by Virna DePaul
Dante’s head started to buzz.
Gio patted Aurora’s shoulder and continued to talk into the microphone. “Esposito Group would like to put up for auction one year of Ms. LeMonde’s consulting services. And as her friend and business partner, I can tell you that there is no one smarter, sharper, or more hard working.” He pushed Aurora slightly forward.
Dante could see how much she was currently wishing she could be anywhere else. And then he saw her professionalism kick in. Her smooth and polished exterior immediately covered up her insecurities. One hand automatically rested over her rounded belly.
Her child. His child. Their child.
“Let’s start the bidding at $5,000,” Gio’s voice echoed out through the room.
* * *
Aurora inwardly groaned as George Junior’s pink hand raised at one end of the room. Oh lord. It was that perv’s dream come true. He could actually use his money to purchase her.
“One hundred thousand dollars,” said a deep, familiar voice.
Aurora didn’t have anything in her mouth to choke on but air, but choke she did. Dante waded through the sea of murmuring, whispering people. His eyes burned into hers like hot coals. She was pinned in place, her mouth dropped right open.
“Yes. Well. That’ll do it, I think. Thank you to Mr. Callaghan, and please, enjoy the rest of the evening.” Gio, grinning like a Cheshire cat, flipped the microphone off right as Dante bounded up onto the stage.
“Dante, you can’t— Are you crazy? That’s too much!”
“Aurora,” Dante said as he grabbed her ice-cold hands. “I have the fucking money, it’s going towards research for the disorder my sister has, and it gets you off the goddamn auction block. You’re insane if you think you can talk me out of this.”
With that, he swept one arm under her knees and lifted her up like she hadn’t gained twenty pounds in the last two months.
Dante turned to Gio, who was still grinning. “And don’t think I don’t realize what you did, auctioning her services instead of yours.”
Gio shrugged and gestured to his swelling lip. “We’re even now.”
Dante grunted and strode off the stage behind the velvet purple curtains at the back. He set Aurora down on a folding chair and immediately fell to his knees in front of her. The bright lights of the ballroom filtered through the cracks in the curtains and painted patterns across both their faces.
“I’ve got shit to say and Michelle says I need to be crystal fucking clear so just don’t talk and let me say it all, okay?”
Aurora, her heart still racing, merely nodded.
“I didn’t know you were pregnant until ten minutes ago.”
Aurora’s brow furrowed, her mouth dropped open and she drew breath to say something. Dante simply clapped a hand over her mouth and bit back the heat that seared through him at the feel of her lips on his palm.
“That day, the thing that I saw? It was you hugging Gio. I opened the door to your office and saw you pressed up against him. I—I knew that you loved him, that you were using me to get him out of your system, and for a while that was alright with me but...”
He stood and began pacing in front of her.
“But seeing the two of you like that… the love all over your face, love that I wanted for myself, it almost destroyed me. So I ended things. I ended things fast. And I did it without telling you how I feel about you.”
He dropped to his knees in front of her again. “It killed me, Aurora. You said ‘us’, you said ‘our lives’, on that phone call, and I thought you were talking about you and Gio as a couple. But earlier, after I got here, I confronted Gio. He said you were already showing that day, but I didn’t see your belly. I didn’t know.”
“If you didn’t know, then why are you here?”
He cupped her face in both his hands. “Because I’m in love with you. So goddamn in love with you. So much that even though I knew that you were with Gio, the love of your life, I still had to tell you. I couldn’t go on without telling you. And then I walk in here, run into Gio, and he just drops the bomb. You’re pregnant. And I know it’s mine. Maybe it’s your witchy mother rubbing off on me, but I can look at you right now and I can feel that baby in there. That baby is mine. But I wouldn’t care if the baby was Gio’s. I wouldn’t care if the baby was George Junior’s. I love you, Aurora. I love you so much. I want both of you. You and the baby.”
Aurora sat perfectly still. He watched as the professional veneer melted away under the heat of her passionate side. He watched in fascination and relief as she rose to stand in front of him, temper sparking over her face.
“You’re saying that you want to be a part of the baby’s life? Just like that? You’re suddenly ready to be a father?”
“No, not just like that.” He rose too, his temper making him pace again. “It’s been four years of having Michelle. Of slowly getting used to the idea of being a parent. It took losing you and realizing that if I had to, I could live without you. Because of Michelle. Brokenhearted or not, I’d have to find a way to go on, even though I’d never be whole again. And, I don’t know, but I think that makes me a father. And I’ll make mistakes, Aurora. I know I will. But I’ll be there.” He stepped toward her. “Please, let me be there.”
She stared at him, energy crackling between them. “I would never keep you from the baby, Dante. Even when I thought you were leaving me because I was pregnant, I couldn’t do that. Don’t you remember the last thing I said?”
“That you would never cut me out of your lives.”
She nodded. “If it’s the baby you want, we’ll figure it out. We’ll make it work together.”
