Baby Love: A Bad Boy Billionaire Romance

by Vaughn, Vesper

  Callie nodded. “I know that now. I think deep down I’ve always known that. I just didn’t want to admit it to myself. It was too painful or something. And you know that mom thing. Stick with it until it makes you drop. Real healthy attitude.”

  “Mom desperately needs therapy,” I said drily.

  Callie motioned around the house. “I should probably be on that list as well. Look at me. Everything is messed up. Everything. My life is a mess. I’m a mess.”

  I grabbed both of her hands and made her look me in the eye. “You are not a mess. Callie, I don’t see a single bottle of alcohol on the floor here. And I already know you’re not taking out the trash. This place smells terrible.”

  Callie laughed self-deprecatingly. “I didn’t drink. Not once. I wanted to. Today, actually. But then all I could see was your face in my head and how disappointed you would be. I needed my sister.”

  I pulled her back into my arms and let her cry some more, whispering into her hair. “I was always jealous of you, you know. Jealous of how much mom doted on you. You’re her favorite, even now. You know she didn’t even call me about being on the show? Or the engagement?”

  Callie laughed. “Consider yourself lucky. I had to hear all about your TV appearance, and Patrick at the karaoke bar, and you and Zane.” She sighed and blew her nose again. “That phone call was three hours of her straight talking. I didn’t get a word in edgewise. The house was really clean that day, though. I scrubbed all the windows and did laundry. Just set the phone down and left the room.”

  I laughed uproariously at that. “I would have paid to see that.”

  Callie shrugged. “You know I was always jealous of you. That’s why I worked so hard to get into law school early. I knew that you were always right behind me, waiting to blow me out of the water with everything.”

  I gaped at her. “I was always in your shadow. My tall, blonde, smart sister who all the boys liked. Who everyone invited to their parties while her weird, younger redhead sister tagged along with a book in her purse. You had everything I wanted.”

  “Oh my word, I forgot about that!” She wiped tears of mirth out of her eyes. “I hated when you read books at parties.” She leaned back in the sofa. “Well, now you have everything. A fiancée, a successful company…”

  I cleared my throat. “Yeah, there are a few things I need to catch you up on, actually.” Callie listened intently as I summarized the past month that we’d been apart. The elopement, Zane’s health history, the breakup, my moving in with Liz. My almost making the deal with Scott, the morning sickness, the pregnancy, bed rest, Zane wanting to be with me again.

  Callie was in shock. “My word. I didn’t think anyone could have had a busier month than I did. But apparently I was wrong about that.”

  We both burst into hysterical, slap-happy laughter. I dissolved into hormonal tears within a minute. “I am so tired,” I cried.

  This time it was Callie’s turn to hold me.

  It was good to have my sister again.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  RACHEL

  I spent the rest of the day on Callie’s couch. She took a shower and dressed herself in nice sweatpants and a soft t-shirt. Her face was free of makeup and she looked reborn. “Nice to see you relaxing a little bit,” I said from my horizontal, doctor-mandated position on the sofa.

  Callie smiled. “You know, my uptight, perfect appearance thing was because Patrick was always criticizing how I looked. I never told anyone that.” Pain crossed her face and then dissolved into a smile. “Fuck him,” she said in her full Georgia accent. “Just…fuck him.”

  “I will never get over the shock of hearing you curse,” I said, clutching my side from laughing so hard.

  Callie walked into the kitchen and came back with three black, heavy-duty trash bags. She started with the coffee table and worked her way around the room, collecting a week’s worth of food containers, tissues, soda cans, snack wrappers, trashy magazines, and mail. She chattered happily about how good she felt taking some time off of work. Within half an hour the place was shining and spotless again. She threw open the curtains and cracked all the windows, letting in the fresh, sharp November air and tucking a warm blanket around me.

  She ordered a deep dish Hawaiian pizza and returned with water and sodas for both of us. “So you’re living with Liz Anders?” She raised her eyebrows. “That must be nice.”

  “It is,” I said. “It’s a little loud with her five boys but they’re good kids. And the house is wonderful. Not as tastefully decorated as yours though.”

