Most Eligible Single Dad - A Billionaire's Secret Baby Romance (Love Is Priceless Book 2)

by Holly Rayner

  “Of course I do. I’d love to have your mother here with us. And don’t you want her to be with you when the baby comes?”

  “I want you to be with me when the baby comes.”

  “And I will be, I promise. But surely you’d like to have your mother with you to help with the baby?”

  “Are you kidding. I’d love it!”

  I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him again. Not only had he forgiven me, but he was also really trying to ensure I’d be happy staying with him.

  I heard the elevator bell warning and turned toward the doors as they slid open. Rey dashed out of the elevator and nearly tackled us.

  “Tanya! I knew you couldn’t leave us. Papi, I knew you’d come to your senses.”

  “Yes, hija, I took the advice of a very wise young lady and put my stubbornness aside.”

  “It’s about time, papi.”

  I held onto Rey as she clung to my waist.

  “Honey, we have something to tell you. And however you feel about it, your feelings are okay. Just talk to us, okay?”

  “Are you sending me to boarding school?”

  “What? No, of course we’re not going to send you away. I don’t want to send you away, ever.”

  “Then why do I feel like you’re about to tell me bad news?”

  Raul led us to the pit couch and sat Rey between us on the sofa. He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.

  “It’s not bad news, sweetheart. It’s very good news, and we hope you’ll be happy, too. Tanya and I are ecstatic.”

  “Okay, what is it?”

  I turned to face Rey and took her hand in mine.

  “How do you feel about being a big sister?”

  Rey’s brow furrowed, and my heart stuttered in my chest. I didn’t want to make Rey unhappy, but this baby was a reality, no matter how she felt about it.

  “A big sister? When?”

  I looked at Raul, and he nodded.

  “In about seven months,” I said.

  Rey looked me up and down before she jumped up and shouted for joy.

  “You’re pregnant? That’s amazing. Is it a boy or a girl? Will I be able to help you take care of it? What are you going to name it? I need details!”

  I glanced at Raul, who was grinning from ear to ear.

  “I guess that means you’re happy to be a big sister.”

  “Of course I’m happy, why would I be anything but?”

  She looked at her father and understanding dawned in her eyes.

  “You thought I might be upset? Why?”

  “Because it’s been just the two of us for so long. I didn’t know if you might feel jealous or something.”

  “As long as you don’t plan on sending me away, I have nothing to be jealous of, right?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “When is the baby shower? I want to help plan it. Can I?”

  “That’s something else we wanted to tell you, ask you really,” Raul said. “How would you feel about Tanya’s mother coming to live with us?”

  “Can I call her abuelita?”

  Rey looked between her father and me, her eyes wide and hopeful.

  I spoke up, “Of course you can, but you’re going to have to tell her what it means. Ma doesn’t speak Spanish, but I’m sure she’ll learn.”

  “A brother or sister and an abuelita, all in one day. And you two thought I’d be upset? What’s wrong with you, papi?”

  Raul took my hand and held it to his chest. He reached for Rey’s hand and pulled her in close to us.

  “There’s nothing wrong with us, sweetheart. Not now that we’re a family.

  Chapter 49

  Tanya

  Six Months Later – December

  “Ma! Over here.”

  I waved my arm frantically over my head to get my mother’s attention. She locked eyes with me, smiled and waved and started to make her way through the Christmas crowd at the airport.

  “Tanya, you shouldn’t be standing in this crowd in your condition. Why didn’t you send someone to pick me up?”

  “I did. I sent myself. And I’m pregnant, not sick. I can stand in a crowd and not get hurt.”

  “Still, aren’t you tired? You should sit down. Do you want me to get you one of those people-mover carts to take us to the baggage claim?”

  I caught a slight limp in my mother’s gait as she came forward and decided to take her up on the offer of the people mover. I flagged down a gate attendant and asked if she could please call one for us since my mother needed one for her knee. The attendant smiled at me and my enormous belly before nodding and making the call.

  Five minutes later, we were motoring through the airport, the driver beeping the ridiculous horn to clear the path for us. My mother hummed Christmas carols and tapped her foot as we drove.

  “How was the flight?” I asked.

  “First class was amazing! I slept like a baby on the plane. My seat turned into a bed. Can you believe that?”

  I smiled. “I’m glad you were comfortable.”

  “Oh, yes.”

  The driver pulled the cart to a stop by the luggage carousel.

  “Your luggage should come down that chute there, señoras. I’ll send a porter over with a cart so you don’t have to lift your bags or lug them to your car.”

  “Muchas gracias,” I said as I levered myself off the cart. It was getting harder and harder to get up and down as my belly got bigger and bigger.

  The porter arrived, and my mother took his hand and led him to stand as close to the carousel as she could without standing on it.

  “Now, I want you to grab the bags as soon as I see them. I don’t want them to have to ride around more than once. I have gifts in those bags. Fragile things.”

  “Sí, señora. I will grab them for you.”

  “Good. Look, the first one is coming down now.”

  Fifteen minutes later, the porter had retrieved all the bags my mother had brought on the plane rather than have shipped with the rest of the household items next month.

  “Ma, did you leave anything in New York for the movers?”

