The Billionaire's Accidental Bride (11 page)

"I don't understand why you won't just come back with me to Vegas."

Annaya gave him a patient but slightly stern look and reached out to stroke her baby's hair. She sighed. "No, you don't understand," she agreed. "My life is here, Jack. My job is here. My family is here. My best friend is here. You can't expect me to give all that up just to make things more convenient for you. It's going to be hard being a mother. I don't want to be on my own."

"That's precisely my point. Come to Vegas and you won't be on your own. You'll be with me."

"Surrounded by all those casinos?" Annaya pulled a face. "All that glitz and glam and high living is all well and fine for a girls night out, Jack, but it's hardly the right kind of environment to raise a child."

"You're being narrow-minded, Annie. There's more to Vegas than the nightlife. There are some good schools out there. I'd set you up somewhere away from the city, in a nice cozy little home, if that's what you wanted. I'd fly your family out whenever you wanted them around. Natalie, too. I'd do everything to make it work. I hate the thought of leaving you behind here."

Jack cast his gaze disdainfully around Annaya's little flat and she wondered if he was more upset to be leaving her, or to be leaving his daughter in a place that wasn't up to his standards. Of course, Annaya knew that she'd be provided for financially if she went with Jack, but it was everything else she needed that worried her. How would she feel out in another state, cooped up in some house he'd chosen for her with no friends or family around while he spent his days schmoozing with the big dogs?

Annaya looked over at Jack longingly. She loved that he wanted her and their daughter close. She loved that he'd do anything to have them with him. But she was always not naive enough to believe that everything would fall into place just because she was on his doorstep. They had rocky foundations and Annaya didn't want to let go of all her safety nets just yet.

"Let's see how it goes," she said reasonably.

"Whether or not we're together, we've got a daughter together now and that makes us a family. Family should stick together."

"I hear you, Jack. I'll think about it."

It was a torturous day that afternoon as the time grew nearer for Jack to return to Vegas and leave his new little family behind. He dragged his heels like a naughty schoolboy sent to the principal's office when he at last had to pick up his bags and head for the airport. Annaya tried to comfort him. She gave his hand a reassuring squeeze and looked up at him with sympathetic eyes.

"My doors are always open. You can come whenever you want."

"It's not the same. She's my daughter, too. I don't want her across state lines."

"I understand, Jack, but you can't expect me to just drop everything because it's what works best for you. My life is here and I won't leave that until a life with you seems secure."

Jack huffed angrily and clenched his jaw together to prevent him from saying something he'd regret. Eventually he let out a long sigh. "Why don't you trust me, Annie? Don't you think I'd take care of you?"

What was Annaya meant to say to that? She had no idea what kind of partner or father Jack would be. All their time had been spent together in short, intense bursts which Annaya knew were no reflection of real life. It was easy to be on your best behavior for a couple of days or a couple of weeks and a woman could forgive a handsome man anything when he was sweeping her off her feet and leading her to the bedroom.

Annaya had to keep telling herself that dreamy eyes and deep pockets were not the signs of a good partner. It took more than that, and she just didn't know for sure whether Jack would be the type to keep his cool when things got tough.

He went on and on about his responsibilities and stepping up to his role in his father's company and how much pressure there was being in the public eye and meeting all his demands. How would he cope with a little one crying all hours of the night and wanting her Daddy's attention?

Annaya couldn't see Jack transforming into a family man overnight just because he'd felt awe at the sight of a newborn. What would he be like when the novelty wore off and he realized that she and Alice were there to stay? How soon would it be before he began to miss the casino lights and roulette wheels? How long before he started to miss the rush from getting his name in the papers for all the wrong reasons or falling into bed with a different woman every night?

Annaya knew the lifestyle Jack had come from and it was fast-paced and glamorous. She just couldn't imagine that a simple life with her and Alice would satisfy him, and she knew for sure that hanging around in some big empty house on her own, waiting for him to come home and biting her tongue every time he flashed his bad reputation would not satisfy her.

She needed to see more of Jack in his role as a father and as he might be as a partner before she'd give everything up for him. She didn't want to be a phase in his life, when for her, he would be the center of her world.

"I trust you," she said softly, answering his question at last. "I just don't know what I want yet. I need time. The time we've spent together hasn't been real life."

"What do you mean?"

"It's been short bursts here and there. You hardly know me at all. Maybe I seem like someone exciting in a tight dress in a glamorous place, but normally I'm just a girl in a pair of jeans and a sweater, going about her dull, ordinary life. And now I'm a mother, too. I'm going to be breastfeeding and changing diapers and getting snappy because I haven't slept in days.

You're begging me to come over now, but neither of us know what we're going to be like when life is just ordinary. I want to see a bit of your ordinary before I leap into a life with you."

Jack sighed again and leaned against the doorframe with a sullen expression. "And what about me? I don't want to miss out on her." The billionaire crossed the flat to look over his daughter, sleeping soundly in her crib. His eyes grew soft as he watched over her. "I don't want to leave her."

"Then don't," Annaya said simply. "My door is open. You can stay here as long as you want."

The billionaire let out a dry laugh. "It's not that easy."

"No? Well, it's not that easy for me, either."

"Let's not argue again, Annie. We have to get better at this. We've got Alice now. We can't resent each other."

Annaya knew he was right and she let out a little sigh. "I don't want you to leave, either."

"I'll come back next week," Jack vowed. "I'll come more often now that she's here. Just until we figure something out. Even if you don't want to be in Vegas all the time, maybe you could come for the summers or the holidays or
something
.

