I Do The Boss: Billionaire Romance (Managing the Bosses Book 5) (16 page)

"Really?" She turned to Alex. "Is there nothing you didn't think about?"

"Nope. I got it all." He beamed as the server walked up and took their orders.

She was almost too nervous to eat anything, but the loud growl from her tummy said that it was happening whether she liked it or not.

She was getting married!

To the hottest man under the sun.

"I can't believe this is happening." Jamie let out a soft sigh as she walked into Kristen's room with her makeup bag and hair brush in her hand. "I feel like I should’ve had months to prepare for this moment."

"And what would you do with more time?" Kristen turned and smiled.

"I don't know, but I'm honestly overwhelmed. I don't deserve a guy like Alex, and yet he's chosen me. It's madness." She set her stuff down and ran her hands through her hair. "I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop."

"Well, it's not going to. Now... close your eyes. I have your dress in the next room, but I want you to get the full effect of it in the light." Kristen squealed before turning and jogging toward the bedroom.

Nervousness and excitement pulsed through the center of Jamie's stomach as she walked to the kitchen to get a glass of cold water.

"Where are you?" Kristen called out from the other room. "Are your eyes closed?"

"No, but I'll be right there, and I'll close them. I just needed some water." Jamie downed a glass of water, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. Alex was refined. She wasn't. He was rich. She was poor. He was fit and hot and successful. She was just... her.

"Stop it," she grumbled and walked to the bedroom with her hand over her eyes. "I'm ready."

"Alright. Look."

Her breath caught in her chest as Kristen held up the beautiful white dress she'd been ogling for weeks. It was simple and yet gorgeous beyond belief. "Wow."

"Right? We have thirty minutes. Let's get your makeup done and then get you in it." She laid the dress across the bed as Jamie moved out and ran her fingers down the intricate design on the front of it.

"What if it doesn't fit?" She glanced up as Kristen motioned for her to join her in the bathroom.

"It's going to fit, and if not, there are six of us doing this thing. We'll tell them to wait and have it hemmed up. Alex was pretty meticulous at having Mark figure out your size though." Kristen's cheeks grew pink. "He had to go through your closet. You should hear him tell the story. It's hilarious."

"He what?" Jamie glanced up. She should have been embarrassed, but Mark was too much like a brother to her too now. The fact that Alex had done so much from a hospital bed melted her completely.

"Right? I wouldn't have told anyone, but you know how Mark is. He's a funny guy, always looking for his next story. I think that will be one that he tells for a long time to come." She moved behind Jamie as they got into the bathroom together and smiled around her at the mirror. "Hair up or down?"

"Up, I think. The dress needs to be the main thing, right?" Jamie pressed her hands to her stomach and groaned. "I feel like I could vomit. I'm so damn nervous all of a sudden."

"It's going to be great. Just relax and let me help get you ready."

They worked on her hair and makeup and finally it was time to get into the dress. Never in her life had she wanted something to fit so badly. The horror of growing up overweight and having to squeeze into everything rushed over her before she stepped into the dress.

She pushed it away and helped Kristen pull the tight material over her hips. Kristen zipped it, and Jamie gawked at how good it looked.

"Perfect. You look absolutely stunning." The smaller blond moved around Jamie and shook her head. "Incredible. We need pictures for the paper. Who's Cinderella now, you bitches?"

Jamie laughed as tears filled her eyes. She looked incredible and felt it too. The situation was going from concerning to blissful as peace started to settle over her shoulders.

She was the luckiest woman in the world. She was soon to be Mrs. Alex Reid.

"You ready?" Kristen touched her shoulder softly. The light blue dress that Kristen picked out for herself was a perfect match for the lightest part of the ocean. It was going to look perfect next to Jamie.

"Yeah. I am." She smiled, and turned for Kristen to put a little bit of muted pink lipstick on Jamie's lips.

