My Father's Best Friend

by Ali Parker

  “Okay, now you’ve done it,” Andrew growled.

  A second later and his arms were around me. I yelped as he lifted me over his shoulder and carried me into the suite’s bedroom.

  Setting me in the middle of the bed, he crawled right over top of me, arms on either side of my shoulders. The giant bulge beneath his pajama pants brushed my leg. I shivered in pleasure, looping my arms around his neck and tilting my face up toward his.

  But the kiss didn’t come.

  Instead, Andrew looked down at me, his gaze jumping all over my face.

  “Do you want a baby?”

  The question took my breath away. I blinked in surprise. “Wh-what?”

  “Do you want a baby?” he repeated, asking it like it was the simplest thing in the world.

  “Like, in the future?”

  “Sure.” He ran the back of his hand down my cheek. “Or nine months from now.”

  My breath caught in my throat, and my heart fluttered. A baby?

  I’d thought about kids before, and Andrew and I had discussed it a couple times after getting engaged. He was open to more kids, and I’d always wanted them. The possibility had seemed so abstract, though, a thing that could happen one day years in the future.

  But now here Andrew was, here my husband was, asking me point blank if I wanted a baby right then?

  “Are you asking me if I want to try for a baby right now?” I carefully questioned.

  Andrew’s eyes softened. “Lanie Marx, you don’t know how badly I want to put my baby in you, but I’m only going to do it if you want it as much as I do.”

  My whole body burned at his words. In one delicious wave of realization, I knew what the answer was.

  “Yes,” I cooed. “Let’s do it.”

  A smile broke across Andrew’s mouth, and he finally dropped his lips to mine. His kiss was hungry, feverish.

  As our tongues moved across each other, I tugged his shirt off and pushed his pajama pants down. Andrew helped me when he needed to, but his mouth never stayed away from mine for more than a few seconds. Within a few breaths, he was always back to kissing me, back to pouring his love and devotion on me.

  With us both naked, he slipped his arms under my back. My legs spread wide, and Andrew nestled his weight between them. I was already wet, my desire for him and my excitement for what we were doing sending my body into a frenzied overdrive.

  His lips caressing mine, Andrew pushed against my opening. With one fluid movement, his length disappeared inside me. I dropped my hips completely open, crying out against the pleasure.

  Leaving my mouth, Andrew lightly clamped his teeth into the side of my neck. Gently, he rocked into me, thrusting completely in before pulling back as much as he could manage.

  Delirious pleasure soared through me. With each stroke, I came a little more undone. I was melting, disappearing into the ethers.

  I dug my nails into Andrew’s lower back, squeezing my eyes shut tight as he pumped into me. I could feel his girth widening, could feel him hitting as far as he could, going almost to my cervix.

  The pleasure increased, and I began to shake as I started to come. Andrew took my mouth again, kissing me heartily as he pumped faster. A new warmth filled me, and he groaned against my mouth. Long ropes of his seed shot deep inside of me, where my body eagerly sucked it up.

  Gasping, Andrew rested his face into the crook of my neck. For a long time, we lay there, sweating and breathing heavily. His length was still inside of me, and our limbs were intertwined.

  “Well?” he asked after a while, hot breath tickling my neck.

  “Hm?” I turned my face to the side, pressing my cheek against his. I’d been floating away, getting close to sleep.

  “Do you think it worked?”

  I ran my fingers down his back, collecting drops of sweat. “We’d better try again real soon. You know, just in case.”

  I felt Andrew’s throat and chest vibrate as he chuckled. “You won’t get any complaints from me on that.”

  “Mm.” I turned against him, snuggling closer. He got the cue and rolled over onto his back, bringing me with him.

  Taking my hand, Andrew laced our fingers together. With my arm tossed over his chest and my head resting on his shoulder, I was in my happy place.

  “So?” I asked, stifling a yawn. “Surfing? Or sunbathing? Or a hike?”

  “You sure there’s nothing else you want to do?”

