by Jeannie Moon
“We moved too fast, didn’t we? Are you breaking things off?”
Please don’t dump me.
She shook her head. “No, no. You don’t want that, do you? Oh, God . . .” She covered her mouth, stifling the sobs.
“Jesus, no. I love you.” She was still crying, hiccupping with each breath. Cupping her cheeks, he examined her tear stained face. “Oh, baby. Tell me what it is. We’ll fix it. I promise. Don’t cry, Jenna. Don’t cry.” His thumbs brushed at her tears, and he wished he could do something to comfort her.
Shaking her head, she buried her face against his chest. “It’s nothing to fix. I’m . . .” She swallowed air in big gulps, barely able to speak. “I’m pregnant,” she finally squeaked out.
Now he’d had the wind knocked out of him. Holy shit.
“Pregnant?” Everything went fuzzy for a second, and his first instinct was to get up and walk, but he had a crying woman in his arms and if he walked away it would only get worse. Pregnant.
“Uh-huh.” She sniffled. “I’m sorry.”
Nate held her head close to his chest and dropped a kiss onto her soft silky hair. “Don’t apologize. You’re having a baby. That’s nothing to apologize for.”
“I should have been more careful.”
“We should have been more careful. I was there, too.” Pregnant. The word kept echoing in his head. “But we’re not teenagers, we’re old enough to handle it and we love each other.”
He was saying all the right things, hoping to calm her down, but a dozen questions ran through his mind. How did this happen? When did this happen? They’d been careful, but this was confirmation that nothing was foolproof.
Did he want kids with Jenna? He did. No doubt. He just didn’t expect it to happen now. Taking a deep breath, Nate held her tight. His response to her news would determine how this all turned out.
Everything he’d been planning—a proposal, a new house—everything else was irrelevant. There were only two people he needed to think about—Jenna and their baby. The future just happened.
Their baby. He was going to be a father. Now his eyes were burning. Looking down at the trembling woman in his arms, Nate tucked a finger under her chin, tilting her face toward his.
“I love you. Those weren’t just words. It means we’re in this together.”
“But people will think I did this to trap you. Because you’re The Billionaire.”
“Oh, for Christ’s sake . . . We know the truth. Jenna, I want to marry you. I was going to propose after we’d been together a little longer, but I guess we’ll have to rethink the timeline a little.”
“I don’t want you to feel like you have to marry me.”
Easing her away, Nate gently took her by the shoulders and stared into her big brown eyes. “I want to marry you. I love you. I’m happy. Jenna, I already have a ring. I’m not going to lie and say this didn’t take me by surprise, but I love that we’re having a baby.” Finding a clean napkin that came with her sandwich, Nate mopped her eyes and face. “Now we need a plan.”
Her head bobbed up and down. “Okay. A plan.”
“What do we tell people? When do we tell them? Our families are going to have a stake in this.”
The tears started to flow again. “I know we should tell everyone—our families and friends, but all I want is to be with you. I wish we could just run away and figure some of this out.”
Here was the advantage to being a billionaire. Nate pulled his phone from his pocket and set his finger to dial. He felt a grin pull at his face as Jenna watched him. “Where you want to go?” he said. “I’ll have everything arranged with one phone call.”
“What? Really?”
“Let’s get out of here. You’ll need your passport. Where do you want to go? Europe? Hawaii? Bali? The Caribbean?”
“You’re serious?” He’d surprised her. He liked that.
“Of course I’m serious.”
“I don’t . . . God.” Jenna look down and wiped her eyes, breathing slowly in and out. “You don’t have to do that.”
“I know that.” He kissed her gently. “Jenna, your boyfriend is a billionaire. I know you’d rather forget that sometimes, but here’s the advantage: you can go anywhere in the world at a moment’s notice. I can have a private jet waiting and a condo arranged in less time than it takes to get a sandwich from the deli.”
“You would do that?” She’d started to calm down. Her breathing was leveling off and the tears weren’t falling as fast. Thank God.
“I’ll do anything for you. Just tell me. I want you happy and I want you to know you have me. No doubts. I love you.”
Jenna rested her head on his chest. “I love you, too,” she whispered. Then she looked up with a shy, sweet smile on her face. “Italy. I want to go to Italy.”
“Good choice. I know just the place.” He pulled her close and pressed the screen of his phone.
His assistant picked up on the first ring. “Hi, Nate.”
“Luanne, I need you to make some arrangements for me.”
“Okay. Shoot.”
“This is top-secret. No one can know. I’m going to vanish for a few days. First, arrange a jet to Milan. I want to leave tonight. Next, call my grandparents. Tell them I’ll be using the villa.”
“Wow,” she responded. “Everything is okay? What should I tell Adelaide and Martin?” She was using his grandparents’ first names to throw off anyone who might be listening.
“Just that I need to get away. Jenna and I have some things to discuss.”
He could hear Luanne’s excitement through the phone. “Really?” Her voice became a covert whisper. “Like a ring may be involved?”
When he ended the call, he stood, and brought the mother of his child with him.
