THE BILLIONAIRE'S BABY (A Secret Baby Romance) (14 page)

Adrianna hardly took a breath as she spoke, and I had to take a moment to register everything she said. As she saw me pause to think about it, Adrianna clasped her hands together and said, “Please. It would be so fun to have you come hang out.”

She seemed so sincere that I ended up nodding and answering, “Well, okay, if Braden doesn’t mind. Thanks.”

We exchanged phone numbers quickly and I went back up to my office as my head swirled. I’d been horribly jealous, then relieved, met Braden’s sister, whom I liked, and was now going to run with her and Braden Sunday and go to their family dinner. What had I just agreed to?

***

At ten minutes until nine on Sunday morning, I stretched out my quads at the trailhead of the Santa Monica Mountains, not far from where I often surfed. I was supposed to meet Braden and Adrianna at nine for our run. I’d gotten a text from each of them Saturday to confirm, and Braden had added that he’d been surprised Friday night when he’d found out about his sister’s invitation.

He’d wanted to make sure I was okay with the plan to jog and go to the family dinner with their mom, since it extended our relationship beyond work. I’d texted back that it was fine because I liked Adrianna as a potential friend, so it was different. At least that’s what I told myself.

I was dressed in my brand new running outfit, which consisted of gray and blue athletic shoes, tight-fitting gray jogging capris, and a sleeveless, lightweight white exercise shirt with a stylish hood. My hair was up in a high ponytail that swished back and forth as I twisted my torso and arms left and right to warm up.

It was a nice morning, warm but dry, with the invigorating salty ocean breeze and the gentle crash of waves below. I’d walked this trail a few times before. It started up high along the relatively level top of the cliff-like mountains that ran next to the Pacific coastline. The view of the water glimmering in the sunlight from up here was stunning.

“Morning, Lexi.” Braden’s voice brought my gaze from the view to where he walked up the steep path from the parking lot to the trail. He looked disturbingly good, dressed in to-the-knee black exercise shorts and a fitted, light blue t-shirt that emphasized the blue of his eyes.

“Morning, Braden. It’s gorgeous weather for a run,” I commented, which I felt was a nice, safe subject.

He looked out over the landscape of sand, ocean, and expansive blue sky dotted with wispy white clouds and nodded in agreement. He turned back to me and asked, “Adrianna’s not here yet?”

I shook my head. “No, but we still have five minutes ’til nine.” I shrugged, though I felt a little uneasy. Besides a few other joggers and one group of hikers that had passed, we were up there alone. For several moments, we stretched in silence and I tried to ignore how his tanned biceps looked holding up his rock-solid calf to stretch his equally well-muscled quad.

But it was useless. My eyes stole glances at his body and his gorgeously fresh-shaved face and ruffled hair that was extra cute in the morning light. His mere presence caused my pulse to heighten. I saw him sneak looks at me as well, and my stomach became a bundle of nerves.

The sound of his phone buzzing made me jump, and I watched as he took it out of his shorts pocket, looked down, and frowned. “Uh, Adrianna says she’s so sorry but she has to help her friend with something that came up suddenly, but she’ll see us tonight at my mom’s for dinner.”

Braden looked up from his phone and met my eyes. His flashed with a mix of realization and nervousness. My throat felt dry as I realized it really would be only the two of us. I cocked my head at him and wondered if this had been planned by Adrianna, or if they were in cahoots. I’d have to keep my guard up and my feelings for Braden down this morning.

Braden

I swallowed hard as I took in Lexi’s suspicious scrutiny of me after I’d told her my sister bailed on this morning’s jog. Great, now she suspected I might have orchestrated the situation and had Addy invite her under my instruction then back out last minute so I could get Lexi alone. She couldn’t really think I’d go that far or be that devious, could she?

I’d been pissed at Adrianna when she texted me Friday night about inviting Lexi. I’d told her she’d pushed too hard and her efforts would be too obvious and possibly scare Lexi off. Then, I’d gotten excited about the two of them getting along, maybe even being friends, and all of us hanging out for the jog and meeting my mom at the family dinner. It was a very personal step to have her meet my mom—one I was ready for, but Lexi perhaps wasn’t.

