The Trillionaire's Kiss: Book One in Trillionaire Wishes (Fountain of Love) (8 page)

The rest of the day was spent getting to know Erin and Travis.  Travis and Bill were both CPAs, and they knew one another.  It was amazing to Alicia how small the circles the trillionaires traveled in were. 

Erin smiled at Alicia, patting her belly during their talk that afternoon.  "I'm carrying again.  It's a girl this time."
  She was obviously thrilled to have another child.

"They already know?" Alicia asked with surprise.

Erin nodded.  "Oh they know immediately with a blood test now.  It wasn't like that in the twenty-first century?  I can't imagine not knowing whether I'm having a boy or a girl."

"Women in my time have to wait until they're
in their second trimester, and then they have a sonogram to check the gender."

"A sonogram?"

"Oh, sonograms are cool!"  Alicia was excited to explain.  "You go to the doctor and they squeeze this stuff on you, and they look at the baby.  You can see what they're doing inside."

"Why wait until
the second trimester then?"

"Well, the picture is grainy, and you really can't tell before that."

Erin nodded.  "I see." 

"I'm sure the technology is a million times better now, but I don't want to hear it.  Not yet anyway."

Erin grinned squeezing her new friend's hand.  "We'll talk about it all when you get pregnant yourself."  She eyed Alicia.  "You're not yet, are you?"

Alicia shook her head.  "Not that I know of anyway.  It's too early to tell."

Erin frowned.  "You don't keep early pregnancy tests around?"

"I hadn't really thought of it yet.  I guess I should.  Still, you can't tell until like three days before your menstruation, right?"

Erin blinked.  "That was the old way.  My tests tell me from the moment of conception.  It's just a pin prick on your arm, and it tells you boy or girl at the same time."

"I need to get some of those!"  Alicia loved the idea of knowing immediately.  She could test every day for the sheer fun of it.  Everyone had to have a hobby, right?

Erin jumped up and ran from the room coming back with a small bag.  "Here you go.  Instructions are inside.  Or I can show you now."

Alicia bit her lip.  She wasn't overly fond of needles, so it might be easier to have Erin help her with it the first time. 
"Would you show me?"

Erin removed one of the tests from the bag and carefully showed her how to use it, holding it over her arm and pressing the button quickly.  Within two seconds the tiny test beeped, and Erin looked at it.  "Umm...we need to start talking about wedding plans now.  My little girl and your little boy."  She handed the test to Alicia who stared at it in shock. 

"A boy?  I'm going to have a boy?"

Erin nodded, her grin covering her face.  "You need to find a good way to tell Calor.  He's going to be ecstatic!"

Alicia was still feeling shell-shocked.  How was she going to tell a man who wanted a child more than anything in the world that he was going to be a father?  Would she ever know for certain how he felt about her if his feelings for her were always connected with the baby?

She sighed, wringing her hands together.  She needed him to love her for herself, not for the baby she carried.  She sighed.  She'd wait and tell him after they were in the new house.  She'd cook a nice meal and tell him their first night.  What better time was there?

"Don't say anything yet.  I'm going to cook for him and tell him the first evening in the new house."

Erin nodded.  "It's your secret to tell.  Not mine.  I will need you to get with me about the wedding plans, though.  We should start planning right away."

Alicia laughed  "That sounds good."  She loved the idea of her child, her little boy, marrying this sweet woman's daughter.  Of course, she wouldn't really start planning anything.

Travis and Calor came to the door watching the two of them.  Calor smiled as he saw his wife laughing, his heart lifted.  She really needed to be free to come and go as she wanted, and he wished he could make that happen for her.

Chapter Eight

The next two weeks were filled with a flurry of activity.  Alicia helped to pack as much as she could while Calor worked.  Robbie constantly told her it was his job to do the work and her job to watch, but she ignored him the same way she ignored Calor. 

When moving day arrived, she was bouncing up and down.  Erin had promised to meet them at the new house and help her unpack the kitchen, the one room she truly cared about.  When they pulled up in Calor's car, her friend was standing in front waiting for her, and she flew out of the house to hug her tightly.  "I'm so glad you're here."

