The Billionaire's Carnival Baby (A BWWM Romance)

by Tiana Cole

  “Well, I'm sure I can help you uncover the mysteries and put you straight on anything you need to know.”

  “I'm sure you can, Madison. I'll speak to you soon.” Before she could respond, Christopher was backing away, turning to leave. She stared blankly at the empty space he had just disappeared from, still seeing his handsome form in her mind as if he were standing there in front her, in the flesh.

  The thought of Christopher Knight’s flesh had her whole body tingling with desire. It was so easy, too easy for her to image what it would feel like sliding against her own. The smooth, hot feel of it under her touch. She shook her head, trying to shake off thoughts of him. What was she thinking, agreeing to be his contact for the parenting class? Madison already knew it would be a mistake.

  “Well, well, well,” a voice said from behind Madison, interrupting her disturbing thoughts. She spun around and saw Cassie standing there. “If that wasn't a pick-up line, I don't know what is.” Cassie had one eyebrow raised and her arms folded in front of her.

  “Don't be silly,” Madison said, taking her seat at the computer. “He just wanted information about the program.”

  “I know what he wanted,” Cassie said, her voice thick with implications. “I also know that you're not qualified to be the advisor on that program.”

  “You know as well as I do that I can do it in my sleep. Besides, he and his wife specifically wanted me. I don't mind helping out the department. You know we're short staffed – anything I can do to help...”

  “Oh, you're very helpful, Madison. I'm sure if Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome needs your advice you'll be only too happy to help.”

  “You've got this all wrong, Cassie.” Madison turned away, filled with frustration. “Don't you have a mother you should be seeing to?”

  “Yes, I do. That's her screaming down the hall right now. But you just watch yourself, Madison. I saw how that man was looking at you. A pregnant wife and he's already straying? That's just shocking,” she said in a mock whisper. She made a “shhh” sound, and put her fingers on her lips as she walked away, still grinning like the cat who got the cream.

  Madison was annoyed. Not with Cassie, but with herself. What was she thinking? What she did was plain wrong and she knew it. I’ll be nice, and professional, and that’s it. Madison told herself, firmly. But there was something about Christopher that she could not resist. If he and his wife really trusted her with their care, then all she was doing was being overly helpful. It wouldn't be the first time she went out of her way for her patients.

  But deep inside, Madison knew she was being more than helpful. All she could hope was that they changed their minds about the program and that hopefully, Ailsa might change her mind about having the baby at City at all.

  Madison also wondered if she should lose her pager just in case. She unclipped it from the waistband of her scrubs and looked down at it in her hands. It would probably be for the best. But another voice in her head said, No, keep the pager... and then just wait and see. Quickly, before she could second-guess

  herself, she clipped the pager back on and went to meet her next appointment, trying in vain to get the thought of Christopher Knight out of her mind.

  Chapter 2

  Madison was on a late shift the next time her pager went off. She was in the middle of a difficult delivery, and had been called out for a moment to see to an emergency in the nursery. She was cradling a sleeping newborn that had just finally drifted off, gently lowering him into the waiting crib below, tucking the soft blue blanket up under his chubby cheeks. With one last look around the nursery she ducked out of the room, called in a replacement, and checked it. Madison’s heart lurched when she saw it was from the Knights.

  It was eleven o'clock at night and she desperately hoped that Christopher and his wife were not having an emergency. It had already been an excruciatingly long day, and she wasn’t sure if she up to facing them right now, especially Christopher. She found her way to the nursing supervisor's office to make a call to Christopher. He answered right away.

  “Hi Madison. It's nice to hear your voice.” His was rich and deep, and it poured over her like honey.

  “I was worried,” she said, trying to shake off the distracting thoughts. “You're calling so late. Is everything all right?” Images of all the things that can go wrong during a pregnancy crashed through her mind, spurring her concern.

  “Yes, everything is fine. It's just...”

