Billionaire's Unexpected Baby: A Small Town Accidental Pregnancy Romance (Secret Love) Read online

  “That...that makes no sense, you dummy.” We shared a laugh, and Carter rolled onto his side next to me to rub my belly with one hand. Glancing over at the clock on the nightstand, I hummed for no real reason than to break the peacefulness. “I have to go get Sophia up and ready in a few minutes.”

  “We should move in together. I don’t see the point in you spending money on your apartment when you’re here all the time. It’s a waste.” Oh, he knew just where to push my button. Carter’s words floated around in my head listlessly, and he rubbed my belly and arm as goosebumps blanketed my skin. “I know it’s a lot to ask you to give up your space, but you worry a lot about money, so why not save some up? I’m not gonna make a case of it, but it seems like the next step.”

  “I’ll think about it.” That was all I could promise, but Carter seemed satisfied. Scooting off the bed, I pulled down my shirt and rolled my shoulders. Anxiety coiled in my abdomen at this rollercoaster of a conversation. These were all things that had to be discussed, but not when we had things to do. “We’ll talk about it when I get back.”

  I left his bedroom quietly to make my way across the hall, and the door to the room Sophia and Michael shared was already open a crack. Peeking in, my conversation with Carter fell on the back burner as I watched Sophia carefully brushing her hair. She looked so serious and deep in thought, her small face drawn and stony. Softly knocking on the door, I leaned against the frame to cross my arms while my little sister caught my gaze in the mirror.

  “You okay there?” She whipped around on her heel to simply stare at me in that weird way kids did, and I cocked my head. “Is something wrong?”

  “I wanna learn how to crochet.” Surprise rippled down my cheek, and Sophia nodded firmly to herself as she tightened her grip on her hairbrush. “So I can make baby clothes.”

  “Oh. Are you going to ask your teacher to help you?” Again, she nodded firmly, her face pinching in determination, and I reached to rub my cheek and jaw. “Okay. Ask her to write a list and we can get you supplies on the way home. We gotta get going though, so don’t take too long getting ready, okay?”

  29

  Carter

  “Carter—” My head snapped up at the call, and I swallowed my eggs roughly as Savannah slid into the chair across from me. The kitchen table seemed smaller when she leaned in, excitement glimmering in her eyes as a smirk twitched her lips. “Good morning.”

  “Uh—good morning, Savannah.” She sat back, satisfied, and crossed her arms over her chest. Discomfort tightened my shoulders, and I cleared my throat loudly. “Can I help you with something?”

  “Picture this... Auntie Above the Garage—” Waving her hands dramatically, Savannah grinned happily, but confusion tingled the bridge of my nose. “I’ll pay for it, of course.”

  “Am I supposed to know what all that means?” Of course, I knew what it meant, but Savannah wasn’t my friend; she was Madeline’s friend, so anything they decided had to be between them. From what I knew of their friendship, it was more like sisterhood, so I wasn’t necessarily surprised, but... I’m not getting involved.

  “I’ll be, like, a tenant, right? Madeline said you wanted to discuss building, so I thought I’d bring up the option of maybe having an add-on above the garage or something? It’s totally your choice, and I’ll respect if you say ‘no,’ but it’s all hypothetical at this point, so I figured why not?” Savannah talked at me, but nothing she said was out of the realm of realistic. She was asking, firstly, and even offered to pay for her part. “We were just on the phone, and she said I had to ask you.”

  “If she gets the garage, can I get the pool house?” Twisting as Evan stomped heavily down the stairs, I scowled lightly as he yawned loudly. This was getting a little out of control; I expected Madeline to confide in her best friend, but not this soon. Our discussion was only two hours ago, and nothing had been decided but that we’d talk about it some more. “I’m just jokin’. I don’t even like pools.”

  “Okay, I hate to burst your bubbles, but Madeline and I haven’t talked about it ourselves, let alone any...extra amenities. So, yes, it may be a good idea, but I’m not having this conversation with either of you before Madeline.” Pointing at both of them with my fork as Evan sat down next to me, I turned to Savannah sternly. “I appreciate wanting to put the idea out there, but I think you’re jumping the gun a little early considering I didn’t even know your name until last night. At least buy me a drink before giving me an elevator pitch.”