"Well, I'm just going to say that he's the luckiest man in the universe marrying a woman like you. I'm not sure I would have survived the last few weeks, much less the last few months." She smiled and grabbed a napkin, dabbing at Jamie's tears.

"Thanks. Thank means a lot to me."

"Good. Let's go hand you off to your man." Kristen squeezed her shoulder and moved back, opening the door and moving up beside her. "We're going up here to the left. The wedding is actually on the beach. Your dad should be... yep. He's right there."

Jamie paused as her dad turned and let out a chuckled. "Oh, my gosh. You look... like a princess. My princess."

"Your pumpkin, Dad." Jamie moved into the warmth of his hug and squeezed him back.

"No, you're not a little girl anymore." He kissed her cheek. "You ready for this? You're sure he's the one? If not, can I have him?" he chuckled and winked at her.

"Yeah. More than sure." Jamie turned to watch Kristen walk toward the beach. An array of candles stood on stands, and the sky had darkened just enough to bring out the brilliance of their illumination.

"Wow." She moved up beside her dad as a group of violinists began to play. Tears filled her eyes as she caught sight of Alex. He was standing up near a large bouquet of flowers, with Mark right beside them. They were both smiling like they'd found the secret to eternal life, and maybe they had.

If nothing else, Jamie knew without a doubt that she and Alex would love each other forever. The last eight months had proven that life was going to throw continuous curve balls their way, but they didn't have to let any of that destroy them. It actually had the power to pull them closer if they let it.

Jamie nodded at her mom as the music changed into something slower. An older man in a black robe with a Bible in his hand stepped from the other side of the candle-lit aisle and smiled.

"Hi, Jamie. I'm Father Markum. I'll be marrying you today." He nodded toward her father and opened his Bible to begin the ceremony.

Jamie moved up to stand beside Alex as her heart raced in her chest.

He glanced over at her and smiled. "I love you like crazy."

"Me too." She turned back to find the preacher smiling at them both.

"Let's begin."

*

The ceremony was beautiful, but happened entirely too fast. Before Jamie realized what was happening, the preacher told them to turn to their friends, and pronounced them husband and wife.

Alex laughed loudly and grabbed her, dipping her low and kissing her long and hard in front of everyone.

She pushed at his chest playfully before taking his hand and walking through the sand as the music from a lone harp lifted into the air.

Alex stopped at the end of the trail of lights and touched her face. "You've made me the happiest man in the world.” He leaned down and brushed his lips by hers.

“Forever doesn't seem nearly long enough." She rubbed her nose against his. "Now take me to our room. I've been waiting for you to get out of the hospital so I could have my way with you. Last night, having you pass out before I could even get you naked, was a little depressing." She laughed as he gave her a look.

"I'm pretty sure that was you, but whatever." He leaned down and wrapped his arm behind her knees, lifting her up and carrying her off as she chucked her bouquet at Kristen and wrapped her arms around Alex's neck.

"Did you enjoy the ceremony?" He looked down at her lovingly as he carried her.

"Yes. It was everything I've always dreamt it would be. I honestly can't believe you planned all of that." She kissed the side of his neck and breathed him in deeply, filling her lungs with the delicious scent of his cologne mixed with the salt water. If they could bottle the smell and turn it into a drink, women would never be sober again.

"And I did it while in the hospital after being shot by your lunatic ex. I should get loads of credit for this for a long time coming." He laughed and set her down to open the door to their room.

She started to walk in but he stopped her, shaking his head.

"No way. I've been waiting my whole life to carry my bride across the threshold of the place we're staying in." He picked her up as she laughed.

"I think it's supposed to be over the threshold of the house."

"We gotta do this again?" He leaned down and kissed her, closing the door with a firm kick to it as he moved her to the bed and sat her down.

"Am I heavy?" She gave him a look and turned her back to him as he reached out and worked on her dress.

"Never. You're a sexy goddess who's about to get shown just how much I enjoy your assets." He bent down and brushed his lips by her shoulder.

