Not Daddy Material: Billionaire Contract Series

by Violet Paige

  5

  Evie

  I blinked.

  He wasn’t supposed to say that, was he? Falling in love? Jeremy Hartwell was falling in love with me.

  “Evie?” He cocked his head to the side.

  I was thinking faster than I could talk. Or was I feeling? I was thrilled and excited. I was scared and nervous. I felt like a queen. I felt like a teenager. I was all over the map. One sentence and I was mushy gushy inside.

  “Jer.” I propped up on my elbow. “I’m falling too.” I shook my head. “I think I already have.” I swallowed. “I’ve already fallen in love with you.”

  He grinned. He cupped my face, drawing me down again to his mouth. I moaned into his kiss.

  “We are so backward about everything.” I watched the new relaxed expression on his face. Did he just get ten times sexier?

  He nodded. “I guess we are.”

  “I didn’t want to say anything. I swore I wasn’t going to tell you.”

  His hand curled to my hip. “I thought the same thing about two seconds before I blurted it out.”

  “You don’t think we’re going to screw everything up?” It was the biggest fear I had. That I’d fall for my husband and get my heart broken. That he’d rip it out and step on it without knowing he had even done it.

  He exhaled. “I have no fucking clue.”

  “That was not reassuring.” I pinched my eyebrows together.

  “Sorry. I didn’t plan this. I don’t know what we’re doing. I don’t know if it’s a good idea or not.”

  I nodded. “That’s at least honest, Jer. I’m scared too. I don’t want to ruin this thing between us.”

  “Me either.”

  The problem was we didn’t know how to promise each other that everything would turn out with a happy ending. It was easier when we weren’t falling. When we weren’t enraptured with each other. When all we cared about was sex.

  I knew the sex between us was too intense to stay meaningless. If I thought about it, it never had been. From the first night we slept together, I had given this man something different than any man before him. And he had given me a new part of myself. A part I had clung to. A part of me I loved with a sexual enthusiasm I was still discovering. It wasn’t like we could pretend that connection didn’t exist. Add baby making to the sex, and we were fools to think we could stay detached from each other. We had been playing a dangerous game.

  “What should we do?” I asked. “Go back to how we were before we said it?”

  He shook his head. “You really think you can do that?”

  “No,” I admitted. “I know the contract was based on common sense. We have mutual goals. That’s what brought us together.” It was strange saying it out loud.

  I didn’t feel like the same girl who had slept with her high school crush in the basement of Bella’s. It was hard to put myself in the mind frame of someone who had been so desperate to have a baby, that she went along with a fake marriage. And yet, I wanted Jeremy’s baby more than anything. But it wasn’t about me any longer. It was about us. Our baby. How had that happened?

  I felt a warm Pacific breeze skim our bodies. The curtains rustled around us. There was no reason to go inside our villa to have this conversation. Jer had created our own secluded island right here. It was one more thing I liked about him. He wasn’t afraid to make something happen. I was content to sit and talk with the sun shining on our backs and the waves lapping under our private dock.

  “It’s what’s going to keep us together. It has to.”

  I wanted to believe him. I wanted to trust him.

  “And if it doesn’t?” I was afraid of the answer.

  “That won’t happen.” He brushed the tail of my braid off my shoulder, taking his mouth to my breast. His tongue flicked over my nipple, still taut and erect.

  I sighed. “You don’t know what’s going to happen.” My body started to buzz again with electricity.

  “Neither do you,” he growled. I’d never known a man with Jer’s sexual appetite.

  He leaned back on the chaise, pulling me on top of him. I straddled his thighs, feeling my body pulse with anticipation. I was still wet and sticky from him. I rubbed my clit over his shaft, reveling in how it made him groan. He started to get hard as I rocked into him, creating hotter and faster friction between our bodies. He felt so good.

  “You don’t want to slow down?” I asked. It would only take a few more seconds in this position and he’d be fully ready to fill me again. God, I loved it when he was inside me.

  “No, keep doing that,” he grunted.

