Best Friend’s Big Brother: Older Man Younger Woman Romance (Tall, Dark and Handsome Billionaires Book 1)

by J. P. Comeau

  We were in a relationship, about to have a baby, and lived relatively far away from each other. There was so much to cover, along with getting to know each other better. Even though I could tell he’d be a fantastic father, I still wanted to know all of his quirks. What made him tick, what was he like first thing in the morning, and so much more. Because a relationship was so much more than loving each other and getting over fights. It was about being able to deal with each other’s nuances, and I was sure we both had some.

  I also wanted to make it clear that as much as I wanted him in my life, I was an independent woman. I saw all of the money he had, and he needed to know that wasn’t why I was dating him.

  We decided to sit down at his dining room table, which was one of the most beautiful ones that I had ever seen, and discuss everything: our relationship, building a nursery, doctor appointments, and anything else that we could think of. Neither one of us had ever had a child before, so it would be interesting.

  Chase went into the kitchen to get us something to drink. I didn’t think much of it until I saw him go to put on a pot of coffee.

  “By the way, I can’t have any caffeine until after the baby is born.”

  Chase nodded and immediately replaced it with a bag of decaf. “Nope,” I said while chuckling. “Even decaf coffee has caffeine, albeit trace amounts.”

  After putting away all of the coffee, he pulled out a green tea box and held it out to me. I was about to give him the go-ahead, since I had never heard anything bad about it, before deciding to search the internet just in case. I had only heard good things about green tea over the years, though, which hadn’t made me appreciate it anymore. I found the taste to be repulsive.

  Still, maybe it’d be good for the fetus and help me with morning sickness. So, I did a Google search to see if pregnant women could consume it.

  After seeing the results, I looked up at him and shook my head.

  “Apparently, green tea has an enzyme that’s linked to birth defects in fetuses. Gosh, Chase. These next few months are going to suck for me in the morning. I’ve been a daily coffee drinker ever since high school. At least Guadalupe has that herbal tea mixture that helps with my headaches and stomach cramps. Remind me to ask her what that is.”

  Chase hung his head in front of the refrigerator and hunched over the kitchen island. He looked utterly defeated, as though he had done something wrong that he couldn’t take back. He let out a big sigh before looking up at me. “I’ve already missed so much, Margo. I can’t believe my own damn luck that I finally find the woman of my dreams, she’s pregnant with our baby, and I’ve missed some of the most important steps along the way. I should have known you can’t have caffeine, let alone coffee before even putting a pot on. And what if you hadn’t Googled that information about green tea? All of it would have been my fault!”

  Chase leaned back over the counter, continuing to shake his head back and forth. It tore me up inside to see him so upset over something so trivial. I highly doubted that a cup of green tea or coffee—regular or decaf—would have harmed the fetus. We would have found out before making it a daily routine. But it also made me feel good that he was so concerned about my wellbeing.

  I stood up and walked over to him, but right before I did, he leaned his head against the refrigerator and sighed again.

  “I just hope that I know what I’m doing by the time the baby gets here, Margo. Almost everything comes easy to me, but now that you’re pregnant, I’m like a blind man without a seeing-eye dog. I can sell my technology products to people worldwide, develop new software to prevent criminals from hacking into computers, and make a top-of-the-line security system. But I can’t even make something for you to drink without it harming the baby.”

  “Chase, you’re forgetting that neither one of us knows what we’re doing. This is our first child, so naturally, we’re going to make mistakes along the way. Besides, I’ve heard of some women having a cup of coffee a day while pregnant and it’s fine. I’m choosing not to, but I don’t think anything bad would have happened if I did.”

  I wrapped my arms around him, hugging him as hard as I could while resting my head on his shoulder. Both of us stood there in silence for several minutes, rubbing each other’s backs with our hands, and doing our best to reassure the other that it was going to be all right. Hell, this was the first child for both of us, so of course, we were bound to make mistakes along the way.

