by Mia Pride
That feeling only grew stronger every day, and though I stayed the night at his place often, we had not yet said the “L” word. I stayed busy with a side gig I picked up at a small, local restaurant to keep me active and paying my own bills despite Chris’s offers to support me. But, I wasn’t into letting a man, even one as rich as Chris, carry my financial burdens. Call it pride. Maybe pride also kept me from declaring how madly in love with him I was. Or perhaps it was fear that he would not return the sentiment. Things were going extremely well, considering how fast we charged forward once we decided we were all in. This was no casual romance. We had a child on the way, and that reality never escaped either of us. So far, we both seemed to enjoy the flow and preparations to become parents, but once the child arrived and reality set in, would we be as strong and confident in our relationship? I preferred not to think about such things, but it was hard not to.
As we left the room, the ultrasound technician handed us the envelope, and I looked down at it as we walked back to the car, desperate to tear into it and finally know my baby’s gender.
“I’m not sure how you can be so patient,” I huffed while we drove toward Brent’s house. “Don’t you wanna know what’s in this envelope?”
“I do know.” Chris glanced at me and then back at the road. “It’s either a boy or a girl.”
“Gah!” He was so chill all the time. The yin to my yang, but also frustrating as hell when I wanted everything immediately. I preferred risks, chances, and spontaneity, but Chris thrived on calculations, planning, and consistency. Maybe that was why he ran a huge company and had hundreds of millions of dollars, if not more, while I lived in a tiny condo.
“We will know soon enough.” Chris placed his large, warm hand on my thigh, and I felt my tension melt away. “Just enjoy the moment. We saw our baby’s heart and little feet.”
“That is very true. Tiny heart and feet. It’s crazy to know there is a little life inside of me right now.” Looking down, I placed a hand on my belly, loving that it was starting to look like a baby bump and less like I let myself go down to the donut shop far too often. “And it’s scary to know that one way or another, this baby is coming out of me in just five months.”
“One way or another?” Chris raised a dark brow. “Isn’t there only one way?”
“No. It could be a c-section if the baby isn’t positioned properly.”
Chris’s features grew serious, and he frowned. “When will we know if it’s not?”
“Not until right before I’m due. The baby should get into the proper position. If not, we discuss the options.” I saw concern in his downturned lips and the crease in his brow. His shoulders tensed as he turned the car off the main road and drove up Brent’s street, slowly pulling to the side.
When he parked along the curb and turned off the engine, I placed my hand on his and squeezed. “Everything is going just as expected, and we have no reason to worry. Come on. Let’s get in there and rip apart this envelope!”
As he always did, Chris came around to open my car door. I insisted it was unnecessary, but he insisted it was an ingrained courtesy that he would always do, much like walking on the curb-side of every sidewalk while with a lady. It was old-fashioned, but that was Chris. He had manners, and I had to adjust to being with a man raised with proper etiquette.
We knocked on their door, and Crystal opened it with a grin across her face. “Well? Am I having a niece or a nephew?” she asked, stepping aside so we could get out of the cold April evening wind. The wet porch shone in the late-afternoon sun, but the chill in the air warned of more rain to come.
“This magic envelope will tell us!” I said, waving it around like it was the golden ticket to the chocolate factory.
Brent came around the corner with Grace on his tail. “Auntie Monica! Uncle Chris!” She ran full speed toward us, hugging our legs at the same time.
“Hey, Gracie-girl! How’s my favorite niece?” I asked, ruffling her hair.
“I’m your only niece!” she laughed.
“Which makes you my favorite! It’s a good thing Crystal is having a boy, so I never have to choose.”
Brent shook Chris’s hand, and I held my breath, still not entirely certain the men were on good terms again. Brent had gone from demanding Chris stay away from me to demanding he marry me. But this wasn’t 1952, and it wasn’t his place to choose or deny my suiters.
