The Billionaire's Accidental Bride (6 page)

Chapter6

Back in Vegas, Jack couldn't keep his mind on work, on his social life, or on anything else. Night and day, all that was on his mind was Annaya. He felt terrible to be so far from her, although he made an effort to call her at least once a week and check up on her and the baby. She said she was doing fine and Jack was sure that everything was progressing alright with the pregnancy, but he worried far more about how she was coping on her own.

"You've been moping around for weeks, Jack," Lewis confronted him when they were having dinner one night in a members-only club. "What is going on?"

Jack looked around the expensive bar furtively and leaned in closer to Lewis. "Can you keep something to yourself?"

"Is it to do with that woman from the casino?"

"How did you guess?"

"You've been different ever since you've met her. I had a feeling you were still in touch with her. What is it? Has she threatened to go to the press with it? Is she blackmailing you? Demanding money?"

"No! Nothing like that."

"Then what is it?"

"She's pregnant."

"Pregnant? Jack, are you sure? I don't mean to be a cynic, but any girl's got a lot to gain from pretending to be carrying your child."

"She's not like that."

"How could you know? You barely know the woman."

"Trust me, Lewis. She's not after anything."

"Well, I hope you're right. Jesus, Jack. That's a bit of a problem. What are you going to do?"

"I'm still trying to figure it out."

"Is she going to keep it?"

"Yes."

"Wow. I bet your father's going to have something to say about that. I suppose you haven't told him?"

"Of course I haven't."

"He'll find out eventually, one way or another."

"I know."

"And you trust this girl to keep quiet?"

"I told you, Lewis. I trust her."

Lewis sat back in his chair and gave a casual shrug. "Then it's up to you to make the next move, Jack. You're going to have to come clean to your father and you'll probably have to arrange a public announcement for the press."

"I don't want the press getting hold of this."

"You know they will."

"I don't want to drag Annaya into all of that. It's bad enough that I've got her pregnant and she's a plane ride away. I can't stop thinking about how she's on her own over in California and how she's promised to keep her mouth shut. She won't even tell her parents that I'm the father."

"It's probably for the best until you've figured out how you're going to frame it."

"How can I frame it, Lewis? It is what it is. I drank too much and got a girl pregnant."

"You'll have to spin it differently for the press. Pretend that it's the culmination of a long-term love affair."

"Hmph."

"I don't know what to tell you, Jack. You'll have to face it sometime. People are going to find out."

Jack knew Lewis was right, but the thought of telling his father that he'd done something reckless again made Jack feel like a child and he'd much rather tell him at a time when he'd figured a few things out and could frame it in a better light.

After dinner, he said goodbye to Lewis and began to head out of the club. He was just walking towards the valet to hand over his keys when suddenly he heard his name being called and turned around to find a familiar woman waving at him.

It was Hannah. She was as beautiful as ever, but it had been a while since Jack had seen her in the cold light of day. The slim blonde was wearing a soft pink cashmere sweater and a short black skirt. She looked every bit the Stepford wife, but Jack knew better than to be deceived by appearances. He knew with just a few shots in her, Hannah would be dancing on the tables and telling the press all her dirty secrets. Jack let out a little groan when he realized who was calling him and impatiently waited for her to catch up. She greeted him by throwing her arms around his neck with a little squeal.

"Jack! Darling! It's been too long! Where have you been?"

"Oh, you know, around."

"I've been trying to get a hold of you for weeks. In fact, I was telling Sophie just the other day about how I needed to have a good old catch up with Jack. When are you free, darling? We should get some drinks."

"I'm not really into all that anymore, Hannah."

"Nonsense! We used to have such fun! Do you remember?"

Jack pulled a face. The last night out he'd had with Hannah had ended in disaster when one of the young men they'd been driving with had been pulled over for drunk driving and the papers had broadcast the dangerous activities of Vegas' young and wealthy. His father had been furious at him for having been involved in the scandal. Things had only been made worse by Hannah's eagerness to provide a quote for the paper and all because she loved being at the center of attention of a group of journalists.

It was her big mouth that had tied Jack's name to the incident and he'd made an effort to stay away from both her and the others since that night in an effort to clear up his act and prove to his father that he was worthy of inheriting the family business.

"Don't be a bore, Jack. Let's meet up sometime."

"Really, Hannah, I don't think it's a good idea. I'm working towards taking over the casinos. I really need to focus on my work right now."

Hannah's eyes lit up at the mention of his inheritance and she moved her body closer to him suggestively. "What a big responsibility that must be. I'd love to hear all about it sometime. I'll call you."

A valet appeared at that moment with Hannah's car and the manipulative blonde drove away. Jack rolled his eyes. He knew just why Hannah was so interested in talking to him again. It had been all over the business reports that her father's own company had suffered a monumental loss in recent months after a huge contract fell through and that her family's funds were in danger.

She was looking to latch onto a wealthy partner to keep her in the lifestyle to which she was accustomed and, as a former flame, Jack was naturally her first choice. In his younger days, Jack might have fallen for her charms, but he'd had enough women attaching themselves to him for his bank account; by now that he'd learned to sense a gold-digger and Hannah was more than that. She was a gold-digger
and
an attention seeker – a lethal mix to a young billionaire in the public eye. Hannah was one thing: trouble.

*****

It seemed crazy to Annaya that she could miss Jack after having spent so little time with him, but she certainly missed the way he made her feel. As she went about her daily life in his absence, her thoughts kept drifting back to that dance they'd shared. For some reason, that moment of sweet intimacy between them stuck out in her mind far more than the night they'd made love.

