Knocked Up By My Billionaire Boss: A Billionaire's Baby Romance

by Ella Brooke

  This is ridiculous, she thought furiously. I am not this flimsy. I am not this upset just because Tucker is going to be gone for a few days...

  Despite her resolve, she felt in her bag for her phone. Tucker had made sure that she could get in contact with him no matter what, and she was under direct orders from Dr. Schmitt to call him for anything, but for some reason, she was reluctant. If she called Tucker or the doctor, this would all be real, and she didn't want to accept that just yet.

  It's probably nothing, she told herself. I'll let this pass, and then I'll be fine.

  When she rose to her feet some five minutes later, Luna thought she had been right. She was no longer shivering, she was not sweating, everything was fine. Things continued to be fine until she started walking in the crowd again, and then the noise and the rush of people closed in around her, and she could feel her vision darkening around the edges.

  Cursing, she reached for her phone, ready to dial Tucker after all, but then her vision swam, and she was falling, falling...

  ***

  When Luna came to, she was looking up at a ceiling that she did not recognize. She blinked, becoming aware of the sharp smell of antiseptic and the murmur of voices all around her. She could hear people speaking in Italian and English, and none of those voices were familiar.

  She tried to sit up, and her head swam a little bit. Before she could even cry out, however, there were arms around her, bringing her to a sitting position again.

  "There, there," said a woman, speaking lightly accented English. "You're fine, just take it slow."

  "Oof, my head," Luna said. "What happened?"

  The woman, who she could now see was dressed in green scrubs, smiled encouragingly at her.

  "You passed out in the marketplace and caused quite a fuss. Some kind people brought you here."

  Here turned out to be a free clinic that operated close to the market, Luna learned. It was overworked and understaffed, the kind of place she had gone to when she absolutely had to before Dr. Schmitt and his quiet, luxurious office.

  The harried doctor came in, and after a few questions, shrugged helplessly.

  "You seem very healthy, miss," she said, shaking her head. "There are many reasons that you might have passed out unexpectedly, among them vertigo, low blood sugar, pregnancy... are you pregnant?"

  Luna started to shake her head no, but then she paused. Her next visit with Dr. Schmitt was in a week, her last one had told them she was not pregnant...

  When the doctor saw her hesitation, she nodded.

  "Here, we can give you a test. It will only take a short while, and better safe than sorry, yes?"

  Yes, Luna agreed, because it was always better to be safe than sorry. She wasn't expecting anything, but then the doctor came back with a smile, telling her yes, she was pregnant, yes, she was going to have a baby, and yes...

  Luna didn't expect the feeling of joy that coursed through her. She had always thought that she would be indifferent at best to the idea of a child. She had seen it as an intellectual exercise, but now that it was a reality, it was as if her body was flooded with light.

  There really is a child inside of me, she thought, and among the well-wishes of the clinic, she called for a taxi to take her back to the flat. She insisted on paying for the visit, and though they told her it wasn't necessary, they were more than grateful for the fee that she ended up giving them.

  "No, really, you people are wonderful. Thank you so much..."

  It wasn't until she was back in the flat that the doubts started up. Her baby... it wasn't, was it? It was going to be Tucker's. The documents were very clear about that. And after she gave birth, she wasn't going to be able to stay with Tucker either, and fear gripped her.

  She laid her hands over her belly. She had never had a flat stomach. Right now, it didn't feel any different, but sometime soon, it would begin to. Her belly would round as childbearing reshaped it, preparing her to nourish a life before she brought it forth in the world.

  The sudden enormity of it all struck her, and Luna had to sit down on the couch hard. Everything was going to change, and suddenly, she felt completely unready for it. Three times, she reached for her phone to try to call Tucker, but she couldn't make herself hit the button.

  It was strange. On one hand, she wanted to hear the joy that he would no doubt express. On the other hand, it would mean the end of the fragile and tentative happiness that they had felt together.

  She got up to pace, and once she started moving, she found that she couldn't stop.

  "You know, if you are going to start playing with my hormones and my body chemistry, you could start by making me happy and content," she murmured at her stomach, and then she winced. Talking to her child, whether it was male or female, made the whole thing feel even more real, and she shivered.

  Well, if it's a boy, I'm going to get a bonus, she thought half-hysterically, and suddenly it broke over her how horrible that was. What would it be like to be a daughter and to know that you would have been worth more if you had been a boy? What boy who knew that monetarily he was worth more than his sisters would grow up well?

  Luna knew that she was building up to something unpleasant, so she took a deep breath, and then she took a few more.

  No, I have to stay calm, she thought. I have to... I have to think. I can't act irrationally.

  The problem was the apartment. No matter where she looked, she saw reminders of Tucker and the peace they had built together. It normally soothed her, but right now, it was having the opposite effect. Even her studio didn't soothe her, and finally, she knew that she had to get out, even if she intended to come right back.

  After all, if Tucker isn't going to be back for a few days, I can certainly spend the next night or two elsewhere...

