THE BILLIONAIRE'S BABY (A Secret Baby Romance) (19 page)

“You must be Sean.” I smiled. “I’m Braden Huntington, Lexi’s old boss. Is she here?”

Sean scrutinized me for a few seconds, shrugged, and opened the door wider. “Sure, she’s here. We’re all out back on the patio having barbecue chicken and corn. Come on in, if you like.”

I followed him through the small living room and narrow, old-school kitchen and out to the concrete patio, smelling the delicious, tangy-sweet scent of barbecue sauce. The man who must be Lexi’s dad was sitting in a wheelchair, eating corn from a plate on his lap, and Lexi stood at the grill, turning some chicken over.

My throat felt dry and my pulse raced frantically as Sean announced, “You have a visitor, Lexi.” She turned, her brow creasing, and her mouth dropped at the sight of me. At the same time, her dad gave me a deadly glare.

“Hey, I hope I’m not intruding,” I hedged. “I was just in the neighborhood.” I mentally slapped myself at how lame and clearly untrue that sounded.

Lexi arched an eyebrow at me, and her dad shifted straighter in his chair, grunted, and added suspicion to his killer gaze. “Right.” Lexi turned more fully, grill tongs in hand and a curve-hugging red apron on that I tried not to look at. “Dad, this is Braden Huntington, my old boss—Braden, this is my dad, Chris. And I’m guessing you met my brother Sean already.” I nodded at Sean, who gave me a partially amused smile, and then I walked to her dad with my hand extended. He gave it one very firm shake and simply grunted again.

“So, since you’re here…” Lexi chimed in, glancing nervously from her dad to me. “You want some chicken and corn? Was there something particular you needed? I find it hard to believe you were just strolling through the neighborhood.” Her tone was casual, but she shot an intensely curious look at me before fixing a plate and handing it to me with a beer.

“Uh, thanks. And, yeah, I guess you’re right. I did want to ask you something in particular, but after we eat.” I looked at her, gauging her reaction as I sat next to Sean on a rusting outdoor metal chair facing the grill and her dad. Lexi handed her dad another beer, smacked Sean’s hand away playfully as he tried to grab one from the cooler as well, and sat with her own food in a third metal chair, facing all of us.

For a few moments we ate the mouth-watering food and sipped our drinks with a heavy awkwardness in the air—not to mention the death glares from her silently menacing dad. Finally, Sean turned towards me and broke the silence, “So, Braden, you play soccer?” And, since I had actually played in high school, we were able to launch into a conversation, Lexi and even her dad chiming in here and there.

We chatted about surfing, the heat wave, and the recipe for the amazing barbecue sauce. Before I knew it, we’d finished eating, and Lexi bid her brother and dad goodbye, agreeing to let me walk her home. Sean had been friendly in saying goodbye to me, and though her dad gave me a small smile when we shook hands again, he’d pulled me closer and whispered, “If you hurt her, you’re a dead man.”

Too shocked to respond, I’d just nodded and smiled, relieved to be out of there as I walked next to Lexi along the sidewalk a moment later. We were quiet for one block, then I ventured, “So, I guess you know I’m incredibly sorry?”

She regarded me and cracked a smile, nodding with a hint of sadness behind her eyes rather than the anger I’d been expecting. That was strange. “I know, Braden,” she said softly. “I believe you, and I understand why you tried to get me to stay. I really do. It’s just that things are a little complicated now.” We approached her apartment building, and she slowed to a stop in front and turned to look at me, her green eyes full of sadness and a nervousness that puzzled me.

“Lexi, I know what you think about us being in different social circles—though that doesn’t matter to me at all—and that you’re scared I’ll fall back into my playboy tendencies. But…” I paused to take a breath and locked eyes with her more intensely. “Will you please go out to dinner with me this Friday so we can talk everything out?” I chewed on my lower lip.

Lexi glanced down as she thought about my invitation. Finally, she answered, “Okay, Friday sounds good. We definitely need to talk.” Her words held a weight I couldn’t quite gauge, but my heart leapt with glee. She’d said yes, and I’d have my chance at last.

