The Billionaire's Baby (The Romero Brothers, Book 5)

by Shadonna Richards

  Amber looked embarrassed at first and hesitant to lift up her top. “Do you want me to leave and come back, Amber?” Jules offered quietly. Wanting to give her privacy. They weren’t, after all, an official couple. So if she was obviously playing shy again in regards to having Jules see her bare skin, that was all good with him. It was all for her comfort. Though he was puzzled since she’d been intimate with another man. She was, after all, pregnant.

  “No. No, that’s okay. Please stay.”

  The ultrasound tech looked confused. “I’m sorry, I thought he was the father. I usually ask visitors to stay outside while I do the test.”

  “No. He’s not just a visitor.”

  “We’re together. It’s okay,” Jules chimed in. Why had he said that? Because he didn’t want Amber to feel awkward—again? Not that it was anybody’s business who the father was or if he was around.

  Amber carefully lifted up her long-sleeved black yoga top and revealed her naked skin over her huge, swollen baby mound.

  Jules tried to hide the shock and horror in his eyes.

  It took all the strength in his body to remain composed. So was this why Amber didn’t want to get intimate with him? Was this what she was hiding all along? But why hadn’t she just told him? He looked away then back at Amber as the tech squirted blue gel on Amber’s abdomen and rubbed it around before placing the scanner on her belly.

  Amber didn’t look in Jules’s direction. He thought he could see raw hurt clouding her eyes. Was she ashamed? God, there was no need to be.

  He moved closer to the table and rubbed her feet, massaging them. She looked at him and her lips curled slightly at the corners into a warm smile of appreciation.

  “Okay, as you can see, your baby is here. Right where she should be.”

  “She?” Jules repeated, rubbing Amber’s shoulder now as he stood on the opposite side of the stretcher.

  “Yes, I’m having a girl,” Amber acknowledged, smiling weakly.

  “You look tired, beautiful,” Jules commented. “Don’t worry, I’m taking you home after the doc gives us the go ahead.”

  “The doctor will have to see the results first. But I’m sure everything should be fine,” the tech responded.

  The sound of a galloping horse was the baby’s heartbeat. The ultrasound machine was quite high-tech and advanced according to the tech. That was no surprise since the Romeros donated millions to upgrade the hospital’s equipment to superior quality and turn it into a state-of-the-art facility.

  “So this is the baby’s heart rate.” The tech showed Amber and Jules a number on the screen below the baby’s image.

  Jules squeezed Amber’s shoulder lovingly. It was all spontaneous. Maybe this was God’s way of giving him a second chance since he would never be able to have kids—at least not as of now. He was getting a taste of what it would be like to be a real dad. An expectant father. He couldn’t understand why some men didn’t want to stick around their pregnant wives or partners. This was like…a miracle. Nothing like he’d ever experienced. His heart turned to mush just watching the monitor with the image of a precious life inside Amber. A baby girl. The little bundle was unaware of being monitored and gaped at—just going about her little business in the warmth and safety of her mother’s womb.

  “So your baby weighs two pounds,” the tech continued as she glided the scanner over Amber’s belly while her vision fixed on the screen of the monitor.

  “You can tell how much the baby weighs?” Jules was stunned. He wasn’t a med specialist or anything, that would be his brother Alonso, but he was always in awe of medical science and the possibilities and amazing capabilities of technology.

  “Yes, that’s right.” The woman continued to move the scanner around the abdomen. “We can tell a whole lot more, too, these days. “The crown to rump length of your baby is about fourteen inches, as you can see here.”

  Jules could not believe this little precious miracle growing inside Amber and seeing a full color image of the fetus was breathtaking. Just as breathtaking as Amber looked in her awesomeness and expectant motherly glow. Seemed like those pregnancy hormones agreed with her.

  After the session, the tech switched off the device and wiped down the scanner. She then offered Amber a paper towel to wipe the gel off her belly.

  “I’ll take that,” Jules said, usurping the cloth from the tech. “Come here, baby, let me clean this gel off you.”

