Amber snorts as she watches her friend take another sip of her rum and coke.
“You know what?” Amber says, placing her glass softly on the shiny table top. “I’ll be right back, I have to go to the bathroom.”
Chapter 5
She rubs her hands under the warm running water, rinsing away all the pink, liquid soap from her fingers. She turns away from the sink, pulling a brown sheet of paper towel out of the large, black dispenser as someone else walks in.
“Hello.” She whispers to a random blonde girl who’s had too much liquor as she quickly tosses her paper towel into the overflowing trash can before walking back out into the bustling lounge. Obviously she’s had the same idea as Leah and it’s not working out so well.
Amber makes her way back to their table before sitting up on her tall stool. Their drinks are still there, but of course, Leah is nowhere to be seen.
This is far from the first time Leah’s ditched her once she’s found her random fuck, so Amber’s not that surprised.
“Excuse me.” She says, stopping a waitress as she walks past her with bottles in both hands. “Have you seen the girl I came here with? She’s wearing a grey sweater and has curly dark hair, long earrings….”
“Honestly, I have no idea.” The waitress says shaking her head.
“Okay, thanks anyway.” Amber says, sighing from her nose.
She reaches into the front pocket of her jeans, pulling out a $20 bill.
“I guess she probably didn’t pay for anything, either.” She says, handing the folded bill to the waitress. “Not sure if she got someone else to, so here.”
She steps down off the bar stool as she slips her arms through her sweater.
“Sucks being left, huh?” She hears someone say behind her.
She turns around to see a suited man with ashy brown hair and a jaw that could cut glass, sitting at the table just behind her back.
“Don’t let it ruin your night.” He says, pushing out the tall bar stool beside him.
Chapter 6
His name is Tyler Zane. He’s here on business and that’s as specific as he would be.
His suit was obviously expensive, and she’s never once seen one pressed so slickly. It fit his broad shoulders so well. His eyes twinkled deeply from his slight buzz.
“I wouldn’t worry about it too much.” He says, looking at her with his ice blue eyes.
“I’m just a little embarrassed.” Amber says, scratching her cheek as she leans with her elbows on the table. “It’s not the first time she ditched me, and it probably won’t even be the last. She’s always coming up with some sort of scheme and it usually gets me in trouble. Look at this, she’s gone and now I’m out twenty dollars for two drinks, and one of them was just a coke!”
“Well, there’s your problem.” He says, calling over the waitress with a wave. “You’re too forgiving. When was the last time you did something just for you?”
“Hm.” She snorts, smirking as she looks down into her cold pop. “Well, life is a little give and take, you know?”
“Yeah, I know.” He says, smiling as the waitress walks up to them. “But tonight, you can take some… let me buy you a drink.”
Chapter 7
It’s been a while since she’s gotten this tipsy.
She rests her heavy head in her palm as she listens to Tyler talk. About what? She honestly doesn’t know anymore, her mind keeps wandering back to what he said earlier.
He was right. When was the last time she had dinner made for her? When was the last time she blew off a friend to take care of one of her needs? When was the last time one of her simple needs were actually met by anyone? She can’t even remember the last time Thomas took the time to even…
“Let’s get out of here.” She says, sliding off her stool.
“Yeah? Where to?” He says, his eyebrow raising as he watches her lean against the table.
She walks around the tall circular table before placing a hand on his finely pressed shoulder.
“Anywhere.” She whispers into his ear. “I just wanna have some fun.”
“I don’t think I’m going to be able to drive us anywhere.” He says, a small chuckle escaping his lips.”
“No, you’re probably right. I think we’re too drunk.” She says, smiling coyly. “You still got a backseat though, right?”
Chapter 8
“You sure?” He asks as he watches Amber peel off her sweater.
“I’ve never been more sure about anything.” She whispers as she pulls the pony tail elastic away from her blonde curls, letting them fall softly onto her shoulders. “Like you said, tonight’s about what I can take.”
She pulls down her jeans to her knees before falling to her bottom, laughing as she struggles to get them over her calves in the cramped back seat of Tyler’s BMW.
She straddles his legs as she fumbles with his zipper, pulling it down and unbuttoning his top button.
Amber desperately places her full lips against his as she slowly brushes her palm over his manhood , letting their tongues explore each other’s mouths while he stiffens.
She sits up, closing herself in on him before moving her panties over to one side and letting him slide himself into her wetness.
