Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 86335 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 432(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 288(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86335 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 432(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 288(@300wpm)
“I’m a private person,” I admit. “My goal is to become the CEO, so I keep my business private. Nothing destroys a company quicker than a scandal.”
She nods in understanding.
“So, you’re really pregnant with my baby?” I ask, still in shock.
“Yep.”
“And you’re not seeing anyone else?”
“Nope. The only person I’ve been with is you.”
Jesus, I was hoping to simply see her, but now, the stakes are so much higher. Not only is Paige sitting right in front of me, but she’s also pregnant with my baby. It’s like fate. I fantasized about getting her pregnant and now here she is, carrying my baby.
“Can I take you out to dinner?” I ask, thinking that’s the best way to start figuring out where we go from here since we’re currently sitting in her office and she still has a half day of work left.
“I think that would be a good idea.”
chapter sixteen
NATE
“She’s pregnant?” Dustin says over the phone. “Holy shit!”
“What are you going to do?” Carmine asks, a helluva lot calmer than Dustin.
“I don’t know. I’ve only just found out. We’re going to dinner tonight to talk.”
I considered keeping the news to myself, but my brothers are my best friends, and I needed to tell someone. This is huge. The woman who I could see a future with is pregnant with my baby. So, the second I got back to the hotel—after letting Nolan know I’ll be staying here until further notice and he’s to handle things in Dallas—I conference called them so I could share the news with them at the same time.
“Well, shit,” Carmine says with a chuckle. “You went there to get a woman and ended up getting an entire damn family. Mom and Dad are going to be thrilled to learn they’re going to be grandparents again.”
Fuck…our parents.
“You can’t say anything to them,” I say. “You know how Mom is. She’ll be begging to meet Paige, and right now, shit is complicated.”
“Yeah, well, I suggest you uncomplicate shit,” Dustin says, never beating around the bush, “because in less than six months, you’re going to be a dad, and the mother of your baby lives four hours away and didn’t want to keep in touch with you, let alone raise a baby with you.”
I release a harsh breath, knowing he’s not wrong. And my mind goes back to my ex. She cheated on me because I hadn’t given her enough attention. She strayed because I had been neglecting her. And yet we lived together in the same city, in the same house. How the hell am I supposed to make this work with Paige when we’re living hours apart?
“We’ll figure it out,” I tell him, refusing to compare Paige to my ex. “But in the meantime, I’m going to be staying here for a while. Nolan’s already been informed that he’ll be my eyes and ears in Dallas. All meetings will need to be online for the foreseeable future. I already planned to be here for a few weeks, but now, with this new information, I have a feeling my trip is going to be extended because there’s no way I’m leaving without Paige and me figuring out how this is going to work between us. It’s no longer just us we need to consider, but our baby too.
“Fuck, we’re about to have a baby.”
Dustin and Carmine both bust out a laugh, and without waiting for either of them to say something that I’m sure will piss me off, I hang up.
At six o’clock on the dot, I pull up to Paige’s house. It’s smaller than a lot of the homes in the neighborhood, but no less cared for. Remembering that when Paige and I were spending time together in London, she told me it was the first home she ever purchased—and that she did it on her own—has me smiling, proud of her. It’s clear she works hard for everything she has, and to be the CMO of a multibillion-dollar company like Kingston is huge.
If I had to guess, that piece-of-shit ex of hers was jealous. He didn’t like the fact that she probably made more money than he did, and instead of supporting her, he put his career rather than their relationship first.
“Are you going to stand out there all night or knock on my door?” Paige calls out, making me laugh because I was standing at the end of her sidewalk, lost in my thoughts.
“Sorry,” I say, giving her my attention.
Unlike the professional attire she was wearing earlier today, she’s dressed in a flowy red-and-white polka-dot wraparound dress, showing off the swells of her breasts. Her hair is down in waves, and her lips are glossy.
My gaze descends to her toned, tanned thighs and calves and land on her black heels.
She looks fucking stunning, and I have no idea how I’m going to get through an entire dinner without touching or kissing her…or sneaking off to the bathroom and fucking her.