Billionaires & Babies: The Complete Series

by Leslie North

  “What?” Connie’s brow creased as she smoothed down her black bangs. She’d been changing recently—newer clothes, a shorter, more stylish cut. He wasn’t sure if it was the baby, or the access to money, or something else. Part of him wanted to think that she’d like to look good for him. The other part of him knew it didn’t matter.

  “You’re…” He snatched up his papers from the couch, coming back over to her. He pointed to her belly. “There’s a baby in there.”

  She snorted, shifting uncomfortably on her feet. “Yeah. I guess that’s what happens when you get pregnant. Silly me, I thought it was just an excuse to eat whatever I wanted. Turns out, whatever’s inside me has to come out, too.”

  He smiled, leading her into the dining room. His big table overlooked the San Diego Bay. He spread out his papers, inviting her to sit at the head of the table.

  “It’s just…exciting. You’re finally showing. Like, actually showing. Pregnant showing.” He smiled, looking down at her belly again. “Can I touch your belly?”

  She looked up at him, and the heart shape of her face combined with that innocence in her eyes, as if she would have given him anything right then if he’d asked…it sent emotion searing through him. Almost brought him to his knees.

  “If you want.”

  Brian reached out hesitantly, cupping the gentle arc of her belly under his palm. It didn’t feel particularly remarkable, but the best part was knowing that his baby was in there. He blinked a few times, tracing the curve of her stomach.

  “How have you been feeling today?” he asked quietly. They still texted daily. But now, he just wanted to hear her voice. Drink her in, all the drops he normally wouldn’t let himself enjoy.

  “Okay. Mostly tired.” She laughed softly, her own hand tracing a pattern alongside his. “Some days I still sleep until eleven. I thought they said the second trimester was supposed to feel better.”

  “Every woman is different,” he whispered, his fingers trailing away from her stomach, and up over her arms. He caught himself, though. This couldn’t happen. Not because Felicia would be upset—they still had their non-exclusive relationship agreement—but because it wasn’t fair to Connie. He didn’t want to be flirting with her only to end up marrying Felicia. He was all about fun and games, but even that seemed too much.

  “So,” Connie said, her tone reminding him that they had work to do. “What should I look at first?”

  Brian spread out the papers, taking a few moments to refocus his careening mind. Seeing Connie’s pregnant belly in its swollen glory for the first time affected him more than he’d expected. Maybe Meghan had a point. If he could feel reverent just about the fact that she was getting rounder, who knew what would happen when he saw a picture of the baby someday.

  “I drew up the birth plan and our preferred custodial arrangement,” Brian said, clearing his throat. He needed to get away from Connie. She was too tempting, and she didn’t even realize it. “I’d like to have these papers signed by both of us. Just to keep things on track. And to use as a reference down the road if anything goes awry.”

  “Awry,” Connie repeated distantly as she scanned the papers. “Like inserting another doula into my birth plan against my will?”

  Brian jerked to look at the papers, but when Connie cackled a moment later, he realized she’d gotten him.

  “Had ya fooled,” she said, swiping at her black tresses. Her creamy white skin glowed—no doubt the pregnancy glow everyone always raved about. “It looks good. The birth plan at least. I’ll need some time with the custodial papers though. It’s long.”

  “That’s fine. Take your time.” Brian headed for his wet bar but paused halfway. Connie lifted a brow.

  “I almost went to pour myself a drink,” Brian said. “But if you can’t drink, then I can’t drink.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. I’ve been around plenty of people who drink in front of me. I can handle it, I swear.”

  “But…solidarity?” He headed back toward the dining room table, slipping into the chair beside her.

  She sighed, a dreamy look coming over her face. “You’re a very good pregnancy partner, you know that?”

  “Am I?”

  She nodded, something wistful creasing her face. “Yeah. I lucked out with you.” A moment or two passed, and then she added, “And no, I was not combing San Diego looking for a billionaire baby daddy. I never even wanted to have kids, really. This just…”

  He reached for her hand without meaning to. It fit perfectly inside his—cool and petite. She nibbled on her bottom lip.

