***
“How are you?” Leo looked truly worried. “I came as soon as I heard what happened.”
“I’m fine.” Melody wasn’t going to say anything more than that. “The baby’s fine too, so far. The doctor doesn’t me to leave for a couple of nights, so she can keep an eye on me, because she said it isn’t unusual for trauma like this to cause a miscarriage. I think I managed to protect them. I did my best.”
“Sweetheart, this isn’t your fault.” He gently kissed her forehead. “I know it was Ebony. The police took her in for questioning. If they press charges, which is what I think they should do, I hope she’ll learn the error of her ways.”
“I’m sorry.”
“There’s nothing for you to apologise for.”
“Apart from getting pregnant.”
“Which wasn’t a choice.” He shook his head. “Ebony made her choice. It’s not your fault, okay? The two of us made the decision together to have sex and even with protection these things sometimes happen. You aren’t a gold digger. If you were you wouldn’t be arguing with me about keeping your job.”
“My boss is going to make that simple for me.” Melody managed to smiled. “I don’t have to worry about that.”
“Good.” Leo gently stroked some strands of hair off her face. “I want you to meet my parents.”
“After how Ebony reacted do you really think that’s a good idea?”
“My parents aren’t my sister. I think she gets it from Dad, unfortunately, and Mom divorced him when the two of us were young. I want you to meet Mom and my step-dad, who’s the man I think of as my true dad. He’s nothing like my bio-father. Ebony… well, she didn’t take to Mom remarrying too well, so she doesn’t have as good a relationship with our step-dad. I almost thinks she blames him for my parents not getting back together, when it didn’t have anything to do with him.”
“I can do that, if you really want me to.”
“You are going to be the mother of my child.” He glanced at her stomach. “If you want to be.”
“Right now I don’t know what I want. How many other people will call me a gold digger?”
“What they think doesn’t matter. I know the truth. You know the truth. My parents know the truth. I want you to be a part of my life, Melody, even if something does happen to the baby, because I’m not only doing this for the baby. I’m doing this for us. I want to be with you. I want to make our relationship work.” Their eyes met. “I’ve wanted that ever since the first time I met you, but I didn’t want to scare you off. I managed to do it anyway, even though I did my best not to make you feel like there were strings, because I really wanted you to give me a chance.”
***
“Three nights in hospital wasn’t something I much enjoyed.” Melody sat on the sofa and looked over at Elizabeth. “Fortunately, I think, the baby is fine. Leo was there every day. I…” Melody shook her head. “I feel like I can’t abort this baby, even if that’s what I think is best for me. Leo’s too close already.”
“He’ll do whatever he thinks is best for both of you, Mel. From what I saw of him I think he really likes you, and you should make the most of that, no matter what it might mean.”
“Ebony pushed me down the stairs at the mall because she wanted me to lose the baby. I don’t know if I should have a baby with someone who has a sister like that.”
“They’re very different people.”
“I know.” Melody glanced at her stomach. “I just can’t help wondering what Ebony might be willing to do to my baby. If she was happy to try killing me then there’s a chance she might be willing to do the same thing to the baby.”
“Make sure there’s enough security to stop it from happening.” Elizabeth walked over to the sofa, holding a mug of hot chocolate, which had become Melody’s drink of choice. Both tea and coffee made her feel nauseous. “Leo will do anything he has to in order to protect your child. We both know you have no reason to worry.”
“Maybe.” Melody sighed. “I think I’m going to have to wait to make a decision until after I’ve spoken to him, and met his parents.” She shook her head. “I’m not ready for that, but I want to do it for him, because he was there for me. Without him I think I would have lost my sanity. I hate sitting around and doing nothing.”
“Did you manage to talk to your boss?”
“Yeah, and he was very understanding. When he found out what happened he told me not to worry going in until I was well again, because he doesn’t want me to do anything stupid, but I don’t think I could sit around much longer. I need to work. I need to be doing things, especially as I know I will have to take maternity leave in the future, which isn’t going to be easy before I have the baby.”
“No, it’s not.” Elizabeth smiled. “I think you already know what you want to do.”
“With all the talking I’ve done about the baby I’ve started to think of them as a little person, even though there aren’t. I don’t think I could have an abortion now, Beth, even though I still think it might be the best choice for me as a person. I don’t know if I can be a good mom. I’ve got no experience with children.”
“Most people don’t. All you can do is your best, sweetie, and I know you’ll be able to make this work.”
***
“I’m not ready for this.” Melody looked at Leo. “I’m not ready to meet your parents. I understand why you want me to, but…” She shook her head. “How do we even know we’re keeping this baby?”
“Do you really think you could abort it now?” He brushed a hand through his hair. “After everything that’s happened do you really think you can give up on our baby?”
“Probably not.” She put her hand on her stomach. No matter what she really wanted the thing within her had become a person, even though it wasn’t one, and she didn’t think she could abort. “I realise that means your family are likely to be a part of my life for the next twenty years, but that doesn’t mean I’m ready for this. What happens if they hate me?”