  “Just what?” She looked up at the ceiling and shook her head at herself. Don't be silly, Madison, why do you think he is contacting you at this time of night? You should hang up the phone.

  “Well, I'm not really sure how I should be acting,” he continued. “As a new father, I mean. I don't know what's expected of me, and I wondered if you and I could have a one-to-one. You could talk me through a few things.”

  His words had her heart skipping in her chest as it tightened painfully. She cast about for some way to decline, to get out of meeting him in person again. The memory of the last time was still seared onto her brain, haunting her dreams and her waking thoughts.

  “Well, that's not really what the program is about, Mr. Knight,” Madison lied. That was exactly what the program, 'From Conception to Birth' should cover.

  “Oh please, call me Christopher. It might not be orthodox, but I need my own tutor in this. I'm happy to pay you for your time. Like I said before, Ailsa and I are both so busy and we'd need a separate program each because of our schedules. You could be a personal counselor to Ailsa. Whenever she needs you for anything, she could call you too.”

  “Wouldn't it be easier if I just dealt with you both together?” Madison hovered by the nursing supervisor desk. She would not be back for a good half hour, and Madison only had the lamp light on. There were shadows around the office and she felt as though she were part of a secret conspiracy—she kept her eyes on the door.

  “It's our schedules, you see?” Christopher continued on, trying to explain, trying to convince her. “They're just so different. How is your schedule tomorrow morning? Would that work for you?”

  “Tomorrow? That soon?” she stuttered. “Well, I’m working the night shift and come off duty at eight and I need to sleep, so...”

  “Just half an hour,” he insisted. “I'll meet you outside of the maternity wing, and I'll buy you breakfast or supper or whatever meal it is for you shift workers.”

  “Breakfast.” She kicked herself as the word flew out of her mouth. What was she doing? She knew this was a front for something she should not be a part of, but she was allowing him to draw her in. She knew full well Ailsa was unaware of this conversation.

  “So I'll be there at eight?” Christopher said.

  Madison said nothing and hung up the phone. She closed her eyes and felt like some kind of traitor. What could she even say? She compared herself to Cassie. She was just the same as her, no better.

  “There you are!” Rosario said, when Madison came back to the delivery suite. “Your patient is fully dilated. You shouldn't have disappeared now of all times.”

  “I'm sorry,” Madison said coming down to earth and racing to Mrs. Patterson's assistance. She forced all thoughts of Christopher Knight to the back of her mind, trying to banish them all together, but was unsuccessful. He still lingered there, like a shadow.

  In the room, Madison’s patient lay sweating and red-faced on the hospital bed, and her husband was stroking her brow, trying to comfort his wife. He looked at Madison with fear and concern in his eyes. This is a genuine husband, she thought to herself, and this is a mother who needs me. I need to focus.

  Madison tried to forget her conversation with Christopher; as the delivery continued bits and pieces would surface only to be pushed away again. She glanced at the monitors, marking Mrs. Patterson’s stats on the chart that hung on a clip board at the foot of the bed before walking over to the woman’s side.

  “You are doing great, Mrs. Patterson. We are almost there.” Madison looked
at the chart, then smiled at the nervous, young couple. “You’re almost ready to start pushing, okay? Just a few more minutes.”

  They nodded up at her, trusting her, putting their faith in her. She went on to help Mrs. Patterson deliver twins. But still, even with the screams of agony and the celebrations and euphoria of twins arriving into the world, it was nearly impossible to forget Christopher.

  It was the feeling she got when she heard his voice. There was something alive, something warm about it. For some reason, she felt as though she needed that voice. And the thought terrified her. Why now? Why him? The questions repeated themselves over and over in her mind, but there were no answers. Madison thought there never would be.

  She gently, lovingly washed the newborn babies with another nurse, listening to their full-bodied

  wails as they experienced life for the first time. Thinking of all the life and love they have to come, and that bittersweet ache began again, tightening painfully in her chest. She dreamed of having a child of her own, and it was moments like this in her job that she simultaneously loved and hated. She wasn’t old, only in her mid-twenties, but sometimes it felt like her own life was passing her by without her.

