The Alpha Billionaire's Unexpected Baby: A Billionaire BWWM Pregnancy Romance

by Joanna Jacobs

  “I love you, and that’s going to be enough for them.” He took her head. “You wanted to do this before the pregnancy became obvious.”

  “Yeah, I did.” She heard sounds from within the house. “This is the right thing to do. It’s just a lot.”

  “I know.”

  The door opened and Vanessa found herself staring at a woman who could only be Marco’s mom. She looked between the two of them, then at their joined hands, and a smile bloomed on her face. “Please tell me this isn’t a joke.”

  “Not a joke, Mom. This is Vanessa. Vanessa, this is my mom, Jillian.”

  “Hi, Mrs Patterson.”

  “Don’t you dare stand on ceremony.” Jillian wrapped her arms around Vanessa. “You can call me Jill, or Mom.”

  “Mom…”

  “Be quiet, Marco. This is the first woman you’ve ever brought to meet us, so I know this is important to you, and if it’s important to you then she’s going to be a part of our family.” Jillian tugged Vanessa into the house. “How did you meet him?”

  “I planned a party for him.”

  “Sounds interesting.”

  “It was.” Vanessa smiled. “Thank you for the warm welcome.”

  “Oh, love, when you’ve been waiting as long as I have for your son to sow his wild oats and find the right woman you make the most of it when he does.”

  “How do you know I’m the right one?”

  “You could see past the magazine articles, to the person he is, because if you couldn’t you wouldn’t be here. You’d have been scared off.”

  “I nearly was.”

  “What made you stay?”

  “Marco.”

  “He’s a good person. He just couldn’t find the one, and I know that’s what he was hunting for. He always said he wanted a relationship like his father has with me, and there are far too many people who see him as nothing more than a walking wallet. I take it you’re going to stay working.”

  “Sort of. Marco and I are setting up a business together, because…” She glanced back at him and he nodded. “Everything happened the wrong way round, Jill, and I’m pregnant. My jobs means weird hours, so we’re setting up a different type of party planner, which means I’ll be able to spend more time with the baby, and Marco can be with her when I’m busy.”

  “You don’t do things by halves, do you?” Jillian laughed. “I was going to bring out the champagne, but we can wait until the baby’s born for that. I have plenty of juices in the fridge, though.”

  ***

  “That went better than you were expecting, didn’t it?”

  Vanessa nodded. “Your parents are wonderful.”

  “How else do you think I became the person I am?”

  “My parents aren’t wonderful.”

  “They don’t count, because you’ve never thought of them as your parents. Jenna, however, is wonderful, and she counts.” Marco put his hand on her stomach. “Our baby is going to have two parents who love them very much. Stop worrying about what’s going to come next. We can deal with whatever it is, and if we can’t we have plenty of support.”

  “I know.” She smiled. “How about we go home and look for baby things? We can put them on the register Jill wants us to make.”

  “Mom is going to throw you the biggest baby shower known to man.” He shook his head. “I never thought she was going to be so excited.”

  “The baby will be her first grandchild. Of course she’s excited. Hopefully it isn’t going to be too big. If I’m really pregnant I don’t think I’m going to want to deal with that.”

  “She understands what it’s like.” Marco smiled. “Trust her. She won’t do anything that’s too difficult for you to enjoy.”

  “While we were there I was thinking about maybe expanding the business. I know we were planning on children’s parties, but we could do baby showers too. If we make the baby shower as wonderful as possible then it’s likely the mother will come back to us in the future for the children’s parties, and that’s the way we’re going to make certain we have regular customers.”

  “Always planning.”

  “That’s a part of who I am.”

  He kissed her. “It’s a part of the reason I love you, and I think it’s a wonderful idea.”

  “Good.” She smiled. “I’m really craving pasta.”

  “Why does that not surprise me?” Their eyes met. “What type of pasta?”

  She nibbled her lip. “Do you think you can make me Bolognese? I really liked it when you made it before.”

  “Your wish is my command.”

  “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome, love.” He kissed her again. “Do you want anything sweet afterwards?”

  For a few seconds she thought about the question, and then shook her head. “No, I don’t think I do.” She glanced down at her stomach. “Ever since I got pregnant I haven’t felt the need to eat much sweet stuff.”

  “Do you think that means it’s a boy?”

  “Marco…”

  “I know, I know.” They laughed. “I can’t help it though. It’s such a long time until we get to meet them and I just… I want it to happen now.”

  “You’re just going to have to be patient.”

  “It’s not that easy.” He pouted. “I should have met you sooner. My life would have been so much better if I had.”

  Smiling, she wrapped her arm around his waist. “I don’t think either of us would have been ready. It’s best that we met when we did.” She kissed his cheek. “I love you.”

  Don’t forget your bonus romance reads I’ve added for you today below.

  Surprise Bonus Book

  The Billionaire and His Nanny

  “I’m sorry, love, I would give you more shifts if I could, but I can’t take them from the others. Everyone’s in the same position you are.”