“Nice to see you, Brent,” Chris said with a straight face, also wary of my brother’s protective side. I hoped they would move past the awkwardness eventually and get back to how they used to be. No matter what happened with Chris and me in the future, he would be in our lives for several reasons.
“I’m glad you could come,” Brent said with a hesitant smile that gave me hope.
“Oh, what’s cooking? It smells delicious!” I said to break the tension, removing my coat when I stepped into the living room.
“Well, it should smell good. It’s your lasagna recipe. I snagged it, remember?” Crystal asked and laughed as she walked behind me.
I took a deep inhale and sighed, feeling my stomach rumble. “Oh, yeah!” I said, remembering the day she raided my family’s old recipe file. “So, we ready to open this bad boy? Because I cannot wait anymore!”
Chris came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, kissing the top of my head. Crystal lit up and clapped her hands with excitement, and to my relief, Brent looked just as excited and not at all put off that Chris showed affection in front of him.
“Open it! Open it!” Crystal impatiently banged her palm on the table while Grace played with her stuffed cats near the couch, not at all concerned with the sex of an unseen baby cousin yet.
“Chris, you do the honors.” Turning in his arms, I looked up at my guy and felt that damned flutter again when his deep-green eyes bore into mine. He made me weak in the knees simply by breathing in the same room as me. It was pathetic, but I couldn’t help it. And I just wanted to watch his face when he opened the envelope and discovered the gender one split second before I did.
He took the envelope and carefully lifted the seal. Of course, he would be gentle. I would rip it to shreds like a beast. “Do it faster!” I urged, bouncing on my tiptoes.
“I want to save this card for the baby’s memory book,” he casually murmured as he slid a finger beneath the seal. His words hit me with the impact of a truck running me over. He really cared. Chris wasn’t just here because he had to be. Even though deep down I knew that, hearing that he thought of things like memory books made me fall even more in love with him and gave me hope that we would really make this work.
Pulling out the card, Chris looked at me before flipping it open. “Ready?” I nodded and gripped his hips with anticipation. Slowly, he lifted the card’s flap, and his eyes widened, a smile spreading across his perfectly chiseled face.
“It’s a boy, Mon. We are having a son!”
I jumped and squealed, wrapping my arms around his neck. “A boy! I thought I saw a little weenie on the ultrasound screen!”
He chuckled and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into a warm embrace. I heard Brent and Crystal cheering beside us, but I was too lost in the moment with Chris to pay any attention. We were going to have a son. The intense reality hit us both hard, like a strike of lightning wrapping itself around us, binding us forever.
“Oh, my God! We are both having boys! This is going to be great!” Crystal cheered and clapped her hands just as the oven’s timer rang. “And, dinner is ready!”
“Here, let me help.” Following Crystal into the kitchen, I saw my brother eye Chris oddly and clenched my teeth, hoping I didn’t need to kick his ass tonight... or pull his head out of it.
Chris
DINNER WAS DELICIOUS, if not awkward. I did my best to stay polite, and Crystal was her usual, kind self. But Brent and I had issues to work through, and nothing would be the same for us until we did. I took responsibility for my part of this situation, but Brent needed to grow u
p. Monica and I were grown adults who needed nobody’s consent.
As we said our farewells and Crystal walked Monica to the car, I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to lock eyes with Brent. Silently, I waited for him to say whatever it was he needed before I chose my next words.
“Hey, man.”
“Hey,” I replied. “Thanks again for having us over.”
“Yeah. Any time. Look. I’ve been a dick. I know this. I knew it the entire time. Truth is, I’ve always had to protect Monica. She never made good decisions about the men she dated. Look what that piece of shit Steve did to her. But, you’re not those men, and I know that. I guess I was pissed that my best friend saw my sister as a piece of ass like so many other men before, but I see now that it was always going to be more than that between the two of you. She’s never been this happy. You know we have twin-vibes, and I can feel her happiness palpably. I’m sorry.”