  “I know, but still, I should have known better, Margo. I want everything to be perfect with both your pregnancy and this baby. I don’t want anything to go wrong.”

  I looked up at him and smirked. “Okay, that’s just not possible, Chase. You know damn well that mistakes will be made, by both you and me, especially since we’re first-time parents. You have got to give yourself some credit!”

  I reached into the refrigerator, grabbed a bottle of water for both of us, and then walked with him out into the living room. While holding his hand, I did my best to reassure him that he hadn’t missed out on too much. “Chase, I know you feel like you’ve missed a lot, but you really haven’t. The only thing you’ve missed have been conversations between me, Guadalupe, and her husband Yuslan. That’s it, so please stop beating yourself up.”

  That brought a smile to Chase’s face. “They’re an awfully nice couple, aren’t they?”

  My smile widened as I continued to rub his hand. “Not only are they nice, but they’re an absolute godsend. Guadalupe has been like my therapist. Whatever I needed while staying at their house, she provided it for me. The two of us spent several nights just talking about life, and even though she’s never had children, she gave me so much advice about what to expect as a new mother.”

  Hearing me talk about Guadalupe that way seemed to upset Chase, almost as though he were jealous. I found it odd because unless it was another man talking with me, he didn’t seem like the jealous type.

  “I should have been with you that night when you took the pregnancy test. When you had been ill all week, I should have put two and two together and gotten you a test myself. And I should have been holding your hand while we waited for the results.”

  I squeezed Chase’s hand a little bit harder, finally realizing what had been bothering him. “Guadalupe was with me, Chase, so I wasn’t alone. She’s been a second mother to me ever since I started working at the spa. She’s helped me deal with this unexpected pregnancy in so many different ways, and I don’t know where I’d be without her. Look, you and I had a few road bumps along the way, but what couple doesn’t?”

  “That’s true,” he replied.

  “While I wish that things had been slightly different between us at the beginning, there’s no point in being upset about it now. It’s all in the past, Chase, and we have so much to look forward to.” I placed his hand on the outside of my belly. “It won’t be long before my stomach gets bigger, and according to Guadalupe, the baby will start kicking pretty soon.”

  Chase bent down and kissed my belly, then rubbed it with his hands. “I cannot wait for that to happen, Margo. So, she really seemed to take care of you, huh?”

  I nodded while also rubbing my belly.

  “Who knows what I would have done if it hadn’t been for her. That night that I went to the pharmacy, I discovered it was closed and wanted to burst into tears. I was sick of being sick. Non-stop headaches while trying to work, stomach cramps that had me doubled-over in pain. As much as I missed you, I really needed that mini-vacation at Guadalupe’s house.”

  Chase nodded, leaned forward, and kissed me on the cheek.

  “I should get Guadalupe a gift of gratitude. Something that shows how much I really appreciate her and Yuslan. Maybe I’ll send them a fruit basket or some gourmet desserts. Ginger tells me how good a baker Guadalupe is, so she’d probably appreciate a cake or pie.”

  “Actually,” I said, “Yuslan has a message for you.”

  “He does? What is it?”

  I leaned forward. “He wants you to kno
w that you can pay both of them back by being a good father to your child.”

  Chase pulled me into his arms yet again, hugging me tightly while repeatedly kissing the top of my head.

  You’re going to be an amazing father.

  “But if you want to get me a gourmet gift or pie, I’m not going to put up much of a protest. If what they say about pregnancy cravings is true, then I’m in for one hell of a ride. You should have seen the way I devoured food at their house.”

  “I’ll buy you all of the cakes in the world, Margo.”

  “Oh, I almost forgot something I wanted you to see.” I reached over to my purse, where Chase watched as I pulled out a black and white photograph. He took it from me as I held it out to him.

  “Are these what I think they are?”

  “Yes. Those are pictures from my first ultrasound to confirm the pregnancy. I know you said you’d get me the best doctor in Miami Beach, but I really like this one. I know you’ll like her, too.”

