Expecting my Billionaire Stepbrother's Baby (a Stepbrother Romance Novel) (12 page)

“
A
t least
that wasn’t a total disaster,” Drake said once we were back in the apartment. “You didn’t have to blurt it out like that, though. I thought your dad was going to have a heart attack right there at the table!”

“I know, I wasn’t thinking. I’m sorry,” I replied, feeling foolish. I hung my head and rested it on his chest.

“Nothing to be sorry for, darling. Hey, it’s OK. It all worked out for the best,” Drake said as he lifted my chin, his bright grey eyes full of concern.

“I know,” I said again and sighed. I should’ve been ecstatic, dancing off the walls, happy that we had our parents’ approval. It was a huge weight off my mind – that was not in dispute – but there was still the other burden that was crushing my spirit. I was still holding back, not telling Drake about Freddy and the money I owed.

Drake frowned, his forehead crinkling as his chin dipped down to my level.

“Vi? What is it?”

“Nothing. I won’t be a minute. I’m going to go check on Sigrid and Leah,” I said and pulled free from his embrace before he could ask me any further questions.

Sigrid had been kind enough to babysit for us while we’d dined with our parents. After what had happened with Christine, the thought of letting anyone else near Leah at the moment was unthinkable. Sigrid had been the only one Drake and I could trust at such short notice.

I pushed the door to the nursery open, trying to make as little noise as possible.

“Hey, you’re back,” Sigrid whispered from the rocking chair in the corner. “How’d it go?”

Of course, I’d had to confide with Sigrid about Drake and me, though it had come as no surprise to her.

I smiled and gave a thumbs–up and looked in on Leah in her crib. Fast asleep, arms and legs sprawled like a starfish into each corner.

“That’s a relief,” Sigrid said as she joined me, keeping her voice low.

“It is,” I replied.

“Then why are you so miserable?”

God, she could be so perceptive sometimes, and I almost hated the encouraging look she gave me.

I sighed. “There’s something I need to tell Drake, but I’m scared he’ll think less of me if I do.”

“Oh. I see.” Sigrid thought for a moment. “Well, whatever it is, consider which would be worse – keeping it a secret forever and never telling him with the chance of him finding out in the future, or getting it out in the open and trusting him to understand?”

It was like a bright light had been switched on in the dim room, shining a beam into the dark corners of my doubtful mind.

Trust.
That’s what it all came down to.

I’d already trusted him with my heart, why not this? But therein lay the problem… if I told him and he thought the worst of me, thinking perhaps I was no better than Christine, then he had the perfect opportunity to crush my heart in one fell swoop. But if I didn’t, what type of life could we lead?

I pecked Sigrid on the cheek. “Thank you,” I said.

“No problem. Let me know what happens,” Sigrid said, moving towards the door. We said our goodbyes and she left.

With a final glance down at Leah sound asleep, I drew in a wave of courage and went to face Drake.

“
D
o
you know why Sigrid left in a hurry?” Drake asked once I joined him in the living room.

I nodded.

“Oh?”

Watching his eyes, I tried to gauge his mood. I didn’t want to spoil the evening, but Sigrid was right, I had to trust him, and the sooner the better.

“We need to talk,” I said, and paced in front of him. My hands would not stop shaking, so I clamped them around my back.

“This doesn’t sound good,” Drake said, and his face dropped. “I’m not going to like this, am I?”

I drew to a stop in front of him on the couch. He wanted to get up and come to me, I could tell by the way he planted his hands on the sides of the cushions, getting ready to bear his weight.

“No, stay there. And don’t talk. I need to say this without you interrupting me, OK?”

“OK,” he said, his eyes darkening to a steely grey as if a shadow had been cast over him.

“I did a stupid thing. A really stupid thing. But before I tell you, please remember I’m not Christine, OK?”

He frowned and waited, his lips thinning to a line as he pressed them closed.

My hands were back around fidgeting at my waist, tugging on the panel of my dress. A feeling of being confined came over me, and my pulse shot around my limbs, keeping me on edge.

I swallowed. It was now or never.

“I’m in so much trouble, Drake. I need your help.”

His eyes sprang open wide, and his left eyebrow twitched into an acute arch.

“With what?” he said, the beginning of a smile at the corner of his lips.

I took another long breath. “You said all you ever wanted to do was help me, right? And protect me? And that’s what all those gifts were about when I was at University… and even though I sent them back, you kept trying. Well, I need your help now. I need fifty thousand pounds.”

My tongue felt thick and swollen in my mouth as soon as I said the words. I felt like I was having an allergic reaction to my own incompetence. Was I really asking him to help me out of an idiotic situation I’d got myself into? He didn’t deserve this… what if he thought I was only using him for his money?

He laughed. “Is that all?”

“Is
what
all?” I frowned. Why was he laughing? This was serious.

“The money? Fifty thousand pounds, that’s all you need? That’s what all this is about?”