  “S-sorry, Carter.” Nodding at the sheepish mumble, I turned to cast my own best friend a glance. Evan held up his hands in surrender, and I turned back to my omelet and tried not to frown. I didn’t want to be ambushed so early in the morning, but Madeline had mentioned that Savannah was a handful of a personality.

  “Anyway, it’ll take Madeline a while to get used to the idea, and it won’t help that there’s a time limit to get it done. Right now, the more important move is immediately.” The front door squeaked to announce Madeline’s arrival, and I couldn’t help but wonder if this was all a setup. Get all the adults together to talk about a decision that involved us all to varying degrees. Shoving a forkful of omelet into my mouth, I sat back to rub my head.

  “I’m back!” She stopped short, seeing us all at the kitchen table, and both her brows rose in surprise. “Is this an intervention or something?”

  “If it is, it’s not a good one.” Mumbling around my mouthful, I gestured to the chair across the table, and Madeline plopped down with a sigh. “So...I guess we’re talking about making a cultish compound kinda thing?”

  “You—I told you not to say anything, Savannah. We haven’t even talked about it yet!” She swatted Savannah’s arm lightly, and my suspicions were confirmed when Madeline shot me an apologetic glance. “We were talking about how convenient it’d be if she could live above the garage, but I thought we were joking, or talking about far in the future, at least.”

  “It’s not a bad idea. I just think it’s very premature considering you haven’t even agreed.” Some of the pressure eased off my chest now that Madeline was here, and I nodded towards her expectantly. “It adds unneeded pressure on us.”

  “I dunno. I think it adds just the right amount of pressure.” Madeline got that look in her eye, and I stretched my legs under the table. “It’ll help me not freak out so hard. And it’s a good idea, Carter, even if it’s just more wishful thinking at this point. We don’t have all the time in the world either. Building a house is a lot and takes a long time, and we don’t have a long time.”

  “So, you want your friend to light a fire under your ass so you don’t get caught up in your anxiety.” Relief slumped her shoulders as Madeline nodded, and I... well, I couldn’t argue with that, I knew. “What did you think about on the ride back?”

  “I think moving in is a good idea even though it kinda makes me sick to think about mooching off of you.” She paused to collect her thoughts, and I ground my teeth a little to stop myself from pointing out that she wasn’t ‘mooching’ in any way. Madeline was just that kind of person, and she’d probably always be that way. I couldn’t change her mind about the money; we had such different definitions of it. “I know Sophia would have trouble on the weekends, but Michael is at camp all week, so we could make it work. At least, until the camps are over in a month. My lease is month to month, so...”

  “Then, that gives us about a month to consider our next step. Like I said, I’m not going to push you, Madeline, but it’d be ideal to have the house up by the time the baby’s born. It’s not nearly as daunting as you’d think to build a house, especially if we contract a good company. For reference, we’re planning to have the hotel up by June of next year, and it’s much more complicated than a house.” Some of the tension glittering in her eyes softened at my assurance, and I gestured to her friend with my fork. “I wish you hadn’t said anything, to be honest, Savannah.”

  “I really don’t know anything about building or buying or anyth
ing. I resigned myself to renting for the rest of my life...” I could tell the way Madeline trailed off that she was getting overwhelmed with this idea that seemed to grow and become more complicated by the second. “What do you think, Carter?”

  “I think that you and I should talk about it before we involve either of our best friends into the mix. Not to mention, we have to talk about Sophia and Michael. If anyone’s opinion is to be considered, it’s theirs. First and foremost.” As I spoke, I stared directly at Savannah, and she had the decency to sink into her chair a bit. “No offence, but as I said several times, Madeline and I haven’t even talked about it. There’s no reason for you to be expecting or verbalizing anything, Savannah.”