  “I left them almost everything.”

  “Then what are all these bags?”

  “Christmas gifts for you and Rey and Raul, of course. What else would it be?”

  I sighed. From the first time I’d introduced Rey to my mother on a video call to New York, the two had been thick as thieves. I hoped she hadn’t gone too far overboard on gifts for my daughter. I was spoiling her enough for both of us.

  I couldn’t help myself when it came to Rey, either. I loved buying her girlie things. And, of course, books. Lots and lots of books.

  “Are we taking a taxi to your house?” Ma asked as the porter pushed the cart out of the airport.

  I shook my head and waved to Marco, who brought the car to a stop right beside us.

  Marco parked and got out, so he could help load the trunk. As he approached, I held out my hand to him and my mother.

  “Ma, this is Marco. He drives for Raul and takes care of us all. Marco, this is my mother, Nina.”

  “My pleasure to meet you, señora. I can see where our beautiful señorita Tanya gets her good looks.”

  “Aren’t you gallant?”

  Marco winked at me and grinned at my mother. It dawned on me, I had no idea how old Marco was, but he had to be close to my mother’s age. He’d been working for Raul’s family since Raul had been a teenager. I’d have to ask Raul. I wouldn’t be opposed to Marco showing my mother around the city or even more.

  He held the door and helped both my mother and me into the back of the limo before circling the vehicle and climbing in behind the wheel.

  “Ready to go, señoras?”

  “Sí, Marco. Gracias,” I said and leaned back against the slick leather of the bench seat.

  “He’s very nice,” Ma said, raising her eyebrows toward the front of the car.

  “Yes, he is. Marco has been my champion for this entire a
dventure. He takes excellent care of the whole family.”

  “And I’ll take special care of that little one you have coming, señorita Tanya.”

  “And he’s an insufferable gossip, so don’t tell him anything you don’t what everyone to know.”

  “You wound me,” Marco said, clutching one hand to his chest.

  “Tanya! I taught you better than to speak ill of your elders.”

  “Ma, he’s teasing. Aren’t you, Marco.”

  “Of course. I am teasing, señora Nina. I adore my family and they me.”

  “Can’t argue with that.” I said.

  I reached into the compartment where we kept drinks and snacks for pregnant people and pulled out a lemon-flavored water and a bag of pretzels.

  “Are you hungry, Ma?”

  “No, they fed us on the plane. I wouldn’t say no to a little bit of that water, though. Planes are so dry.”

  I passed her the water and grabbed another for myself and then tore into pretzels. My mother stared out the window while I munched away.

  “How can you stare into a bag of pretzels while we pass all this beauty?” She asked, leaning forward to see out the windshield, too.

  “You forget, I’ve been here several months now. This is my usual view.”

  My mother stared out the window. “I can’t wait until I can see all of the city and the house you mentioned in the country, and the beaches and the museums and historical sites.”

  “It’s a good thing you have the rest of your life here. You’ll get to see everything.”

  About forty minutes later, Marco pulled the car to a stop in the circular drive in front of the country house.

  Raul had given the city penthouse to his assistant for the holidays so she could have family visit. I still adored Gabriela and made a point of taking her to lunch at least once a month for putting up with Raul’s craziness at the office. She was happy I was in his life, too. In order to spend more time with me, he had hired project managers to carry some of the workload. Now he was in the office less so he could be with his family more. That meant Gabriela had a normal schedule and more time for her fiancé.

  Besides, the country house was much bigger for us, had room for Ma to have her own room, and meant Raul could go crazy decorating for Christmas.

  “I brought some of the Christmas ornaments we used to put on the tree when Dad was still alive. Do you think Raul will mind if we put them on his tree?”

  “I’m sure he’ll love them. He’s a Christmas decoration hoarder himself.”

  The front door was flung open from inside and a dark-haired streak came barreling down the stairs.

  “Abuelita!” Rey cried, wrapping herself around my mother’s waist. “Did you have a good flight? Was the airport crowded? It took forever to for you to get here. Marco, did you take abuelita sightseeing before bringing her home to see me?”

  My mother seemed a little dazed by Rey’s rapid-fire approach to greetings. I was sure she’d get used to it as I had.

  “No, señorita, I did not keep your abuelita from you for one minute more than necessary. Now let the poor woman take a breath before you talk her ears off.”

  Marco gently separated Rey from my mother and took Ma’s hand to help her up the front steps. She looked at him with gratitude and interest. I knew I’d have to talk to Raul about this sooner rather than later.

  Rey bounced along beside my mother and Marco, talking a mile a minute and holding the door for them.

  “Oh, sure, leave the pregnant lady outside with the luggage.”

  I lumbered up to the stairs and looked up to see Raul smiling at me. He took my arm and lead us up them together.

  “A lady should never climb the stairs alone. Did you know that in the past, women of rank and royalty were not permitted to climb or descend stairs without assistance?”

  “That sounds incredibly helpful considering the condition I’m in,” I said with a smile for the man who held my arm and my heart.

  Raul stopped at the top of the stairs and kissed me.

  “Welcome home, mi reina.”

