The Billionaire's Heart: The Complete Series (Romance, Contemporary Romance, Billionaire Romance, The Billionaire's Heart Book 7)

by Nancy Adams

  I was staring. “Well, my goodness, why didn't you tell us?”

  Melinda smiled. “Cause this is your day, not mine! I didn't want people making a fuss about me when we're all here to celebrate your being a new mommy soon, y'know? Let's just not say anything, okay? If anyone asks, I've just got an upset stomach.”

  Corie looked at me. “She doesn't know what it means to be one of us, does she?”

  I shook my head. “Apparently not. Should we beat her, or just toss her in the dungeon?”

  “Oh, this is much worse than a dungeon offense, I think a beating is certainly in order. Shall we do it now, or wait until all the witnesses leave?”

  “Yeah, probably should wait. But let's not let her get away, you get that arm and I'll get this one.” We each grabbed an arm, and with Melinda protesting, we dragged her out into the dining room again and announced her good news to everyone there! She tried to be embarrassed, but I didn't let her get away with it, and soon we were all laughing and having a great time again.

  Mom leaned over to me and whispered that she and Corie and Kathy would start planning Melinda's shower the next day, and I couldn't help grinning. Melinda had become a good friend, and I was glad she'd been accepted into our little clique. We didn't think about who had the most money or who had the least, in this group. It was more about who needed who and how we could help each other the best.

  We got through all of the games, and moved on to opening the presents. Oh, my goodness, I was blown away! By the time we were done, which took about four hours, I had three cribs, two more bassinets, dozens of mobiles, four different rocking chairs, six high chairs, two twin strollers, a twin jogging stroller, and more toys and books than two babies would ever manage to play with or even have read to them. I thanked everyone, and genuinely cried my appreciation with big old crocodile tears.

  We'd flown a lot of my friends and family out for the shower, and rented a whole floor of a hotel to give them all rooms, so when the party was over, they all climbed onto a pair of buses and were driven back there. They'd get an extra night on us, and then they'd fly back home again. For some of them, it was probably the last time I'd ever see them.

  That wasn't me being mean or stuck up; it was a natural part of the process that began when I fell in love with a wealthy man, and he felt the same. I was learning how to live in his world, and while I remembered how to live in my old one, many of the people I knew back there were not comfortable being around me in my new world. That saddened me when I first realized it, but my mother-in-law had taken me aside and told me some harsh truths.

  She'd been through it, herself. When their little business was offered the chance to take on investors and grow, she'd thought that she and Norman would never change, that no matter how big the company got, they'd always be Norm and Kathy. What they learned, though, was the same thing I was learning. As you gain wealth, the people you've always known and thought of as your own folks begin to think of you as no longer being like them. Some of them will say that it's you, that you've gotten “uppity” or are being fake, but the real issue is their own insecurities; they fear that you know more about being rich, or that you are more “genteel” than they are, or whatever, but it makes them feel that they can't measure up. Rather than let you look down on them, they'll often become hostile to you, and cut you off so that you can't do it to them.

  I hadn't ever had a lot of friends, and most of the girls who had come to the shower were from my college days, or from things like camp when I was younger. I wasn't so worried about them, but there were a few there whom I would truly miss. It didn't seem fair that, although I'd really done nothing, I would be punished for the crime of loving the wrong man.

  Oh, well. Life goes on, as they say, and I had to move along with it. That meant turning to those friends and family I had with me and lavishing my attentions on them, and Melinda was now in my sights! Keep a secret like that from me, would she? Hmmph! That girl was about to get a lesson in being one of the Kate-sketeers!

  It was actually Corie who came up with that silly name, after an incident in High School when I busted her stepfather's knee so bad that it crippled him. I'd done it to let him know that he couldn't continue to abuse her and her mom and brother, and it had shocked me as much as anyone that I could even be so violent. However, the kids that helped me pull it off showed me a whole new respect, after that, and when Corie christened us the Kate-sketeers, the name stuck.

  Melinda was now being inducted into the Kate-sketeers, which meant that she had to learn that we had her back, and we knew she'd have ours. Luckily, she didn't have a stepfather who needed his leg broken, but there were other ways to have a friend's back, of course, and one of them is to go through big life events with them. Melinda wasn't intimidated by Nate's money, any more than Corie was, so I didn't need to worry about that widening social gap with them. That made them my besties, and I was determined to make it a three way street!

  Corie was in; she'd liked Melinda from the moment they met, that first Saturday night when we all went out together. Sometimes, when you meet someone, you just know instinctively that you like this person, and Corie said later that's how it had been. She met Melinda when we picked her up, and before the limo got us to the restaurant, the three of us were fast and permanent friends!

  Friends stick by each other, so Melinda was about to have one fantastic baby shower of her own! Heck, if I was sneaky about it, I could even give her some of the gifts I'd gotten that I would never have a use for!

  That's another kind of recycling, right?

  Corie

  Chapter Eleven

  Friends

  * * * * *

  It is about time someone let me tell part of this story! Good grief, I've been there with them since it all began, I've been the sole voice of reason when they almost lost each other; don’t you think it's time to let me get in on this? Look how long I've waited, while everyone else got to talk!

