Boss's Accidental Baby: A Billionaire Small Town Second Chance Romance (Secret Love) Read online

  “I want to propose a toast to the birthday girl,” Acacia's mom announced, standing from her seat with her glass raised. “Twenty-seven years old today, but I remember the day you were born as if it were yesterday. You were so small and fragile, I thought to myself, 'I need to protect this precious little girl from the big, scary world,' and I carried that thought with me through your entire life. And then you went away to Chicago for college and I worried every day.”

  “Aww, mom,” Acacia mused, hand to her chest as tears welled in her eyes.

  “But when you came back every holiday with that smile on your face and all of these amazing stories about your experiences in the big city, I knew that you didn't need my protection anymore. Because your father and I did an amazing job raising you to make the right choices, to know right from wrong, and you took that knowledge with you and made something of yourself,” she continued, getting teary-eyed herself. “I mean, look at you now: you studied hard, you found an amazing man, and you're going to bless our families with a little bundle of joy. I'm proud of you, Acacia, we all are.”

  Acacia stood up and rounded the table to hug her mom, sniffling when they parted. “I love you, Mom. And you did a wonderful job raising both of us, you and Dad. I hope that be half as good of a parent as you guys are. The four of you, actually. Emily and Alexander, you raised not only Kit, but three other wonderful children and I couldn't be happier to know my child has grandparents as amazing as you!”

  “My turn to make a speech,” Alyssa demanded, standing up.

  I tuned out most of her speech, looking at Acacia as other members of our families made their toasts about her. She smiled and flushed happily, tears trailing down her cheeks as she thanked everyone. I beamed proudly as she hugged each and every one of them tightly. My heart squeezed warmly when she showed them our newest ultrasound pictures and she spoke of what we'd name our son. It warmed me up and gave me the courage to finally ask her to marry me.

  “Hey, can I steal the birthday girl for a dance?” I asked, standing from the table.

  Acacia smiled at me warmly and walked around the table to my awaiting hand, giggling when I spun her around. “Such a gentleman.”

  I clicked the play button on my phone as we walked past it and smiled when Acacia's eyes lit up. The music playing over the Bluetooth speaker had a slow beat and romantic essence about it, drifting into a duet sung by her favorite artists. She had shown me this song a couple of weeks ago during a night shift, and I made a note of it for this very moment.

  “You remembered,” she whispered as we started dancing slowly in the center of the living room.

  I dipped her low and winked as she came back up. “Everything you say goes into a special folder in my memory marked important. Of course, I remembered because I remember everything that you have to say.”

  She flushed and bit her lip softly. “You're such a smooth talker, Kit, and one helluva party planner, too. Is there anything you can't do?”

  “Spend a single second away from you,” I murmured, pressing my lips to her temple gingerly.

  She giggled amorously. “You're so cheesy. But it's okay. I love that about you. And I love how much work you put into this party for me. You nailed it. From the colors you chose for decorations, the dinner you cooked, my favorite cake, and even this romantic dance in front of our families. How did I get so lucky?”

  “You've got it backward, sweetheart. I'm the lucky one to have a girlfriend as beautiful and loving as you. Plus, you look incredibly sexy with your twenty-six-week pregnant belly,” I remarked, touching her stomach fondly.

  “If you like swollen ankles and squishy cheeks, I guess.” She laughed playfully.

  “Would you like to know how much I do?” I smirked at her and spun her around as the song came to an end.

  I didn't wait for her to respond as I let go of her hand and let her finish the spin, where she'd find me down on one knee. Her eyes widened as I pulled out the engagement ring and opened the box to show her.

  “I know that we've only been dating for like eight months now, and maybe this is moving a little fast, but I don't need any more time to know that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. You've been the one constant thought and feeling in my life; from the second I met you, you gave me this incredible rush of emotion. An emotion I may not have understood as a child, but one that grew larger and larger as we grew up. I've been in love with you for most of my life and I don't want to spend a single second without you as my wife,” I told her genuinely, looking up at her as she blinked tears from her eyes.

