Accept My Baby: A Billionaire BWWM Single Parent Pregnancy Romance (11 page)

“
You
know,” she started as she put her glass on the table and got
her slice of cake. “You never really finished telling me about
yourself.”

He looked at her and
a smile played on his lips.

“
You
seem to be very keen on my life,” he pointed out and she
shrugged.

“
Is
that so bad?”

“
No,
not at all. But, what about you? What’s the story behind this
pretty face?”

She toyed with the
frosting on her carrot cake and shook her head.

“
I
asked first so I guess before I can come clean about myself, I need
to know more about you.”

Rafael took a long
deep breath.

“
Alright.
Where was I?” he asked.

“
Well,
last time I checked I was trying to fully wrap my mind around the
fact that your family is controlling...at least I think that it was
getting to you or something of the sort”

“
Oh
trust me, it is getting to me.” He looked at her and realized
that he was not really getting through to her. He needed to say
everything in black and white. “So here goes,” he started
as he took a long deep breath. “As far as my parents are
concerned, the family name is some kind of dynasty. Like a royal
family or something like that and to make sure that the ‘crown
jewels’ are protected, they have to hand pick every single
thing and person that becomes a part of the family.

“
Everyone
and everything?”
she asked, a little confused and he nodded.

“
We
usually don’t get to do anything we want...I mean, right from
when we were kids, our extra-curricular activities, our friends
or...girlfriends...” his voice trailed off.

“
Girlfriends?”
she echoed and he nodded.

“
The
reason I rebel and go on rampage with all these models and
socialites...it is all to show my mother that she does not control
me.”

She took a bite of
her cake and shook her head.

“
Surely,
it can’t be that bad. Can it?” she asked and he forced
out a laugh.

“
You
have no idea. Right now, I’m actually on the outs with my
mother because of the whole not taking over the business.”

“
You
are not taking over the business?” she asked, a little
surprised.

“
I
have always been a little reserved when it comes to the family
business. I mean, I am a strong believer in entrepreneurship and
taking over a business that has been running for the better part of
the century is not really my idea of helping out the universe.”

“
So,
what does that mean?” she asked. “I mean, I know you are
a trust fund baby and all but I know that people like your family
gets you to the corner by cutting you off.”

“
Trust
fund baby?” he asked, smiling as he showed off those perfect
pearly whites. “Really?”

“
What?
Am I wrong?” she asked. “Are you trying to tell me a
family that considers themselves a dynasty does not have a trust fund
for their kids?”

“
Well,
look at you.” He leaned back and ran his fingers through his
hair. “Do you moonlight as a behavioral analyst or something?”

“
You
never know,” she said, smiling.

“
So,
yes. I
was
a
trust fund baby.”

“
Was?”
she asked and he nodded.

“
When
they found out that I invested some money in the American oil
industry, they were pissed. So, they decided to cut me off because
they thought that if they did I would go back to whatever future it
was that they had carved out for me.”

“
And...”
she was really anxious.

“
Unfortunately
for them, I had been siphoning my trust fund off into an offshore
account...I suppose I always had better money management skills than
my brother so by the time they decided to cut me off, I was already
making profits in the millions of dollars.”

“
Well,
good for you,” she said, smiling and he nodded.

“
But,
it doesn’t stop there.”

She raised an eyebrow
over the other.

“
There’s
more?” she asked and he nodded.

“
So
much more,” he said.

“
Okay,
color me intrigued.”

“
My
parents actually went ahead and crossed the damn threshold by
choosing a woman for me to marry.”

Amanda
was practically choking. She put a hand on her chest as she coughed
hard.

“
You
are kidding me, right?” she asked and he shook his head.

“
No,
I am telling the truth,” he said as he looked at her concerned.
She as still coughing. “Should I get you some water or
something?” he asked and she shook her head.

“
Oh
my God...I think your mother could very possibly be worse than a
Middle Age queen,” she said as he took a bite of his cake.

“
Worse...but
that’s about me. What about you?”

“
I
am not sure I can match all that...I mean my life is not perfect or
anything but everything you’ve said makes my life sound ten
more levels of perfect.”

“
Oh
come on,” Rafael said. “You have made me literally pour
my heart out for you. That has never happened before.”

“
It’s
just I don’t have anything that matches being ‘matched
up’ or so to speak.”

“
Well,
we all have a story, don’t we?” Rafael asked and she
nodded.

“
Yeah,
we all have one. Sometimes a little less dramatic than what you have
just said,” she pointed out.

Rafael looked into
her eyes and sighed. He could see that there was something on her
mind. The smile she had earlier on had faded and the twinkle in her
eyes was gone. He felt like he was seeing her for the first time
again. Like he had at the party.

“
I
know there is a story but I feel like you are struggling with the
decision to tell it to me. So, let me start you off easy, okay?”

“
Okay,”
she said in a soft voice.

“
Alright.
I know you are American. I know that much. So, let’s start
there. The move to Turin, it’s not just a work assignment, is
it?”

