Baby for my Dad's Best Friend (Seaport Billionaires #2)

36. Austin

36

AUSTIN

I can’t describe how nervous I am as I watch the doctor move the wand around Kay’s round stomach.

It’s finally the day we find out the sex of the baby, and I’ve been a basket case all week.

I don’t want to sound like an asshole, but I’m scared shitless that the baby will be a girl.

I feel like it would be karma’s way of paying me back for falling in love with my best friend’s daughter.

I’ve had more than one nightmare about it.

I know deep down that if I have a daughter, I’ll pay for all my crimes.

I haven’t confessed this fear to Kay. I’m not sure how she’d take the news. So, I’ve just kept it buried for months now.

“It’s a boy!” the doctor says, and I take a full breath after being on pins and needles for months. Relief floods my system, and my shoulders bow inwardly as I exhale.

Kay looks up at me with a big smile. “I bet you’re happy, aren’t you?”

“I’d be happy either way,” I tell her, and it’s the truth. I would be happy if the baby turned out to be a girl. I’d also just be very nervous, anxious, and overprotective.

“Dad told me what you’ve been worried about,” she says, looking at me.

I sigh, take her hand in mine, and lean toward her from my chair. “Just because I had my own shit doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t be happy with a girl. I would be. I promise.” I kiss the back of her hand.

I see her doctor glance at us, a small smile on her face before her eyes return to the image on the wall.

“You mean it?”

I nod.

“So, we might have more kids in the future?”

“Were you worried that I wouldn’t want more?”

She bites her lower lip, shrugging. “I guess a little. I figured that if you dodged having a girl this time, you wouldn’t want to press your luck.”

“Kay,” I breathe out her name, holding her fingers to my lips. “I love you, and I’ll love all our children. If you want more, I’ll give you as many as you want. I don’t know if you know this, but I rather enjoy creating them with you.” I grin.

She laughs and her face turns pink as she looks between me and her doctor. Clearly, this moment is not very private, but that doesn’t stop us.

Her doctor meets her gaze. “It sounds to me like you have yourself a winner. I’d hang onto this one.” She smiles and pulls away from Kay.

“I plan to,” Kay says as the doctor returns to wipe the gel from her stomach.

“Here are your copies of the ultrasound. Everything you’ll want to see is labeled. I’ll give you two a minute, and when you’re ready, you can let yourselves out.”

“Thank you,” Kay says, refusing to look away from me.

“Yes, thank you,” I say, kissing her fingers.

The moment the door shuts behind the doctor, Kay tugs me closer.

Her free hand grabs my shirt, and she pulls my mouth to hers.

Once she’s sure I’m not going to pull away, she releases my shirt and threads her fingers into my hair. I let go of her hand, cupping her face.

Breaking our kiss, I lean my forehead against hers. S

miling I say, “We’re going to have a little boy.” I lean back, take her hands, and pull her up. “Come on. Let’s get out of here. I have all sorts of things planned for us.”

“You do?” she questions, standing and smoothing her white top over her stomach.

I nod. “Yep, but don’t ask what because it’s a surprise.”

She smiles and follows me out of the room.

We check out and load into her car. I hold the door for her, and she slides inside.

Even though she’s only halfway through her pregnancy, it’s obvious that she’s not comfortable with how her body is changing.

She struggles to get out of bed, in and out of the car, and off the couch, so I help her as much as I can.

Once she’s seated, I close the door and move around to climb behind the wheel.

“Have you started thinking about names?” I ask her, steering out of the parking lot and onto the highway.

“Not at all. Do you have any family names to consider?”

I shrug, keeping my eyes on the road. “Not really. You?” I glance her way.

She shakes her head. “Nothing that’s been passed down. We could always name him after a family member, though. Didn’t you say you have a brother? What was his name again?”

“Dalton,” I answer.

She sighs.

“What?” I ask, reaching for her hand and holding it between us.

She shrugs. “It’s just that… I’m halfway through my pregnancy, and I still haven’t met your family. And you’ve only met my brother once.” Her brows lift. “Hey, let’s plan a dinner for both our families.”

“Really? You want to do that?”

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I?”

I shrug. “Sounds like a big headache.” I can feel her looking at me, but she doesn’t speak. I glance her way, confirming my suspicions. “What?”

“Have you told your mother about us?”

