Tempting The Billionaire (The Sherbrookes of Newport Book 13)

by Christina Tetreault

  “You….” She glanced down at his hand and then at him again. Slowly a smile spread across her face, and she nodded. “You should’ve started with that suggestion.” Leaning closer, she cupped his face and rested her forehead against his. “I love you too.”

  He’d never known it was possible for an entire body to sigh with relief. But his did. Before he shared the words in his head, he claimed her lips for a single kiss. Later, he’d devote more time to her lips and the rest of her body. Right now he wanted to get out the thoughts in his head while he still could, because once he got her into bed, talking would be at a standstill for a while.

  “I don’t know what kind of wedding you really want. If you want something more like what your cousins Trent or Gray had, we can postpone for as long as you want.”

  He’d attended Trent’s wedding and seen pictures of Gray’s. A lot of planning and money had gone into both. If that was what she wanted, he’d go along with it. The kind of wedding they had didn’t matter to him, as long as they were together.

  She shook her head with no hesitation. “Tomorrow I’ll make some more calls. If I can’t arrange everything for a weekend in February, we’ll take Jake’s suggestion. Then we can plan a party to celebrate in the summer.”

  He liked her idea. Still, he had to ask. “Are you sure? You might regret it later.”

  “Positive. The only person I need there is you.”

  Eighteen

  Three and a half weeks later

  Courtney glanced around at the guests dancing inside Cliff House’s ballroom. Thanks to Addie’s DJ friend and a photographer her sister knew in New York, they’d managed to pull everything together in a little over three weeks. They’d also invited a few more guests than originally planned. Except for two people, everyone was here, including Uncle Warren and Aunt Elizabeth, the last two people she’d expected to make it. Not only was Uncle Warren in full campaign mode but also he’d already taken time out of his schedule to attend her cousin’s wedding the weekend before.

  She glanced across the room to where her mom and dad sat with her mom’s three brothers and their wives. Everyone in the family might not always agree, but they let nothing come between them. And no matter what, there was always someone there to help and support you. In her opinion, that characteristic made her family special and unique. She just hadn’t realized how unique until she met Josh. His mother hadn’t told them whether or not she’d be at the wedding until this past Wednesday, and she hadn’t arrived in Rhode Island until late this morning. Honestly, Courtney wasn’t disappointed by Scarlett’s late arrival or quick departure, since it limited the amount of time she spent with Josh’s mom. And while Josh had an aunt and uncle as well as two cousins he was close to and who were all here tonight, he also had an uncle and a cousin he hadn’t seen or talked to in over ten years.

  “Adalynn is a cutie, but she never stops talking,” Juliette said.

  Courtney’s gaze shifted from her family and toward the dance floor where Josh and his daughter were dancing. Sure enough, Adalynn was talking her dad’s ear off.

  Not allowing Adalynn to attend the wedding had been another dictate from Naomi’s ex-fiancé. During their lunch meeting weeks ago, Naomi promised to bring Adalynn to the wedding. Then starting on Monday, she would stay with them in Providence for two weeks. They’d already had one of the guest bedrooms redecorated for her and filled it with more toys than necessary.

  Soon they’d need to redecorate another bedroom—not that Josh knew that yet.

  “Pot, meet kettle,” her cousin said. Allison and her fiancé, Rock, had traveled up from Virginia for the wedding.

  Juliette threw Allison a dirty look. “I wouldn’t talk, my friend.”

  With four brothers, it took more than a little comment like that to bother Allison. “So are you going to be next?” she asked, moving the conversation in a different direction.

  “Uh, your wedding is next,” Juliette reminded her. “Followed by Curt’s and then Brett’s.”

  “Please, you know that’s not what I meant.”

  Courtney didn’t see her sister serious about a man anytime soon. Then again, wedding proposals were spreading as fast as the flu through the family as of late.

  Juliette picked up her wineglass as she shook her head. “Nah. I’m thinking Tory. She’s been seeing the same guy since October.”

  At the moment, their second cousin Victoria Sherbrooke, or as her friends and family called her, Tory, sat across the room talking to Anderson Brady, one of the few friends Josh had invited to the wedding. Leah and Juliette talked to Tory far more than she did, so her sister would know their cousin’s relationship status. But if Tory was serious about someone she’d been seeing for months, she wasn’t acting like it tonight. For most of the reception, she’d been flirting with either Anderson or Josh’s cousin.

  “Maybe it’ll be Alec. Is he seeing anyone?” Courtney was a little surprised when her cousin had said he was coming alone. Although nowhere near as bad as his older brother Trent used to be with women, Alec rarely spent much time single.

  Allison shrugged. “If he is, my brother hasn’t said anything to me.”

  The current song ended, and Josh’s dad stepped in to be Adalynn’s dance partner for the next song. No longer needed on the dance floor, Josh headed in her direction.

  Before he sat, he kissed her cheek. “She’d keep me out there all night if she could.”

  She’d noticed how much the little girl enjoyed dancing. Not only had Josh and his dad danced with Adalynn several times, but she’d also danced with Scott and Jake. When she couldn’t get an adult to partner with her, she joined Reese, the next youngest wedding guest.

  “Does she take lessons?” Juliette asked. Unlike Courtney, who’d quit after three years, Juliette spent years taking dance classes.

  “Not yet. But she’s been asking.” Josh gestured for a waiter and ordered a coffee.

  “Would anyone else like something?” the waiter asked.

  “Coffee sounds good,” Allison said.

  “Another glass of chardonnay,” Juliette chimed in.

  Courtney could use some caffeine or a bed. She felt as if she hadn’t slept in a month. Actually, she’d been exhausted a lot lately. At first, she’d chalked it up to the stress. When the nausea started, Courtney assumed she was getting sick. This morning she hadn’t only felt nauseous, but she’d thrown up after eating breakfast. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d done that. And it got her thinking.

