A Bad Boy Billionaire: Forbidden Alpha Male Romance (18 page)

Seven

Nikki Returns to Maine

A month after I got back to Maine with Steven and moved in with him, I found out I was pregnant. The children were downstairs playing as I sat in the master bathroom and stared at the pregnancy test. What the fuck am I going to do? Questions flew through my mind as I tried to decide what to do. I took a deep breath and buried the small piece of plastic in the trash can.

Part of me was afraid to tell Steven because he might not want me anymore. At forty-three years old and with two kids of his own from a previous relationship, would he really want another one from me? I walked into the master bedroom and sat down in a recliner. The children were being watched by someone else, giving me way too much time.

I ran all the possible decisions through my mind and came up with two real options. First, I could tell Steven and hope he was okay with it. The other option was something I’d told myself many times I wouldn’t consider, but it was there in my thoughts – abortion. If I acted quickly, I could get the procedure done without anyone having to know.

After everything I’d been through since I left Maine and Steven behind, all I wanted was to be happy and settle down. The adventures I’d been on were fun and exciting, but I couldn’t see myself being a party girl the rest of my life. Are you really considering leaving a billionaire again? Are you stupid? I scolded myself, wishing I had someone to talk to about all the emotions rushing through my body.

Maryanne had been my closest friend, but after what had happened between her and Steven, I never wanted to speak to her again. Well, I did, but I couldn’t bring myself to make the call. And she would never reach out to me. That left me alone with my thoughts because I couldn’t tell the man who impregnated me about an abortion if I wanted to keep it secret.

You shouldn’t keep it a secret from him, I told myself. Then, the next second, I was ready to take it to my grave so I didn’t waste another chance with the billionaire. Beyond his money, he made me feel comfortable, safe and secure. At the end of the day, that’s all I desired – the same thing as everyone else. Why are happiness and love so not compatible most of the time?

I decided to call Thurston in Indiana. Even if I didn’t tell him what I was facing, I owed him an explanation for leaving him behind. Will he mind if I call? Would he even answer? I pulled my phone out, tapped my contact list, and swiped with my finger until I found his name and face. His photo brought back a lot of memories for me, but none of them compared with what Steven provided for me.

Reluctantly, I pressed the call button and pressed the phone to my ear. As it rang, I tried to think of what I was going to say. It would be important to keep it natural and emphasize the apology first. Calling the man I’d left behind was probably a bad idea, but without Maryanne in my life, he was the closest friend I could call. You really need to make some more friends, I thought.

After the third ring, he answered. “Hello?” he snapped, short, quick, and to the point.

“Hey, Thurston. It’s Nikki…”

“I know who it is. I’m not a fucking idiot.” He paused. “Well, I am, but that doesn’t matter. Live and learn. What’s up?”

“I’m sorry, Thurston. I was just confused. I’m still not sure what to think.”

“Then come back. Let’s work this out.” His voice had completely changed in tone.

“I can’t do that right now,” I said, starting out the large window to the acres of land outside.

“Why not?”

“I can’t explain it,” I said, which was the truth.

“He’s rich and old. I get it.”

“Thurston, it’s not like that at all. I actually love him.”

“Sure.”

By the tone of his voice, I deduced he didn’t believe me in the least.

“If you need me to forgive you, fine. I forgive you. Water under the bridge.”

“I just needed someone to talk to me.”

“Why don’t you talk to your boyfriend?” he snapped again.

“Thurston, don’t be like that, please. I can’t talk about this with him.”

“Why not?”

“Because it involves him. I just need someone to listen, okay?”

Did I make another bad decision calling him? I wondered.

“Why would I listen to anything you say? We were doing great and then all of a sudden you moved out. I threw away all the crap you left here, by the way.”

“Cool.” I didn’t have the heart to tell him Steven was a billionaire.

“Really? That’s all you have to say for yourself?”

I sighed. “I obviously made a mistake calling you. I’m sorry.”

Right after I disconnected the call, his face showed back up on the display of the phone. I tapped and swiped a few times and blocked his number. Thurston was out of my cell and out of my life. When Steven got home, I tried my hardest to hide my true feelings for him. It was going to take me a little while to tell him, but I was pretty sure I would tell him about the baby before making any decisions.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

The next day, the wrath of the geek I’d left back in Fort Wayne, Indiana reached out to touch me online. Thurston had liked and commented on every single post I’d written on Facebook in the last two weeks. I deleted him as a friend. When he continued sending friend requests, I spent an hour figuring out how to block him completely – on that social media website.

I never really used Twitter, Instagram or any of those other sites, but I had a suspicion Thurston might try to lash out at me online. When I typed my name in Google and hit the search button, I was overwhelmed with page after page mentioning my full name and phone number. Right about that time, my phone started ringing and wouldn’t stop. Every time I declined a call, another came in.

And the text messages! A lot of crude men were sending me pictures of their pathetic penises. I could only imagine where Thurston had posted my phone number and other information. He didn’t know where I lived…yet. I wouldn’t put it past him to find the information somehow. There’s no way in hell Steven is not going to see this online, I thought as I sat at a desk with my laptop in the master bedroom.

When I looked out a window and saw where I was at, I was overwhelmed by emotions. I put my head in my hands with my elbows on the desk and cried. As the tears flowed, everything I’d been through recently flooded my mind. I stopped crying almost right after I started. Maybe it’s my damn hormones, but I’m all over the map. I sniffed and stood up.

