The Billionaire's Secretly Fake Bride (MANHATTAN BACHELORS Book 3)

by Susan Westwood

  His phone dinged when the time was up. Violet looked up at him. “Time?”

  “Yes, Violet. Time. We need to get you some food. I can hear your stomach rumbling from here,” he said.

  She packed up her laptop then followed him out the door to the car.

  He picked an Italian restaurant. This was New Jersey so you could find one on any street corner or strip mall. All of them were delicious because a bad one would close quickly. He didn’t order wine since Violet couldn’t drink any.

  She ordered the veal. He asked for manicotti in meat sauce.

  “No wine?” she said.

  “No.”

  “You don’t have to go without on my account. I’m not a big wine drinker at all. I don’t miss it.”

  He shrugged. “I’d like to talk.”

  “That never sounds good.”

  He chuckled. “Sorry. It’s not bad. I just think we need to finally talk about this baby.”

  She nodded. “Go ahead.”

  “Well, have you made a decision about raising this child?”

  She took a deep breath, her gaze bouncing around the room. “No, because I’m not sure it’s real to me yet. I don’t feel the baby move, so I guess I’m not ready to make a decision.”

  “I see. Well, I’ve made some decisions of my own. I’m setting up a college fund for him or her. No reason to wait.”

  “Okay. Thank you.”

  “It’s the least I can do, Violet. I want to see my child succeed. He or she will need college.”

  “He.”

  “You know for sure?”

  “No, I just have a feeling,” she said.

  “Okay. Then I guess until we know for sure, the baby is a he.”

  “Right.”

  “Have you thought about names?”

  “No. If the baby is a boy, it will make it harder for me to pick. There haven’t been any male role models in my life that I want to name him after,” she said.

  The waitress brought rolls, butter, and olive oil. Amedeo poured some onto a plate between them then put pepper on it. He handed her the bread basket. Violet took two slices, dipping them into the olive oil before devouring them.

  Guess she was hungry.

  “I have some ideas. We have a few family names we pass down.”

  “Okay. Not sure I’m ready for that discussion. Maybe we should wait until we know it’s a boy for sure.”

  “Okay.” He chewed his bread then swallowed. “Are you planning on taking some time off when the baby comes? I can spend some time working from home at that time.”

  She rubbed a hand down her face. “Amedeo.”

  “Yes.”

  “I’m hungry and tired. Can this wait until I’ve eaten?”

  He smiled at her. “Of course. I’m just a man of action.”

  “I get that, but right now I could eat this table.”

  He chuckled. “Fair enough. I’m sorry.”

  “No need to apologize.”

  She ate another piece of bread. Thankfully the waitress arrived with their food. Violet dug into it. She ate with gusto and Amedeo found it refreshing to have dinner with someone who did more than push food around her plate.

  Violet stopped. “What?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You’re staring at me.”

  “Most of my dates eat salad like they have to make it last for a year. You actually eat.”

  “I’m pregnant and I’m not your date.”

  “We’re lovers.”

  “Yes, but that’s different.”

  “You don’t think I can take my lover out to dinner?”

  She shrugged. “I think the expectations are different.”

  “How?”

  “Still hungry, Amedeo.”

  He waved his hand. “Go ahead. We can talk later.”

  He wanted to laugh, but he didn’t want her to think he was laughing at her. He was just amused by her forthrightness. He always knew where he stood with Violet. That was good. He found it a nice change from most women who tended to tell him what he wanted to hear. Not that his ego minded that, but if he was going to be hooked to someone for the rest of his life, it might as well be someone he can communicate with.

  ***

  With her stomach full, Violet found a renewed energy. When Amedeo suggested they do some baby shopping, she jumped at the idea. Now they were in a baby superstore.

  “Who knew there was so much stuff?” Amedeo said.

  They paused just inside the door of the big box store. Amedeo took her hand. “Maybe we should find someone to help us. Maybe there’s a checklist.”