She shook her head.

“
And
I am guessing it is not just a vacation either.”

“
No,
it isn’t,” she said.

“
Now,
we’re getting somewhere,” Rafael said, smiling.

“
Okay
my story is not as great as yours, I have to warn you,” she
said and he nodded.

“
Okay.”

“
I’m
not seeing anyone writing a book or making a lifetime movie about it
any time soon or anything of the sort.”

“
I
am not looking for a Lifetime adaptation, Amanda. I just want to know
who you are,” he said and she nodded.

“
Alright,”
she started as she put the side plate with her cake on the coffee
table. “I was in a relationship with a man for a long time.
Years, to be specific,” she started.

“
How
many years are we talking about here?” he asked and she forced
out a smile.

“
Eight
years,” she said.

“
That’s
a long time.”

Amanda nodded.

“
I
know...everyone kept asking me why we were not making everything
official ...after all, we did buy a house together.”

“
Well,
now I am intrigued,” Rafael said, resting his elbow on the
couch headrest. “Why didn’t you?”

She took a long deep
breath.

“
I
don’t really know. I guess at the back of my mind I always
wondered if I was the one with reservations or if it was just my
insecurities playing with my emotions.”

She
subconsciously began tugging at the hem of her dress.

“
I
think it was always there. The doubt, the constant fear that I would
not live up to his expectations or something of the sort,” she
said as she looked up. “At first it was just the usual: working
late and the like but soon enough everything changed. We no longer
spent as much time as we used to together and I kept on blaming it on
the fact that he was a busy guy. I mean hedge fund management is a
big deal and it can take a lot out of you.”

“
You
are making excuses for him, aren’t you?” Rafael asked and
she shook her head.

She did not know what
she was doing. She did not understand why she was saying the things
she was saying. But it was like she just could not help it.

“
I
think I am,” she said after a long silence.

“
Well,
you shouldn’t,” Rafael said.

She smiled and shook
her head. She did not mean to. But it just happened. For some crazy
reason, that was exactly what was happening.

“
What
did he do?” he asked. “Did he hurt you? Did he beat you?”

“
He
did hurt me but not physically. He was having an affair with my
friend and next door neighbor for the better part of two years.”

Rafael
was trying to react in any way but for some reason, he couldn’t.
All he could do was look at her, his mouth slightly agape. She looked
at him and forced out a laugh.

“
I
know this is ridiculously cliche.”

“
It
might be but that does not mean that it is not terrible.” He
stretched his hand out and took her hand in his. “I’m so
sorry you had to go through this.”

She looked into his
eyes and shrugged.

“
I’m
not. It exposed the bastard that I had held in so much regard for the
asshole he truly is and I finally got to get away from him...I mean,
there is the small factor of how I am going to get out of the house
co-ownership...” her voice trailed off when she noticed the way
he was looking at her.

It was
not the same way he had been looking at her for the past twenty
minutes they had shared their life story. There was something more
about how he was looking at her. It was like he was seeing through
her. Seeing her for the first time. “What is it?” she
asked in a whisper.

“
So,
what you have just told me in so many words is that you are a free
agent right now,” he said and she nodded.

“
You
know for a European man, you are very well versed in American
metaphoric talk,” she said, trying hard to ignore the fact that
he was slowly getting closer to her.

“
Maybe
that is because I spent the better part of my academic life in
America but that is besides the point.” He slipped an arm
around her waist and pulled her closer. “I have been trying to
get the perfect excuse to kiss you and you just gave me the golden
ticket.”

“
My
painful break-up?” she asked and he shook his head.

“
Just
your break-up,” he said in a soft voice. “Now I can do
this.”

He
lowered his head and gently kissed her. Her eyes were closed and his
were too. And as far as she was concerned, his kiss was unlike
anything she had ever felt. A moan escaped her throat as she kissed
him, his tongue slowly being forced into her mouth and she was only
too happy to receive it.

“
How
could anyone ever cheat on you?” he whispered when he finally
pulled away. He gently put his hand on her thigh and slowly worked it
up making her shiver. “You are...breathtaking,” he said
in a whisper.

Amanda
could feel the hairs at the back of her neck on edge. Her skin was
tingling. It was something she had not felt in a long time. It was
actually like she was feeling it for the first time. He gently held
the back of her neck and looked into her brown eyes.

“
I
should take you home,” he said and she shook her head.

“
But
I don’t want you to,” she whispered, surprising even
herself.

“
I
have to because if I don’t, I’m afraid I will have you
right here on this couch.”

Amanda
didn’t know why but those words turned her on more than anyone
ever did. It could have been the simple fact that the last time
anyone talked to her like this or even showed any kind of sexual
interest in her was so long ago. Whatever it was she was not sure but
it was sure working on her in ways she had never thought possible.
She looked at him and reached for the side zipper of her dress. She
gently pulled it down and gasped when he exposed her full tits to
him.