  Amber’s look of surprise melted into a warm smile. “Thank you.”

  “I’ll be right back,” the tech said. “I’m just going to get the doctor in to see you. If all is okay, I’m sure you’ll be able to go home soon.”

  “Thank you,” Amber reiterated to the tech.

  After the woman left the room, Jules couldn’t wait to turn to Amber. “Are you okay?” he said while cleaning off her delicate skin.

  “Y-yes.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me what was going on before?” he asked, as he carefully swabbed her belly to assure it was clean and dry. He assisted her in pulling her shirt down and covering up her exposed skin.

  From what he could ascertain, from her stomach to her back and up to her rib cage were rife with horrific jagged scars and raised abrasions.

  “What happened?”

  “I didn’t want you to see what a mess I am before, Jules. It…it happened when-”

  “Oh, God, Amber. I’m so sorry. When your parents…that accident…?”

  She nodded. He didn’t need to probe any further. He wasn’t going to say anything more unless she did. He knew all too well the pain of losing a loved one. But it looked as if Amber lost a whole lot more. So much more.

  Anger blazed through Jules like an erupting volcano yet he fought to simmer inside for Amber’s sake. He wanted to hunt down that son-of-a-bitch that did this to Amber—to her body.

  Amber breathed in deeply and closed her eyes then opened them again. “It was hard for me to…get close to you, Jules. I loved you too much.”

  “But why? Why did you keep this from me? You think I would have minded?”

  “From the corner of my eye, I saw your look of surprise when the tech lifted up my shirt. I don’t blame you.”

  “I was shocked. Yes. But not for the reasons you think, Amber. How could you have judged me that way?”

  “Because I was afraid of being judged that way. Again.”

  “Again?”

  Amber swallowed hard. “Jules, you have no idea what I have been through as a child. I only told you some of the story. Yes, the crash that killed my parents left terrible physical scars on me but nothing compared to the emotional scar.”

  “Emotional scar?”

  “I was ostracized. Teased. Because…” she sat up on the stretcher and moved her long, dark hair to the side so he could see down her back. “The scars are everywhere and they don’t look pretty. Some folks said I should have seen a plastic surgeon, not a regular surgeon. But anyway, as a kid, do you know what my name was?”

  “No.”

  “Frankenstein or sometimes just the monster.”

  Jules closed his eyes as he leaned against the wall, twisting his college ring on his finger, anger seething through him like acid. He wished he’d been there to defend Amber. He lowered his head. He tried hard not to feel her pain. But it was all too great. How crazy that she had to go through all that after losing her parents and her younger brother. He remembered the story she’d told him. They were driving home from the cottage when she was a girl. It was a cold, dark, fall night. A heavy downpour fell from the sky. They were hit by another car that sped off without stopping. The car swerved into a ditch, smashed into some trees and overturned. Amber was lucky to be pulled out alive. The others were not so fortunate. Her younger brother who was four at the time and her parents were both killed instantly.

  No one ever located that other vehicle.

  The wreck that claimed her family turned into another cold case for the police—an unsolved case.

  And ap
parently that coward didn’t have a conscience to come forth. Amber suffered selective amnesia at the time and didn’t recall as a key witness who that other driver could be or what the other vehicle was, which was tragic in itself. That person would never be found.

  How horrific for Amber. She’d gone through so much.

  And to make matters worse, she’d been through several life-saving operations at the time. He hadn’t realized the scars were the result of surgeries from her scalp to her back and abdomen and upper thighs. No wonder Amber often dressed conservatively and covered up as much as she could. She’d been ostracized. Humiliated. Then she was forced to live with her estranged grandfather who had passed away and then she got bumped into living with her aunt who wasn’t even close with Amber’s parents to begin with.

  “I’m really sorry you went through all that, Amber.” His voice was low, almost breaking with emotion. God, it killed him inside to know she’d been through so much hell. And she didn’t even let him know the full effects of that crash—until now.

  So that’s why Amber always covered herself up while they dated.