  “Have you seen your brother’s nursery?”

  “No, but I may have to pick his brain.”

  “Might be a good source.”

  She held his hand like a life line as the shelves and shelves of clothing and accessories overwhelmed her. A woman came up to them, smiling. “May I help you?”

  “We’re looking for items for a baby,” Amedeo said.

  They’d come to the right place. At least Violet hoped. If they couldn’t find it here, it probably didn’t exist.

  “I’m Janice. I can help you find what you need. Is this for a shower?”

  “No, we’re having a baby,” Violet said.

  “When is the baby due?” Janice said.

  “Don’t know yet for sure,” Violet said and realized how stupid that sounded.

  Janice’s smile didn’t dim. “I’m assuming you have time, but are on top of things.”

  “Yes. I’m a man of action so we might as well figure out what we need,” Amedeo said.

  “Follow me.”

  Amedeo put a hand on Violet’s back, nudging her to go after Janice. She did and he kept his hand in hers. He was her anchor, even though she knew he didn’t have any more knowledge on this subject than he did. She couldn’t imagine what this would be like if she were doing it alone. Why did women choose that? This was all bearable with someone else in the picture.

  Even if he would never love her, he’d love her child.

  Janice motioned for them to sit at a desk while she took the chair opposite them. “We have a check list for you to start.”

  She put a paper in front of them that was filling from top to bottom. Bottles, diapers. The other side had questions to answer. “I didn’t know there was going to be a quiz.”

  Janice just kept smiling. What they must look like to her. Violet wasn’t even showing and they didn’t have wedding rings on. That probably wasn’t as uncommon these days as it used to be.

  Amedeo took the list in his hand, reading it over. “Wow.”

  “Yes, it’s overwhelming, but you don’t have to purchase it all now. You can take your time over the coming months. A lot of people order the furniture first and the bedding once they choose a theme.”

  Violet glanced at Amedeo whose eyebrows were raised. “Theme?”

  Janice pulled a large binder out of a drawer. “Here are the bedding themes.”

  Violet bought her sheets at Walmart. Was her kid going to have satin ones? She blinked at the book as Amedeo flipped the pages. “Any ideas?”

  She shook her head. “Maybe we’re doing this too soon.”

  “It can take a few months for the bedding to arrive,” Janice said. “The sooner the better in terms of ordering it.”

  They may have to make a decision right now. “It’s not like it affects the child’s future.”

  Amedeo nodded. “I think we’ll wait on this for a few weeks. What can we purchase now?”

  “Diapers,” Janice said. “You will never have enough. Five or six a day at least. More if you breastfeed.” She turned her attention to Violet. “You are going to breastfeed right?”

  Violet’s mouth moved, but she couldn’t make any sounds. Amedeo jumped in. “She hasn’t made that decision yet, but we’ll appreciate you respecting that.”

  Janice pressed her lips together then finally a smile broke the tension. “You’ll need diapers.”
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  “Diapers, check,” Amedeo said.

  Violet was still pondering the idea of breastfeeding. She should probably want to do that, but she wasn’t keen on the idea. This child was going to be so dependent on her. What a concept. Someone depending on her that wasn’t paying her.

  “Clothing of course, but they live in onesies for the first few weeks so you’ll need a lot.”

  “Then we’ll stock up on those first,” Amedeo said. He stood, reaching out for Violet’s hand.

  She took his hand, following him to a rack of the smallest clothing she’d ever seen. In terms of Amedeo’s size they looked miniscule, but then she realized that she was going to push that human out of her in the future. Holy shit.

  “What colors, Violet?” Amedeo said.

  “Uh, I guess yellow and blue. Girls can wear blue, but a boy looks odd in pink,” she said.

  Amedeo rifled through the rack. He picked out several onesies in different colors. “We should probably get them in several sizes, just to be prepared. You could have a big baby. He or she might start out in six month clothing.”

  “Were you a big baby?”