  Okay, what we need to do here is look at the future a bit. I mean, now that Nate and KK are married, and her folks are moved out here, and I'm out here, things are definitely looking up, right? I'm in the best job I could ever hope to have, and now I've got my mom and my brother living out here with me, too, so even my life got better when those two met.

  Sure, they've had some ups and downs, and no, that's not a wisecrack about the plane crash! That was tragic, because the pilot and co-pilot died, and I'd never make jokes about something like that. I'm referring to the fact that so many things have happened to try to break them up, or kill them, or whatever. Blackmail, kidnapping, attempted murder, plane crashes, grizzly bears and even terrorists, for crying out loud! Either God really loves them and so the devil's out to get 'em, or else they've just got the worst luck in the world! If this were a story instead of the lives of people I know, I'd swear the writer must be an evil, sadistic SOB to put them through so much! I'd kick his butt if I ever met him!

  But they made it through all of that and that, my friends, is the important part! They got through, by sticking together, by trusting in God, and I like to think there's a little bit of me in there someplace! I mean, I was the one who kept telling KK that Nate didn’t' really have anything going with Crazy Donna, and when she gets down and needs to talk, guess who it is that she calls and pours her heart out to! Yeah, it's me!

  Best friends means never giving up, never turning your back, never letting them down and never, never, never letting them go through something without you there at their side! KK and I had been like that for each other, and I believe we always will. When I was young and my stepdad was beating on us all, and no one in authority would listen, KK was the one who stepped up and fought for me. She stuck her neck out so far that if we'd gotten caught, taking the law into our own hands like that, she probably could have kissed any hope of college goodbye—but she didn't even hesitate. That's what a true friend is like.

  Well, now we were together again, and grown, and we were adding in new friends. Melinda
was a sweetheart, and definitely belonged in the Kate-sketeers. She wasn't in any kind of danger, but she needed us in other ways, and now we were going to be there for her!

  Kathy Simmons had got with me the night of KK's shower, and told me that we were going to tackle Melinda's, too. I was tickled pink, because Kathy and Rebecca know how to throw on a shindig, let me tell you! The shower they did for KK was out of this world, and while Melinda may not be as rich as KK, she was still a great girl. I was glad to be part of this group, and hoped that we'd have as much fun this time as we did putting KK's together.

  That Saturday morning, we all got together and drove over to where Melinda and her family lived. Someone had already gotten her husband in on it, because he had taken the kids and gone out for the day, leaving her at home alone. She was a little confused, and didn't understand why Charlie didn’t want her to go with them, but she wasn't too terribly upset; I mean, how often does a Mom get an actual day off, right?

  So when we showed up and literally dragged her to her shower and got her dressed and then dragged her out to the limo (that Emerson is an absolute dear, and if he was single, I'd snatch him up, I don't care how old he is!), she was free to be kidnapped into a shower-planning, spa-visiting, clothes-shopping girls' day out!

  That was one of the most exciting times I'd had in years! Poor Melinda screamed at first, because we were all wearing ski masks, but after a minute she recognized KK's big belly, and started laughing. That got us past the panic stage, and we managed to convince her that she wasn’t getting out of it, so she might as well cooperate with the inevitable!

  KK helped her get dressed after her shower, and then both of us helped with her makeup and hair. Kathy and Rebecca stood back and cheered us on, and it didn't take all that long to get her ready to go.

  “So, come on,” I said, “let's get this show on the road!” I grabbed hold of Melinda's arm and we hustled her out the door and into the waiting limousine. The other girls climbed in, and we were off! The idea was to get this girl out and let her have some fun. Being a working girl, like me, I knew she didn't get a lot of breaks. Having a family to come home to after work would bring on even more of a need for occasional recreation, at least once in awhile, so our mission was to make sure this girl had a blast.

  It was early enough for breakfast, so we took her to the Blue Rose. Eating there is always a fantastic experience, and it's right near most of the good shopping downtown. From there, we went to the mall and invaded about three dozen stores. Melinda was getting a makeover, and I mean from head to toe.

  First, we bought her new clothes that she probably would not have bought for herself, like a couple of nice evening gowns, and some formal wear. We didn't buy a lot of clothes, because her body was about to go through some changes; we just wanted to give her some things that would make her feel better about herself, at least for this next few weeks. Sure, in about eight or ten weeks her body was going to be changing in many ways, but for right now, this girl just needed to show off what she had.

  Then it was off to the shoe store, and what woman doesn't like new shoes? She managed to pick out about six pairs of shoes that she liked, and then we dragged her to the nail salon. After a complete manicure and pedicure, two things that are guaranteed to make a girl feel wonderful , we made our way to a hair salon that Kathy knew about. It was the one that she used, and her hair was magnificent!

  An hour and a half later, Melinda had gone from a pretty brunette to an absolutely gorgeous brunette. This was some of the most fun that we'd had in a long, long time. Katelynn and I both felt like we had done something good, so we drove back to Melinda's house to drop off the packages, and then the five of us went out for dinner.

  Melinda didn't have a whole lot of friends, mostly because she had only lived in California for a few years. She and her husband had come from Florida, when both of them had gotten jobs with the company. The opportunities had been too great to pass up.