  She was so different from any other woman he’d been with in the past. It was his first platonic relationship with—a girlfriend. Come to think of it, there was a lot of firsts with Amber. She got him into this “try a platonic relationship for a change” line while they were dating saying she wanted to “take time” before getting intimate. Of course, that did nothing for his testosterone levels but he really was into Amber. They had so much more in common. It nearly killed him not to be inside her at the time, but he really got a chance to get inside her mind, her heart and her soul. Especially, her heart of gold. She put her neck on the line for his sister-in-law Venus and his brother Carl. Who could forget that?

  Still, he had to remember he told her he wasn’t ready to commit to her then so how could he expect them to stay together very long when getting married was what she wanted then?

  “I know it’s hard for you to understand right now, Jules. I know you’re a caring, a kind guy. I really enjoyed spending time with you. I just didn’t want you to see how I look underneath my clothes.”

  “So that’s why you didn’t want to be intimate with me?”

  Amber was beautiful. Scars or no scars.

  She recomposed herself. “I’m fine. I’ll be fine. I just thought I wasn’t good enough. And you said you weren’t ready for commitment back then. I later met someone else who said he was ready to commit to a serious relationship. He turned out to be cruel and told me no man would want me and that he was doing me a favour by being with me. I left him faster than you could say YOU’RE FIRED!”

  “Not before you....” He gestured to her baby bump.

  “When I met Rex I thought maybe I would have a chance to have a family. But…well, it didn’t work out with him. And now, here I am, single—and with a baby.”

  “It’s okay, Amber. We all have scars.”

  “Not everyone.”

  “Oh, don’t kid yourself, Amber. Most people have psychological scars even if they don’t admit it. The truth is, nobody is perfect, Amber. None of us. And love means loving a person in spite of his or her faults because we all have them, maybe not the same ones but we all have them.” He looked deeply into her eyes and she wrapped her hand around his waist and hugged him. He felt her sweet energy transfer to his body and he reacted.

  “Amber, I want to be here for you and your daughter. Please let me.”

  “Jules. I can’t ask you to-”

  “You’re not asking, I want to be here with you.” Oh, boy. Jules was digging himself deeper and deeper. He needed to be focusing his energies on his new acquisition but why didn’t that seem like the most important thing to him right now? Why was his heart pulling in the direction of the beautiful, kind-hearted woman who dumped him?

  Heck, it wasn’t even his kid and already he felt protective of the little miracle and more protective of Amber.

  “Besides, I had a little accident a while back and well…” Jules said.

  “An accident? Oh my God! Were you hurt?”

  “Actually, yeah, it’s complicated, too.”

  “Complicated?”

  “Yeah,” he hesitated. But deep down inside, he really wanted her to know. “Amber, I sustained some pretty serious injuries. I’m healthy and well but…well, doc said there was some damage done to the area near my vas deferens, the muscular tube that connects my…”

  “Oh, God! Jules, I’m so very sorry to hear.”

  “It’s okay. I’m a survivor. I just don’t know if I’ll ever have any survivors if you know what I mean.”

  “Oh, no.”

  “Well, I’m kind of glad we met up again. I mean, I didn’t realize how much I missed our time together until I spent time with you at the class today—as parents. I thought helping you with your baby was like a blessing in disguise—I could be like a godfather or uncle or something.” Okay, he was getting all emotional inside. Time to switch the topic.

  “Anyway, enough of that!” he said in a commanding tone. “I want to make sure that you guys are okay, Amber. Where are you staying?”

  “First, Jules, I’m fine, really. And as far as your…situation, it wouldn’t matter to me. You’re a great guy!”

  “You’re a sweetheart, but let’s not worry about me. I’m concerned about your condition. You just had a scare.”

  “But I’ll be all right.”

  “I won’t rest until I know for sure, Amber.”

  After assuring Jules this, too, would pass and that one baby was plenty for her in her lifetime, the door swiftly opened and the doctor returned with the ultrasound tech.