  “Andrew.” I giggled. “You seriously cannot have that kind of stamina.”

  “You’re only saying that because you don’t know what it’s like to get to sleep with you.”

  I sighed happily. “Okay, maybe staying in this suite all week long isn’t such a bad idea after all.”

  “If we’re going to get you pregnant, we’ll have to set aside at least a few hours a day for trying.”

  Again, he had me laughing. “You’re going to make me sore.”

  “Don’t worry, baby.” He kissed my head. “I’ll take care of you.”

  A smile stretched across my face. I knew he’d be good with that promise. Since the day he’d proposed to me, Andrew had treated me like I was the sun and moon. He was never letting me go, and it was the same deal on my side.

  Andrew rubbed my arm, and the nearly imperceptible sound of crashing waves entered our room. Outside, the day was bright and perfect, waiting for us to seize it.

  Just like the rest of our lives.

  Epilogue

  Andrew

  “How are you doing?” I rubbed Lanie’s shoulder, feeling silly for asking the question.

  She huffed out a breath, looking out the window instead of at me.

  I nodded. Right, then.

  What was it I learned in that maternity class we took? For the life of me, I couldn’t remember one thing. My pulse was racing a million miles an hour, and all my nerves were bunching up in my stomach.

  Lanie exhaled again, long and low, as she had another contraction.

  The door opened, and the doctor strode into the room with a big smile. “Let’s check you out,” she said.

  Lanie just pressed her lips tight together and nodded, her face growing red.

  “You’re doing great, honey,” I told her.

  She smiled up at me, but I could see the exhaustion in her eyes. She was ready for this to be over with.

  Taking her hand, I held it tight as the doctor checked her dilation.

  “Ten centimeters,” she announced. “We’re ready to push.”

  “Thank god,” Lanie gasped. She gritted her teeth and squeezed my hand so tight, I thought it was going to fall off.

  The doctor said something to a nurse and within a matter of a minute, several more people were in the room. Everything moved fast. Lights were brightened. Lanie was scooted forward.

  The doctor counted. Lanie pushed, squeezing my hand hard. The minutes ticked by. More counting. More pushing. Beads of sweat rolled down her temples and low, guttural sounds came from her chest.

  “Do we know what it’s going to be?” one of the nurses asked.

  I kept my eyes on Lanie as I answered. “No. We decided to wait.” I swept some damp hair back from my wife’s forehead.

  “We’re crowning,” the doctor announced.

  My heart did a flip. Lanie leaned forward, pushing long and hard.

  “Here we go,” the doctor sang.

  And then, just like that, a baby was there.

  “It’s a boy.” She held him up, and he blinked against the light, little eyes looking around in confusion.

  A noise halfway between a laugh and a sob left me. I glanced down at Lanie, who was staring at our new son with an astonished look on her face.

  “Congratulations,” one of the nurses said.

  They laid the baby on Lanie’s chest, wiping at his face as they did so. Lanie wrapped her arms around him and ran her finger down his cheek as if testing to see if he was truly real.

  “I can’t believe it,” she whispered.

  �
�Neither can I,” I murmured back.

  I reached down and touched his little hand. Yes, he was as real as Lanie or me.

  We stayed that way, staring at our little baby until they moved us down the hallway and into a room for a longer stay. Not until I went to open the door for Raven did I pull myself away.

  “Oh my god,” Raven cooed, her hands going to her mouth. “No way!”

  “I know.” Lanie laughed. “It’s crazy.”

  “Oh, sweet baby.” Raven tentatively reached out and stroked the baby’s belly. “What’s his name?”

  Lanie and I looked at each other. Her eyes sparkled. Never before had she looked so lovely.

  “I don’t know,” Lanie slowly answered. “We haven’t decided yet.”

  I came and sat on the side of Lanie’s bed and pulled down the edge of the baby’s hat, making sure it fully covered his ears.

  “We could name him after something that we have in common,” I suggested. “Your father.”

  Raven guffawed. “Bob?”

  “No.” I grinned and poked her side. “But how about Robert?”