I want a bit of ordinary, too. Not a short, sweet burst of excitement. Some long-term, dull and average with you and Alice. I'd like that a lot."

"Me, too. We'll figure it out, Jack. Some long-term, dull and average."

*****

It was almost unbearable being away from them. Ever since Alice had been born, Jack had been short-tempered, snappy and distracted and it was all because the only place he wanted to be was with his daughter and the woman who'd brought her into the world.

Annaya's words still stung him and he found it hard not to stew over them. She saw his suggestion that she come and stay in Vegas as a demand for her to leave everything behind, whereas he saw it as a way to be together. When he looked back over all their time together, he felt like he'd done everything right.

He'd made sure that Annie and the baby had everything they needed and he'd made sure to be there every step of the way. Of course, there was that stupid proposal which had come too soon and had been done in panic. No doubt, it made Annaya feel like he was after a wife for PR purposes, but the good intent had been there.

Now, somehow, he'd found himself further away from her than ever. It was bad enough being in separate states when it was just Annie that he was missing, but now that he was without his daughter too, Jack felt isolated and longing for the gentleness and comfort that only comes with family.

Matters in his own family were not running so smoothly. Jack's mother had died some years previously after battling an illness for a short time, which had left only him and his father to lock horns over public reputations and trust funds. Now, Brandon, too, was in poor health and deteriorating fast. It made it even more difficult for Jack to spend the time he wanted with Annaya and Alice, as his father grew less and less able to continue going at the same speed he had and Jack was required to step up and take the lead.

"It's good to see you stepping up, son," the tycoon told him over breakfast one morning.

Brandon had become so frail in recent months, ever since he'd had a stroke not long after Annaya had been introduced to him and turned down his proposal. His silver hair was not a definite and dull grey and his hands trembled so much that he no longer wrote his own signature, but turned everything over to Jack to process.

"You know how I've worried over what will come of my business when I'm not around, but you've been working hard lately to show me another side to yourself and I can tell you that it hasn't gone unnoticed. Does it have anything to do with Annaya, I wonder?"

Jack almost laughed from his surprise to hear his father be intuitive for once. It was unlike the old man to pick up on the subtler aspects of human emotion and Jack paused a moment before answering. "I just feel it's time to make a change," Jack told him with a nonchalant shrug. "I've had my time having fun and now it's time to step up. I have responsibilities now."

"Are you talking about the company or the granddaughter that I haven't met yet?"

"Both." Jack gave his father a sideways glance as he buttered a croissant. The tone in the old billionaire's voice suggested that he wanted to meet Alice, which surprised Jack. "I would've thought you wouldn't have wanted to see Annaya again, or the baby. Not after she turned down that proposal you were so keen on."

Brandon let out a husky cackle of laughter and took a sip of orange juice. He fixed his sharp, instinctive eyes on his son and smiled wisely. "I wanted
you
to settle down, son, but that woman had her head screwed on right. Truth be told, I admire her for not taking the easy path. It can't be easy for a woman facing single motherhood to turn down an offer like that."

"No," Jack agreed. "I still can't get my head around why she would."

"She's got her pride, and that's a good thing. It's nice to know that someone will keep an eye on you when I'm gone. Somebody with some common sense and a little bit of self-respect."

"You'll be around for a while yet."

"No, I won't, Jack, and we must be prepared for that. I want you to start shadowing Nathan a lot more closely and come to me with any questions. I've not got much time left to teach you all I know."

"I don't want to talk about things like that, father. It's morbid."

"It's practical. Let me tell you something that I learned the hard way: you have to be a realist. Things aren't always going to go your way. People won't always do what you want them to do. Yet, you always have to find a way somehow to come out on top. You have to plan for the worst and be prepared. I'm not going to be around much longer, Jack. That's a fact. Soon, everything will be handed over to you and I'm trusting that you'll be up to the task."

"I've been trying to show you that I can handle it."

"Yes, and you've impressed. I think that woman has made you get your priorities in order. I'd like to see her again before I go, and meet my granddaughter, too."

"I've been trying to avoid the publicity, father. I know how you hate a PR storm."

"It's rarely that I put anything before my company's good reputation, but there are extraordinary measures occasionally, even for me. I'd like to meet them both here, Jack. Will you arrange that for me?"

"I'll put it forward to Annaya."

"Good, good."

The two men sat back and both continued with their breakfasts. Jack felt all his responsibilities weighing heavily on his shoulders. It was getting more and more difficult to split his time between Vegas and California and his father's expectations of him were growing greater. Now he wanted to bring Annaya and Alice into the mix, and Jack wondered if that wouldn't end up being just the kind of tense situation that Annaya believed he couldn't handle. Well, they'd just have to wait and see.

*****

"So, are you going to go?"

"I don't know, Natalie. Do you think I should?"

Whenever things between Annaya and Jack became too confusing or hard to decipher, Natalie was always there to give Annaya a push in one direction or the other. The two women were sitting together on the patio of a little coffee shop. Alice was in her pram, half-asleep and just occasionally letting her dozy eyes flutter open to look up at the slightly cloudy sky. Annaya rocked her back and forth as she went through this new dilemma with her best friend, who was also getting close to her due date.

"Of course you should, Annaya. I don't get why you're always so hesitant when it comes to Jack. It's obvious that you're mad about him."

"Well, he's every woman's dream, isn't he?" Annaya agreed. "But that's why he's dangerous. It would be so easy to confuse admiration for love, and I don't want to fall into that trap. I don't want to find myself stranded in Vegas with a baby just because I couldn't see past the stars in my eyes."