A Baby For The Billionaire (9 page)

“How long have you known?” Her voice
was full of curiosity. Why hadn’t her mom let her know sooner? It
would have stopped Alicia worrying over keeping the baby a secret
from her.

“Only for a couple of weeks, but long
enough for me to start crocheting a blanket for my grandchild.”
There was a glow to her mother’s face that Alicia hadn’t seen in a
long time. “Of course, I didn’t know if I was having a
granddaughter or a grandson, so I couldn’t go with pink or blue,
but I figured that lemon is a nice neutral color. So, do you know
what it’s going to be yet?”

Alicia was still trying to get her
head around the fact that her mom knew that she was pregnant and
wasn’t upset about it. “I won’t find out for another couple of
weeks, but you’ll be the first one to know after I do.” Her
mother’s smile was as wide as her face. “You’re really okay with
this, mom? I’ve been so worried about telling you.”

“No, I’m not okay with it.” Alicia
felt her heart start to sink. “I’m elated! I didn’t think I was
going to live long enough to meet my first grandchild, and yes, I
would have preferred you to be married, but so long as you’re okay
then so am I.”

Alicia could have cried; she wasn’t
sure if it was with relief at her Mom’s reaction to learning about
her grandchild, or sadness that she’d thought she would pass away
before she’d had the chance to become a nanny. Sometimes things
were just meant to happen, she supposed, and if her getting
pregnant by mistake was what it had taken to make her mother so
happy, then she was glad that it had happened.

“I’ll be honest with you; I wasn’t
okay with it at first. It definitely took some getting used to the
idea of having a baby and I was terrified when I found out.” Alicia
smiled. “I’m still scared silly, but I can’t wait to hold this
little bundle and become a mom. I’m going to need a lot of advice
from you, Mom.”

Her mother smiled back, this time a
little wistfully. “There’s no love like it, sweetheart. This baby
is going to turn your world upside down and fill you with a mixture
of love, fear and pride, in no particular order. You will move
heaven and earth just to make sure that he or she is safe and has
everything it wants and needs. You’ll be so tired that you won’t
know which way is up, but when your child looks up at you with so
much trust in its eyes, your heart will melt all over again and
you’ll know you wouldn’t change a single thing.”

Her mother’s bony hand came across the
table to take hold of Alicia’s and give it an encouraging squeeze.
“I’m so proud of you. You’re going to be an amazing mother, baby
girl.”

Alicia had a lump the size of a golf
ball in her throat. “Well if I am it will be because I have an
amazing mother to learn from.” She squeezed her mother’s hand back,
clearing her throat and blinking back her tears. “Will you be with
me at the birth, Mom?” Up until now Alicia hadn’t even thought
about the delivery of her baby, but her mother’s excitement was
contagious and she wanted her to have something special to look
forward to.

“Really? I would be honored,
sweetheart, but what about the father? Won’t he want to be there
when his child is born?” She paused before continuing. “Am I
allowed to know who the father is? I haven’t heard you mention a
boyfriend, so can I assume that the man in question is no longer on
the scene?”

Alicia had been dreading the
question since her mom had first brought up the baby, and even
though she wasn’t about to lie to her, she wasn’t going to tell her
everything, either. “It’s complicated, mom. I’m still in contact
with the father, but we were never really a couple to begin with,
so I haven’t told him about the baby.”
And
I don’t intend to either
, she
thought.

For the first time since Alicia had
arrived, her mother looked a little disappointed, and Alicia felt
her heart sink again. “What do you mean he doesn’t know? Alicia,
honey, he has a right to know that he’s going to be a father even
if you’re not involved with him romantically.” She scowled, and
Alicia couldn’t help but marvel at how pretty her mother was,
despite her illness and age. “Unless he hurt you in some way, and I
mean physically hurt you, in which case I really want to know who
he is so that I can tear a few of his limbs off.”

Alicia shook her head while she
answered, biting back the smile at the thought of her mother being
violent towards anyone. “No, it’s nothing like that. It’s just
complicated, mom, and it could cause more problems if he knew.”
Such as his wife divorcing him and her getting fired from the only
means of income she had—but she couldn’t tell her mother that.
“I’ll tell him if the opportunity ever arises or if I don’t think I
have any other choice. I promise.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

…

Her mother’s words kept praying on her
mind during her drive home. She knew her parent was right in what
she’d said; Chase did deserve to know about the baby. But how on
earth was Alicia supposed to tell him without him thinking that it
was either a ploy to get money out of him, or a way to break him
and Vanessa up so that she could stand a chance of being with him
herself.

As much as she hated subterfuge and
deceit, her mind kept going back to one of her original plans when
she had first learned about her pregnancy. Maybe her only option
was to blackmail him. At least that way he would know she had no
designs on wrecking his marriage, and she would be sure of having
enough money to take care of the baby and her mother’s ever-growing
medical expenses.

Alicia’s mind was in turmoil. Even
though she was relieved now that her mother knew about the
pregnancy, she knew she still faced an uphill battle with
everything else.

As had become the norm these days, she
fell into bed that night physically and mentally exhausted. Yet
another restless night followed and she dragged herself out of bed
the following morning feeling even more tired than before. A little
extra makeup hid the shadows beneath her eyes and she plastered the
smile on her face as she made her way to the kitchen to find out
what the day ahead had in store for her.

Julie greeted her cheerfully, then
looked at Alicia with a worried expression. “Don’t mind me saying,
honey, but you look like crap.” Alicia laughed at her friend’s
comment. “I can always count on you to be honest can’t I, Julie?”
Julie grinned and nodded her head. “I’m just tired, that’s all.
There’s nothing to worry about.”

