The Next Level: A BWWM Billionaire Marriage And Pregnancy Romance (5 page)

"Ma'am,
I'll have the bags taken up to your room, if you wish."

Chelsea
nodded dumbly, adding a quiet thank you for good measure. Matthew
hooked his arm around hers before he patted her hand. He gently led
her to the wide, stone steps. They were flanked on either side by
stone lions. Chelsea felt like she was going to be sick.

They
stepped into the house. It smelled of tropical fruit and flowers. Her
heels clicked across the marble in the foyer, the sound was deafening
to her ears. She was too afraid to tread heavily. They passed several
rooms, each a blur before they stood in front of a white door with
white blinds hanging down over the glass. Chelsea had a good feeling
that it led outside. Matthew turned. He took her hands in his and
gave them a tight squeeze.

“
Are
you ready?”

Chelsea
nodded slowly. There was no getting out of it. She took a deep,
steadying breath before she nodded once more. Matthew smiled, kissed
her on the lips and pushed the door open.

“
Surprise!”

“
Shit!”

Chelsea
wanted to be mad at Sangi, but she felt the same way. The backyard
was a sea of faces. Light filled the place and tables were set with
candles and fresh flowers. Matthew looked just as surprised as
Chelsea did. Soon, he was grinning though. Chelsea wasn’t.

“
Honey!
How are you? Did you miss your mom?”

A
woman walked up to Matthew in a long, wine colored dress. She had
golden blond hair that flowed down her back. Chelsea right away, saw
the resemblance between him and his mother. Her eyes were the same
shocking green as his brothers. Though she had to be in her early
fifties, the woman looked young. Not a single gray hair was to be
seen. She all but ran to him. Her arms were around his neck, pushing
Chelsea out of the way in the process. Matthew gave her a tight hug
back before they separated.

The
two men from the picture, Lyle and Andrew, walked up. They were
dressed nicely in final tailored suits. Matthew shook his father’s
hand before doing the same and getting a small hug from his brother.
They all became quiet as they looked at her.

“
And
who’s this dear?” His mother asked.

Matthew
grabbed her hand, pulling her forward a bit. She stumbled. The look
on the woman’s face couldn’t have been more full of venom
if she were an actual snake. There was still a smile on her nude
lips, but it wasn’t fooling anyone. Least of all, Chelsea.

“
Mom,
dad, this is Chelsea. My fiance. This is Catherine Rawlins my mother.
Lyle, my father. Andrew of course, my older brother.”

Chelsea
shook each of their hands in turn. “It’s nice to meet you
all.” She wondered vaguely if words were even coming out of her
mouth. It felt like she was whispering.

“
Oh
and this is Sangi. Chelsea’s best friend and of course, the
maid of honor.”

Chelsea
watched Sangi shake hands with all three of them. Still, their eyes
seemed to rest on her. The uncomfortable was beginning to turn into
annoyed. She glanced around. There were at least fifty people, all
dressed in black tie with long stemmed glasses of champagne in their
hands. Behind them stood a wide, half circle pool. It was cut off by
grass, trees and concrete where lounge chairs stood. Catherine broke
her out of her daydream.

“
It’s
very nice to meet you, Chelsea. What is it that you do for work?”

“
I’m
an attorney, same as Matthew. We met at work,” she flashed a
smile.

Catherine
seemed to be having none of it. “Well, that’s very
quaint.”

Lyle
gave a heavy sigh and shot his wife a look. She picked up a glass
from a girl holding a tray. Andrew looked uncomfortable, his shifting
from one foot to the other more than noticeable.

“
Why
didn’t you tell me it was going to be a party, mom? We would
have dressed for the occasion.”

The
woman flashed a grin. “Well, it was a surprise. It wouldn’t
have been a surprise if you knew to show up in a suit. Your father
and brother aren’t dressed properly after all, you have nothing
to worry about.” She turned to Chelsea. “If you wish to
change into something more...appropriate, your things should be in
the room by now."

Chelsea
felt real anger well up in her. Catherine must have seen something in
her face because she stepped back, almost bumping into another
caterer. She recovered effortlessly as Matthew wrapped an arm around
her shoulders.

“
I’m
going to go speak to the McClellans. I’ll see you all in a
moment,” Catherine said before she sashayed away, her narrow
hips more pronounced in the clinging dress.

“
You
have to excuse her. She just stepped off of a plane today and is
feeling rather cranky. She’s just happy you’re home,
Matthew,” Lyle said before turning to Chelsea. He cupped her
hand between both of his. “It’s lovely meeting you as
well young lady,” he said with a grin.

Chelsea
felt a small moment of relief. She smiled back at him. It was nice to
know he was at least nice. Catherine probably was as well, just
cranky from her travels. It happened. As he disappeared to join his
wife Andrew stepped closer to them.

“
Why
don’t I take you guys to your rooms? That way I can sneak away
and redress too. I am trying to stay off that woman’s bad
side.”

“
Why’s
that?” Matthew asked as they walked back into the house.

“
Oh,
you’ll find out. Doesn’t everyone always find out
everything around here?”

*****

Chelsea
examined the room she stood in. It was large with an attached
bathroom. She marveled at the way the metallic shower tiles were
smooth under her feet. The shower was in a stall with the tub next to
it, separated by a wall.

Her
bags sat in a corner of the room, empty. All of her clothing had
either been hung inside of the huge closet or folded neatly inside of
the drawers. She had only packed one gown on the off chance they’d
go somewhere fancy for dinner. She picked up the dark blue fabric,
rubbing it between her thumb and forefinger. The silk slipped through
her fingers. It was one of Matthew’s favorite dresses.

