by Rye Hart
Yet, the very idea that I had a life growing inside of me, a child that would be mine – I suddenly couldn't imagine not having it. No matter what happened between Preston and me, I would love our child. I would raise my child to be a good, decent, and kind person. I was going to be fine on my own. My career was going well, the company was flourishing, and I didn't need help from anyone. Dammit, Preston. Why did you have to turn out to be a pig too?
We could have made it work together. We could have made it work so damn well. But, you had to go and cheat on your wife with me. You couldn't have been honest with me from the get go. You couldn't have kept it in your pants until you figured things out in your own relationship.
Then again, had he done that, I might not be pregnant right now, and that, in and of itself was a blessing worth any amount of heartache and pain.
Maybe it was the hormones raging through my body, but I wanted him to know. No, I needed him to know. I also wanted his wife to know that she'd been cheated on, like I had been. It was only right. She should know her husband wasn't faithful to her. She should know that I was carrying his child. Or, maybe I was just overly emotional, pissed off, and wanted to inflict some pain onto Preston like I'd inflicted pain onto Stephen. I wanted him to know and I wanted him to suffer for what he'd done.
I had no concrete plan. No solid idea. It was all just a jumbled mess of thought and feeling in my head. But, I found myself driving toward Preston's house. It was Saturday and I remember he'd said he rarely worked weekends. Only Dr. Garcia did that – and only on special cases. Like mine. Which meant he'd be home.
I wondered if his wife would be home as well? Maybe the three of us could sit down over a cup of coffee and have a chat. A thin, cruel smile touched my lips and I was suddenly shocked at the petty vindictiveness that was surging within me. I parked along the street, and stared at Preston's beautiful, perfect, All-American home. Clean, white and with a wrap-around porch. Everything I'd ever dreamed about in a house. Enough space to raise a family, and judging by the looks of it, a lot of outdoor space as well. I got out of the car and started to cross the street. I heard music coming from their house as I approached and saw an archway of balloons stretched over the walkway that led to the front door. There was also a bouquet of balloons attached to the mailbox and also a sign posted out front.
Welcome to Carter's Birthday Party!
I stopped in the grass and read the sign over and over again. Carter must be his son, I assumed. That explained the noise coming from the backyard and the Iron Man cake. I stood there for a long time, knowing this was a bad idea, and tried to talk myself out of it. I shouldn't show up at his son's birthday party. No matter how mad I might be, I couldn't ruin his kid's birthday. That would just be the ultimate dick move.
I turned on my heel and started toward my car, fresh tears welling in my eyes. I'd made it to the sidewalk in front of Preston's house when a voice called from the doorway.
“Camille?”
I turned, my eyes shimmering, my stomach churning. I froze, debating whether I should just book it toward my car like I hadn't heard him, or stand and face the music. I didn't have much time to actually have the debate with myself because a female voice followed right behind his.
“Preston, who's that?”
Her voice was shrill and angry, and I flinched when she spoke. I turned, slowly, and met Preston's eyes. His face was red, and he was not happy to see me as he marched toward me. The petite blonde was on his heels, a deep scowl etched upon her face.
“Camille? What the hell are you doing here?” he asked.
My gaze moved between Preston and the woman, and I couldn't find my voice.
“Preston, explain yourself,” the woman said, crossing her arms in front of her.
“Melody, please – give me a second, will you?”
I stood there taking in Preston's angry gaze and the woman’s even angrier one. Anger, dark and abiding, rose up within me. I wasn't the one in the wrong here. I'd done nothing wrong at all. As the silence between the three of us deepened, the anger inside of me became more pronounced.
Maybe I shouldn't have come, but this wasn't my fault. I did nothing wrong. It was Preston who'd done something wrong – both to me, and to his wife. Between Stephen, and now Preston, I'd taken enough shit and wasn't going to put up with it anymore. No, if I was going to suffer for his sins, I was going to make him bleed for them.
“So this is Melody?” I asked, my voice carrying a hard edge to it. “Your wife, I take it?”
I turned to Melody and my eyes softened. She looked at me curiously, almost oblivious to what had been happening in her husband's life. In her life. Well, like it or not, right or wrong, she was about to find out.
“I'm so sorry to break this to you,” I said. “And on your son's birthday nonetheless. But, your husband is having an affair. With me.”
“Wait, who are you?” Melody said, she looked at Preston. “How does she know Thomas?”
“Thomas?” I stammered. “No, I'm talking about Preston. We've slept together a few times, and well – I hate to break it to you this way, but I'm pregnant. By him. I'm having your husband's child.”
“Camille,” Preston reached for my arm, his voice was softer and gentler now.
“I'm pregnant and it's your husband's child, Melody.”
“Wait,” Melody said, sounding calmer than I expected considering the circumstances. “I'm confused.”
“Melody, let me have a moment with her, please?” Preston asked.
Melody nodded, but then pointed a finger at Preston. “If you screw up Carter's birthday with one of your little –” she trailed off before insulting me, but I had an idea what she wanted to say. “Just clean up this mess, okay? And get back to the party before he asks for you.”