"Should we changed and get out there with our family and friends? It's only three in the afternoon." She let out a soft sigh as the dress slipped down her legs and his hands ran over her flesh.

"Hell no. This just means more time to devour you." He pressed kisses up the back of her thighs and around until he was kneeling in front of her, his nose pressed to her stomach as he brushed his lips over her. "You smell so good. So right."

"I want to see the lightning storm too." She ran her fingers through his hair and forced him to look up at her. "Yes?"

"Absolutely. It starts in two hours. Plenty of time for a warm-up round." He pushed at her hips and she dropped back on the bed, laying down and scooting back as he stood up and worked himself out of his shirt. "You're so beautiful, Jamie. Inside and out. I can't imagine a woman better suited for me."

She arched her back and pulled her bra off as he got down to his underwear and crawled up on the bed to rest between her legs. Strong hands palmed her breasts as he moved up to adore them with his tongue and teeth. The delicious press of him against her left her panting for more of him. Why she couldn't be patient and enjoy him taking his time with her was aggravating, but she couldn't.

"Make love to me," she whispered as he glanced up and nodded.

"For the rest of my life. Every day." He moved down and tugged her panties off before standing back up and sliding his underwear over his hips. His cock stood proud and thick as he moved back up her body and nestled himself against her.

She opened up for him and closed her eyes as he wrapped his strong arms around her and pressed himself deep inside of her. The groaned in tandem, and within minutes he was rocking into her with strong trusts, his mouth pressed to the side of her neck, or just below her ear.

The feeling of being wrapped around him, of being one with him, was a rightness she couldn't describe, nor would she try. He rolled them over and pushed at her shoulder to have her sit up.

She never broke their rhythm as she undulated her hips and massaged his thickness with her body. A slight sheen of sweat settled over his abs and chest, and she couldn't help but press her fingers against the firm muscles and use his strength to help her ride him better. Faster.

He gripped her hips as his eyes roamed over her body, his groans and nods let her know that he was enjoying himself intensely. Electricity shot through the center of her, and she let her head drop back and eyes close as she cried out.

He took over their sex, thrusting hard from beneath her as she rode the wave.

"That's it, baby. Take it from me." His words drove deep into her and she got a hold of herself enough to take back over their lovemaking from him.

She slid her hands up his chest and flattened against him. "I don't deserve you."

He rolled her over and laughed. "Right. Try again, woman. You deserve much better, but hopefully I can be enough."

"You're more than enough." She ran her hands over his back and cupped his butt. "So much more than I ever thought possible."

"Me too, lover." He moved up and pressed his elbows to the side of the bed just beside her head as he brushed her hair back and leaned down to kiss her fully, exploring her further.

She ran her hands back up to cup his head as she pressed into the kiss and lifted her legs a little.

He groaned and tightened his grip on her. "I'm going to come. I never can last too long with you."

"That's a good thing." She smiled and pressed her teeth into the side of his neck as he stiffened and cried out with his release.

Every part of her was on fire for the man above her, especially her heart.

One Month Later

"Jamie?" Alex's voice rose from under the door to the bathroom as she gripped the sides of the toilet, too sick to be embarrassed by her heaving nonstop for the last few minutes.

"Just need a minute," she groaned as her stomach constricted painfully again.

"Alright. I'm here if you need me, baby."

She nodded, but ignored his sweet words. They'd shared a Mexican fiesta meal the night before with some work friends to help celebrate Kristen's last day, but surely if she'd gotten food poisoning, then everyone would be sick. Maybe they were. If so... why wasn't Alex?

After taking a few more minutes to gather herself, she stood up slowly and reached for the side of the bathroom counter.

"What the hell?" She washed her face and brushed her teeth before walking back out into the bedroom.

Alex stood up from the edge of the bed. "What's going on? Were you sick last night?"

He moved toward her, but she held up her hand, not entirely sure she was done throwing up. The last thing she wanted was to get sick in front of him, and certainly not all over him.

