An Heir At Any Price: The Billionaire's Obsession - Contemporary Romance (18 page)

I hadn’t really thought about it like
that before, but she was right. He was fond of showing the world
that he didn’t need any of us. He tolerated us because he had to
but he was essentially an island that the rest of us occasionally
floated by but were never allowed to moor to.

Mother and I had a great time together
that day and I hoped it was just one of many new memories to come.
Soon I would have a child, and mother a grandchild to make new
memories with. I was at the point where I really couldn’t wait. I
smiled every time I thought about holding my own baby in my arms.
It was strange, because I’d never really had strong maternal
desires before. When I was growing up, I played with dolls and
assumed someday I would be a mother, but after I got into high
school, that desire had all but gone away. I’m sure it had
something to do with taking care of my mother, and a lot to do with
having my own flesh and blood growing inside of me. I guess
sometimes biology does change everything.

After my mother’s discharge, she
attended AA meetings every day and when I came home from work, she
would have the housework done and dinner on the table. I knew she
was trying to make up for lost time, and it made her feel good, so
I let her. We kept her house in the city, the one I’d grown up in
and my father had sweated to pay for and fix up, but for now we
were content to be together and rediscover each other. The
difference in her now and six months ago was amazing and I had to
thank God for putting Aiden in my life, if only for the money he
paid me that paid for my mother’s rehab. Although I really did hope
that he’d send me an accounting of what I owed him. If he didn’t I
would send him a little each week anyways. I didn’t want him to
have another opportunity to accuse me of being after his
money.

Mom was also helping me fix up the
baby’s room. Neither of us had much money these days, so on the
weekends, we would hit as many yard sales and flea markets as we
could find. We had furnished the entire room that way and also
found some other really amazing things like a high chair and a car
seat, all almost brand new. I was getting more and more confident
about being a single mother, especially with my own mother by my
side.

Rose and Myra threw me a surprise baby
shower at Tagus. Frank and a few of the waitresses I worked with
there had been in on it and I ended up with a lot of nice things
for the baby. I wasn’t even fully five months along yet and I had
all the essentials. I needed to remember to count my blessings
indeed. The best part was the closer it got to my due date, the
more excited I became. I was in love with the baby now and I was
feeling guilty and wondering how I could have ever agreed to walk
away. The day that I got to see the baby on the ultrasound I was
astounded that I could create something so beautiful and so
perfect. I had the little picture under a magnet on my refrigerator
and every time I looked at it, I smiled.

I regretted taking the baby completely
out of Aiden’s life. I would have much preferred that at the very
least, we co-parented the child from different homes. A child needs
its father, and Aiden had a right to know them. But, I knew that if
I told him about the baby he would want to fight me for custody.
He’d want to talk about the “contract.” I hated that contract and
I’d like to rip it to shreds.

I was brought out of my thoughts by
two of my most adorable regulars, Mr. and Mrs. Wilson. He was
waving me over and she was staring at my belly again. They’d never
had children of their own and I don’t know the circumstances of
that, but every time I saw her she wanted to touch my
belly.

I went over to see what he needed and
when I got close enough, Mr. Wilson said, “Is the breakfast steak
tender?” I suppressed a smile. This couple came in every day for
the month and a half that I’d been working at Tagus Ranch and asked
me the same questions every day. He told me that his false teeth
didn’t “stick so well” so he had trouble chewing things that
weren’t tender. I told him that they were very tender the first
time he’d asked. He’d ordered it that day and raved about how good
it was. Since then, he’d ordered the same thing every day and asked
me the same question every day.

“Yes Mr. Wilson, it’s very
tender.”

“I’ll take that then,” he
said.

“And what can I get for you Mrs.
Wilson?” I waited for it and she didn’t disappoint.

“Is your melon fresh?”

“Yes ma’am, Frank goes over to the
Farmer’s Market every morning.” The same thing I told her every
day.

“Okay,” she said with a satisfied
smile. “I’ll take the cottage cheese and fruit plate
then.”

“Marvelous choices,” I told them. As I
gathered the menus Mrs. Wilson touched my apron clad belly. She
rubbed her paper-thin hand across it.

“When is the baby due, honey?” she
asked. It was another question she asked every time.

“He’s due in about four months,” I
told her.

“Oh, it’s a he?”

“Yes ma’am. At least that’s what they
tell me. I hope they’re right or all of that blue in the nursery
was money down the drain.”

She laughed and said, “I think you’ll
make a wonderful mother dear,” she said. I thanked her and went to
put their order in. I stood with my back to the counter for a
minute and stretched. My back had begun to ache after a few shifts
in a row. My feet were also swollen and sometimes my hands. But,
for the most part I felt good, and excited for the future. My new
doctor said all was well with me and the baby. The aches and pains
were normal growing pains considering I spent a lot of time on my
feet.

“You really shouldn’t be working in
your condition, should you?” The voice was a familiar one and I had
chills down my spine before I turned around and looked up into
Aiden’s intense and somewhat accusing gaze.

Chapter Sixteen

~

I could feel the heat from his gaze.
His eyes slipped down to my swollen belly and for a flash of a
second his expression changed. It was…charmed, like he at least
appreciated the way I looked pregnant, if not the fact that I
didn’t tell him. I wasn’t surprised that he was there; I knew he
would find me eventually.

“Hi Aiden,” I said, for lack of a
better opener.