“They won’t. They know how I feel about you, Melody, and that will keep them from saying anything stupid.”
“Where’s Ebony?”
“At her place. She doesn’t know anything about this. Mom made certain she didn’t, because of what happened before. None of us want you to get hurt again.”
Sighing, Melody nodded. “Okay.” He squeezed her hand. “This is not what I expected to happen when I fell into bed with you, Leo. I thought it was going to be one night and then I’d never have to see you again.”
“Like I said I wanted more than that. From the moment I put my hands on your hips I knew I wanted something more with you than I’d had with the other women in my life, and I don’t think I made the wrong choice. If I could pick anyone to be the mother of my children it would have been you.”
“You barely know me, Leo.”
“I know how you deal with difficulties. You’ve never hidden your strength from me, which makes me feel like you don’t really know how strong you really are. The two of us can make things work, if you’re willing to believe it’s possible, and I really hope you are.”
“Right now I don’t know what I want. I feel like this is never going to work, because we’re two very different people.”
“Are we? I worked hard for my money. You work hard for your money. I was just lucky enough to earn more than you did, probably because I walked a different path, but I do still work hard. From the time I was old enough to live my own life I’ve worked hard and I’ve played hard. That’s not going to change. I’m just going to have a different way of playing.” He shrugged. “I have already started working on a nursery. I might not know what gender they will be, but I have plenty of things to get that have no gender. I want to show it to you after dinner.”
***
“Come on, honey.” Leo’s mom took Melody’s arm and led her into the kitchen. “Do you want to talk about it?”
Their eyes met for a moment. “I don’t know if I do.” Melody b
rushed a hand through her hair. “This is just… I did this for Leo. He wanted it so much and I thought I was going to be okay. After everything that’s happened, though, I don’t really want to be here.”
“Why?”
“Ebony is part of the reason, but it’s more than I’ve never really had a family. When I was younger my parents died in an accident. My aunt took me in. She didn’t want to, so I never felt like I was a part of the family, and now I’m here… Leo has so much more than I ever did. I’m not certain I know how to be a part of this. A part of me wants to be, because I’ve missed it, but I don’t know how well I’m going to fit into your family. Leo isn’t the person I would ever have chosen.”
“My son has been unlucky when it comes to the women in his life, even his sister. That is, unfortunately, at least partly my fault, because I didn’t fight for her to come live with me. I don’t think she would be the woman she is now if she hadn’t made the decision to stay with her father. I just… I never wanted to force them to pick me, even when they were young, and she wanted to be with her dad. Sometimes I think she even blamed me for the break-up.”
“Leo said she didn’t get along well with your husband.”
“She doesn’t. I’ve tried to get the two of them to spend more time together, because I wanted to have my whole family around me, but she won’t. She never wanted me to get remarried. She tried to talk me out of it multiple times, because she thought I should get back together with her father, only that wasn’t what I wanted. I wanted to be with someone who respected me, and loved me, and didn’t treat me like I was worthless.”
“All I ever wanted was to fall in love when I was younger. My parents cared so much about each other that I wanted to emulate them, only I realised as I got older that being in my aunt’s house for so long had affected me. Now I don’t know if I can make a go of things with someone. I haven’t told Leo any of this, because I don’t know how to word it, especially as I think he has feelings for me, and I don’t want to make him think there’s something wrong with him.”
“The best thing you can do is be honest with him. I think he’s in love with you. When he told us about you the first time I knew there was something special. He hasn’t told us about any of his relationships before, and he’s never wanted one to come to dinner with us.”
***
“Are we going to keep the baby?” Leo tugged Melody a little closer to him, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “I don’t want to rush you into a decision, but this… it feels right. I feel like you’ve always been a part of my life.”
“Leo…”
“Mom told me you have issues, and that’s okay. I’m happy to help you work through them, if that’s what you want, or I can walk away for a little while, to give you some time to come to terms with what’s happened.”
“Issues?”
“She didn’t actually use that word. She told me there were things I didn’t know about you and she thought it was important we spent more of our time getting to know each other before we made any definite decisions. The last thing she wants is for us to make a mistake.”
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Of course.”
“It’s one you might not want to answer.”
“I promise I’ll always be honest with you.”
“Do you love me?” Melody wasn’t certain what she wanted the answer to be. There was a part of her that wanted him to say no, because she didn’t know if she could deal with someone being in love with her, while the rest of her desperately wanted him to say yes. “I don’t mind if you say you don’t know.”
“I do know.” He studied her. “I just don’t think you’re ready to hear the answer.”
“I need to hear the answer, Leo.”
“As stupid as I’m sure this is going to sound I’ve been in love with you since the moment I put my hands on your hips. I’d been watching you for a little while, and there was something about you… I don’t know exactly what it was. All I knew was that I wanted to spend time with you and I wanted to see what my life would be like if you were a part of it. I feel like I should have said something sooner. Maybe when we were spending the night together. That was… it was so much more enjoyable than I thought it could be, because we both wanted each other, and I knew you had no idea who I was. You had no interest in Leo Cipriani. You were interested in me as a person.”