***

“Well, that was sensational.” Lexi dabbed the side of her mouth as we finished the second course at the best French restaurant in Malibu, not far from my house. I’d picked her up and been blown away by the flowy green dress she wore and how it matched her sparkling eyes perfectly.

She’d been sweet and conversation had flowed well, though there was an anxiousness that underlined her mood all night. I was brimming with unsettled jitters myself, my hand having reached into the inside pocket of my suit jacket to fidget with the ring box several times through the night. Lexi had truly forgiven me and hope gleamed. I might have a chance at her saying yes tonight.

Once we’d ordered crème brûlée and a cognac for dessert, though, I noticed Lexi hadn’t touched her wine through the appetizer and entrée. My stomach flipped as I considered popping the question before dessert. Before I could get a chance, she cleared her throat and said, “Look, Braden, there’s something I need to talk to you about… Something I need to tell you.”

I frowned and glanced at her hands that trembled noticeably on the table, causing me to reach out and enclose them with mine. “Lexi, what’s wrong? Whatever it is, I’m here for you.” She sighed wearily, her eyes filling with tears. She lurched and clutched her stomach, all the blood draining from her face.

In the next moment, I watched as if in slow motion as Lexi slid off her chair and fell unconscious to the ground. I immediately knelt at her side. “Lexi? Someone, call the paramedics!” I cried as several other customers and wait-staff hurried over. Several of them had their phones out and one waiter said, “They are on the way. Does she have a pulse? What happened?”

My vision blurred with panic and the man’s words sounded as if he were talking from a far-off place, but I managed to check her pulse, which was normal. “I… I don’t know, we were just talking and then…” I stuttered. Her face was paler than usual, and cold beads of sweat formed on her forehead.

Within five minutes, two paramedics rushed in and knelt beside her, also checking her pulse, then one of them wafted smelling salts under her nose. “It looks like she’s fainted. Let’s see if she responds to these,” he explained. In a moment, Lexi’s eyes blinked open slowly, looking confused and hazy.

One of the paramedics helped her sit up, and I helped support her back. “Ma’am, you passed out, but you’ll be okay. We’ll need to give you some fluids to make you feel better. Any chance you might be pregnant?

Lexi gave him a dazed look. Her eyes widened as his question sunk in. After a nervous glance at me, she looked at the paramedic, and I watched, dumbfounded, as she nodded and whispered, “Yes.”

I blinked down at her as waves of shock and disbelief crashed through my body, causing my head to spin and my vision to blur even more. My mouth dropped, and I automatically scooted my body back from her, watching as if in a trance while the paramedics talked. One came in with an IV full of fluid since she apparently was indeed dehydrated.

I observed it all as if I was in another place, like I was watching a movie. The words she’d whispered to the paramedics slowly sank in… ‘Yes, I am.’ Was she serious? Had she been pregnant all this time and not said a word to me? Then I thought about how nervous she’d looked Sunday at her dad’s, and tonight she’d been anxious and said she had to tell me something.

She was getting the IV fluids now, more alert and awake by the minute. She stared intently at me as I watched the scene mutely. I hadn’t known it was possible to feel such a contrasting storm of emotions, but I was filled with feelings of shock, betrayal, rage, and elation.

The paramedics packed up, ordering her to rest more and stay hydrated, one of them even patting me on the back and saying, “Congratulations.” I was utterly speechless, trying to sort out the range of emotions coursing through me.

Once they were gone and the crowd around us dispersed, as we sat back at the table. I numbly gave the waiter my card for the check. Lexi looked terrified and apologetic. “You’re pregnant? Were you going to bother telling me?” My voice shook with anger as I spoke, which startled both Lexi and me.

“Let’s go out on the beach to talk,” she pleaded, nodding to the beach just outside and down some wooden steps.

“I can’t believe it. I almost want to get the hell out of here. Lexi, this is insane.” The waiter came back with my card, and I signed the receipt quickly and heaved a sigh. “Well, let’s go talk there, then. I just can’t believe this.”

Lexi

I made myself move with Braden down the steps of the restaurant to a bench at the edge of the sand, trembling as he held my waist with one hand and one of my hands with the other, a scowl on his face the entire time. Tears trickled down my cheeks from the overwhelming last thirty minutes, not to mention my heightened emotions from the pregnancy.