  “The baby’s condition looks satisfactory, Ms. Johnson-Murray,” the doctor said.

  Amber smiled while Jules continued to have his arm wrapped around her shoulder for support.

  “Can she go home now, doc?”

  “Well, not yet,” he hesitated, his face evident with concern. He turned to Amber. “We would like to run a few more tests and monitor you for a while just to make sure. We need to get your blood pressure under control. And I do suggest plenty of rest. You said in the ER that you felt a leg cramp, which is not uncommon at your stage. We took the ultrasound as a precautionary measure to ensure your baby is doing okay. No distress there.”

  “Oh, good,” Amber said, her voice sounded breathless.

  Jules truly appreciated what a woman went through more than ever now. She was carrying all this extra weight and still going on about her business while another life was growing inside her. Have mercy!

  “Oh, and another thing. Leg cramps during pregnancy are often caused by compressed blood vessels as a result of the extra weight you’re carrying. So you can help the blood circulate throughout your body and minimize cramping by putting your feet up whenever you can and drinking plenty of fluids.”

  Jules took note of what the doctor advised. His mind raced as to his upcoming appointments. Why was Amber dominating his interests all of a sudden? He would rearrange a few meetings and take Amber home then make sure she was settled.

  There was no way he was going to let her go through this again, alone! Not if he could help it.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  A week later, Amber was finally ready for discharge. She ended up staying in the hospital for more than seven days and Jules had visited her each and every day in between his business meetings. Her blood pressure was unstable and she wasn’t eating due to severe nausea, so IV fluids were her only source of nutrition. The medical team was worried about the baby’s well-being given Amber’s history of multiple surgeries since her childhood accident. They soon considered her to be a high-risk pregnancy and wanted to take proper precautions.

  Jules brought her beautiful flowers and fluffy teddy bears to cheer her. She felt as if her heart melted. Her mood was certainly elevated. Aunt Mavis managed to drop by once, for which Amber was grateful. But Jules had seemingly moved his schedule around to be with her. That meant the
world to her. He kept telling her that she had saved his brother and sister-in-law and it was the least he could do. But there was so much more.

  Amber hated that she felt a magical spark between them again. A chemical reaction of overwhelming proportions.

  Or was that her imagination? Amber fought to ignore the feeling. Back then, Jules was all about sex. It seemed evident that he’d changed. But after that sweet heat turned disaster of an ex, Rex, she did not want to risk having her heart singed again in another failed relationship. She just couldn’t bear it—again. Jules was merely being a gentleman. Nothing more. It could never lead to anything more than his friendly support.

  People could genuinely tell who cared for them when they were at their lowest. When they were most vulnerable. Jules was that caring person and Amber would be eternally grateful to him. God, what if Jules hadn’t been there for her? She would have ended up alone in the ward. Venus just had a baby, so she was unable to visit. Her body was still healing. And Amber’s aunt was simply too busy running the café in Amber’s absence. And it was a good thing. Amber wanted things to run smoothly at the Murray Café in her absence. Amber enjoyed working at the café and chatting with customers. Sometimes her working relationship with her aunt got a bit out of hand with her aunt’s mood swings but the smiles on the faces of satisfied customers who loved to come in and share how their day was going really made Amber’s day.

  Amber really didn’t have a whole lot of close friends. Mostly acquaintances but not the huge lot like the Romeros had.

  When she was released from hospital Jules was by her side, amazingly supportive as always. Amber was visibly relieved to have a ride home in Jules’s comfortable SUV. He told her he couldn’t stand the thought of her having to take the bus in her condition knowing full well that she was having some sort of joint pain related to her pregnancy.

  When they finally arrived at Amber’s apartment above the café and Amber turned the key in the lock and opened the door, Jules stood there, perplexed. He glanced around the cramped studio apartment. Was Amber crazy? How could she even think of having a baby there? He saw a small, old couch with a couple tears in the fabric and a few stuffed pillows and a throw blanket on it. It looked as if Amber used it as a bed.