  Tyra nodded. “I thought so, but you never know unless you ask.” She smiled, doing her best not to let her disappointment and fear show, because that wasn’t going to do either of them any good. “Thanks for listening.”

  “You don’t need to thank me for that. I know how hard things are for you.” Jessica sighed. “I can promise you 40 hours a week. I can make certain you have those shifts. You might have to work strange hours, but you’ll get them.”

  “Are you sure? You’re not going to end up taking shifts from the others?” Tyra knew the other girls were struggling as much as she was, and some were struggling more. “I don’t want to do that. They need the work too.”

  “They do. You all do, and if I could make it so you could all take more hours I would. I just don’t have them available.”

  “Call me if anyone gets sick.”

  “I will.” Jessica reached out to touch Tyra’s hand. “Do you need help?”

  “No, I don’t.” She did, but she wasn’t going to admit that. There was nothing Jessica could do. “I’m going to get through this.” It might mean having to find a smaller place, if that was even possible, but she knew she would. “I’d better get back. They need me.”

  With her cleaning supplies in her hand Tyra started cleaning the tables that were empty, ready for the next customers to use them. As she made her way from one table to the next she couldn’t help noticing a dad with his daughter. They often had moms in with their children, but it was rare for a dad to be there, and he didn’t seem to be doing an amazing job of quieting his crying baby. People were looking at him, seeming annoyed by the fact he wasn’t doing what they thought was a simple job when obviously it was. She smiled at the baby as she went past and her smile appeared to calm the child.

  “Do you want me to hold her for a moment?” Normally she wouldn’t have asked anything like that, but if she could help him she would. “I can help quiet her.”

  “You aren’t busy.”

  “What I’m doing can wait. I don’t want you to get kicked out.”

  “Neither do I.” He looked around the cafe. “This is Eve.” He passed her to Tyra. “I’m K
ent.”

  “Tyra.” She wrapped her arms around Eve, smiling down at the baby. “How old is she?”

  “Eight months and six days.”

  “She’s gorgeous.” Tyra stroked a finger down Eve’s cheek and then a tiny hand wrapped around the finger. “You’re a very lucky man to have such a beautiful daughter.”

  “Beautiful, and very needy, but then that’s babies.” Kent studied the two of them. “I don’t suppose you’d be willing to take on a babysitting job.”

  ***

  The address had to be wrong. Tyra looked at the house in front of her, then back at her phone. It was the right address. Kent and Eve lived in one of the biggest houses Tyra had ever seen, and that made her more uncertain about taking on the job than she already had been, but she needed the money. The money was the important thing. Obviously he was able to pay her. Going to an apartment should have been more worrying as she wouldn’t know if he truly did have the money to pay her. Slowly she walked towards the front door, trying to work out if taking on a babysitting job was the best thing she could do. She didn’t have an experience with babies. Eve seemed to like her, but was that really a reason to look after her. Again she reminded herself of the money.

  With the thought of paying her rent in the forefront of her mind Tyra rang the doorbell. She had a feeling someone would answer the door for Kent, because it really was that sort of house, so when he opened it himself she tried to hide her surprise. “Hi.”

  “I wasn’t certain you’d come.”

  “Neither was I, to be honest with you, but I want to help you out.”

  “You don’t know me.”

  “I don’t, but you’re a single father and I know how hard that can be. My mom was a single mother from the time I was a baby. She talked to me about what it was like to try to look after me, work, and get everything done around the house.” Kent stepped back to let Tyra in. “I take it you need me to look after Eve so you can work.”

  Kent nodded. “I would love to spend all my time with her, but I can’t. I need some time to myself, to get back to work, and not rely on the money I have in the bank.”

  She glanced around. “It seems like you have a bit stashed away.”

  “That’s true, but work is my sanity. I’ve always worked. It’s the one thing that’s kept me going through this whole mess and I need to keep working now. If I don’t work I start to think too much about everything.” He shook his head. “That’s why my ex-wife left me in the first place. She didn’t think I was spontaneous enough. My lack of fun was enough to convince her to find someone else, even though I still loved her. My love for her didn’t matter.” Their eyes met. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be rambling at you about this. I just… it’s been a long time since I had an adult to talk to.”

  “How come you have Eve?”

  “My ex-wife died in a car accident three days after she gave birth. Fortunately Eve was here, not in the car, and here is where she’s stayed since. Now I’m doing my best to learn how to parent and it’s not an easy job.”

  ***

  Eve was laying in her crib, staring up at the ceiling. “Hello, sweetheart. Daddy told me you’d just woken up from your nap.” She rolled onto her side to look at Tyra. “Now, I’m going to be honest with you, I have no idea what to do with you. I’ve never looked after a baby before in my life, but I did do some reading before I came. I know the basics, I think, and whatever I don’t know we can make up together, can’t we?” As Tyra picked Eve up she giggled. “What do you want to do while Daddy’s working? I can read you a book. Mom said I always liked it when she read to me.

