Romancing The Billionaire: The Billionaire's Club

4. Shaylee

My—our—daughterturned two today; unlike her last one, she had a house full of family to cheer her on.

Two. My baby was growing up so fast. Too damn fast. I wanted to keep her at this age, though I could do without her fighting sleep and staying up all night only to crash an hour before I had to be up for work. This stage sucked monkey balls.

What kind of bullshit was that anyway?

My little house was decorated with pink and yellow balloons, cupcake balloons, and an array of streamers. She’ll only be two once, after all. I was making sure this was the party to be at today. Lola’s peals of laughter trailed me as I made my way to the backyard. Her Gigi, Nana, and Papa watched as she ran out, stumbling over her feet. Thank the heavens she managed to catch herself.

“Lola Jaymes, slow down, kiddo. You’re going to break your neck.” Chuckling, I set the trays of sandwiches down. The horde of children that followed her out of my house had me grinning wide. Danni’s kids loved Lola. In return, she loved them too.

They were all going to grow up well protected. They were going to be trouble too. I could see the emails from the school already.

“Can we do anything to help?” Carmen asked.

Shaking my head, I smiled. “No, ma’am, that’s it. It’s not fancy, but this is what we wanted. Just family and finger foods. Once she sees her giant cupcake cake, it’s going to be game over.”

“I put the ice cream in your freezer. Todd is parking the truck. Geoff, Colby, Amy, be careful. Her legs aren’t as long as y’all’s. Good lord.” I looked from where the kids were playing, running around the big tree, over at Danni. She had one hand on her hip, her hawk-eyed gaze on the kids. The other hand was on her belly.

I watched her for a minute then that light bulb went off. That explained a lot. I knew she’d been a little different the last couple of weeks. I couldn’t help it, I snorted out a laugh.

“Danni, boo, I think you’re hiding something from me.”

She met my knowing gaze and rolled her eyes. “Bite me, cookie.”

“Grumpy. Testy. Worrying over nothing,” I said all of this while walking toward her. My arms went around her, and I grinned more when she slumped against me.

“Dammit. He did it again. I just got my hips back and now…”

“How far along?” I spun around to face her.

“About ten weeks, Doc isn’t sure because I’m not sure when my last cycle was. You know it’s never been regular. I swear I’m getting him fixed, even if I have to do it myself.”

“Don’t be a psycho. It takes two to have a baby, ya know.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

I knew she was happy; the woman loved her kids so much. But, I got it. She’s said more than once after the complications with her last one that she wasn’t sure she wanted to go through that again. Childbirth wasn’t for the faint of heart on a good day.

“When will you find out more?” I inquired to get her back in the game and out of psycho land.

“We go on Wednesday for an ultrasound; I’ll find out then just how far along I am. I have a feeling I know when it happened. It’s all your fault.”

“Oh, wait. My fault? I didn’t tell you to do the horizontal mambo. They have these things called,” I leaned in and whisper-yelled the word, “condoms!”

“Oh, shut your face. We are married…but yeah, I see your point. I am hopeful we won’t have any problems this time. I’ll start monitoring my blood pressure and blood sugar now. I refuse to be put on bedrest again. I might go on a murder spree if I have to be locked in a cage like that.”

I hugged her tight. “I’ll be right there with you, no worries, okay? Women have babies every day. It’s a beautiful thing.”

“Amen to that.” She rubbed her belly. “I hope it’s a little girl. The numbers stay even that way. Though…another brother to help beat off the boys when Amy starts dating…”

“Oh lord. Lola will never be able to date. James might lose his mind.”

“Shotgun over the shoulder while he stares them down from the porch. Yep, I can see it.” We laughed as I hugged her again.

“I wasn’t eavesdropping or anything but I heard the good news. Congratulations, Danni. You need anything, you let us know,” Mrs. Whitman remarked. Carmen was pushed to the side gently by her mother-in-law so she could hug Danni.

“Oh, sweetheart. Another bundle of joy. I’m so happy for you and your husband. You heed Carmen’s words. You need anything, we are there.” No one could argue with Althea Whitman, not a soul.

Her word was gold.

“Yes, ma’am, thank you both. This won’t interfere with my job. Well, not until?—”

“I swear, I will hit you. Stop it. Maternity leave is there for a reason.” I hugged her again.

“Enough, enough. Today is about my precious Goddaughter, not my next little monster.” She smiled. “I hope it’s a girl though.”

“Either way, it will be loved and strive to make you have gray hairs.”

“Ugh, why do I put up with you?”

I snorted. “Because you love me.”

“You two cut it out,” my mom said, stepping outside with a fruit tray in hand.

“Mama, I had one of those already.”

“I know, dear, I got this from the fridge in the garage. Don’t fret.”

A powerful pair of arms came around me, and it was my turn to settle back against his broad chest. James’ aftershave had me closing my eyes and breathing him in. The man not only looked good enough to eat, he always smelled oh-so-good. For the last month, after talking to his parents and my mom, getting all of our worries and hopes out…things started to change. He moved in with us last weekend, for now staying in my small spare room. He wanted to be around more for Lola and me.

I hoped this path stayed clear. I wanted to finally be happy in my life. Not just happy, but full. With him here, helping, getting to know her every mood…it was nice. I really couldn’t ask for more. I just wanted it to never end.

I wanted him here as much as he wanted it.

Together, we could conquer anything that came at us.

Watching my toddler’s face turn to the color of a raspberry, while she screamed at an octave I was sure only dogs could hear, was not how I had hoped the night would go.

