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

  “Why haven't you gone to the police about this? It could be serious,” she scolded me.

  I pulled up Kit's contact information and contemplated texting him, craving the safety he provided. But I quickly decided against it and put it back.

  “Because what if it isn't serious and I look like an ass for bothering them with a harmless prank? They have more important things to do than deal with a troll,” I reasoned, shrugging my shoulders.

  She shook her head in disappointment. “Even if it is just a harmless troll, you should always report threatening messages! What if you got hurt? Or kidnapped? Or worse, what if they act on the death threats? I for one would be incredibly pissed off if you ended up dying because of your hesitation!”

  I sighed heavily. “You're probably right. I've had this weird feeling all night that someone has been watching me; I just didn't want to say anything and ruin our night out together. I'm sorry. I should've said something sooner.”

  “You're damn right, and next time you better come to either me or Kit about this stuff. It's a dangerous world out there and you never know who means business and who doesn't. Do you think Kit could come pick us up early? I'm starting to get skeeved out now.” She shivered, looking around the alley.

  “I'll call him. I'm sure he's probably still in the city anyway,” I told her as I dialed his number and held the phone to my ear.

  He picked up on the second ring.

  “What's up, beautiful? Are you having fun with Georgia?” he asked cheerfully.

  “Actually, can you come pick us up early? I'll explain when you get here, I promise, but the faster you get here, the better,” I told him, hoping he hadn't noticed the way my voice pitched and cracked.

  “What's wrong? Did something happen?” he asked anxiously and then added, “I'm on my way.”

  I jumped when I heard some metal trash cans crash together down the alley and sidestepped closer to Georgia. “Nothing happened, and I'll explain more when you get here. Just hurry, please. And be safe!”

  He sighed heavily. “You know I don't like it when you don't explain things right away, sweetheart. But okay. I'll be there in like fifteen minutes. I'm downtown right now. Stay close to the bouncer and if you have to tell him that you're feeling unsafe, it's their job to make sure that women are safe.”

  “Okay, I promise. Please don't worry too much about us. We'll be just fine until you get here,” I told him, and after he sighed, Kit agreed to it.

  “What did he say?” Georgia asked once I'd hung up.

  I grabbed her hand and started walking toward the front of the club. “He said he's going to be here in like fifteen minutes, and to stay with the bouncer. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you about this, and that I ruined our night.”

  She stopped walking and when I looked at her she looked angry. “Don't apologize for being a victim. It’s probably some lonely guy, living in his mom's basement wishing he could get a girl as hot as you. Which is only more reason for you to go to the police!”

  I nodded in agreement. “I understand, completely. And I promise when we get back into town I'll file a report with the police about it, but right now I think we should get out of this alley. I'm starting to get that feeling again.”

  As if my words had conjured up the chain of reactions, we heard the metal trash cans bang together again, followed by heavy footsteps running toward us. Once more, I grabbed Georgia's hand and took off running toward the front of the club. My heart raced as the footsteps grew closer and closer to us, the streetlights at the end of the alley coming into view just in time. I immediately went up to the bouncer and rattled off about how we felt unsafe and we needed to be protected from whomever was chasing us in the alley. He nodded in understanding and ordered for us to stay close to him as all three of us kept our eyes trained on the alley. But nobody ever came out of it, and eventually when Kit showed up, the fear-fueled adrenaline had faded into a pain in my chest.

  After we dropped Georgia off at her house and returned to Kit's apartment, he sat me down and made me tell him what was going on. I could tell by the look on his face that he meant business and beating around the bush wouldn't be a smart choice.

  “You have to promise not to overreact when I show you these messages,” I demanded, pulling up the chat for the second time tonight.

  “I can't promise that, sweetheart. You scared the hell out of me tonight, and the whole car ride home you refused to tell me what was going on,” he argued.

  I sighed and nodded. “Fair enough, but I want you to know that I plan on going to the police as soon as they open tomorrow to file a report. Georgia already tore me a new one for ignoring it.”

