He wasn’t here to hook up. In fact, the longer he sat in this booth, the more unsure he was about why he had come at all. How did he talk himself into this?
Dorran sipped his whiskey and really considered just what the hell he was doing. He had thought that this was something that he was going to miss, that he was giving something up if he committed to Kerry, but that seemed stupid now. The people around him didn’t care about him, he knew that. They were here because they wanted to have a good time and he could provide one. It wasn’t real, not like what he had with Kerry, or even the relationships he had with his grandma and brother.
So, why was he spending so much time with these kinds of people before?
Dorran didn’t know the answer to that question, but he was glad that he had come out tonight. Now he knew that he wasn’t going to miss this lifestyle. The black-out drinking and meaningless sex with strangers wasn’t appealing to him anymore. He had to immerse himself in this environment one more time, to be sure, and now he was.
It might be scary to pursue real happiness, with the fear of falling short once again, but he knew that he couldn’t be happy with this carefree lifestyle any longer. It was better to take a risk on love than to go through life caring about nothing.
Dorran looked at his Rolex and was disappointed to see that it was already after midnight. He knew that what he said earlier was true; Kerry did have an early flight in the morning. It was probably too late to go to her place.
He’d stay here for a while, but it wasn’t going to be the wild night that he had envisioned. The party boy wasn’t going out with a bang, as many would expect. He was going to sit here and enjoy a drink or two, but then he’d be going home less than drunk and completely alone, hanging up his metaphorical party hat for the last time.
And he was fine with that. It was time to grow up.
Pulling his phone out of his pocket, Dorran fired off a text to Kerry.
Just wanna say I’ll miss you this week. Can’t wait til you’re back. XOXO
He knew that she’d wake up to that text in the morning and the thought made him smile, a real one this time, not the cocky smirk that he usually wore like a mask. He had no reason to hide from the world anymore.
* * *
The next morning, Kerry was in the bathroom with tears in her eyes. She had gone to the drugstore after Dorran dropped her off the night before, deciding to buy three more pregnancy tests, all different brands. She didn’t know if she’d get a clearer result, it had only been two days since her last test, after all. But she was desperate to know for sure, so it was worth a shot.
The instructions said the most accurate results would come from the morning’s first urination, so she had waited, hurrying to the bathroom the second she opened her eyes.
Now, she was standing in front of her vanity, looking down at three very positive pregnancy tests. She’d tried to contain her excitement after the unclear results of the first test she took, afraid to be disappointed, but now…
Now, tears of joy rolled down her cheeks.
She was going to have a baby. It was a sure thing, and she felt like her heart was expanding in her chest, swelling with love.
It was several minutes before she got her emotions under control. She had the crazy urge to go to the store and start buying teddy bears and tiny outfits. It was way too early for that, of course, but her excitement was overwhelming.
She almost wished she didn’t have to leave for the airport in less than an hour. The book tour was going to be great for her career, but she couldn’t wrap her head around it when something so huge was going on in her personal life.
On the other hand, it would give her some time to figure out how to tell Dorran. As happy as she was about the pregnancy, she wasn’t sure how he would feel. She hoped he’d be happy, but she was a realist. This was an unplanned pregnancy, and they hadn’t even talked about the future. Sure, she had started out with the idea of turning him into the perfect husband, but somewhere along the way, she’d also fallen for him.
And she wasn’t quite sure that a perfect husband existed, anyway. Look at her parents. Kerry was still rattled by the revelation that they weren’t the blissfully happy couple she had thought them to be, and things were tense between her and her dad. All she knew for sure was that she couldn’t tell Dorran about this over the phone, so it would have to wait until she got back from her book tour at the end of the week.
Picking up her cell phone, she was surprised to see a text message notification flash across the screen. When she opened Dorran’s message, a warm affection filled her chest. Maybe he would be happy about the baby, after all. Hope took root, and she found herself believing that everything was going to work out for the best. She might have found her happy ending.
Chapter Fourteen
The first stop on Kerry’s book tour was Phoenix. She flew out from the very same airport where Eric dumped her, marveling at the alternate path she was on these days.
The first day went well. The book signing had a huge turnout. Kerry had done a reading of one of the chapters in her book, then met with fans and signed books until her hand cramped. It was an amazing validation of her life’s work.
And she was able to eat some cheese crackers without getting sick.
All-in-all, it was a great success.
But, a surprise waited for her on Tuesday.
The second day of her book tour found her at a bookstore in Las Vegas. She’d flown in on the red-eye, so she wasn’t exactly well-rested, but Kerry wasn’t one to let that get her down.
The bookstore was charming, with a café in the back and easy chairs scattered throughout, where people could sit and read. They had a podium set up for her, and when she did her reading, the small store was so full of people that it had to be a fire hazard.
Which made her feel like a rock star.
Her agent had tried to cap the book signing part of the event at two hours, but Kerry had overridden him. She wasn’t going to turn a single person away without an autographed copy of her book. She wanted to meet everyone.
