“I like your chicken,” I said and placed my package on the table.
“He’s a rooster. His name is Nancy,” she said, not taking her eyes away from the window.
I glanced out to the backyard. There was no one out there, just some plastic lawn furniture and a gray birdbath.
“I thought Nancy was a girl’s name?”
She shrugged. “What’s in a name?”
I smiled. “That which we call a rose would smell as a sweet.”
She glanced over at me, and her brow pinched. “We’re not talking about roses. We’re talking about names.” Her dark-rimmed glasses slid down the bridge of her nose.
“I was just quoting Shakespeare because I thought—”
“I know the playwright William Shakespeare. I know that you were quoting Romeo and Juliet. What I’m confused about was that we were discussing my cock’s name, and you brought up a tragedy.” She pushed her glasses back up her nose.
I had a feeling we were having two very different conversations.
“Let’s start again. Hi, I’m Monty, Rock’s brother.” I reached out my hand to shake hers.
She glanced at my hand and nodded, then turned toward the windowed doors.
“I’m Jami, Laura’s and Julia’s sister. This is our home. You are in our home.” She rubbed her thumb over the rooster.
There was something intriguing about her, not like Laura at all. It was becoming clear she didn’t want me here, but I wanted to stay and get to know her.
The voices in the other room grew louder. Someone important must have arrived as everyone was standing from the couch.
“It’s Julia. She came downstairs,” Jami said and looked straight into my eyes for the first time since I met her. “It’s important that you see her.”
“Yes.” Her sudden attention flustered me. “I’ll go in there. You coming?”
“No. I already met my sister twenty-one years ago.” She turned back to stare out into the yard.
I chuckled. “I guess you’re right. Well, it was nice to meet you.”
She didn’t respond, but at this point, I hadn’t expected her to. I moved into the room where most of the party gathered. I felt a little overdressed in a jacket and button-up shirt. It seemed this was a jeans and tank top sort of affair.
The only one wearing a dress was Laura, who was speaking to a woman with shoulder-length blond hair. I couldn’t see her face as she had her back to me, but I figured that might be her sister.
Julia. That was her name.
My cock twitched as thoughts of a very different Julia popped into my head. I regretted not going back to find her at the Jingle Balls Ball, but James said that Rock insisted we come back to The Blue Spot to meet with a potential investor.
The way James made it out to be, you’d think Rock wound up in the hospital. I missed out on the woman of my dreams for an investor for someone else’s company.
As much as I thought about the mysterious Julia from December, I knew I’d never see her again. I should have taken James’s advice and date, get my mind off her. It was a one-night stand over nine months ago. And it concerned me that I couldn’t get her out of my head.
Rock strolled up to me and slapped me on my back. “Have you met Laura’s sister?”
I threw my thumb over my shoulder. “I met Jami.”
“Ahh, Jami . . . yes. She’s interesting. Speaks plainly. I like that.”
I nodded. “Yeah. Very matter of fact. Is that rooster a pet?”
“It’s one of those assistance pets. I think she has anxiety or something. I’m not sure.”
That’s why she was rubbing it with her thumb. I had been reading about that lately, mainly children with special needs and disabilities. Some children with neurological and developmental issues soothe themselves with repetitive movement. I had been researching that because I wanted to create Virtual Reality, or VR, glasses, something to help children with special needs navigate and learn from the world around them.
“I haven’t met Julia yet.” It was as if she heard me.
Right at that moment, Julia turned from Laura and stared right at me.
My heart seized for a second, and I sucked in a breath. Sweat broke out on my brow. It was her. The Julia. The one from the Jingle Balls Ball. I had found her.
She gave me a small smile and then turned back to her sister. No recognition on her face. The grin was pleasant, welcoming, but never told me she knew who I was.
I blinked. Had she not recognized me?
I slapped my forehead. No, she hadn’t. Julia never saw what I looked like.
I was just another guy at her son’s birthday party.