  Kit nodded shortly and took my phone when I held it out to him. As he read, Kit's jaw slowly tightened and he narrowed his eyes angrily. “Why didn't you tell me about this sooner? I could've helped you with this!”

  “Because I didn't think it was that serious! It could just be a bored troll looking for some sort of satisfaction in scaring a woman,” I argued, crossing my arms.

  He tossed my phone onto the couch and gripped the bridge of his nose tightly for a moment. “You should always take threats seriously, sweetheart. No matter what you think is happening, it could always be dangerous. What if they tried to kidnap you? Is that why you were scared tonight? Did something happen?”

  I contemplated lying to him but decided against it when I saw the fear in his eyes. “I'll admit that I had a weird feeling all night, but nothing bad happened. We heard some footsteps in the alley, but nobody tried to take us or anything. And I understand that I should've taken it seriously, and I'm sorry that I didn't.”

  Kit sat down next to me on the couch and pulled me into his arms tightly, smoothing my hair down my back as he exhaled. “It's okay, but seriously, next time something like this happens, you have to tell me about it immediately. And tomorrow we're going to the police, and I'm hiring a private investigator to look into this. Whoever is doing this is going to go down for it, I promise.”

  15

  Kit

  “I have some news,” I announced during dinner with my family, catching their attention. “I have been seeing a wonderful girl for a few weeks now, and it's getting pretty serious.”

  My mother, who had been hounding me for a few years to settle down and have a few children, beamed at me. “Do I know this girl? Can we meet her soon? Tell me all about her, Kit!”

  I chuckled at her enthusiasm and smiled warmly. “Do you remember the Perry family? Well, I'm actually seeing Acacia and she has grown into such a wonderful woman. She went to both culinary school and got her degree in business management, and she wants to open her own restaurant if you can believe it.”

  Across the table I saw Alyssa's face light up. “I haven't seen Acacia in years! How's she doing? Do you think she'll remember all the fun we had?”

  Before I could answer her, my brother Quinton smirked. “The same Acacia who used to go camping with us? She was a smoke show in high school. How the hell did you manage to get her attention? I remember her turning everyone down, myself included.”

  “Quinton!” my mother scolded, slapping him upside the head.

  I bit back the jealousy that rose in my throat and grinned. “You know, I'm not entirely sure, but I'm happy that I did. She's the sweetest, most driven woman I have ever met and I want to help her succeed in life.”

  “You should invite her to dinner,” my father suggested, sipping his scotch. “It'll be nice to catch up with the woman who has made you happy, son. And maybe your mother will stop talking about becoming a grandmother.”

  “I don't talk about it that much,” she said as she laughed lightheartedly, slapping my father playfully.

  He rose an eyebrow at her. “Dear, you bring it up daily.”

  “You do talk about it a lot,” my sister Alyssa commented, spinning pasta around her fork.

  I looked around the table at my family and smiled warmly. “I'll plan a family dinner with Acacia soon, I promise.
She would love to see you again, I'm sure. But you have to promise not to embarrass me with baby pictures and childhood stories! I don't want you to scare her away.”

  My other brother Jake smirked. “Good luck, bro. Remember when I brought Alison home for the first time? Three straight hours of baby pictures and the video of my wisdom teeth meltdown. I'm lucky that woman agreed to marry me.”

  I chuckled. “Well, at least I was a cute baby, unlike you.”

  Jake grimaced and flipped me the bird. “I grew into my ears, thank you.”

  Alyssa laughed wholeheartedly and then covered her mouth. “Oh, I'm sorry, you were serious.”

  “How did this turn into pick on Jake night?” he questioned, looking between us incredulously.

  “That's enough, you two,” my mother scolded. “Tell me more about your girl, Kit. I want to know everything about her. Does she have a favorite dessert? What about flowers? I want to bring her something.”