  He was a tall man so he must have started out tall.

  “I was ten pounds.”

  “That’s a small turkey,” she said.

  He shrugged. “My father was tall and my brothers are tall.”

  “Yikes. I hadn’t thought about that.”

  Janice, thankfully, had left them alone with their list.

  Amedeo had his arms full with onesies. “We need a cart.”

  Violet returned with one from the front of the store. They found the diapers and loaded up the cart with those. Next they looked at bottles. “We should get some just in case you don’t breastfeed.”

  “Okay. I hope you don’t care which I do.”

  “It’s your body. You choose.”

  “Thanks.”

  Amedeo pushed the cart to the checkout line. It was taller than Violet with all the stuff in it. Once they checked out, he filled the trunk and the front seat of the car. His driver didn’t say anything, but Violet could only imagine what he was thinking. Bet he’d never hauled baby gear before today.

  Ensconced in the back seat of the car, surrounded by diapers and onesies, they headed home.

  ***

  Amedeo’s ex had been barred from his company, but apparently she wasn’t done with him. He stepped out to get some fresh air. He needed to clear his head. The shopping trip from last night had brought home some truths for him. He hadn’t slept well, finally leaving a snoring Violet in his bed to go work.

  She’d disappeared as soon as they arrived and he hoped she would be free for lunch. He expected not. She could be as much a workaholic as he was.

  He stood on the sidewalk outside his building, his face to the sun, when he heard her voice. He opened his eyes to see Tory charging toward him. Shit.

  “What do you want, Tory?”

  She shoved some papers in his face. He pushed them away. “What are these?”

  “Your new skank of a girlfriend has a past.”

  “She isn’t a skank. You don’t even know her.”

  “She stole you from me.”

  He was tiring of pointing out that Tory had broken the engagement off and that Violet wasn’t in the picture then. He pressed his lips together instead. No need to engage the crazy person. “That’s not what happened.”

  “Read these. She’s been arrested.”

  Amedeo blinked. He didn’t know much about Violet’s past so it was possible that she’d been arrested. Maybe unpaid parking tickets? He doubted she was a murderer. He also didn’t want Tory to know that he was unaware of Violet’s past. This was none of her business.

  “Tory, you exhaust me. Go away.”

  “Read it, Amedeo. Read about the woman you’ve let into your house,” Tory said.

  He took the papers, but only to get her away from him. “Go away, Tory. Or I’ll have the cops escort you.”

  She backed away. She didn’t like scenes or so she said but she was certainly making one. “You read it then call me.”

  “No matter what is on these papers, I won’t be calling you.”

  “You’ll come back to me, Amedeo. She isn’t your type. She isn’t from our world.”

  Was that a reference to Violet being black? Was Tory a bigot? Another reason he was glad he hadn’t married her. He didn’t care about the color of Violet’s skin. It was just window dressing. What mattered was on the inside.

  Tory left and it took Amedeo a few minutes to get back to the calm of a few minutes ago. He still had the papers in his hand while he contemplated putting them in the garbage. Maybe he should know about the mother of his child. What type of DNA was she contributing to his child?

  He entered the elevator to take him back to his office, but he wasn’t sure if what she’d done in the past mattered. She was still carrying his child. Her past had no effect on the future in this case.

  Unless she’d killed someone and not in self-defense. That would be a game changer. He would have to get custody of the baby. He would raise him or her. He couldn’t let a murderer raise his child.

  When the elevator doors opened, he was sure he was going to read what Tory had given him. He settled at his desk, but he had misgivings. He and Violet had never spoken about what had come before their night of passion. Was any of this his business?

  Yes it was. She carried his child. She was possibly going to raise his child. He should know what he was in for.

  “Or should I ask her first?”

  He was torn. He wanted to know and didn’t want to know at the same time. He wasn’t usually this indecisive. Finally he smoothed out the papers on his desk and set about reading them.

