The Billionaire's Accidental Bride (10 page)

"You're right," Jack agreed. "And for now, we have something much more important to worry about."

"What's that?"

"We have to think of a name for our little girl."

That was perhaps the very moment that Annaya realized she was truly in love with Jack Casali. With everything around them so stressful and demanding and nothing going right, Jack was able to bring everything back to a reason to be joyful. He was a man who didn't shirk his responsibilities and who didn't expect her to change to fit into his world.

She felt like they were made for each other, but there was no way to say that without it sounding incredible corny, or like a woman who regretted not saying yes to a tempting proposal simply changing her mind.

Jack came back to her apartment after their afternoon with her parents to wait for his evening flight. She made them both some tea and they sat down on her sofa side by side, beginning to go over some logistics for the birth and for afterwards.

"I'm due July 21st," Annaya told him. "Will you be here?"

"I'll be wherever you need me to be. You have my number."

"The baby could come early, or late, or just on time. I want you to be there, Jack."

Jack reached over and squeezed her hand. "I will be."

"I hate that you're in Vegas."

There, she said it. It had been on the tip of her tongue for months and finally she'd come out and said it. How much easier it would be if Jack was there with her all the time! How much calmer she'd feel knowing he was a drive away, rather than a flight.

How much more willing she'd be to give into her feelings if she had even half a chance of it going somewhere. She didn't want the father of her child to be so far away. She wanted him to be here, a part of their lives.

Jack smiled understandingly and held her hand. "I hate it too, actually. I don't want to miss out on anything."

"You should stay here around the time the baby's due," Annaya said. "Then you'd be here, no matter what."

"You said yourself, Annie, the baby could come at any time. I can't be away from the business for that long. Besides, I don't think you should have the baby here."

"What do you mean?"

"I want you to have the best. I could arrange for you to stay in Vegas and have staff on call for when you went into labor. I could get you in with the best doctors in a private hospital. You would have much better care."

Annaya let out a hollow laugh. "I don't want to have my baby in Vegas, Jack. I want my family around me. How would my mother feel if she couldn't see her grandchild after I'd given birth? I'll be having the baby here, Jack."

Jack sighed heavily. "Fine, but I'm pulling some strings to make sure you get the best here."

"I don't care about any of that," Annaya insisted. "I just want you to promise you'll be there when she's born."

"I'll drop everything the moment you call," Jack replied. "I promise."

It wasn't really good enough, but Annaya felt like she was better taking what she could get than starting a row when she wouldn't change Jack's mind. This is what it always came down to with the two of them: logistics. He'd want to be in Vegas, she'd want to be here, and they'd both worry so much about what the whole thing would look like to everyone else that they never made any decisions at all.

She laid her head against his shoulder, weary suddenly from the stress of having so much to think about. Jack laid his cheek against the top of her head and they leaned against each other a while for strength and then, suddenly, Jack raised his head and turned Annaya's face towards him. He looked deeply into her eyes and shook his head slowly as if he was amazed by the sight.

"You're so beautiful, Annie." He leaned forward to kiss her and for the briefest moment, his rough lips brushed against her soft ones, before Annaya pressed her hands against his chest and pushed him away.

"Don't, Jack."

"Why not, Annie? You look so beautiful right now."

"Because we'll do what we've done before. We'll get caught up in the moment, have sex and then go our separate ways until next time. All the while, I'll be wondering if there's really anything between us, only to know that it doesn't really matter anyway, because everything else is getting in the way."

"What are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying that it's got to be all or nothing, Jack," Annaya said firmly. "Think about it. We've got our whole lives ahead of us. How would you feel if I met a man, but was sleeping with you every time you flew over? Or worse still, what if I never met anyone
because
I was sleeping with you, but you and me never really got anywhere? I don't want to be on my own, Jack, but unless we sort ourselves out and whatever
this
is, that's what's going to happen. I need some clarity so that I can plan my life. I don't want to just be someone you screw when you're in town."

