Possessive Baby Daddy

She smiles slightly. “Ah, I see. You misunderstood me. I don’t mean to make you move back to Virginia and live in the manor, although that is an option, of course.”

“What do you mean then?”

“Shaun does work for the family, but he’s always been distant. I want a relationship with my son again. I want him to call his brothers and come for visits. I can’t remember the last time he came to the manor for no reason other than to see his family.”

“Oh,” I say, and almost laugh. “Oh, of course. I want that too, Sylvia. I don’t think we’ll leave LA, I mean, we haven’t talked about any of this stuff, but—”

“And I want grandchildren.”

I lean back in my seat. “Oh,” I say.

“Does that surprise you? I’m not young. And I assume you and my son are serious.”

“I don’t… I think…”

She sighs. “You young people these days make things so much more complicated than you need to. If you like him, dear, then hold on to him. I can tell he’s mad for you. Gosh, you don’t even know how easy you have it.”

“I’m pregnant.”

The words come out before I can stop them. I can’t believe I said it and cover my mouth instantly. She turns to me, surprise clear on her face.

“You’re… what?”

“God, I’m sorry, nobody knows, just Shaun. He’s the father, and I didn’t mean to tell you, and—”

“That’s wonderful,” she says and smiles. “That’s just absolutely wonderful.”

I blink in surprise. “It is?”

“Oh, Klara. That’s incredible. I’m so happy to hear that.”

“You are?”

She laughs lightly and leans back in her seat, smiling huge. “Oh dear. Shaun must be going insane right now. He wants to marry you, right?”

“He does, but how did you know?”

“That’s just the kind of man he is.” She laughs and shakes her head. “Well, this all makes so much more sense now. He’s in love with you and you’re in love with him, but this baby is making it all so much more complicated than it needs to be.”

“No, it’s not… we’re not, I mean…”

I stop talking as she laughs and shakes her head. “God, you children these days. Always so complicated.” The car pulls up to Rodeo Drive and Sylvia gets out. I hurry to follow her as she walks down the sidewalk. This is the part of town I pretty much never come to. It’s always crowded and all the stores are insanely overpriced, but Sylvia seems to float through the people and slice through the crowds like she’s royalty. She walks into Balenciaga without so much as pausing and I have to hurry to keep up.

She goes right for a rack of women’s clothes. I don’t even bother looking at the price tags. She pulls out a simple suit jacket and tilts your head. “You’d look cute in this,” she says.

“Oh, I can’t,” I answer. “I mean, I can’t afford any of this.”

“He told you not to let me buy you anything, didn’t he?”

I hesitate. “Yes.”

“Consider it an early shower gift. How about that?”

“I’d rather take a crib then.”

She laughs. “I’ll get you one of those as well.” She holds up the jacket. “Try it on.”

“Really, Sylvia, please.”

“Oh, darling, and matching slacks.” She grabs a pair of pants and a pair of shoes. “Yes, you have to wear all of this. Please, dear.” She takes my arm and pulls me away as a sales associate floats over, looking richer and more beautiful than I will ever be in my life.

We’re given a private room. Sylvia sits back as I change, aware of her eyes on me the whole time. When I’m done, I stand in the mirror and stare are myself.

I have on over $5,000 in clothes. I’ve never, ever worn so much money in my entire life.

And I look amazing.

“Wow,” I say.

“I agree. The fit is perfect.”

“I look great.”

She laughs. “You do, dear.”

“But really, it’s too much.”

“Nonsense, dear. You want to run a business, you need an outfit like that. One that exudes power and grade.” She sighs. “A shame women need clothing and men can get away with so little, but it’s the world we live in.”

I sigh and look at myself for a moment longer. My future flashes through my eyes, and I can see more money, more wealth, more fame than I ever dreamed of.

And it scares me.

Sylvia comes up and puts her hands on my shoulders. “Go ahead,” she says. “Buy it. I promise, you won’t regret it.”

“Okay,” I say like this is a dream.

She smiles and I change back into my normal clothes. She has the sales associate wrap everything and she pays without me even seeing it happen. When we’re done, I follow her around for the rest of the afternoon as she buys expensive shoes and handbags for herself, and a few gifts for her children, her children’s spouses, and her husband.