  A quick check of her calendar confirmed her last period had been in December. Even though she was on the pill, her periods were never regular, but rarely did she skip it two months in a row. If her last one had started the day she returned from Hawaii, it was highly likely she should’ve had one by now. So while Josh picked up his mom at the airport and headed down to Newport, she grabbed a double pack of pregnancy tests from the pharmacy.

  Both gave her identical answers. And when they were alone, she’d give Josh the news. How he would react was anyone’s guess. They’d casually discussed having children someday, but the conversation hadn’t contained a time frame. So the possibility he’d prefer to wait was very real.

  Whether he wanted to wait doesn’t matter now. “I’ll have a cup of tea, please.”

  With so many tea drinkers in the family, she’d made sure a wide variety of teas were available this evening. When the waiter returned with their drinks, he’d bring the tea chest so she could pick what she wanted. Usually, she preferred chai or Earl Grey, but tonight she’d go with a caffeine-free herbal blend.

  Should she tell him as soon as they went upstairs? Or would it be better to wait until they were in bed?

  “Josh, isn’t your mom married?” Allison’s question pulled Courtney’s thoughts away from the conversation ahead of her.

  The gold mermaid-style evening gown made it easy to locate Scarlett. Earlier in the evening, she’d been sitting with Josh’s sister. Now she was practically sitting in Wayne
Crawley’s lap. Wayne was a close friend of her dad, and she’d known him all her life. A widower, he spent most of his time these days either playing tennis, golfing, or working.

  “As far as I know, yes. But with her, who knows.”

  When they entered their room, Courtney had every intention of sitting Josh down and telling him she was pregnant. Josh had very different ideas. No sooner did they close the door than his lips covered hers. While his lips worked at making her forget her name, his hands went about unzipping her dress. By the time they reached the bed, they were both naked, and having a conversation, even one this important, no longer mattered.

  Now was a different story.

  She’d unpacked her bag when she arrived at Cliff House, so while Josh poured two glasses of champagne, Courtney got the robe hanging in the closet.

  “You should have left that in there.” Josh smiled and handed her a glass.

  She didn’t expect to be wearing the robe long, but serious conversations required clothing. “We need to talk.” Rather than return to the bed, where Josh might once again distract her, she crossed to the love seat and set down the glass untouched. Wedding or not, alcohol was out for the foreseeable future.

  “Sounds like underwear is required.”

  She watched him walk to where he’d left his clothes. No question about it, her husband had one perfect butt.

  “What’s on your mind?”

  Who was she kidding? Just sitting there in nothing but his underwear, Josh distracted her. You’d think after seeing him in various states of undress so much, it would no longer affect her. But it did.

  “You know I haven’t been feeling great lately.”

  In the process of sipping his champagne, he nodded.

  “I know why now. I’m pregnant.”

  Josh’s coughing fit stopped her from saying anything else.

  “How? Until three weeks ago, we always used a condom.”

  “That night at my parents’, we didn’t.”

  “But you’re on the pill.”

  “I didn’t pick up the prescription on time, and I ended up skipping a few days that week. It’s not the first time it’s happened, and it didn’t seem like a big deal because I wasn’t having sex.”

  “When did you find out?”

  “This morning. After you left, I went and bought the tests. They both came back positive.” She understood his initial surprise and his questions. With those out of the way, it’d be nice if he hinted at how he felt about the news.

  “You took two tests.”

  She nodded.

  “And they were both positive?”

  “You’re not happy about this.”

  “Of course I am.” Josh lifted her onto his lap and kissed her forehead. “I’m surprised as hell but ecstatic.” He placed his hand over her stomach. “And I can’t wait to meet our son or daughter.”

  Their discussion brought to mind her interview with Aimee Trainor weeks ago. That night, the woman had asked if she was pregnant. Even claimed there was a rumor going around that she was and her pregnancy was the reason behind their short engagement. Not only had Courtney denied it, she’d thought to herself that one thing she could say with certainty was that she and Josh would never be expecting a child. Turned out even as she’d been denying it, she was already pregnant.

  Life could be so unpredictable and full of surprises.

  The hand on her stomach inched its way up and covered her breast. “I love you.”

  Actions sometimes worked better than words. Right now seemed like one of those times.

  Books By Christina

  *Loving The Billionaire, a novella

  *The Teacher’s Billionaire

  *The Billionaire Playboy

  *The Billionaire Princess

  *The Billionaire’s Best Friend

  *Redeeming The Billionaire

  *More Than A Billionaire

  *Protecting The Billionaire

  *Bidding On The Billionaire

  *Falling For The Billionaire

  *The Billionaire Next Door

  *The Billionaire’s Homecoming

  *The Billionaire’s Heart

  *Tempting The Billionaire

  +The Courage To Love

  +Hometown Love

  +The Playboy Next Door

  +In His Kiss

  +A Promise To Keep

  +When Love Strikes

  ^Born To Protect

  ^His To Protect

  About the Author

  USA Today Best Selling author, Christina Tetreault started writing at the age of 10 on her grandmother's manual typewriter and never stopped. Born and raised in Lincoln, Rhode Island, she has lived in four of the six New England states since getting married in 2001. Today, she lives in New Hampshire with her husband, three daughters and two dogs. When she's not driving her daughters around to their various activities or chasing around the dogs, she is working on a story or reading a romance novel. Currently, she has three series out, The Sherbrookes of Newport, Love on The North Shore and Elite Force Security. You can visit her website http://www.christinatetreault.com or follow her on Facebook to learn more about her characters and to track her progress on current writing projects.