“Hi? That’s what you have to say for
yourself?” My hands were shaking and I was starting to feel a
little light headed. He looked so angry. I reached forward and held
onto the counter just as Frank came out of the back. He looked from
Aiden to me.

“Holly, is everything
okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine Frank. I’m getting
back to work right now. I’m sorry.” I started to move and suddenly
felt off balance. I had to reach for the wall this time to keep
from hitting the floor.

“You don’t look fine, Holly. You’ve
worked here for almost two months and you haven’t been so much as a
minute late ever. Take the rest of the day off. Get some rest. You
look like you need it.” Then he looked back at Aiden and in a
protective, father-figure voice he said, “If there’s anything else
you need me to do…”

“No, Frank. It’s really okay. I’ll
take you up on the time off this afternoon though if you really
don’t mind. Thank you. I think the lunch rush is pretty much over
now. The other girls should be able to handle it.”

“No problem. If you need to call off
tomorrow just let me know, okay?”

“I will, thanks.” Frank was as nice to
work for as Joe. I looked at Aiden then who hadn’t moved or spoken
and I said, “Give me a second to get my purse.” He maintained eye
contact but he didn’t as much as flinch. I tore my own eyes away
and went to get my purse. When I reached into my locker I felt
dizzy. I laid my head against the cool metal door. Frank appeared
again.

“Holly, is that guy bothering
you?”

“No, he’s upset with me, but he has
good reason. He won’t hurt me though, not physically.”

“Okay, I just had to be sure. It’s
hard for me to imagine that you would do anything to make anyone
angry.”

I smiled and said, “Thank you, it’s
nice to be looked after. And believe me, I have my moments.” I got
my purse and as bad as I didn’t want to, I headed back out
front.

Aiden was still standing in the exact
spot where I had left him. He still had that smoldering look in his
eyes as well. I found myself once again wishing that he wasn’t so
damned good looking.

“Do you want to go get some coffee
down the street?” I asked him. “We can talk there.”

“Sure Holly,” he said, looking down at
my belly again. “It looks like we have a lot to talk
about.”

I led him out of the restaurant and
down the street to a little coffee shop that had some nice bistro
tables out front where we could have a private conversation, but
not private enough that our emotions could get too out of control.
I looked at Aiden’s face and hoped anyways. Our walk was quiet and
uncomfortable. Neither of us looking forward to the confrontation,
I think.

We got our coffees and Aiden looked
satisfied when I ordered mine decaf. We took them and had a seat at
one of the tables outside. Aiden’s silence was beginning to make me
really uncomfortable. I wondered if he was plotting my demise…that
was a joke, I think.

Once we were seated I decided to break
the ice.

“Aiden, I’m sorry that I didn’t tell
you I was pregnant…” He stopped me there by holding up his palm. It
was the rudest gesture, but I suppose since I quit talking it had
its desired effect. He reached into the little briefcase he was
carrying and pulled out a pile of paperwork. He tossed the papers
onto the table in front of me. All it took was a glance for me to
recognize them as our “contract.”

“You remember these papers?” he
said.

“Of course,” I told him.

“Oh, because I thought perhaps you’d
forgotten that you signed a legal document that said when that
child is born you’re to hand it over to me and disappear. This
contract expressly states that child you’re carrying is mine, and
mine alone. You didn’t not only fail to tell me you were pregnant,
you lied right to my face. I never would have pegged you for a
liar, Holly…obviously.”

“I’m not a liar, usually,” I said, not
intimidated. “But you’re right, I did lie in this case, and I
shouldn’t have. I just decided that I wasn’t capable of leaving a
child in the hands of someone so emotionally damaged.” I was trying
to keep a stiff upper lip. I wasn’t scared or intimidated, but I
was shocked at how cold he could be.

He smiled, but it wasn’t humor I saw
in his eyes, “You find me emotionally damaged? Perhaps I am, but I
would have to give the credit for that to women like you. And by
the way, you are more naïve than I thought if you think you can
just change your mind and walk away from a legal commitment. Did
you not realize this was a legally binding contract?”

“I’m sure that you’re not going to
allow me to just walk away, Aiden, but I’m prepared to fight for my
child. I will go to court and do that. I made a mistake when I
agreed to give him over to you, and I’m sorry my mistake hurt you.
But I’m not going to sacrifice him to keep from hurting
you.”

“Him?” he said, I wasn’t certain, but
it seemed like his eyes may have softened just a touch. “Do you
just call it that, or do you know for sure?”

“Yes, it’s a boy,” I told
him.

He almost smiled…almost. Then he
remembered again why we were here.

“So, you want a court battle that
could drag on for years? Are you financially prepared for that,
Holly? Unless you have some big money socked away that I’m not
aware of, I don’t think you are. It would ruin you, probably after
the first two or three rounds.”

He sounded so arrogant. He was making
it all about money again. If it wasn’t business, it was money. Did
he have any human emotions left at all? I was angry now.

“I will do whatever I need to do for
my child.”

With gritted teeth he said, “So will
I, but you forget that it’s my child. I have that in
writing.”

My head was pounding and I knew that
we were getting nowhere.

“Aiden, I’m not feeling very well. Can
we do this later?”

“How much later?” he asked. I could
tell he was torn between saying no, that we needed to finish this
now, and being worried about the baby. I guess he is human after
all.

“How about you come to dinner at my
apartment tonight, around seven?”