through college before happily returning to her hometown. A 2010 RITA® Award finalist and 2005 Golden Heart® Award winner, she lives in Idaho with her husband and children.

Also by Jennie Lucas

The Sheikh’s Last Seduction

Uncovering Her Nine-Month Secret

Nine Months to Redeem Him

A Ring for Vincenzo’s Heir

Baby of His Revenge

The Consequence of His Vengeance

Carrying the Spaniard’s Child

Claiming His Nine-Month Consequence

Chosen as the Sheikh’s Royal Bride

Christmas Baby for the Greek

Secret Heirs and Scandalous Brides miniseries

The Secret the Italian Claims

The Heir the Prince Secures

The Baby the Billionaire Demands

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk.

Her Boss’s One-Night Baby

Jennie Lucas

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-09803-8

HER BOSS’S ONE-NIGHT BABY

© 2020 Jennie Lucas

Published in Great Britain 2020

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

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www.millsandboon.co.uk

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Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Note to Readers

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Extract

About the Publisher

CHAPTER ONE

SOFT PINK CLOUDS glowed between modern skyscrapers as the sun rose over Tokyo. It was early April, and white-and-pink cherry blossoms covered the trees like wedding confetti, as joyful and sweet as a first kiss.

But Hana Everly barely noticed. She stared out the window of the Rolls-Royce, her heart pounding, her skin in a cold sweat.

“And find a new housekeeper for my penthouse in New York, to replace Mrs. Stone...”

Her boss’s low growl came beside her in the back seat as he tersely listed other tasks he needed her to handle immediately—if not sooner. Hana’s pen moved listlessly, but his words barely registered. She took a shuddering breath.

She couldn’t be pregnant.

Couldn’t be.

They’d been careful. And her boss had been clear about the rules. Even as his hot, sensual lips had kissed her, his voice had murmured against her skin, “One night, nothing more. There will be no romance, no marriage. No consequences. Tomorrow you will be my assistant again, I your employer. Do you agree?”

Such a deal with the devil, and yet she’d whispered, “Yes.”

Hana would have agreed to anything then, when he’d had her spread across his bed, experiencing such intoxicating sensuality for the first time. But even that hadn’t been enough. He’d pulled back to look at her, his black eyes cold, even cruel.

“You will leave my bed before dawn, Hana, and neither of us will ever speak of this again. Even to each other.”

Lost in a haze of pleasure, she’d nodded, and with a heavy-lidded smile, Antonio had lowered his head to plunder her lips with a sizzling kiss.

She’d thought she knew what she was doing. At the age of twenty-six, she’d told herself she could handle sex without commitment. Because Antonio Delacruz could never be her boyfriend. He was her boss, the ruthless billionaire CEO and largest shareholder of the world’s fastest-growing airline. There was a reason that CrossWorld Airways was crushing its competitors. Antonio stopped at nothing to get what he wanted.

But he hadn’t been the one to cross this line.

She’d been the one who’d kissed him first. She still couldn’t believe she’d done it. But when he’d found her crying, late one night in his palacio in Madrid, he’d taken her into his arms to comfort her.

And at that, two years of repressed, pent-up desire had exploded inside Hana. Shocking even herself, she’d lifted on her tiptoes and kissed him through her tears. It had been the barest whisper of a kiss. Terrified at her own boldness, she’d started to pull away.

Then he’d stopped her, pulling her back swiftly into his arms...

For the last two months, Hana had tried not to remember that night in Madrid. She’d tried to be modern about it. She’d tried to forget, as Antonio obviously had.

But now it seemed her body would not let her. The single night of hot, raw, shocking pleasure between Hana and her handsome, arrogant, rich-beyond-imagination boss would be one she’d live with forever. Because she was going to have his baby.

As the sedan drove north through Tokyo in the cool morning, Hana put her clammy hand to her cheek, feeling dizzy with morning sickness and fear. Her baby would grow up with no father or worse—a bad father. Because Antonio Delacruz hadn’t become rich by caring about other people. He’d won by being ruthless. He had no family and, in the two years she’d worked for him, his longest love affair had lasted six weeks. Not that she’d been paying attention.

A lump rose in her throat. This wasn’t how she’d imagined having a baby. Her plan had been to get married, settle down and then get pregnant.

This was wrong, all wrong. She didn’t even have a home. She couldn’t raise a child like her parents had raised her, always on the move, never staying long enough to build roots, yanking Hana out of each place the moment she started to make real friends.

The lump in her throat turned to a razor blade. She never should have slept with Antonio, no matter how incredible it had felt in the moment. She should have waited for a real relationship, a committed one. She should never, ever have sought comfort in Antonio’s arms, placing her whole future, and her unborn baby’s future, in his careless hands—

“Hana?” her boss demanded acidly beside her in the back seat of the Rolls-Royce. “Hello?”

