by Cherry Kay
At least the bed was comfortable enough to cry in, and Emilia didn’t make a fuss at all, the good girl that she was. Tissue was everywhere, too. She waited for the sun to rise, ordered a good breakfast for herself, and then packed whatever things she had taken along, paying in cash.
The ride was long, at least it felt long. Laguna Beach was a picturesque community, a community where she felt like a complete stranger. She and Emilia were new, and she didn’t know anyone except David and his family. She had taken his word, but not his heart entirely. At least Emilia was there. It was what mattered. Caryn couldn’t keep herself from hurting though, no matter how much she rationalized.
Love hurts, when it changes us.
She had forgotten where she had read that quote, but it surfaced in her mind as soon as the sun rose in the horizon. David was who she loved, and she had loved him the moment she saw him. I shouldn’t have let you go, she thought, I should have stayed for you, I should have stayed with you.
She felt like she couldn’t live without David now, not when she saw the way his face lit up when he saw Emilia. She had been too stubborn to accept the signs- that she was in love with David, and she had hoped he would have been too.
She and Emilia made their way back to the penthouse, her mind made up.
*
The moment she walked in, she saw David on the couch, asleep. He looked disheveled, and when he heard Emilia gurgle, he bolted awake.
“Caryn,” he said, shaking the sleep out of his system. “Where have you been? How’s Emilia? Where did you go? I spent all night looking for you.”
“To what? Greet us a ‘Merry Christmas’?” she said, carefully placing Emilia down on her stroller.
He stood up. “To make sure you were… you two were safe and… to right whatever wrong was done last night. I don’t know why she was there.” “That was Amanda?” Caryn asked him, walking over to the kitchen counter to unload the used bottles of milk.
David followed her to the kitchen, and he placed his hand on the counter. “Yes, but she doesn’t matter.”
“That kiss didn’t matter?” her voice was high-pitched. She thought she could control it, but she couldn’t. Anxiety began to claw its way into her, and her palms were cold, a far cry from how she willed herself to act normal and calm as soon as she saw him.
“Of course, it didn’t. Where did you two go? Did you get any sleep?”
“Did you?” she asked him, seeing the dark circle under his eyes. What normally were his bright blue eyes, became quite dull and tired.
“I didn’t. I came to the apartment twice, one in the morning, and then an hour ago.”
“Where did you go?”
“I drove around, looking for you. I was worried sick.” “That we’d never come back?” Caryn said.
He nodded. “That you two wouldn’t come back. You have no idea how--”
“You have no idea how I felt too.”
“Caryn, I’m sorry. I’m sorry you had to see that. I don’t know why it happened, I don’t know why she had to go there, except for the fact that she knew of our family gatherings before we broke up…”
“You said it was years ago.”
“Weeks before we met in New York, she met up with me. We talked, it wasn’t much. I didn’t want to. But I knew she felt it was important. For closure. I had forgotten about her the moment you came into my life.”
“I came into your life because I was supposed to write a story about you. Don’t romanticize things. Fate had nothing to do with it. Everything was work.” “What’s wrong about romanticizing? Don’t make yourself unhappy. I’m learning slowly about this, but I’m learning, and I’m getting there. It’s not easy, Caryn, you know it’s not. And you don’t have to deny yourself this kind of happiness.”
“Happiness…” Caryn said softly. “I’m not. It’s just that… Emilia.”
“Emilia wasn’t there yet, but the two of us were. It took me a year to come to terms with what I felt. I used to think it wasn’t possible, to fall in love that fast. I’m eating my own words and thoughts,” he said, shaking his head, almost laughing at the irony of everything. He sounded nervous, Caryn noted. Was he as nervous as she was?
Caryn was quiet, wanting to hear more, waiting to hear more of what he felt and how he felt.
“I have few regrets in life, Caryn. One of them is letting you leave without telling you, the other, not knowing Emilia was there early on. I- I tried to act as best as I could. Maybe it was bad timing, maybe I needed another year to mature, to face problems better,”
“Is that why you wanted us here? So you could face a problem better?”
“You’re not a problem,” he told her, “You’re a solution.”
Caryn nodded, and found herself lightheaded. She sat on a bar stool, sighing. “David, there are certain things we can’t ever fix. We can try to adjust to each other, I mean, I don’t even know what we are.”
“Let me just get back to what I said a couple of days ago,” he breathed out, “You’re Emilia’s mom, I’m Emilia’s dad. I want things to work out between us. No matter how much time it takes, no matter the effort. I’m here to stay. You have me, and I love you. I hope that got through.”
Caryn closed her eyes.
“You don’t have to be afraid, Caryn, not anymore. Whatever promises I made, I’ll make sure you see results.”
“What happens if you don’t?” she asked him.
“Please don’t make me come up with some unreasonable, unbearable exchange for promises I can’t deliver,” he said softly. “Don’t take yourself or Emilia away from me, for starters.”