“Well, yes. Wait, don’t you want to know what it’s for?”

He grinned, a smug, gleaming full–width smile that had infuriated me in the past, but now I could see the crinkle at the corner of his eyes and the sparkle that meant he had a secret of his own.

“I already know,” he confessed.

“Know what?” I said, furious, standing with my hands on my hips, eyes narrowed. He can’t know! Not about this, I thought. It wasn’t possible. I hadn’t told a soul.

“About the loan you took out.” Drake shook his head. “You know, you could’ve come to me. I would’ve given you the money gladly. You didn’t have to go to some low–life piece of shit…”

“But…” My mind was a whirl of confusion. Had Drake known all this time? “But how?”

“My driver,” he replied as if that was going to clear it all up.

He saw the puzzled look on my face and expanded. “He saw you and Freddy when he dropped you off to get your belongings–”

“You were spying on me?” I asked, a feeling of violation penetrating my shaky bones.

“No, nothing like that,” he soothed. “He just saw what happened, said you looked like you were in some sort of trouble, and he let me know about it. He was doing his job.”

“But that doesn’t explain how you know about the money I owe…”

“Sweetie, I think you forget what I do for a living. I can find out almost anything I want at a touch of a button, and it wasn’t hard to figure out who this guy was and why he’d cornered you.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Why didn’t you?” he asked, throwing my words back at me.

“I thought you might think less of me,” I said my head hanging in shame.

“How could I do that? I love you,” he said as he claimed my hands, pulling me toward him. His hands found their way around my waist, and I fell into his lap.

“So, will you help me?” I asked sheepishly. I hated asking for help, but I had to start realising being a part of a couple, not being alone, meant I had to share these types of burdens. “Freddy won’t take no for an answer, and I’m scared what he’ll do…” My voice hitched in my throat, a sudden wave of emotion clogging up my windpipes as I cradled my belly in my hands.

“Shh, it’ll be OK. He’s not going to hurt you or the baby, and you won’t ever have to see him again.”

“But—”

“I took care of it.”

I had to pull back, leaning my torso to the side so I could look at his face front–on.

“You already paid off the loan?”

He nodded and smiled nervously. It was his turn to wait to see my reaction.

I didn’t know what to say. My shoulders had never felt so light, the burden evaporating as Drake confirmed I was no longer in danger. The baby was no longer in danger.

“I couldn’t risk letting him get close to you again. Not after what Terrance, my driver, told me. It took everything I had not to beat the ever–loving shit out of him…” Drake was rambling as I searched for the words that would appropriately convey my love for what he did.

“…And the baby, I had to think of the baby. I know what those thugs are like. Anything could’ve happened. I wouldn’t have been able to forgive myself. But… do you forgive me? For going around your back? I couldn’t wait till you asked for help.”

I placed a finger on his soft, rapidly moving lips. Then I leaned in, surprising him into silence as our lips touched. As our mouths parted, slowly our tongues went exploring, and with each passing sweep I tried to let him know how much I appreciated what he’d done for me.

“Sorry it took me so long to tell you,” I breathed as we pulled away for air. “I should’ve trusted you sooner.”

“Better late than never,” he said and claimed my mouth again.

“
S
o
, is this what life will be like?” I asked as I stood looking at the crystal blue waters of the Mediterranean from yet another one of Drake’s beachfront properties.

Drake’s arms enveloped my body, and his lips nuzzled at my neck. His hands stroked over my growing belly, finding their way under my wrap and dipping down towards my bikini bottoms. I playfully slapped his hand away, smiling at his constant need to have me, even when my stomach was the same size as an overinflated beach ball.

“What? You don’t approve?” he asked in a jovial tone.

“I guess I’m still getting used to it. The travelling, the luxury… I don’t think I ever will, to be honest.”

“Well, as long as I get to have you… and you’re happy,” he said.

“Though I do prefer this house to the penthouse back home… the décor is so–”

“Lifeless? Christine decorated it.”

I laughed. “That makes so much more sense, now. I thought you liked it like that.”

“No way,” he replied.

“OK, I’ll have to change it when we get back, then.”

He kissed my neck, then suddenly spun me around, which was an impressive feat considering my girth, and then he took my hand.

“Come on, I have something to show you,” Drake said as he padded out onto the balcony, leading me down onto the warm sand.

I think Drake had a thing for the water; each of his vacation properties incorporated some body of water or another, and this was no different. This beach house backed up onto a private sandy beach along the crystal coast of the French Riviera.

“What about Leah?” I asked, looking back into the house.

“I just checked on her. She won’t be awake for another couple of hours, and I have the baby monitor with me. But we’ll only be a moment, I promise.”

With a second glance at the house, I gave in and let him tow me along, helping me keep my balance as I waddled by his side.

“Good, now close your eyes,” he said as we neared the edge of the water. I squinted at him and pursed my lips.