“Yes,” she said. Numbly, she looked down at her notes. “You want the SWOT analysis for the expansion into Australia, the numbers from the Berlin office, hire a new housekeeper for New York and arrange the after-party in London.”

He stared at her for a long moment with his deep black eyes, and she felt a shiver of fear. But not even Antonio Delacruz, the fearsome billionaire with the mysterious past who’d built a worldwide empire from nothing, had the ability to read minds.

At least she prayed he didn’t. Otherwise, she was in big trouble.

“Good,” he said grudgingly. He looked back at his laptop screen. “And contact the lead architect on the new first-class lounge design for Heathrow...”

As the chauffeur drove them north toward the Marunouchi district, she fought her despair as she looked out at the glittering skyscrapers. She had visited Tokyo many times since she was a child. She loved this city, the place where her grandmother had been born before she’d emigrated to America. Her best friend Ren lived here, and the sakura season, or cherry-blooming season, was the most beautiful of the year.

But for once, the sight of Tokyo Tower, which looked like a bright red Eiffel Tower overlooking the city, did not make her heart rise. Even the lushly blooming trees did not cheer her. She was lost in her own panic.

There will be no romance, no marriage. No consequences. Neither of us will ever speak of this again. Even to each other. Do you agree?

Yes.

She’d never imagined their one night together could lead to a child. What should she do? Should she tell him? Could she?

Hana had only found out about the pregnancy a few hours ago, when she’d taken the test on their private jet from Madrid. But already, this child felt real. She placed her hand wondrously over the curve of her belly. A baby.

“What’s wrong, Hana?” Antonio demanded beside her. “Why are you so distracted?”

Looking up with an intake of breath at the handsome Spaniard sitting beside her, she choked out, “Antonio, there’s something I need to tell you.”

The local driver and Ramon Garcia, the bodyguard who usually traveled with him, glanced at each other in the front seat. None of Mr. Delacruz’s employees would dream of calling him by his first name. Aside from their night in bed, Hana had never taken such a liberty before. At least not out loud.

He looked at her coldly. “Yes, Miss Everly?”

His husky, slightly accented voice put her firmly in her place, reminding her—if she needed reminding—that she was his employee, nothing more.

Hana’s soul quailed. They were nearly to the Marunouchi district, where a critical business negotiation waited. She and Antonio, along with the rest of the Tokyo-based team, had been prepping for this for months. Antonio was obsessed with negotiating a codeshare with Iyokan Airways, an important regional airline that would gain them routes to Tokyo, Osaka and beyond.

Maybe she should put off telling him about the baby for now.

Maybe she should put it off forever.

She pushed the traitorous thought aside. Even if Antonio rejected her and the baby outright, didn’t he have the right to know? Didn’t her baby at least deserve the chance to have a father?

“I need to tell you something,” she whispered. She glanced uneasily toward the two men sitting in the front seat, who were pretending not to listen. “About...that night.”

Antonio looked at her, his dark eyes like ice. “Which night is that?”

Did he truly not remember? His handsome face was so arrogant and cold, she almost wondered if the night he’d taken her virginity had been a dream. But the pregnancy test had left no doubt.

Hana lifted her chin and said clearly, “Our night together in Madrid. Two months ago.”

The eyes of the men in the front seat went wide. Antonio calmly pressed the button to close the privacy screen between the front and back of the luxury sedan. Once it was closed, he turned on her fiercely.

“You promised never to talk about it.”

“I know, but—”

“There’s no but. You gave me your word.”

“I have good reason—”

“I can imagine.” His jaw clenched as he turned away. “You will put that night from your mind, Miss Everly. It never happened.”

As the Rolls-Royce Phantom turned up the sweeping curve in front of a gleaming skyscraper overlooking the wide green-and-pink vistas of the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace, her voice was a squeak. “But—”

The car stopped, and a waiting doorman reached to open his door.

“It never happened,” Antonio repeated, and without bothering to look at her, he swept out, all masculine power and hard muscular angles in his dark suit and sharply tailored black cashmere coat.

Pulling her handbag over her shoulder, Hana climbed out behind him numbly. Her heart was pounding. She held her notebook and briefcase tightly against her chest, as if they could protect her.

“Welcome, Mr. Delacruz,” Emika Ito, the Tokyo team lead, greeted them in English with a respectful bow of her head. She was pretty, black-haired and chic. She smiled at Hana, who tried to smile back. “All is ready, sir.”

Standing on the sidewalk, Hana glanced at the building. Inside the glass and steel lobby, she saw the rest of the lead team already assembled, waiting for their arrival so they could go to their new office on the top three floors.

“Yes, of course,” Antonio said. “Thank you, Miss Ito. Give me a moment.” With a nod, the girl returned to the lobby, leaving Hana and Antonio alone, with his bodyguard at a discreet distance. He looked down at her.