  Tears formed in his eyes as he studied the images, each one showing the little fetus inside of me. It wasn’t long before they ran down his face, and I could honestly say I had never seen him so happy. Regardless of the gender, Chase would become an amazing father.

  I couldn’t have chosen a better man to have a baby with.

  After several minutes of him staring at the pictures in awe, I took his hand to snap him out of his trance.

  “We have a lot of ground rules to go over, Chase. This is a first for both of us, and we’re still so early in our relationship.”

  He placed the ultrasound pictures onto the coffee table and then smiled directly into my eyes. “Why don’t we talk it over dinner since I never did get that second date?”

  22

  Chase

  Margo and I stayed up all night, talking on the couch. And by talking, I mean she did most of it, which was fine by me, especially after all of the advice from Yuslan. Men and women were very different, and he reminded me that even when you want to interject, you have to let them do their thing.

  And that was precisely what I did as Margo made it abundantly clear that she’d be doing this on her own, despite repeatedly reassuring me that I’d be there too.

  “Since my schedule at the spa is getting fuller and fuller, I’ll probably have to hire a nanny. I don’t even know where to begin vetting one, but I can figure that out once I get closer to the due date. Until then, I have to find a way to put a nanny in my apartment. Obviously, a one-bedroom isn’t ideal for raising a baby, but I signed a lease and can’t afford to break it.”

  “Don’t forget that I’ll be helping out,” I said while rubbing her shoulders.

  She placed her hand over mine. “Oh, I know, Chase. I just think that since we have less than a year before I give birth, we need to have everything in order. With both of us working, especially you with your long hours, we’re going to need some kind of help. Naturally, I thought about Guadalupe and Yuslan, but they’re still busy running the salon.”

  Even though she kept saying that she knew I’d be there for the baby, something still felt off. I didn’t feel as though she genuinely believed that part, and she was creating this massive net for when I walked out of her life—which I wouldn’t do even if someone put a gun to my head.

  I was at a loss for words, too scared to approach the subject without upsetting her. And since she was carrying such precious cargo, that was the last thing I wanted to do. I wanted everything to happen at her pace.

  So I just let her speak until she was too tired to, at which point, we fell asleep on the couch. It had been an emotionally draining couple of days, and even though my bed was calling my name, I didn’t want to disturb her since she had fallen asleep on my chest.

  The sunlight woke me up the next morning, shining directly into my eyes. I looked down to see Margo still cuddled up against me, in the same spot, and instantly smiled.

  I could wake up to this site for the rest of my life.

  A lightbulb went off in my head.

  It seemed so perfect to have Margo move in with me. It would make things easier for both of us. I could turn one of the many guest rooms into a nursery, preferably one right next to our master suite, and she could take as much time off after giving birth as she wanted to before going back to work. I loved the idea of her staying at home with our child while I worked, and if necessary, I could always work from home to help out. Plus, it meant I wouldn’t miss anything else during her pregnancy and then nothing once the baby was born.

  It still pained me to know that I hadn’t been with Margo when she took her pregnancy test, though. Guadalupe was, without a doubt, a godsend, but it should have been me. Margo should have contacted me when she was sick with headaches and stomach cramps, and we could have figured it out together. But as Margo pointed out, that was all in the past, and what’s done is done. All we could do was move forward.

  I thought about those ultrasound pictures, which were sprawled out on the coffee table. It would have been wonderful to have been with her at that appointment, watching the images of the fetus show up on the screen, holding each other’s hands the entire time. It was hard for me to see the fetus at first, but when I really focused, that’s when I lost it. That’s when I saw our baby, looking just like a little bean.

  Thankfully, the pictures were facing up, meaning I could get a glimpse of them without waking Margo. I looked down at them, at our little baby, and realized that it made perfect sense. Margo and I had created it, so why shouldn’t we be living together? Then again, maybe I was having these thoughts just because she was pregnant. Would I be asking her to move in if she weren’t pregnant with our baby?

