Accept My Baby: A Billionaire BWWM Single Parent Pregnancy Romance (8 page)

Emilia still looked
confused.

“
I
still don’t get it.”

“
Well,
honestly I don’t want to get into all that. Just know that
everything at the party was great.” She brushed a curly strand
off her face. “I’m actually glad that I got that invite.
I had a great time out there. You really should have come.”

“
I
love being taken seriously and being in the same circles as Penelope
Lowe is going to kind of taint my reputation in my professional
circles,” Emilia said and Amanda raised an eyebrow over the
other.

“
Penelope
Lowe is amazing,” she said. “You and I both know that...I
mean have you seen her latest music video? She makes Rihanna look
like old news.”

“
That’s
because she is hardly ever clothed when she shoots her videos,”
Emilia said rolling her eyes. “Like seriously, that ‘Forget
About Us’ video, she literally only covers her nipples and she
calls that a fashion statement?”

“
Musicians
do that all the time...Miley Cyrus, Rihanna herself also puts on some
questionable clothing... Lady Gaga wore an outfit made of meat,”
Amanda pointed out.

“
Honestly,
I would have loved to see her perform at a zoo or something of the
sort,” Emilia said and Amanda laughed.

“
Did
anyone ever tell you, you are evil?”

“
The
whole world was thinking the same thing. All I did was just give
people a voice.”

“
Did
you suddenly turn politician and not tell me about it?” Amanda
asked and Emilia gently pushed a strand of her brunette hair behind
her ear.

“
We
are digressing. You were telling me about your date or not a date
plan with Rafael.”

Amanda
suddenly went silent. She had been hoping that they would not have to
go back to that topic. All she wanted to do was forget about
everything. Forget that she had actually met someone by the name of
Rafael Imperioli but there was something inside her that was crying
out to her that she just couldn’t do that. She could not ignore
the fact that she had met someone who was potentially a good man. And
another thing she did not want to handle at that moment was the fact
that Emilia was grilling her. She wanted to know everything.
Everything about the party.

Everything about
Rafael.

And not just what
Amanda was telling her. She wanted to know what Amanda was thinking
about. What she planned on doing now that she had accepted Rafael’s
offer.

“
Hey,”
Emilia said as she waved her hand in front of Amanda’s face.
“What’s going on in that pretty head of yours?”

Amanda took a long
deep breath and sighed.

“
I
don’t know how to say this without sounding like a complete
tool,” she started and Emilia shrugged.

“
How
about you just start at the beginning and we see how things go?”

Amanda
shook her head. She knew that Emilia could almost read her mind,
understand what she was about to say. She looked into Emilia’s
eyes as she tried forming the right words to say exactly what was on
her mind. That she was actually looking forward to seeing Rafael
again because he was the complete opposite of Brett. That she wanted
to see him again because she missed the attention. Craved it
actually.

She wanted anything
to make her feel beautiful again because heaven knows, she did not
feel like much at that moment. Brett had managed to break her. He had
managed to shatter her. Literally.

“
You
look like you have so many thoughts right now,” Emilia said
again and Amanda nodded.

“
I
do.”

“
Then
tell me. Let me know what is going on with you,” Emilia said as
she shifted her weight getting herself closer to Amanda. “I’m
here for you, you know.”

“
I
know.”

“
Then
talk to me.”

Amanda sighed.

“
When
Rafael asked me, it was not a struggle to say yes. I knew that I
wanted to see him again but I can’t tell you why.”

“
I
think that is perfectly normal,” Emilia pointed out and Amanda
shook her head.

“
Any
other time...any other situation and I would have considered it to be
okay but right now...” her voice trailed off and Emilia raised
an eyebrow over the other.

“
Right
now...what? What are you trying to tell me?”

Amanda bit her lower
lip and shrugged.

“
I’m
pregnant, Millie,” she finally said. She looked as Emilia‘s
eyes gradually grew wide. She could tell her friend was more
surprised than she was when she first found out that she was
expectant.

“
I’m
sorry. It sounded like you just said that you are pregnant,”
Emilia said, seeking clarification.

“
That’s
because that is exactly what I said,” Amanda said in a low
voice. “I am pregnant,” she said again.

There
was a long silence before Emilia finally spoke again, a clear sign
that her news caught her off guard.

“
Wow,”
Emilia said after what seemed like forever. “How long have you
known?”

“
A
few days. I found out just before I left New York.”

“
And
how long...I mean, how far along are you?” Emilia asked again
and Amanda shrugged.

“
I’m
not very sure. I mean I am late and everything but it’s not
like I ever went to the hospital or anything. I just took a few of
those home pregnancy tests and...yeah.”

“
You
must be stoked,” Emilia said excitedly but Amanda shook her
head.

“
I
won’t lie to you. I’m not so sure what I am feeling. I
mean, on the one hand I feel really excited to be carrying a life
inside me... I mean, I have always wanted to be a mother and
everything but this is not how I planned on doing it. I mean, I
always pictured that Brett would be there with me every step of the
way but now I'm doing it all alone.”

“
Come
on, Mandy, lots of women do the whole single parenthood thing and
they do pretty damn well too,” Emilia said and Amanda shook her
head.