She moans as she feels his rough fingers swirl against her swollen pearl as he slowly bucks his hips in and out of her.
She quivers as she feels her body release, sending electricity shooting into every last nerve just before Tyler also finds his own release in a few final pumps.
She pants, leaning into his shoulder as he wraps his arms around her before a familiar jingle makes her jump.
Amber clumsily slides off Tyler’s lap, reaching for her jeans as she listens to her phone ring. She pulls the device out of her pocket as reality smacks her hard as she reads the name flashing across the screen…. “Thomas”.
She takes a deep breathe, glancing over at Tyler before she closes her eyes and brings the phone up to her face.
“Hello?” She gulps.
Chapter 9
“You never told me you were engaged.” Tyler says as they sit together on the curb outside of the lounge’s parking lot.
The phone call with Thomas was a rough one. She wasn’t supposed to be drunk and she wasn’t supposed to be out this late. And she most definitely wasn’t supposed to sleep with a random man.
“Well, it wasn’t like I planned this out, okay!” She says, letting her face fall into the palms of her hands.
“Mistakes are mistakes.” He says, scooping one of her hands into his. “They happen.”
He looks down at the side walk, studying the pebbles and the cracks as he clears his throat.
“But I had a good time tonight, anyway.” He says. “You’re a cool chick.”
Tyler reaches into his shirt pocket and grabs a pen.
“And I know you’re about to be married, but here…” He says as he scrolls some numbers across the inside of her wrist. “If you ever need anything, now you got my number.”
He sighs as he puts the pen back in his front shirt pocket.
“A friend that won’t ditch out on you.” He laughs as he stands up from the curb. He points towards a set of oncoming headlights. “I think that must be him.”
“Yeah.” She whispers, standing up.
She breathes out nervously as her fiancés car pulls up beside them.
Amber reaches out to the passenger door handle, grasping it. But before she opens the door, she turns toward her ashy haired regret one last time.
“Thank you.” She whispers.
Chapter 10
She knew she did wrong.
There was nothing she could say to make anything better, so she just wasn’t going to say nothing. It can’t be changed and she’s got the rest of her life to make it up to him.
She sits at her kitchen table, doing nothing but watching her tea get cold. She looks over at the pile of enveloped invitations sitting on the lace table cloth only a mere foot away.
Amber reaches over and picks up the first invitation on the top of the small pile. She thoughtfully runs her fingers over the crisp corners of the envelope…. Crisp like Tyler’s suit jacket.
“I have to send them out today.” She whispers to herself before looking up at her clean, white ceiling.
She was going to go to the post office hours ago, but the thought of her upcoming nuptials taunts her.
She feels so sorry for herself, and she feels so sorry for Thomas. But mostly the little invitations remind her of Tyler.
They remind her of how gentle his rough hands actually were and how his icy blue eyes stared so deeply into her own.
She closes her eyes tightly, biting her bottom lip as she slowly rolls up her sleeve. She looks down at his number, scribbled in black in across her forearm and sighs.
It goes against everything she has ever believed in but she wants nothing more than to see him again. She needs to.
Chapter 11
“You’ve been quiet lately.” Thomas says as Amber places a plate of oven baked chicken and rice in front of him.
“Have I?” She asks as she sits down across from him in front of her own dish.
He nods his head as he picks up his fork.
“Usually about this time you’re bothering me with wedding stuff.” He laughs as he passes a scoop of rice past his lips.
“I’ve been a little tired, I guess.” She says softly as she picks up her own fork. “It’s been a little stressful lately.”
“Yeah, no kidding.” He says, nodding his head. “But I can’t say I didn’t warn you that you were biting off more than you can chew.”
“Oh, the planning is going alright.” She says before looking down and playing with her rice. “I think that I’m just nervous be to be in front of our friends and family.”
“Yeah, I guess you will be wearing white.” He says with a laugh. “I would be a little nervous too standing up in a church in a big white lie.”
She forces out a giggle, feeling the sting of the comment.
If only he knew…
“But I do have a fitting for the dress next week.” She says, cutting off a piece of her chicken.
“Yeah, you probably will need to get that thing resized.” He says, fingering through the pile of fliers and advertisements in the basket beside him. “You’re getting a little thick around the middle.”
Chapter 12
It’s late. Her period is late.
She turns on the bath’s hot water tap before looking over at the stupid little pink box on the counter.
“It’s just a precaution.” She whispers to herself, as she’s been telling herself over and over all day since she bought the little stick.
