The Billionaire's Baby (The Romero Brothers, Book 5) (2 page)

 
How lucky his brothers were to have found
“the one.” The question was, would Jules ever find “the one” before it was too
late?

Just then, the
door swung open. “Hi, Jules, it’s time for your session today. Is now a good
time for you?” the shy physiotherapist queried as she entered the room. Beside
her was the occupational therapist. They’d come to see how he was doing and to
help him to manage himself in his day-to-day activities as part of his
discharge plan.

 
“Sure,” Jules said.

“We’ll be out in
the hallway, okay, bro?” Dion said for his brothers as the men proceeded to
give him space.

“Sure, no probs.
Granddad, you don’t have to leave.”

“Nonsense, you do
what you have to do. Shelly and I will be outside in the waiting area.” His
grandfather had his young wife, wife number five, on his arm as he made his way
out of the room. Shelly was great and she was also a nurse, so she had been
extra supportive when all this happened.

“It’s nice to
have a big family like that,” Deana, the OT, told him.

“Yeah, when
they’re not a big pain in the butt,” he joked, and he shifted himself on the
side of the bed, the way they had showed him earlier.

“Good, Jules.
You’re doing well.”

Jules appreciated
Deana cheering him on. But he wasn’t used to this one bit. He was strong,
independent and could bench press two hundred pounds of iron weights with
little effort. Heck, why was he feeling like such a dead weight? Man, being
unwell didn’t suit him a darn. He would do everything in his power to never end
up like that again. Still, he would also never take anything again for granted
thinking he was invincible. He should have taken his time on the slopes.
Even if it was for a good cause.
He was showing off his sports
prowess a bit if he was honest with himself. Well, that would teach him.

After his
session, Jules sat in a chair alone in his hospital room. Dr.
Adeem
entered and commented, “You’re a healthy man, Jules. Healthy
and wealthy.”

“Excuse me?”
Jules could not believe his ears.

“I’m not
referring to being wealthy, money wise, Jules. I’m talking about your family.”

“What do you mean
by that?”

“Well, I’ve had
patients before who have a lot of money but no visitors, outside of maybe the
help.”

“Oh?”

“Well, they were
very lonely, Jules. Don’t take it for
granted,
those
nice guys are surrounding you with positive energy and lots of love. I find in
my practice having an abundance of love and support can make a difference. More
often than not.”

“I hear you.”

“There are
patients I’ve had in the past who have told me they would trade all the money
in the world they possessed to have someone visit them in hospital as they sat
there alone with no one to care about them. If you have family and close
friends who love you and support you—count yourself richly blessed.” Dr.
Adeem
smiled. He looked young in the face but his graying
hair revealed his age—and wisdom.

“You don’t have
to tell me twice.”

Dr.
Adeem
smiled but Jules knew what else was coming. “Now, as
I spoke to you before, there were some complications as a result of your
injuries.”

“I know.”

“Have you done
anything to…?”

“Listen, I
haven’t spoken to my family about my…situation so I would appreciate it if you didn’t
say anything.”

“I’d never do
that, Jules. Even though your brother and I have worked together, it would be a
breach of patient-doctor confidentiality.”

“Thanks.” Jules
fought to swallow that gelatinous lump stuck in his throat. “So you’re saying I
may not ever have kids because of my…injury from the accident?”

“Well, not quite.
But it could be risky. We’ll do the surgery I spoke to you about as an
outpatient but the chances are fifty-fifty of it being successful. You know,
having biological children is only one way to be a parent if you ever want to-”

“I know,” Jules
cut him off, and emotion subsequently climbed in his throat. He came across
more curt
than he intended. But he was a true Romero. Romero
men didn’t do weakness and all that other stuff.

His mind ran on
Lucas and Maxine and their cute daughter Mary-Louise and his cousin Antonio’s
son Alexander and how they were adding to the branches of the family tree.

The
family tree.

The
Romero bloodline.

Jules felt a
sudden onset of nausea. Damn, he never cared about having kids before. Heck,
marriage wasn’t ever on his mind before. But just knowing now that there was a
possibility that he may never even have that choice tore a hole in his gut.

How could a woman
want to be with him if he couldn’t give her—an heir, a child?

No. Don’t jump the gun, Jules. Doc didn’t write you
off just yet. You’re not out till the end. And it’s nowhere near the end.

“Jules, I know it
may be hard now but the best thing to do for your full recovery is to get back
to life. You don’t want to sink yourself into a depressive state. Not that you
would, but as I tell all my patients, it’s best to focus on things that bring
us contentment.”

Jules drew in a
deep breath. “Right. I know what I have to do, doc.”

“And what is
that?”

“Oh, don’t worry.
When I’m good and ready, I will have kids.” Jules didn’t know how it was going
to happen but Romero men never accepted defeat. Ever. Where there’s a Romero,
there’s a way. Period. “So when can we schedule this…surgery?”

“Well, it can be
done in a few weeks. I’ll talk with imaging first. We need to do another
ultrasound. Then we’ll get you to see a reproductive urologist.”

“Great!” Jules sounded
braver than before. “We need to get this thing done fast. I have a big deal
coming up.”

“Oh?”

“Well, you just
said I need to get back to living my life and work is my life. You’ve heard
about the privatisation of the Mayberry Hill Family Center.”

“Yes.”

“Well, I’ll be
putting in a bid, so the sooner I recover the better.”

“You boys sure
have your hands full running a whole lot of companies. I don’t know how you and
your family keep up.” Dr.
Adeem
gave Jules a supportive
smile. “I’ll get the tests booked immediately.”