She'd felt safe with him then, and special, like a princess when everyone saw her in the arms of the most handsome man in the world. Every time that she looked at Jack, Annaya felt her heart lift and without him around, nothing else seemed quite as exciting. She looked forward with great anticipation to Friday nights when he would call her and ask her how she was doing and if everything was alright with the baby.

At first, the calls had been short and formal, with him simply asking whether there was anything she needed and asking for reminders for the next important date in the pregnancy. But as the weeks passed, the phone calls became friendlier, and Annaya began to ask how
he
was.

At first, he'd chuckled at her attempts to engage him in chit-chat, but slowly, he began to call prepared for her onslaught of questions and enjoyed the chance to offload on somebody who seemed to enjoy listening to him talk about his work and what he'd been up to with Lewis.

Annaya could feel him relaxing during their conversations and started to feel like they were really getting to know each other, which made her glad, because her worst fear was that he'd leave her alone to raise their child at a time when everyone around her already had enough on their plates with starting their own lives.

It was a little easier when one day, Annaya had Natalie over for coffee and her best friend had some great news.

“Daniel and I have been trying since the wedding, and I'm pregnant!"

"Really?" Annaya gasped. "Natalie, that's
fantastic
news!"

Annaya threw her arms around her friend and felt a huge wave of relief well up within her. Natalie wasn't a boyfriend or husband, but she would be someone who knew what she was going through and Annaya found her advice invaluable in the weeks that followed.

Where Annaya had kind of just let the pregnancy go along in its own manner, Natalie was forever reading books and doing internet research on how to keep the baby healthy and what kinds of diet to eat. Natalie knew week by week how big the baby would be by hen and at what stage the baby would develop fingers and toes or a smile.

Annaya was glad to have someone around her who knew what she was doing, but she always felt that familiar pang of longing whenever Daniel joined in the conversation.Annaya wished that she had a partner with her too. It was great to talk to Jack on the phone, but really, she longed for him to be with her in person, on-call when she needed him.

She knew that he was just on the other end of the line, but she didn't quite feel like they were close enough yet for her to feel it was OK to just call him out-of-the-blue. They had their Friday night chats and she had to be content with that.

The next time she saw him in person was four weeks after Natalie's wedding, for the first scan. She went to pick him up at the airport, after insisting that he didn't have to waste money on a company car when she was able to drive him. He'd laughed at that, reminding her that money was not really an issue, but Annaya had told him that their child was going to learn the value of money and that budgeting was an important part of real life.

"Real life, huh?" Jack had laughed. "What does that make this?"

"It still feels like a dream to me."

The third time Annaya had seen Jack on her home ground in Bakersfield  felt different to the two times before, due to the conversations they'd had on the phone and the feeling that they knew each other just a little better now.

Jack rested his hand on the back of her headrest as she drove and Annaya felt her heart beating faster, once again having his body so close to hers. It felt strange to have him in her car, like a fantasy had come to life and entered the real world.

Even now, Annaya couldn't help but put Jack on a pedestal. He was just incredible in every way: handsome, intelligent, and wealthy. It made it hard for any hot-blooded woman to keep her cool in his presence, but she and Jack had discussed the fact that they needed to find a way to keep their hands off each other as the pregnancy progressed.

They were going to be parents soon and had to stop acting like horny teens if there was no chance it would turn into something more serious. That seemed unlikely as long as Jack was putting his father's reputation before any romantic potential between them.

Annaya pulled up at the hospital and took a moment to breathe before stepping out of the car. She was a mess of nerves, knowing that as soon as she saw the shadow on the ultrasound screen that all of this would become even more real.

"Are you alright?" Jack asked her.

"We're about to see our baby."

Jack smiled. "It's pretty amazing, isn't it?"

"You think? Are you excited for the baby, Jack?"

The billionaire paused for a moment to consider her question and then a little smile crept onto his face and he nodded. "You know, I actually am. I didn't expect to be, but now that it's happened, I think I'd enjoy having a son or a daughter. Someone to follow in my footsteps."

Annaya laughed. "Hopefully our child will have more sense than us."

"We're not so bad."

The two smiled at each other and Jack stepped out of the car. He came around to the driver's side, pulled the door open and held out a hand to Annaya to encourage her to step out. "Come on, Annie. It's going to be alright."

Annaya's heart gave another little flutter when he called her “Annie.”  Nobody had ever shortened her name before or had a nickname for her, but she loved that Jack had said it. It made her feel like they were closer than they realized. It felt special that he called her something that nobody else did, even if it was just ‘”Annie” and not “darling” or “sweetheart” or any other term of endearment that most mothers would expect from the fathers of their children.

She took his hand. It was amazing how every time she took his hand, she felt like she was taking hold of a lifeline, like he was anchoring her and making her feel safe. She wished that she could hold onto his hand forever. She stepped out of the car and Jack put his arm around her as they headed towards the hospital.

Once inside, she headed to the maternity ward and to the room where the ultrasound would take place. It was a small, clinical room with a waxy examination table in the middle of the room, a lime green curtain on a rail and the ultrasound machine in the corner. Annaya was instructed to lie on the examination table and lift up the bed. She did as she was told and self-consciously ran her hand over her stomach as the redheaded nurse began to apply a cool gel to the scanner. Annaya wasn't showing yet and her stomach was as smooth and flat as the night she and Jack had first met.