Accept My Baby: A Billionaire BWWM Single Parent Pregnancy Romance (6 page)

“
I
didn’t even know the Veneria Reale had a gift shop,”
Emilia pointed out.

“
Well,
the t-shirt, mouse pad and snow globe I have in my bag say a totally
different story,” Amanda said laughing.

“
We
should celebrate,” Emilia said as she walked to the fridge. “I
have some leftover champagne,” she said waving the bottle.

Amanda gasped
silently. She was not sure she was ready to admit the fact that she
was pregnant to anyone. At least not until she made her peace with
that little fact. She was breathing hard and heavy as she struggled
to come up with the right lie.

“
Not
for me, thanks. I drank a couple of glasses of wine earlier. My
head’s a little light,” she lied.

“
You
had wine at the street vendors,” Emilia said raising an eyebrow
over the other.

Amanda
did not have anything to say to that. It was the dumbest lie she had
ever heard. Even for a bad liar, that was pretty bad. She sighed in
relief when she saw a flyer seeping out of her bag that reminded her
of the other part of her day.

“
Well,
not really. I did go to a coffee shop later and bumped into some
ladies who invited me to a party this weekend,” she said in an
attempt to change the subject.

“
You
managed to walk into the Veneria Reale and you got invited to a
party?” Emilia asked and Amanda smiled.

“
It
worked,”
she
thought.

“
And
you have only been here for what? A week?” Emilia went on.

“
Close.
Four days.” Amanda was just being honest but for some reason it
sounded like she was bragging, which she wasn’t. “It is
some popular guy holding it...his name...I don’t know why I
cannot recall his name.”

“
Wait,
a party this weekend being hosted by a popular guy?” Emilia
asked as if she already knew what Amanda was talking about.

“
Yeah,
do you know about it?” Amanda asked and Emilia nodded.

“
The
guy throwing the party, could it be one Rafael Imperioli?” she
asked and Amanda’s eyes brightened.

“
Yeah,
that’s the name. Apparently he is going to be holding it at his
residence in...”

“
...at
his private villa in the country,” Emilia said, cutting her
short.

“
I
think you know more about this party than I do,” Amanda said
smiling.

“
That’s
because the party you are talking about is being hosted by Italy’s
most famous playboy,” Emilia said.

Amanda shrugged and
took a long sip of her water.

“
That
sounds like it is going to be a lot of fun. Could be something
potentially different for my website.”

“
Sweetie,
that is not the kind of party you should be going to if you intend on
keeping a low profile,” Emilia said in a warning tone. “That
party is going to be crawling with the who’s who in Europe and
believe me when I tell you that you want to keep your distance.”

“
Millie,
I am not looking for my next boyfriend or anything,” Amanda
said, shaking her head. “Heck, I am not even looking for a one
night stand.”

“
Well,
if you go to that party, don’t be alarmed when you wake up next
to some strange man and probably even a few women.” Emilia
sprinkled some olive oil on the tomatoes and then sprinkled some
basil. “Rafael has been known to serve some pretty strong
drinks at his parties.”

“
Well,
now I am sure that I will not be a victim of circumstance.”

“
Really?
Amanda Pearson is going to attend a party and not drink?”
Emilia said smiling.

“
Well,
miracles do happen don’t they? Plus, I have a plus one if you
are looking to change your mind.”

Emilia shrugged.

“
Well,
I’ll decide after I have made my sauce.”

“
So,
that’s what you are making,” Amanda said. “Count me
in
before
you
add the aged balsamic,” she added as she got her camera and bag
before she began walking towards the guest room.

“
So
you read minds too?” Emilia called and Amanda looked at her
over her shoulder.

“
I
know how you make your sauces. I like mine savory and you prefer
sour,” she called.

“
Smart
ass!” Emilia called after her.

“
Fundamental
basis of our relationship,” Amanda yelled back.

Even
though Emilia had spent the better part of the last two days trying
to talk Amanda out of attending Rafael’s party, Amanda could
not help but feel intrigued. All she wanted to do was go to that
party and see what the big whoop was about. It was almost like the
more Emilia tried talking her out of it, the more she wanted to go.
It was a literal 180 every single time Emilia talked to her because
all the discouragement Emilia was giving her was only building her
curiosity but when she finally got to Rafael Imperioli’s villa,
she regretted her decision almost immediately.

When she
left Emilia’s apartment wearing a green floor length halter
necked dress and red bottomed strapped heels, she thought she looked
her best and she did. But looking at the women in attendance at the
party got her thinking that she was a little under dressed for the
event. She took a long deep breath as she stood at the entrance
wondering whether she should go in or just stay where she was.

“
Maybe
I should have listened to Emilia,”
she
thought as she looked around. To her it felt like she had stepped
right into a scene of a
Rich
Kids of Beverly Hills
episode.
She could easily see that the women in there were dressed to kill and
the men, well, they were all out to impress as well. She
subconsciously put a hand on her tummy as she looked around.