Downstairs, I found the children and played with them for an hour or two. Even with Steven gone all day at work, I never felt alone in the big house. Why he worked when he already had billions I’d never understand. The kids’ laughter lifted my mood a little. I still dreaded having to tell their dad they might have a brother or sister on the way.

I was pretty sure he would react in a positive and supportive way, but if I’d learned anything over the last year it was that you can never really tell about people until you get closer to them. In my case, I’d gotten way too close to the wrong characters. My past is my past. I need to start thinking about the rest of my life and not just tomorrow. The responsible and adult thoughts scared me.

Steven walked into the living room that evening looking tired and stressed. I was on the floor with the children playing with a giant sized 3D puzzle. I stood up, still unsure of whether or not I should tell him the news. The children complained at first, but they giggled when I threw my arms around my billionaire. He pulled back a little to study my face.

“Everything okay?”

“We need to talk,” I said quietly.

“Uh oh.” A frown fell over his face.

“It’s not bad. At least I don’t think…” I broke away from him. “Can we go upstairs and talk?”

The children’s nanny watched as Steven and I headed upstairs. We were both quiet on the way up. Once we reached the master bedroom, I shut the door behind us and locked it.

“Again, uh oh?” He tilted his head to the side.

I watched his face closely to study his reaction. “I’m pregnant.”

His eyes widened in surprise as a smile spread across all his features. He rushed forward and wrapped his arms around me, holding me tight. I was a bit overwhelmed, but I didn’t resist.

“Wait,” he pulled back. “You don’t sound so happy about it.”

I frowned. “That’s it. I don’t know if it is a good thing or not?”

“Are you serious? This is great news.”

“Is it? I mean, our relationship is still healing, and…”

“Shhh.” He put a finger to his lips. “It’s okay.”

As he hugged me, a sense of relief washed over my body. Next time tell him sooner, silly, I scolded myself.

“You’re okay with me being pregnant, then?”

“Okay? Just okay? I’m excited. This is wonderful.”

“I’m going to be fat and ugly.”

“Nonsense,” he said sternly, touching my cheek with his hand. “You’ll always be beautiful to me.”

I sighed.

“What’s wrong? Why are you still upset?”

“I think I made a mistake.”

“What happened?”

“I called Thurston because I just needed someone to listen to me.”

“How did that go for you?”

“Terrible. He’s been stalking me online and posting my phone number and some other shit.”

“Hold on a minute.”

He retrieved his cell phone from his inside suit jacket pocket. After pressing a button, he put it to his ear. I couldn’t hear the people on the other side, but all he said was, “Thurston. Shut it down.”

“What was that all about?” I asked after he put his phone away.

“Oh, some people I employ. They’re going to make sure he stops harassing you and undoes anything he’s done online disparaging you. In the meantime, we can get your phone number switched if you want.”

“I blocked Thurston, but I’ve been getting calls all day.”

“Do you need the old number for any reason?”

I thought a moment. “No.”

“Great. We’ll get it changed tomorrow. Or tonight if you want. With as much as I pay Verizon every month, they jump when I give them a call.”

“We can do it tomorrow. I turned it off.”

“That’s why you didn’t answer me,” he said.

“You called?”

“I sent a text message a few hours ago about going out to dinner tonight. There’s something I wanted to talk to you about too.”

“Uh oh?”

He smiled. “No, it’s good. I think.”

I threw my arms around him again. He was so powerful, wise and so many other things. Why I’d run from him in the first place escaped me.

“I’m sorry I left,” I said with my head pressed against his chest.

“It’s okay. Really.”

He broke free from my grasp and got down on one knee in front of me. As he looked up at me, he whipped out a small jewelry box. When he lifted the lid, I thought I was going to pass out. My hands rushed to my mouth, covering it as I tried to process the shock.

“Nikki, would you do the honor of marrying me?”

My head nodded, but I couldn’t speak. I hugged him again, never waiting to let go.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

After dinner that night, we put George and Anne in their rooms, hoping they would sleep soundly. If not, the nanny could take care of them. I wanted some time alone with my billionaire. He was so supportive and genuinely seemed excited at the idea of me bearing him another child. The rest of my life appeared mapped out for me, but for once I didn’t mind so much.

Once we changed into our pajamas, we got under the covers together to continue talking. Unlike all the other guys I’d been with recently, Steven was interested in what I had to say. As we laid next to each other in his huge bed, I tried to come up with a good way to try to explain to him all the emotions rushing through my body.

“Are you excited?”

“Fuck yeah,” I said.

He smiled. “Good. Do you want a small wedding or a large one?”

“I don’t know. What do you want? I mean, you could go really ginormous.”

“I could, but that’s not really me.”

I gave him a quick peck on the lips, causing his eyes to light up. When I rested my head on his chest, I placed my hand on his abs. They were so muscular. Yet another thing to love about this man, the one you ran away from for some reason. Part of my didn’t think I deserved to be in bed with a billionaire, but it was a small part. I was mostly happy with our relationship and where it was headed.

“I’m glad you’re happy about the baby,” I said quietly. “I was a little worried?”

“What? Why?” He ran his fingers through my hair, comforting me.

“I don’t know. I’m a mess. It’s probably the hormones.”

“Might be. We’ll need to get you into a doctor. I know someone perfect.”

“Why are you so good to me?” I asked.

“I love you, Nikki. I’ve loved you for a while now.”

“Yeah, but why?”

“I don’t think I could explain that if I tried.”

“What am I going to do after we get married?”