  “I'm asking you, down on one knee, in front of our families, will you make me the luckiest man in the world by being my wife? I promise you won't regret giving me your heart and undying devotion for the rest of our lives, Acacia Perry.”

  Acacia stood there, blinking back tears as she stared down at me, and my chest tightened anxiously. She's going to say no; it was too soon to ask her to marry me. Why was I stupid enough to think that she would be on board with this? I should've waited longer, maybe a few years like normal people do, I worried. But by some miracle, when Acacia finally spoke, she said exactly what I'd expect out of her.

  “What the hell took you so long?!” She demanded, smacking my shoulder playfully as tears finally broke the surface. “Of course I will marry you, Kit! I've only dreamt about it a million times in my life!”

  I pulled the ring from its box and slipped it onto her finger. And when I stood up to embrace Acacia, the sound of several cameras could be heard clicking and flashing around us. In that moment, surrounded by our families, I finally got exactly what I wanted. A beautiful wife-to-be, a son to carry on my family's name, and a large, loving family to share in our memories to come.

  25

  Kit

  I'll never forget the day my son came into this world. It had been a particularly rainy day in September and Acacia was increasingly growing impatient with being pregnant, especially as the days ticked on past her due date. She was exactly forty-weeks and five days’ pregnant, something she wouldn't let me forget.

  “Why won't he just come out already? Hey, you hear that? Time to get out now, little one; mommy's had enough of this,” Acacia whined, holding her belly.

  I smiled at her softly. “Have you been having contractions again, sweetheart?”

  She glared at me. “I've been having contractions for days, you know that. But apparently, that isn't enough for the damn doctor to get him out of me! I thought that contractions were the big go, not the 'let's wait and see.'”

  “We just need to be patient, sweetheart,” I said chuckling, and then ducked when she threw a pillow at me.

  Less than an hour later, we were rushing to the hospital because her water broke when she got up to go to the bathroom. She was excited to finally be giving birth to our son, gushing about how much she couldn't wait to see him for the first time.

  After thirty-six hours of labor, an immense amount of tears from the both of us, and more cursing than I'd ever heard come out of Acacia's mouth – our son came into the world. The doctor held our son up as his ear-piercing scream filled the room and smiled as he announced that he was a healthy baby boy.

  And once my eyes found him in the nursing station getting cleaned up, I couldn't look away. He looked so fragile, with a full head of dark hair and pale, discolored skin. His cries starting to die down as they washed him up and took measurements.

  “Look at our son,” Acacia marveled, her eyes trained on him as tears rolled down her flushed and sweaty face when I looked at her. “He's perfect.”

  Looking between the two of them, I couldn't help but cry myself. After months of pregnancy, multiple ultrasounds, hearing his heartbeat, and preparing for his arrival, I still couldn't believe that I'd become a father. The moment had given me a surreal feeling and I felt vulnerability tightening my chest as a million thoughts ran through my head, predominantly I'm a father now and I really can't mess this up.

  “Do you have a name
picked out?” the nurse asked as she brought our son back a few minutes later, handing him to Acacia gently.

  Acacia and I exchanged a look, and somehow we both knew the answer.

  “His name is Noah. Noah Harrison,” Acacia stated firmly, gazing down at our son with a look that had such intensity it almost felt wrong to witness it.

  I ran my finger across his cheek softly as Acacia looked up at me proudly, and I tuned out whatever the nurse was saying to her. Nothing else seemed more important than him and the swell in my chest when I looked at my son and saw a future so bright it was blinding.

  “That is a wonderful name. Congratulations to you both,” she commented as she smiled and excused herself.

  “You did an amazing job, sweetheart,” I murmured once we were alone, locking eyes with her.

  She beamed up at me. “We did an amazing job. Look at this beautiful life that we created. He's so small and fragile, it makes me feel so unbelievably protective already. Do you think other parents go through this?”