  “This just feels really right, ya know?” She searched his face. “At least it does for me. Maybe you think the opposite.”

  “At the beginning, I wasn’t so sure,” Brian admitted softly. He ran his thumb back and forth over her knuckles. “But as time goes on, it’s feeling righter and righter.”

  She smiled softly, looking at their clasped hands. “I never meant to disrupt your life. I mean, what you’ve got going with Felicia…”

  “Is mostly business,” Brian blurted. “We’re not even exclusive.” The tips of his ears heated suddenly. He hadn’t meant to admit that. Not to Connie. Why even go there? It sounded horrible—probably because it was.

  “What do you mean?”

  He tilted his head back and forth as he considered the inky black bay beyond the windows. “She and I are…a good match. For both personal and business reasons. But mostly business.”

  Connie blinked up at him a few times. He could practically see the information cycling through her.

  “So she’s a bitch.”

  Brian erupted with a laugh. “No. She’s fine. She’s just…”

  “Boring? Plastic? Barbie?”

  All of those. Brian fought a grin. “No. We just have common interests that pertain more to business than pleasure.”

  “Money,” Connie said. And he didn’t object, which prompted a knowing nod from her.

  “Well, hey. Some people get off on long walks on the beach. Other people get off on reaching billionaire status.” She shrugged, sitting back in her chair. “Who am I to judge?”

  Brian reached for a pen nearby, absentmindedly clicking the cap as he thought. The picture he’d painted of himself wasn’t exactly ideal. Sure, he loved money. Wanted all of it. But that wasn’t the whole picture.

  “I’m not just some money hound for the sake of acquiring assets,” he said, squinting over at her. “I’ve worked my entire life to get here. I started with nothing.”

  Connie rested her chin on her fist, drawing an invisible pattern on the tabletop. “So what are you? Huckleberry Finn or something?”

  “Or something.” He sighed tersely, watching her creamy finger swirl and dip on the wooden surface. Even that was sensual somehow. Something Felicia had never inspired in him. “I grew up really poor. And when I was about ten, I got into this horrible fight at school. They called my mom to come pick me up. But because of that, she was late to her job. Late for the last time. They fired her…because of me. Because I was acting out. She relied on me to watch my younger siblings, so she could earn money for the family.”

  Connie frowned. “And that’s why you need a billion dollars?”

  “Well, no,” he said. “It’s just a goal. My mother is very well off now. I put my sister through school. My brother has made his own way. We’re all fine. But I’m not going to stop until I make my goal. I promised myself. And that’s really important to me.” He swallowed an unexpected knot in his throat. “I never had a dad growing up. So it’s not like I’m making him proud or anything. It’s just…”

  Connie nodded, her watery eyes full of understanding. She reached out over the table and squeezed his wrist.

  “I get it,” she said softly. “I’m not judging you, you know. I mean, I might sound like it but I’m not. Your life is your life.”

  Brian drew a shaky breath. He never went there with people. He hadn’t even gone there with Felicia. So why had he ope
ned up to Connie?

  “I’m going to make sure our baby has a good life,” Brian said finally, feeling the strength come back to him. “Even if I can’t be a part of its life, I’ll make sure it doesn’t have to struggle like I did.”

  9

  Connie hadn’t had a place of employment since she was let go from O Developments, but life hadn’t slowed down one bit. In fact, she felt busier than when she’d worked full time. Between doctor’s appointments, nursery decorating, birth classes, and the never-ending string of details that cropped up related to the pregnancy, she felt like she could almost do with an assistant.

  Or maybe it was just her growing belly and waning energy that had her needing extra help. The darker side of her worried that it was Brian’s influence. His access to money, assistance, and comforts were bad for her. Not because they didn’t help. No, they helped too much. It was easy to get used to. She was going soft.

  That’s what she’d been worrying about recently, at least. Knowing that she might never financially need help ever again, or at least during the first eighteen years of their child’s life, had settled strangely within her. Like a foreign object in her soda. She wasn’t sure if she should just buck up and swallow or fight it.