“So you agree?” he said tersely. It was intimate, having them so close together on the sidewalk in the cool spring morning. “It’s forgotten?”

Hana felt a breeze against her hot cheek, saw a single cherry blossom floating and twisting in a tumult on the wind, before disappearing into the traffic of Hibiya Dori.

She couldn’t tell him. She just couldn’t. She’d nod and quietly go into the building, and be the assistant he needed during this important meeting. Afterward, she would quit. She would disappear. She bowed her head.

“Good,” he said. She saw the glint in his eyes as he turned toward the door. She tried to follow. To be silent.

But her heart wouldn’t let her.

“I’m pregnant, Antonio,” she heard herself blurt out.

Pregnant?

Antonio Delacruz froze, sure he’d heard her wrong. Above them, the sky was overcast as from a distance he heard ominous thunder.

Slowly, he turned to her on the sidewalk. “What?”

“You heard me.”

His eyebrows lowered fiercely. “April Fool’s Day was yesterday.”

“It’s not a joke. I’m pregnant.”

Antonio told himself he felt nothing. He wouldn’t, couldn’t, feel the rush of emotion suddenly circling him like a predator, looking for any crack in his armor, so it could invade and destroy his heart.

She’d slept with another man.

He tapped the roof of the car harder than necessary, and the chauffeur drove away from the curb. Forcibly relaxing his shoulders, he said merely, “I thought you had more sense.”

Hana’s sweep of dark eyebrows lifted over her warm brown eyes in surprise. “What?”

He wondered who the baby’s father might be. She’d been a virgin when—he cut that thought off immediately. But she must have found a new lover right after.

The same week?

The same night?

For Hana, it would be easy. Any man would desire her. Unwillingly, Antonio’s gaze traced over her slender form. Hana Everly was the most beautiful woman he’d ever met, though he’d spent almost two years trying to pretend she wasn’t, trying to think of her as only his secretary and nothing more.

Her beauty was elusive and indefinable. All the attributes of her melting-pot American heritage combined into exquisite grace. He’d asked her once about her ancestry, and she’d shrugged. “I’m American. My family came from everywhere. England, Ireland, Brazil, Japan. Other places. And you, Mr. Delacruz?”

“Spain,” he’d said shortly. It was probably true, but he’d never know for sure.

Now, Hana looked at him, her brown eyes huge in her oval face, her lips pink and full, her dark hair pulled back into a long ponytail. Always the consummate professional, she wore an elegant, feminine white skirt suit that was simple and sleek as required for the executive assistant to a billionaire, without drawing undue attention.

And yet Hana always drew attention, whether she wished it or not. Even here on the Tokyo sidewalk, as men passed by, their eyes lingered on her. She looked untouchable as a star.

But Antonio had touched her. He was the only man who ever had.

At least so he’d believed—

“Is that all you have to say to me?” Hana said in a low, harsh voice, her lovely face caught between anger and pain. “You thought I had more sense?”

“I’m disappointed,” he said tightly.

“Disappointed,” she repeated.

He’d relied on her. Believed in her. Now she was pregnant by another man. She was going to quit her job to be with him and raise their child. That had to be the reason he felt this crushing sense of emotion, like he couldn’t breathe. Hana was the best damn secretary he’d ever had, and he was going to lose her.

How had she hidden her love affair from him? He and Hana had been working together day and night in Madrid and around the world, preparing to negotiate this deal. How had he not known she’d taken a lover?

Antonio had known Hana’s value as his assistant. So in spite of his attraction to her, he’d never crossed the line of professionalism, not once. Not until that night in Madrid, when he’d found her crying for reasons she wouldn’t explain. He’d been trying to comfort her—that was all, truly—when, like a miracle, she’d suddenly lifted up on her tiptoes and kissed him full on the lips.

That kiss...

Antonio pushed away the memory, closing down his feelings, burying them along with the other things he didn’t want to remember.

All right, fine. She was leaving. He wouldn’t be a jerk about it. Hana had been a good assistant. He’d try to be happy for her. After all, she’d made it all too clear she wanted the whole domestic fairy tale someday—husband, kids, house. Damn it, he’d send her off with a wedding check big enough to pay for the kid’s college tuition. She’d been worth it.

He’d pay her off. He’d move on. And above all, he’d make damn sure he never let himself ask...

“Who’s the father?” he heard himself say, as if his mouth was no longer controlled by his brain.

She drew back, her lovely face incredulous. “Are you kidding? You know who the father is!”

“Do I?” He frowned, searching his memory. “I’m amazed, actually. How did you manage to sneak away for an affair, in the midst of our working twenty-hour days? Does the man work for me? A gardener? A driver?”

Hana’s face blazed with sudden fire. “Stop it, Antonio. Just stop.”