“Go on,” Drake encouraged. “I’ll give you a foot massage later if you do.”

Ah, that would be bliss, I thought, and I shut my eyes, but not before I took in my surroundings. Our section of the beach was deserted, and the only sound I could hear was the deep swishing of the waves as they lapped at the sand.

“Where are you taking me?” I giggled, the mystery making my nerves start to tingle. The sand squished between my toes as we walked a few more metres.

“Always so impatient. Don’t you dare peek,” he replied. “I have a good mind to blindfold you.”

“You wouldn’t dare!” I laughed and almost opened my eyes.

For a second Drake released my hand, but a second later he was holding it again. Good thing, too – I’d probably lose my balance and fall at this rate, I was so disorientated.

Drake drew in a deep breath. Soft strokes of music drifted along on the sea air. I had no idea what I was hearing, and the temptation to cheat and open my eyes was overwhelming.

“Drake?”

“OK, you can open your eyes now,” he said.

Bright crisp sunrays blinded me for a split second. I blinked and adjusted my focus, expecting Drake to be in front of me, but he wasn’t. All I saw was sand and the rock face lining the shore, and yet he still held my hand.

Puzzled, I looked down, following the length of his arm.

Oh my god.

Drake was down on his knee, his tanned, beautiful face staring up at me.

The music was louder now, starting to surround me. There was no doubt that the music was real, and it hadn’t been something that I’d imagined.

A quartet of musicians, dressed in flowing gowns and cream linen suits, came closer, stringed instruments tucked beneath their chins. Their long fingers, bows in hand, moved effortlessly to bring about a sound that summoned shivers along my spine.

My hand went to my chest, and I looked back to Drake who was still kneeling. Tiny beads of nervousness edged his hairline.

“Viola,” he said, his voice quavering with feeling. His Adam’s apple bobbed a fraction, and I had to bite my tongue in order not to start crying right there and then. Seriously, who does this to a heavily pregnant lady who’s just a powder keg of emotions?

“I’m so lucky that I’ve been given a second chance with you. I think we both remember our first kiss… hidden away in a closet, never wanting to leave. But I was too scared, and too young to know what to do with what I was feeling.

“Now, although it’s not the most conventional of situations, there’s no one I want more to be by my side for the rest of my life, to be the mother of my children.”

It was no good, my eye muscles had fought the good fight and lost, letting a stream of tears break through. My heart pounded in my chest, and I gripped onto his hand.

“I don’t want to let another second go by without asking you this. Will you do the honour of marrying me?” Drake brought from behind his back a glinting, circular object.

My eyes were fixed upon his. I didn’t need to see the ring — with Drake’s taste, it would no doubt be spectacular — and my tears were making the world blur, anyway.

My head bobbed up and down, the action coming before the choked–up words. “Y–yes. Yes!” I cried.

Drake shot to his feet, my hands holding onto the back of his neck as he moved in to kiss me. The quartet struck up a vibrant celebratory composition, and Drake, with strong hands around my waist and shoulders, dipped me down low, the sensual kiss powering a throbbing accompanying beat between my legs.

I think if it hadn’t been for the musical witnesses I would’ve had my wicked way with him right there on the sand.

Rising up from the dip, I nibbled at my lip and whispered, “I need you, now.”

Drake’s eyes widened in surprise and boyish mischief. It was as if he’d just won the keys to his very own sweet shop and unlimited access to a supply of tasty treats. His body smushed against me as his hands trailed under my wrap and down my bare spine, finally cupping a handful of my ass. A familiar hardening rose between us, making itself known as it pressed into my belly.

“Wait, you didn’t even look at the ring – don’t you want to see it?” he asked hopefully.

“Of course I do, but I don’t need a ring to say yes. I just need you.”

He kissed my cheek and brought the sparkling object up in front of my face between his thumb and forefinger.

I expected Drake to produce a rock the size of my big toe, something that would be his attempt to get across how much he loved me, and one that I couldn’t possibly ever wear properly. But I was happily disappointed.

“Oh, Drake,” I gasped. “It’s perfect.” And it really was.

A marquise–shaped diamond set horizontally on the band gave the ring a heart–stopping vintage look, with a tiny sprinkling of smaller diamonds surrounding it. I couldn’t tell you how many carats it was, but it was enough. Elegant and sophisticated, and not a hint of garishness or fussiness.

I was in love.

With both Drake and the ring. The fact he’d chosen this particular ring, a ring I probably would’ve never been able to dream up myself but one that was the epitome of everything I desired, was a testament to how well he knew me.

“I thought you didn’t need a ring?” he teased, pulling the ring out of my reach as my fingers went to touch it.

“I think I can make an exception this one time,” I said, grinning.

And with that, Drake took hold of my left hand and slipped the engagement ring onto my finger, sliding it all the way down, as if it had always meant to be there.