  I knew I was coming of as a little harsh, but nothing I said wasn’t the truth. I gave Savannah merit because she was Madeline’s best friend, and what Savannah proposed was a good idea—in theory. Just not when Madeline and I hadn’t had a single conversation besides bringing up the idea.

  The atmosphere was dense, and I took a big bite of my omelet as Savannah tried to become one with her chair.

  “We’ve got seven months to figure it out. It’ll be fine. I’m gonna make more eggs. Do you two want some?” Getting up to disperse the heavy air, Madeline cast a curious glance at our respective friends. Evan nodded out of the corner of my eye, but Savannah gasped as she pulled her phone out of her work pants’ pocket.

  “Oh, no. I gotta go. My shift starts in two and a half hours, and you gotta know Benny’s gonna make it Hell.” Popping up, she gave Madeline a quick hug and the rest of us a wave before flouncing out.

  “Seven months...” In seven months, I’d be a dad—shit, I’m already beginning to fill that role with Sophia and Michael. That’s insane. I never pictured my life going in this direction, but I was beyond glad that it had. Madeline was a beautiful soul, and I was honored to have met her, let alone knocked her up. “Madeline, would you mind making me some French toast?”

  “I would mind, yes. Now I want some. Damnit.” Smiling wistfully, I let loose a small laugh as she pulled a shallow, wide bowl out of the cabinet. “I’d prefer a breakfast taco, but French toast is fine, I guess.”

  For the rest of my life, I’ll never get tired of her.

  Epilogue

  Madeline

  “Yeah, four please.” Rubbing Sophia’s crown gingerly, I struggled to keep my heart from beating out of my chest. The hostess at the restaurant we’d decided on gestured Carter to follow, and I took a steadying breath.

  “Have a seat. Your waiter will be with you shortly.” We sat down in the booth, and my knees instantly started bouncing under the table. My nerves were absolutely shot, and it was obvious that both my siblings knew something big was coming. Grabbing my hand under the table, Carter tangled our fingers together before speaking up.

  “So, Madeline and I brought you here to talk about what you two want.” The hairs on the back of my neck stood up when Carter spoke, strong and confident, and both Sophia and Michael perked up across the table. “I know there’s a lot going on right now, and we don’t want you to feel like you’re being dragged around or left behind.”

  “L-like...what should I want? I have everything I want.” Michael propped his elbows on the table to hold his cheeks in his palms to highlight his thoughtful expression. “I would like a new mouse for my computer though.”

  “Not that kind of ‘want,’ bud. More like...what do you want because your life is changing. Madeline and I were talking today about moving in together.” Both kids looked shocked, and I almost winced at the stale air that flooded my lungs. “It’s not going to happen right away, of course, but we did talk about it.”

  “Can you buy our house back from the bank?” Michael’s head shot up, and he gripped the edge of the table as his eyes narrowed into fine points on Carter. My heart damn near stopped, and panic gripped my body in a vice. “It’s big enough, and—”

  “Michael... our house was bought a long time ago.” Speaking up softly, I cut Michael’s hopeful gabbing off as gently as I could, and my heart ached fiercely. Reaching to hold his arm, I could feel his goosebumps as I watched him physically deflate. “I know it seems like a good idea to move back there, but even if we could...do you think you’d be okay in that house? Can you just ignore everything that happened there? Ghosts linger, Mikey, and going back there isn’t going to make everything that happened disappear.”

  “B-but...” My heart broke for him as he slumped back against the booth, his mouth opening and closing mutely. “I—what... we can’t fit in the apartment right now, let alone with a baby!”

  “No...no, Mikey. We’re not going to stay in such a tiny apartment. Of course not. Carter and I were talking about moving into a bigger place...together. The four of us. And when this baby is born, we’ll have our own place that we make ourselves.” Turning to Carter for help, my mouth went dry when I looked back at my siblings’ overwhelmed expressions. “We were thinking of moving into Carter’s rental, and then we were going to build a house so everyone gets what they want. Everyone gets their own room. There’s enough bathrooms... all that stuff.”