Jack let out an offended breath and sat back from her. "Is that what you think of me, Annie? That I'm just hanging about for the chance to get laid? I haven't got any trouble filling my bed."

Annaya rolled her eyes at the way he said it, as if she should be impressed. "Maybe that's the point. You take it all for granted. Me, some other woman – what does it matter to you? The great Jack Casali can have anyone he wants."

"That's not fair. I've been there for you ever since this all started."

"But what do you
want
, Jack?" Annaya asked exasperatedly. "I'm waiting for you to tell me that I mean something to you and that you want more, but we just let it build up and build up and then you fly away and it fizzles out until next time. That's not how I want to live my life."

"I offered you a commitment, Annie, and you turned me down. How dare you act like I've not done all I can!"

"You only proposed to me because your Daddy told you to."

Jack's face flushed red and he stood up with a scowl, picking up his jacket and his bag from her sitting room and heading towards the door. He turned back on his heel at the last minute as though he were going to say something to her, but then just shook his head in a mute fury and walked away. After he'd left, Annaya buried her head in her hands and burst into tears. He was gone again.

Chapter9

The first labor pains came as Annaya was attempting to walk to the corner store to buy some chocolate for her cravings. At first, she assumed that the shooting pains through her abdomen were just signs of exertion. After all, over the last couple of months she'd grown bigger and bigger and had consequently moved around less and less and so a journey to the local shops was almost a marathon to her.

She ignored the first few pains and told herself it was just due to the exercise, but she couldn't explain it away when two hours later her waters broke in the middle of the main street to the horror of shocked people who passed by.

For the first time since this all began, Annaya felt real fear. Up until this point, she'd felt unprepared and a little in shock and certainly anxious, but it was as the cramps began to tighten around her middle and she knew that the baby was well and truly on its way that she began to really grow frightened of what would come next.

She was about to become a single mother – or as good as – and the baby's father was all the way in Vegas probably playing at some roulette wheel or another, and they'd hardly spoken in weeks, apart from short, angry sentences on  the phone.

Jack was mad at her for the way she'd spoken to him and she was angry with him because he hadn't fought harder to keep her. Annaya was so messed up from the pregnancy hormones and the confusion of it all, that she had no idea who was in the wrong anymore.

Perhaps she shouldn't have pushed his buttons the way she had done that night. All she'd wanted was for him to tell her that he felt the same and to convince him to stay, but somehow all she'd managed to do was push him away and now the baby was coming and Jack wasn't here.

Annaya phoned Natalie first and then her mother. It was only when her anxious friend came zooming around the corner in her banged-up little car to rush her to the hospital that she thought about calling Jack.

"You haven't called him?" Natalie said breathlessly, as the panicked driver swung around a bend and put her foot down to accelerate towards the hospital. "You better do it soon, Annaya, or he's going to miss the birth."

"Of course he's going to miss the birth!" Annaya replied, trying to keep the tears out of her voice. "He's all the way in Vegas and I'm in California. He'll never make it in time."

"Call him now."

It was hard to do anything now that her labor pains were in full force, but Natalie was focusing on getting them both to the hospital in one piece, so it was up to Annaya to force her shaking hands to pick up her cell and dial Jack's number. It was hard to speak through the waves of labor pain and her voice came in short, sharp bursts through her winces when she got through to Jack's voicemail.

"Jack!" she exclaimed irritably. "Where the hell are you? It's the ninth months of the pregnancy and you're not taking your calls?
I'm... having... the... baby!
" Annaya hung up, fury and resentment making her feel even more hot and flustered than she already did and she gripped onto the car door handle as Natalie made another sharp turn. "Slow down, Natalie! You're going to kill us both."

"I am not delivering that baby."

It must have looked an absurd scene to anyone who might have been watching: two pregnant women zooming around the city towards the hospital, snapping and criticizing each other. But, as soon as Natalie pulled up at the hospital, she was nothing but supportive and went into full military mode in search of a nurse or doctor who would be able to take good care of Annaya and the baby.

