Her Secret: A Billionaire Romance Read online

  He got up from the couch and walked out to the balcony. He pulled out his cell phone and I could hear him faintly from the couch.

  “Dr. Chamberlain? Yes it’s Tyler here. I know it’s last minute but I need a doctor now.” Oh my god, I can’t believe Tyler. Of course, he had enough doctors in his contacts that would be ready to be his beck and call. I couldn’t hear the rest of the conversation.

  “Great, thanks so much. See you at my place. I’ll text you my address.” Tyler sat back down on the couch and held me tight.

  “Let’s try to relax before Greg shows up. He’s one of my best doctors at my company.” I curled up like a ball, sitting on his lap and tucked my head under his chin.

  “I’m glad you didn’t run off.” He kissed my forehead, pressing his cheek against my head.

  “Of course, I am not going to run off. What kind of man do you think I am? I’m glad you didn’t hold on to this too long by yourself.” I let out a sigh, I didn’t ruin Thanksgiving weekend. He was much calmer and relaxed than I imagined. We sat like this in silence waiting for the doctor.

  The door bell rang. Tyler welcomed Dr. Chamberlain to our home, he introduced me to the Dr. Greg Chamberlain, and left the room for my privacy with the doctor.

  “Nice to meet you, Erin. We always wondered who stole Tyler’s heart.” The doctor is in his early 40s, with a bit of gray hair and gentle eyes.

  “Nice to meet you too, Dr. Chamberlain. Thank you for rushing out in such short notice.”

  “Please call me Greg. Tyler gave me a brief update over the phone. Do you have any questions before we do the pregnancy test?”

  “Yes. I have been diligent with birth control, how is it possible that I can be the 0.1%?”

  “That’s a tricky one. Drugs including birth controls are never 100% effective and that’s just how it is. Creating life is a miracle.” Greg passed me the cup for me to pee in.

  “No matter what you final decision is, Tyler would be supportive I am sure. He’s a good man.” I smiled and quickly proceed to the washroom.

  Greg put a test strip in my urine sample, within a minute the strip changed color.

  “Would you want to bring Tyler in before I tell you the results?” I nodded. I went out to the balcony to bring Tyler in. He was so handsome, staring into the ocean under the moonlight. I wrapped my arm around his waist, he wrapped his arm around my shoulder.

  “Are you ready for the results?” I whispered, looking up at him. He wiped away the tiny beads of tear at the corner of my eyes. I didn’t realize I was tearing up.

  “Yes I’m ready.” We walked back into the living room hand in hand.

  “Alright Greg, let’s hear the news.”

  “Congratulations Tyler and Erin.” Tyler looked at me, and wiped the corners of my eyes again. He smiled and kissed me chastely, probably to the good doctor’s benefit.

  “Thank you so much Greg.” The men shook hands.

  “If you need recommendations for midwives or OBGYN, let me know. I would recommend you to book an appointment with either midwife or OBGYN to schedule an ultrasound to determine the age of the fetus and go from there. I better get going and let you two lovebirds to your celebration.”

  Tyler walked Greg to the door and thanked him again. I was still in shock, and waved goodbye to Greg.

  Tyler sauntered back to me, “How’s my sexy mama?”

  I laughed and wiped away the tears. My eyes wouldn’t stop tearing up. He took my hands and walked us to the bedroom. I laid down on my side of the bed. He lifted my shirt and spoke to my belly.

  “I think Mommy is a little scared. But Daddy is thrilled and can’t wait to meet you and show you the world.” Tyler kissed my belly and laid down next to me.

  “How are you feeling now? Talk to me, don’t hold anything back.” He kissed my cheek and wiped my tears away. I just couldn’t stop crying no matter how hard I tried. It was a combination of shock, joy and fear.

  “I’m surprised that you are doing so well with this news. I was dreading the news the entire afternoon. My mind was wandering all over the map and I was preparing myself to be a single mom. And here you are calm as can be while I’m scared shitless about what’s to come.” It felt so good to get this off my chest.

  “If this happened to me a couple years back, I would be having anxiety attack no doubt. But life with you has changed me entirely, I am happy that this is happening. There is no ideal timing to be a parent. You will be a wonderful mother, I just know it.”

  I leaned over and kissed him hungrily. He slowed down the pace and proceeded to make love to me slowly and gently. Our bodies intertwined and rocked back and forth until we found our sweet release. It was the perfect way to finish this eventful day.

  CHAPTER 16

  Tyler

  It was Thanksgiving day. Erin was up since 8 am, getting the turkey ready for its 12 hours of baking. I texted Erin’s best friend Paige to join us this evening, it would be a wonderful surprise for Erin. Paige was like a sister to her and would be able to offer her much needed sisterly support after last night’s revelation.

  I was doing what I could to help her in the kitchen. Peeling, washing and chopping away. Doing simple tasks in the kitchen was rather cathartic. Two years ago today, I was fuming over the whole Francesca debacle. A year ago, I was gathering up my courage to pursue Erin, my love, my light, and now mother of my child. It was funny how life could be full of curve balls. If someone told me that I would be taking a sabbatical year to start a non-profit organization and become a father two years ago, I would have laugh at their face and call them crazy.