  I decided not to say anything to her until I was sure of my decision. After all, it wasn’t just our relationship that was at stake anymore. She was pregnant with our child, and that made the entire situation more sensitive. If things didn’t work out with us and she had to move out, it pained me to think of her raising the baby without me involved all of the time. And I wanted so desperately to be there for both the pregnancy and the delivery. It was hard to believe the two of us had known each other for less than three months.

  Still, as I watched her sleeping against my chest, something felt so right about having her move in. Yes, it would be a risky move, but I’d heard of other couples who had moved in together immediately. They say that when you find your soul mate, you instantly know.

  And that’s how I had felt about Margo for quite some time. I just didn’t realize it until that moment, as I looked down at her sleeping on me while carrying my baby. And it wasn’t just that I no longer wanted to return from business trips to an empty home.

  I wanted to return from business trips to see Margo waiting for me, along with our child.

  Margo shifted a bit on the couch, and even though my leg was starting to fall asleep, I didn’t move. She slowly started to wake up, but I refused to budge until she opened her eyes. Finally, she looked up at me, both of us feeling groggy, and smiled.

  “Good morning,” I said as my leg started to go completely numb.

  “Good morning. I can’t believe we fell asleep on the couch last night.”

  “It’s actually pretty comfortable. I didn’t realize that until last night, either. How did you sleep?”

  She stretched her arms, but my leg was still numb from where she was leaning on it.

  “Really well, actually. It sucks that I can’t even have coffee, though, because I could go for a big cup right about now.”

  “Well, right after you deliver the baby, I’ll be sure to get you the biggest latte in all of Miami Beach.”

  “That sounds like a plan.”

  Margo rolled over, and I breathed a sigh of relief, albeit not too loudly. As she stood up to go to the bathroom, I shook my leg a few times to get the feeling back. Once it was there, I went into the kitchen to prepare a huge breakfast for us. I didn’t always get a chance to cook due to my schedule, but when I did, I pulled out all of the stops.


  I usually ate a protein bar first thing in the morning, but I wanted to celebrate. So, I started cooking a feast: scrambled eggs with shredded cheddar cheese, fluffy pancakes made with whole milk, savory sausage links, and crispy bacon. My mouth began to water as I fried up the bacon. I was a bit of a health nut and tried to avoid anything greasy or full of fat, so it wasn’t a staple in my diet. However, I did have some in my fridge.

  But this was a special occasion, and I planned on savoring every bite of that bacon. I couldn’t wait until it was so burnt that I could break it in half and then shove it into my mouth, then wash it all down with some orange juice. Fresh orange juice, too, because we were in Florida.

  The sound of the bacon hitting the frying pan was music to my ears. It had been far too long since I’d treated myself to some and made a mental note to thank my assistant for stocking my refrigerator up with a pound of it. It was the good kind, too, that came pre-seasoned. I watched it shrivel up in the pan, counting the minutes until I could practically inhale it. It wouldn’t be a pretty sight for Margo to see, but if we were going to make this work, then it was better to have her see my flaws upfront.

  About halfway through cooking breakfast, with my mouth watering, I heard a sound from the downstairs bathroom. I stood back from the stove and realized that Margo was sick, and not just a little bit.

  It was a full-on regurgitation of everything she had eaten the day before.

  I ran to the bathroom and opened the door to find Margo hurling into the toilet. Her gorgeous hair was cascading over the seat, so I got on my knees and held it back while rubbing her back.

  “It’s okay. Just get all of it up and out of your system.”

  After throwing up again, she started to speak. “I’m so sorry, but bacon—”

  “No need to apologize. Just get it out of your system, all right?”

  After several more minutes, Margo flushed the toilet and rinsed out her mouth in the sink. She turned to look at me sitting on the wicker chest. “All I do is ruin stuff these days.”