“Are you all right, Monty? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
In a way, I had. But that wasn’t the part where I felt I was about to kiss the floor with my face.
It was the fact that Julia was the mother of a baby. A one-month-old baby.
I lifted my fingers and started counting. I worked on complex computer programing, and my brain was malfunctioning so badly right now that I had to resort to finger counting.
“What are you doing?” Rock turned toward me, placing his hand on my shoulder. “I’m genuinely concerned.”
“When did Julia give birth?”
He tilted his head. “Well, it was one month ago, so August fifth.”
I shook my head. “No, it couldn’t be. That would make it less than forty weeks.”
“Huh?”
“So, she got pregnant what? In November? Maybe even late October?”
Before I slept with her in early December. I was fine. It wasn’t my baby. If I had impregnated Julia, that baby would be born in September, not early August.
Rock tapped his chin. “I’m not sure. I didn’t know Laura back then. But I know the baby was born a month early. Had to spend five days in the NICU. Laura was very concerned for a while. She refused to leave Julia’s side then.”
I winced. “A month early.”
I glanced back over at Julia, who was now talking to someone I didn’t recognize.
I wasn’t there for her. I wasn’t there for our baby. I was a dirtbag.
Chapter 8
Julia
“WHO’S THE HOTTIE TALKING with Rock?” I asked my sister.
Since giving birth to Nathan, I discovered whatever filter I had—or as my sister puts it, decorum—got pushed out with the placenta. I won’t even hide the fact that I was staring at him.
But he was staring at me too. It wasn’t the usual I’d like to fuck that MILF type of stare I had received a few times over the past month. His dark brown eyes, framed perfectly by his glasses, locked on me like a frightened animal on a dark road with headlights careening toward it.
I smirked and turned back to my sister. He was wise to be fearful. What I would do to his body might require medics afterward. His dick would never be the same once I rode it Julia-style.
“One more week,” my sister reminded me.
“How can I be expected to wait that long for a good dicking?”
Laura gasped and glanced around the room. “Keep your voice down. This is a birthday party for a baby, not a bachelorette party.”
I rolled my eyes. “It’s not even Nathan’s one-month birthday, it’s his five-week birthday. But you made me move it because you had that big reception to cook for last weekend.”
She rolled her eyes, but I wasn’t done.
“When the doctor said I could resume sexual intercourse after six weeks of giving birth, I think it was more of a suggestion.”
Laura pursed her lips.
She had broken up with her dirtbag ex-boyfriend Beau, who was cheating on her with our cousin Sangi. I called that one.
She left working for Beau’s father and came back to her hometown of Castle Ridge. Now she was working for Rock, her fiancé, in The Blue Spot resort’s restaurant, and that was the best decision she ever made. I had never seen her this happy in my life.
I glanced over to the hottie.
He was counting on his fingers. Not a good sign. While I was horny and a little lonely for male companionship that wasn’t a newborn baby, I wasn’t about to sleep with a man solely for looks.
I had done that once in the past. It wasn’t as fun as I thought it would be. If they knew they could get any woman they wanted, they rarely worked for it, both in and out of the bedroom.
“That’s Rock’s brother, if you must know.”
I shook my head. “That’s not Joke’in James.”
I had met James once when I went to visit Laura at her new job as head chef of The Blue Chip. It was one highlight of my life. I had watched his VidTube channel for years and was a huge fan.
Another highlight of my life wiggled itself into my head: Wonder Dick.
I sighed.
I missed Wonder Dick. He gave me so many orgasms, and each one was more magnificent than the last. I tried to recreate what he did to me with my dildo, but it wasn’t the same.
He was like a fairytale prince with a grandiose cock that disappeared into the night.
“Not James. The middle brother, Monty. He’s working at The Blue Spot for now. Actually, I wanted you to meet him. I heard he’s looking for an assistant.”
A year ago, I would have run for the hills if my sister brought up working for a billionaire. But since having Nathan, my priorities have changed.
