The Movie Star's Designer Baby: A BWWM Pregnancy Romance (6 page)

Chapter Seven

As they left Little Havana and took the causeway to Star Island, Gracie took in all the sights along the way with the wonder of a child. It had been a long time since Derrick had been a tourist in Miami, and he realized that he had forgotten the unique and diverse beauty of the place. He enjoyed seeing things anew through her eyes. Gracie made him realize how much in life he took for granted.

While his Montana ranch house was humble and homey, his Miami residence was just the opposite. The guard-gated community was home to a number of celebrities and practically screamed money. The lavish two-acre estate with its indoor and outdoor pools, private dock, and tennis court was more Anicka’s style then Derrick’s. At her insistence he had agreed to purchase it at auction back at the beginning of their relationship. She had loved the property - and, in fact, still used it on the sly when Derrick was away
,
  and the only reason she hadn’t been able to requisition it after the divorce was that he had purchased it before their marriage. It was nice to have a private getaway in the middle of the busy city, but Derrick would have been just as happy with a condo in Miami Beach. The seven-bedroom main house was done in the popular Spanish colonial style with matching guest, pool and boathouses. It was all show and no warmth, and it was all too much for a single man. Derrick had considered selling it many times over the past few years, but now he wondered what it would be like filled with children.

Gracie whistled when they pulled up in the circular drive. “This place is straight out of
Scarface
.”

              “Naw, that one’s two properties down; don’t worry, I come by my money the honest way.”

“Right. You’re just a hard-working regular guy, huh?” Gracie teased.

“Put my pants on one leg at a time even,” Derrick returned.

“The same way you take them off?”

“Play your cards right and maybe I’ll show you later.” Derrick took Gracie by the hand. “Come on, let me show you around.

Derrick gave an astonished Gracie the grand tour of the estate - her favorite part was the
over-sized
gourmet kitchen, of all things - and they ended up out on the back terrace as the sun was beginning to set into the Atlantic Ocean. The sky was lit up in warm hues of reds, purples and pinks and a cool breeze blew in off the bay. It blew the hair back from Gracie’s face; her soft features were accented by the glow of the setting sun. Derrick thought she would make the perfect painting and wished he had some way to capture her in that exact moment.

“It’s beautiful, Derrick,” she said, taking in a deep breath of the salty air.

“It really is,” he agreed, but he wasn’t talking about the sunset. Impulsively, he asked, “Have you ever thought there was something more?”

“More than this?” Gracie said, sweeping her hand across the view.

“More to life, I mean.”

Gracie shrugged. “Life is what you make it. I was raised to believe that anything you want is obtainable, and I don’t mean mansions and yachts. I think that you have to find fulfillment inside yourself. I think I’m almost there; but yeah, I think there is something more. I’m just not sure what it is yet. What about you?”

“I’m thinking there’s more than mansions and yachts too. It just took me twenty years to realize it. That’s why I wanted to have a child of my own. I thought that might complete me - start living my life for somebody else for a change. Does that make sense?”

“It makes a lot of sense.” Gracie looked up at Derrick, the glint of the water reflecting off of her eyes. He wanted her more than he had every wanted anyone at that moment. She smiled slowly. “So is that pool heated or what?”

“It certainly is.”

“Feel like taking a dip?”

“Did you bring a swim suit? We could get…”

“Who needs a suit?” Gracie interrupted.

“A woman after my own heart.”

Gracie laughed as she peeled her dress over her head and kicked off her sandals. She ran to the pool and dove gracefully in. Derrick stripped off his clothes and boots in and when she resurfaced her lacy bra and panties were floating in the water behind her. She stood there in the shallows with steam rising around her wet and gleaming body. Water ran in rivulets from her hair and down over her breasts, dripping from the tips of her nipples, like some seductive mermaid. Derrick could feel his erection pressing at his soaked boxers, just begging to be set free. He pulled them down and kicked them away as he swam toward her.

