Billionaire's Baby Contract (Hawthorne Brothers 1)

My tears start to fall. I just can’t tell if they’re tears of joy or tears of sorrow.

I’m pregnant.

I take a few minutes to let that sink in and to dry my tears before stepping out of the bathroom.

“Well?” Ethan asks as soon as I open the door.

I can see the anxiety all over his face.

I show him the sticks. His eyes grow wide and his jaw drops.

“You’re pregnant.”

He tries to take the sticks from me but I shove them into my pockets. I peed on them, after all. I don’t want him touching them. Besides, I think I want to keep them.

“Let’s just be clear,” I tell him. “I’m going to be raising this child and…”

My voice falters as fresh tears sting my eyes. What the hell?

Ethan places a hand on my shoulder. “Are you alright?”

Am I alright?

Just like that, my emotions burst.

“Of course not!” I shout at him. “I’m only twenty-six and I’m having a baby. I don’t even have a boyfriend. I’ve never had a boyfriend. I don’t have my mother to guide me. I don’t have my father. I don’t have anyone.”

“You have me,” Ethan says.

“Right. All I have is a rich, handsome man who will someday marry a rich, beautiful woman because he doesn’t love me or think – ”

“But I love you.”

The words stop my thoughts. And my heart.

What did he just say?

Ethan cups my face. “I love you, Stella. That’s what I came here to tell you.”

I can’t believe it. He just said the words I’ve been longing to hear. Twice. My heart leaps in my chest.

He came all the way to Seattle to tell me he loves me?

“Are you sure?” I ask him as fear and hope battle in my chest.

He’s not joking, is he?

“I’m sure.”

He tucks a loose strand of hair behind my ear and strokes my cheek. Then he touches his forehead to mine and looks into my eyes.

“I love you, Stella Quinn. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.”

My heart flips. A tear escapes from the corner of my eye, this one of joy.

Pure joy.

I smile. “Then why didn’t you just say so in the first place?”

Ethan gives me a smile of his own, one that melts my fears away. Then he presses his lips tenderly against mine.

After the kiss breaks, I stroke his cheek. “I love you, too.”

He kisses my hand, and then, to my surprise, he kneels down and kisses my stomach.

“Are you really having a baby?” he asks.

The childlike excitement in his eyes makes me even more ecstatic.

“We’re having a baby, silly.”

He gives me a triumphant smile as he gets back on his feet and pulls me into his arms. As I wrap my arms around him, I notice the box of Swiss chocolates on the table. Jess and Randy ate most of its contents but they insisted I keep the box.

And a single piece that I still haven’t touched.

And now, my prayer has been answered.

Ethan loves me. And we’re having a baby.

Our amazing journey is just beginning.

Epilogue

Ethan

Two months later…

“I take it everything is going well?” Ryker asks me as we stand outside my office.

“Of course it is,” Asher answers for me. “Look at Stella. She’s glowing.”

I watch her as she talks to Dana, the woman she’s been training to be my next assistant for the past two weeks.

She does look radiant in the yellow dress she’s wearing, which is just tight enough to show off the curve of her belly. Even though some people have started nasty rumors about her, she has no intention of hiding it, which I find admirable. And attractive.

I still don’t know how I found such an amazing woman. Or how I didn’t realize I had one right next to me until I lost her. But I’m sure of one thing – I’m never letting her go.

And I’m making that clear tonight.

“What about you?” I ask Asher. “How are things going with Violet?”

He makes a face.

“Not good, huh?” Ryker asks.

“She still hasn’t forgiven me for leaving her at that party years ago,” Asher says.

He did tell me about that. I thought there was something between him and Violet. It turns out they had history before Zurich. The question is: Is that all they’ll ever have?

“You know the saying,” I tell him. “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.”

“No fury and no memory,” Asher agrees.

“Maybe you should just give up and leave her alone,” Ryker suggests.

“Not a chance,” Asher says. “I’ll make her fall for me. Just you wait.”

I shrug. “If you say so.”

Just then, Stella walks towards us.

“Are you ready to go?” she asks me.

Ready as I’ll ever be.

“Why do you think I’ve been waiting for you?”

She looks at Asher and Ryker, then back at me. “Are the three of you going drinking again tonight?”

“Not tonight.” I put my arm around her. “I have something special planned for just the two of us.”