Six months later…

“I can’t believe
you’re back!” Amber Johnson-Murray announced to her elderly customer as she set
a plate of scrambled eggs, toast and slices of bacon in front of her. “It’s good
to see you up and about again, Mrs. Van
Hogen
. Here’s
your order. Just the way you’ve always liked it. Eggs scrambled and fluffy, two
slices of well-done bacon and lightly buttered toast. And it’s on me.”

Amber got a
sudden boost of energy despite feeling nauseated all morning. And in fact, it
was her first day back at work since she’d been off sick. Her belly knotted up
in nerves. She drew in a deep breath. She was well aware of the stares from some
of the other patrons. Her midsection had almost doubled in size from the last
time she was there.

Some of the
regulars at the café knew she’d broken up with her ex six months ago. He’d made
a nasty scene at the café that day. The look of pity on their faces didn’t do
much to make Amber feel any better. Yeah, he was out of the picture and she was
now six-months pregnant. She was going to fight to raise her child—alone.

Mrs. Van
Hogen
turned to face Amber with a glow on her face. The
aged woman’s silver short-cropped hair glistened in the early morning sun as
she sat in her
favorite
seat by the window of the Murray
Café.

“Why, thank you,
Amber! That’s so kind of you. And it’s so good to be out and about again. Six
months is a long time to be housebound after my hip surgery,” she said with a
wide smile, patting her right hip, her walker by her side. “But this new hip will
get me back in action.”

Amber smiled and
tilted her head. Her customers made her day. Most of the diners were older and
had been going there over the years. Just listening to them talk about their
lives and families and bringing in wonderful stories warmed Amber’s heart and
gave her new appreciation for taking it slow.

The Murray Café
wasn’t making a profit. It was breaking even after paying the wonderful staff
and ensuring they had the best home-cooked meals to give the locals. The cafe was
just barely making it. It was a family-owned business that felt the effects of
popular chain-store coffee shops opening up in the area over the years.

That was one of
the reasons Amber worked two jobs at one point. The other job was at the
Murumbian
Embassy before she got fired for helping her
friend Venus, who was in some serious trouble. But Amber was glad to be back at
the café full-time. Sometimes money wasn’t everything.

Mrs. Van
Hogen
was one of the original customers of the café since
Amber’s parents first opened it. Her eyes then drifted to Amber’s enormous midsection.

“I see you’ve been
quite busy yourself lately,” Mrs. Van
Hogen
commented,
looking at Amber’s baby bump. “I didn’t know you got married. Congratulations.”
The woman’s voice was full of animation.

“Oh, I…didn’t,”
Amber
said, rubbing the enormous swell of her belly.

“Are you
engaged?”

“Um. Well, no.
The father’s not in the picture.”

Amber caught the
look of sorrow sliding across the old woman’s face like a dark cloud moving in on
a sunny day.

Oh, no.
Please don’t feel sorry for me.
I’ll be okay, really.

From the corner
of her eye Amber caught the daggers from her aunt’s piercing glare. Her aunt
then swiftly made her way to where Amber was standing as she continued to speak
with her customer.

“Hi, Mrs. Van
Hogen
,” Mavis Murray interrupted the conversation in a
boisterous voice. She placed her hand on Amber’s elbow.
 
“If you’ll excuse me I need to speak with
Amber.”

“Oh, fine. No
problem,” the woman hesitated, looking a bit stunned at the interruption. “Thank
you again, Amber. And thank you for those lovely flowers you sent me at the
hospital. You’re a darling.”

“Oh, no worries,
Mrs. Van
Hogen
. Enjoy your meal.” Amber tried to keep
her calm and hide her annoyance at her aunt’s rude intrusion. She knew what was
coming.

“Is everything
okay, Auntie? You seem upset.” Amber asked pointedly when the ladies approached
the staff area in back of the café. The kitchen wasn’t so busy then. It was
just after the morning rush. So things had quieted down. It was a good time for
Amber to take her break.

“Must you parade
your condition in front of our customers?”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard what I
said. Do you have to let everyone know you’re…an unwed mother?”

“Mrs. Van
Hogen
asked a question and I answered it.” Amber felt her
heart pound hard in her chest. It wasn’t her original choice to be a single
parent but that was how things worked out. The last thing she needed was
someone close to her throwing it back in her face or treating her like an
embarrassment.

As much as Amber enjoyed
working at the café, working alongside her aunt, who could be a bit overbearing
at times, was often a nightmare. But Amber tried to be as understanding as
possible. Everybody’s personality was different, right? After Amber’s parents
were killed in a car accident when Amber was much younger, her aunt took her in
and raised her. The cafe was willed to Amber, but she was too young at the time,
so as guardian her aunt Mavis took responsibility and ever since was active in
running the business—it was, after all, her aunt who saved the café from
going bust.

Amber tried not
to focus on negative behaviour and only on good things as much as possible. She
had to for the baby’s sake. The last thing she wanted was her blood pressure or
anxiety
levels
to soar.

Amber glanced
down at her watch. “I have my prenatal class soon. I’ll be away for about an
hour and a half and then I’ll be back,” Amber said, pulling off her white apron
and hanging it up on a hook.

Amber rubbed her
hand over her swollen belly. She felt a ticklish feeling and
a
maternal
warmth filled her heart. Her little baby had just kicked from
inside.
 
At least something was
pleasant in her life.

“I’ll take you
there,” Mavis insisted. Perhaps she wanted Amber out of there as fast as
possible.

“You don’t have
to.”