“Yeah, I was, and when I found out who you were it was hard to come to terms with. Had you been anyone else I think this would have been simple. I just don’t know if I want to be in love with someone I’ve read so much about.”
“I wish you hadn’t found out. I wish I had a chance to get to know you without you already knowing who I was. I’m not the person you’ve read about, but I can understand why you’d think I was.” He ran his tongue over his bottom lip. “I love you, Melody, and I want this more than I’ve ever wanted anything before.”
***
“You’re making a huge mistake, Melody.”
The voice was one Melody recognised, and she wished she didn’t. As she turned she put a hand on her stomach. When her eyes met with Ebony’s Melody pressed the speed dial button on her phone for Leo. “Why are you here?”
“I thought the time had come for us to talk face to face. You are a gold digging slut who seems to think you can get your claws into my brother, and his money, by pretending you’re pregnant with his child.”
“He knows I’d be happy to have a paternity test, but he hasn’t pushed for one.”
“That’s because he wants a family so much he’s willing to make stupid choices. You and I both know you’re lying.”
“No, we don’t, because I know I’m not lying. The baby I’m carrying is Leo’s.”
“Liar.” Ebony smiled. “Do you really think I believe you? Do you really think I need to believe you? All I want is for you to walk away, Melody, and go back to whoever it was that did get you pregnant, instead of you spending your time trying to get your hands on some of my brother’s money.”
“There is no one to go back to, Ebony. I don’t know how many time I have to tell you that for it to actually stick, but Leo believes me, and that’s really all that matters.”
“Of course you’d say something like that. All you want from him is his money. His belief is enough for you to be able to claim far more of it than you should, and it will all go towards you raising someone else’s baby.”
“It won’t.” Leo’s voice made Melody jump, because it was coming from behind her. When he put his hand on her shoulder she couldn’t help breathing a sigh of relief. “The baby is mine, Ebony, and that’s why I will be spending my money on raising it. You might not be willing to believe that. I honestly don’t care. All I want is for you to leave Melody alone. Nothing you do will make me change my mind about the choices I’ve made.”
“Why are you being such an idiot, Leo? Why are you believing some black gold digger over your own sister? I know she’s lying to you. I can tell from her voice.”
An unwanted tear trickled down Melody’s cheek. Her emotions were still all over the place, thanks to the baby, and it was almost a good thing that she was crying, otherwise she would have ended up saying something she’d probably regret later. She scrubbed it away. “I’m not being an idiot, and I really don’t appreciate your racism. Melody and I have talked a lot about what we’re going to be doing with our child. I’m not going to walk away from this, no matter what you might want, because it’s not your decision to make.”
***
“Ebony isn’t going to be a part of my life any longer, Mel.” Leo gently kissed her cheek. “After she sent me death threats I got a restraining order, so she isn’t permitted anywhere near either of us.”
“I’m sorry.”
“None of this is your fault. She made her decisions.” Their eyes met. “I love you, I love our baby, and I would do anything to keep you both safe.”
The beginning of the bump made it more obvious to Melody that
she was pregnant with Leo’s baby. It wasn’t something she would change, even if she could. Spending more time with Leo had made it obvious how much she wanted to be with him, and her fears had faded away, because the emotions she felt for him were real. Being mistreated by her aunt’s family hadn’t made it impossible for her to feel. She just hadn’t got around to saying anything to Leo, because of everything that had happened with Ebony, especially as she couldn’t help feeling guilty for everything, as it was her pregnancy that led to it all.
Needing a moment of certainty Melody kissed Leo. When he kissed her back, far harder than she expected, she was certain of him. She knew what she wanted to say. She just didn’t get a chance. Their bodies pressed tightly together and she felt him stroking a hand down her body. It could wait. As he tugged her skirt up around her hips she smiled against his lips. They’d had sex since the first time, but it hadn’t been the same. There seemed to be a distance between then, but knowing Ebony wasn’t going to be around any more made everything easier. Gently he tugged her panties down, and then he was slipping inside her, his erection already out. The sex was gentler than before. It was just so different, their connection to each other different and better, and all Melody knew was that she wanted to be with him.
“I love you, Leo.” She kissed just below his ear. “I want to make this work.”
“Good.” He smiled as he pulled her face up gently. Their lips met. “I love you too, Mel.” Using a thumb he gently stroked her clit. “I want to show you how much you mean to me.”
Her clit felt more sensitive than it had done before and far before she expected it she felt herself getting close. That was probably something she was going to have to get used to, but it wasn’t a bad thing. Cumming around him was one of the best parts of having someone to have sex with, and his cum happened moments later.
“That was quick.”
“I think it’s going to be quick for a little while.”
The Alpha Billionaire's Unexpected Baby: A Billionaire BWWM Pregnancy Romance Page 104