  Callie rolled her eyes. “Stop buttering me up, Rach. I’m sure Liz has a master decorator.”

  “I’m serious. Your taste is even better. I’ve told you this a million times, Callie. If you ever got sick of being a lawyer, you could totally be an interior designer.”

  Callie laughed nervously, sipping from her can of Coke. “Mom would be thrilled with that career move!” she said sarcastically.

  “Callie, you’re sitting here with no makeup, your hair undone, wearing sweatpants on a weekday. And you’re drinking a soda. You’ve turned over so many new leaves I’m surprised there haven’t been tornado warnings in Lincoln Park.”

  Callie tilted her head, a determined look on her face. “I think you should move back in with me. There’s a bedroom downstairs so you don’t have to climb any stairs. I think I might take off the next month from work. I can take care of you. And I won’t have to be alone.” The last sentence hung heavily in the air.

  I felt tears stinging my eyes. “I would love that, Calls.”

  She dabbed at her own eyes and clapped her hands together. “It’s settled then. Nearly everything. Except for one little detail. What are you going to do about that smoking hot billionaire who is hopelessly in love with you?”

  ***

  I tapped my fingers on the sofa table. Callie was hovering near the bar in the kitchen. I waved her away. “Go! Go upstairs or something. I can’t do this with you hovering.”

  She pulled a face and walked grudgingly up the stairs. I heard her stop before she got all the way to the top.

  “All the way upstairs!” I yelled.

  She stomped childishly up the carpeted steps. It made me smile. I felt like we were little kids again in all the best possible ways. I took a deep breath and hit Zane’s contact info on my phone. I drummed my fingers faster and faster on the table, adjusting the pillow behind my back. The call connected and it rang exactly once.

  “Rachel.” Zane said my name like it was an exhale.

  Goosebumps flew across my skin in a waterfall of sensation. “Hey,” I said quietly. “How. How are you?”

  A man’s voice yelled out behind him. “Ooooh, it’s Rachel!”

  “Hang on a second, I’m with an asshole right now who is right over my shoulder.” I heard footsteps and a door clicking shut. “Sorry about that. Roger got excited. Um. How are you?”

  I chuckled. “I asked you first.”

  “Oh, right. I’m much better now that I’m hearing your voice. How is the baby? Are you resting?”

  I blushed at the care he was showing me. “The baby is fine, as far as I can possibly know. Yeah, I’m resting. I’m at Callie’s, actually.” I thought I heard breathing at the top of the stairs. “Callie, who is eavesdropping on this conversation the way that Roger was, apparently.”

  “It’s not like I can hear both sides of the conversation, Rachel!” Callie yelled from the landing. “And I can’t help it if I’m dusting the mirror up here.”

  Zane laughed.

  “I’m assuming you heard all that?” I asked him.

  “I did indeed. I’m glad to hear excitement in her voice. She was pretty upset when I called her the other day about Patrick.”

  “Mm,” I replied, not wanting to say anything about that with Callie listening. She was in a shinier mood than I’d seen her in since high school. Nothing should tarnish that.

  “New subject, then?” Zane asked knowingly.


  “That would be good,” I said evenly.

  “Well, then. I’ve only thought about you five thousand times in the last ten minutes,” he said, dropping his voice lower.

  “Zane Reid,” I replied, giggling. “Are you blushing through the phone?”

  Zane laughed. “Hey, I can’t be the only fucking one who turns red as a tomato. It’s what you do to me, Rachel. You make me feel like a horny teenager again. I can’t help myself.”

  It was my turn to glow red. “I was calling because I thought about your offer. And I wanted to say that I will permit you to take me out on a first date. A real one somewhere. You might have to wait a month until I can walk again, or else wheel me through the streets of Chicago. But I want a real date. Scheduled. Planned. Pick me up at the door. All of that.”

  Zane didn’t hesitate. “How about Wednesday?”

  I laughed. “I said it would have to wait until I’m not on bed rest.”

  “I can’t wait, Rachel. I can’t wait that long to see you.”