  I smiled at the thought of my mother's excitement over meeting Acacia; their approval of her was important to me and it looked like I already had hers. She had always loved Acacia, and quite a few times she’d tried to get us together secretly, though she hadn't been very subtle in her attempts.

  “Well, her favorite flowers are calla lilies. And she isn't really a dessert person, but she absolutely loves dips for bread and chips. Maybe you could make your avocado and jalapeno dip for her! She also really loves spicy foods, and I swear she has no limit to how spicy is too spicy,” I gushed, laughing at the memory of Acacia and I trying ghost peppers together.

  “Calla lilies and spicy dip,” my mother mused, smiling warmly. “A girl with taste; I'm proud of you, son. Set something up soon, okay? It'll be nice to see Acacia again after so many years. I always thought you two would end up together.”

  Alyssa nodded enthusiastically. “It'll be nice to see her again. We used to be so close when we were kids. Besides, we need more women in this family; there are too many men. And I need another sister to even things out.”

  Jake looked at her and rose an eyebrow. “Isn't Alison enough? I swear she spends more time with you lately than she does with me and we're about to have a child! Look out for this one, Kit, she's going to steal your girl.”

  I chuckled. “I know Acacia will be very excited to see Alyssa again. We were talking about our camping trips a couple weeks ago; remember when you and her got into the tackle box and you got that fishing hook stuck in your cheek?”

  Alyssa glowered at me. “Don't remind me. That was a haunting experience. I still hate fishing because of it.”

  “You were fine! And you didn't even get a scar from it,” I told her, rolling my eyes playfully at her.

  She shrugged her shoulders and took a drink from her glass. “Whatever. Tell Acacia that I'm looking forward to reconnecting with her again soon, please? And give her my phone number. It'll be nice to talk to her.”

  For the rest of the evening, our family laughed and spoke of their own lives. I soaked up the familiar happiness that came with being surrounded by my family, daydreaming about how it would be once Acacia joined us. I carried that happiness with me as I drove home to her, crawling into bed next to her and holding her close when she rolled into my arms unconsciously.

  The following week I received a startling five-hundred texts across my entire family, several hour-long phone calls from my mother, and some not-so-subtle posts from my sister about reconnecting with a childhood friend. Eventually, after discussing it with Acacia, I set a date for dinner with my family, and hearing the happiness in my mother's voice when I called to tell her about it was incredibly heartwarming.

  “Are you excited for dinner tomorrow?” I asked Acacia as we got ready for bed, smiling at her from our bed as she took her makeup off.

  She looked at me in the mirror and smiled sheepishly. “I am incredibly excited to see them again after so many years. But I'm also a little nervous. It's been so long since I have seen your family. I think the last time I saw any of them was graduation.”

  I laughed affectionately. “You should have heard my mom when I told her about you last week. She was practically begging me to bring you home for dinner, and she said that you have good taste when I told her about your love of dips and spicy foods. I know that they're going to be proud of the woman you've become.”

  She crawled into bed next to me and lay her head on my chest, yawning softly. “I hope you're right about that because I'm very serious about you, Kit. And if your family doesn't like me, it would break my heart.”

  I frowned softly as I stroked her hair. “You have nothing to worry about, I promise. I should warn you that my sister is incredibly excited to see you again and she will probably be all over you at dinner. And my parents are probably going to try and embarrass me with all of our family pictures and videos.”

  She laughed warmly and traced small circles into my stomach. “I can't wait to see all of your family's memories. Hell, I'm a part of some of them. Remember all of the camping trips? Alyssa and I used to be inseparable.”

  I chuckled. “You should bring up the fishing hook incident.”

  She slapped my chest playfully and lifted her head to look at me. “No way! That was too embarrassing! I was so scared that Alyssa was going to die or something, and I don't need to remind your parents of it either.”

  I caressed her cheek fondly. “Don't worry so much, beautiful. We're going to have a great time tomorrow and you'll see that they're just as crazy about you as I am. I promise that by this time tomorrow you're going to be over-the-moon about the whole thing.”