Melody stomped off toward the front door, and both of us stood in silence, staring at one another. “Camille, come here,” he said, reaching for me.
I remained where I was and didn't let him embrace me. As hard as it was, I resisted the urge to let him wrap me up in those big, strong arms of his. I resisted the urge to melt into his body and seek the comfort I needed in that moment. His blue eyes no longer looked angry, instead he looked sad.
“I didn't come here for pity, Preston. I just thought your wife should know the truth,” I said, staring down at my feet.
“Ex-wife, Camille. Melody and I are divorced. Have been for five years now,” he said.
“What?” I said, feeling an electric jolt through my body. “You mean –”
“That I wasn't cheating on anyone? Yeah, I'm not like that. I wouldn't do that,” he said. “I would have hoped that you would have trusted me more than that.”
I looked up into his eyes again, and there was so much hurt, so much pain. All caused by me. It reminded me of the day I told him there was no way I would give up my dream of New York City, not even for him. He took my hand in his.
I wanted to take his pain away. I'd take it onto myself if I could. Knowing that I'd wounded him so deeply, my heart started to break. I didn't know if there was anything I could do to fix it, to fix us, but I was damn sure going to try. I wasn't going to let him walk out of my life the way I'd walked out of his all those years ago. I just wasn't.
“I'm sorry, Preston,” I said. “It's just – you never told me you had a son. I guess I just assumed –”
“First mistake is assuming without asking,” he said. “Yes, Melody and I have a son, Carter. But we're divorced, and she's since re-married to a man named Thomas. Come inside, you can meet him yourself. As long as Melody hasn't slaughtered him for thinking he was having an affair.”
I cringed. “Oh no, I didn't –”
“I didn't tell you about Carter yet because I wasn't sure how to. You were dealing with your own stuff. You had enough on your mind and heart when it came to having kids, and it just didn't seem right to flaunt my child in your face,” he said. “Not only that, I feel like I've been a pretty shitty dad and talking about him
is hard at times. But believe me, I wanted to. I figured it was only a matter of time before I introduced you two. I just had a feeling that you two would really hit it off. In some ways, he actually reminds me of you a bit.”
“Wow,” I said, my head still spinning from such a dizzying turn of events. “I feel like an asshole now. I'm really sorry, Preston. I just didn't think. Didn't communicate. And I should have.”
Preston lifted my chin up and kissed me, stroking my cheek with his thumb as our lips melted together. Feeling him against me like that revived something inside of me. The anger evaporated like a fog bank and I was left feeling happy once more.
When he pulled away, he said, “I forgive you,” he said. “We'll just blame it on pregnancy hormones.”
“Yeah, about that –” I said. “If you don't want any more children, I'm happy to raise the child by myself –”
“Camille, I'm going to sound like a jackass right now, but shut up,” he said, laughing. “There's no way I'm going to let you raise that baby by yourself. That's our child. We're going to raise it as our child.”
“I thought you didn't really want kids?”
“I already have one,” he said with a wink. “And no, I never said that I didn't want more. I said I was okay with whatever happened with you – kids or not. Personally, now that you're standing right here before me and I know you're pregnant with my child, I'm a little excited by the prospect.”
I sidled up against his body, resting my head on his shoulder. His arms enveloped me, and I felt like I was in heaven. He kissed the top of my head and let out what sounded like a contented sigh.
“Since we're going to be have a family of our own,” he said softly. “It's about time you met the rest of the gang – including Carter.”
With wide eyes, I started to protest, but Preston was already leading me toward the backyard by the hand. As we turned the corner, I saw Melody talking to an older man. She gave him a quick kiss before making her way over to us. Her face was not happy as she stared me down.
“Do you think it's a good idea to bring her around Carter so soon?” Melody asked.
“Melody, this is Camille – someone I've known and loved since high school. We just lost our way for a bit. But, we've found our way back to each other, and since she's going to be in our lives for a very long time, I think this is the perfect time to introduce her to Carter. Name me a better birthday present,” he said and then turned to me. “Camille, this is my ex-wife, Melody.”
Melody's expression was blank, though her eyes were wide. “This is Camille?” she asked, a strange, almost reverent tone in her voice. “As in, the Camille?”
“Wait,” I said. “You've heard about me?”
She shook her head, but there was a smile on her lips nonetheless. “I'll be – well, this is a surprise,” she said. “As much as I despised any mention of you while I was with Preston, now that we're divorced, I am glad that the two of you were able to reunite. At last. At least now I know, he's going to be happy.”
Preston kissed my hand as he whispered, “Me too.”
She leaned in closer, and asked, “Forgive me for being so invasive, but did I hear you right out there?” she asked. “You're having a baby? Did you really say that or was I hearing things?”
I nodded, and Preston pulled me into him. “We are,” he said, giving my hand a gentle squeeze. “Carter is going to have a little brother or sister.”
“Speaking of the devil,” Melody said as a little boy rushed over to us.