She slowly makes her way to the counter before grabbing the little box and opening it.
The sickness is from stress, of course. The bloating is from her period. It’s only late, not even that many weeks. Surely, she’ll be laughing about this later.
She takes the test, before letting it sit on the counter to develop as she slips herself into the hot water.
Amber slowly sinks her body down into the suds, turning over to rest her cheek against the cold porcelain.
But what if it wasn’t?
What if it wasn’t the stress? What if her period really isn’t coming?
She closes her eyes, letting a trapped tear fall down her cheek.
She looks up toward the counter, sighing before slowly sitting up.
“There’s only one way to know for sure.” She whispers to herself as she reaches her hand toward the thin stick.
She takes a deep breathe, filling her lungs with air before slowly flipping the stick over to read the screen.
It’s positive.
Chapter 13
“I bet Thomas is so excited!” Leah squeals as she holds her hot cup of tea under her chin.
Amber bites her bottom lip as she rubs the pads of her fingers over her tired eyes.
“Leah,” She starts, stirring the spoon around in her mug. “Thomas doesn’t know.”
“Oh, a surprise?” Her friend asks in a whisper. “Am I the first to know?”
Amber nods.
“I haven’t told him yet, because, well…” She says as she leans into the table, her blue eyes welling up. “It might not be his.”
“What?” Her friend asks, her mouth hanging open. “Are you telling me what I think you’re telling me, Amber?”
Amber nods again, a tear rolling down her cheek.
“Remember the lounge you left me at?” She says, letting out a defeated chuckle. “It happened there. I… I just couldn’t help myself. I was so mad at you and at Thomas, and I needed some comfort. He was there and he looked so good and we ended up having sex in the back of his BMW.”
“Okay.” Her friend says, sitting up straight. “This is okay.”
Leah gets up from her seat, moving like a cat to the chair right beside Amber before wrapping her arm around her.
“Your random hookup was just a random hookup.” She says as she rubs Amber’s back. “Fancy guy will never know, Thomas will never know, so who cares?”
“I’ll know.” Amber interrupts. “I got his number, you know? I took his number and I wrote it down and…”
“Lose it.” Leah says. “Lose the number. What good is going to come from that number?”
“I can’t stop thinking about him.” Amber whispers. “When I roll over in the morning, I want to see his face there looking back at me. When Thomas and I make love, I’m thinking about him. And Leah…” She gulps. “When I think about this baby… I… I think I want it to be his.”
Her friend sits up straight, taking a deep breath as she looks down at her shoes.
“Well,” Leah starts, glancing over to Amber. “What do you want more? To raise a baby with BMW man. Or to raise a baby with your husband?”
Chapter 14
How could this be anything but a simple choice?
A future already planned or the path of uncertainty?
The choice seems obvious, but who knew it would be so hard?
Amber sits on her bed with her cellphone cradled in her hand. She’s dialed the number a hundred different times now but nothing can bring her to push send.
She slowly lets out the breath she’s been holding before forcing her thumb to hit the screen.
The rest of her life starts now, one way or another.
“Hey.” Amber hears on the other line.
She opens her mouth to respond but her voice fails her.
“Hello?” She hears him say again.
It’s now or never.
“Tyler?” She whispers. “It’s Amber, the girl you gave your number to a while back …”
Chapter 15
“So, you don’t know if it’s mine?” The ashy haired man says as he looks into his cup of coffee.
“No.” She whispers, tucking her soft blonde curls behind her ears. “But I figured I should probably let you know anyway.”
“I mean, yeah.” He says with a worried smirk. “I’m happy you told me, even with this news it’s kind of nice to hear from you again.”
He grabs her fingers from across the table, holding them tightly as he rubs the pad of his thumb over the back of her hand.
“It’s a little… crazy.” He says, pausing. “I mean, I didn’t wake up today thinking I would hear this…”
She clears her throat before dragging her teeth across her bottom lip.
“Tyler?” She whispers. “I don’t deserve to get married.”
He comes to sit beside her, wrapping his thick, strong arm around her shoulder.
Her heart flutters as she leans into him.
“Of course you deserve it.” He says, bringing her fingers up to play with her hair. “Make sure you let me know if there’s anything I can do, Amber. Baby stuff, medical stuff, anything, I got money for it all.”
An Heir To Fortune | An Alpha Billionaire Bad Boy Pregnancy Romance Page 7