“I told her we’re together, and she knows about the baby.”

“Yeah, but… have you told her that I’m younger and your best friend’s daughter?”

My hand tightens on the wheel. “I have not.”

She gasps. “Austin!”

“What? It’s fine.”

“Why haven’t you told her? Are you embarrassed?”

“No!” My head jerks in her direction, but I quickly return my eyes to the road. The pain on her face is a punch to my gut. “I’m sorry. It never crossed my mind.”

“How could that not cross your mind?”

A heavy breath leaves my lips. “I don’t know, Kay. I was just focused on your side of the family and getting your dad to be okay with it.”

“Do you think she’ll have a problem with it?”

I shake my head. “No, I don’t,” I answer immediately. “My mom is kind and understanding. As long as I’m happy, she’ll be happy. And she’ll love you, Kay. She really will.”

She smiles over at me now. “So, this dinner?”

I take a deep breath and let it out slowly as I nod. “You pick the day, and I’ll invite everyone.”

Her smile grows. “Thank you.”

I pull the car into a parking lot and kill the engine. Kay looks over at me. “Where are we? What are we doing?”

“Now that we know the sex of the baby, we can start getting all the stuff we’ve been putting off,” I point out.

“That’s sweet, but I really don’t have the funds to do that right now. That’s why I’ve slowly been buying things each week when I get paid.”

“You don’t have to pay for anything,” I say.

“Then how am I supposed to shop?”

I roll my eyes. “I’m buying.”

“I can’t let you do that,” she says, shaking her head.

“I’m not asking.” I tighten my grip on her hand. “This is our child, and he needs things. We need things to make taking care of him easier. I have more than enough money to buy everything we need. I won’t even notice.”

She bites her lower lip. “I thought you said you didn’t want to touch your dad’s money?”

I nod. “I’ve changed my mind. It seems wasteful to just leave it in the bank. One of these days, I’ll die, and then what will happen to the money?” I figure we might as well use it to make our lives a bit easier. From now on, I’ll be paying all the bills at the house.”

“At my house?”

I nod. “It’s your house, but it’s our home. I’m moving in. Unless you have a problem with that?”

She laughs. “No.” She shakes her head.

My hand slides up her arm, over her shoulder, to cup the back of her head. “Good. Now let’s go shopping.” I pull her mouth to mine, kissing her until we’re breathless.

For the next six hours, I follow her around, push a cart, and collect everything she tosses my way.

She gets everything from nursery decor to clothes, hygiene products, toys, and bottles.

We go from store to store, stuffing everything inside her little car until there’s no room for anything else.

Luckily, she already purchased furniture so we didn’t have to worry about stuffing anything too large into her car.

After shopping, we’re tired and hungry, so we drive back to town and stop for dinner at the seafood restaurant, where we run into my boss, who Kay has yet to meet.

“Hallie, Grant, this is my girlfriend, Kaylee. Kay, Hallie is the owner of the construction company I run, and this is her husband.”

Kay smiles and quickly reaches to shake their hands. “It’s so nice to meet you. I’ve heard such wonderful things.”

“We’ve heard some great things about you, too,” Hallie tells her, smiling. “I would be lost if it wasn’t for Austin taking over for me.”

“Oh, you ran the construction company before?” Kay flushes. “I mean, I just expected it to be run by another man, not that I don’t think you’re capable.”

Hallie chuckles. “No, it’s fine. I got that all the time. The company was my father’s. It was something we both enjoyed. I helped him a lot growing up with designing spaces. Once he retired, he passed it to me, and I spent years running it. I stepped down not long ago so I could stay at home with the kids.”

“Where are the kids, anyway? I thought you two never got out,” I say, looking between them.

“I finally talked Hal into a sitter so we could have a little adult time.” Grant looks at his watch. “But we’ve been gone two whole hours, so if I don’t get Hal back home, she’s going to lose her mind.”

“First time away from the babies,” Hal says, looking at Kay like she’d understand. “It’s hard leaving them.”

“Them?” Kay asks.

Hal giggles and nods. “Twins. They run in my family. My twin brother actually owns this place. Give him a hard time for me, will ya?” Hal laughs before grabbing Grant and pulling him toward the doors. “It was good meeting you.”

We say our goodbyes, watching them exit before the hostess shows us to our seats.