  She placed the little baby girl swaddled in a soft pink blanket into Mr. Patterson’s arms and couldn’t help but notice the look in his tear dampened eyes. Love. Pure love for the little life he was cradling so sweetly against him.

  It made her think of Christopher, and the child he would have in just five short months. How could he even be contemplating having an affair with her? And why? He had a beautiful wife, was obviously affluent, and they were having a baby together.

  What kind of man would try to cheat on his pregnant wife? And who would go along with that affair? The question echoed despite her attempts to push it away. She knew what he wanted. Madison could see it in his eyes, hear it in his deep, masculine voice whenever he spoke to her. And she was going along with it. What did that make her?

  Washing up in the bathroom before leaving work, Madison was drained and exhausted. Mentally, and physically, it had been a rough, extremely long day, and all she wanted to do was go home and collapse into her bed. She only hoped that her dreams wouldn’t be afflicted with the image of a tall, dark haired man with devastatingly handsome features and eyes that seemed to drink her in whenever they landed on her. She feebly waved to the morning staff who were gathering around the nurses' station for a briefing.

  Madison was happy not to have to be back at work for two days, looking forward to having time to herself, time away from a chance meeting or phone call from Christopher Knight. But she was afraid her next shift would come all too soon when she would then be taking the morning shift.

  As she was coming out into the sunlight, Madison closed her eyes. Behind her eyelids, the light was bright orange. She could easily slip into a dream world, but needed to get home and rest. Her body was so tired it took every effort just to keep moving one foot in front of the other. She opened her eyes to the harsh reality of the gray concrete hospital car park.

  Madison walked through the maze of cars heading for the bus station and the short ride to her apartment. She felt a sudden tingle between her shoulder blades, like an incessant itch that she couldn’t get rid of no matter how she hitched her shoulders. This feeling increased, and she looked around, her dark brown eyes squinting against the bright sunlight.

  Just in the distance she saw a dark car and the outline of a man sitting on the hood. She recognized him immediately, and her heart began to leap. Exhaustion had caused her to forget their conversation earlier, but it all came flooding back. He had come. Her entire body jolted like she had been struck by lightning. A part of her would have been relieved if Christopher hadn't have shown up, but there was another part, one that she tried to deny, that was bursting with glee that he was there. It didn’t make sense. It would be so much easier if he stayed away from her. She wouldn't have to struggle with her feelings then.

  But there he was, and Madison found herself walking directly to his car despite herself. In her mind she was forming the sentences to tell him that the deal was off. She couldn't be his advisor. He would need to seek out another source of information. Instead she found herself smiling at him and he smiled right back at her. It was like her body had shifted into autopilot, her exhausted mind refusing to listen to the warnings she kept mentally repeating to herself.

  “Christopher,” she said, her voice husky in the early morning light. “You came.”

  “Of course. Where should we go?”

  Madison looked around the parking lot and swore she could see Cassie’s accusing grin. “We should get out of here.” She cast a sideways look at him, her brain still screaming its warnings to walk away and forget all of this. But her body was already acting, ignoring her thoughts as she reached for the passenger door handle. “There's a place I know, and it's not too far.”

  Madison got into the passenger side without another word and directed Christopher to a little diner not far from the hospital. She knew the food wasn’t that good and that the hospital staff knew that, which pretty much guaranteed that no one from work would be there, especially this early.

  They pulled into the nearly empty parking lot, and Madison sighed sleepily. She shook herself awake, knowing she needed to be alert for the coming conversation but all her exhausted body wanted was to stay in the plush, luxurious seat that seemed to pillow her body inside the expensive car.

  Christopher opened her door for her. With a barely held in groan, she stepped out and kept her eyes down, avoiding glancing at the charismatic man at her side. The last thing she wanted was to be caught staring. They walked a few paces towards the diner door when Madison stopped, her thoughts churning. Christopher paused beside her, looking at her with questioning light in his dark brown eyes.