It was when she’d cleared out more than half of the line that a familiar-looking redhead stepped up to her table. Kerry had the feeling that she knew the woman somehow, but she couldn’t, for the life of her, remember who she was.
“Hello.” She greeted with a warm smile. She picked up a book from the stack on the table beside her. “Who should I make it out to?”
“My name is Gia,” the woman said, folding her arms across her chest and cocking her hip.
Kerry froze. Hearing her name made it all click into place. That’s where she knew her from. This was Dorran’s ex-wife, the woman that he’d been photographed with. She almost didn’t recognize her with her clothes on.
“I see you know who I am,” Gia said coolly.
“Uh, yeah. I mean…you know who I am, too?”
“I do. Dorran mentioned that he was seeing someone, and it wasn’t hard to track down who you were. Money sure does open a lot of doors.”
“Money?” Kerry felt confuddled and almost defensive. This was so unexpected, and she couldn’t imagine what this woman wanted with her.
“Of course. Don’t you know? Dorran gave me a nice little payoff to sign the annulment papers.”
Kerry supposed that made sense, but she didn’t like this woman’s smug tone of voice, like it pleased her to know something that Kerry didn’t.
“Oh, yes, the payoff,” she said, pretending to know what the hell Gia was talking about. It felt petty, but she didn’t give a shit. “I’m glad you were able to use it to buy some clothing.”
Gia frowned, then narrowed her eyes, studying Kerry.
“So, you’re the one. The girl good enough to marry.”
“What?”
Kerry couldn’t have heard her right.
“I had to come when I realized you would be in Vegas. I had to see who was considered good enough to appease Dorran’s family.”
Now she was really confused.
It must have shown in her face, because Gia smiled, pity flashing in her eyes.
“You don’t know, do you?”
“Know what, exactly?”
Kerry sat down her pen and folded her hands on the table in front of her.
“Well, I hate to be the one to tell you this,” she started, but her expression contradicted her words. She looked amused, “but Dorran’s grandma and brother are making him get married. He has to find a respectable wife soon or he’ll lose the company.”
Kerry frowned.
“How would you know something like that?”
“He told me, of course. Don’t take it personally. He was trying to get me to agree to the annulment.”
Kerry wanted to argue, to deny that Gia’s words were true, but she couldn’t. It made sense. Stan had set her up with Dorran in the first place. Of course, he would do that if he wanted his brother to settle down.
How could Dorran keep something like this from her?
A feeling of humiliation slid into her heart. Was this whole thing about needing a wife to keep his livelihood? She had been falling in love with him, and he was just using her to get his family off his back.
This was worse than being dumped at the airport.
“Why did you come here, really?” Kerry’s voice sounded unsteady to her own ears, and she hated that. She wanted to appear strong. Gia folded her arms across her chest.
“Honestly? I wanted Dorran. I wasn’t too drunk to know what was going on the night we got hitched.”
“You weren’t? What kind of psycho are you?” It was so wrong of her to take advantage of Dorran like that. She was indignant on his behalf.
“Don’t judge me, bitch.” Gia’s voice carried, and several women in line behind her gasped. Kerry’s agent started to hurry over, but she caught his eye and shook her head. She could sense that Gia would be trouble if escorted out, probably causing a hell of a scene. It would be better to let her have her say.
“I like the guy, okay?” Gian didn’t phrase it as a question so much as if this was a perfectly acceptable reason to force a guy into marriage.
“Well, I love him.”
“But he’s using you.”
Kerry turned silent. Could that be true? It was game at the beginning; they both knew that. But it was different now. She searched her thoughts for an answer.
“Maybe,” Kerry finally said, even though the thought caused an ache in her chest. “But it doesn’t change my feelings.”
“Whatever,” Gia snapped. She turned on heel and marched out of the bookstore in huff. She clearly didn’t get the response from Kerry that she was hoping for. Kerry’s agent came over to the table as she stood.
“I just need a break,” Kerry said. “I’ll be back in ten minutes.”
Before he could respond, she took off to the back of the store, through a door marked Employees Only. There was a storeroom and a tiny break room, where one of the two employees on duty was sitting, scrolling through her phone. She looked up at Kerry as she walked through the room, looking startled. Kerry didn’t stop. She was heading for the back door of the place.
As soon as she pulled open the door, fresh air washed over her face. She tried to breathe in deeply, but her chest suddenly felt tight. She stepped out into the sunshine, trembling uncontrollably.
If she were thinking rationally, she would have recognized her symptoms immediately. But Kerry wasn’t thinking rationally, and that was the problem. She couldn’t see past her hurt and overwhelmed feelings to recognize the anxiety attack for what it was.
To be fair, she’d never had one before.
So, she paced in the alley behind the bookstore, getting more and more worked up as she panicked about the shortness of breath she was experiencing. Fear flooded her system, combining with the sense of betrayal and the shock being ambushed by her lover’s ex.
After several minutes, she started hyperventilating, and spots danced across her vision. She lunged for the door of the store, wrenching it open to find her agent standing there, clearly looking for her. One look at her pale face and wide, fearful eyes had worry printed across his own face.