Erin smiled.  "Where else would I be?"  She linked her arm with Alicia's and the two went into the house, Alicia giving Erin the tour.  When they reached the bathroom, Erin gasped.  "Oh, it's beautiful!  How are you ever going to leave and get any actual work done?"

Alicia laughed.  "I'll have to try hard.  I can just see sitting in there with my Kindle whiling away the hours."

"Oh, I love to read.  You'll have to share some of your favorite authors with me.  Anything you read would be considered a classic now!"

They walked back down to the kitchen and started unpacking boxes, with Alicia shooing Robbie out of the way.  "Go unpack in the bathroom or one of the bedrooms."

Robbie huffed as he left the room, and Erin laughed after him.  "Did your robot just huff at you?"

Alicia rolled her eyes.  "We've become friends, and that may have been a mistake.  He feels like he can give his opinion on everything I do whenever he wants to.  He's getting very annoying!"

Erin laughed hysterically.  "Are you serious?  Why on earth did you make friends with your robot?"

"I got lonely!"

They made short work of the kitchen and finally sat down on the sofa.  The movers had brought everything in, and Alicia was pleased with the progress.  When she moved it took her a month to get everything unpacked and for her to settle in.  With the help of the movers, her friend, and Robbie, they'd be done in
just one day.  She loved the way everything was turning out.  "Calor is going to teach me to fly a hovercraft, so I can come visit you whenever I want.  Austin said I needed to always let you know when I'm coming so you put down the force field first."

Erin made a face.  "I'm so sick of that force field.  I wish I had the freedom to come and go as I please that I had when I was a little girl."

"That's my biggest complaint too!  You seemed so content that I didn't say anything to you."  She was so thankful to learn that it wasn't just her.  She'd begun to think she was being too critical of Calor.

"I'm far from content. I feel like I'm a prisoner in my own home.  I can go visit my friends, but only if I'm accompanied by one of my husbands, and we have to go straight there and come straight home.  No stopping anywhere I could possibly be seen."  Erin sighed.  "Sometimes I feel like a diamond necklace they're trying to keep all the other boys from seeing."

Alicia shook her head.  "It's a pain.  I guess there's really nothing we can do about it, though."

"Not really.  Have you heard from your friends?  The ones that watched you disappear?"

"Not at all.  I still have the computer search for them every morning, but I feel really strongly they're going to end up close by.  I can't wait to see them again."

Erin smiled.  "I can't wait to meet them.  They sound really amazing.  I wasn't brought up to believe having close female friends was important, but I see now that it is.  More important than just about anything else in life really."

Alicia nodded.  "That's why I miss them so much."  She stood up, stretching.  "I need to make a special meal for my husband tonight.  The kitchen is supposed to be stocked by now, so I'm going to go figure out what to cook.  Join me?'

Erin stood up to follow her.  "As long as you don't want me to cook.  I'm perfectly capable, but that's the one thing I like about being married to four
trillionaires.  No one expects me to do any kind of manual labor.  That's the servants' or robots' job."

"Getting spoiled, are you?"
  Alicia grinned at her friend.

"Definitely, and I'm proud of it!"  Erin leaned against the counter while Alicia dug through the freezer, trying to find something that would be a suitable
meal for telling her husband their first child was coming over.  She settled on some steak and baked potatoes, the first meal she'd ever eaten with him.

She didn't need to start cooking for a while, but she preferred to thaw things the old fashioned way, and she popped the steaks in the refrigerator.  She'd finish thawing them in the thawing drawer later if they didn't
thaw fast enough. 

She and Erin went out and sat on the back porch, looking over the water.  "Do you swim?" Alicia asked.

Erin nodded.  "It's one of my favorite things to do."

"You'll have to come over and swim with me some morning."

"And you can come swim with me as well.  We have a pool, too."  Erin sighed, looking out at the water.  "I hate that it's almost summer.  It gets so hot in Texas."

Alicia made a face.  "I hate hot."

"Me too.  We don't really have much of a choice, though. We married Texas trillionaires."

"Well, whose brilliant idea was that?"

They were both still laughing when Calor stepped out onto the back porch.  "I just got a call from Bill," he told them.

"Oh, is the baby here?  Poor April's been miserable," Erin said.

