The Billionaire’s Pregnant Fling (Jameson Brothers Book 2) Read online

  “And here you can see the baby on the screen,” the doctor invited. Both their heads turned together to observe the sonogram. Eddie thought he had known what to expect, having browsed through galleries upon galleries of pictures online already, but his heart still gave a jolt when he saw the tiny figure tucked in close to itself. It was a similar sensation to seeing someone you thought you recognized after spending too long apart. He didn’t know how else to describe it.

  “Can we get a printout?” Margot sounded short of breath. Eddie glanced down at her quickly to make sure nothing was the matter, and saw that her expression was as awestruck as his own. He assumed that was the reason she struggled to form words now.

  He squeezed her hand.

  “Of course.” The doctor smiled. “I’ve already ordered copies from the lab. Before you go, though, I did want to take a moment to talk with the two of you about Margot’s blood pressure.”

  “Her blood pressure?” Eddie was already on high alert. “How is it? What’s wrong?”

  “Eddie,” Margot murmured. “Let her finish.”

  “It’s high.” The doctor took a seat on the stool opposite from the two of them. She levelled a look at Margot that made Eddie feel immediately confirmed in his worry. “Much higher than I’d like it to be.”

  “Oh.” Margot’s eyebrows drew together in bewilderment. “That’s strange. I’ve really been trying to take it easy recently.”

  You’ve been working even longer and harder hours than usual at the firm, Eddie corrected her privately, but he had the presence of mind to keep his thoughts to himself for the moment. He could discuss his concerns with Margot once they were alone.

  “Wonderful,” the doctor said. “I would advise you to step up your efforts even more. I’ll have my nurse leave you with a list of activities you might consider pursuing – and staying away from.” She rose to finish typing in one last note. “Overall I’m encouraged by our checkup, Miss Daley. The baby is healthy. That being said, do be sure to take steps to monitor your pressure and destress your life even more. I look forward to seeing you a few weeks from now.”

  “Understood,” Margot cut in before Eddie could comment. She pulled her shirt down and maneuvered herself toward his side of the table; he was on his feet in an instant with a free hand to cradle her elbow, the other her waist. She slipped down to the floor and smiled up at him. “Ready to go?” she beamed.

  Once they had collected their sonograms and confirmed the details of Margot’s next appointment, they reconvened on the sidewalk outside of the clinic. They looked at one another.

  “Wow,” Margot said.

  “Wow,” Eddie agreed. “Is it just me, or is it all so…?”

  “So much more real now?” she offered.

  “I’m glad to hear you say it,” he replied seriously. “Margot, I think we really need to take the doctor’s instructions to heart. You’re pushing yourself too hard, the same way you always have. It’s not good for you, and it’s not good for the baby.”

  Margot waved him off. “I’ll be fine, Eddie. Really. I’m going with the flow of things, and that’s exactly what the doctor prescribed. In fact, I bet my blood pressure is better than usual since I stopped worrying about what the future holds.” She smiled, and Eddie couldn’t resist reaching out to touch her hair. He had never looked at Margot as someone who was fragile before, but now he couldn’t help it. It was like carrying his baby had reframed her, somehow, into someone more precious and breakable than he could have ever imagined the old Margot Daley being.

  “I admire your new lease on life, Margot, especially after everything that’s happened to us these past few months. Please don’t think that I don’t,” he said. “But what if ‘going with the flow’ isn’t enough? We have to plan these things out.”

  “Plan for the worst, you mean,” she said. She drew back a little from his touch. “You don’t think I can take care of myself on my own. Is that it?”

  Eddie shook his head in exasperation. “That’s not it. That’s not it at all!” He wanted to shout his denial to the rooftops, but shouting was probably the last thing he needed to be doing right now. If Margot was going to accept her environment as it was, then Eddie was going to do his best to control for anything that might go wrong. Whether she knew it or not, he was going to make certain that she lived in a safe, comfortable bubble for the duration of this pregnancy. It’s what a good man, a responsible man, was meant to do. And he was certain it’s what her father would want to see.