He stared, astonished to see her so angry. Hana never showed anger. She was always patient, kind, understanding. She was the kindest person he knew. “Why are you upset?”

“Because it’s you, you idiot! You’re the father!”

Antonio’s body felt the impact of the words before his mind comprehended them. He felt them like a blow. “What?”

“Of course it’s you!”

Stumbling a step, he instinctively reached a hand out against the column of the building. He had to. His legs were shaking.

“Do you really think I would sleep with someone else, after we were together?” she demanded. “I can’t jump in and out of affairs so quickly. Even if you can!”

If only. If only he’d been able to forget her. If only she meant nothing to him now. As the first raindrops fell from the gray sky, one fell against his cheek. Antonio stared at her, feeling sick and betrayed.

“I’ve been feeling out of sorts for the last month. I thought my cycle was messed up by too much work and stress and not enough sleep but...” She hesitated. “I bought a pregnancy test in Madrid. I took it on the plane, right before we landed. I’m pregnant.”

When Antonio still didn’t respond, Hana’s forehead furrowed. Her expression became almost bewildered.

“Look,” she said finally, “I know you’ve never been interested in anything like marriage or children. This was a surprise for me, too. We used a condom. It shouldn’t have been possible. But I thought you at least had the right to—”

“Enough,” he ground out. “Not another word.”

“Was I wrong to tell you?” Her eyes were luminous with unshed tears that seemed utterly genuine. He despised them. And her. Most of all, he despised himself for ever letting his guard down. For thinking she was different. For believing he could trust her, as he’d trusted no one else on earth. For resisting his desire for her, day after day, so they could maintain that precious working relationship, the closest relationship of his life.

And all along, she’d been sleeping with another man. And now lying about it.

Assuming she was even pregnant at all. It was possible that, too, was a bald-faced lie.

But either way, she must have planned this all along, from the moment she’d started working for him. She’d set him up, hoping to take a nice juicy portion of his fortune. And Hana likely would have succeeded in her goal, except for a vital fact that she didn’t know.

He couldn’t have gotten her pregnant. It was physically impossible.

Antonio’s body shook as he reached out to take the briefcase and files from her hands. He said abruptly, “Your services are no longer required, Miss Everly.”

Her luscious pink lips fell open. “You’re—you’re firing me?”

“You’ll get severance pay as your contract dictates. But I want you gone.”

“But—but why?”

“You know why.”

“Because I’m pregnant with your baby?” she cried.

“Because you lied to me,” he said harshly. “You tried to trap me. Tried, and failed.” He narrowed his eyes. “Goodbye, Miss Everly.”

Turning on his heel, Antonio went into the building, followed by his glowering bodyguard. He went through the swiveling door into the lobby where his team waited to help negotiate the Iyokan Airways deal. He left her standing alone on the sidewalk, shivering in the cold Tokyo morning. And he didn’t look back.

CHAPTER TWO

SHOCKED, HANA WATCHED the father of her baby turn scornfully and leave her abandoned and alone on the Tokyo sidewalk.

Except Antonio hadn’t just left her.

He’d fired her.

He’d taken her innocence. He’d changed her life forever. And now, to add insult to injury, he’d kicked her out of a job she loved.

Shivering, she heard another low rumble of thunder, rolling above the city, making the glass and steel and neon tremble. She felt a cool breeze against her overheated skin, and looked up at the lowering gray sky as the drizzle turned to rain.

Obviously, Hana had known that Antonio wouldn’t react like the hero of a romantic movie, and kiss her joyfully at the news of her pregnancy. She’d known he didn’t want children, or the slightest commitment.

But she’d never imagined he could be such an utter bastard as this.

Trembling, she wiped her eyes as she felt the cold splatter of raindrops against her face. Why was she so surprised? As his assistant, she of all people had seen how heartless Antonio Delacruz could be, especially to his lovers. She’d seen him relentlessly pursue a woman until the thrill of the conquest started to wane. It never took long—a few weeks, or perhaps even just a single night, until he was bored, finished.

Hana had always been amazed at those foolish women who let themselves care for him, each of whom apparently believed, incredibly, that she’d be the one to finally tame the untamable playboy. Hana had pitied them. Could they not see how he turned on his interest and charm like a switch? One moment, he was a passionate lover, with all the intensity of relentless desire; the next, he was gone.

Although it wasn’t fair to say Antonio was just a plague to womankind. He treated everyone badly, men and women, though with men his ruthlessness was manifested by him taking their businesses if he wanted them—their businesses, and their girlfriends.

But Hana had thought she was special. For two years, she’d worked at his side, often twelve-hour days, seven days a week, and for the last few months, far more than that. She’d been inspired by him, challenged by him. His success was her success, and she’d given him every bit of her blood, sweat and tears to make CrossWorld Airways the global airline he wanted it to be.

