The Virgin Secretary: A Billionaire Romance

by Cross, Veronica

  Chapter Nine: Further on Up the Road

  She froze and prayed that the man was not yelling at her. There is another pregnant Annika in these gardens at this minute. There has to be. As she slowly turned her mind racing on a way to escape, she knew she had been discovered…by Dickie? In slow motion, Annika saw him running toward her, his arms outstretched, and he was embracing her with so much intensity, she was worried he would break her.

  “Dickie! Oh my word! I don’t believe it!” she cried hugging him back with equal force. Dickie dropped his arms and raised his eyebrow.

  “Did you just say ‘oh my word?’ I’m sorry, I mistook you for some feisty bitch I used to know in the city. Pardon me, miss.” Annika laughed and whacked him lightly in the arm. He held her at arm’s length and seized her up.

  “You really are pregnant!” he exclaimed again. Annika pressed her fingers to her lips and looked around fugitively to ensure he had not been overheard. She pulled him to the side, and he shook his head.

  “Don’t tell me that Rhys is the father,” he continued, scowling. Annika nodded slightly, and Dickie looked around. “Where is your prince? Is he here? Wait, what the hell are you doing here?” Annika quickly shifted her baby blue eyes to the floor.

  “It’s a long story. Are you here visiting your parents?”

  “My dad’s diabetes has really knocked him on his ass so my mom asked me to come. How did you know my parents are here? Annika, what is going on? I tried looking for you, but honestly, I didn’t know where to start. I found out that ABC Music has never heard of the love of your life by the way.” Dickie scrutinized her with suspicion, but before she could respond, Luke was at her side, his arm encircling her waist casually but protectively.

  “There you are! I was worried you had fallen in!” Luke joked, giving Dickie a curiously friendly smile. “I’m Luke Ward.”

  Dickie accepted his outstretched hand.

  “Dickie Robinson.”

  “Ah! You’re the famous Dickie! Annie has spoken about you often. Are you here to see your parents?”

  “Oh has Annie really?” Dickie smirked and then something registered. “Ward…are you Lucy’s son? The vet?” Luke grinned.

  “I prefer just ‘Luke,’ but either of the other two titles are fine also.” Dickie smiled back and stared pointedly at his embrace of Annika.

  “I see you two have become friends. How long have you been in these parts, Annie?” His tone grated on Annika but she also knew that Dickie was discrete enough not to embarrass her in public.

  “What’s it been? Four months? Annie is staying at my mom’s place and working at the store.”

  “Is that a fact?” Dickie almost choked, disbelievingly. Annika’s face was the color of a bloodstained tomato. She nodded quickly and tugged on Luke.

  “We should be getting back, Luke,” she told her lover quickly. “Maybe we can go for a coffee while you’re around, Dickie. How long will you be here?” Dickie’s expression went somber.

  “As long as my mom needs us.” It had been common knowledge around Burrowsburg that Jack Robinson’s health had been on a steady decline, so Annika and Luke understood Dickie’s ominous statement. Impulsively, Annika reached out and hugged her old friend, relishing the feel of his arms around her. It was as though she belonged right there – between her best friend and the man with whom she knew she was going to spend the rest of her life.

  “I will call you,” she promised into his ear. He squeezed her back gently.

  “I know you will.”

  “You’re trying to pin Prince Charming’s baby on Mr. Nice Guy, aren’t you?” Annika cringed and whipped around from the shelf she was stocking.

  “Shhhh!” she hissed, grabbing Dickie by the arm and yanking him outside. Thankfully, only Evangeline was in the store with her, so she likely hadn’t even heard Dickie’s boisterous entrance. Once over the threshold she shook her head vehemently and looked at her once dear friend with huge, scared eyes.

  “He doesn’t even know I’m pregnant,” she whispered. He stepped back in genuine shock.