  “I’ve always been a bookworm.” Tyra smiled down at Eve as they made their way into one of the many reception rooms Kent said he had. “I still read now, when I have the time. Until recently I had two jobs, but I lost my second job, which wasn’t great. Now I have you to look after as my second job. I just have to work this around job number one, which I think should be easy enough, especially as you aren’t that far from me. I can walk here, but I have to take the bus to the cafe, and that’s an hour commute.” She shook her head. “I doubt you know what a commute is, do you? I don’t think you have any idea what I’m saying to you at all. Knowing that makes it easy for me to understand why Kent was in desperate need of adult conversation.

  “What do you know about your daddy, Eve?” She sat down on the couch. “I didn’t think to look him up, but then I didn’t think anything like this was possible. I just thought he was a single dad who needed some help, which is what he is, but he looks like he’s far richer than I anticipated. Rich, and still a worker. I think you have a good role model in your daddy, taking that into consideration - I don’t think things are going to be easy for him though, sweetie, because you’re the daughter of a woman he loved very much.”

  Sighing, she studied Eve. “You have your daddy’s eyes. They’re very pretty. You’re going to be told that in the future, by people who want to get you into their bed, and you need to promise me now you’re not going to listen to them. A man needs to love you for who you are, not what you look like.”

  From the doorway there was a laugh. “You’re teaching her that already?”

  “A girl can’t learn that too early, Kent.” Tyra looked over at him. “I thought you were meant to be working.”

  “I am. I just left my phone in here when I was busy earlier and I need it for certain calls I need to make.” He looked between the two of them. “You both look very comfortable together.”

  ***

  A crying baby was much harder to deal with than a happy one. Tyra studied Eve, who had her new nappy on, and tried to assess the situation. “You’ve been fed. You’ve been burped. You’ve had your nappy changed. What else could you want, Miss Eve?”

  Their eyes met for a moment. It would be helpful if Eve could answer the questions Tyra was asking, but that was never going to happen. Fortunately there was someone she could ask for an answer to the question. “Mom?”

  “Is that a baby I hear?”

  “Yes, it is, and I want you to tell me what I’m missing. Why is she crying?”

  “Obviously you’ve gone through all the normal things. Is she too hot, too cold, sleepy… there are all sorts of reasons babies cry, and sometimes they cry for no reason whatsoever. Babies can’t communicate in any other way. What you need to do is learn more about the specific baby you’re looking after. It could be that she’s crying for attention. Try talking to her, or walking with her, or putting her down for a nap.”

  “Okay.” Tyra smiled at Eve. Eve’s tears stopped. “Or I just need to smile at her.”

  “That sometimes works, especially if you’re a different colour to the people she’s had around her before. At the moment you’re a novelty.”

  “Kent is white.”

  “Kent?”

  “The guy I’m working for. I’m looking after his daughter.”

  “Kent Pierce?”

  “No idea. I just know his first name.”

  “Tell me about the baby.”

  “Eve’s eight months old and her mom died just after her birth.”

  “Then you are working for Kent Pierce.” There was a long silence. “How did that end up happening?”

  “He was in the cafe I work at, looking after Eve, and I helped him quieten her door. Then he offered me a job babysitting and I couldn’t turn it down.”

  “You do realise Kent is one of the richest people in the state?”

  “I had no idea until you just told me, but it does make sense. His house is huge.”

  “Ty, love, do me a favour.”

  “What?”

  “Be careful. I’ve heard lots of horror stories about young women who fall in love with the wrong people, and if you’re spending a lot of time around Kent it’s entirely possible the same thing might happen to you.”

  “Mom, you’re worrying about nothing. I barely know the guy. I’m just here to look after Eve.” Tyra sighed. “From what he said he’s still madl
y in love with his dead wife, and I can’t help feeling sorry for him. I can’t imagine what it must be like for him to have to raise his daughter when she’s a part of that wife.” She shook her head. “I’m just glad I can help him out, because it’s obvious he needs someone in his life who isn’t eight months old.”

  “You’re probably right, but it’s my job to worry about you. I am your mother.”

  ***

  “Tell me you’re going to be back tomorrow.”

  “I have an early shift at the cafe. After that I can come and look after Eve for you.”

  Kent breathed a sigh of relief. “I had a horrible feeling today would have been too much for you.” He brushed a hand through his hair. “Thank you, Tyra.”

  “You’re welcome.” She smiled at him. “I can come as often as you need me to. All you have to do is give me a little notice, so I can work it out with my shifts at the cafe.”

  “I will.”

  As Tyra walked away she thought about how she was going to spend her evening, because she didn’t want to spend too much of her time looking into Kent, but there was a niggling voice in the back of her mind that told her she needed to. It sounded like her mom. She didn’t know anything about him and she should have looked into him before she went to the house. Then she would have known the house he lived in, and about the fact he was far richer than the average person. It was hard to understand why he’d be in her little cafe when he could have gone anywhere, but then maybe he wanted to go somewhere new, because then he wouldn’t have to deal with more memories of his dead wife.