She’d thought that they were partners of a sort, if not friends. But now she saw how truly unspecial she was.

You tried to trap me. Tried, and failed. Goodbye, Miss Everly.

The cold rain pattered the rhythm of his words against her, soaking through her dark hair and white suit. People stared at her as they passed by, all of them sensibly holding umbrellas to block the rain. She probably looked like a fool, standing there with her mouth still agape. She felt like one.

Antonio had made her one.

No, that wasn’t fair. Hana took a deep breath. She’d done this to herself.

Closing her eyes, she lifted her face up to the sky. But she’d never imagined in a million years that he’d fire her for being pregnant. However the world saw him, she’d thought, at his core, Antonio Delacruz was an honorable man. She’d thought, however badly he’d treated his other mistresses, he would never act that way toward her.

Hana’s eyes abruptly opened.

She, who’d always prided herself on being practical, clear-eyed and smart, had been the biggest fool of them all.

Traffic had increased on the busy street. Rain—only rain, not tears, definitely not tears—made her vision blurry as she looked down at her white suit, now plastered to her skin, gray as a dove in the wan light.

She’d devoted her life to him, been honest with him in spite of her fear, and this was how he repaid her?

He’d insulted her. He’d fired her. And worst of all: he’d coldly rejected his own child, now growing inside her.

A white-hot flame of anger burned through her. It grew inside Hana, grew and grew until it left room for nothing else in her heart.

She and the baby were on their own.

Hana lifted her chin. Fine. They didn’t need him. They’d be better off without him—soulless, heartless, backstabbing jerk!

Her hands tightened on the strap of her purse. Her satchel of clothes was unfortunately still in the back of the Rolls-Royce that had brought them from Haneda Airport. All she had in the small black purse over her shoulder was her passport, credit cards and a little bit of cash, a mix of yen, dollars and euros. But she was also in Tokyo, which meant she had something more.

Ren.

Her best friend, whom she saw just a few times a year. Just thinking of his kindly face made her want to get to him as quickly as possible.

Blinking back hot, furious tears, she waved down a taxi. As one started to pull to the curb, she saw the driver hesitate, looking at her in the rain, obviously fearing she’d flood his upholstery given half a chance. But then he sighed and pulled his taxi over.

“Sumimasen,” she said over the lump in her throat, trying very hard to keep the wettest parts of her clothing off the seat. Holding her bag tightly against her chest, she gave him the address in Harajuku then stared out at the passing streets. Ren Tanaka. It was by sheerest luck that she’d had her heart broken in the same city where her best friend lived.

She and Ren had been friends since childhood, when they’d been pen pals as Hana traveled the world with her adventurous teacher parents. He was the only friend she’d kept in touch with, moving as often as she did, first with her restless parents and then later, working for an airline tycoon. Hana was an only child, an orphan now that her parents and grandparents had died, but somehow, in their frequent online conversations, Ren had become her family.

Although...

Unease went through her as she remembered the last time she’d seen him, on a brief business trip to Tokyo a few months earlier. He’d acted very strangely. It wasn’t actually what he’d said, so much as the way he’d looked at her. It had made her nervous.

Was it possible that somehow, after all their years of friendship, Ren could have gotten some crazy idea that he was in love with her?

Absolutely not, Hana told herself. Why would Ren imagine himself in love with her, when he had so many girls interested in him, right here in Tokyo?

He was her dear friend, like always. And he’d help her figure out what to do now. Hana tried to imagine what he’d say when he heard about her unexpected pregnancy—and how her boss had abandoned and fired her. Ren already disliked Antonio intensely, though the two men had never actually met. Her boss didn’t even know of Ren’s existence. Why would he? Hana’s childhood friendship had been entirely through letters, and even now it was mostly online.

As the taxi turned toward the hip, colorful street in Harajuku where Ren managed his family’s boutique hotel, she took a deep breath. She was not going to cry over Antonio. No way, no how. He wasn’t worth it. He’d proven himself totally unworthy of either Hana or their baby.

So she’d move on. Think only of the future. She’d put Antonio Delacruz behind her and never, ever think of him again.

But still, she heard the echo of Antonio’s sensual voice spoken into the hot, dark Spanish night.

There will be no romance, no marriage. No consequences.

And in spite of her resolve to feel nothing, Hana gasped out a sob, hating him with fresh, hot tears.

Liar!

“Possible?” Antonio choked out, dumbfounded. “What do you mean, it’s possible?”

“Just what I said.” The doctor looked at him gravely over his thick glasses. “We did the test, as you requested. And the results are conclusive.”

It was good Antonio was already sitting down. He felt sick and dizzy at the news. The minimalist decor and medical equipment in the examining room of the private clinic swam in front of his eyes.