“I want the baby. And no matter what, that’s never going to change. But Aurora, I need to be very, very clear here. I want you too. You love Michelle, I could see that from the beginning. So that won’t be a problem. And you enjoy me. I’ll do everything I can to make that enough. Even if you always love Gio, I’ll try to make you happy—”
Aurora burst out a small, hysterical laugh and slammed a hand over his mouth. “Enough.” She took Dante by the shoulders and shook him hard. “I was thinking of you, you dumbass.”
“What?” he asked.
“That day in my office, Gio asked me if the father would understand about the baby. I was hugging him but I was thinking of you. Thinking how badly I hoped you’d still want me after you found out I was pregnant.”
Dante’s mouth opened and closed. His brow furrowed.
Aurora plowed on. “I’m six months along, Dante. Which means—”
“I got you pregnant that first night. After the gala.”
“Probably across the hood of your car.” She lifted a wry eyebrow. “I wasn’t thinking of Gio when I was with you that night. You filled my every thought. And afterward, I was still sad about Gio, lonely and rejected. But I couldn’t stop thinking about you. Especially with all those damn flowers.”
He smiled.
“And then I found out I was pregnant. I was horny as hell and confused and sad and I wanted you so badly. And there you were, offering yourself up, no strings attached, and I took my chance.” She took a deep breath and let one of her thumbs trace a small circle over the pulse point at his neck. “I started sleeping with you. But it was never for the reasons you thought.”
“You weren’t using me to get over Gio?”
She shook her head. “Honestly, I don’t think I thought of Gio again after that night in your entryway.”
A sun rose in Dante’s chest but he beat it back. He needed to know the rest. “You weren’t thinking of him when I touched you?”
Now Aurora threw her head back and laughed, really laughed. Dante wasn’t quite sure how to feel about that. He was halfway between scowling and laughing himself.
“Dante, I told you once and I’ll tell you again. You suck all the oxygen out of the room for me. You’re so undeniably you. There absolutely is no pretending it’s not you.” She traced her hand over his lips, his nose. “Your scent,
your voice, your presence, it calls to me, Dante. It was only you for me. And when I realized I loved you… I should have told you sooner. About my love and about the baby. And I’m so sorry now I didn’t. But I’m not sorry you’re here. And I’m not sorry we have a second chance.”
Dante hadn’t realized the shadow that had still been hovering over him, not until he felt it lift. Not until he felt the sun rise. He felt it explode through him. Kneeling before her again, Dante let his forehead fall forward and rest on her rounded belly. And he felt something real, something electric and strong, zip through him.
He raised his head in surprise and blinked at Aurora.
“You felt it too?” she asked, swiping a hand over her belly.
He nodded and carefully placed his hand over hers.
He felt it again. A swell of energy so strong it raised the hairs on his arm.
“What is it?” he asked.
“Love.”
Dante rose. “So let me get this straight. I love you. And you love me.”
“Yup.”
“And we’re having a baby.”
“Yup.”
“And you’re going to date the hell out of me while we figure this shit out.”
Aurora’s eyes widened and filled with tears. He swiped at them as they rolled over her rounded, golden cheeks. Then he leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. Her plush mouth melted against his and he felt the zing he always did when she was near. The heat and the warmth.
The fire that was Aurora.
She pulled away, blinked the tears out of her eyes, and took a deep breath. “Yup.”
Epilogue
One year later
Aurora peeked out the kitchen window toward the back deck as she washed some tomatoes under the spray of the sink. She smiled at the sight there.
Michelle listened very carefully as Cedalie, sitting on the deck stairs just below her, held up a tarot card. Needless to say, Michelle and Cedalie got along very well. In her lap, Michelle cradled her baby brother, Dante “Cal” Callaghan Jr., Aurora’s sweet little boy with his daddy’s blue eyes.
Aurora had moved into Dante’s house about two seconds after the auction. Every second since, Dante had taken care of her and their baby. After Cal was born, he did just as many midnight wake-ups as she did. He delighted in Cal’s every spit bubble just as much as she did. And god only knew, he loved that baby just as much as she did.
Aurora shook her head, amazed at how lucky she was.
“You spying on them?” Dante asked as he came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. He peeked through the window as well, chuckling when Cedalie drew another tarot card. “If we’re not careful, we’re going to have two fortune tellers on our hands.”
“Three,” Aurora corrected. “Have you seen how Cal looks at my mother when she talks?”
“Oh lord.” Dante groaned. “I’ll be outnumbered.”
“You love it.”
“Yes,” he murmured against the soft skin of her neck. “I do.”
Aurora let his love wash through her. “Dante,” she said, turning in his arms, loving the way he pressed her up against the sink.
“Hmmm?” He nuzzled the skin just below her ear.
“I don’t want to date you anymore.”
He stiffened.
“I wanna be married to you.”
His head popped up and his eyes burned into hers, utter shock in every line of his face.
“Will you marry me?” she asked.
Dante’s eyes widened before he stepped away from her and let out a shaky laugh.
“You really know how to take the wind out of a guy’s sails, gorgeous.”
“What?”
He stalked to the drawer below the silverware and took out a small, black box, which he held up. “I was going to ask you this weekend, but since you’re so antsy to get the show on the road, I guess you can have this a few days early.”