The last month of being his wife had been great. It was amazing how taking on his last name changed everything. It was as if she’d been knighted. There was a level of respect she got when she went anywhere now. Though it was a nice perk, it was a little unnerving too.

No wonder he always has so much pressure to be perfect and stick to the straight and narrow. Everyone is watching.

Alex touched the side of her face. "Honey? I asked you a question. You okay? You're scaring me a little."

She patted his hand as he held her cheek. "I'm good. I guess I just have a little bit of food poisoning."

"Jamie. You've been sick off and on for the last two weeks. Something isn't right." He slid his hand over her hip and leaned down, kissing the top of her head. "I want you to go see Dr. Bennett this afternoon, okay?"

"No." She turned away from him and tugged off her robe, wishing their morning would have been filled with playful banter instead of the serious conversation they were headed toward. "I've always had a sensitive stomach. We've been eating out a lot lately. That's just it. I need some quality food from MacBain to set this tummy right."

"Fine, then go see the doctor and make sure that everything is okay." He moved up behind her and slid his hands over her exposed shoulders.

Her light pink panties and matching bra were bought to entice him, and they'd done their jobs multiple times over the last month. Come to think of it, she'd been far more aggressive in trying to entice him.

Why?

"Alex..." she turned and glanced up at him, "If it will make you feel better, I'll—"

"It will. I'll have Justin make the appointment for you today. Just have some bloodwork done and let's make sure you’re okay." He touched her face and smiled. "I'm late. I'll see you at the office in a little bit. Please don't skirt this issue anymore. Between you being sick and wanting to have sex ten times a day, I think you might be pregnant."

"What?" She stepped back as the blood drained from her face, leaving her a little light-headed. She reached out for him, and he wrapped his strong arms around her. "No way. I'm not ready for that."

He laughed. "I'm not sure it matters if you're ready. You hate condoms. What would you expect to happen?"

"I don't know, but I'm not ready for this. Your mom is gone and my mom is the devil. I don't know how to be a mother. I don't have anyone to teach me." Tears filled her eyes as she looked up at him. Scary enough, a stomach illness almost sounded better than a baby. There was no way she could raise a child. She couldn't even get to work on time and Alex didn't need her there until after nine.

"Hey. Calm down." He kissed the tip of her nose. "It could be a sensitivity to milk or gluten. It doesn't have to be a baby. I was just saying. It wouldn't be so bad if it were."

"What?!" She pulled from him and worked to get dressed. "Get out of here and stop talking that nonsense. We just got married. I'm not ready to share you with anyone, nor am I ready to put my failures on display for you and the rest of the world to judge."

"You're being a little harsh." He kissed the back of her shoulder as his strong hands moved over her hips and cupped her softly, petting her mound. "I quite like the idea of creating a little you and me."

"Alright, enough." She glanced over her shoulder, wanting to be tough, but loving the look on his handsome face. They would have kids eventually, but now was too soon. "I love you. Get to work. You might have lots of mouths to feed."

He laughed and popped her butt softly. "There's my girl."

"Stop it, Alex Reid." She glanced over her shoulder as her frown melted into a tight smile. "You're not going to let this go, are you?"

"Nope. Not until you go to the doctor and find out exactly what's going on. Promise me." He lifted his eyebrow.

"I promise." She let out a sigh and turned back to her dresser, getting herself together for a short day thanks to her forced visit to the doctor. It seemed a bit much, but if something had been wrong with Alex, then she'd make him go as well.

*

Jamie couldn't seem to get her knee to stop bouncing as she sat outside the doctor's office in the waiting room. Alex had a blow-up at work and couldn't come with her, so she dragged Mark to sit beside her. He was the next best thing to his older brother.

"Hey." He reached out and clamped his hand down on her knee. "It's going to be fine. I'm sure it's just a bug or something. I wasn't feeling too great this morning either."

