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And turning me down after kissing the absolute daylights out of me the other night. Since then, he’d been everything I’d expected from advanced security. Polite, disinterested, and more than a little chilly.
I wasn’t sure what I did to cause this massive shut off, but it was so disappointing. I thought even if I didn’t get to kiss the guy some more, maybe he would be a friend after this. It wasn’t like there was any other way to meet people right now.
Hi, my name is Whitney and I’m pregnant with a reclusive billionaire’s baby.Excellent conversation starter, but not a great foundation for long-term friendship.
Good thing I wouldn’t need to warn people about the baby soon. In the time since my date gone sideways, my belly had grown exponentially. And today when I went to open the door for Gates, he’d taken two steps into my house and then frozen. Every inch of the giant man was suddenly completely still. It had sent goosebumps up my arms as I stood there, blinking into the morning light.
I’d finally given in and put on some of my fitted, body-shaped maternity dresses. I thought I looked rather cute, but the look on his face, the shock and surprise made me second-guess myself. I pressed a hand against the little belly that was rounding my lower body.
“What? Is it that bad?”
Gates’s eyes were wide, his jaw clenched as he stared at me. “What?” He blinked at me several times, as if forgetting what I had just asked.
“The dress. It’s new. I figured at almost twenty weeks, it was time to give up on hiding it and flaunt it.” I bit down on my lip. “But the look you’re giving me is…”
Gates's heavy dark head was swinging back and forth. I hesitated, confused. “You look amazing,” he said finally, his voice low and husky.
I was instantly surprised by the dark shaft of need that speared my whole being. We hadn’t talked about the kiss since, but there had been something changed between us. I was even more aware of it suddenly.
I rubbed the bump, watching as his eyes followed my every move. His gaze felt intimate, as if he were finally seeing something that he’d been wanting for so long. The subtle charge in the air played with my dangerously volatile hormones.
“Thank you.”
He cleared his throat. “Ready to go?”
“I am.” I smiled up at him, walking out towards his SUV after we locked the front door. This time, as we moved up my sidewalk, his hand was firmly on my back, the heat of his hands pressing against spine as we moved.
I didn’t bother to try to hide the smile that lit me from inside.
It was going to be a good day.
***
Emerson
This was going to be a shit day.
I’d walked up to Whitney’s duplex today, planning to tell her what was going on. That I was really Emerson Brooks and that the baby she carried was truly mine. The ruse needed to be over because I was in over my head.
For the first time in my life, I was going to bail on a case.
Because this woman—this sweet, kind, beautiful creature… She deserved the truth. My truth. And after that, I could only hope that I would have the chance to convince her that I was worth a second chance.
And then she’d opened that door, her beautiful eyes bright and happy to greet me. It had nearly undone me. When she ushered me in, I’d gotten my first real look at the thickening at her middle that I knew had to have been happening while she hid in loose clothing.
On her willowy frame, I knew a baby Brooks wouldn’t be hidden long, but I’d not been ready to deal with the shudder of pleasure and overwhelming gratitude that had come over me.
I’d known she was pregnant with my baby. But seeing it, the evidence of that growing life, of my future. Of our future. It almost took me to my knees.
For a long moment, I’d almost reached for her, wishing that I’d had the balls to tell her who I was the other night. Because not only was I craving another taste of her lips, but I wanted to feel that bump against my body.
They were my family. I could feel it.
But as soon as she’d darted away to grab her bag, I’d been struck by something else foreign.
Fear.
Because if she rejected me, if she opted to keep me away for the remainder of this pregnancy, I wasn’t sure I could make it. I wanted to know her. I wanted to surround myself with her. But more than that, I was already in love with the baby in her belly.