  “Robert,” Lanie repeated, her face lighting up. “Dad will love that.”

  “It is a good name,” Raven agreed. “And he can go by Bobby if he wants.”

  “So it’s settled?” I asked.

  “Settled,” Raven and Lanie said at the same time.

  I laughed, my heart so full, I thought it would burst. Outside the hospital window, the Seattle lights twinkled, the city alive and throbbing with vitality. I’d spent most of my life out there, always working to get ahead, always working to become better than the man I was the day before.

  It wasn’t until a soft-spoken woman with a heart ten times the size of everyone else’s walked into my life that I saw how backward I’d been. Everything I’d ever needed was right in front of me.

  I had a family. I had love.

  For the rest of my days, I’d never want for anything else.

  The End

  Author Note: I hope that you enjoyed the story of Lanie and Andrew. I had a lot of fun writing this one. As a thank you to you for grabbing the book I have Matt and Erica’s story included for you.

  My Creative Billionaire

  Chapter 1

  Matt

  "Remind me again why I said I would do this? It seems rather masochistic now that we're in the thick of things." I glanced over at Sophie and smiled as she plucked her ear-bud out and growled at me softly.

  "What? Are you complaining about the weather again? It's beautiful out here." The stern look on her pretty face didn't hold for long as she studied me.

  I wiped my forearm across my head and took a deep breath as we bounded along the outdoor track near her house. Her dark brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and even without makeup, she was stunning. Where the snot-nose bully from my childhood had gone to was a mystery, but the woman that took her place was beautiful, and even scarier than when we were little.

  "I'm not complaining. I was simply asking how you talked me into this." I turned my focus back to the road ahead of us and let my eyes run across the tree line. The brilliant greens that covered the grass and treetops in Texas most of the spring and summer were finally starting to die off and bleed into the colors of fall. It had to be my favorite time of the year.

  "You wanted to lose a little bit of weight, and I hate dogs. Remember? It was a win-win situation." She popped me in the gut and started to jog faster.

  "This sounds about as fun as our partnership in junior high. I wanted to lose weight and you wanted an extra ice cream cone, so my left over change became yours every day."

  "You had a crush on me. That's why you gave up your change." She glanced over her shoulder and smirked.

  I chuckled, unable to help myself. What was it with me and cocky, overbearing women?

  "I still have a crush on you." I picked up the pace and blew past her as she yelped and tried to catch up. We'd been friends too long for anything to become of us, but it was one of the only solid relationships in my life.

  "Liar," she called after me and stopped at my side as I bent over and pressed my hands to my knees. We panted in tandem for a few minutes, before I glanced up at her.

  "You know you're like a sister to me."

  "You have a sister now, right?" She stood back up and adjusted her ponytail. "What's her name? Bertha?"

  "Don't be like that." I lifted my hands toward the clear blue sky and stretched. "Her name is Bethany and you'd like her a lot."

  "She's taking my place. I hate her." Sophie stuck out her tongue and took off again, leaving me with no other choice than to chase after her.

  "She's not taking your place. I'm a big guy with loads of free time, remember?"

  "Speaking of free time." She glanced over at me, her slate grey eyes filled with concern.

  "Not this again. I'm fine. I'm going to Seattle this weekend and I'll start figuring things out."

  "Leaving here isn't a choice. You've lived here your whole life."

  "Yeah, and it's not done me any favors. I'm twenty-eight and still without a career or a girlfriend. It's time to start moving toward having something of my own. You know how much I hate having my dad support me."

  "Being a playboy billionaire is most little boys’ dream jobs."

  "Bullshit." I laughed. "It's to be a fireman or a cop or a billionaire tycoon with loads of responsibility and girls."

  "Okay, so I'm not a boy. I wouldn't know, but I think you're being too hard on yourself. You have the perfect opportunity to work on your art here in Dallas and live freely thanks to your dad's money. What else is he going to do with it?"

  She had a point, but I'd been trying to find myself for the better of four years and still felt like I was floundering around.