It was imperative that I provided for my son. Rock had been helping a lot with paying my medical bills, but he wasn’t Nathan’s father. I didn’t want to be a burden on him.
As a mother, it was my job to make sure my little bean was taken care of, both physically and financially. If it meant sucking up my pride and working for the man, so be it.
And if it meant I’d be working every day with eye candy wrapped in a suit, I would make that sacrifice.
“Is he the dumb one?”
I knew it wasn’t nice to ask, but the man looked like he was about to hyperventilate, counting with his fingers.
“Monty?” my sister asked with a snort. “Oh, no. He’s hella smart.”
I gave my sister a lopsided grin. “Look at you. Using lingo from this century. I think you getting engaged to Rock was a good thing.”
She shrugged. “It’s the kitchen staff. They teased me mercilessly when I told them I once had a pet rock when I was little that was a hand-me-down from Mom.”
“I’m just glad someone is bringing you into this century. Anyway, maybe it’s time to meet this hella smart guy.”
If he was intelligent, which I had my doubts, then working for him would be a good thing. I could learn a thing or two from him and then work my way up.
I used to turn my nose up at responsibility, but maybe it wasn’t all bad. I liked the idea of ordering people around and saying things like, “I need that on my desk by lunch.” Or something fierce like, “I’m the boss. Do as I say, or you’re fired.”
Laura guided me around the couch to where Rock stood with Monty. Rock turned, and his grin grew when he laid eyes upon his future wife. Monty stiffened. Again, it appeared he was fearful of us.
“Monty, I’d like you to meet my sister Julia. This is her son’s party.” My sister turned toward me, waving at Monty. “Julia, this is Monty, Rock’s brother.”
I held out my hand. He gazed at it for a moment before Rock elbowed him in the side. That snapped him out of his frozen state.
Monty reached for my hand, his jaw clenched as he stared past me. I wondered if he was on the autism spectrum like Jami.
“It’s nice to meet you, Monty. Laura told me such wonderful things about you.” I pulled my hand back, but he appeared upset by that, shaking his head while I tried to move away.
The handshake turned more into a tug-of-war contest where I was losing, badly. He yanked me forward with tremendous force, and I plowed right into his chest.
“Monty,” Rock yelled at his brother.
His grip was firm as I tried to remove my hand. And that was the moment my vagina woke up and told me to like this guy. Because the smell of his woodsy scent, mixed with his firm grip on my hand, caused my body to react. My vagina was confusing this with a sex act. Bad timing, libido.
“I’m fine,” I mumbled into his chest.
Monty released my hand but gripped my shoulders, pushing me back. I stood at arm's length from him, a little woozy as his chocolate eyes searched mine.
I licked my lips. His eyes darted to my mouth and took longer than even I thought was appropriate to return to my gaze.
“I’m sorry. It caught me off guard.”
He sounded familiar. But as I stared at him, nothing came to mind. I would have thought I’d remember someone who looked as good as Monty, but I was learning mommy brain was sometimes worse than drunk brain.
“Off guard? You stared at my hand for about thirty seconds.”
Damnit.
Here I was trying to get this guy to hire me, and I already made fun of him. It was hard reining in this sass.
He chuckled and raised his brow. Holy moly. Right there. The combination of the deep chuckle and that look could melt the panties right off my hips. Even with the glasses. I wasn’t a glasses-on-guys sort of gal, but it worked on him.
I bit my lip as I considered asking Rock if it was frowned upon to have inter-office relations. I wouldn’t think it would be since he was banging my sister right after he hired her.
“You’re right.” He scratched the back of his head and gazed toward the kitchen. “I’m not great with babies.”
He winced after Rock elbowed him again.
“What does a baby have to do with a handshake?”
“Nothing. It has nothing to do with anything. I am just . . . Isn’t there a baby here? I thought it was a baby’s birthday?”
I took a step back and frowned. Why was he so interested in my baby?