  “Look, I'm not authorized to be your guide through this pregnancy, Christopher. I'm sorry.” She looked up slowly to meet his eyes, trying desperately to ignore the shock that flooded her system like a bolt of lightning. “I just agreed because you and your wife wanted me to. We should just stop the pretense now.”

  “Madison, it's fine,” he said. “I trust you and I don't mind paying you directly into your bank account. I'll pay you the entire cost of the course.” He reached inside his jacket for his check book. Madison put a hand on his to stop him.

  “Not here,” she said. “We'd better discuss this inside.”

  Christopher held the door open for Madison and gestured her forward before following. They entered the diner. It was half empty, and Madison did a quick survey of the place just to be sure there was no one there she knew.

  They sat at a small table in the far corner, next to a big bay window that was covered in a light layer of grime that filtered the rays of sun, dispersing them in a hazy, haphazard pattern across the linoleum table top. Madison stared blindly at the menu the hostess had deposited in front of them before hurrying off to see to another table.

  “What can I get you?” The waitress asked.

  “Nothing for me,” Madison hadn’t even looked at the menu, but with the way her stomach was rolling uneasily inside her she doubted she would be able to eat anything, especially with Christopher’s sharp eyed gaze on her.

  “Aren't you going to eat breakfast?” Christopher asked her, looking concerned.

  “No. I'll just have a coffee,” Madison said, looking at the waitress who then looked over at Christopher with a smile.

  “You, honey?”

  “Same. Coffee for me, too.” he said, and handed over both of their plastic lined menus.

  Madison noticed that Christopher had once again pulled out his checkbook and was writing in a scribbled hurry, and she didn't know how to stop him.

  “Wait, Christopher. We need to discuss this before…” Madison’s words trailed off. She looked out of the window and felt embarrassed. In some respects, it would be better to take the money. If it remained a private business arrangement, no one could fault he
r on that, could they?

  Then at least she could tell herself that this was strictly a contract to help a new father to get through the worries he is having about becoming a dad. Nothing more. Nothing bad. Yeah, right.

  “I've paid the amount for the program. I hope that's enough. You can put the account name on it.”

  “It's fine.” Madison took the check without even looking at, folded it, and put it in her pocket. Determined to make this as professional as possible, she made her voice firm and as distant as possible with Christopher’s warm gaze heating her from the inside out. “Now, what are the main concerns for you? What is troubling you most?” She sat up in her seat, folding her hands in front of her and trying to sound official.

  “Well,” he shrugged, “right now, it's troubling me that you've just finished a long shift at work and you're not eating breakfast.”

  “No, Christopher, I mean about the pregnancy.” Madison tried to keep the conversation on the business between them, and that was it, but she allowed herself a half smile and looked down.

  “Oh, sorry,” he said, looking briefly out of the dusty lined window before he turned back to her with a discouraged sigh. “Well, I guess, it was all a little sudden; Ailsa becoming pregnant and she and I getting married. It wasn't a big wedding. Not like her parents would have liked, but it was okay. Enough for us.”

  “I'm glad.” Madison cleared her throat, pausing the conversation as the waitress filled their cups with coffee and walked away after they had both declined cream or sugar. “The main thing you have to adjust to is the change. Firstly, your wife is going through lots of changes. Hormonal and physical. She's going to need a lot of support from you because it won't be easy. I mean, even if it is a straightforward pregnancy, it will alter everything.”

  Madison folded her hands around the coffee cup, letting the warmth distract her momentarily before she continued. “Let's look at the hormonal side first. You might already be noticing changes in Ailsa. It's possible she might become emotional – overly so, at times. She'll become...” Her voice slowly trailed off as she looked up, noticed Christopher’s gaze sharp on her face, but a distant, almost distracted, look on his striking features.