“I don’t understand,” he stammered. “As I told you, I had a vasectomy eighteen years ago, at a reputable hospital—”

“Yes. It seems your body has healed itself.”

Antonio stared at the doctor in shock.

All morning, he’d felt his insides churn, in spite of his best efforts not to think about the lies Hana had told him on the sidewalk: pretending to be pregnant with his baby, clearly in an attempt to extort money or a proposal of marriage. Going to the top floor of the skyscraper with his team, he’d pushed aside the feelings of betrayal and rage, and tried to focus on the details of the business negotiation.

But the meeting had been a disaster. He hadn’t been able to find the right papers in the portfolio, or track down the points he’d previously marked to discuss with his lawyers before they formally presented the offer to Iyokan Airways. Hana had always been in charge of solving his problems, finding papers, sorting out details, arranging whatever he needed.

Now he was alone.

Abandoned.

Betrayed.

During the meeting, his lawyers and his Tokyo lead team had looked at each other worriedly as they were forced to repeat certain clauses in the contract multiple times to their normally razor-sharp boss. Emotion—rage and anger and, worst of all, hurt—had built inside him, until finally, it had exploded. He’d scattered the pile of papers in fury across the large glass table in his conference room on the top floor of the skyscraper, with its view of Tokyo.

“Reschedule,” he’d growled, and stalked out, knowing they were probably wondering if he was drunk, or if he’d lost his mind—or his nerve. His business rivals would smell blood in the water. He himself had always enjoyed attacking the businesses of weaker opponents. He’d never experienced what it was like to be on the other side of it. Not since he was young, when he was helpless and alone—

He pushed the memory aside. This was Hana’s fault. His secretary had betrayed him at every level. Personally. Professionally.

He never should have slept with her. The success of his company was far more important than any sexual desire. CrossWorld Airways was the only thing that mattered. Once he expanded routes into Asia, he would build to Africa and South America. He would have the first truly global low-cost airline. His company was his family, his lover, his religion and meaning. His company was his soul.

So why had he done it? Why, when she’d kissed him, that night in Madrid, hadn’t he had the strength to push her away?

Yes, Hana was beautiful. But he’d ignored beautiful women before. It was something more. She’d been different. Pure fire. And when she’d kissed him, he could have no more pushed her away then he could have stopped breathing.

He’d wanted her then. He wanted her still.

But she’d been setting a trap for him, all along. Playing him for a fool, luring him in with her innocent beauty and apparent warm heart. All so she could seduce him and claim to be pregnant. He could hardly believe he’d been tricked so thoroughly.

But that was the problem.

The whole thing was hard to believe.

And the more Antonio had thought about it during the business meeting, the more distracted he’d become, obsessing over a single question.

How was it possible everything about Hana was a lie?

For two years, she’d worked at his side. She’d been hardworking, loyal, honest to a fault. How could anyone maintain an act like that so well, and for so long?

Antonio couldn’t understand it. And every time he’d tried to focus during the business meeting, he’d seen the eviscerated look in her eyes. You’re firing me? Because I’m pregnant with your baby?

And he’d felt his heart, his guts, every part of his body twist like a rag wrung dry.

Stalking angrily from the meeting, he’d grimly arranged to see the best fertility doctor in the city. Just to prove, once and for all, that Hana Everly was a liar. He hadn’t done anything wrong. He was the victim here.

And now this.

He’d come to the clinic for reassurance, not to discover his worst fears were actually true. He’d never expected he’d be told it was possible that he’d fathered Hana’s child!

“No,” Antonio told the doctor hoarsely. “I had a vasectomy!”

The other man stroked his white beard thoughtfully. “You had the procedure when you were very young. Sometimes the body heals itself, as I said. It’s rare, less than one percent of cases. But it happens.” He paused. “We can book an appointment to redo the procedure...”

“What’s the point of that now? It’s already too late!” With a low snarl, Antonio rose to his feet and stormed out of the clinic. All he could think about was the stricken look on Hana’s face when he’d left her standing alone on the sidewalk. The shock in her brown eyes.

If she was really pregnant with his child, and he’d treated her like that—

Antonio pushed the thought away ruthlessly. It wasn’t his fault. How could he have possibly known the vasectomy he’d had as a teenager would fail nearly two decades later? Of course he’d assumed Hana was lying. How could he think otherwise? People had always proved themselves worthy of his worst assumptions.

Everyone except Hana. But he’d been all too ready to believe the worst even of her. Because it scared him, how much he’d come to trust her.

As he stepped out of the medical clinic, Antonio saw the rain had lightened to a drizzle, with flashes of sunlight like silver breaking through the clouds.

You’re firing me? Because I’m pregnant with your baby?

He felt another twist in his gut.