Walking back to her, he gently placed the box in the palm of her hand. When Aurora opened it, she grinned at the small crystals set so perfectly in a gold setting.
“Your mother helped me pick the right gems. That one’s for patience, that one’s for emotional well being, that one’s for passion, and that one’s for creativity. They’re all good magic, she says.”
Aurora set the box on the counter and kissed the daylights out of him. “I’m taking the fact that you endured gem shopping with my mother as an indication you’re saying yes to my proposal?”
“It’s my proposal,” he corrected. “Are you saying yes?”
She grinned. “Let’s go ahead and both say yes.”
He kissed her gently. “Then yes, my love. Yes, to marrying you. Yes, to living the rest of our lives together. Yes, yes, yes.”
“Yes,” she echoed, and twenty minutes later, in their bed, content in the knowledge that their children were safe with her mother, Aurora kept saying yes even as she dreamed of the day she’d soon stand in front of the entire world and say the words “I do.”
Thank you for reading Bedding The Baby Daddy.
If you enjoyed spending time with these characters, be sure to check out
Gio and Rose’s story in Book 10!
Also, be sure to check out my sports romance series, Going Deep.
Here’s a sneak peek of Book 1, Down Deep:
DOWN DEEP Excerpt:
Prologue
Football players possess the ideal combination of strength and endurance.
And the best asses of any other athletes.
At least, that’s what Sheila, Camille Pollert’s best friend, once said. Sheila’s cousin Mindy had thought Sheila was crazy. She’d claimed no one could beat soccer players for sheer sexiness.
But with her gaze focused squarely on #24’s ass, Camille was definitely calling the play in Sheila’s favor.
Of course, since Camille had been in love with the boy currently wearing the #24 jersey since freshman year, she supposed she was a bit biased.
Football players grunted and tackled each other, and the shrill sound of a whistle filled the air. She quickly took a few photos before wandering around the outskirts of the field. Always looking for the perfect shot, she hardly even noticed the screams and shouts of the students in the bleachers or the off-key blaring of the marching band.
A senior in high school, she had been part of the yearbook staff since ninth grade, but this was her first big assignment. But she wasn’t just taking photos for the yearbook. Some of the photos she was taking for herself, to hide away in her box of photos documenting her crush on the most popular boy in school: Heath Dawson, player #24.
Camille heard one of the coaches yell something at the ref, and the ref warned him to back off. He didn’t. She walked over to the long bench where some of the home team was sitting, all of them watching the ref and coach argue. She took a photo, liking how the shot radiated the edginess that she could feel coming off the team in waves.
Finally, the ref made an offside call against the visiting team and instituted a five-yard penalty. The players on the bench cheered while those on the field began to huddle up for the next play. Camille stayed at the bench, snapping photos.
At one point, Heath jumped into the air to catch the ball. Turning upfield and toward the end zone, he weaved agilely around the cornerback. Out of nowhere, the free safety came in, lowered his shoulder pads, and hit Heath square in the chest, causing the ball to fall.
The defensive cornerback scrambled and fell on the ball, recovering it for the defense.
The angry screech of the whistle sounded.
Camille held her breath as Heath lay on the ground, unmoving, but then finally, he shook himself off and stood. Looking both angry and crestfallen, he jogged back to the sidelines.
She blushed, her heart picking up speed when she realized he was headed right toward her where she stood by the water table. He was still several feet away when he took off his helmet. He shook his head, his sweaty dark locks brushing across his foreh
ead, and he smiled gamely when a teammate slapped him on the shoulder. But his expression grew cloudier when he glanced up into the stands at an older man—Camille had seen them together enough to know it was his father—glowering, yelling something that she couldn’t catch.
Heath walked right by her without even noticing her, which unfortunately wasn’t anything new.
Even though Camille’s father had coached Heath when he was just starting to play football, she’d never actually met him until ninth grade. That day, however, was forever burned into her memory. Their lockers had been next to each other, and when she’d been trying to reach up and place her books on the top shelf, Heath had stepped in and helped her. “Having trouble there?” he’d asked with a grin. His hand had brushed hers, and she had jumped away with a bright blush. He had looked her up and down, as if trying to place her, but when she was too tongue-tied to say anything, he had shrugged and turned back to his conversation with one of his buddies.
Heath smiling at her and helping her had made her heart beat so fast she was surprised she hadn’t passed out. Not many girls got to be so close to him, and her appreciation for his help quickly blossomed into a fully-fledged crush. She snapped photos of him around school, she dreamed of him asking her out and telling her he loved her, and she blushed every time she heard his loud laugh in the hallways. As locker buddies, she had the opportunity to see him almost every day, although she never had the courage to talk to him. Just being close to him had been enough for her.
Sadly, the next year they were no longer locker buddies, but she’d always looked for him. She’d wanted to see his smile and hear his laugh, even if he didn’t know she existed.
She was so preoccupied thinking about her history with Heath that she hadn’t realized he was standing right next to her until he shoved a water cup into her hand. “Dude, refill this for me?” he asked, his gaze on the field.