“Shit, Kerry, are you okay?”
He grabbed her by the elbow and led her to the break room, but she stumbled, feeling weak.
Damn it, why couldn’t she seem to catch her breath? The more she tried, the harder it became, and as she tried to walk, her hands pressed against her flat stomach. Her concern for her unborn child was definitely not helping the situation.
“I’m calling 911,” her agent announced. Kerry didn’t even attempt to argue with the man, not that she could have anyway. She needed air to speak. Reaching out, she clung to his arm tightly, trying to keep herself upright, but she couldn’t. Darkness was closing in fast and she felt her body go limp as her eyelids fluttered, then shut.
The last thing she was aware of before she lost consciousness altogether was the sound of her agent’s startled gasp. She just hoped he was quick enough to catch her before she hit the floor.
Then, she surrendered to the darkness.
* * *
Kerry was confused when she awoke. Before she even opened her eyes, she registered that she was in an unfamiliar place. The bed was stiff, and there was a low electrical hum, so soft that it was almost impossible to detect. The smell was unfamiliar, too, an odd combination of chemicals and body sweat.
Her eyelids fluttered open and she easily recognized the space as a hospital room. It was bright, with white sheets on the bed she was lying in and white paint on the walls. Pretty standard.
It took her a moment to remember what had happened.
The bookstore. Gia. Betrayal. Anxiety attack.
Suddenly jerking up into a sitting position, she felt a slight sting on the back of her hand. Kerry looked down in confusion to see an IV line inserted there. She frowned.
Then movement at the side of her bed drew her attention to her dad sitting there, watching her closely with a concerned look in his eyes.
“Dad? What are you doing here?”
“Eric called me.”
Kerry wasn’t sure how many more surprises she could take today.
“Eric? What the hell?”
“You still have him listed as your emergency contact with the medical network. So, when you were brought in for fainting at your book event, they called him first.”
“Oh, God,” Kerry moaned, mortification making her flush. She had completely forgotten to change her emergency contact information. “You flew here from Connecticut? How long have I been here?”
“I just got here. I got lucky when I got to the airport. They were able to find me a seat on the first flight out. I’m not sure how long you’ve been here, but they called me about seven hours ago.”
“Crap,” she let her head fall back onto her pillow and groaned.
“How do you feel?”
“Fine. I’m fine.”
“Don’t lie to me, young lady,” he replied, using his sternest dad voice.
Before she could reply, the door of the hospital room opened, and a tall doctor with white hair walked in. He was wearing sky-blue scrubs with a white laboratory jacket on top and holding a medical chart in his hands.
“Ah, I see you’re awake. Good.”
“Am I okay? The baby?”
Her dad jolted in his seat. “The baby?”
But Kerry kept her eyes focused squarely on the doctor. Maybe it wasn’t the best way to break the news to her dad, but she was too worried about her unborn child to care.
“You’re both okay,” the doctor said.
Her breath left her in a rush and the relief was a balm to her soul.
“But you did have an anxiety attack, which can be very dangerous for the fetus. Too much high-level stress during the pregnancy can result in miscarriage.”
Her blood turned to ice in her veins, and she placed her free hand on her stomach, as if she could shield her child that way.
“I don’t even understand what h
appened. I mean, I got some…bad news, but I’m not the type to freak out like that.”
“It’s most likely connected to your hormones. There are a lot of changes going on in your body right now and your emotions are affected. That’s one of the reasons you don’t mess with a pregnant lady.”
She nodded. The doctor’s words made sense, but she couldn’t help feeling guilty for putting her baby in danger.
“And based on this anxiety attack, I assume you haven’t been sleeping well?” he asked.
“Well . . . no. I mean, I’ve been working.”
She saw her dad frown out of the corner of her eye, but she ignored it. She loved the man, but he’d never understood just how important her career was to her.
“Growing a baby is exhausting, Miss Donovan. You need your rest.”
“Your agent was here when I arrived,” her dad chimed in. “He told me that he was cancelling the rest of your book tour until you’re feeling better.”
Kerry’s first instinct was to fight that decision. In fact, she was reaching for her phone on the nightstand beside her before she came to her senses. Yes, she wanted to do this tour. Her career was important to her, but she had put her baby in real danger today. Work was just going to have to take second place in her life from now on. She needed to take some time to rest and regroup.
“What’s in here?” She asked, holding up her hand with the IV line in place.
“Just some fluids,” the doctor answered. “You were slightly dehydrated when you came in.”
Kerry nodded. She had to take better care of herself. Her guilt increased. She’d been so reckless, and she should know better. She was a smart, independent woman, after all.
“You’re pregnant?” Her dad asked when the doctor left them alone, promising to check back in later and remove the IV. They wanted to keep her for observation overnight.
She nodded.
“Was this my fault? For stressing you out about the divorce?”
To her horror, she saw stark pain on his face, her own guilt matching his. This was not the reaction she was expecting from him.
Making Out with the Billionaire Page 13