“Your grandparents?” Her poor eyes were swollen and red. As long as she didn’t start crying again, he could handle anything.
“They have a villa on Lake Como. We’ll go there. It’s beautiful, private, and the weather this time of year is perfect. You’ll love it.” He kissed her gently. “You’re right. We need time to make a plan. No family. No rushing. Just you and me.”
“Thank you.” Jenna had cuddled into his side, like she was looking for shelter. Nate would provide that and more. He would protect her from the fallout, from the gossip, from their families and friends, who would question them at every turn.
Getting her out of the country was drastic, but it was the only way they could handle this without interference, without questions. He and Jenna had a lot to adjust to, along with celebrating their new life together. Jesus. This was big.
“I have to tell Harper.”
“Shit.” Of all the people at Reliance, Harper was the least likely to keep a secret. Especially from Owen, who would be asking the most questions. It had been said at more than one board meeting that Harper would give up company secrets if her interrogators threatened her with a splinter.
“I’ll go with you.”
“You don’t have to . . .”
He laid a finger over her lips. “Get used to it. I want to. We’re in this together.”
***
Harper had taken the news pretty well, and had promised to keep their reason for going away and the pregnancy a secret. To do that, she was going to go on Kevin’s next road trip. “Owen and Jason can’t ask me questions if I’m not there,” was her response.
The real moment of truth would come when Nate took Jenna home to her parents’ house to get her passport. Jenna was hoping they wouldn’t be home, but when they arrived at the well-kept split-level home in Seaford, they had no such luck.
Her mother greeted her at the side door and held it open as she and Nate entered the bright, sunny kitchen. The Albaneses had suffered a tragic loss when her brother, Tom, was killed in Afghanistan. Now she was going to fly off to another country to
avoid having to face her family with what they would consider another one of her missteps. She was disappointing them, yet again. Unmarried and pregnant? That wouldn’t go over so well in her Italian Catholic family. Jenna had never felt so sick.
“So how far along are you?” Her mother didn’t miss a beat.
Jenna swallowed. Taking a glass from the cupboard, she filled it with filtered water from a pitcher in the fridge. She offered it to Nate but he waved it off. “I’m a few weeks gone. Not long.”
“Did you forget to use protection?” she snapped at Nate. “Are you rich men always so irresponsible?”
There was the first barb. Her mother had been sweet as pie to Nate as long as he was just a fling; now this was getting serious. “Mom, knock it off. Not that it’s any of your business, but we did use protection.” Mostly. They mostly used protection.
“You need to start thinking, Giovanna. You’re too reckless. Haven’t you made enough trouble for yourself? And now you’re pregnant?”
Her mother was a tough woman, made tougher by everything she’d gone through in her life, but Jenna didn’t need her anger or advice right now. She wanted her mother’s understanding.
“Mrs. Albanese . . .”
“You stop right now. What are your intentions? Are you going to try to buy her off? Pay her to get rid of it?”
“Ma!” This was out of control.
“No.” Nate’s hand found Jenna’s and he wrapped his fingers around hers. “I love Jenna, and if she’ll have me I want to marry her. Since that’s the case, you can stop insulting her. I understand that she’s your daughter, but I won’t have you upsetting her.”
Whoa. He just told off her mother—no hesitation, no worry about taking a stand. No one had ever done that for her. Damn. “I’ll get my things.”
“What things?” Her mom was panicking now. She was a woman who wore her whole heart on her sleeve, but when Nate stood up to her she lost her moral high ground. Now she was worried about losing her daughter.
“I’m taking Jenna away for a few days. We need time to be alone and make some plans without anyone rushing us for a decision. My grandparents have a villa on Lake Como, in Italy. We’ll go there.”
“Oh. A villa. I’m sure that will be lovely. You can make all your plans without your family.”
“We won’t be gone long, Ma.” Jenna kissed her cheek. “We’ll talk when I get back. But Nate’s right. We need to get away. I’d appreciate it if you kept this to yourself.”
She left her mother in the kitchen and when she had Nate alone in the hallway, she threw her arms around him and kissed him.
“What was that for? Not that I’m complaining.”
“For standing up for me. No one ever has before.”
“I love you. You’re carrying my child, and one day you’ll be my wife. I will always have your back. Always.”
Running the pad of her thumb over his lips, Jenna smiled. “That’s what the kiss was for.”
Chapter Eleven
He should be romantic.
—#6, Jenna’s Boyfriend List
Jenna awoke in a big, soft bed in a room decorated in varying shades of blue and cream. The windows were open, letting in a soft breeze that made the gauzy curtains look like angels’ wings floating in midair. Sitting up, she clutched the covers to herself, because even though they’d arrived in the middle of the night, exhausted, she and Nate had made love.
It seemed all he had to do was touch her to have her wanting him. Sometimes she worried it was all they had. They got along, and they genuinely cared about each other, but the real connection between them was being forged in bed. The sex was beyond good. It was magic.
She rose and stretched her arms over her head. The cool breeze licked at her skin, causing a little goose flesh to rise across her belly and her nipples to draw into tight buds. One thing she’d noticed over the past few days was that her body was hyper-aware. Her senses were more acute. Being touched brought the most amazing response.