“Well here is a little bit of news
that will hopefully make you feel better. The Queen Bitch has gone
away again, and this time she is going to be gone for a full week.
Vacationing in Paris, no less.” Julie couldn’t keep the sarcasm
from her voice. “I might feel a little bit jealous, but it’s always
so much more peaceful around here when she is away.”

“You’ve got that right.” The thought
of not having to worry about bumping into Vanessa for a whole week
perked her up immediately; at least she only had a Chase to worry
about for the next seven days.

Alicia needn’t have been worried about
bumping into him that day. He was either out of the house on
business or making sure he avoided her, which suited her just fine.
The day went smoothly enough, with nothing too taxing to deal with,
although as the end of the workday neared Alicia found herself
becoming more and more tired.

She was completing her last task,
sweeping and mopping down the main staircase. Her back felt as
though it was breaking in two and she paused to catch her breath,
holding onto the banister for support while she rested. She took
just a moment then went back to the job at hand, cursing under her
breath when the broom slipped from her fingers. She tried to grab
it, but as her hand darted out the back of her foot slipped off the
step she was standing on. Alicia cried out, her arms wind-milling
in the air as she tried to grab the banister to stop herself from
falling. And then everything went black.

She wouldn’t know until later that it
was Chase who found her lying at the bottom of the stairs, or how
he had yelled for help as he had knelt on the floor beside her,
cradling her head in his lap while he waited for the paramedics to
arrive. She remained unconscious throughout the ambulance ride to
the hospital and the subsequent examination that had taken
place.

She awoke a few hours later, her hand
going to the lump on her head and groaning at the tenderness she
felt when her fingers encountered the bump there. Her eyes
flickered open and she looked around her in a confusion that turned
to utter bewilderment when she saw Chase sitting in the chair close
to the bed.

“Where am I? What happened?” Her voice
was hoarse and her lips were parched. Chase reached for the glass
of water that was standing on the bedside table, helping her to
raise her head so that she could take a sip before he answered
her.

“You fell down the stairs and hit your
head. You gave us quite a scare, Alicia.” Instinctively Alicia’s
hands went straight to her stomach; a movement that Chase obviously
noticed as his eyes followed her hands. “It’s okay, the baby is
fine.”

Alicia was glad that she was already
lying down, because his words and the obvious knowledge behind them
made her lightheaded with fear. She opened her mouth to speak, but
found she was incapable of saying anything.

“Why didn’t you tell me about the
baby, Alicia?” The only emotion she could hear in his voice seemed
to be sincere concern, with no trace of the anger she had been sure
he would feel towards her if he ever found out. “Do you know how
shocked I was when the paramedics asked me how far gone you were? I
know you don’t sleep around, so it’s obvious that the baby is mine,
isn’t it?”

“I’m so sorry, Chase. I just didn’t
know how to tell you, or what your reaction would be if did.”
Alicia’s voice was shaking as much as she was, but she knew this
conversation had to take place. “You’re married, Chase, and the
last thing I want to do is jeopardize that because we were stupid
enough to have a one night stand and not take
precautions.”

Alicia was beginning to feel like a
complete ass for what she had been thinking about doing to him.
Telling the newspapers or blackmailing him seemed too utterly crass
for her to have even contemplated now.

“Did you think that I would just throw
you out of the street and not take care of you both?” Chase had
pulled his chair closer to the bed and he leaned his forearms on
the mattress so that he could look into her face while he spoke. “I
wouldn’t do that to you or to my child.” It was obvious that he
meant what he said, and Alicia felt the tears well up in her eyes
as she listened to him.

“I know that right now you’re in a lot
of pain from your fall, and they couldn’t give you any strong
medication because of the baby. So I’m going to go home and let you
get some rest, okay?” She nodded at him and winced as the movement
made the pain in her head increase. “The doctors have told me that
so long as there are no repercussions, you can come home tomorrow,
so we’ll talk about everything then, alright?”

“Okay”. Alicia’s voice was husky with
a mixture of emotion and tiredness. Chase stood up and leaned over
her, planting a gentle kiss on her forehead.

“You get some sleep now and I’ll see
you tomorrow.” He was gone before Alicia could respond; the
hospital room door closing gently behind him and leaving her alone
in the room. Her eyes fluttered closed almost instantly, and she
fell into the best night’s sleep she’d had in weeks.

CHAPTER EIGHT

…

The following morning she was awoken
by a nurse coming in to check on her and take her vital signs.
“We’ll be bringing the ultrasound machine in after breakfast, just
to check on Jellybean, and then if everything looks good we’ll call
your boyfriend to come and pick you up some time this
afternoon.”

Alicia smiled at the nickname the
nurse had given her baby, and at the way she had assumed Chase was
her boyfriend rather than her employer. Both of the names sounded
good to her right now, and she knew that even though the chances
were slim to none of Chase ever being more than her baby’s father,
Jellybean was going to stick until the baby was born.

The ultrasound fascinated and thrilled
her, just like the ones before it. She didn’t think she would ever
tire of hearing Jellybean’s heartbeat, or of seeing the tiny human
being growing inside her belly, kicking and wriggling around. She
breathed a sigh of relief when the sonographer gave her a broad
smile and told her that everything looked “just fine”. She hadn’t
realized just how scared she’d been that she might have hurt her
baby in some way by falling, but apparently she’d fallen down
backwards, her head and back taking the brunt of the force and her
stomach and its precious cargo remaining unharmed.