She smiled a little, seeing him smile as well. “Don’t give me any ideas,” she told him.
“I’m not, just said that out of the blue. Well, now you know it’s probably my greatest fear at the moment, don’t use it against me.”
“I won’t, I promise I won’t.”
*
She had awoken that morning, tired from the trip. She heard laughter coming from outside, and she felt the warmth of the sun on her skin. It was only seven, and she quickly got out of bed, calling out her baby’s name.
“Emilia?”
The lounge area was empty, as was the kitchen. She was sure she heard laughter. She slid open the doors to see where Emilia was. As expected, she was with her father. David was carrying Emilia in his arms, showing her a bunch of bougainvillea flowers within her reach. David had told her last night that the gardener had made sure to remove majority of the thorns surrounding the flowers.
It was a sight that Caryn wanted to imprint forever in her memory. It was a simple, but beautiful sight, father and daughter bonding amidst the early morning sun.
“That’s pink, I know there’s different kinds of pink, but yeah, that’s pink. Can you say pink?” David whispered to Emilia as Caryn watched from afar.
Caryn found herself laughing, and David spun around.
“What?” he said, raising a brow, “I’m teaching her to talk.”
“She can’t even say ‘daddy’ yet, and you expect her to say pink?”
“Start them early, I say. Mom said she started talking to me like an adult when I was around this age.”
“Well, let’s hope her first word isn’t pink,” Caryn remarked, walking towards them.
David laughed. “Damn, now I feel like an idiot. Yeah, ‘daddy’ should be easier.”
“For a genius, you sure have some catching up to do with kids.”
“Tech is my expertise, not kids, although Emilia’s doing great training me,” he said grinning. “You hungry?”
She nodded. “Yeah, let me cook pancakes.”
“All those days of kitchen training are finally paying off.”
“Hey, I worked full time, and still found enough strength and time to practice,” Caryn said, miffed. “And these are just pancakes. Wait till you try my lasagna.”
“Oh, you cook lasagna now?” David said as they walked back into the house.
“Y
ou wouldn’t know ‘cause we live in different houses.”
“I told you before, we should just move in together,” he huffed, placing Emilia on a high chair. He strapped her in carefully, and then he walked to the fridge and took out her baby food.
“And I told you, we said we’d wait until things progressed,” she said mildly.
“Haven’t things progressed?” David said, “You’re here on a non-compulsory vacation with me and Emilia.”
“It’s just a vacation.”
“We share a bed,” David added.
“It’s just a bed.”
“Please don’t tell me ‘it’s just sex,” he sighed, grabbing a tiny spoon to feed Emilia with.
“If it makes you feel any better, I don’t think I’ll be looking for anyone else. We’re compatible in that aspect.”
“And nothing else?”
Caryn smiled as she whipped up the batter. “Among other small things.”
“Small things count. Progress is progress,” David said. “Speaking of. I got the DNA test via email last night.”
“And?”
David grinned broadly this time. “We both know the results already. You knew back then, I knew back then. So, I just told mom and dad the moment I woke up.”
“You knew back then?”
“Yes.”
“You believed me right away when I said Emilia was yours?”
“Let’s just say deep down, I thought it would be a good reason enough to tie you closer to me,” he laughed.
“Oh my god,” Caryn said, laughing as well. “Ulterior motives.”
“Of course, I had to have a motive, how else could I keep you with me? I hadn’t fallen in love twice before, but seeing Emilia that day, man, that proved to be my downfall. I hope you don’t mind you have competition.”
“I’m glad you’re her father,” Caryn suddenly said. It was heartfelt, and she knew she was about to blush. She looked away and busied herself with the pancakes.
“I’m glad you gave me a chance,” David said, “I’m glad you let me in your life, and Emilia’s.”
“Was the year-long wait worth it?”
“I think I waited more than that without even knowing,” David said, walking up to her. He stood beside her with his arms crossed. “You know, since it’s already a 100% sure that Emilia’s mine, I was thinking if she could have my family name-”
“That’s going to be a lengthy process you know.”
“And if you’d have my last name as well,” he said.
Caryn stopped mixing the batter, and she looked up to David, who had a smile on his face. “Is this a proposal?”
“It’s the proposal of the proposal,” he replied, shifting his feet a little to face her.
Caryn put the ladle down. “It’s too soon, it’s too--”
“Caryn, do you love me, or not?”
“I love you, of course I love you,” she replied, blinking rapidly, overwhelmed by his sudden question. “But isn’t this--”
“Please tell me you’ve considered this at least once in our relationship?”
“I have.” “And?” He fished out something from his pocket. Then he knelt down. “I’ve been keeping this since January,” he said, taking her hand, and holding it. He slipped it unto her finger, and it fit like a dream come true.
“And… yes, yes,” she said, not expecting to be so teary eyed about it. “Yes!”
