SAFEHOUSE (A BWWM BILLIONAIRE ROMANCE)

by Mia Caldwell

  The store we were going to itself was small yet cheerful. There were bright splashes of color here and there, although most of the baby clothes were more neutral in color than anything else.

  Usually you think of pink and blue but there were many different colors that stood out in different styles that I hadn't really seen in America. I pulled one tiny jacket closer to me, examining the fur-lined hood that came with it.

  "There are so many little things in here," I exclaimed. "I don't even know to where to begin!"

  Julien laughed, as an attendant came to greet us from the back of the store.

  "Bonjour!” The young woman greeted us, gesturing to me in particular. “Je peux vous aider?”

  I felt myself blush, not completely understanding her casual accent. The French could speak so fast.

  But of course Julien stepped in, always my hero. "Bonjour! Nous cherchons simplement.”

  I shuddered against him, secretly loving to hear when he spoke in French. When he whispered sweet nothings to me I could barely contain myself. His words always seemed to do something to me, and for a moment I wish I could push him to the back room. Getting control of myself, I tried to concentrate on the cutest little baby shoes that I had ever seen.

  Julien and the salesperson continued their conversation à la French, leaving me to it. I walked up the aisle further, checking out the beautiful little clothing as I went.

  It sure was fun looking at them, imagining them on our beautiful child. It still made me mad that we hadn’t come up with a name for our son.

  Julien finally caught up with me and the bodyguards spread out throughout the store, one sticking close by on the other side of the aisle, keeping tabs on me at all times. I wanted to say something, but I wasn't gonna make a big deal about this anymore. If this was the price I had to pay to get out and see the world beyond the estate, I was happy to pay it.

  "See anything you fancy?" He asked me, running his fingers along an infant-sized velvet tracksuit. I raised my brow at him.

  "They have a lot to choose from, sure. Some of the stuff is pretty cute, but some of it just seems, I don't know, a little too grown for a baby if you ask me. I do like these little sleeper sets though." I pointed to the furry pajamas that ended in cute little footies with animal faces on them. Julien laughed and smiled along with me. Even he wasn’t immune to the cuteness.

  It took a while, but I ended up draping a few different items over my arm, slightly disappointed in the lack of baby boy clothes. Julien went up front to pay for everything while I hung around the front of the store, looking out the window and people watching.

  And it went on like that for the next few hours, going into one store picking out a few things here and there and moving onto the next. I was starting to wear out when Julien offered me a little relief.

  "Would you like to get some lunch?" Julien asked.

  I vigorously nodded my head yes. "Starving, and I’d love to get off my feet for a few minutes. What should we do about lunch?"

  He looked up and down the street, his eyes seeking out something I couldn't find myself.

  "If memory serves me correctly, there is a very good restaurant less than a block away down the road. They have fantastic food. I used to go there all the time."

  When Julien says fantastic, he sure means it. When I finally had a menu in my hands there was no way I could choose… I ended up with the sampler plate, which was full of small portions from the whole menu. Once I had finished the sampler that included some of the best shrimp I had ever had, I ordered the blueberry tart. Combining my love for blueberries and my love for all things tart related. It was definitely a wise decision, especially once I took that first flaky bite.

  "So I know you're not going to like this, but this is important. I think this might be the last time you'll be able to go outside of the grounds for awhile. There's just too much at stake, and Agent Wilson hasn’t exactly inspired confidence… I would really just feel better if you were to stay inside at the château, at least until the baby has arrived..."

  I thought about it for a moment, dread fresh in my gut. I knew he was right, but the idea of staying inside for the next… indefinitely… It sounded almost like a prison sentence to me.

  "While I agree about not going outside of the grounds, do you really expect me to be able to handle staying inside for months on end?"

  "I don't expect it, no. But I don't really see any way around it, do you?" he asked in earnest.

  "I'll stay inside… But we need to come up with a better plan, because you can’t keep me holed up in a house forever.”

  And with that, I ordered yet another smaller tart to enjoy all by myself. I was in Paris, and this may have been the last time I would be able to go for a long time, particularly if Julien had any say about it. As far as I was concerned, stuffing my face was part of living it up.

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  Chapter 32

  I examined my fingernails, groaning as I realized I had gotten the bright pink polish all along the skin surrounding them. I would have to take the nail polish remover and start all over again, and that would be the second time already. Was I ever going to be able to do my nails as well as Leah could back at home?

  I wondered if maybe it was just the color that was throwing off my game. Maybe I needed something to better match the changing seasons instead. Although I couldn’t feel it, I could practically see the chill in the air outside as the surrounding trees on the mountains began turning vivid shades of red, orange, and yellow.

  As much as I tried to distract myself with silly things like nail polish and binge-watching TV on the new tablet Julien bought me, I just couldn't shake this feeling like it was all getting ready to come down on me.