“
This
is a life I will have to forget before I have even began living it,”
she thought to
herself. The more she thought about it, the more accustomed she
became to the thought of being a mother. She had always been strictly
pro-life. And it was not like she hated the life that was growing
within her. Sure, it may have been a reminder of Brett and everything
about him but the truth remained that she was still very much in love
with Brett when she conceived. And even though she tried hard to deny
it, she knew that she still loved Brett. Perhaps that was why the
whole break up hurt so much. The residual feelings she had for him
that she could not act on.

She was
still standing there, trying to figure out her life and the mess that
it was in when she felt someone standing next to her. She turned
around to find a full dark haired man looking at her.

“
Hi,”
was all she managed to say.

The man smiled back
at her, showing off those perfect dimples he had.

“
Hi,”
he said in a soft voice.

*****

Rafael
had been looking down at the party, his party from upstairs and he
could not help but notice that his party had attracted the same old
people he usually did. He had been keen on meeting a few people that
he could have a decent conversation with but as he looked down at his
guests, all he could see were people high on blow and the girls could
have been looking for the next rich husband for all he cared. They
were all too giddy and skimpily dressed for his taste. He had
resigned to his fate of standing up there, watching everyone make
merry when he spotted the one person who looked different from all
the rest. It was a black woman standing near the entrance. As he
stood there looking at her, he did not know why, but he felt drawn to
her for some reason.

It could have been
her simplicity.

Or the fact that she
looked extremely lonely.

Or maybe it was just
that she was the most natural looking person in the room.

Whatever
the reason was, he found himself making his way downstairs to where
she was and as soon as he stood next to her, he felt his throat dry.
He could not bring himself to speak. All he could do was stand there
and take in her beauty. Her flawless skin on her uncovered back and
the perfect feminine curves. He was surprised when she turned to look
at him and uttered a low voiced ‘hi’. She had perfect
brown eyes and beautiful luscious lips that looked like they were
waiting for a kiss. All he could manage was utter a ‘hi’
back.

*****

Amanda forced out a
smile and tightened her grip on her purse. She didn’t know why
but for some reason that man made her all numb.

“
You
know I hear it is rude for a person to attend a party and not have
anything to drink,” he said and she shrugged.

“
Would
the host happen to have some lemonade?” she asked.

“
What?
Are you a teetotaler or something?” he asked and she shrugged.

“
Or
something,” she said as she looked around.

“
Don’t
you worry. I’m sure I can organize something. But only if we
make it inside.”

“
I’m
still trying to decide if I should go in actually.”

Rafael looked at her
and raised an eyebrow over the other.

“
And
why would you want to do that?”

“
Well,
I don’t really feel like this is my forte,” she said,
looking around. “I kind of feel like I am out of my comfort
zone, if you know what I mean.”

“
I
really don’t know what you mean but I would love to hear about
it,” he said as he slipped an arm around her waist. She looked
at him and felt a shiver go through her body. “Come on, I’ll
get you your lemonade and make sure you get away from all this.”

“
Why
should I trust you?” she asked as he led her out of the foyer.

“
Look
at this face,” he said smiling. “Do I look like I would
do anything to you?”

“
The
least suspected are usually the biggest culprits,” she
countered.

“
Well,
this culprit is a lot of things,” he started before he
whispered something to one of the waiters. “But I would never
hurt a lady. Especially one that looks as good as you do.”

“
Are
you flirting with me?” Amanda asked, smiling and he nodded.

“
If
I was would I be a yay or a nay?” he asked before she laughed.

At that moment, she
realized that Emilia was not kidding when she told her that the men
there didn’t waste any time in making their intentions known
because she did not even know the man’s name but he was already
literally taking her out of the party so that he could have her to
himself for whatever reason.

He led her out to
what seemed to be a lounge before he opened a huge screen door that
led to a lit pool area.

“
This
is...beautiful,” she said in a low voice as she looked around.
“This Rafael guy should be holding this party out here instead
of in there.”

He smiled and
shrugged.

“
Well,
as it turns out I’ve had quite the number of parties out here.
I just wanted something new and different,” he said in a soft
voice. “Plus, drunk guests have a tendency to pee in my pool.”

She raised an eyebrow
and smiled.

“
This
is your place?” she asked and he nodded. “So, you are
Rafael.”

“
Pleasure
to meet you, Miss....” he said as he stretched his hand out to
her.

“
Pearson.
Amanda Pearson,” she said smiling. “Nice to meet you.”

“
American?”
he asked and she nodded.

“
African
American actually.”

“
What’s
the difference?” he was now leading her towards a couple of
lounge chairs.

“
Well,
I am an American citizen but I still have to insist on the fact that
I am a black woman,” she explained as she sat down.

“
You
know, I can actually see that you are black. I don’t think your
race needs a lot of explaining or defining.”

Amanda smiled and
nodded, feeling a little silly.

“
Well,
I was just correcting you. That’s all,” she pointed out
as a waiter walked in carrying a tray.

“
Thank
you,” Rafael said as the waiter put the tray down. “Our
lemonade is here.”

Amanda raised an
eyebrow over the other.

“
Our?”
she asked.