  A half hour spent online revealed a small hotel in the hills. It was known to be comfortable and fairly luxurious, but the thing that caught her attention was the fact that it had once been an elegant villa. There were beautiful rooms, an excellent bistro on the ground floor, and an elegant walk close to the roof for stargazing far away from the lights of the city.

  It sounded perfect, and Luna already felt a little calmer as she threw a few things into her bag.

  "We're just... running away from home for a night or two," she said, but before she could get out the door, the phone rang.

  "Hello?"

  "Hello, little one. I've spent a few hours in Paris, it is raining and gloomy, and I find it inexpressibly dull without you. How are you doing?"

  Despite herself, Luna found herself giggling a little bit at his words.

  "I'm fine, mostly working today," she lied.

  "Oh, will that project finally be done before I get back? Can I see it then?" Tucker asked, teasing a little.

  Tucker's voice tugged at her heart, and for a moment, she was on the verge of breaking down and telling him everything. She wanted nothing more than to spill what had happened, how joyful and frightened she was, but that could wait. She would tell him when they were at least in the same country again, but not over the phone.

  "I don't know if it'll be ready by then, but soon," she said, and she heard him pause.

  "Is everything all right, sweetheart?" he asked. "You sound a little stressed."

  Luna laughed, because that was certainly true.

  "No, I think I'm just a little tired."

  "Hm. We did wake up awfully early today. Will you promise me that you'll go to bed early?"

  "Yes, I think I will do that," she said. "That does sound good."

  "I'll be going to bed here missing you," he said, and there was something openly longing about it, something that tugged at her heart.

  "I hate the idea of not sleeping with you," she confessed.

  Tucker groaned.

  "I know it's not smart to simply put you on the plane tomorrow, is it? I am going to be so busy, but I almost want to. You could shop in Paris during the day, I could work, and at night..."

  Luna co
uldn't help laughing at him.

  "Don't worry about it, I'm sure we'll both survive. Do what you need to do. I'll be here and waiting when you get back."

  That she meant at least. She hung on to that as they spoke of other things. Then she hung up, and almost immediately after that, she got a text that a car was waiting to take her to the hotel in the hills.

  Luna hesitated for a moment, and then she stepped out, locking the door behind her. It would be good for her to get away from this place for a short while.

  When she came back, hopefully, she would have a fresh perspective on things, and then she would be able to tell Tucker the good news.

  The conversation that they had made her oddly hopeful about it all. He would be thrilled, they could talk about what would come in the future, and then... then maybe it would all work out.

  ***

  The hotel was everything that they had promised it would be. She arrived at sunset and enjoyed a delicious dinner of fresh fish and vegetables at the bistro. When the stars came out, she went up on the walk with a pair of tourists from Germany, marveling at the arc of the Milky Way.

  She slept dreamless, and when she woke up in the morning, her hands were nestled over her belly.

  It really will be fine, she thought, and then there was a knock on the door.

  Room service? Luna wondered, and she threw on a robe to answer it. It wasn't room service, though. It was Tucker, looking angrier than she had ever seen him look.

  "Good morning, Luna," he said, his voice dark. "You're coming with me right now."

  Chapter Sixteen

  It took Luna almost an hour to realize that they were not heading back to the apartment in Florence. For most of the hour, she huddled in the passenger seat as Tucker drove. She kept trying to think of things that she wanted to say, ways that she could explain what had happened and what she had meant by leaving the flat, but every time she tried, all that happened was that it sounded worse and worse in her mind.

  Tucker drove the sleek black car with the same ruthless skill that he always had, but there was something tremendously controlled about him in that moment. He drove like a man on his way to a war or an execution, and it only took Luna a short time before she realized that he wasn't looking at her.

  She took a deep breath. One thing that she knew very well was that nothing was going to get better if she didn't talk about it.

  "I wasn't leaving you..."

  "I don't care," he bit out. "I don't care what your reasoning was. I don't care why you made the decision that you did, and I sure as hell don't care what kind of excuses you found yourself needing to make."

  She reared back, stung, looking at him with a bloom of hurt in her heart.

  "You don't care?"

  "Not even a little," he bit out. "Believe me when I say that I had a great deal of time to think about all of this when I was en route from Paris. I thought of it from the moment I was told, in the air and on the drive to that godforsaken little hotel where you ended up. I have had a great deal of time to think about things, and you are very lucky when I say that I do not give a damn about any explanations that you could make."

  She must have made some kind of sound because he glanced at her.

  "You really think that I wouldn't have tracked the credit card I gave you?" he asked pityingly. "Or that perhaps a visit to a clinic that was not run by Dr. Schmitt wouldn't tip me off?"

  That explained that, at least, she thought, and she tried again.

  "Please, Tucker, you have to listen to me," she said, fighting the urge to clasp her hands together girlishly. "I wasn't... I wasn't leaving you, I just wanted to get away from it all for a little bit."

  "From the penthouse flat where you live in absolute luxury," he commented bitterly. "From the bargain that you willingly made, and the one where you have been enjoying the effects ever since you came to Italy."

  Luna frowned.

  "What are you saying, Tucker?' she asked, but she had an idea that she already knew.

  "I am saying that you decided you wanted out of your end of the bargain," he thundered. "Or maybe you decided you could get a better deal out of me if you were out of reach."

