Page 21 of Driving the Billionaire Wild

Luca’s serious green gaze, so like his mother’s, flickered briefly up to Apollo’s. He shook his head, indicating that he did not wish to repeat his question verbally, so Astrid stood up to her full height.

‘He asked me if you are his father. Well, he told me he thinks you are.’

Apollo froze, uncertainty filling him until he took in the calm expression on Astrid’s face. This was the next part of her gift, she’d said… Understatement of the century. Emotion clogged his throat as he lowered himself to his knees in front of his young son.

‘We wanted to give you some time to get to know me first, but you figured it out all by yourself, huh?’ he said softly.

Luca nodded once.

‘Your mummy told you that your father lived far away and that he didn’t know about you yet, yes?’ He extended his hand, waiting a beat and exhaling a relieved breath when Luca placed his hand easily into the centre of his palm. ‘I’ve waited a long time to meet you and I’m very glad that we found each other. I’m very excited to be yourpapa, if you are happy to have me.’

‘Papa,’ Luca repeated with a curious frown, reaching out his other hand to gently touch the hair on top of Apollo’s head. He felt the weight of the small boy’s assessmentof the tight curls, so like his own, wondering if he had gathered all these little markers of resemblance between them. His son was a perfect mix of them both, but the shrewdness andknowingthere in his beautiful eyes, so far beyond his seven years, was all Astrid.

And then came the most beautiful birthday gift of all: a smile that spread over his son’s face like dawn breaking across the sky after the longest night.

‘Mummy and Papa,’ Luca said, looking up at his mother.

He heard a sniffle and looked up to find Astrid lightly dabbing at her eyes.

‘Yes Luca darling,’ she said, taking a seat on the sofa alongside them and placing her hand in Apollo’s. ‘You have a mummy and a papa.’

Chapter Ten

ASTRID SAT ONa recliner on the villa’s main veranda and stared out at the moon’s reflection over the inky waves in the bay. After almost two weeks on the island, to sit out here and reflect upon another glorious day spent in paradise had become her evening ritual.

Watching Apollo give his son his first karting lesson today had been slightly terrifying for her risk-averse self, to say the least. But seeing Luca’s reaction had been…priceless. Almost as monumental as seeing the look of adoration in Apollo’s eyes when their son had mastered the first few steps with ease and showed nothing but excitement for the entire afternoon.

Not only that, but Apollo had approached her to try out the sport for herself and see what the fuss was about. She’d refused at first, her entire being balking at the risk of getting into the fast-moving contraptions. But then she’d spied the challenge in Apollo’s face and listened to him jokingly call to the other drivers on track that he’d told them so. His open challenge, calling her bluff, had been almost reminiscent of their old flirtation, so she’d found herself wanting to wipe that smile off his face.

She’d grabbed a helmet, squeezed herself into a suit and almost whooped with laughter and satisfaction at thestunned look on his face when she’d walked back out onto the track. She’d been a terrible driver, of course, considering she’d never got a licence, but she’d done it.

After she’d completed her laps at a painful pace, Apollo had come to her, a dark intensity in his eyes which he quickly smoothed away and had begun trying to coach her. She’d laughed, informing him that it was a one-time affair and she would never set foot in one of those death traps again.

He’d informed her that it couldn’t be called a death trap when it was only moving at the speed of a crawling toddler. If she’d already begun to suspect that Luca would rail against going home to rainy London before, it certainly would be a battle now. In the end, they’d had to bribe him just to leave the track with the promise of returning soon.

Having been around Apollo’s mother and their laid-back extended family over this short break, it was easy to forget that he had been raised in an entirely different world. A world that he had recently returned to, and might be pulled back into even further…depending on what decision he made. She’d watched him slide into one of the larger karts and glide effortlessly around the track—much to the glee of his young audience—but her mind had been elsewhere as questions and worries had flooded in.

And tonight her son had asked his father to put him to bed. Apollo’s eyes had met hers with mild panic, in the corridor between their bedrooms, as Luca’s small hand had grasped his and pulled him along. If she’d only had a camera to record the sight of one of the world’s champion Elite One drivers and biggest sports-fashion icons being completely ruled by a seven-year-old…

What if her son expected this fun and exciting trip with his father to be their new normal? Of course it couldn’t be. She had to return to their life in London and Apollo had a whole racing team to run waiting for him. She closed her eyes, feeling the pressure build behind them every time she remembered how many uncertainties still lay ahead for them all outside of this

‘You’re still awake.’

A warm voice pulled her from her thoughts and she looked up to see Apollo filling up the doorframe. He’d showered; she could tell by the scent of lemon verbena that clouded her nostrils and the few droplets of moisture that glistened in his hair. She realised her jaw had dropped a little and she hastily straightened in her recliner, feeling more like a starstruck fan girl than a colleague and co-parent. But, honestly, the man always looked like a walking advertisement for a designer fragrance!

And she was fast feeling the effect of being subjected to the sight of his perfectly sculpted body as he swam in the pool every day or ran on the beach. Perhaps it was simply because she had neglected her own body’s needs for so long, and then given it a taste of pleasure, only to cut herself off again. Had it already been two weeks since she’d been straddling him on that sofa in Venice, riding her way towards release?

‘Is everything okay?’ Apollo asked, sliding his big body smoothly into the seat opposite. ‘You look flushed.’

‘Just the wine,’ she said lamely, gesturing to her glass and inwardly cursing her own lack of finesse.

He nodded, but seemed strangely on edge as he surveyed her with a sideways glance. ‘I’m glad you hadn’tgone to sleep yet. I wanted to thank you for today. I know you worry about safety…it can’t have been easy.’

‘I thought it would be more nerve-wracking, but you’re a great teacher. He really loved it out there. I should have known he would; he’s your son, after all.’

A boyish smile, so reminiscent of Luca’s, transformed Apollo’s face. ‘He’s amazing.’

A comfortable moment of silence fell between them and Astrid felt the strange urge to reach out and touch his hand, needing some point of contact. Which of course was ridiculous, because she had been the one to lay down the rules between them. Why on earth had keeping things platonic seemed like a good idea again?