"I know. I just hate this waiting crap. They took blood, pee, spit, hair..." she rolled her eyes. "Okay, not hair or spit, but I wanted it to sound dramatic."

He pulled his hand back as he chuckled loudly. "You're too much. I swear you're the best thing that happened to my brother."

She smiled and leaned back in her chair as nervousness raced through her. "Did you throw up this morning?"

"No, but I'm telling you that something is going around. I'm sure the doctor’s going to tell us that we're being a little overly sensitive to nothing."

"I hope so." She let out a long sigh and sat up. "Alex has been super sensitive to everything since he was in the hospital. They have him on blood pressure meds for his stress level, but I think he's going to try to get off of them by stepping back at the firm a little and exercising more."

"Mrs. Reid?" The nurse stuck her head out and smiled. "Can you come back in here for a few minutes? The doctor has a few follow-up questions."

"Sure." Jamie jumped up.

"You want me to come with you?" Mark called after her.

"No. I'm fine." She forced a smile and walked behind the nurse down to the small room she'd been in for an hour before getting poked and prodded.

"Just sit right here, and Dr. Bennett will be in shortly." She gave a curt nod and closed the door.

Jamie got back up on the table and let out a long sigh before pulling her phone out. Alex had texted asking if she were still there.

She shot him a quick note that she was and that she would call as soon as she got out of there.

"Jamie?" Dr. Bennett stuck his head in the room and smiled. "Sorry to keep you waiting. I'm actually going to have the lab run a few more tests. Do you have any family history of miscarriage?"

"Of what?" A cold sweat covered Jamie as she gripped the sides of the table.

"Of miscarrying a baby." He closed the door behind him and moved to stand in front of her.

"I don't know. I don't talk to my family much. They're crazy. Like more than the average family." She tried to laugh, but the sound fell flat.

"Well, I'm pretty sure you're pregnant, but it would seem that the levels are a little lower than we would expect to see. I'm going to ask you to take it easy for the next few days and if you see any bleeding or spotting to go straight to the hospital." He touched her shoulder. "We'll figure out what's going on. Chances are that everything is fine and we're just a little early in the process, but I'm not sure I'm good with that answer just yet."

"I'm pregnant?" She tried to process the news, but couldn't seem to get past the fact that she was going to be responsible for someone. For a child.

"Yes. Congratulations. Where’s Alex?" He moved back and slipped his hands into his pockets.

"He's at work today, but I'll call him when I get back to the lobby."

"Good. Is he taking care of himself?"

She nodded and mumbled, "Yes."

Shock sat on her as the doctor left and told her to take a minute before walking to the front. Anyone else would have been thrilled, and some part of her was too, but the fact that something was wrong from the start left her emotionally strained.

Her phone buzzed, and she put it to her hear. "Hey."

Alex let out a soft growl. "Why didn't you call me? I've been worried sick. Meet me at home. I want to see you."

"I'm still at Dr. Bennet’s office, but I'm about to leave." She let out a shaky breath.

"What's the deal? You sound worried."

"Yeah. I'm pregnant." She got off the plastic bed and walked to the door, a little more disoriented than she wanted to be.

"Jamie! Baby, that's great news. Holy shit! I'm going to be a dad?" The excitement in Alex's voice helped to thaw her a little.

"Yes. However, there's something that not quite right. They're going to do more tests. Dr. Bennet’s worried about a miscarriage for some reason." She walked out as Mark stood up and reached for her, taking her arm. "I'll see you at home, okay?"

"Okay, baby. It's going to be fine. We'll work through it. Just be careful, and whatever we're facing... we'll face it together." He whooped, unable to control himself. “Damn! This is crazy! You’re going to be an amazing mother, Jamie!”

She nodded and ended the call, letting her phone drop back into her purse.

Pregnant, or maybe not.

How do you become a great mother when you have no idea what that looks like?

THE END

Wife To The Boss

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01ASAJ3G8

Coming April 2016