  "He's going to take care of his new wife and their future together." I let out a loud huff as we stopped near the parking lot and walked back and forth down a short path to cool down. "I want a life of my own, I'm just honestly not sure what that life looks like, and besides, you know as well as I do that you wouldn't be all right living off your father's money-"

  "If he had money." She snorted and rolled her shoulders. "Find your passion, Matt. I've found mine. It's reporting the news and digging deep for the story. It's been the best four years of my life working for NBC. You should be able to say the same, but you know why you can't?"

  "Because I'm not a pretty reporter with a great rack?" I smiled and took the smack I deserved with good humor.

  "Because you haven't figured out what you want to do. Being a billionaire doesn't mean shit if you don't live a little with it."

  "Very true." I ran my fingers through my hair and couldn't help but think about my older brother. The one thing Damon wanted more than anything else in the world was a solid relationship with a woman. Was to be loved in a way that would make most men gag, and yet he kept fucking it up.

  "What are you thinking about?" She reached out and tugged on the front of my t-shirt, pulling me from my thoughts.

  "Damon." I took a deep breath and glanced up at the sky. "He's been in turmoil since Mom cheated on Dad. It's like it changed the whole trajectory of his life."

  "But he's with Bethany now, which by the way is weird."

  "No, it's not." I shrugged and brushed my hands over my chest rhythmically. "They're a great couple, but they aren't together right now."

  "Why? They realized they were brother and sister?"

  "Why are you salty about this?" I couldn't help but study her for the answer. She had a thing for Damon when we were younger, but he was as much of an alpha as she was. They butted heads the whole time we were growing up and almost couldn't stand each other by the time Sophia and I graduated high school.

  "I'm not. I'm just concerned that Damon's going to end up hurt. He's a tough guy, but I know the dude underneath all that alpha bullshit, remember?" She brushed her hand over the top of her head and locked gazes with me. "And you better be careful too."

&n
bsp; "We talking about Bethany wanting me too now?"

  She snorted. "No, silly. We're talking about Erica wanting to lick your skin from your bones."

  "Exactly!" I threw my hands in the air and walked in a circle, bobbing my head. "I told Bethany that Erica was a man-eater, but no one sees that but me."

  "I don't even know the woman, but I think you think that all women are man-eaters." She put her hands on her hips and tilted her head to the side.

  "You guys are." I gave her a goofy grin. "Let's talk about you going over to Dubai to study the crown prince. You need to take someone with you. Period."

  "You offering to go?" She nodded toward the parking lot. "Come on. I'll buy you a frozen coffee drink with cow hormones and white death."

  I rolled my eyes. "No, I'm not offering to go. Are you seriously still not drinking milk or eating sugar?"

  "Hell no." She bumped her shoulder against mine. "What if the prince of Dubai looks like the guy from Aladdin?"

  "You know he does. Stop playing coy." I walked around to the passenger's side door of her jeep and got in. "You're going over there with the hopes that he's looking for a pretty white-skinned princess, aren't you? Admit it."

  "Nope." She got in and buckled up. "I'm going to make sure they're not mixed up in some of the nefarious black market bullshit that I know their knee-deep into. I'm not looking to hook up with anyone. My career comes first, period. You know this about me."

  "It's the reason you're not wearing my ring. We could have pretty blond babies with blue eyes and chubby cheeks, but no... you have to be a career-driven fiend."

  "You think I'm a fiend? I like the thought of that."

  I rolled my eyes and relaxed against my seat as she hit the gas and jerked the jeep out of the parking lot we sat in. She put it in drive and ran over the parking bumps without blinking an eye. I swore the woman had more testosterone than most men I knew.

  "So are you good with me thinking about moving to Seattle? I haven't made up my mind, but getting the thumbs-up from Jonathan Luntz is a good first step. If he's willing to showcase my work, then I might actually have a bright future up there." I wasn't sure why I was asking her. No one could make the decision for me. The balance of reasons to go versus not going were tied as far as I was concerned.