I felt stronger from the IV, and the salty ocean air helped me feel even better, but nothing was going according to plan this evening. After accepting the fact that I was actually carrying Braden’s and my child, verifying this fact at the OB-GYN, I’d been torn about whether or not to tell him. The idea of becoming a family and raising a baby with Braden filled me with unprecedented joy, which solidified the fact that I’d fallen in love with him. But I didn’t want him to help raise our baby or marry me out of pity or because he felt responsible. He was, of course, half responsible and had more than enough money to help support our child, but I didn’t want his sense of duty to be the reason he dated or married me.

After I’d talked it over with Clara and Beth, who were the only ones who knew, I’d decided I should tell him but insist on a simple system where he just paid child support, nothing more. I was working up the courage to contact him and set up a time to meet over lunch when he showed up Sunday at my dad’s and asked me to dinner.

I’d had the perfect opportunity to tell him, and had just been about to reveal the big news before dessert when I passed out. It had been terrifying, and Braden had been forced to hear the news as I told the paramedics… And now, he looked furious as we sat side by side on the bench, looking out at the crashing waves lit by a half-moon.

I wiped a few of my tears away and tried to steady my breathing before I said, “I was just about to tell you before I passed out, Braden, I swear. I know you’re mad I didn’t tell you, and you have every right to be, but I’m not asking much. Just the state-mandated child support amount, and if you want to see him or her, you can—”

I stopped my speech as Braden turned to me and did the most surprising thing. He sighed, smiled, got down on one knee in the sand in front of me, and pulled out a black velvet-covered box. You could have knocked me over with a feather. I was so completely stupefied, blinking down at him as my pulse went wild. Was I still dehydrated and hallucinating or was Braden…?

“Alexandra Montgomery—Lexi, I am mad you didn’t tell me. But I’m also elated that you’re carrying our child because I really and truly am in love with you.” He opened the box to reveal a round-cut diamond, big and sparkly and glittering up at me in the moonlight. Braden finished with a serious expression and intense eyes. “Lexi, will you marry me?”

For a moment, all was silent except for the sound of rolling waves and distant classical music from the restaurant above. I just couldn’t believe it—this gorgeous, rich, sweet man who I was in love with, and whose baby I was pregnant with, was actually proposing to me.

“Are you serious?” blurted out of my mouth as I brought a hand to my chest.

He chuckled and nodded. “Without question. I love you Lexi. I was going to propose to you tonight without knowing about you being pregnant. Why else would I carry a diamond ring around with me?”

His eyes danced up at me and tears ran down my cheeks as I smiled from ear to ear and said, “Yes, Braden Huntington, I will definitely marry you.”

*****

Twenty minutes later, after many elated and passionate kisses, I sat in a love-seat in the sitting room of Braden’s Malibu mansion bedroom, which was ridiculously big and beautiful. I still felt like I was in a dream, half afraid I’d wake up in my little Santa Monica apartment alone. Though I was slowly starting to accept that I was going to be Braden’s wife and we’d raise a baby together… in just eight months, nonetheless.

A moment later, Braden, who’d gone for celebratory drinks, came back in with two champagne flutes filled with sparkling apple cider. He sat down next to me on the love-seat, and we clinked glasses as he said, “Here’s to being together always and to our beautiful new baby.” We sipped, Braden’s sea-blue eyes intent on me the entire time, holding a mixture of elation and heated passion.

He took the glass wordlessly from my hand and put both flutes on a side table, then scooted closer to me—much closer. “Are you feeling better?” he asked in a low voice, his face inches from mine as his hands snaked around my waist. I swallowed hard and nodded, a strong wave of prickly hormones firing through my veins, heightened by the pregnancy.

His lips crushed mine, moving slowly and seductively with teasing nibbles on my bottom lip until I opened my mouth and his tongue moved inside. My fingers, my left ringer finger wearing the gorgeous diamond, ran up his back and sank into his hair as I kissed him fiercely. All the pent-up longing for him from the past month rushed through me.