  I chuckled softly. “Most likely. Should I call our families and let them know that Noah is here?”

  She shook her head as she gazed down at him fondly, gingerly running her fingertips across his cheek. “Not yet. I want to enjoy our little bubble for a bit longer. Call them in an hour or so. Do you want to hold him?”

  I nodded and fumbled for a second to hold my arms out correctly, worried that I would drop him or wouldn't give his neck enough support. But Acacia smiled encouragingly and guided me through it. Once Noah had safely made it into my arms, I never wanted to stop holding him or stop feeling the warmth and serenity of having my child close. It was an indescribable feeling to hold him for the first time, like greeting someone you've known your whole life for the first time.

  I opened my mouth to speak but immediately stopped in my tracks when Noah's eyes opened for the first time and I saw the same eyes that I'd fallen in love with. Two almond-shaped forests between thick eyelashes stared back at me, blinking tiredly as I caressed his cheek.

  “H-he has your eyes,” I announced, unable to look away.

  I heard her rustling on the hospital bed and then smiled at her when she touched my shoulder. “The perfect mix between the two of us. I guess your brother was right about us making beautiful children, huh?”

  I chuckled softly, bouncing Noah softly. “And I bet we'll hear about it later when he sees Noah. My mom is going to flip out when she sees him; you might want to take a nap so you can keep up with her excitement, sweetheart.”

  She laughed, nodding in agreement. “I probably should. And give you some time to bond with him, too. The nurse said that I'd get a visit from a few specialists in a few hours to help me feed him. Can you make sure that I get up in an hour?”

  “Of course. Get some rest, sweetheart. You must be exhausted,” I told her, kissing the top of her head softly as she kissed Noah's cheek.

  As Acacia slept, I held Noah in my arms, sitting at her bedside. He was such a happy and quiet baby now, it almost made me worry about him. All I knew about babies led me to believe that all they did was cry in the first several months of their life. But Noah was so quiet and interested in looking up at me as I stroked his cheek gingerly. I was still baffled by the softness of his skin, by the smallness of his fingers and little toes as I rocked him.

  “I will protect you with every ounce of my strength, little one. And there won't be a day in your life that you'll have to worry about a thing. You let me do that for you, okay? I'll take care of everything and one day, when you're old enough, I'll teach you how to do the same thing. Just like my father taught me,” I cooed to him as he looked up at me with those familiar eyes.

  For the rest of the day, Acacia and I bonded with Noah. I had told her after she woke up that I wanted to spend more time alone with our little family before telling anyone else, and she'd agreed. So among a slew of nurses and a breastfeeding consultant or two, we spent time getting to know Noah and learning how to be new parents. It had been one of the single most joyous experiences of my life to watch Acacia acclimate to feeding him, to watch her fall more and more in love with the sight of him. And I didn't know it was possible until today, but as she fell for our son, I fell even more in love with her.

  26

  Acacia

  In the spring of my twenty-seventh year I became Mrs. Kit Harrison, something I had always dreamed about. We had an outdoor wedding, the apricot trees in bloom as their pink peddles scattered the ground. The ceremony was kept small, family and close friends only with a few exceptions. And I proudly walked behind Kit's baby cousin as she scattered rose peddles along the aisle with Noah in my arms and my father at my side. He'd grown so much in the eight months since his birth, his dark locks nearly touching his shoulders as he looked around at all of the bright colors. I smiled fondly as I looked at Kit; the resemblance between them was undeniable.

  And then the tears started to well in my eyes as I realized that Kit had been holding back his own tears, covering his mouth with his hands. Our eyes locked and he moved them to smile at me proudly, mouthing 'you look so beautiful.' It squeezed my heart tightly and I had to clear my throat to keep the happy sob from escaping.

  “He's being so calm,” my dad commented, catching my attention.

  I laughed softly. “Noah's always been such a calm, happy baby.”