  I didn't let Julien know, but I had been waking up several times every single night…

  These nightmares I had been having—they were a mix of the old and the new. Part of them revolved around the shooting incident, but part of them revolved around safety anxiety and the thought of someone coming to get me and the baby. It was hard enough not to think about it during the daytime as it was. I didn't want nor need these troubles following me into my sleep.

  Julien had caught me a few times, and ended up asking me to talk to Dr. Thibodeau about taking something to help me sleep better. Call me crazy, but I didn't want to ingest any pills this late into the pregnancy.

  I looked back down at my nails and scrunched my nose. They were as good as they were going to get. Thoroughly frustrated, I cleaned everything up and headed back towards the billiards room, where Julien and Desmond were shooting a few games of pool while Desmond was on break.

  I was trying so hard not to think about it, but the truth was I was feeling hopeless at this point. Agent Wilson hadn’t given us any good news lately and I had come to the conclusion that I’d never live a normal life again…

  I felt like something to be ashamed of, something that no one could ever talk about. Like in one of those horror stories where they keep the girl locked up in the attic or basement.

  Not only did I wish I didn't have to live with that, but there was our son to think about.

  Maybe that had been what was causing the nightmares.

  I didn't even realize I had knocked into someone until I turned to see Marie's knitted brows and her brown eyes glaring at me.

  "Excusez moi!" She hissed, her voice shrill. I sighed, not wanting to get on anyone's bad side—least of all hers.

  "I apologize. I guess I'm not really paying attention to where I’m going."

  "I see that," she quipped, getting ready to turn and head back the way she was going. She stopped for a moment though, inspecting me for something. I felt so exhausted that I didn’t care. She could give me her dirty looks all she wanted.

  And when the first few teardrops traced their way down my cheekbones I wanted to scream. I hated crying in front of Marie, she always seems so cold about it as if she didn't give a crap.

  Somehow though, Marie
softened her face slightly, looking as if she was wanting to reach out and touch me.

  "There is something wrong, oui?" she asked.

  I didn't want her pretending to be genuine and concerned about me, so I shrugged. All I wanted to do was get back to Julien, but then again… I didn't really want to seem desperate to be around him as much as I was. Even he needed his time to himself.

  "Yes. But there's nothing I can do about it, so I guess it doesn't matter."

  She huffed at that, shaking her head at me. "You have many wrongs happening to you. Life isn't very… fair…”

  "You're right. Especially to me, it seems."

  There was something different in her face. She genuinely felt bad for me, and if I had already made it to this point, that was pretty bad. She pointed to the red and gold's chaise that was up against the wall, suggesting we sit. I obliged, at the very least curious about what she had to say to me. I had hoped that she wouldn't say anything too negative, considering all the crap I had been dealing with lately.

  "Did I tell you when Julien was born . . . no? Of course not. Would you hear about it?" she asked me, turning to face her body towards me.

  My eyes nearly bugged out of my head. Was she kidding? Was she seriously planning on telling me a story? Something about this whole thing seemed weird, but the idea of hearing about Julien when he was born was too much for me to pass up.

  "Of course, I'd love to hear that."

  She quickly nodded, beginning her story.

  "Julien was stubborn, especially pour un bébé. But he was angel. Sabine called him ‘ange doux,’ when no one looking. His mother was in labor for almost two days. Têtu comme un mulet. Her mother had already passed, and I was the one she wanted in room with her. No sisters, cousins or tantes to support her. Just me. She was so tired at the end, j’étais inquiet. I was angry with Julien, even as baby.”

  “It wasn’t his fault,” I said, letting out a small laugh even as my eyes stopped watering.

  “No, it wasn’t… Julien grew to be such a great man… He is an angel to those lucky enough to receive his love. And you are luckier still, because you bring another angel into this world."

  I thought about it for a moment. I did feel incredibly lucky to have Julien, and the idea that we would share our love with a child… It was a good feeling. For a moment there, I almost felt like we could get through anything as long as the three of us had each other.

  "Thank you, Marie..."

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  Chapter 33

  I pulled my cardigan around by middle the best that I could, grumbling to myself as I realized the buttons just wouldn't quite stay buttoned across my massive belly. The slight breeze that had begun in the summer was now a constant chill, at the eve of autumn. Snow would be coming soon…

  I glanced down, frowning for a moment before rolling my eyes at myself. I was being a big baby about it, I knew it. Usually dealing with people didn’t worry me any, because I never had to interact with anyone who hadn't seen me this whole time. But today was different. Today, the day that marked my twenty-sixth week of being pregnant with this crazy child, was also the day of my baby shower.