  I smiled. “No.” I pressed into his length. “I mean us? Should we slow things down?”

  “Fuck no.” He gripped my hips and I whimpered when he pushed his cock inside me. I was so sore, but the ache inside me hurt deeper. I needed him to release me. To give me the kind of orgasm that would soothe the tension in my limbs. Only Jeremy could send fire though my veins and make it feel like glitter.

  I lost all my thoughts the instant he was inside me.

  “Ohh, Jer.” My head fell back as my hips took over.

  I didn’t know how long we spent in that cabana. Only by the time we reached another pair of climaxes, the sun was beginning to set behind the curtains. Our bodies glistened with sweat. We panted. We kissed. We tugged and pulled on each other. He pumped inside me and I moaned for more.

  Our kisses grew frantic with the final thrusts. One. Two. Three. Jeremy slammed into me with so much force it knocked the air from my lungs. If no one else heard us fucking each other, it would be a miracle.

  His cock grew hot like a fiery rod as he filled me with more of his seed. I gasped for air. For words. For gravity.

  I kissed his chest, shoulders, and throat until I found his warm full lips.

  He wrapped his arms around me. “You still like the honeymoon?” he asked.

  “I do,” I whispered.

  “You don’t want to go back to New York any sooner?”

  I shook my head. “No. You deserve a vacation, and we deserve a honeymoon.” I was certain this was where we were going to make our baby, and there was no way I was leaving early. “Is something wrong?” I asked. “Do we have to leave?”

  He shook his head. “No. Just making sure.”

  I rolled next to him, tucking my knees to my chest. “But I would like to go out to dinner tonight.”

  “Really?” He lifted his eyebrows. “No room service tonight?”

  “No. I want to try one of the resort restaurants. Or we could go to one of the villages.”

  “After that performance, Mrs. Hartwell, you get to decide.”

  I giggled. “That good?”

  “You really have no idea how amazing you are.”

  “You could keep telling me,” I teased.

  His eyes traveled to his empty chaise. I saw his phone lying in the center.

  “What’s wrong?” I pressed. “You have that look. I’ve seen it. I already know it.”

  “Nothing. It’s not important.”

  I had a feeling if I told him to grab his phone and check it, he would without hesitation. I wasn’t naïve enough to think he could just turn off the business side of his brain for our entire honeymoon.

  “Is it news about your mother or Mr. Lancaster?” We were both expecting his mother and her attorney to pursue as many lawsuits as she could to contest Jeremy’s father’s will. Timing it while Jeremy was out of the country seemed like her style.

  “No. It’s not my mother. I’m not worried about Byron Lancaster. They can both kiss my ass.”

  “It’s something, Jer. You have that little crease line on your forehead.”

  “I think we should go inside and shower before dinner.” He hopped up from the chaise and wrapped a towel around his waist.

  I would never get tired of studying his gorgeous body. He hesitated in front of the curtain, giving me time to cover myself.

  “You aren’t going to tell me?” I pouted.

 
“No. I said it’s nothing. It’s nothing.”

  I exhaled, realizing that every time I thought we were closer, he was going to hold something back. This was why it was hard to love Jeremy Hartwell. This was what terrified me. The tiny threads we had woven always seemed vulnerable to snags. What if they frayed? What if we couldn’t tie them back fast enough?

  I slipped a cover up on, stuffing my bikini into my beach bag. “Ok. Let’s go.” I marched into my pair of flip-flops and followed him on the pier back to our villa.

  I hoped no one noticed I walked like I had just dismounted a horse. A hot bath was exactly what I needed before dinner.

  There was one week left of our honeymoon, and I was going to soak up every second because today was the day my husband told me how he felt about me, and we needed to celebrate something good.

  I pushed the button to extend the leather seat in our travel pod. Jeremy typed on his laptop. Every few minutes he would stop and ask if I was ok. My answer was the same. Yes. Flying back to the States was easier for some reason than when we left for Tahiti.