  “Must be from Kit's side of the family; you had a set of lungs on you,” he teased, squeezing my arm with his tightly.

  Once we'd finished walking down the aisle, and I got a good look at Kit's face, I realized that he had in fact shed a few tears. His eyes were glassy and he rubbed them when he caught me looking. It made my heart race to think about how much I must mean to him and I had to carefully rub a tear or two away.

  “Who gives this bride away today?” the officiant asked.

  My dad looked between us and grinned. “Her incredibly proud father, and her son Noah.” He then turned his eye on Kit and looked at him sternly. “You better treat my girl right, Kit.”

  Kit smiled warmly and chuckled as my dad placed my hand in Kit's. “You know I will, Mr. Perry.”

  “Good. Now, give me the little one and get hitched, you crazy kids,” he ordered, holding his arms out for Noah.

  Kit and I both kissed Noah's head lovingly before I handed him off and then turned toward each other. Our hands firmly held in each other's, eyes lovingly lost in a silent form of communication as the officiant went through his spiel.

  “Now for the vows, which our beautiful young couple have written themselves. Who would like to go first?” he asked us.

  “Ladies first,” Kit announced, smiling at me fondly.

  I flushed, knowing that he'd watched me writing my vows for weeks, bent over a notebook trying to get the words perfect. He'd tried to read them countless times over the weeks it took for me to be happy with them, and I had threatened him each time. I had argued that ruining the surprise would be cruel.

  “Whenever you are ready, Acacia,” said the officiant, gesturing toward me.

  Alyssa, who I'd asked to be my maid of honor, stepped forward and handed me the piece of paper that held my vows. “They're beautiful. I'm sorry that I read them without your permission,” she told me with an apologetic smile.

  I winked at her playfully and unfolded the paper, smiling at Kit. “I have loved you in so many ways. I've loved you as a friend; I've loved you as a man; I've loved you as a person; and, I've loved you as a father. But today, I finally get to see what loving you as a husband will be like. Our future together may seem scary and unknown some of the time, but navigating that journey with you has been one of the best adventures of my life. I love you, Kit Harrison, and I vow to love, cherish, protect, and grow with you. In our sickest of days and our healthiest, in the hardest of times and the most beautiful, for richer or for poorer, until death do us part.” I finished as tears rolled down both our faces and Kit's hands squeezed mine tightly.

  “And now you, Kit,” the offi
ciant stated.

  Jake approached us with Nico in his arms, holding a piece of paper, and urged him to hand it to Kit. And when he babbled something like, 'here you go, uncle Kit,' a chorus of awws went through the wedding party.

  “My dearest Acacia,” Kit began, gazing at me lovingly. “I have loved you since the moment I laid eyes on you. Your rosy cheeks, wild chestnut curls, the way your dimples crease whenever your smile lights up a room. The undeniably compassionate and non-judgmental heart within your chest; every single thing that makes you who you are, captured me immediately. I spent so many nights lying awake, imagining a world in which you could be mine, a perfect world where I could show you just how much I loved you, admired you…”

  He paused and sniffled as tears rolled down his face. “And then our son was born, making you a mother. The immediate and overwhelming love that you had for Noah, not only made me proud, but showed me how to love you not only as a woman but also as a mother. I love you, Acacia Perry, with everything that makes me a man. You are my sun and my moon and all of the stars in the night sky. I vow to love you from this day until my last breath. To cherish you and appreciate you, to guide you and help you grow, to hold you when you're down and celebrate your accomplishments. I vow to be there for all of our sick days and our healthy days, to be there for you and our son as he grows up, for richer and for poorer, until death do us part.”

  I smiled fondly as Kit ran his thumbs across my face to dry the tears that had fallen, and sniffled as I did the same. His brown eyes were just as wet and loving as mine were, and it felt as if I were looking directly into his heart.

  “Do you Acacia Perry take Kit Harrison to be your lawfully wedded husband?” the officiant asked.