  After much begging to Julien, it had been scaled back a tad bit. To me it seemed silly to even have one, and the idea of finally meeting Julien's family… it froze me with fear. Of course I would eventually have to at some point, but I was open to putting that moment off as long as possible…

  Not to mention the fact that we still hadn’t picked a name…

  Julien said it was tradition that we wait… I don't know what kind of tradition takes forever to pick a baby name, but certainly not my family's tradition. My mom told me that they came up with the name Amira from some show they used to watch. My mom asked my dad ‘Hey, what do you think about Amira?’ He turned to her and said ‘Yep, sounds good.’ End of story.

  I knew it was time to head back to the château, but it was so hard dragging my feet behind me. Going back home meant meeting everyone. Meeting everyone meant meeting Sabine Malveaux, not only the CEO of Veritas leather goods, but also my future mother-in-law, and the grandmother of my son.

  And meeting her for the first time at my baby shower? That's not just awkward, that's slightly embarrassing to me. I was afraid of how she might see things.

  I sighed, huffing and puffing as I made my way back up one of the many paths to the château. I saw the cars gathering out front, circling around the large fountain, parking. There were already too many for me to properly count, and I had no idea how many people were going to actually show up. According to Julien this wasn't just a baby shower, but a meet and greet of sorts. I had heard some other stories about this whole thing, some crazier than the last. Like the idea of having everybody on the guest list having actually signed some sort of waiver for meeting me. When he told me that I nearly snorted my milk for my nose one morning. At that point all of it just seemed surreal, and so far away.

  But now that it was here, my nerves were crazy.

  I sneaked in the most inconspicuous door I could find, knowing that it would lead into the kitchen, where hopefully Gervaise would try and keep me occupied or at least hide me for the time being. But when I entered the kitchen, I nearly turned right back around and walked out.

  "Bree! Oh there you are! I have been looking for you all over the place, ma chérie! Please come and meet my mother, would you?" Julien boomed from the entrance to the kitchen.

  Well, I couldn't very well walk past them, now could I? I pasted on my very best attempt at a genuine smile and walked up to them, sticking my hand out to shake his mother’s.

  "It's very nice to finally get a chance to meet you," I said as politely as possible.

  Sabine Malveaux stood next to Julien, but not too close. It was clear that Julien got his looks from his mother.

  In my head I had imagined her at some sort of monster, almost. Someone ready to take me down at a moment’s notice. And maybe that was part of my anxiety, but standing there looking at her might even be worse. She was fully dressed to the nines, wearing a beautifully tight black satin knee dress that hugged all the right places, which wasn't saying much because everything seemed perfect on her.

  She was thin and blonde, with the same piercing brown eyes as Julien. Her hair was swept back into some fancy updo, and she wore a set of very expensive looking pearls, delicately lining her thin collarbone. She looked like she had walked off the set of Mad Men. But it wasn't her looks alone that was really throwing me for a loop. It was the expression on her face.

  I half-expected her to come in with a sneer, given her upbringing and wealth. Instead, she was looking at me with a curious expression. She looked amused. I didn't know what to think about that... When she spoke, the whole room went silent.

  "And it is our pleasure to finally get a chance to meet you, sweetheart."

  Well. I definitely wasn't expecting that...

  Sabine brought her hand across her hairline, smoothing it back, as if it hadn't already been expertly coiffed. "Where is Gervaise? I thought he would be back here, helping run things?"

  I didn't know whether she was asking me were just asking in general, but I shrugged my shoulders. "I haven't seen him in a while."

  Julien walked up to me, pulling me into his arms and giving me a quick peck on the cheek. A wave of relief rolled over me.

  He turned and faced his mother, gesturing out the door. "I'm sure he'll be here quickly, but we need to go ahead and get started in the ballroom," he explained.

  My eyes widened, the anxiety in my face plain and clear. "The ballroom? Julien, he never said anything about the ballroom. That room is huge!" I quickly whispered to him, trying to be as quiet as possible so that his mother didn’t hear me from ahead of us. "Just how many people are coming to this thing?"

  He chuckled nervously in response, giving me his answer in the silence. I shook my head at him, wishing I could get just a few minutes alone with him. I had quite a few things to say.


  "Don’t worry… My family members know about us. They know about you and the baby and they are nothing but happy for us. I’ve hired security and everything is locked down tight as a drum. Relax and enjoy yourself!"

  I didn't know what else to say, so I kept quiet and walked along next to him, trying to give people the vibe that I was completely comfortable.

  As we stood outside the double doors that led into the ballroom where most of the guests had already assembled, I took in a long deep breath, pacing myself. Julien looked over at me and smiled, squeezing my hand in his.

  "Just be yourself. That’s all you need to do."

  When he said it like that, he made it sound so simple. Of course it really wasn't, but maybe I could pretend for myself that it was.