I looked over at Laura, who shrugged. “He’s taking a nap.”
I could accept the awkward handshake and the fearful behavior, but now I was getting creepy vibes from him.
“Why are you here?” I put my hands on my hips. There was no way I was letting Monty anywhere near my baby.
He looked up at Rock, who shook his head.
Monty swallowed. “I just love babies.”
But he just said he wasn’t good with babies. Something wasn’t right.
“Oh no.” I took a step back, grabbing my sister’s arm and pulling her with me.
We kept walking until we were standing by the table with the presents. Jami was there with Nancy, monitoring the gifts like she said she would. The only way she tolerated parties was by having a job. I told her I needed someone to watch the gifts. So, here she stayed.
“You want me to work for a pedophile?” I whisper-screamed at my sister.
“No. He’s not like that. At least, I don’t think he is.”
I waved toward the family room. “You were there. You heard him. The man has issues. Very creepy issues.”
My sister bit her thumbnail as her gaze flickered between me and the other room. After a moment, Rock came up next to her.
“I have no idea what’s wrong with Monty. He’s normally not like that.”
I folded my arms and faced him. “You’ve known him all his life. Has he ever shown an affinity to babies or small children?”
“No. I mean, nothing out of the ordinary. He avoids them. That’s why I didn’t understand why he showed up here.”
“Yeah, it was weird. When he got here, he told me he thought we weren’t speaking.”
Rock tilted his head, but after a moment, his eyes widened. “Oh no. I totally forgot. I asked him to come. I thought you left me several days ago. I might have had too much to drink and ran into his office, begging him to talk to you.”
“What else did you tell him? Because I can’t work for a man who is really into babies,” I said, making air quotes with my fingers.
Rock rubbed his head. “I can’t remember. Like I said, I had too much to drink. He seemed uneasy when he saw you. Maybe
I said something in my drunken state that set him off. I bet I told him to lie to you. He’s bad at lying. Besides, I know he’s really worried about finding investors for his project. He’s stressed.”
I guessed that was a good thing. I wouldn’t want to work for someone who could easily lie.
“That makes sense. I may have only met him a week ago, but he never struck me as creepy. He seemed like the sane one of the family,” Laura said.
“Hey.” Rock frowned.
She leaned in and gave Rock a hug. “I love your imperfections. Some of them are sexy.” She wiggled her eyebrows.
I almost gasped as I witnessed Rock blush. He was the type of guy who barked orders. Never figured my sister had the power to fluster him.
“I like him,” Jami said, interrupting my sister’s love talk.
“Really?” Laura and I asked at the same time.
Jami rarely liked people, so infrequently that she made three lists. One was a list of people she disliked. She refused to say the word “hate” as she felt that was an ugly word.
Another list was of people she tolerated. Rock was on that list, but he didn’t know it.
The last list contained people she loved. Laura, my parents, recently added Nathan, and I were the only people on that list.
“Yes. He would never hurt Nathan.” Jami turned toward us, her eyes cast down and thumb rubbing Nancy’s feathers.
“Of course not. I wouldn’t let him near Nathan,” I said.
My sister raised her eyes to me and held my gaze. “But he must.”
I loved Jami. She knew things that most people didn’t. Yes, she was book smart. She studied archeology at the university. There wasn’t a fact about history she didn’t know. But she also knew things about people. She could read them. I never understood how since her therapist said she had trouble understanding social cues from people.
But she just met Monty, and I suspected she only said a few words to him at most. I wasn’t about to let him near Nathan, no matter what she liked about him.
Maybe she just thought he was cute.
“Maybe. But not today.” I nodded at her.
“Yes. But he will meet Nathan,” she added before turning back to the French doors.
I glanced toward the family room. Monty was there, staring at us. He quickly turned and bumped into the end table with a lamp. It almost fell on my neighbor Gerald’s head, but he caught it just in time.
Surprising the Billionaire with a Baby (Blue Ridge Mountain Billionaires Book 2) Page 5