  Dinner that night was a festive affair. Marco was invited to join us, and he regaled us all with stories of Raul as a child and what Christmas celebrations had been like in the house when Raul’s father had been alive.

  Later, I caught him taking my mother for a moonlit walk in the gardens. He winked at me, and I gave him a genuinely happy smile in return. What could it hurt for the two of them to find happiness together?

  Raul took me to bed where he held me, spooning from behind so he could sweep his hands over my belly again and again.

  “I love you, mi corazón. I can’t wait for our child to be born so we can complete our family.”

  I turned and smiled into his neck. “Thank you for bringing my mother here. And for waiting to learn if the baby is a boy or a girl until she has the chance to have her gender reveal nonsense.”

  “It’s not nonsense if it makes her happy.”

  I thought about that for a moment and then chuckled.

  “No, it’s still nonsense, but if it makes her happy, it’s necessary nonsense.”

  “You see, that’s the woman I know and love. Pragmatic, yet loving.”

  He kissed the back of my neck and down my shoulder until I squirmed under his touch.

  “I’m so pregnant, Raul. You can’t possibly want me like that now.”

  “I want you like that always.”

  “I love that you still try to help me feel beautiful.”

  Raul smiled against my neck and snuggled in close, holding me as tightly as he could while keeping it comfortable for both of us.

  “Sleep, mi corazón. We have a full day tomorrow.”

  I closed my eyes and slept, wrapped in the warm safety of his arms.

  I woke to a bounce on the bed and a grinning thirteen-year-old girl looking down at me.

  “It’s today, it’s today, it’s today!” Rey enthused.

  She held her hand out to me and pulled me from the bed. I realized the space beside me had been cold.

  “What time is it? How long has your father been up?”

  “It’s after noon and papi got up at his usual time this morning. He’s already been to the city and back for the box. Abuelita said we should let you sleep.”

  “But you changed your mind about listening to her?”

  “No, she sent me to wake you now. Come on, Tanya. Everyone is waiting for you.”

  “Everyone?”

  Rey nodded.

  “Marco, abuelita, papi, Gabriela, her young man, and me. Come on. We all want to know if you’re having a boy or a girl!”

  I waved Rey off and stood up.

  “If there are that many people, I need to get dressed before I go downstairs. Tell everyone I’m awake and I’ll be down soon. Go on, shoo.”

  I closed the bedroom door behind her and leaned my forehead against it. Good Lord, I was tired today. And the gender reveal was only the beginning of a nonstop two-week party for Christmas and New Year’s. Maybe I could convince Raul to pass on some of the festivities this year.

  I showered and dressed and lumbered my way down the stairs to find the living room full of guests. I greeted everyone as I passed on my way to the buffet.

  “Pregnant woman’s prerogative,” I said as I loaded a plate and took the most comfortable seat I could find.

  Raul draped his arms over my shoulders and kissed my cheek.

  “What can I bring you?”

  “I’m fine with this,” I said, lifting my plate.

  “Are we ready, then?”

  I nodded, and my mother came out of the kitchen followed by Marco, who carried a box so large, he really couldn’t see around it. He set the box on the low table in front of the sofa where Gabriela sat with her fiancé. Rey came and handed me a long ribbon and then sat on the floor at my feet. She smiled up at me.

  “You look pretty in blue,” she said, complimenting the blue maternity dress I’d chosen for the day. />
  “Thank you, honey.”

  I appreciated the lovely clothes that Raul had bought for me. However, I was truly looking forward to returning to a regular wardrobe when the baby was born.

  I toyed with the ribbon Marco had handed me. My mother stepped up to gain the attention of the room.

  “As you know, my daughter has kindly waited until I arrived in Madrid to reveal to the world, and even to herself, the gender of the baby she’s carrying. It’s time for us all to find out.”

  Ma came to stand beside me, a hand on my shoulder. She kissed my cheek.

  “Pull hard and fast, darling. As soon as you’re ready.”

  I looked at Raul and held out a hand to bring him to me. He stood on the opposite side of me from my mother. He leaned down and kissed me.

  “Thank you,” I whispered.

  “For what?”

  “For indulging my mother. I know you wanted to know sooner.”

  “I can be patient so long as I know there is an end to the suspense eventually.”

  “You’re a saint.”

  “Lord, I hope not. That would mean we couldn’t make more of these little miracles and I’m a fan of how they are made.”

  I laughed, and everyone turned knowing looks our way. I felt heat rush into my cheeks, and Raul’s throaty laugh only intensified the blush.

  “All right, who’s ready to find out if the little bean is a girl or a boy?”

  Rey’s hand shot up.

  “Do you want to help me pull the ribbon?” I asked her.

  “Definitely!”

  She hopped up and put her hand over mine on the ribbon.

  “On three. Are you ready?”

  Rey nodded.

  I counted down. “One, two, three!”

  We jerked hard and fast on the ribbon and the box burst open. Pink helium-filled balloons burst out of the box and floated up to the twelve-foot ceiling.

  “I’m going to have a baby sister!” Rey cheered.

  She threw her arms around me and I hugged her hard.

  “I love you, Tanya.”

  “I love you, too.”

  Chapter 50

  Tanya