I looked at her and added, “I had nothing to do with her canceling, I swear. I think she’s trying to set us up. Sorry.” I scratched the back of my head and gave her my cutest, most apologetic grin.

She let out a breath and said, “Okay, don’t worry. Guess we might as well jog since we’re here.” Lexi shrugged and stretched one of her arms across her chest as she looked ahead at the trail.

My eyes traveled briefly from her beautiful, makeup-free face to her girly ponytail and down her fitted white top and very snug running pants, unable to stop myself from appreciating her curvy figure. I forced my gaze back to the trail and said, “Okay, you ready?”

Lexi nodded, and we were off. I had to slow my usual pace to jog next to her as we ran along in silence, nothing but the sound of the waves below, a few seagull cries, and the crunch of our feet on the terrain. We ran for a few miles, dipping gently down in places and up in others, but mostly level.

As we reached a spot with a path down to an area of the beach that had tidal pools with starfish, anemone, and other marine creatures, I noticed Lexi’s cheeks were red and she seemed to be getting winded, though she tried to hide it. I slowed and stopped. “Let’s stop for a break, then head back along the beach. We can go right to the parking lot from there.”

She stopped and put her hands on her sides as she tried to catch her breath, eying me, and said between breaths, “Okay, that… sounds like… a plan.”

I was normally a bit out of breath myself after I ran, but since I usually ran with Adrianna, who was several inches taller than Lexi and went faster and further, I was breathing at a completely normal rate. I waited for Lexi to recover for a minute, then led the way down the steep rocky path to the tidal pool area on the beach.

“You need help?” I turned back and offered her a hand.

“No, I’m good, tha… ah!” She slipped on a loose set of rocks and crashed into my back, which threw me off balance enough for me to topple forward. Though I took several quick steps to try and stop, we both fell flat on the ground. Her soft body crushed into my back, which actually felt really good except for the fact that my legs and chest were pressed into hard little rocks mixed with grainy sand.

“Oh, my God… Braden, I’m so sorry,” Lexi cried out as she fumbled to get herself off me and grabbed my upper shoulder to help me up.

I pushed up and brushed off the sand and pebbles. I felt only a slight sting on one of my knees and an elbow where it was probably scraped. I looked at her worried, apologetic expression and smiled. “It’s okay, no serious injuries.”

We walked onto the sand near one of the pools, and Lexi frowned at my cut knee and arm. “Those look painful, though. We should get you some band-aids, or at least clean them out with ocean water.” As Lexi spoke, she bent to look at my knee and traced her fingertips gently along the side of it, outside my cut, then glanced up at me.

The way she looked at me from under her thick lashes and the soft touch of her finger caused my blood to heat and threaten to pool between my thighs. Her pretty pink lips were level with my groin, which didn’t help. Sensing my raging hormones, Lexi’s face colored and she quickly stood up and took a step back. I waved off my injuries and said, “No band-aids necessary, but maybe I should rinse them with salt water.”

I headed down to the waves rolling in with frothy white bubbles, and teased, “Remind me to let you go first downhill next time, or at least hold your hand.” She narrowed her eyes at me as she stood a few feet away while I scooped up some water and splashed it across my cut elbow and knee, attempting to not wince from the pain.

“If you put me in front, I’ll just pull you down with me again.” She smirked and looked to our right down the beach. “Maybe we can just walk back? You know, because of your injuries and everything,” she added, though I was sure she was tired from the jog. From what I knew of her, Lexi probably chose surfing over running as her exercise most of the time, and while both were physically demanding, running had a different kind of impact that she wasn’t used to.

I didn’t mention any of this, though, simply rinsed my cuts one more time and said, “I think that’s a good idea.”

We walked along the surf as the sun rose higher in the sky and chatted casually about topics ranging from tidal pools to our families and our favorite foods. Our conversation was nice and relaxed, and before I knew it, we’d reached the parking lot. She paused outside her car, keys in hand.