  “Alright, everything is prepped and we just need to follow this schedule, all the side dishes would be ready once the turkey is rested enough for carving.” Erin beamed as she put her schedule back on the fridge. She seemed to be in a better mood, back to her old self.

  “Catch!” I tossed a piece of sweet potato at her. The sweet potato flew and hit her face. Oh geez, she was not impressed. I couldn’t help but laugh at her.

  “I guess I will be the one playing catch with our son or daughter.” I quipped.

  “You better behave, or you will get a taste of my spanking.” Her right eyebrow raised. I saw what she was trying to do. We still had a couple hours before our guests arrived, and there was nothing else we could do in the meantime. A quickie was in order, my cock was more than ready to rise up to the occasion.

  “Meet me in the shower.” She immediately stripped off her clothes and tossed them at my head.

  I chased after her into the shower.

  Ding dong. The door bell rang. Who could that be? Erin was already in the shower. “I guess our quickie has to wait.”

  I threw on some clothes and answered the door. It was my mother.

  “Mom, come on in. I wasn’t expecting you for another 2 hours.” I hugged and kissed her. She handed over her homemade pumpkin pie, it was my childhood favorite.

  “I wanted to come early and help with dinner, plus I want to meet Erin and spend some time to get to know her.” I had told Mom about Erin last Christmas when I told her about us moving in together.

  “She’s just in the shower. Have a seat. What would you like to drink? Red wine?” I had a bottle of French Pinot Noir from 2010. I poured us two generous glasses.

  “How are you two getting along? Do I hear wedding bells in the future? Perhaps some grandkids hopefully?” I smiled. Little did she know.

  “How many grandkids do you want Mom? A half dozen?” I repeated the same joke, just to see the different reactions.

  “Oh poor Erin.” Mother laughed.

  “Why poor me?” Erin walked out to the living room, in a cozy sweater and tight jean. She had the perfect girl next door look.

  Mother and Erin greeted and hugged each other. They hurried off to the kitchen. It was heartwarming to watch them chat, their conversation carried on naturally, it was as if they have known each other their whole lives. Soon after
Stella and Edgar showed up, Stella looked much more relaxed than yesterday after the board meeting where she was grilled by each of the board members. Edgar seemed to be the quiet one of the relationship. He was quietly next to Stella, as Stella caught up with Erin and Mother.

  Everyone was enjoying their wine and cheese. I winked at Erin when I caught her poured herself a ginger ale in the wine glass, posing as a white wine spritzer. She winked back at me and smiled. Looking back two years ago, Erin was a certified hot mess, complicated and torn by guilt. I would always be in awe of her strength and conviction to overcome her addiction. In my eyes, Erin was the most beautiful woman in the world, I couldn’t have been luckier to have her in my life.

  The door bell rang again. Our last guest Paige arrived, she was still in her flight attendant uniform coming straight from her last flight. Erin was so surprised, she squealed when she saw Paige at the door. From the moment I saw her, I could tell she was the life of the party. She introduced herself to everyone with big smiles and carefree demeanor.

  While Erin and Mom were working on the side dishes, Paige was getting acquainted with Stella and Edgar. I finally had a free moment to myself. I went to my secret hiding spot where I carefully hid the engagement ring that I had designed for Erin. I had the ring for the last few weeks, waiting for the perfect moment to propose to her. I thought tonight would be the perfect night to propose surrounded by our closest friends and family.

  “Would everyone take a seat? Dinner is ready!” Erin announced. She looked to me, and that was my cue to get ready to carve the perfectly cooked turkey.

  I swiftly carved the turkey, while rehearsing what I was going to say during the proposal in my head. I could feel my palms were getting sweaty and mouth felt dry. This was it.

  “Before we dig in, let’s go around and talk about what we are grateful for in life. Paige, why don’t we start with you?” Mother said while Erin was pouring wine for everyone around the table.

  Paige led the gratitude ritual, and we went clockwise which meant I was the last one to participate. This gave me an extra 2 minutes to prepare for the proposal. I had never been this nervous my whole life.

  “I’m grateful for Stella. She sure knows how to keep me on my toes and make my life more colorful than I could ever imagine.” Edgar was a man of few words and he knew how to make them count. Stella gave Edgar a big kiss on the cheek, and surely she flashed him a sexy come hither look.

  Now everyone looked to me.

  “Thank you everyone for joining us this evening. I am grateful for all of you in my life, you all have been through thick and thin with me and for that I’m grateful.” I turned to Erin.

  “Erin,” my voice started to crack.

  “Ahem.” I cleared my throat.

  “I think I have loved you from the moment I met you. The beautiful stranger on the plane, the sassy combative woman in Costa Rica. The woman who rejected me on a daily basis until I humiliated myself in a dance competition.” Everyone laughed.

  “What?! Erin, you never told me this! Details after!” shouted Paige. Erin whispered to her “I’ll tell you later”.

  I walked over to across the table where Erin was sitting, I took her hand and got down on one knee.