When he reached Gracie he wrapped her in his arms and pulled her toward him, kissing her hungrily. Breaking free, she plunged her head beneath the water and took him in her mouth, enveloping him in its soft warmth, and flicking teasingly with her tongue. When Derrick feared she might run out of oxygen (and he might run out of willpower), she resurfaced, running a trail of kisses back up to his mouth. He reached a hand below the surface to feel the moisture between her cleft, a wetness hotter and slicker than the water, and knew she was ready.

Taking her buttocks in his hands he lifted her onto his waiting member. She wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him in deep inside her. He pumped into her and she moved with him, creating a wave pool of ripples around them. Derrick let his mouth wander down her jaw, licking along her collarbone, and sucking gently at her neck. She threw her head back in ecstasy. When he felt Gracie’s body begin to tremble and her vagina contract around him, Derrick could hold back no longer. He came inside her, not even caring this time if his swimmers found their mark. He was too lost in the rapture of the moment. He felt like at this exact moment all that he had been missing in life was right here.

Chapter Eight

The past two weeks had flown by like a dream for Gracie, one that was almost too good to be true; one that she didn’t think she deserved. She and Derrick had spent a large part of that time together. She taught him the basics of cooking in his state-of-the-art kitchen, and he taught her how to handle a sailboat and hit a golf ball. When he was away she spent her time basking on the beach or by the pool, reading in Derrick’s well-stocked library, or exercising her free reign over that dream kitchen to present him with tasty treats upon his return. And, of course, they had made love every day, sometimes more than once. But it didn’t feel like a job to Gracie like maybe it should have. She couldn’t get enough of him, and all but forgot about the whole
getting pregnant
part.

Maybe that had been the trick all along. Some mothers swore that the secret to getting pregnant was not trying to get pregnant. As she looked down at the white plastic stick in her hand, Gracie thought they might be right. The little display screen showed a blue plus sign. Gracie let out a whoosh of air when the second blue line appeared, bisecting the first. She hadn’t realized she’d been holding her breath. She was so happy her eyes filled with tears. Of course, she would have to get a blood test to confirm (more for the lawyers than for herself), but she could feel inside that the blue cross read true. She couldn’t wait to tell Derrick! He would be ecstatic! Her overjoyed mind blocked out the fact that this child wasn’t really hers; it was Derrick’s, she was just carrying it. She wouldn’t let her mind think about that part right now.

Derrick had gone into the city last night and grudgingly told her that he would be back too late to join her in bed. She should get her rest, he said, and he would see her in the morning. Gracie hoped that he was home by now as she rushed down the stairs, white plastic stick in hand. She heard movement in the kitchen and heading in that direction, calling out, “Derrick! You’ll never believe…”

She stopped short when she stepped into the kitchen. Sitting on a barstool at the kitchen island was the most gorgeous woman she had even seen in person. The woman looked like she had walked right off the pages of a high fashion magazine. She was tall, at least four inches taller than Gracie, and slender. Her perfectly toned and tanned legs and arms were bared in a breezy silk jumper and strappy wedges. She had a long neck, luxurious blonde hair, and the posture of a queen. And she had, in fact, recently walked off of the shoot for a fashion magazine: it was Anicka Andersen, Derrick’s ex-wife.

Anicka sat at the island thumbing through a magazine with a half-eaten grapefruit in a bowl by her elbow. She looked perfectly at home in the kitchen that Gracie had felt (fantasized, more like it) was her own for the past half a month. Glancing up from her magazine with a disapproving frown creasing her brow, Anicka asked, “Who are you?”

Gracie was at a loss for words. She quickly slipped the pregnancy test into her skirt pocket. “I’m Gracie Johnston, I…”

Understanding dawned on Anicka’s face. “Oh, you must be the new maid! I haven’t been her in awhile; Derrick’s been changing up the staff on me. I’m Derrick’s wife, Anicka; but you probably already know that.”

Wife
, she said. Not
ex
-wife. Was the lady delusional? Where had she been for the past two weeks? For the past six months for that matter? Probably off boffing somebody’s pool boy.

Anicka looked her up and down appraisingly. “You don’t exactly dress like a maid.”