She
slipped out of her clothes, folding them neatly before she put them
away. It felt too weird to leave them laying around like at home.
Chelsea examined her face in the mirror. She scowled. Her hair was
disheveled from the drive, her makeup was basically nonexistent from
all of the snacking they’d done in the car. She slipped into
the dress first. It was deep blue, hugged her curves and was
backless. It was perfect for the summer heat, but she worried his
parents would think it was too racy. Then again, his mom was wearing
something similar.

Chelsea
retouched her makeup. Just as she was swiping on her lipstick, the
door flew open slamming into the wall. Chelsea jumped before sighing.
Sangi was standing there in what she guessed was formal clothing, or
what Sangi considered formal. The dress she wore was gray bordering
on silver. It came down just below her thighs and fanned out. It
looked like a prom dress.

“
What
are you wearing?” Chelsea asked.

“
Formal
wear. What? This was as formal as I thought things would get. I mean,
it’s not like you’ll be going to church with them,”
she plopped on the bed, her skirt fanning out around her legs.
“Besides, I think I look fucking good.”

Sangi
was right about that at least. The silver of the dress and the
jewelry she wore laid perfectly against her brown skin. Her hair had
been let loose for once and brushed straight. She was even wearing
heels.

“
You’re
right. You look cute. Just, try not to curse in front of Matthew’s
family anymore.”

“
Why?”

Chelsea
shrugged. “I guess they’re really religious or
something.”

Chelsea
spared herself one last glance in the mirror. She looked a lot
better. Her hands ran down the front of her dress, the light in the
room reflecting off of her large engagement ring. She smiled down at
it while adjusting it. When she turned to Sangi she took a deep
breath.

“
I’m
ready.”

Chelsea
walked out of the room with Sangi. Matthew was standing there,
waiting for him. He was dressed in a black tux and despite their
current situation she really wanted to rip it off of him. She was
glad Matthew was so considerate, he wouldn’t leave her to walk
out alone. Matthew offered his arm to her. She took it gladly.

Andrew
was standing there with Matthew, his suit replaced with a tux as
well. As Sangi walked out, he seemed unable to take his eyes off of
her. Chelsea couldn’t help but think that perhaps Sangi had a
chance after all. He held out his arm. Sangi placed hers on his.
Chelsea had to hold back a big, stupid grin that was forming on her
face.

They
headed back for the door, stepping out into the backyard. Matthew’s
family and friends stopped. They stared at her. At first she felt
sinking in her stomach, until one after the other they came up
congratulating them. Matthew never left her side as he introduced her
to people whose names she’d forgotten five seconds after they
left them.

“
I’m
so happy for you Matthew,” one of his aunts were saying. “You
found you such a pretty girl. You’ll make a beautiful bride,”
she said to Chelsea, smiling.

By
the time they’d made the rounds, Chelsea’s feet were
throbbing inside of her heels. Matthew seemed to sense her distress.
He led her away from the people to a little table set away from the
rest. He helped her slip out of her shoes, before he massaged her
feet. Chelsea sat with a glass of champagne in her hand.

“
You
have so much family,” she said absently.

“
Oh,
this isn’t even half of us. The Rawlins, if you haven’t
noticed already, are whores.”

“
Well,
I knew that about you at least,” she said with a laugh as he
tickled her feet. She slapped his hand away absently.

“
So,
what do you say, babe? Can we stay?”

Chelsea
shrugged. “I suppose it’s not that bad.”

Matthew
leaned forward. He captured the back of her neck in his hand,
bringing her into a deep kiss. She felt herself becoming embarrassed,
but he wouldn’t let up. It was just like Matt to say screw the
world’s feelings. When they pulled away, someone cleared their
throat. Both of them jumped before looking up. Catherine stood, hands
on her hips, glaring at them.

“
If
you two don’t mind, we still have guests here. Please, keep
bedroom activities in the bedroom. Once you’re married, of
course,” she said before she turned on her heels and walked
away.

“
I
don’t think she likes me,” Chelsea said.

“
She’s
just repressed, babe. Growing up, I never even saw my parents kiss.
Now you know why I’m such a pervert.”

Chelsea
laughed. Matt helped her slip back into her shoes before they headed
back out into the people. Chelsea could feel it was late, yet these
people were still going strong. As she stood, Matthew handed her a
new champagne glass.

“
I
guess weekends are the stay up late days, huh?”

Matthew
laughed. “A lot of these people come from old money. Most of
them party all night, sleep all day. I mean, you have a few who have
businesses to run, but that’s usually passed out for other
people to do. Then, you have my dad. The man never stops working.
Look at him now, on that phone as usual. Probably making plans in
Japan or something.”

“
You
really want to be like that? Working all of the time? What about a
family?”

“
I
grew up just fine. I had more nannies than you can count on two
hands. I was well taken care of.”

Chelsea
kept quiet. She didn’t want to tell him that she didn’t
think that was very good for any child. She didn’t want to hurt
his feelings however, so she kept quiet about it. Besides, what did
she know about nannies and growing up in mansions? She was a complete
outsider.

As
they walked back to the center of the group of people, Andy tapped a
spoon against his champagne glass. The outside crew quiet until
Chelsea could hear the sound of crickets chirping. Andrew smiled.

“
Thanks
everyone, for coming here and meeting my brother’s fiance. I’m
so happy for both of you. Congratulations and cheers!”