  Unfortunately, that meant that they didn't have a lot of opportunities to meet people around San Francisco. Other than acquaintances from work, Melinda didn't know a lot of people and she'd been very surprised when Katelynn took to her the way she did. She'd been part of our little trio ever since, and now it was time to make her an official part of the Kate-sketeers.

  We stayed where we were after dinner and began planning the shower. Between all of us, we came up with the names of about twenty people to invite to her shower. Rebecca and Kathy took charge of games and prizes, leaving me and KK to handle the food and such. It seemed like a pretty good plan, and so we set the date of the shower for about a month away.

  The best part of all, though, in my opinion, was the fact that the five of us were of such different ages, and yet were able to agree on so many things. I love to learn new things, and that's one thing I could be sure of when I was hanging around with Kathy and Rebecca, that there would always be new things to learn. Sometimes, it was almost like going back in time to listen to them talk about when they were young, about when they were engaged, or about when they were pregnant. There's so much that young people just don't know about their elders, and a lot of it would make our lives so much better if we would only listen.

  With the shower all planned, we decided to call it a night around ten, and took the poor girl home. We all walked to the door with her, just because we had to see what her husband's reaction was to her new look, and when he looked up from where he'd been watching sports on TV, it was quite obvious that he liked what he saw! We gave her hugs and left the two of them to discuss whatever might pop up.

  Katelynn

  Chapter Twelve

  Home Stretch Marks

  * * * * *

  Stretch marks don't ever go away, they tell me, but they should fade eventually, after these kids are born. I'm quite glad to hear that, because they look pretty nasty at the moment, and I'd hate to think what they must look like to Nate. We were at eight and half months, and so he was used to the way I look (like a whale) at the moment, but when the twins are born, some of me will start to go back down to normal, and those marks may not look too appealing, then. We can't have that, now, because I happen to like the way he looks at me, and touches me and loves me, and while I'm not necessarily going to want to have another baby too soon, I do want to keep practicing the techniques that bring them along!

  “I wish I wasn't so fat,” I said to Nate the night before, and he rolled close to me and began rubbing my big whale tummy.

  “Baby, you are not fat, you’re pregnant, and there's a big difference.”

  “Yeah?” I asked snottily. “What difference is that?”

  “Well, the biggest difference is that getting fat comes from eating too much and not getting enough exercise, which is something you do to yourself. Being pregnant, on the other hand, is something I did to you, I'm afraid, but the good news is that it's almost over! Pretty soon, you'll start to go back to normal and this will all be just a memory.”

  I looked at his eyes. “And you'll still love me?”

  “I will always love you, Katelynn, more than you can ever know. There aren't any words to say how much I love you.”

  “And you'll still want me?”

  “Have I slowed down yet?”

  “Well, no...”

  “Then don't expect me to slow down any when you start getting back to normal, again. I don't care how big your belly gets, cause it's only full of babies, and they're our babies! I don't care what you look like, because I didn't fall in love with your looks, I fell in love with who you are on the inside.”

  I smiled at him. He always finds the right things to say to help me get over whatever doldrums I'm going through. I kissed him, and he showed me that he hadn’t slowed down on wanting me.

  Not even a little bit!

  It was Wednesday morning, and I had an appointment with Doctor Rodgers that morning, and Melinda was bringing some nanny candidates by to be interviewed in the afternoon. So far, I had interviewed a dozen, but none of
them had seemed right. It's not that they were bad, you know, just not quite what I wanted.

  I was sure I'd know the right girl when I met her, and that we'd find her soon. Something told me that would happen, and I didn't worry about it.

  Mom drove me to the Doctor's office, and we passed through Grizzly so we could stop by the Town Hall and see Dad for a few minutes. The building was finished, in fact, almost every building was finished, except for about twenty or thirty of the houses, one of the condo buildings and the country clubhouse. More than a thousand people had already moved in, and Dad had been forced to get a real estate license on top of everything else, so that he could hire people to show all the homes.

  “Hey, Dad,” I said as we walked into his office. The sign on the door said, “Mayor James Burke,” and it looked great. He'd actually invited the first thousand residents to hold a special election two weeks before, and when no one wanted to run against him, he was officially elected for his first full four year term.

  I teased him. “So, how's your second political career going? Ready to go after the governor's job yet?”

  “Are you kidding?” he asked, laying along. “I've seen the mess in Sacramento, and I want no part of it! And Washington is even worse! No, thank you, I'll stay right here in good old Grizzly!”

  “We just wanted to stop by and say hello,” Mom told him. “We're off to the doctor's office, and don't want to be late.” She kissed him, and we left once more to go see that torture specialist who insisted I had to wait another five weeks or so to have these babies! How dare she make such a pronouncement? Doggone it, I was ready to have them right now!

  Unfortunately, nature and babies don't care a whole lot about how I feel about the situation, and will jointly result in a birthing when the time is right. Mom and I went on to see the doctor, getting one more necessary set of tests out of the way. I'd been tested for every possible complication, every possible thing that could go wrong at the last minute, and everything that might even be imagined by the time these kids were born.