  “Erin Marie Sommerset, I love you. You have made me into a better man.” Erin couldn’t fight her tears as I pulled out the ring box out of my pocket.

  “I cannot imagine life without you.” I opened the box. Erin had her hand covering her mouth. It was a solitaire 3 carat pink diamond.

  “Will you marry me?” I was motionless, waiting for her response. She was staring at me, with tears rolling down her cheeks. Oh god, please say something.

  “Yes, a thousand times yes.” I slipped the ring on her finger. Everyone cheered as she got down to kiss me and brought me back up on my feet. I held her tight and wiped her tears away. I whispered in her ear, “Should we tell them about the baby? Do you want to tell everyone?” She nodded and cleared her throat.

  “We have another good news. It’s still very early but we just couldn’t contain our happiness and want to share this news with you in person. We are pregnant, we just found out last night. If I’m counting right, I’m about 4 or 5 weeks along.” Erin was smiling from ear to ear.

  Everyone congratulated us. Mother hugged us both and welcomed Erin to the family. Paige and Stella offered help with the wedding planning. I pulled out the champagnes and the festivities continued.

  I couldn’t imagine a happier Thanksgiving.

  The End

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  Worlds Collide – A Billionaire Novelette

  After spending most of her 20’s dating one egotistical jerk after another, Katie finds herself working for her best friend’s catering company. She meets Lance and has nothing to go on other than this immediate heat between them. How can she be in love? She has never believed in star-crossed lovers.

  Their feelings are real, but the hurdles and misunderstandings will test their resolve to the breaking point.

  CHAPTER 1

  Katie

  “So you are done with men for good this time?” Asked my best friend, Jennifer. She rolled her eyes at me.

  “Of course,” I said, trying to sound convincing. But we both knew it was impossible.

  “You do have a tendency to generalize about men, Katie. Not all of them are like Steven. They are not all draconian monsters who will use you, and then, when they have sucked you dry, abandon you without remorse.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh at her way of describing my ex. “Not all of them are quite like Steven,” I said. “But all the ones I’ve met have been leeches of some sort or another. And god knows I don’t need another leech at this point in my life.”

  “You are doing fine,” said Jen. “Just keep your chin up. Things will work out for you. You got this job, didn’t you?”

  “I sure did, thanks to you! But that’s why I can’t afford another leech.” It didn’t pay very well and I was close to being broke. I worked for Jen, for her catering company. She played it safe in life, worked hard, kept her nose to the grindstone. Me on the other hand, I kept getting screwed over by man after man. And it wasn’t like I deserved it. Jen would vouch for me. I just happened to always meet the most insufferable egotistical pricks. Maybe I should go for the nice guy, I thought. Or maybe I should take a break all together.

  I needed to do what my mother said and look for a real connection. But aren’t nice guys weird? The type of guy we all used to make fun of in high school. But nice guy is probably an accountant doing better than me, I thought as I donned my cap, and walked with Jen up the steps to the high school. We were catering a 15 year high school reunion. Fun. Surely this would be a poser fest if ever there was one.

  “You don’t see many 15 year high school reunions,” said Jen. “You see 10 year reunions. And of course 20 and 30 and so on. But not too many 15 year reunions. Makes you wonder.”

  She actually had a very valid point. “These people must really be really into showing off. Isn’t that why you go to a high school reunion?”

  Jen laughed. “I’ve catered tons of them. And I think that’s right. Nobody comes dressed in
rags. Even the losers try to make it look like their life is cool. It’s definitely interesting to watch people.”

  That was true. It would give me something to do. It would only be Jen and I and one other girl who would arrive later. Not much to do besides setup and then smile at guests. Jen had a good little business for herself, made decent money. But as an employee, I barely made above minimum wage - which is why I didn’t go to my high school reunion last year. I was glad to be catering at someone else’s. I would die if I had to cater at my own.

  “So, are you looking at any other jobs? I know this is just a part time gig for you,” asked Jen. She had good intentions in everything she did, and genuinely wanted the best for me.

  “Not sure. I feel like everything I enjoy doing is not marketable.”

  “You should get back into photography. It was going so well before Steven stepped in and screwed everything up,” pointed out Jen, as we set up the food, warming it up. “You can’t let what he said affect you.”

  I sighed, realizing what she had a good point. “I know, I am too sensitive when it comes to things like that. I guess I never truly believed in myself.”

  “That’s the key. Talent is as common as table salt,” she said as we set out the salt. “But hard work and belief is what really counts in the end. Besides, the customers will see that you really care about what you do.”

  “Thanks, for saying that.”

  “It’s nothing.”

  “No, it means a lot. A lot of friends are quick to judge. But you are really supportive. If only a guy could be like that.”

  Jen finished setting out the last tray, and turned on the burner. The food would be ready in a matter of minutes, and then the feasting would begin. “Don’t give up hope. There is someone out there for you.”

  I hoped she was right, and thought more about it as I set out the cutlery. A group of people sat down in a circle of chairs right next to us. Perfect, they are close enough so I could overhear their conversation. I couldn’t wait to judge them and see if I could tell who the posers were!