  With all these comforts at her disposal, she might become someone different. Someone like Felicia.

  She shuddered as she downshifted on her motorcycle, which she’d affectionately named Little Betty. The cool evening air whipped past her, and as she pulled into the small parking lot of her apartment complex, she saw that someone had beat her home.

  Brian.

  With one brow severely arched as she pulled into an open spot down the row of full spaces.

  As she tugged off her helmet, she saw him storming over. He didn’t look happy.

  “What are you doing with this?” Brian gestured at Little Betty. She frowned, taking a step back.

  “I don’t know what you mean—”

  “Riding a motorcycle.” He was absolutely aghast. “While pregnant.”

  “Brian,” she said with a sigh, “This is how I get around. What’s the big deal?”

  “Our child’s life is the big deal.”

  She pursed her lips. “I’m not taking this pregnancy lightly, you know. But this is what I have to get around.”

  “And what about when the baby’s born? Are you just going to strap it to your back and keep zipping around on this?”

  She snorted, running a hand over her growing belly. A little flutter of movement from within—apparently Brian, Jr., thought this was a little overblown too.

  “No,” she said slowly, drawing it out. “Of course not. I’ll find a car. I just—”

  “You’re getting one today,” Brian said, his voice so firm it left no room for discussion. He pulled his phone out in the same breath. As he started swiping through screens, his meaning sank in: he meant now. He could probably make one materialize within the next fifteen minutes with his money and connections. Panic sliced through her.

  “What are you doing?”

  He scoffed. “Getting you a car.”

  “Okay, but what car.”

  “Something reasonable. Something with a hood, and four wheels, and roll protection.” Brian’s face was a hard mask as his thumbs raced over the screen of his phone. “And a driver. One who’s undergone every ounce of training imaginable.

  She furrowed a brow. “Now you’re just being ridiculous.”

  He made a noise that perfectly conveyed how silly he found that. “Actually, you’re the ridiculous one right now. Look at what you’re driving.”

  It was his words, and the invisible sneer behind them, that finally made her snap. She snatched his phone, the frustration bubbling over, making her throat tight. “Don’t you fucking call me ridiculous. What I’m driving is fine. You’re the one who hired a personal driver to Ridiculousville. You think I want a goddamn driver? Who do you think I am?”

  Shock moved across his face, slow and building. “I think you’re being a little brazen.”

  “Well, I think you’re being a little hoity-toity.” She stormed past him, anger frothing so much it scalded her. But even through her anger, she could feel the wild rush of hormones. So maybe she was overreacting a little. But this still pissed her off. Pregnant or not.

  “Connie,” he said, and she could sense him coming after her. But she hurried toward the apartment building anyway, intent on getting inside the door before absolutely losing her shit.

  “You shouldn’t follow me,” she said, throat tight. The whole day had been emotional. Riding Little Betty was one of the surefire ways to clear her head. He didn’t even know what being pregnant was like. No man did. Her spiraling thoughts pushed her deeper and deeper into the dank well of self-pity and frustration. She barely got the door open before the tears burst out.

  She covered her face, and a moment later strong arms wrapped around her. Brian had followed her. Thank God. She crumpled into his embrace, burying her face in his chest.

  “I really didn’t mean to piss you off so bad,” he began.

  “I’m pregnant, Brian,” she wailed, clutching onto him for dear life. God, it felt so good to be in his arms. To feel that firm, solid warmth around her. She didn’t realize how badly she’d wanted it. Or how much she’d missed it since their brief encounter.

  “Well, I know that,” he said.

  “Don’t fuck with me.” She sniffed hard, feeling some of the hormone cloud passing. “I’ve had an emotional day.”

  He laughed a little, squeezing her even tighter. “I’m not fucking with you.”

  “You yelled at me.”

  “I didn’t yell.”

  She huffed, then took a deep breath of his cologne. Maybe she could just stay here forever. “You silently criticized my lifestyle.”