Taking a deep breath, I nodded and put a hand out. “I’m sorry, too. I made many brash decisions where your sister is concerned, and you know that is not like me. She makes me a different man—a better man. All the money and breeding in the world cannot make a man grow as much as finding out he’s going to be a father.”
“Don’t I know it,” Brent said dryly. “Hell, I was only 19 when I accidentally knocked up Amber and lost Crystal. I grew up overnight. I was young and stupid. But, you’re not. You have a successful career, home, life experience. You’ve got this.”
“I do. It wasn’t expected or even wanted in the beginning. I will always regret my initial reaction to the news. Truth is, I’m also happier than ever before. Your sister is...” I paused and cleared my throat, not comfortable getting overly sappy. “Well, she’s extraordinary.”
“Fuck. You love her, don’t you?”
“Of course, I love her. How could I not?”
“Does she know this?”
“I’m not sure. We haven’t talked about it. There have been enough changes, and we are still adjusting. I don’t want to drop a bomb on her and scare her away. For now, I’m enjoying our time, getting to know her more every day, and preparing for a child.”
“Got it. Well, word of advice about my sister. She is an all-or-nothing kind of girl. Don’t say anything you don’t expect her to remember or take seriously, but don’t withhold either, or she may slip through your fingers. She won’t abide feeling pushed away or kept a secret in any way... if you get what I’m saying.”
“My family,” I grunted, knowing Brent understood the expectations my parents held for my future. I was not supposed to accidentally impregnate a middle-class chef when I had a line of well-bred society misses waiting to secure my name and produce the coveted Farrington heir. I knew my parents would be less than pleased, perhaps even hostile, so I had yet to tell them about my situation.
“Yeah. Them.” Brent grimaced, wearing his disdain for my family on every feature. I wasn’t offended. Father was less than pleased when I brought Brent in as my business partner. Being a whiz at marketing and graduating with honors from a prestigious business program wasn’t good enough for my father, Mister Christopher Edward Wilson Farrington III... nor me, the fourth of the name. Brent wasn’t “one of us,” and I had disappointed my dad by selecting him over some aristocrat’s spoiled son who hoped to obtain the position through nepotism.
“I hear you. I will do right by your sister, Brent. I should get out there.”
Nodding, Brent shook my hand and smiled at me for the first time in months. “I know you will.”
That was about as much as I could expect for now, so I nodded back and left the house, hugging Crystal before stepping into the car. Droplets of mist coated my face, and I smelled the storm brewing in the air as the wind shook the budding branches of trees that lined their street.
“Stay at my place tonight?” I asked, leaning in to kiss Monica before starting the car.
“Depends. Are you going to let me sleep?” Monica raised a brow and cracked a smile.
“Hell, no,” I added, placing a hand on her thigh as I put the car in gear and headed down the street.
“Then, I would love to,” she replied with a wicked grin.
Chapter Thirteen
Chris
MY PHONE RATTLED INSIDE the desk’s drawer for what must have been the fourth time in an hour. Growling under my breath, I ran a hand through my hair and clenched my teeth. Today was not the day for my mother to start her frantic calls, most likely desperate to brag about her latest wardrobe acquisition. I had an acquisition of my own today—the absorption of a company I’d had my eye on for a while.
My lawyer, Rob, sat at my desk and repeatedly clicked his pen, watching me shuffle papers and calls as my execs flew in and out of my office. “Is it always this chaotic?” he asked with amusement lacing his tone.
“No.” Opening the drawer, I looked at my vibrating phone and saw my mother’s name flash across the screen... again. With a sigh, I swiped it open to answer the call. “Is dad dead?”
“What? No...”
“Is anyone dead?”
“Don’t be foolish, Christopher. I only wanted to tell you that—”
“Mother. I cannot talk right now unless you want my company to make the front page of the business news for botching a quarter-billion-dollar business deal.”
Mother tutted in that way that made my eyes roll. “Very well. Call me soon, Poodle. Tootles.”
“Did your mom just call you ‘Poodle’?” My lawyer asked when I tossed my phone back in the drawer and slammed it shut.