  I bit my lip and brushed my hair over my ear nervously. My stomach was filled with butterflies. “Then you’re going to have to carry me through Chicago.”

  “I’ll get you four oiled, buff men with palm fronds if that’s what it takes,” he replied. “Wednesday night. I’ll pick you up at five o’clock, alright?”

  “As long as I don’t have to walk anywhere,” I reminded him.

  “Your feet won’t touch the ground. Literally and metaphorically, if I do my job right,” Zane said. I could hear the smile in his voice.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  ZANE

  Thankfully I didn’t need to employ four oiled men with palm fronds. Two hours before our Wednesday date, I stood in my closet staring at my clothes. Michael knocked. “Need assistance, sir?”

  “Yeah. I’m basically a high school girl right now. I have nothing to fucking wear.”

  Michael smiled. “Allow me.” He reached forward and pulled down a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. “I believe that Ms. Cobb loves you in crimson. She says it really brings out your eyes.” He smiled as he handed the garments to me.

  “Well, that was easy,” I said with relief.

  “One of the many, many reasons you keep me around, sir. I have also acquired the gear you need.”

  “And it’s all comfy and set up? And you called the doctor to make sure that it’s safe for Rachel?” I’d never had so many details to keep track of before. I was a nervous wreck about this kid, and it wasn’t even here yet.

  “I have done all the necessary work. The doctor believes it to be perfectly safe for Ms. Cobb. I also have it on good authority from Ms. Callie that Rachel is keeping down food much better in the evenings. And sir, if I may say so, you’re finally understanding that Ms. Cobb doesn’t like flashiness. I believe this date will go even better than your other first date with her.” He smiled pointedly.

  I grinned. “I couldn’t do it without you.”

  “Oh, I know.” He paused in the doorway. “I also called your accountant to ensure your life insurance was paid up in case you get hit by a texting teenager.”

  I guffawed. “You always think of everything.”

  An hour later, I was in a light jacket and a beanie cap, pedaling a bakfiet bicycle through the streets of Chicago toward Rachel’s place. Cars honked at me; I quickly learned to take side streets that were more calm. We only needed to get to the lakefront trail. It would be a breeze after that.

  I parked the bike in front of Callie’s townhouse and did a last-minute check of the full-sized, long box in the front. Michael had padded the bicycle box with pillows, foam, and three thick, soft wool blankets. On the rear rack of the bicycle sat a picnic basket. It was cloudy and about fifty degrees. I’d told Rachel to dress warmly. I knocked on the front door.

  I hardly recognized Callie when she opened it. “Callie, you’re looking well,” I said, reaching out and kissing her on the cheeks. Her hair was in natural waves. She looked like she’d put on a bit of much-needed weight. Her clear skin was makeup-free, and she was wearing soft, drapey clothing that was the exact opposite of the tight, tailored clothes she’d worn in my office all those months ago.

  She grinned. “It’s a good season for change, don’t you think?”

  I nodded. “It is indeed.”

  “Come inside, Rachel’s on the sofa. Oh, and by the way, Zane. Thank you. For the thing with. You know. The photos. It’s made the divorce go a lot smoother. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

  I squeezed her arm. “It was my pleasure.” I held my breath as I walked into the living room, nervous to see Rachel. I saw the bouquet of yellow sunflowers that I’d mailed to her earlier today arranged in a glass mason jar. “You got my flowers,” I said.

  Rachel smiled at me. She had a lime green knitted earwarmer on and a puffy coat. “I love them. They’re perfect. Much, much better than roses.”

  I stood at the end of the sofa awkwardly. “Are you ready to go?” I couldn’t take my eyes off her.

  She nodded and lifted up her arms. “Beam me up, Scotty.”

  I reached down, desperate to touch her, and lifted her up like I was carrying my bride across the threshold. She fit easily in my arms. “Well, this hasn’t changed,” I whispered to her.

  She blushed. I walked past Callie. “We won’t be out late, I promise. Not much after nine p.m.”

  Callie nodded. “Have fun and be safe,” she said, shutting the door behind us.