Dropping her hand to her belly, Jenna pressed the flat of her palm against her womb. “I love you, baby. I promise to be a good mommy.”
She was startled for a split second when she felt Nate’s hands come from behind and covered hers, and Jenna leaned back into him. He was damp and warm and freshly showered. There was a towel wrapped around his waist, but she could still feel his erection pressing into her.
“You’re going to be an amazing mother. Our baby is very lucky.”
“I don’t want to mess it up. You heard my mother. I don’t think. I make bad decisions.”
“Jenna.” Nate turned her so they were facing each other. “Trust yourself. No one is perfect. Mistakes get made. We all do it. But we’re together in this and you have nothing to worry about. Now come on, I have to show you something.”
Walking her toward the French doors that led to a terrace, Nate grabbed a soft white throw from the foot of the bed and wrapped it around her. Then, he threw open the curtains, revealing the most beautiful scene. Blooming flowers on the terrace, in a wash of pink, blue, yellow, and white, framed her view of the crystal-blue lake, the villages and the mountains beyond. It was like a dream and she was here with the most wonderful man, who loved her and was ready to be a father to their baby.
“Don’t be afraid.” He stood behind her, his arms wrapped protectively around her middle, and dropped such a sweet kiss on her shoulder, her knees almost buckled. “I’m not going to leave you, or hurt you.”
More than anything, she wanted to believe him, to trust him, and each time she’d let herself go, let herself fall more in love with him, Nate hadn’t disappointed her. He’d been there, loving her, without question. She glanced at him over her shoulder and couldn’t believe she was so lucky.
“What do you want to do today?” he asked.
“I don’t know. I’ve never been here.”
“Well, we could go into town, do a little shopping, have something to eat. Whatever you want.”
“That all sounds so perfect.” She stepped onto the terrace and looked at the scene below. “I can’t believe we’re really here. That you arranged everything so quickly.”
“We have an appointment, but if you don’t want to go, we can skip it.”
“An appointment? With who?”
“A judge. If you’d like we can arrange to be married while we’re here.”
“Oh, Nate . . .”
“If we met with him today, we’d just talk it over. That’s it.” His eyes, his sweet smile, told her everything was going to be okay. But she still worried that he was feeling rushed. All he wanted to do was make her happy, but who was thinking about him?
“Okay. I just don’t want you to feel we have to do this.”
“I know. I wish you’d stop worrying about it.”
“I’m trying to think of you as much as you think about me.” Going up on her toes, she kissed him.
Holding her face gently in his hands, Nate pressed his lips to her forehead. Jenna had never felt so cherished. “If we do that, I think about you and you think about me, for the rest of our lives, we’re going to have a really good marriage.”
Jenna looked into his eyes and saw the sincerity and love there. She could trust this man. “Okay. Let’s go.”
***
Their meeting with the judge went well. He was a very kind old man named Antonio, who had a lovely home with a garden where he received those who wished to be married. He would make all the arrangements with the town hall in Como, where the wedding would take place, and have witnesses for them if they didn’t have anyone to call on.
Before they left for town, Jenna wandered outside into the expansive yard that fronted the lake. Filled with flowers and charm, it was one of the most beautiful places Jenna had ever seen. All she had to do was say the word and she would be getting married there in a couple of days.<
br />
It was a huge decision. Something life-changing. But even as she thought about the gravity of such a choice, it felt completely right.
“What do you think?” Nate asked as they walked down the cobbled streets in Bellagio, the beautiful village not too far from his grandparents’ home. The Promenade was a landscaped walk on the lakeshore and it was bustling on this beautiful day. Jenna had traveled some, and was not a stranger to Italy, but she’d never been to this stunningly beautiful northern province.
To answer Nate’s question, Jenna had been completely charmed by the elderly gentleman as he kissed her hand and spoke of amore.
“He’s lovely. How did you manage it?”
“Manage what?”
Jenna smiled and squeezed Nate’s hand. “We arrived in the middle of the night. How did you set this up?”
“I’m very resourceful.”
“I can tell.”
Nate stopped walking and turned her to face him. “I’m also head over heels in love with you, Giovanna Albanese.”
“That’s good,” Jenna said. “Because I’m stupid in love with you, Nathaniel Bayard.”
And she was. More than she ever thought possible. Nate had mended her heart, a heart that was so broken, so cynical, she didn’t believe love like this was possible.
“Come here.” He led her to a stone bench surrounded by a rainbow of flowers, it was a gorgeous spot filled with people who were also enjoying the beautiful day. The lake spread out in front of her and Nate kept hold of her hand as he dropped to his knee.
There was a smattering of cheers and a bit of applause as the crowd gathered around them, ready to see two people in love promise their lives to each other. Jenna didn’t even try to hold back the tears that spilled out of her eyes as she looked at the man who was making her so very happy.
“Jenna. My beautiful Jenna. I think I’ve loved you since the minute I saw your eyes smile. You’re brave, smart, kind, and passionate. With you, I see everything my life could be. I love you.”