  “First of all, how the hell can he not know you are pregnant? I mean look at you! You’re a house!” Annika glared at him but then she realized the last time he had laid eyes on her, she had barely been ninety pounds. The truth was, the baby had barely affected her figure at all, and even at five months, it was incredibly hard for someone who didn’t know her well to detect she was with child.

  “More importantly,” Dickie continued, “How can you not tell him? Don’t you think he’ll clue in when he comes home and sees a screaming, shitting being on his girlfriend’s tit? How are you gonna play that one off, Annie? ‘Oh this thing? It’s always been here!’ Jesus Annika.” Annika lowered her eyes and mumbled, “I’m giving it up for adoption. He doesn’t have to know about it.” Dickie looked absolutely crushed by her words.

  “Are you fucking crazy? You can’t hide something like this. I don’t think you’re giving Luke a chance. Don’t you think he’d love your baby? His dad isn’t his real dad, and Joe loves that kid to death.”

  “I don’t want this baby, Dickie. I don’t need any reminders of my past life.” But even as she uttered the words, the baby fluttered in her belly, and Annika heard the hollowness of her own utterance. She often caught herself rubbing her stomach and once in a while when she was alone, she found that she was having one-sided conversations with the child. In her heart, she knew she desperately wanted to keep him (somehow, she already knew the sex) but logically she knew it wasn’t feasible. She also knew that Luke would never forgive her for keeping such a sordid secret from him and he was the best thing she could have ever hoped for in her entire wretched existence. Dickie looked, if possible, more ashen.

  “Annika, let me help raise your baby. Lord knows I’m not having any of my own. We could get a place together and be a family.” Annika swallowed a lump in her throat and struggled not to cry. The idea was beyond delicious. Dickie would make an amazing father. And truly, no one had ever cared for her better. Yet, her heart belonged to Luke. Having the baby in secret and giving it up for adoption was the only way to secure her relationship with the most caring, wonderful man she had ever met. She looked into Dickie’s deceptively innocent eyes and saw him aching for her to agree, but she shook her head.

  “You wouldn’t want to be tied to me for eighteen plus years, jackass,” she teased. “Plus, I would completely ruin your chances with the entire gay and straight community combined.”

  “Well lookie! Dang if Lulu’s home cookin’ ain’t gone done fattened ya up, girlie!” They turned as Lou approached the front of the store.

  “Mr. James!” Dickie exclaimed. “Hello!”

  “Well I’ll be a son of a gun! Lil Dickie Robinson! What is ya doin’ in these parts? Ah dang! It’s yer pa, ain’t it?” Dickie nodded solemnly, but Lou wrapped his arm around Dickie’s shoulders in a loose embrace.

  “Neva ya mind, now. Come in an’ say hella to Evangeline. She ain’t seen ya in ten, twenty years!” With that, he ushered them both into the store and their conversation unfinished.

  Chapter Ten: When a Man Loves a Woman

  Annika could feel the truck slow down as Luke drove onto an exit off the highway. She couldn’t see anything, as he had blindfolded her playfully.

  “Can I look now? Please?” she begged. She guessed they had been driving for over an hour and she had no idea where they were.

  “No peeking!” he warned. She could hear the sound of traffic as they slowly moved. The baby was unusually active that night, and she was feeling a little queasy. Whether it was a result of morning sickness or fear of getting caught, she wasn’t sure, but something felt a little off. After another half an hour, Luke finally stopped the car and leaned forward to remove her blindfold.

  “I hope you like it,” he said, and she could hear the smile in his voice. She blinked twice to adjust to the dim evening light. And her happy beam froze on her face as she registered where he had taken her.
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br />   “This place has a six-month waiting list, but one of my patients’ owners got us a table. You know who Roger Brand is? I take care of his horses when he’s out of town. He’s a huge celebrity chef, and he owns this restaurant and several others. I hope you like steak.” He hurried out of the driver’s seat and rushed to open her door. Like she was underwater, Annika allowed him to take her hand and help her out of the beat up truck. Even stone cold sober, it was exactly how she remembered it – limos lining the valet, the beautiful people decked out in diamonds and pearls. And the overwhelming sense that she did not belong there. For a millisecond, she considered asking Luke to take her home, but the elated look on his face stopped her from opening her pursed lips. They made their way up to the entrance of Shallot, Annika couldn’t help but think of Rhys.