He nodded.  "Eight pounds and six ounces.  Both mother and baby are doing fine."

"Oh good!"  Alicia smiled happily.  "When can we go see him?"

Calor shook his head.  "What is it about women and babies?  They just can't seem to get enough of them."

Alicia ignored him, excited to hear their friend was fine.  She hadn't shared her news with anyone yet, but she would start as soon as she told Calor that evening. 

After Erin left, Alicia fixed the steaks and baked potatoes, once again marveling at how quickly everything cooked.  She set the table and put a candle in the middle, thankful to be able to find a candle.  Robbie was still working on unpacking upstairs, and she was thrilled he was out of the way.  She loved the robot, but sometimes he got in the way as much as a small child would.

He took his first bite of the steak and smiled.  "I had no idea you were such a good cook," he told her. 

Alicia shook her head.  "I've cooked for you before."

"I guess I just never really thought about it.  Thank you for taking your time to cook dinner for me."

She smiled, reaching over to take his hand in hers.  "I wanted our first meal in the new house to be special."

"It is!  Every meal is special when I'm with you."  He smiled.  "I have a surprise for you after supper."

"You do?  Really?"

He nodded.  "I think you're even going to like it.  A little."

She shook her head.  "You're silly.  If you got it for me I'm sure I'll like it."  She took a deep breath, trying to get her courage up.  "I have a surprise for you too."

"You do?  Where?"  He looked around the room as if trying to see what it was.

"It's not that kind of surprise."  She smiled, holding his hand tighter than ever.  "I'm pregnant.  We're going to have a little boy."

His eyes widened with excitement, and he pulled her out of her chair scooping her up and spinning her in a circle.  "A boy!"

She smiled.  "You're not disappointed that it's not a girl?"

"Absolutely not.  There need to be boys in the next generation too."  He smiled.  "I really can't believe we're having a baby this soon."

Alicia laughed.  "I was a little surprised myself."  She explained about how Erin had shown her the early pregnancy test and how to use it.

"How are you feeling?  We need to get you to a doctor."

"It's still early, but yes, we do need to see one soon.  I feel fine.  I'm not even having any morning sickness yet, but I'm sure it's coming."

He smiled, stroking her cheek with the back of his finger.  "We'll make sure the doctor has something on hand for you so it doesn't bother you."  He leaned down and kissed her sweetly.  "
I love you."

Alicia wanted to cry, knowing the words had just come because she was carrying his baby.  She wanted to be loved for herself, but now she would never know if it was her or the baby.

He tilted his head to the side.  "Let's go see my surprise."

"But dinner?"
  She looked at the food on the table, remembering how much he'd said meat cost.

He shrugged.  "We'll reheat it.  The world won't end.  I need to give it to you."  He took her hand and led her through the house and into the back yard.  There, on the other side of the pool, was a puppy tied up with a huge doghouse beside him.

"You got me a puppy?  But...you said they were too expensive."  She looked between him and the dog, wanting desperately to hug the puppy.

He shrugged.  "I saw the look on your face when you mentioned you wanted one, and I knew once we had a house, I'd have to get one for you.  I love you too much not to let you have everything you want."

Alicia stood staring at the dog for a moment as her eyes filled with tears.  He'd set up this surprise before he knew about the baby.  He really did love her.  She turned to Calor and threw her arms around him, hugging him close.  "You really do love me!  And I love you too.  So much!"

He pulled her into his arms and kissed her, not a passionate kiss, but one of tenderness.  "You gave up so much to come here and marry me.  I was afraid I'd made you unhappy forever."

She shook her head, dashing her tears from her eyes.  "I'm not unhappy at all, especially now that I know you love me for me, and not for any children I may have."

He laughed.  "I loved you from the moment I set eyes on you.  It was never about a baby."

She smiled.  "It felt like it was."

"Never."  He pushed her toward the puppy, and she rushed over to the animal dropping to her knees. 

"What's his name?"

Calor shrugged.  "It's a she.  And the name is whatever you want it to be."

She studied the tan dog for a moment and smiled.  "I'll call her Fate.  It was fate that brought us together, so it was fate that brought her into our lives."

He smiled.  "That sounds like a good name to me."