Annaya gripped onto Natalie's hand tightly as the nurses wheeled her in a wheelchair towards the maternity ward, telling her to breathe, and she tried even harder not to cry. "He's not here..." she murmured to herself, "he's not here..."

Natalie gripped her shoulder firmly. "It's alright, Annaya. You're going to be OK. I'm here. Your Mum's on the way."

It was all of little comfort to Annaya. All she could think about was how she had left things with Jack and worry that because of her stupid big mouth, she'd have to do this on her own. She wanted to burst into tears and refuse to enter the ward until Jack was at her side, but she knew the baby wouldn't wait and so she gripped onto Natalie's hand for dear life and let the nurses whisk her away to the maternity ward. The baby was coming.

*****

Jack had been fuming ever since his argument with Annaya. How dare she accuse him of using her just for sex! At least, that's what he'd understood from the way she'd spoke about him flying in and out just to hook up. Of course whenever he saw Annaya he wanted to fall into bed with her, but that was because she was beautiful and smart and her eyes lit up when she saw him in a way that made Jack feel a million miles tall; powerful and wanted.

Everything about her drove him wild and whenever he was close to her he naturally wanted to tear off her clothes and press his lips down over hers, but that didn't mean that he was only after one thing.

The billionaire pondered all this sullenly in the days and weeks that passed after meeting Annaya's parents. Hadn't he done all he could to show Annaya that he cared? Hadn't he been there at the ultrasounds and weddings? Hadn't he called her faithfully every week? Hadn't he told her a hundred times that she did something to him? He'd treated her with a respect, patience and loyalty that he'd never shown any other woman, and she'd had the nerve to suggest that he was using her!

"You're reading too much into it," Lewis advised, as they sat together in front of an enormous flat screen TV in Jack's apartment one night.

"What do you mean?"

"She's pregnant. Hormones. Of course she's going to be all over the place. You're here; she's there. She probably feels abandoned or something. You know how women are."

"Not Annie. She's not like other women."

"Trust me, Jack; your Annie may be the best of the best in your eyes, but I've yet to meet a woman who doesn't get needy sometimes. You two have got this weird thing going on where you're going between screwing and planning how to raise a baby without ever really getting close to each other.

Women read into these things too much already, so how is something as complicated as what's going on between you and her not meant to drive her mad? She's pregnant with your child and probably has no idea whether you're around just for the baby or for her."

Jack was taken aback by Lewis' intuition and took a sip of an expensive beer with a pensive expression on his face. He hadn't quite thought of it in those terms before. He was happy to let the fire burn when he was in Annie's company, but perhaps for her it was all just a bunch of mixed messages for which he was to blame. Was she craving something more as much as he was?

"The whole thing is a nightmare," Jack said bitterly. "I don't know what the woman wants. I ask her to stay in Vegas and she's not interested. I propose, and she's not interested. What's a man meant to do to show a woman he's after more than sex? Tell me, Lewis, because I have no bloody idea."

The billionaire's friend laughed with amusement and gave Jack a knowing grin. "You're looking at the whole thing too logistically," he said wisely. "You're being too practical. Being physically close to her – together in Vegas or living in the same house -- isn't the same as being
close
to her."

"I'm not sure I'm following."

"Jesus, Jack, you're clueless. She wants you to commit to her
emotionally
. She wants you to show her that you care about
her
and that you aren't just sticking around for the sake of the baby or because of the press."

"How would you know?"

"Trust me, Jack. She wants you to wear your heart on your sleeve."

"I'm not sure how that's done."

"I know. You've slept with dozens of women, but I don't think I've ever seen you in love before. You're a mess."

"In love?"

"Jesus, Jack. Can't you tell?"

Jack fell silent and considered his friends words carefully. He knew that his feelings for Annaya were something stronger than those he'd had for women in the past. He knew that Annaya had been taking up a special place in his heart in the months that they'd got to know each other better, but he'd never really gone as far as to think of it as love.