His hair was wild and unkempt, and except for the brown eyes, and shaggier hair, he was the spitting image of Preston. Melody placed her hands on his shoulders as Preston introduced me to his son.
“This is my girlfriend, Camille,” he said. “Camille, this is my son, Carter.”
“Happy birthday,” I said, smiling so much my face hurt. “Seven is such a wonderful age.”
“Thank you! Hey, do you like comic books?” he asked me.
I looked at Preston, “Is this a trick question? Of course I do!” I said. “I used to create my own back in high school.”
“You can draw?” Carter said, his voice growing excited.
“Yeah, I'm kind of an artist,” I said, chuckling.
“That's so cool,” Carter said. “Can you show me how to draw like they do in the comic books sometime?”
“I'd love to,” I said.
Carter gave me a smile before he turned and hurried off to join a group of kids, all the while shouting and jumping.
“This is the best birthday ever!” I heard him say. “I'm going to be a comic book artist!”
Melody laughed. “I guess you were right, Preston.”
“I'm right about many things,” he replied, a soft grin touching his lips. “But what is it this time?”
“Kids really are easy to please,” she said. “And maybe, just maybe, I did go a little nuts with the birthday party planning. But, they're only little for so long.”
She watched her son jumping around the to the band, and there was a bittersweet smile on her face. I looked over at Preston and saw that same wistful, bittersweet expression on his face too. The way they watched their son, I could see the pure love and adoration in their eyes. Despite the unusual circumstances of their life, they were making it work and were doing right by their son. Which told me Preston was going to do right by our child.
“The party is beautiful,” I said. “Gosh, I'd have loved something like this as a kid. Heck, I'd probably like it now.”
Melody turned to me and smiled, giving me a once over before turning back to Preston.
“I think I like this one,” she said before walking away. “You need to keep her. She's good for you.”
“I plan on it,” he said.
Once it was just the two of us, set off a bit from the children, I looked at him and said, “Girlfriend, huh? So I guess I got upgraded, finally?”
“What do you mean, finally?” he asked with a chuckle. “It's only been a few weeks –”
“More like over ten years,” I laughed. “Preston Winters finally got the balls to ask me out. Not that you really asked me. But then, you never really asked me the first time either. It's kind of a thing with you, apparently.”
“Oh, I apologize,” he said, clearing his voice and turning to face me, pulling me against him. “Camille O'Hare, will you be my girlfriend, at long last?”
“Yes,” I said, standing on my tip-toes to kiss him. “A million times, yes.”
EPILOGUE
Camille
A couple of months later
My phone buzzed with a text message, but I didn't want to pull myself away from Preston's arms. It was early, too early for someone to be texting us, and I was far too cozy and comfortable where I was. My pregnant belly was already making it hard to roll over at times, but somehow, I managed. All without waking Preston up either. I shrieked and nearly dropped the phone, but managed to catch it, re-reading the message. Preston's eyes popped open. “Cam, what is it?”
“Stephen. He's finally decided to sell his stake in the company and step down,” I squealed. “I mean, I figured this was coming – well, hoped it was coming is more like it. But, to see the official document means it's real. I am finally free.”
“You'll finally be free of that scumbag at last,” he said, pulling me back down to lay beside him.
He kissed me deep and passionately, and my body ached with desire for him. His erection was growing and pressing into me, but I had to pull myself away.
“His lawyer wants to meet this morning,” I said. “As in, an hour from now.”
Preston groaned. “Which means we have to get out of bed.”
“Yes, sadly, we do,” I said, kissing him quickly. “But good things are in store for us today. First, getting my company back, and then our first sonogram. We've got a busy day ahead of us”
“I can't wait.”
His eyes were clear, blue, and bottomless – just like the Caribbean Sea. I could stare
into those eyes all day, lose myself in them, especially with the way his body felt against mine. But, we had a busy day in store for us. I couldn't tell what I was most excited for – finalizing this deal that rooted Stephen out of Zesta once and for all or finding out the gender of our child.
It really was a toss-up at that point.
“One more thing, Camille,” Preston said.
“What is it?” I asked, suddenly growing worried.
Things had been going so well, almost too good for so long. I realized the other day that I'd been holding my breath. Almost, waiting for the other shoe to drop. “I love you,” he said, surprising me.
My heart raced, and my eyes widened. We'd been hinting around the word a lot but had never officially said it to each other. Yet, there it was. He'd told me he loved me, and I felt like my heart was about to burst inside my chest.
“I love you too, Preston,” I said.
We shared a smile as I rolled out of bed and wobbled to the bathroom. I'd pretty much moved into Preston's place, my townhome's lease was coming up for renewal next month and Preston officially asked me to move into his house, with him.
Carter stayed with us a good chunk of the week, and I had to admit, I loved that little guy. The idea of having a baby and making this family our own was everything I could have asked for and more.
Life has a strange way of coming full circle, and my only advice would be – be ready for it. You don't always get a second bite at that apple, but I was one of the fortunate few who did – and that second bite was even sweeter than the first.
The End
ROCK HARD BABY DADDY
A Billionaire Cowboy Romance