She held him by the face as he stood up slowly, and they both took deep breaths at the same time, and then they laughed together.
“Let’s make this worth it,” Caryn said.
“It already is,” David replied, kissing her.
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THE TYCOON'S
CONVENIENT BABY
A BWWM PREGNANCY ROMANCE By..
CHERRY KAY
Summary
In A World Where Babies Mean Business....
Billionaire Media Tycoon David is in BIG trouble. A dark rumor is threatening to destroy his public image and potentially ruin the empire he built from scratch and he will do anything to change that.
His advisers tell him that the only way to repair things is to become a family man and ditch the bachelor lifestyle. Having never had time to find love this is going to prove tricky.
As a way of fixing this situation, David is introduced to a beautiful business woman named Elise. This would be a standard marriage of convenience for 3 years with Elise getting a huge pay off at the end.
However, there is one caveat...
They need to have a baby also.
Neither David nor Elise are looking for love but could the bond of a convenient baby be something that potentially changes everything?
Chapter1
The San Francisco sun radiated warmly off of the top of one of the tallest skyscrapers in the city, shining in through the walls of glass and steel that enclosed the office of the president and owner of one of the most powerful media corporations in the world. Though the glass was tinted, the light stole in and illuminated the walls and desk, and the faces of two men sitting across from each other having a serious conversation.
The older of the two men, the one with the receding hairline, the paunch belly and the second chin, looked over the top of his glasses at the younger, handsome man who was sitting behind the desk.
“You’ve got to do something. You can’t just let your public image tank. This isn’t like you being caught with a hooker or someone finding out you did something like smoking pot. This is serious. This doesn’t go away and it’ll get worse. Much worse. This will take down your companies.” The older man spoke gravely and leaned forward, tapping the tip of his finger on the younger man’s desk. “David, this will be a watershed of your career.”
The younger man stood up and walked to the glass wall of his office, looking down over the city, teeming silently below him. His gaze wandered over the traffic and buildings to the silver blue bay shimmering in the distance. “I assume you have some sort of idea, Carlson? Some plan to make this work out?” David said, sliding his hands into his pockets with a sigh.
Carlson turned slightly in his seat and looked over his shoulder, his eyes on David’s slumped shoulders. “I have one, but you might not like it.”
David turned his head to look at Carlson over his shoulder but his body remained stationary. “Well? What is it?” He had trusted Carlson with nearly every legal aspect of his company for years, and he knew that even if he didn’t like what the head of his law team had to say, he had better listen to him and at least consider it. Carlson was one advisor that knew everything there was to know about what he did, and David had not yet seen him come across an issue he didn’t already know well or that he hadn’t handled before.
Carlson looked at him, unblinking, and drew a breath. “I think you ought to get married.”
David turned around fully and stared at him. “What was that?” he asked with wide eyes.
“I said, you need to get married. Your public image would be much more appealing if you were coupled with a good woman. To do this right, she would need to be black. That would send the message that you are a solid proponent of equality among races, and it wouldn’t hurt to have a child with her as soon as you can, before the tarnished edges of your image burn you and create your downfall. It’s the best way but you don’t have much time. Your image, David, is the only thing that may save everything you’ve worked so hard for. I think that calls for taking any action necessary to save it, and that includes the idea I just shared with you.” Carlson continued to watch David over the top of his glasses.
The hair on David’s arms rose slightly. “Marriage. To a black woman.” He bit his lip and narrowed his eyes in deep though
t. He took his time and walked around the room, stopping beside the long dark leather sofa and touching his fingertips lightly to the arm of it.
“I’ve always thought I would marry one day,” he said quietly. “I haven’t thought about it in a long time. I get so busy with my work here and everything else I do that is tied to the company, that I guess I lost track of that whole notion.” David rubbed his forefinger across his chin and sat down on the sofa.
Carlson laughed at him. “You must be kidding. You’re the most eligible bachelor in this city. Surely that couldn’t have escaped your attention.”
David shrugged his shoulders. “Well, it doesn’t stay at the forefront of my mind that much, to be honest. What in the world would I do with a wife and a baby?” He stared in wonder at the glass wall, looking at the blue sky beyond it.
“You would save your life and this company that you have worked so hard for, that’s what you’d do,” Carlson said, twisting around in his chair the other way to keep his eyes on David.
David pursed his lips and stood up, walking slowly and thoughtfully toward his desk. All the while, Carlson watched him. David was not an easy man to read, even for those who knew him well.
“I'd always thought I would marry for love,” David said, leaning back in his chair and looking intently at Carlson.
The older man shook his head. “You don’t have to marry her for love. It would be a business arrangement. You marry her just long enough to show everyone that you are the most racially neutral man in the nation, say, three or four years, and you both agree to it at the beginning. You get married, you have the kid, you show the world what a great guy you are, and then you get divorced after all of their attention has turned to other things and your situation has faded away.”