  I felt the honeymoon hangover. I didn’t want to leave the island. I loved French Polynesia. I loved our villa. I loved our dinners together. I loved snorkeling, and even hiking to two more waterfalls. I loved the sex. I loved our intimacy. I loved how Jeremy worshipped my body, and did everything right every time to get me pregnant. I looked at him as I began to doze off. More than anything, this honeymoon showed me I loved my husband.

  “Do you want me to order anything for you?” he offered.

  I pulled the warm blanket to my chin. “No. I’m going to sleep. It’s night in New York, right?”

  “Yes. We land in the morning.”

  It would take a few days to readjust to the time when we returned. I could get a head start if I tried to at least pretend my body was ready for a full night’s sleep.

  “Maybe I’ll eat something later.”

  “I’m just going to—”

  “Work. I know,” I answered for him.

  “I have to go over the investor profile before my meeting in the morning.”

  I yawned. “I get it. I’m going to sleep.”

  It wasn’t long before the tapping of the keys was enough to lull me to sleep. I thought there was a soft pink baby in my dream. She had auburn ringlets and she smelled like baby lotion. I thought Jeremy was there. And my mom and Frannie.

  It was fuzzy. I tried to pull it back to focus, but I felt the plane jostle me awake. My eyes opened.

  The honeymoon was over.

  We were back in New York.

  6

  Jeremy

  “You look tan.” Sasha pressed her cherry red lips together. Her ivory skin was just as even and pale as always.

  I nodded, crunching the numbers on the spreadsheet again. I didn’t like the figures she presented.

  “How was Tahiti?” she asked.

  I pushed back from the conference table. “It was good. I recommend the time off.” I grinned, diving back into the report.

  “I don’t take vacations.”

  “Neither did I, but things change.”

  It was an oversimplification of what the honeymoon had meant. I came back a different man. I left New York, trying to convince the world my marriage with Evie was real. I discovered in Tahiti it was. I didn’t know what other people’s marriages were like, but I knew ours. And I wouldn’t change a damn thing about it.

  “No one changes that much.” She cleared her throat. “Enough about your personal life. What do you think about the new investor lineup?”

  I caught the dig at my relationship. I had hoped the time away would soften Sasha, but it seemed to only stoke her anger. She was lying through her teeth if she wanted me to believe nothing had changed. She had.

  We felt less like business partners and more like rivals. I didn’t like the direction this was headed.

  “They look solid, but we both know they can’t affect the bottom line the way they should. They aren’t heavy hitters.”

  She jutted her chin forward. It accentuated the sharp lines of her cheeks. “Who did you bring to the table?”

  “I don’t bring people to the table. You do that. I close them. You pitch. I close. It’s always worked that way. And it has worked pretty damn well. We’ve built this company together on that practice.”

  Sasha rose from the table. Today’s light gray pencil skirt was extremely tight.

  “I think you got too much sun. Or had too many fruity drinks.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  She started toward me. “It means you haven’t been available for the past two weeks. You left me here to deal with this shit.” She was close to baring her teeth. “You have no idea what I’ve been dealing with, Jeremy. None.”

  My phone rang. I looked at it, knowing she was likely to slap me if I picked it up, but I saw Evie’s number and grabbed it.

  “Hey,” I answered.

  Sasha’s hands went to her thin hips. Her eyes narrowed.

  “Oh my God. I don’t know what to do.” Evie sounded out of breath.

  “Slow down. What’s wrong?”

  “I just got off the phone with my mom and Frannie. We have to go to Newton Hills this weekend.”

  “Why? Did something happen?” I asked. I could feel Sasha’s eyes boring holes into my head, but Evie took priority now. Sasha had to learn this was the new normal.

  “Everyone is fine. But they are throwing us a reception. My mom says it’s the only way my dad is going to accept our marriage. I told them we’d be there. I didn’t know what else to say. I’m sorry. It’s a total disaster.”

  “It’s not. We can go. We can spare a weekend in Newton Hills.”

  Sasha moved to open her mouth, but I held up a hand.