“
You
are not getting it. I am not questioning whether I can do it, it is
whether I want to do it. That’s the big question here. I mean,
this is Brett’s child. The man who I thought I would spend the
rest of my life with.” She paused and clenched her fist so
tightly that her knuckles were white. “The man who cheated on
me.” She shook her head and bit her lower lip again. “I
seriously don’t know what I am supposed to do about this.”

“
You
said you have only known about this for a few days, right?”
Emilia asked and Amanda nodded. “You just need time to get used
to the idea. I know for a fact that most people don’t just
embrace motherhood as soon as it happens. It takes a while.”

“
Yeah,
so I’ve heard but at the same time, this is not just any baby,”
Amanda said in a soft voice. “This will be a living reminder of
all the shit Brett put me through. All those days I waited up for him
because he was working late and nights I spent alone because he was
out of town, working...” she shook her head. “This
baby...what if he or she is the spitting image of his father? What do
I do then?”

Emilia took Amanda’s
hand in hers and sighed.

“
When
I found out I was carrying Hope, I had the same problem. I kept on
wondering if I wanted a child that reminded me of years of abuse and
I even considered an abortion but by the time I got to the clinic,
all I could imagine was ‘what if that was my one chance’?”
Emilia smiled. “As I sat there, I stopped thinking of what had
been and began thinking of what could be and just like that I changed
my mind and you know that Hope means the world to me.”

Amanda
smiled. Hope was a darling. With her piercing blue green eyes and
brown hair that made her look almost the same as her father, Emilia’s
ex Harris. And just then, something hit her. What happened between
her and Brett might have been the worst thing that could have
happened but she was almost too sure that her mind would change when
she saw her baby. That was just it. It was not Brett’s baby.
They were no longer together. It would not be their baby. It would be
her baby. The one person who would always love her unconditionally.
She placed a hand on her tummy and without even realizing it, she was
smiling.

“
I
think someone’s changing her mind,” Emilia said.

“
I
guess. But I am still not sure about this though.”

“
I
know. It takes a while to get used to the idea.”

Amanda took a long
deep breath and shook her head.

“
I
don’t know what to do. I think it is still early and....”
her voice trailed off and Emilia gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

“
Give
yourself some time, okay? It doesn’t happen magically. I mean I
thought I was going to give up Hope for adoption...like, that was the
plan from the get go but when I saw her, all I could think was...I
made this. She is mine.”

Amanda nodded and
sighed again.

“
You
know, that’s not all. I don’t know whether I should tell
Rafael about it,” she said and Emilia shook her head.

“
Okay,
I’m a little confused. I thought he was just taking you around
town.”

“
He
did offer to and I don’t mind...but he also asked me out to
dinner and I really want to say yes.”

“
You
never cease to amaze me, you know that?” she asked and Amanda
shrugged.

*****

“
I
should have kissed her,”
Rafael
thought as he leaned back against the poolside chair. He had not gone
back into the party after bringing Amanda out there. He had not seen
the need to. As a matter of fact, he thought of going back into the
party like drinking orange juice after brushing teeth.

He looked at his now
empty glass and the half full pitcher of lemonade and a smile played
on his lips. That was the first time he had avoided drinking alcohol
at his own party. Well, granted, he’d had some cognac earlier
on but that was just it. He hadn’t had any more alcohol. Not
after he began speaking to Amanda.

She was
still on his mind. Everything about her. Her body, her perfect
curves, her curly hair...her sultry voice that made him want to take
her into his arms and just claim her over and over again until she
said his name. He could not think of anything else except for that.
The way her brown eyes seemed to glow innocently as he looked into
them or the way her full pink lips seemed to call out to him. As far
as he was concerned, she was everything. She was actually the reason
sex was created. He had never wanted anyone as much as he wanted
Amanda. It was not just that he wanted her in his bed. He wanted her,
period. He wanted everything about her. Her heart. Her body. Her
love. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. Her scent was still
lingering on him. It was different. Mild. Gentle, almost like she was
trying to be subtle.

Or perhaps that was
what she was doing. Being subtle.

He was
still lost in thought when he heard the sound of stiletto heels
against the concrete pavement. He opened his eyes and suddenly the
peace and tranquility he had been feeling drained off as he looked at
Isabella Benassi.

“
Well,
are you just going to look at me or are you going to offer me a
drink?” she asked and he forced out a smile. He stood up and
she took a step towards him and looked into his eyes. She slipped a
hand behind his neck and pulled him close to her, hugging him by
force.

“
Isabella,”
he started in a soft voice. “What are you doing here?”

“
Well,
last I heard this was a party,” she said, smiling. “Or
was the invite a big mistake?”

He bit
his lower lip and shrugged. He had forgotten that some of the people
in his contact list were just there by default. People like Isabella.
He could not help but notice how different Isabella was from Amanda.
She had layers upon layers of makeup and he could just tell that she
had clip ons in her hair. It was way too big...it actually reminded
him of a bad Kardashian makeup job. She had a shorter than short
dress and heels that seemed to be a little too high for comfort.

“
What
is it, Rafael? Cat got your tongue?” she asked and he smiled.

“
I
thought you were in Cancun.”

She sat down and
sighed.

“
I
was but when i got that email you sent about this party I was on the
first plane back. There was no way I was going to miss this.”
She looked around and smiled. “You really have outdone yourself
this time around, haven’t you?”