I didn’t want to leave and had the urge to ask her for lunch or coffee—anything so we could hang out. However, since we would see each other for dinner at my mom’s later and I needed to show her I wasn’t purposefully breaking our relationship rules, I decided against the urge to ask her to lunch.

“Thanks for running with me. You still want to come to dinner at my mom’s later? You really don’t have to, but I can give you a ride since it’s in Pasadena if you want.”

Lexi nodded. “I want to come, and a ride would be nice. Sorry about your injuries again.” She gave me a sheepish look and opened her car door.

“No problem. And I’ll pick you up at five-thirty—your apartment. Bye, Lexi.”

***

“That’s such a pretty dress,” my mom gushed to Lexi as she sat with her on the kitchen’s bar stools while Adrianna uncharacteristically helped me prepare chicken parmesan over zucchini noodles and fresh garlic bread. I had noticed myself just how pretty—not to mention sexy—Lexi’s dress was when I’d picked her up just an hour ago. It wasn’t overtly sexy, just a simple, classic, sleeveless, light green sundress that flared out to just above the knee, but it fitted her snugly.

“Thanks. It’s super comfy, too.” Lexi beamed back at my mom, who sipped Chardonnay. Adrianna stood next to me as she chopped fresh garlic while I peeled the zucchini with a special Julienne-cut peeler that turned the zucchini into noodle-like strips. My sister bumped my hip with hers and gave me a pointed smile.

She was excited that Mom and Lexi seemed to get along well, but I didn’t want her to be too obvious and gave her a subtle warning look. I refocused on peeling the zucchini noodles, which were a healthy, tasty alternative to regular spaghetti—besides the fact that I was trying to impress Lexi with my culinary skills.

The chicken baked in the oven behind me with bread crumbs, freshly made marinara sauce, mozzarella, and parmesan, and everything would be ready soon. My insides had glowed since Lexi met my mom and they’d taken a liking to each other. Lexi had snuck glances at me as she and my mom sat at the kitchen counter bar stools. I’d refused to let either Lexi or my mom help me cook, though they’d offered, and Addy had stepped up to the plate to help.

Lexi sipped her wine and looked at me, her green eyes vibrant and sparkly. “That smells amazing. I can’t wait. I’m not the best cook,” she explained to my mom.

Mom looked slyly from Lexi to me and back. “Well, Braden could give you lessons, you know. He’s an outstanding chef,” she bragged. Lexi and I exchanged a knowing glance as her ears turned pink and my own face flushed, both of us remembering the cooking lesson in my suite in Rio.

Ten minutes later, we sat down to eat at the back porch dining table since the weather was gorgeous with a cool evening breeze fluttering through the yard. Lexi sat directly across from me with my mom on her right at the end of the table and Adrianna to her left.

“So Lexi,” my mom started after we’d all taken a few bites. “You seem like a beautiful, smart, and sweet young woman. Are there any guys in the picture right now?”

I half choked on my Chardonnay and looked at Lexi, who’d paused mid-chew and looked from my mom to me. “Mom, that’s a little personal,” I intervened with an embarrassed smile. Adrianna watched with an amused expression, no help at all.

Lexi swallowed her bite and responded. “No, it’s a perfectly fine question. Don’t worry.” She turned from me to my mom and said, “I’m not seeing anyone right now. I’m focusing on my career and my family at this point.”

My mom nodded approvingly and obviously couldn’t help but add, “That’s very commendable and sensible. Though sometimes, love happens even when you’re not planning it.” Mom smiled and looked very pleased with herself as she turned from Lexi to me.

Great, Mom, way to be subtle about it,
I thought wryly.

An awkward silence fell as Lexi simply nodded in response. “This is seriously delicious, Braden—and Adrianna.”

Thankfully, the conversation flowed nicely from hobbies, like my mom’s painting, to family. Lexi talked about her dad and how he had MS, her brother and his soccer talent, and she even brought up the fact that her mom had passed away and what it was like with one parent.

Adrianna and I were able to relate since we’d basically been raised by one parent as well. Our dad had been away a lot, busy with work and, well, being a playboy, and then there was the divorce. We talked comfortably, even about these deeper subjects, all through the made-from-scratch crème brûlée dessert.