  Unconsciously, she rubbed her stomach and wondered where he was and who he was doing at that moment. I wonder how many illegitimate kids he’s got running around right now.

  “What do you think?” Luke interrupted her thoughts. Annika gave her head a shake and smiled lovingly up at her boyfriend.

  “It’s so fancy! Thank you for bringing me here. What an amazing surprise!”

  “You deserve it. You’ve been working so hard and helping my mom with JJ and Lula. Plus, I can tell you miss the city. You say you don’t, but I hear it in your voice.”

  “No, I don’t – “Annika tried to protest, but Luke just laughed.

  “You’re a terrible liar.”

  They approached the maître d’ and were seated within minutes. Annika couldn’t help but notice that their table was in the middle of the action, whereas when she had dined there with Rhys, they had been tucked away from prying eyes. Of course he wanted to hide us; one of his other conquests may have seen us. She was immediately ashamed of herself for allowing her thoughts to travel back to Rhys. She vowed to focus her full attention of the charming man before her. But when Luke ordered a bottle of champagne, she felt her heart drop into her stomach.

  “I don’t drink, Luke,” she told him quickly. “I thought you knew that.” His dark eyes seemed to shadow, but the umbra disappeared as soon as it appeared.

  “I’m sorry. I thought you meant you just didn’t drink often. I’ll cancel it,” he told her patting her hand reassuringly. And again, Annika recognized just how different this man was from not just Rhys but every other mate she had ever chosen for herself. Rhys would have tried to entice her into drinking, another man may have sulked or consumed it without her but not Luke. Luke simply smiled and waved away the bottle when it arrived saying, “We’re intoxicated enough with one another.” If she hadn’t been in love with him before, that moment sealed her fate. I have to tell him.

  “Luke, I – “

  “Ladies and gentlemen!” The piano player had finished his number and stood up on the podium on the rotating stage in the center of the restaurant. The gentle murmuring of the crowd quieted to silence, and everyone turned to watch the slender man in the tuxedo. His ebony skin gleamed like the piano flats, making the virgin whites of his eyes almost glow. He smiled, and the pearls in his mouth lit up the entire establishment in an almost contagious fashion.

  “We have with us, this evening, the ever elusive Annika Van Houten. Many of you may have heard her singing at The Pocket Watch, that is, before she disappeared without warning, breaking hearts all over the city.” The musician turned and stared directly at Annika. She returned his look, completely dumbfounded. Then she glanced at Luke. To her surprise, he was grinning.

  “Come on up here, Annika!” He waved at her with a slender, well-manicured hand. She rose to her feet, still looking at Luke.

  “Did you do this?” she whispered, as she tucked in her chair. His smile widened.

  “Dickie told me you have a sensational voice. A quick Google search told me everything I needed to know. Go on. Let me hear your pipes!” Annika’s eye filled with tears and she hurried up to the stage before he could see her raw emotion. The piano player gave her a peck on the cheek and handed her the microphone.

  “I’ve heard you sing at The Pocket Watch many nights, Annika,” he whispered. “You have the most lovely, soulful sound. Never give it up.” He turned to the full restaurant. “Annika Van Houten, ladies and gentlemen!” There was a sprinkling of polite applause, and the musician returned to the piano bench, awaiting her cue. She looked out into the audience, but the only person she could really see was Luke. She let herself sink into his dark, smoldering eyes and opened her mouth.

  “When a man loves a woman…”

  She had ended up doing an entire set by incredible audience demand. The pianist was sweating by the time she finally claimed exhaustion and took her seat with Luke. His face was afire with pride and adoration.