  “Are you sure? It’s not like it’s going to be a wedding, but they want the full reception. Everything. Apparently, they’ve been planning it the entire time we were in Tahiti. I had no idea. Frannie wanted it to be a surprise, but my mom finally broke down and thought we needed a few days’ notice. It’s only three days away, Jer.”

  I hadn’t planned to return to Newton Hills anytime soon, or ever if I could help it. But I couldn’t pretend that Evie’s entire family didn’t live there. It was going to happen eventually. I had hoped that the next time would be with the paternity documents required to collect my inheritance.

  “Ok. What do we need to do before then?” I asked. I didn’t know how the fuck to plan a wedding reception. I’d thrown a few bachelor parties. Those I could do. I knew high-end strippers and good liquor.

  “I need a dress and maybe you should wear a tux-suit thing.”

  I chuckled. “Anything else?”

  “We need a first dance song, and I have to tell them what flavors to make the different tiers of the cake. Oh shit. And a wedding party? You know, a few friends to stand in for us.”

  “This is starting to sound like a wedding.”

  “It’s not, but my very Italian, very traditional family has a lot of opinions on the proper way to do things. This will help to smooth things over.” She sighed. “I don’t think it mattered before…but…”

  “I know. It matters now.”

  “Yes. I want them to love you, Jer. This party could change things for my dad. It could be a huge step.”

  “I’ll pay for everything, ok? Whatever you want. Whatever your mom and your sister want. I’ll cover all the expenses.”

  Our wedding had been anything but extravagant. We were married in the middle of the night in a bed and breakfast. There were two witnesses, who had until that point been complete strangers to us. If Evie needed this. If she wanted it. I’d move whatever mountains stood in the way to give it to her.

  “No,” she blurted. “Are you crazy? Do you know how offended my father would be?”

  Sasha cleared her throat behind me.

  “Ok. I take it back?” I was confused. I thought I was helping the man.

  She sighed. “Good.
Maybe we could pay for things they don’t know about, but he would be insulted if you tried to pay for his daughter’s wedding.”

  I was going to have to read up on Italian fathers before the weekend.

  “Babe, I’ve got to get to a meeting, but tell them we’ll be there. I’ll have the jet fly us all the way in. Maybe we can stop in Asheville on the way back and drop in on Mrs. Hughes,” I teased.

  “Wouldn’t she be surprised? I bet she didn’t think we’d last a week.”

  “Probably not. I’ll see you for dinner.”

  “Ok. I’m going to the coffee shop to write. It seems like the next few days I’m going to be working on reception plans.”

  “Bye.”

  I tossed the phone on the table and stared at Sasha. “That was Evie.”

  “I know. And you cannot go to Newton Hills this weekend.” She tapped her foot impatiently.

  “Why not?”

  “I bought our black tie gala tickets months ago. It’s the Sportsman’s Ball.”

  “Fuck,” I whispered.

  I saw the look of triumph on her face. “See? You can’t go.”

  “You bought two tickets? Take someone else.”

  “We always go to the Sportsman’s Ball together. Last year we landed our two biggest investors. Or have you forgotten that too?”

  “No. I haven’t forgotten, but something has come up. I have to be in Newton Hills.”

  “So that’s it? You’re going to choose married life over this company?” Her cold accent was on every syllable.

  I closed my eyes. She knew about my contract with Evie. She knew about the inheritance. She knew how important it was to have a baby to secure the long-term success of the company. Yet, she was giving me grief at every fucking turn.

  “By putting Evie first, I’m putting the company first.” I folded the pages of the report. “Find new investors.” I slid the file toward her and walked out of the room.

  7

  Evie

  Every once in a while, the sunlight would catch my diamond while I was typing, and I’d get distracted remembering I was Mrs. Jeremy Hartwell. The rainbows bounced on the bistro table as I sipped my vanilla latte and exhaled. I was supposed to be writing something gritty and dark, but I couldn’t channel those feelings. I was struggling to find a single negative word. I was an idiot in love with her husband. The husband she was never supposed to let near her heart. The husband who was so incredibly sexy and charming—she was supposed to be careful and cautious of her feelings, no matter what.