  Luna paled, goggling at what he thought her capable of.

  "Tucker... no, I... I would never do those things."

  "Shut up." This time his words were deadly quiet, and that more than anything brought her to a standstill.

  The fiery and shouting Tucker she could have fought with, shouted at him until he saw reason. This one... this one she couldn't touch at all.

  It was dark by the time she ventured to ask him where they were.

  "Excuse me," she said, aware that she sounded like a polite young schoolgirl getting her teacher's attention. "Where are we going, please?"

  When he glared at her, she lifted her chin at him. Luna knew that she was trembling, but she refused to back down. The day that she started backing down to Tucker, she thought, was the start of something dark that she could not control at all.

  "I have a right to know," she insisted, and she saw some sanity return to his dark gaze.

  "We're going to Otros Amana," he said, the words rolling easily off of his tongue. "There's a house there that I bought years ago. Tomorrow, Dr. Schmitt will be flying in, and he will stay there with you for the duration of your pregnancy."

  She blinked in confusion.

  "And you?"

  "And I will be getting on with my life," he snapped. "I will be going back to New York in the morning, and I will send you the money that you are owed, never fear about that. After that, you will deliver to me my child, and God willing, we will never speak again."

  "No!" Luna cried out, his words feeling like a hot brand over her heart. "No, you can't mean that!"

  "Oh, but I do," he said silkily. "I do mean that, and that is all I want from you from now on, Luna. Now be quiet before I decide that you are not even owed as much as I have stated."

  Luna might have fought on. Her arms had wrapped instinctively around her belly, and she could feel her own temper start to rise. Was there no place in his heart or his mind for explanations? She knew how bad things looked.

  However, there was something both sad and dangerous in his eyes, and she knew that triggering that explosive combination might be quite the most foolish thing that she had ever done.

  Before she could find a way to make him see what had truly happened, they pulled up to a small manor situated in the middle of the gorgeous Italian countryside. Why had she ever feared that Tucker would leave her in some kind of dark hovel? Otros Amana was a beautiful place, the setting sun giving it an almost golden glow. There was a young couple standing on the front steps, the woman, who seemed to be just a few years older than Luna, was herself obviously pregnant.

  Tucker pulled up to the front of the manor, and Luna turned to him. Her heart burned as if she had dropped it into a roaring fire, and she knew that she had to make him see, had to make him realize that this was all wrong.

  "Don't do this to us," she whispered, her voice broken. "Please, Tucker. Don't. Don't."

  For a moment, Luna thought that she had reached him. There was a flicker of comprehension and sympathy, even doubt in his amber eyes, but soon enough that fury took its place again.

  "There's no us, Luna," he said. "And soon enough, I am never going to set eyes on your lying face again."

  The absolute cruelty of his words struck her to the heart, and she froze as if she was made of stone. She was completely unprepared when Tucker walked around the car and opened the door. When she didn't move immediately, he took her by the arm and dragged her out. She cried out a little in surprise, but there was no pain to his grasp. He simply moved so quickly and was so strong that one moment she was sitting and staring in his car, and the next she was standing in the driveway. The couple came down to meet them, and Luna watched them both with a disinterest born of a breaking heart.

  "This is Joseph and Isabella," Tucker said curtly. "They look after the pro
perty, and they have agreed to look after you too. Tomorrow, you'll be meeting with Dr. Schmitt. If you have any sense of self-preservation at all, you won't try to run again. You have something that belongs to me, and I do not tolerate thieves.”

  "I am not a thief," she shouted, startling everyone there. Isabella, who had been reaching for her, pulled back with fear, protecting her belly with one hand. "Why the hell won't you see it? Why won't you listen to me?"

  Tucker laughed bitterly.

  "I have heard many, many women protest their innocence after they have been caught in the act. I have to commend you, though, you are the first one who has had to protest that she was not leaving me, rather than protesting that she had her hand in the till. Give it up, Luna. Whatever game you are playing with me, I am not interested. You're stuck now, and be grateful that the bargain is still on."

  "I wish it wasn't," she shouted. "Then you would have to deal with me like a woman and the soon-to-be mother of your child rather than... than some piece of property that wasn't turning out exactly as you had hoped. I wish we could just fight it out and then you would see..."

  "You are embarrassing yourself," Tucker said coldly. "We are through, and you are lucky you are getting a fat check at the end of this and not a lawsuit suing you for breach of contract. Oh, I nearly forgot. Here."

  For a moment, Luna had no idea what he was doing, and then she thought that she might be driven to her knees with pain. He was casually stripping the bracelet she had made for him all those weeks ago on the plane from his wrist. She tried to push it away, but he placed it in her hand and curled her fingers over it. He was so strong that there was no way to resist him.

  "There," he said grimly. "I don't want it anymore."

  Abruptly, as if he had struck her, all of the fight went out of her. She held onto the bracelet numbly, and she watched as he got back into the car. The last rays of the setting sun caught on its black mirror finish, and then he was gone.

  Luna was vaguely aware of the female caretaker, Isabella, putting her arm around her shoulders.