The Billionaire's Baby (The Romero Brothers, Book 5) (11 page)

Amber moved the
door open and the entrance was dim. She made her way on the marble stone floor
towards the living room. That was often the place where everyone gathered before
dinner. She frowned at not seeing any signs of life in the residence.

She reached into
her bag to call Jules but stopped. Curiosity got the best of her. She walked
into the study. “Hello. Anybody here?”

She only heard
the echo of her voice. Was she dreaming? What was going on?

She turned around
and then saw a light flash over by the study. How odd that nobody was around.
The entire family was to be gathered for dinner shortly. Then she saw Jules
come in from the study.

“Jules. W-what’s
going on? What are you doing in the study? I thought you dropped me off and
went to get something.” Was she losing her ever-loving mind? If she didn’t know
any better she would have thought she was hallucinating. Oh, boy! She really
needed to see a therapist.

“I did, baby,” he
said, wrapping his arms around her waist and bending down to kiss her forehead.
He was ever so tall. She was often mesmerized by his height—that Romero
height, all of his brothers were over six feet two inches-and his lean, fit
muscular
frame
.
 
“I parked outside and used the garden
entrance to get inside,” he said, his cheeks dimpled as he gave her that sweet
boyish grin she adored.

“B-but why?”

“Come here, I
have something to show you.”

He gently led her
into the dark study where the lights were off. When he flicked on the light
switch, she almost jolted with joy.

“Surprise!!!!” everyone
called out. Balloons floated from the air and everyone clapped.

She read the huge
banner overhead. “It’s A Baby Shower!”

“I’m sorry, hon.
I really wanted to tell you but I thought I would surprise you.”

“Oh, Jules. I…I
don’t know what to say,” she laughed hysterically. “This is…
.oh
,
my goodness!” Her voice was overcome with emotion.

Amber figured
Jules knew she was worried about not having enough for the baby and not knowing
what to buy for her first child. And look at how he responded. She had confided
to him once that she never got a chance to have little girl parties or birthday
parties growing up, which was all too sad.

Once her mother
held a party for her and none of the kids in the neighbourhood ended up
attending. It was the lowest point of her life at that time. She had told Jules
that
one day
and he felt her pain. He kissed her and
told her that would never happen again. Ever. From that day in her childhood
she vowed she would never invite anyone to her party because she didn’t want
the embarrassment of nobody showing up again, even for a good reason.

But here, here
she was surrounded by good friends and family
. Venus, her
friend, walked over to her and gave her a compassionate hug. “Congratulations,
Amber. You didn’t think we would let you have a baby without a shower, did
you?”

Amber was almost
moved to tears and fought her emotions not to burst into a sobbing river. The
last thing she wanted would be to tear up at what should be one of the most
joyous occasions in celebrating her new baby—even if they were tears of
joy.

Oh, Jules.

She looked up at
him again with warmth in her heart and appreciation in her smile. Her heart
fluttered inside her chest. She was overcome with unbridled excitement and
love. So this was what it felt like to come from a large, close-knit family
with tons of support.

She looked around
and thanked everybody. She saw Antonio with his wife Lucy, Lucas with his wife
Maxine, Zack and Blue and Carl and Venus, Toni and Shelly, Pamela, the family’s
press secretary who was more like family, Dion and Troy, Jules’s other
brothers. She noticed Dr. Alonso was absent. He was probably overseas again
since he had opened new clinics in Haiti. Oh, what a family!

Amber walked into
the study with wonder, like that proverbial kid in a candy store as everyone
greeted her. Over near the fireplace, some beautiful children, Jules’s nieces
and nephews, were playing with toys.

And speaking of
toys, there was a table near the fireplace that was brimming in Disney-designed
gift bags tied with beautiful large red, blue and pink shiny bows. She saw
boxes with baby clothes, diaper genies, newborn diapers, and even gorgeous
looking designer maternity clothes laid flat on the grand table, adorned with metallic
bows. Not to mention the festive helium balloons everywhere.

Amber covered her
mouth with her hands, in awe, overcome with emotion.

“Oh, come now.
That’s okay,” Toni said, hobbling towards her with his cane. He reached over to
her and patted her back. “You deserve this, my dear. It’s just our little gift
to you and your baby. You’re family now.”

“
Th
-thank you. Thank you so much, I…I don’t know what to
say.”

“You shouldn’t
have to say anything,” Shelly said with compassion in her voice and her smile. “You’ve
done so much for everybody else, especially Carl and Venus, whose idea this was,
and it’s okay to get some of that back.”

Oh, how wonderful
of them to say. They made Amber feel as if she wasn’t a mere charity case, but
a friend. She wished in her heart she
was
enjoying this
shower as Jules’s fiancée, or better yet, his wife! But she had to remember
that it was she who didn’t want to get physically close to Jules in the past
and well, Jules wasn’t ready to get serious then, or emotionally close.

“You know, I
thought you were having one of your family dinners,” she said, looking at Jules
with a mock scowl as she placed her hands on her hips.

Amber had already
dined with the Romeros at their “big” family dinner not long ago, so she was
surprised that the Romero clan was meeting up again so soon. Now she knew why.

“It’s the truth,
right, Gramps?”

“That’s right.
We’ll be having dinner in the dining room after we play a few games.”

“A few games?”
she mouthed, totally taken aback.

“Oh, you didn’t
think I would arrange this baby shower without all the fun, did you?” Shelly
beamed. “Come here, Queen Mom, you sit right here on the Mommy Throne.” Shelly
lovingly guided Amber to a comfortable plush seat that was reminiscent of French
provincial furniture that happened to be decorated with beautiful pink and
pinker, if possible, ribbons and a few balloons.

Amber gushed.