  She leaned into my touch and gave me a sensual look. “You know what would relax my nerves?”

  I smirked at her. “What's that?”

  She moved to straddle me and pulled her tee-shirt off, exposing her breasts to me as her eyes narrowed seductively.

  I chuckled lustfully and sat up, wrapping my arms around her tightly as she held my face and kissed me passionately.

  16

  Acacia

  “Do I look okay?” I asked Georgia and Kit as I spun around in front of the full-length mirror in our bedroom at Kit's apartment.

  Georgia smiled at me cheekily. “You're a smoke show, babe! I told you that dress would look amazing on you, and you were right about the braid; it does make you look like a fairy princess.”

  I flushed and gave her a look before looking toward Kit. “I definitely didn't say that. She's making things up.”

  He chuckled, smiling fondly. “Well, you do look like a fairy princess, sweetheart. I like the sunflowers on your dress and your lipstick. You look sophisticated and adorable, all in one.”

  Georgia stood from her seat on the edge of our bed and hugged me. “I have to get going, but thank you for letting me dress you up today. Call me later and tell me how your dinner goes?”

  I hugged her back and nodded. “Sure thing. Get home safely!”

  “Always,” she replied and winked. “See you later, Kit. Treat my girl right or I'll have to come back, and you don't want that.”

  Kit wrapped his arm around my waist and rose an eyebrow. “You think I'd ever do anything to hurt this beautiful woman? I'm not the smartest man, but I'm definitely not that stupid.”

  She laughed on her way out of our room and waved over her shoulder.

  A few moments later I heard the front door shut and turned toward Kit with a nervous smile. “Do I really look okay? I want to impress your family and if I don't look okay, you have to be honest with me!”

  He snickered and held my face between his hands. “Yes, sweetheart. You look amazing and I would never lie to you about it. Take a big breath and calm down, okay? You're working yourself up over nothing.”

  I looked into his eyes and nodded as I took a deep breath. “You're right. I need to relax or I'll sweat all of my makeup off and I'll have to change. How much longer until your family shows up?”

  Kit looked at his watch. “They should be here any minute now.”

/>   “And everything is ready?” I asked.

  “Yes, sweetheart,” he answered patiently, pulling me in for a soft kiss.

  I opened my mouth to say something, only to be interrupted by the sound of the doorbell and immediately felt my heart race.

  Kit caressed my cheek softly before he grabbed my hand. “Relax, they're going to love you!” he consoled, leading me into the entryway to greet his family.

  I stood proudly at Kit's side as he opened the door to his family, and I smiled warmly when their focus was on me.

  Kit's mother was the first to speak, beaming at me as she stepped in the door and pulled me into her arms tightly. “Oh, Acacia! You've grown into such a beautiful young woman! And look at your curves!” she exclaimed as she pulled away enough to look at me fully.

  I laughed as she held my shoulders. “Thank you so much, Mrs. Harrison.”

  “Oh, sweetheart, please call me Emily. Mrs. Harrison is too formal for family!” she told me and briefly touched my cheek with her hand.

  My heart swelled as she moved on to greeting Kit. I'm family? I thought fondly, unable to contain my happiness.

  “Oh, I almost forgot! These are for you,” she added as she turned around to Mr. Harrison who was holding a bouquet of calla lilies.

  I smiled as she handed them to me. “Thank you so much, Emily! How'd you know they were my favorite?”

  “Kit told me last week during dinner. I also brought some avocado and jalapeno dip to wet your spicy cravings; hopefully it's hot enough for you,” she told me with a wink.

  Kit smiled sheepishly at me when I turned toward him. “I remember how much you loved them when we were kids.”

  I opened my mouth to say something to him when Alyssa leapt into my arms, nearly knocking me over in the process.

  “Ohmigosh! Acacia, it has been too long since I've seen you! How have you been? How's your life?” she gushed as she rocked back and forth in our embrace.