“Long story,” I mumbled and looked up at him. My secretary’s voice calling through my intercom served as a well-needed diversion from the topic of my childhood nickname.
“Mister Farrington, your three-o’clock is here.”
“Send him in.” I pushed the flashing red button and looked at Rob. “He’s here to sign the contract.”
Within moments, Thomas Marshall, the CEO of the business we were about to absorb, walked into my office with Brent trailing behind him.
Just as we shook hands, my damned phone buzzed in my drawer again, but I hid my annoyance behind a professional smile. I had to close this deal today, and my mother’s gossip needed to wait.
“Have a seat, Mister Marshall,” I said, signaling to the chair beside Rob. “Let’s get down to business.”
After hours of negotiations and redrafting the final paperwork, we had a fair contract for all, and Mister Marshall seemed well-pleased with his share of the deal. His employees would keep their jobs in the transition, and his company now fell under our umbrella, adding jobs, revenue, and market relevance to all. But, by the time Mister Marshall left my office, it was well past seven, and I had a pounding headache. Grabbing my briefcase, I tossed the contracts in and started to leave my office before remembering my phone. I took a few quick strides back toward my desk and removed my phone from the drawer, noticing it was almost dead, and I had several missed calls and one voicemail.
With a frustrated sigh, I took the elevator down to the parking garage, tossed my briefcase into the passenger seat, and slid into the car with another sigh—this time with relief. It had been one of the crazier days at work, but I thrived off the chaos. I worked best under pressure. My mother’s constant calls were an issue, though, and I would need to speak with her about it.
Connecting my phone to Bluetooth, I ignored the missed calls and instructed my phone to play the voicemail, expecting to hear my mother rambling once more about her petty gossip or some newly single miss that was a sure catch.
“Chris...” Monica whispered, and it made my heart sink as she paused on the message. Was something wrong with the baby? “Your mom and dad showed up this evening... with your fiancée? I’m not sure what is going on, and they obviously don’t either. They think I’m your pregnant maid, which means you never told them about me. This is... not okay.”
The message ended, and I clenched my teeth, hitting the gas until my engine revved. I was going to have ma
ny, many words with my parents, but my biggest concern right now was Monica. I was going to arrive home to a shit show.
Monica
“SO, WHEN DID YOU START working for Christopher?” His quote-unquote fiancée asked, tapping her perfectly manicured nails on the countertop. Her fluffy toy poodle stood on the counter beside her, yapping in my face before I could get a word out. Charlie barked at my feet and jumped, trying to reach what he assumed was a new fluffy toy. “And he lets you bring your... whatever this thing is...” She pointed to Charlie. “To work with you?”
Clenching my teeth, I took a deep, steadying breath. I looked at Samantha and narrowed my eyes. She didn’t want to admit it, but I knew she remembered me from the restaurant. She was a raging bitch, but I already knew this. I also knew she wasn’t his fiancée. I didn’t know why his parents believed she was and why they didn’t know I existed or that the child I carried was their grandchild.
It had been another month since our last ultrasound. We worked hard to set up the nursery, and my entire family knew about Chris and our son. Yet his parents knew nothing. Never had I felt more out of my league or rejected.
There was only one conclusion: Chris was ashamed of me. He accidentally knocked me up. Sure, he stepped up to the plate, and I knew he cared about me. But maybe he was only here out of obligation. Hell, maybe Chris loved me but was too ashamed to tell his family he was slumming it with a middle-class chef. Either way, it wasn’t okay. He’d had plenty of time to tell them. Now, I was here in his home being treated like nothing more than his hired help as his mom wandered room to room, making sure I’ve been “worth the money” that she assumed her son paid me.
Chris wasn’t answering his mother’s many calls to tell him they decided to visit and likely also complain about his new pregnant maid. “So, Samantha... is it?” I finally replied, ignoring her question altogether. “How long have you and Chris been engaged?”