He'd never been in love before, but perhaps that's what it was to be completely captivated by another person, to think about them first thing every morning and in the last moments of every night. Perhaps that's what it was to be driven mad by their mystery, but to still not consider for a moment walking away because you're just too damned into her.

"I've hardly spoken to her in weeks."

"She's the mother of your child. There's going to be a fair few more arguments yet, I'd imagine. You can't run away from them all."

"I'm not running away."

"Then pick up the phone and talk to her."

"Fine. I will."

Jack stood up and retreated into the kitchen to pull his cell phone out of his pocket and finally give in and tell Annaya that he was sorry for having given her the cold shoulder. When he pulled out his phone, however, he was shocked to find that he already had a missed call from her. He quickly entered his voicemail and his eyes widened and mouth quickly fell open when he heard Annaya's tense, short breaths down the line and her message to get there
as soon as possible
.

Lewis came into the kitchen to see what was taking so long when he didn't hear Jack speaking and then grew concerned when he saw Jack's face grow pale as he listened to his messages.

"What is it?"

"The baby's coming."

"Now?"

"
Now
."

*****

The nurse wrapped up Annaya's little girl in a pink blanket and pressed her into her mother's arms. Annaya looked down at her newborn baby and felt an overwhelming surge of love and all the screaming and worry and pain of the last few hours washed away and was replaced by pure joy.

Her baby girl was beautiful: half Jack and half Annaya. She had light brown skin and hair that was dark and curly like Annaya's, but she had her father's nose and eyes. She was no bigger than a loaf of bread and the little cry she made as she looked around at the big wide world was the sweetest sound Annaya had ever heard.

She had just picked up her little girl for her first cuddle when a squeaking sound made her look up and she saw Jack come skidding around the doorway, his expensive shoes skidding on the lino. On seeing him, all her anger and fear vanished at once. Jack looked just as flustered and terrified as she had been just moments earlier, and his disheveled hair and crumpled suit told Annaya that he had come to be with her as quickly as possible. He didn't hate her, after all. She smiled at him and his eyes softened. He came to stand at her side.

Even now, with a baby in her arms, her thoughts were on what Jack would think of her in this state: pale and clammy with no make-up and her big belly pushing up the bed sheets, but Jack was completely captivated by the sight of their new child.

"My God..." he breathed disbelievingly. "She's beautiful."

"She's ours."

Jack stepped forward and hesitantly reached out a hand to gently brush his palm against his baby's head and then he let out a little half-breath of amazement and shook his head in awe again. "Incredible."

Suddenly, all of the emotion and upset of the day came flooding back and Annaya was struggling once more to hold back her tears. She finally ran out of strength to hold them back and a couple escaped over her eyelids. She looked up at Jack tearfully and said, "Jack, I'm sorry for everything."

"Ssh," Jack soothed her gently, laying a hand on her shoulder to press her back down when she tried to sit up to talk to him. "It's done. I'm sorry, too. I was mad, but I shouldn't have ignored you. I'm sorry that I wasn't here."

"You're here now."

Jack perched on the bed beside her and put an arm around her shoulders. Finally, Annaya felt safe again and she let her head fall onto his shoulder and rest there for a while. She let a little fantasy grow in her mind's eye that this is how it would always be: her, Jack and the baby, snuggled close together, sharing a moment of complete peace and comfort.

*

Everything in Annaya's home was set up and ready for the baby. The little nursery she'd made out of a room that had been a disused home office was beautiful, painted in soft pinks with squishy little giraffes painted up the walls. The sweet little white pine crib was against one wall with a zoo-themed mobile full of soft little teddy bears hanging above and everything else that a baby could need was in the room with their daughter, whom they decided to name Alice.

The new mother couldn't wish for more for her little girl, who looked so perfect lying on top of her blankets, clutching a toy giraffe in her tiny little grasp, but Alice's father, who had been so overjoyed a few days before, began to grow more sullen and agitated in the days that followed, especially when he saw all the changes that had taken place in the nursery since he'd last visited Annaya.

"This room is a box, Annie."

"She's an infant, Jack. She hardly needs a palace."