  Margot's eyes narrowed. "You know, Eddie, this controlling side of you is really starting to wear on me. It's like the moment I got pregnant you got it into your head that I'm completely helpless without you. I'm not. And I resent being treated like a child when I'm expecting a child of my own."

  Margot might as well have pulled a whip out of her purse and administered thirty lashes, right then and there. Eddie actually felt the blood drain out of his face, as if it was rushing to some other part of his body that required attention… or as if it just didn't feel like sticking around to witness his humiliation.

  For a moment, Margot looked as if she wanted to add something else. Eddie leaned forward, hoping for an opening to ingratiate himself once more—but she whirled on her heel and stalked down the sidewalk to hail a car. He didn't follow. After hearing her words, he knew better than to attempt to try. Margot wanted to be heard, not reconciled with.

  As the cab pulled away, with her in it, Eddie was left standing on the curb alone to contemplate his options. He felt like he was constantly navigating a maze these days, coming up against wall after wall of outside expectations. Margot wanted him to go with the flow, but how could he? This was the test that had been placed before him, and he had to prove himself now more than ever. It was sink or swim for Eddie Jameson. It was time to finally earn the esteem of those closest to him by any means necessary.

  And if that meant stepping in to guide Margot’s flow, then he was prepared to do whatever was necessary to keep them both above water.

  Chapter Nine

  Margot

  Margot never thought she'd say it, but she had liked "new Eddie" better when they were actually planning the wedding together. What had once seemed like a scary series of meetings to plan her future now seemed lighthearted, even fun, compared to the excessive worrying he spent all his time doing now.

  "I swear, if he asks me about my blood pressure one more time…" she muttered to herself as she approached the door to his new apartment. Then again, maybe she wasn't just talking to herself. She touched her stomach, feeling as she so often did for the growing bump and the baby that lay beneath. She had mostly maintained her figure so far—probably owing to the fact that she could only keep down half of the food she ate anymore. Only her boobs seemed to have gotten significantly larger, and Margot wasn't complaining on that front. She was filling out her T-shirts and dresses in a way her slender frame had never allowed her to do before, and she could tell from the appreciative glances she was getting on the street that she looked good.

  But there was only one pair of eyes she wanted looking at her that way. And it was the thought of seeing them again that kept drawing her back in. All it had taken was a text of invitation from Eddie to get her out the door. She could endure his poking and prodding, she decided, if he would just keep looking at her like he had in recent days.

  It was a beautiful evening in New York; warm, almost muggy. She thought she had arrived at the right address in the complex, but checked her texts from Eddie to be sure. She had only ever visited him at his brownstone before. When she was satisfied that she had the right place—and after checking her lipstick off the reflection in her phone—Margot breathed in a deep breath and knocked on the door.

  Eddie pulled it open almost as soon as she had retracted her fist. Margot blinked rapidly in surprise. He looked...not at all how she had expected him to look. His auburn hair was damp and slicked-back, and he was wearing a white fluffy robe. Had he really just gotten out of the shower this late in the evening? Had he forgotten she was coming over? He was the one who had extended the invitation! Maybe some of the old Eddie still existed beneath this new responsible exterior after all. She didn’t know whether to run for the hills or breathe a much-needed sigh of relief.

  "How's your blood pressure?" His handsome face hovered so close she thought he would kiss her hello, and was sorely disappointed when he didn’t. “Did you find the place okay? Want to sit down?”

  "I'm fine.” Margot brushed past him, keeping her wrists out of the way of his hands. He had made it a habit in recent days of seizing hold of her and checking her pulse against his watch, the way the doctor had taught him, and she didn’t want him to alarm himself needlessly. Her heart always beat too rapidly when he was around. “This new place is amazing! What happened to the brownstone?"

  “I'm renting both to test things out. I always wanted a bit more space.” Eddie crossed his arms, something he usually did when he wanted to emphasize his biceps, but the robe made him look like a benevolent wizard. Margot’s eyebrows shot up at his answer, and he gestured for her to continue into the apartment. “Come on! I’ll give you the tour.”