  “Oh-h...” Quietly, Sophia raised her hand, and I cast her an expectant look before she licked her lips. “So, we still have to share a room at Carter’s house though?”

  “For a little bit, yeah, but you both have camp for a few more weeks, so that’ll make it easier.” My voice trembled in relief, and I let go of Carter’s hand to grab Sophia’s. “It’s not going to be the same as moving into the apartment. I quit my job, so I’ll be able to spend time with you, and we can do things. And Carter’s around, too, and he designs houses for a living, right? So we can focus on that, too.”

  “You quit?” Michael’s astonished tone hit me in the face, and I sat back with a firm nod. “What? But you didn’t quit even on the day you adopted us.”

  “Money can’t buy happiness, bud, but it sure does help. People work their asses off to make their lives easier eventually, but no one wants to work that hard. Madds worked so much because she had no choice, but now, she does have a choice. And she’s got me, which isn’t something you had before.” Carter took over for me, and he nudged my side playfully. “Besides, she’s already got her next job lined up when my hotel opens, but that’s not for a while.”

  “So-o-o... can I share Evan’s room?”

  Cracking open my eyes as the memory faded, I held back a blissful sigh. Carter reached over the center console of my car to rub my bump briefly, but his eyes didn’t leave the road. Despite the quiet, excitement buzzed in the cramped car, and I twisted to watch my siblings try to become one with the windows.

  “It’s been crazy...” My mumble earned me a grunt of acknowledgment, and we took a turn that only brought us closer to our future. The last five months had gone by so fast but were so wonderful, and I felt like everything was finally coming together.

  “I’m glad you didn’t kill me that time I refused to get you your 2am tacos.” Humor laced Carter’s voice, and he reached again to put his hand on my belly. “I never thought life could be so great.”

  “I’m glad you’re so great, Carter.” Sappy as it was, I knew exactly how much Carter put himself out there for me and my siblings. Covering his hand with mine, my palms tingled from the intensity of the moment. It was such a crazy concept to acknowledge how enriched my life was with Carter in it. “I’m really grateful for everything you’ve done.”

  “That’s as close as you’ll ever get to telling me you love me, isn’t it?” Flames licked up my neck, and my heart pounded hard even when Carter chuckled lightly. “I’ll take what I can get.”

  “You should be grateful. I don’t get mushy for an-ne-e-one.” He laughed at my drawl, and I blinked back the sting in my eyes as my emotions rampaged through me. “Seriously.”

  “Seriously, Madds.” Squeezing my hand, Carter gripped the wheel again and shot me a tender smile. “I’d ask you to marry me if you weren’t so worried about ‘what’s mine is yours
and what’s yours is yours.’”

  “Oh, God, no. I’m fine being perpetually engaged or something. We talked about this.”

  “Yeah, yeah. I remember. You said ‘not gonna happen’ right after you practically blew a vein over college funds.” My face heated at the mere mention of the college fund discussion, and Carter shook his head. “Let’s just focus on this, and we’ll worry about the rest later. Today is move-in day. Who’s excited!”

  Shrill cheers blasted against my seat, and I settled in as my siblings went wild. Talking over each other until they were yelling, Sophia and Michael almost immediately started arguing. Faintly, like it was another life, I could remember when they were born, and how much I loved them from the very first second I saw them.

  Carter would be a wonderful father, and my siblings would be wonderful siblings.

  And I would be a wonderful mom.

  — THE END —

  Mechanic’s Home Run SNEAK PEEK

  Hazel came right out of left field,

  and so did her unexpected pregnancy…

  All I did was fill up for gas and there she was.

  Grease smudge across her cheek.

  Overalls and an old band tee.

  Hair in a messy bun.

  But, oh, that smile. It got me the second I saw it.

  If I wasn’t so much of a gentleman, I would have pushed her onto the hood of the nearest car and well…

  I’ll let you fill in the blanks.

  Just know that I was thinking about it, too.

  For a whole season.

  The next thing I know it’s off-season and I’m riding in her pickup truck.