  Brian heaved a deep sigh, but she could feel through the hug that he wasn’t upset with her. No, far from it. Heat radiated off of him, snapping her out of the sad trance. Being in his arms…it didn’t just feel nice. It felt titillating.

  “I’m sorry I upset you,” he said. His big, warm hand was rubbing a slow circle over her back. This, right here. It felt like home. “May I have my phone back now?”

  “Oh. Sure.” She fumbled to pull it out of her purse, where she’d stuffed it in her haste, and handed it to him. They didn’t break the seal of their hug, though.

  “I’m still buying you a car, you know.” He paused, his hand sliding ever-so-slightly closer to the swell of her hip. “But you can pick it out.”

  Tears crowded the edges of her eyes, but it wasn’t because she was upset. No, this was something a lot like adoration. Before she could blubber out a thank you, her phone buzzed in her purse. She sniffed, finally pulling back to break their minutes-long hug. Cold air replaced his warmth as she fished out her phone. It was her eldest brother, Harry. As a busy father and firefighter, he basically never called. She frowned, swiping it on before anxiety could take root.

  “Hello?”

  “Connie. What are you doing?”

  The tone of his voice sent her stomach into a thick knot. “I just got home. What’s up?”

  “Mom had a stroke. I’m on my way to the hospital now.”

  Her mouth parted as the words clunked around inside her head. “She what?”

  “I just got word from Dad. She’s stable, but we won’t know the damage until she wakes up. We’re on our way there now.” Harry told her the hospital and a few other details, and then hung up. Brian watched Connie with a look of deep concern.

  “You’ve gone pale.”

  Connie licked dry lips. She shook her head. “I need to go. Shit. My mom had a stroke.” The words sounded strange coming from her lips. Stuff like this wasn’t supposed to happen. Especially not now, when she was pregnant.

  “I’ll take you.” His tone was unequivocal. “You’re not going on that bike.”

  She didn’t have it in her to argue. Besides, she wouldn’t complain about his company. “Okay. Let’s
go.”

  The two of them rushed out of her building, Brian leading the way to his sleek sedan parked in the lot. She slid into the front seat, the tang of leather and luxury oddly calming to her as he pulled hastily out of the parking space.

  “I’m surprised you don’t have a driver.” She’d meant it as a joke, but her voice came out flat. All she could think about was her mother. Potential brain damage. A whole laundry list of issues that could result. What might have happened if her father hadn’t found her.

  Brian sent her a sharp look. “I still like to take care of certain things.” The rolled-up cuffs of his shirt sleeves caught her eye. Popping veins and manly hair on display all down his forearm. She blinked, unable to rip her gaze away. Maybe you could take care of this burning need between my legs.

  “Say that again?”

  His question confused her. She stared ahead as he maneuvered out of her apartment building’s parking lot. "What?"

  “You just mumbled something.” The blinker ticked softly. He craned his neck to see left and then right. “Something about burning.”

  Her cheeks flamed. She had not said that out loud. Please, Lord, let it not be true. “Oh, I was just thinking out loud.” Apparently, her loins were intent on sabotaging her. Or maybe it had just been approximately six months since getting laid. She tried for a confident laugh, but it just came out weak. She spent the rest of the car ride intently staring out the window.

  When Brian pulled up to the hospital, she was ready to tuck and roll out of the passenger side when he pulled up to the main doors. Instead, he veered toward the visitor’s lot. She creased a brow, glancing his way.

  “The main entrance is over there.”

  “I know.” Brian smirked. “I’m just not dumping you off. I’ll make sure you get there safely.”

  She blinked a few times, the deeper meaning sinking in. He actually gave a damn. About their unborn child, sure, but also about her. He didn’t have to care or follow up or any of that.

  But he did.

  The walk up to the hospital was tense. Brian stuck close to her side as they made their way through the hospital, winding through hallways as they sought the area the front desk clerk had directed them towards. Each step that brought her closer to her family, buried somewhere in the labyrinth of this medical maze, sent her heart rate higher. She must have looked tense, because after a few turns, Brian grabbed her hand.