  Rachel’s eyes lit up when she saw the bicycle. “Oh my…”

  “You like it? The doctor said it was fine. You’ll be laying in the front box, basically, just with your knees folded a little bit. Michael kitted it out pretty well with blankets and pillows, but if it’s not comfortable we’ll stop and just go back inside and watch movies, okay?”

  Rachel didn’t respond. Instead she reached up and kissed me on the lips. I melted against her, tasting her, wanting her. We came up for air when a car honked loudly at us. “Do you kiss all your first dates like that?” I asked her.

  She grinned. “Only the ones who look like you.”

  I walked down the steps and placed her in the nest of comfort. She wiggled into it and I wrapped blankets around her legs. I reached into the picnic basket and procured a hot water bottle that I placed at her feet. “I feel like Laura Ingalls Wilder,” she said happily. “When she’s dating Almonso and he picks her up and takes her all those miles home each weekend just so she can see her family. She put hot potatoes in her pockets and at her feet to keep warm.” The cold was making her cheeks pink and edible-looking.

  “I’d take you all the way across Lake Michigan if that’s what you wanted,” I said, gazing into her green eyes.

  She reached up and kissed me again. Michael was right: this first date was already going better than our last.

  An hour later, Rachel was screeching with joy as I sped her along the mostly empty lakeshore trail. The water was calm today with the merciful lack of wind, but the cloudy skies and cold temperatures were keeping people away. It was already down to thirty-eight degrees as daylight faded. Rachel didn’t seem to mind, and riding the bike was keeping me plenty warm. I actually had to remove my jacket.

  “You hungry yet?” I asked her.

  She looked back at me and grinned. “This fresh air on my face seems to be doing me good. I actually am hungry for the first time in I-don’t-even-know-when.”

  I pulled over once we found a bench, putting down the kickstand of the bike and unstrapping the picnic basket. I sat on the bench and Rachel stayed in her warm little cocoon. I opened the lid and a puff of steam rose out of it. “Looks like Michael packed a lot of different things in here. He wasn’t sure what you’d be able to tolerate.”

  I dug through the basket. There were multiple thermoses filled with his famous, homemade chicken noodle soup, plain chicken broth, hot chocolate, and plain tea. Wrapped underneath were piping hot biscuits and miniature, Hawaiian pizza bites.

  Rache
l’s eyes went wide. “I’m honestly starving. Let me start with the pizza and work my way down.”

  She ate happily. I was too excited to want much of anything, so I enjoyed handing her new items to try. She filled up faster than usual, but she seemed content.

  The iron grey lake lapped against the concrete barrier behind us. She breathed in the air and smiled. “No nausea. This is literally the first meal I’ve had where I haven’t wanted to barf after it.”

  “Really? Michael called Callie and she said you were fine after dinner now.”

  Rachel nodded. “I’m better than I was, I’ll say that. But I still have to hold it down out of sheer will, honestly. But not right now. Right now? I’m happy.”

  She reached out with a fingerless-mitt-covered hand and grabbed my bare one. My stomach did a few backflips and I smiled at her. “You’re turning me into a nervous teenager,” I said, running my hand through my curls.

  She smiled. “I like hearing that. It makes me happy.”

  We rode home in the near darkness, Rachel whooping and hollering the entire way as I pushed the bicycle faster and faster and faster.

  I felt like I could die tonight and be happy.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  RACHEL

  I pulled the cookies out of the oven and placed them on the stovetop. “Rachel, we’ve gotta go!” Callie called from the front of the house.

  “Hang on, I’m almost ready,” I replied. My belly was already showing. I rubbed it and grabbed my purse. “Okay. I’m ready.”

  “Zane is meeting us there.” She glanced down at my stomach. “You really are enormous for only three months along.”

  “I’m having a food baby as well,” I joked. My morning sickness had ended two weeks before, and I was making up for lost food and time. I’d been eating eight times a day, constantly ravenous and shoving my mouth with anything edible within reach. Thankfully, Callie was still buying junk food for herself, so I didn’t have to choke down healthy versions of snack food every day. I thumbed through my phone as Callie pulled her car away from the parking space.