  Margot followed him down the hallway, running her fingers along the walls and stopping to peer into rooms. “Wow, Eddie, this layout is incredible! There’s enough space here to fit three families. You really scored with this one.”

  “I thought you might like it." Eddie was beside her shoulder, an over-attentive, fluffy white guardian angel. He certainly looked as if he could fly off the balcony in those sleeves. Margot turned, and was surprised when she bumped into him. His robe fell open a little, and her hands came up to brace themselves against the pie slice of chest their collision exposed. Eddie grunted with surprise, and brough
t his own hands up to stabilize her shoulders.

  God, his pecs were out of this world. She didn’t move her hands from their fixed position, but allowed her fingers to linger along the tight swell of muscle, reveling in her memories of what they had felt like flexing as he surged atop her. Her face warmed, and she had a feeling she was blushing. Margot’s father hadn’t raised her to be a crier, and he certainly hadn’t raised her to be a blusher, but she seemed to be doing a lot of both recently in the privacy of her own apartment. She was pretty sure hormones were to blame. She certainly blamed them for her body’s response to Eddie now.

  She hadn’t accepted his invitation with any expectation of becoming...intimate. Sometimes, standing back to watch Eddie schedule every appointment and take charge of their to-do lists, Margot had a sinking feeling thoughts of sex were the furthest thing from his mind. Maybe she was the dirty pervert now, always privately replaying the steamier moments of their one-night stand and aching for a repeat. She couldn’t get too near him most days without feeling flushed beneath the collar and between the legs.

  Except when he insisted on taking her blood pressure.

  “Sorry. I really do want to give you space if you need it. Now, and...at other times.” His hands, so warm and strong-fingered, ran up and down her shoulders. The gentle friction shouldn’t have been enough to excite her, but it was.

  "I don't want space from you." Margot flushed at her own words, before recovering enough to offer him a little half-smile that was several degrees cooler than the rest of her. “But isn’t this just a tad bit more expensive than what you're used to paying?” She was only poking fun at him, of course. If she was turning into the filthy-minded one, then Eddie Jameson was at least as equally filthy rich. She was surprised he had kept the brownstone for so long already, considering he had spent the last few years traveling to the next exotic locale. She wondered if anchoring himself to a new apartment, and a new situation, scared him at all.

  Eddie grinned down at her. "I think I can afford it."

  She returned his smile with a teasing one of her own. “Guess you’re right. My dad is one of your clients, after all.”

  She leaned in for a kiss, but pulled up short. Eddie’s expression was odd in the aftermath of her remark. It wasn’t the first time she had teased him about their families’ business connection, but he looked as stunned now as if she had slapped him. Before she could puzzle over what his look meant, and decide whether or not to apologize for crossing some unknown line, Eddie sighed and passed a hand over his face. When he returned to her, he was smiling once more.

  “Come on. Come check out the private roof deck. But before you do—” Eddie crossed to the kitchen table. He pulled an identical white robe from the back of a chair and tossed it to her with a grin. Margot caught it

  “Matching outfits already?” she joked. “I thought we had a decade at least before we reached that point.”

  “I’m a fast mover.” Eddie’s smile broadened, and Margot’s heart sped yet again at the sight of his Adonis-like features beaming down on her. What the heck was with her recently? This was Eddie Jameson, the kid she had known since diapers, the exasperating guy she had seen stumble awkwardly through his teenage years and come out on the other side accidently looking like a yachting magazine model. He wasn't some gorgeous stranger worth getting star-struck over!

  “You certainly weren’t a fast mover when it came to me,” she mused.

  “Are you referring to how long I last in the bedroom?" Eddie schooled his expression, as if they were discussing something as mundane as the meeting minutes. Margot smothered an answering giggle with her hand. Get a grip, Margot. She was so not the type of girl to usually be charmed by innuendo, especially not when it was such low-hanging fruit for a clever guy like Eddie, but she couldn't help it. He had a way of making her feel like a teenager again...