Gracie decided to go along with the charade. After all, how was she supposed to explain who she was to the woman Derrick had been married to for over five years?
I’m the woman your ex hired to have his baby since you apparently had no interest in doing so.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t expect you to be here,” she said lamely.

“Get used to it. I’m going to be staying in Miami for a while. In fact,” she dropped her voice confidentially, “Derrick and I are getting back together. It’s still hush-hush for now, but I’m sure you’d find out eventually if you’ll be staying on here.”

“Oh,” said Gracie, trying not to let the disappointment show on her face. Though disappointment wasn’t even the right word for it. She felt like her heart might be crumbling to pieces in her chest.

“You’ll want to air out the upstairs guest rooms,” Anicka continued, “I’m expecting guests this weekend. Oh, but do try not to wake Derrick. He’s got to be exhausted. I kept him up all night, you know.”

She gave Gracie a conspiratorial wink that Gracie neither understood nor appreciated. What the hell was that supposed to mean? She would never have thought that Derrick would go back to his ex, especially after all the things she had done to him, and especially after how well the two of them had been getting along the past two weeks. But had that all just been in her imagination? Gracie hadn’t questioned it before, but now she wondered. Had she been swept off her feet by a handsome movie star just like any other backwoods nobody would have been?

On the one hand, Derrick needed her in a purely utilitarian way. She was the vehicle that would bear his progeny, and if he was to remain with her until the deal was sealed he might as well get along with her in the meantime. Had he been doing just that? Simply putting up with her to pass the time while in his mind wishing he were anywhere else (perhaps with Anicka)? After all, Gracie really didn’t know him at all; they had only just met. Maybe he was kind to her out of pity; or maybe he was playing some mean-spirited mind game.

But Gracie had always considered herself a good judge of character. Derrick had seemed genuine to her, and the connections they made seemed real. She had believed that he enjoyed making love to her just as much as she did to him.

Just as much as rats in the lab enjoyed copulating: because that’s what animals do.

At once Gracie felt furious, ashamed and heartbroken.
Stupid, stupid, stupid,
she scolded herself. She should have never filled out that damned application. She should never have believed that one of America’s favorite actors could actually fall for her.

Gracie fought not to let her emotions show. “Yes ma’am, Ms. Andersen, I’ll get right on that.”

As she left the room Gracie could hear Anicka musing to herself as she flipped her magazine back open, “What a strange woman. I don’t know where he finds these people.”

Once she was out of sight, Gracie ran for the stairs and up to her room, shutting the door behind her before collapsing against it and bursting into tears.
Stupid, stupid, stupid,
she thought again. It had all been a stupid illusion. Derrick was amazing - he was funny and compassionate, and they shared so much in common - but he wasn’t her kind. They were like different species’ of birds. Both avian, sure, but he was a peacock and she was a sparrow. And peacocks paired off with other peacocks like Anicka Andersen, not with little brown songbirds. Gracie had never let her emotions get the better of her before, but this time she had been completely blindsided.

She vowed then and there to never let it happen again. She would carry this child for Derrick, but that would be it. Just like it was supposed to be from the beginning. In nine she would give him the child, he would give her one million dollars, and then he would be out of her life for good.

So why did the future feel so bleak and joyless?

Going to the desk she pulled out a pad of stationary and a pen. Quickly she scrawled a note and left it on the desktop. Then she picked up the telephone and called a taxi to take her to the airport. As she packed her things she tried not to think about Derrick or the baby or how happy she had been only minutes ago. She left the room and hurried quietly out the front door; she didn’t want another confrontation with Anicka and she most certainly didn’t want to be there when Derrick awoke. He might take pity on her and apologize for not divulging his plans with his ex-soon-to-be-current wife. She didn’t want his pity. An ounce of kindness from him would only make it worse.

When Derrick awoke Gracie was long gone. Looking for her, he found her note on the bedroom desk. He stood looking at it in stunned silence for nearly five minutes. It simply read:

Derrick,

Thank you for an enjoyable stay. I am needed back in Carolina. I will be in contact with your lawyers concerning our arrangement. Please do not try to contact me.

                                                                      Gracie