“Mr. Delacruz, if I may speak freely...” His longtime bodyguard Ramon Garcia, who’d been waiting in the lobby, followed him toward the waiting car. “Señor, I think you’ve made a mistake about Miss Everly. She’s a good person. She didn’t deserve to be treated like that.”

Perfecto. This was just what he needed. One more person judging him. And now that Antonio knew he was indeed in the wrong, he really didn’t want to hear it. “It’s none of your business, Garcia.”

The man’s accusing eyes met his. “If you didn’t intend to step up, you never should have slept with her—”

“Enough,” he snapped, causing his bodyguard’s jaw to set. Wonderful, another trusted employee enraged with him. Antonio’s shoulders were tight as he climbed into the waiting Rolls-Royce. Garcia got into the front seat without a word.

“Where to, sir?” the driver asked him after a pause.

“Just drive,” Antonio ground out.

Looking out at the soft drizzle in the spring afternoon, his eyes fell on the pink cherry trees. Hana had been so excited that the negotiations would be in Tokyo at the same time the trees were likely to bloom. They bloom for such a short time, she’d said. It’s precious and beautiful. You have to enjoy it while you can. Before it’s gone.

Just like their night together, he thought.

For years, almost from the day he’d hired her, he’d resisted seducing her only by an act of pure will, because of her importance to his company.

Then she’d kissed him, and all his self-control had exploded to dust, burned away by fire. For the first time in his adult life, he’d given in to the demands of his body, the demands of his heart, over the cold decision of his reason.

Antonio had tried to tell himself that bedding her could somehow be a good thing for their working relationship. That it could end his desire for her. He’d even extracted a promise from Hana that they’d both forget the night ever happened—a promise he knew he himself could not fulfill.

Useless, all useless. From the morning he’d woken up with her soft naked body in his arms, he’d discovered taking her virginity hadn’t lessened his desire, only increased it. His need for her had been a constant torment for the next two months as they’d worked together round the clock on the Iyokan Airways deal. Every time he’d felt her brush against him innocently as they looked over documents together, he’d grasp the desk, remembering how he’d held her virgin body naked against his in the breathless heat of passion. As he heard her speak of business details, he’d hear, against his will, her cry as she’d gasped out with pleasure, gripping his back so tightly, he could still feel the marks of her fingernails—not against his skin, but against his heart.

It had terrified him.

Antonio had known, if he ever touched her again, it would destroy everything he cared about. His company would be hurt by her loss, and he would certainly lose her. Their working relationship could perhaps survive a one-night stand, but not a full-blown affair. He never kept a mistress for long. And how many times had Hana told him that her biggest dream was to someday have a real home, commitment, marriage, children? All things he could never give, not to her or anyone.

So he’d done the impossible. He’d pretended their night together had been forgettable. That it had, in fact, already been forgotten by him.

He’d been the one lying all this time. Not Hana.

Staring out the window blankly as his chauffeur drove him through Tokyo, Antonio looked down and realized his phone was somehow in his hands. Without letting himself think, he dialed Hana’s number.

She didn’t answer.

He tried again.

Same result.

No wonder, he thought grimly. He’d fired her, hadn’t he? She was no longer obligated to pick up when he called.

“Find her,” he barked at his bodyguard.

Turning in the front seat, Garcia’s rough face lifted into a crooked smile. “Her best friend lives in Tokyo. If she’s not answering the phone, she’s probably with him.”

“Who is he?” he demanded in a strained voice.

“His name is Ren Tanaka. His family owns a hotel in Harajuku.”

A best friend? A man? Antonio didn’t know which surprised him more. But as his driver changed route through the crowded streets, he told himself he wasn’t jealous, just curious. Hana had been a virgin; of that, there could be no doubt. And it wasn’t like Antonio had any claim on her.

Except that she was expecting his baby.

A baby.

After everything Antonio had done to prevent fatherhood, he was going to have a child.

A lump rose to his throat as he looked out at the passing streets of Tokyo in the soft spring mist.

Hana would be better off raising the child without him, obviously. What did he know of fatherhood? He’d never had parents. Better to stick with the choices he’d made long ago—to focus on his company and his fortune. They were the only things that mattered.

He’d gotten a vasectomy for a reason. He didn’t have the capacity to commit to anyone for life. He wasn’t fit to be a husband or father. Hana wouldn’t be shocked by this. She knew him better than anyone. All he could offer was financial support. It shouldn’t be hard for him to convince her.

As long as he didn’t touch her. Damn it, he was only a man. If he touched her, he would take her. Not just for a one-night stand. His repressed desire for her had become a ferocious beast, which if unleashed, would be unstoppable. He’d keep her as his mistress until his body was utterly satiated, whether that took days, weeks, or even months. For Antonio, sex was a physical thing, like eating or sleeping. But Hana’s heart was warm, not frozen like his own. All those months in his bed might lure her into blindly loving him. Then, when their affair inevitably ended, her love would just as inevitably turn to hate.