  This was a juvenile file. How did Tory get ahold of it? She must have done something illegal because this should have been expunged or at least sealed when Violet turned eighteen.

  He sighed. Armed robbery. An accessory to armed robbery, really. That could mean a lot of things. She could have just been in the car or she could have masterminded it. That wasn’t the woman he knew. She was kind and funny and sexy.

  Damn. Now he was sorry he looked at this paper. He should have talked to Violet first. This was an invasion of her privacy. She wouldn’t expect this to come back to haunt her. She’d been younger than eighteen when it happened.

  He rose from his desk, feeling guilty, but knew he had to talk to Violet. With it being almost lunch time, maybe he could coax her out. He needed to know her side or the story.

  She didn’t look up when he entered her office. He sat and waited for her to notice him. Not his usual stance, but he felt bad about seeing her arrest record. She was a grown woman now and shouldn’t have to answer for what she’d done as a teenager.

  “You just going to stare at me?” she said.

  Her gaze had connected with his for a moment as her fingers danced across the keyboard. She hadn’t paused.

  “You ready for lunch?”

  “The department has already ordered something for me.”

  They could talk in her office. He would close the door.

  “I saw Tory,” she said.

  Her office did overlook the front sidewalk. Maybe this was his opening. “Yes, she was here.”

  Violet nodded, but didn’t ask him anything else.

  “I need to talk to you about something,” Amedeo said.

  She sighed, her fingers pausing over her keyboard. “Can this wait until tonight? I’m on a roll here.”

  “I guess.”

  She was right. It could wait. Her answer didn’t impact anything she was doing for him. He rose. “We can talk tonight.”

  “Thanks, Amedeo.”

  He nodded then left. He should leave her to her work and they could talk tonight. He hoped he liked what she had to say.

  Chapter7

  Violet was dog tired and fell asleep during their ride home from work. This pregnancy stuff was taking a bite out of her ass. She’d
always had plenty of energy to get through her day. She woke when Amedeo put her on the couch in his living room.

  “What?” she said, blinking?

  “Shh. Go back to sleep. I’ll wake you for dinner.”

  She snuggled down into the couch, but didn’t go back to sleep. She couldn’t have moved if the couch had caught fire. Damn. This was going to be a long pregnancy.

  Amedeo came back later, putting his hand out. “Dinner’s ready.”

  “Thanks for cooking,” she said.

  She took a moment to get her bearings before she stood. He led her to the kitchen. The food smelled good. Pasta sauce of some kind over spaghetti.

  “No problem, Violet. Are you doing too much at work?”

  She slid onto the stool next to him. “No. I guess I’m just tired from being pregnant.”

  “I looked a few things up on the Internet while you were sleeping. It’s normal to be this tired in your first trimester.”

  She nodded then dug into her food. Her stomach felt like a pit that was never going to be filled. She knew they had to talk about something, but she had no idea what it was. Not important until she fed herself.

  When she finished her second plate, Amedeo was lounging in his chair, rolling wine around in his glass. He looked relaxed.

  “More?”

  “No, I think I’m full finally,” she said. “I’ll do dishes.”

  “That can wait a minute. I have something to ask you.”

  She wasn’t looking forward to this. He looked serious with his knitted brow. “Go ahead.”

  She wanted to lie, even without knowing what he was going to ask, but she promised herself she had to be honest with Amedeo. He was taking care of her. He’d taken her into his home. Without knowing much about her. For all he knew, she could be a thief.

  “I talked to Tory today. She said that she found out that you’ve been in jail. I wanted to hear your side of the story.”

  Her words froze in her throat. She couldn’t lie, but that had been when she was a teen. No one should have been able to access that. What had Tory done to get that information? Was it going to color how Amedeo saw her?

  “Uh.”

  “Are you denying it?”

  She wiped suddenly sweaty hands on her pants. The past threatened to come back up so she swallowed hard in an effort to keep it down. She didn’t need to be sick. “No.”