  “There are no words to describe how undeniably amazing you are,” he told her when people finally stopped coming by their table every two minutes to speak to Annika. “You are my muse. You inspire me to be better while keeping me in awe of you constantly. You have this vulnerability which makes me want to coddle you, and then you strike back at life with the force of lightning, and I realize you don’t need anyone. But I hope you want me, Annie. Because I need and want you. I can’t imagine a time when I didn’t know you, and I never want there to be a time when I don’t have you near me.”

  Annika was moved and warmed by his intense words. She felt like she was floating, drunk even.

  “I do need you, silly,” she told him, leaning in close to kiss him gently on the lips. “And I want you. I hope we are together every minute of every day. But if not, know that I am always thinking about you.” Luke leaned in a returned her kiss with roughness she wasn’t expecting.

  “Will you marry me, Annika Van Houten?” She jerked her head up and knocked him on the chin.

  “Oh my God – I’m so sorry! Are you okay?” Luke rubbed his face but didn’t answer. He stared deadpan into her eyes, unsmiling.

  “Marry me, Annie. I promise I will be a great husband and father to our kids…if you want kids. We can talk about that. I just want you. I don’t care about anything else.” At the mention of children, Annika shrunk back in her chair. You goddamn fool! You were actually thinking about marrying this man? You haven’t been honest with him for one second.

  “Luke, we haven’t known each other very – “

  “Don’t give me that crap, Annika. You know you love me, and I know I have never felt this way about anyone in my life. You love my family, they love you. I have a good job so we’ll be set financially. We can get our own house. We will get you back singing in the city. What else could you want? It will be a good life.”

  “I don’t know what to say, Luke.”

  “Say yes! What else is there to say? Why wouldn’t you just say yes?” And Annika had no answer for him.

  “I’m sorry. I can’t. It’s not because I don’t love you!” Luke, stood up slowly. “Luke, please don’t go! I…I just can’t…not right now…”

  “Annika, if you can’t marry me, I can’t bear to be around you anymore. It’s not your fault. I just can’t look at you every day and not be with you.” With that, he left Shallot and Annika sobbing at the table.

  “Ugh, I had forgotten what a shitty roommate you are,” Dickie complained, picking up a dirty bowl off the coffee table. Annika was laying on her back on the sofa in Dickie’s apartment in Burrowsburg. Her stomach had really popped the past couple weeks, and her back was sore. The chunky blonde had finally resigned to signing a lease in town, and Annika had moved into the tiny one bedroom after the horrible un-engagement dinner at Shallot two months earlier. She had continued to work at the store but had quietly packed up from the house the very same night and sought out Dickie. She had not seen Luke since but she still took great pains to hide her pregnancy in case his grandparents caught onto her predicament. Lucy, Louisa, and JJ had been devastated by her leaving.

  “Oh, honey, just because it didn’t work out with you and Luke, don’t mean that you two can’t be frien
ds! Luke isn’t like that! He won’t be uncivil toward you!” Lucy had pleaded. Annika knew she was probably right, but she also knew that her presence would put a strain on the family. There was no way that Luke would move out and leave Lucy in a financial bind, so Annika knew that her leaving was the proper thing to do. She still hadn’t arranged for a proper adoption because every day, Dickie was whispering sweet nothings about raising a family together and every time he did, Annika grew closer to that idea. She was now entering her eighth month, and her movements were slower, more sluggish. She was tired and irritable. She was finding that Dickie’s jibes were actually hurting her feelings even though she said nothing about them.

  “I was an awesome roommate,” she whined as he washed the bowl in the sink. “I was going to put that away. It’s just hard to get up now.” She pouted and blinked back tears that had sprung to her eyes. She recognized she was merely a mess of hormonal imbalances. She seemed to cry at every little movement. You miss Luke, but you need to stay away. You would have ruined his life. You’re ruining Dickie’s enough.