And perhaps she’d teach the baby to hate him as well...

No. He could never touch Hana again.

“We’re here, señor.”

Getting out of car, Antonio remembered Hana’s satchel in the trunk and got it out. He felt new shame as he remembered how he’d fired her, sending her off without even her bag of clothes. As he lifted it to his shoulder, a crack of sunlight burst through the clouds. Harajuku was very different from the financial district, crowded, lively and colorful. He looked up at the seven-story hotel silhouetted against the soft gray sky. Garcia started to follow, until he gestured sharply for his bodyguard to stay. He wanted to talk to Hana alone.

The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her, or the baby. But he was a selfish bastard, and that wasn’t going to change.

And Hana would be an amazing mother. The baby would never even miss having him as a father. After all, what did Antonio have to offer a child, beyond his fortune? There was no question of Antonio being more involved than that. He’d give Hana an enormous financial settlement. They’d be set for life.

Now all he had to do was convince her of that.

Walking through the sleekly modern Japanese-style lobby of the hotel, he stopped a passing employee.

“Sir?” the man responded politely.

“Is an American girl staying here? A guest of Ren Tanaka?”

The employee looked Antonio over from his bespoke suit to his Italian leather shoes, then with a nod, motioned toward a quiet, darkened bar, separate from the lobby. “They’re in there.”

Glancing at the door, he set his jaw. Then he held out the satchel. “Make sure this is delivered to her room.”

“Of course, sir.”

Leaving the lobby, Antonio stood for a moment in the doorway of the darkened hotel bar. It took several seconds for his eyes to adjust. He blinked. Then blinked again.

Then he sucked in his breath when he saw Hana sitting alone at a table, across the empty bar. Her white skirt suit was edged with a sultry blue glow from the neon light on the ceiling. His body was instantly electrified. “Hana.”

Turning, she saw him. “Antonio?” She rose unsteadily to her feet. “What are you doing here?”

“I had to see you,” he said, searching her beautiful face.

She glanced uneasily at something on the other side of the bar. “Why?”

“I...uh...” Now that he was looking at her, all his carefully planned arguments flew from his mind. Against his will, his gaze fell to her trembling, deliciously full pink lips, and down farther still. Her breasts seemed bigger—yes—the top two buttons of her white fitted jacket were stretched about to burst. How had he not noticed that before today?

Because he hadn’t wanted to notice.

But he wanted her. Suddenly. Savagely. So much his hands shook with it. He wanted to grab her, push her back against the wall. He didn’t care what the cost might be to his company, to his peace of mind, to anything. He wanted to have her even if the cost was setting fire to the world.

“Delacruz. It’s you, isn’t it?”

Hearing a man’s low growl, Antonio turned and saw a young Japanese man, tall and handsome in a sleek suit, perhaps ten years younger than Antonio’s thirty-six years, approaching from behind the bar.

“Who are you?” he asked, though he’d already guessed.

The man’s lip curled. “My name is Ren Tanaka.”

Antonio’s eyes narrowed as he sized up the younger man. “So you’re her best friend.”

He lifted his chin. “And you’re her bastard boss who got her pregnant and abandoned her like a—”

He spoke a Japanese word that Antonio didn’t understand, but the meaning was plain enough. Tanaka looked as if he’d like to strangle him with his bare hands.

The feeling was mutual. As Antonio saw the other man gently hand Hana a glass of water, then step protectively in front of her—as if he were trying to protect her from Antonio!—his own hands clenched into fists.

Then he saw Hana’s face, her worry and fear as she looked between the two men. He saw the way her body, newly lush with his child, was trembling.

With almost superhuman restraint, Antonio forced his hands to relax. He’d already shown her enough bad behavior today. And he didn’t give a damn about Tanaka. That wasn’t why he’d come.

“Can we go and talk?” he asked Hana in a low voice.

“You don’t have to go anywhere with him,” Tanaka said to her. Setting his jaw, he scowled at Antonio. “Leave my hotel. You are not welcome here.”

His eyes narrowed. “You’d do well to stay out of this, friend.”

“You’ve hurt Hana enough. I’m not going to give you another chance.”

“Why?” Antonio lifted his lip in a snarl. “You want her for yourself?”

The younger man lifted his chin. “What if I do?”

“Back off, or I’ll knock you flat into the wall.”

“I’d like to see you try.”

“No!” Hana pushed anxiously between them, separating them before either could throw the first punch. She looked at them pleadingly. “No, please—don’t!”

The two men glared at each other. Antonio itched to shove the other man aside. He was shocked by his own rage. He’d never felt so possessive about any woman before.

But Hana was different. And Antonio suddenly knew, with stunning clarity, that he’d never let Ren Tanaka—or any other man on earth—have her.

Because Hana Everly was his.

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