  So long as he didn't bring up the wedding. Or her doctor's appointments. Or her blood pressure.

  “Here. Check it out.” He invited her into the kitchen, and Margot followed. “I’ve got everything set up for a relaxing night in.”

  He wasn’t joking. He had already filled two steaming ceramic tea bowls with what smelled like authentic green tea. There was a beautiful crystalline pitcher of ice water sweating beside a pyramid of warm, rolled towels. “I was almost expecting a blood pressure cuff,” she joked as Eddie handed her one of the mugs of tea. “What is all this?”

  “I told you already. But if you're curious about the robe, put it on, and I’ll show you.”

  Margot raised an eyebrow. "Is that the gentleman's way of asking me to strip?"

  Eddie's cheeks colored beneath his tan. She had always known what buttons to push to make the infamous Blush-Inducer himself heat up. "I mean...nice as that outfit is," he punctuated his compliment with an approving look, "you're going to have to get out of those clothes somehow if you want to see what I have planned. If you want me to stick around..."

  Of all the nights to corner him! Margot wanted nothing more than to put on her favorite R&B mix and show him the sultry moves she had been too wasted and horny to properly execute the first time. In fact, if memory served, Eddie had been the one to tear away her clothes in an impatient whirlwind the last time they found themselves in this promising position.

  But Margot couldn't bring herself to be bold now, and she hated herself for it. She fingered the soft fabric of the robe as she tried to summon from the reserve of courage she usually had in surplus. Looks like she had spent it all on wedding planning and baby logistics. No way Eddie would look at her the way he was looking at her now the moment she removed her clothes and he saw her changing body. Her boobs may look killer, but she was all too aware that she was beginning to get extra padding elsewhere. Maybe she could pull off not looking totally pregnant if she wore the right things, but for how much longer?

  It was probably safer to err on the side of being a prude.

  Margot offered him her best crooked smile. "Somehow I don't think Zelma would approve," she said.

  Eddie chuckled. "You know I think she wanted to take a bite out of me? I can't decide if it was in a good way. Anyway, in honor of our favorite changing room chaperones, I will demur."

  "As will I." She waited until Eddie's back was turned to let her disappointed look out of the cage. She reminded herself that this was the right decision. There might have been a time when she wanted Eddie Jameson to see her naked, but it wasn't now. As soon as she felt certain he wouldn't peek, Margot shimmied out of her clothes and engulfed herself in the robe. It was hard to feel too badly when you were wearing something that felt like it could have been fashioned from a cloud captured above some distant, exotic coast. She breathed in the smell of fabric softened appreciatively as Eddie led her outside.

  “Oh, Eddie.”

  She was surprised she could get even those two simple words out. The view from the apartment’s rooftop was the most fantastic she had ever seen – and as an architect, Margot had stood on a lot of New York rooftops. There were no neighboring complexes as tall as theirs, and she could see all the way out to the velvet blue of New York Harbor unobstructed. The Statue of Liberty arose on its island, bright green against the backdrop and in defiant miniature at a distance. Above them, the evening sky was a gorgeous cobalt gradient without a single cloud obstructing its face. At her feet, candles. Eddie had arranged twenty, thirty...maybe fifty candles, all perched on tiny white saucers, and not a single one had snuffed itself out. Margot gazed around herself at the flickering field of fire. This is so not up to code, she thought. She raised her hands to her mouth to hide her expanding, elated smile at the sight.

  "I paid extra for the unit with private rooftop access," Eddie mentioned. His eyes shone as he watched her.

  "Eddie, this is incredible," she enthused. "All of it."

  “And there's a full moon tonight,” Eddie mentioned. As if the bright, silver sphere lording over it all wasn’t the least bit self-evident. Margot did laugh then. She wanted to spin around beneath it with her head thrown to the sky, like she had back when they were kids. You know what? Fuck it. She flung her arms wide and turned in place, as if she hoped to fit the entire, incredible view in an embrace.