“Oh, you guys are
so amazing. Thank you. You really didn’t have to do all this.”

“Nonsense. That’s
how we do things. In style,” Toni added.

Jules watched Amber
and it seemed as if he couldn’t keep his eyes off her. He seemed genuinely thrilled
that she was happy. A warm smile relaxed his handsome face. He stood by Amber with
his arms crossed over his chest feeling a great sense of satisfaction.

They ended up
playing a few fun games as part of the “Jack and Jill” baby shower where a few
of the men took part, but mostly the women, Shelly, Lucy, Maxine, Blue and
Venus along with Pamela, were involved. The room echoed with laughter, music
and chatter. Most of the time, Jules was by Amber’s side, sticking closer to
her than Velcro.
Hugging her and rubbing her arm tenderly.
She felt a close connection with him. It was the perfect way to spend her
evening.
 
If only they were getting
married. If only she was his wife but she wouldn’t raise the issue. She was
grateful to have his company and his affection.

“Thank you so
much. The dinner was delicious,” Amber commented to Toni after the baby shower
and dinner, rubbing her belly as she sat beside the stone fireplace in the
grand family room. The “room” looked more like the size of a luxury hotel
lobby. It was her second massive family gathering and she enjoyed it very much.
She was beginning to feel more comfortable around the entire Romero clan.

No matter how
many times she visited, she was always intrigued with the place. The Romero
Manor was impressive in its grandeur. It was 16,000-square-feet of modern
luxury with four separate wings or quarters and that ginormous diamond-inspired
chandelier mounted on the cathedral ceiling was impressive to the eyes of mere
mortals.

“Thank you, Amber.
As I mentioned at the last family gathering, we try to get together as often as
we can for a good old-fashioned family dinner. Just like in the old days when
dinner meant being seated around a table with a four-course, home-prepared
meal, not on the couch in front of a TV by yourself with something you shoved
in the microwave in a tray,” Toni said, shaking his head and rolling his eyes.
“Things are different these days, you know.”

“Oh, I agree with
you there, Toni.”

The Romeros were
lucky, even though they often did things for
themselves,
they still had a palace-size kitchen and culinary staff to prepare delectable dinners
when a dozen people would be guests.

 
They enjoyed a deliciously prepared meal
of honey ginger chicken served with
locally-grown
garden
vegetables that included baby spinach. The meal was perfect for Amber since it
helped curb her nausea. The baked chicken was seasoned with honey, lemon and
ginger.
 
She also
savored
the taste of creamy yogurt spread, one of her
favorite
cravings.

Jules remembered.

Amber noticed he
had kept up with her requirements for the baby and her desires in the types of
healthy foods she ate. She knew it was no coincidence that everything at the
shower had been just as she wanted. That darn smart fridge also let on to Jules
what she liked and didn’t like, since she input the data from her digital grocery
shopping wish list. Amber smiled to herself at the thought.
 
The table was adorned with sweet-tasting
fruit salads containing strawberries, kiwis, bananas, apples,
blueberries, raspberries, grapes and peaches, all perfect because she really
needed to keep up with her four to six cups of fruit servings a day for the
baby’s sake, especially.

This was optimal
for Amber since she was still experiencing nausea this far into her pregnancy.
Some women were freed of morning sickness early on but she was one of the few
where it looked as if it would last throughout her pregnancy. Did Jules and the
Romeros think of everything?

Amber swore she
didn’t want a man in her life but she was beginning to rethink having Jules in it.

The Romero family
was extremely thoughtful as well as observant. They were very much in tune with
a person’s needs it seemed. Especially close friends and family. Amber wondered
what Christmas would be like around the estate. Particularly with the growing
family tree and jolly old Grandpa Romero. Family gatherings were amazing at the
estate. She’d never seen so much laughter and joy in one room before with so
many people close to each other and loving each other and basking in the
moment. Just being cool with each other. They made her feel so welcomed and a
part of their family. Amber felt so at ease and comfortable around them.
Especially being in her sensitive condition where her emotions were often all
over the place. She was feeling happier these days and she had her beautiful
baby growing inside her to thank for that. Well, she had Jules and his
wonderful family to thank for that, too.

“Thank you so much, Jules,” Amber said,
leaning into his chest as he wrapped his arms around her from behind. They
stood embracing on the Romero family’s yacht, named the
Janissa
after Jules’s late mother.

“For what?” he said in a husky voice as he
cradled her. Amber could feel the warmth of his breath as he softly kissed her
neck then her shoulder. His touch shivered through her spine causing a pleasant
tingling sensation.

The soothing sound of the lake’s water
whooshing against the boat was calming to her nerves. Oddly enough, she didn’t
even feel tired. Maybe it was the adrenaline rush of the amazing day that got
her buzzed.

The late afternoon sky was a calming shade
of blue as it morphed into early evening.

“You know what I mean,” she teased him.
“Hmm, that feels good.”

“So do you,” he murmured.

“I really appreciate the party, Jules.”
Part of her was brimming with joy inside and another part was filled with
sadness over the fact that when the baby arrived, what would become of Jules
and Amber? Was he being nice to her because she was pregnant and alone? Did
they even have a future together? She would be heartbroken to lose all of Jules
should he decide to marry someone else in the future once they parted ways.

“What’s on your mind?” He stroked her arm
sensuously.

Waves of desire washed through Amber’s veins
from his gentle caress. She could feel the sexual magnetism between them. It
was empowering, undeniable. Her nipples tightened under the fabric of her black
Dolly dress. Yet, there was something amiss. Should she ask him? Should she
risk ruining the moment and ask him where they stood as to the future? Could
they ever become a couple—again?
This time, obviously,
an intimate couple.