Over and over, I’d tried to reassure her that it was okay to have big feelings. It was okay to be upset that her daddy wasn’t here. Watching her break down was hard. I was on the verge of tears myself.

We’d been through tantrums before. Meltdowns of epic proportions over some of the silliest things—I’d always been able to calm her down with cuddles, a story. A bedtime song. I mean, what two-and-a-half year old didn’t have a tantrum every so often? They’re expected, but this—my heart was breaking for my kid, and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it.

Her daddy, James, had been a constant fixture in our house since he and I had reconnected this past summer. It was an accident—a once in a chance meeting—and lord knew, I never saw it coming, but it happened nonetheless. It changed all of our lives for the better. And now, we were lost without him.

It’d been just shy of a year now since that second chance meeting. Growing pains, happiness, the joy of watching our daughter blossom. We’d both grown as a couple, making sure each other had what they needed. Getting the most out of being together—for real this time. So again, to say we were used to having him here with us was an understatement.

It was hard for me to sleep without him beside me, and for Lola, well, her daddy was always here to comfort and console her when I couldn’t; it’s been nice. Whether it’s a sleepless night or to kiss away the pain of a boo-boo, he was willing to step in and do whatever he needed to help.

I still wanted to pinch myself some days. If you’d have told me last June that I’d be reunited with my one-night stand…I’d have told you buzz off. Never in a million years would I have believed this would happen. But it had. Not only that, he’d taken the role of dad easily. It was like he’d always been here. He was the best father.

He had slept in the spare room of my tiny house for only a week before I’d found myself wanting him closer. The first night we’d shared a bed brought that drunken night back to the forefront. I remembered every touch, kiss, and intimate moment. It was that night that I knew—there was no turning back. I craved more than his touch though. I wanted all of him.

We’d promised each other that night that we would be a family. For Lola. For ourselves. We developed a routine. Mornings, after work, bedtime. Every minute of our day was planned out, and you know, it was perfect. Until now. I hadn’t thought about Lola’s reaction to not seeing her daddy tonight. He’d been here this morning to have breakfast and then to kiss her goodbye as we’d gotten in the car. I’d taken her to my mom’s and gone to work like normal.

Coming home had been fine. She’d asked for Dada but accepted my saying, “Dada is at work.” Every time she’d asked, I’d tell her the same. Dinner time, she’d accepted it. Bath time, she’d accepted it. But now, when I needed her to also accept it…no dice. Bedtime showed up, and her calm, sweetness went right out the window.

A raging toddler—this was hardcore, and I wanted nothing more than a shot of tequila to numb the utter heartache happening at this moment. Nothing I did was helping. I’d tried walking her around the house. I’d turned on the TV. It did nothing as she refused to even look at it. I’d tried to sing her to sleep. Warm milk while I rocked her—yeah, that was a no go too.

The only thing I could think of to do now was put her in the car and go for a long ride. If there was one thing that would put her to sleep, it was a ride in her car seat. I could only hope, pray, and promise to give up something precious—other than my child—for anything to make her go to sleep.

I threw on a sweater and scooped her up. I made sure to grab my cell, wallet, her diaper bag—just in case—and my keys. Getting her in the car seat was a battle. She wasn’t cooperating, squirming and pushing my hands away. My frustration level was at the peak of the mountain; I was ready to blow. It wasn’t her fault, so I just asked—begged her—to sit still and let me get her in the stupid seat.

After she was buckled in, I too got in and put on my belt. I was possibly fighting tears—I shall neither confirm or deny it.

I hooked up my cell phone to the stereo, turned up the volume a little, and prayed. Maybe her Disney playlist along with the car ride would help her to relax, and hopefully go to sleep. I pulled out of the driveway and crossed my fingers. It was only seven-thirty, but it was already darker than hell out. I drove around town, maneuvering through the busy streets of downtown Charleston. Looping around and around. I’d drive ‘til the wheels fell off if I had to.

Lola started to settle down. It took a while though. When her cries and sniffles finally stopped, I felt like crying again. It had worked and to say I was happy—I was ecstatic that it had worked like I’d hoped it would.

Glancing at the clock in the car, I let out a long sigh. It was a little after nine now. I was well and truly past the starving point. Even my normal routine was off tonight. We, meaning James and I, usually ate after she was down for the night. With all that had happened—I’d earned something a little greasy tonight.

Finding my favorite place, I pulled in. Zaxby’s line wasn’t too long tonight, for which I was grateful. I got to the ordering spot and gave the lady on the other end of the speaker my order. A five-piece tender meal and two ranch dipping sauces to accompany the Zax sauce, an order of cheddar bites, and an order of fried pickles. And of course, a sweet tea.

Would I eat all of this tonight, I wasn’t sure. Probably. Maybe. I didn’t know to be honest. I was in stress-eating mode. Anything was possible. I wasn’t sure how to handle the sudden onset of these helpless, needy emotions that had me second-guessing everything. I shouldn’t be feeling inadequate, or helpless. For all that’s holy, I’d managed to take care of Lola all by myself for so long, and now, faced with her reactions when her daddy wasn’t here, I wasn’t quite sure how to manage anything.

Discombobulated, party of one. Right here.

I paid for my food, glanced at the back seat, and smiled finding Lola passed out in her car seat. That good, hard sleep kind of passed out too. Thank you, baby Jesus.

Once I had my food in the car, I headed back toward the house. I planned to get her into bed, stuff myself, and watch a movie until I passed out. I only prayed that Lola would cooperate with my plan. She normally did…but with my luck—no, not thinking of any other possibility. I was only going to try and manifest calm, well-earned sleep for the both of us.

Tomorrow would be a new day—a new adventure for us.