The Billionaire's Baby Read online

  “Favian, no,” Adira said softly. Hearing him say that tore her heart apart.

  “It’s okay, baby, common sense prevailed. I had more of an appreciation for life than most—even myself—realized at that point,” Favian said. “Anyway, I called Remy and he told me he hadn’t seen her in months. She wasn’t even living in the apartment anymore. With the connections Remy has, he was able to find her and found out the truth. I was done at that point. I came home and she ran to me like she was thrilled to see me, like nothing ever happened. I confronted her with the truth and she went postal. Took more pills and ended up in the psychiatric ward at Bellevue Hospital. It was there that I found out she was manic-depressive and her background was very troubled. I called her parents who I’d never met and told them where she was. They had been looking for her for years since she left upstate New York. I divorced her and they took her home. I was rubbed raw by that point. I’ve never been in a serious relationship since.”

  “What happened to Kim?” Adira asked.

  “The last I heard she was in a permanent mental health facility,” Favian replied. “Her mother said she had a complete break from reality.”

  “I’m so sorry,” she said.

  “It wasn’t my fault nor was it hers. She was just broken and no one could fix her problems. But it took something from me.” Favian looked at her and searched her eyes. “I don’t make this proposal lightly. I know how I feel about you and this baby. I’ve suffered loss before and then suffered a bigger loss when I found out the baby she said she was having wasn’t even real. I grieved for a child that didn’t exist and now I want to celebrate the real thing in my life. Marry me, Adira. I won’t be happy without you in my life.”

  “Yes, I’ll marry you, Favian.” Adira caressed his cheek. “I love you, and I promise I will never hurt you. We may have a good row and I may get in a snit from time to time, but I’ll never use this child or the love we have against you.”

  He kissed her. “I know, baby, this I definitely know.”

  She nodded and smiled. “Then let’s get married.”

  “Tomorrow,” he said.

  “I think we need more time than that, love.”

  “Oh, I know some people who know some people.” Favian winked at her.

  “I have no doubt of that.” Adira yawned and snuggled closer into the crook of his arms. “I’m just going to close my eyes for a bit and then we can talk about it more.”

  He gave a soft laugh. “You do that, mi querida, mi amor.”

  She knew the meaning of those terms of endearment well and fell asleep in his arms. My darling, my love. This is what she meant to Favian and he meant the same to her. She loved him more than she ever thought possible and he felt the same way about her. The thoughts were like a balm to a life that had been so hard and so terrible for so very long.

  Chapter Seven

  True to his word, Favian did know a few people and was not willing to wait too long. Instead of the arrangements taking one week it took three, but was still a whirlwind of events. They were to be married at Michelangelo’s restaurant which would be closed for the day and decked out for a wedding celebration. Lynette flew in to be her maid of honor and while she was the only one that Adira had, Favian’s extended family from his mother’s side came in from Puerto Rico for the wedding.

  She was nervous meeting them, but they all embraced her like she was long lost family. Adira soon figured out she was marrying into a family filled with tremendous love. The night before the wedding, after dinner, everyone sat in the family room, laughing and talking. Favian had her lie down on the couch with her feet up and her legs across his lap.

  His Aunt Carmen—his mother’s sister—looked at her round tummy and predicted, “I think it shall be a girl.”

  Her husband Felipe rolled his eyes. “Of course you would. You would like to fill this family with women to rule us men with an iron fist.”

  “If you didn’t act like children all the time we wouldn’t have to,” Aunt Maria said primly. She waved her finger at Favian and Remy. “The trouble these two used to get into would turn anyone’s hair white.”

  “Oh, do tell,” Lynette said.

  “Don’t encourage Auntie Maria. Let’s leave our exploits out of this,” Remy said. Adira noticed that he was sitting very close to Lynette and she wasn’t complaining. Two years before they get together? Uh-huh, if it takes that long I’ll eat a plate of kippers, she thought.

  “There is one way to tell the sex of the baby,” Favian’s cousin Santia piped in. “Let’s use the ring test. Remember when Petra was pregnant? It predicted boy and it was right.”

  “What’s the ring test?” Adira asked.

  “You take a wedding ring and you hang it on a piece of string. If it moves around in a circle it’s a girl. If it moves back and forth it’s a boy,” Aunt Carmen explained.

  “Let’s do it. I’m curious since these two decided not to find out until the birth.” Lynette rolled her eyes. “How will I know what to buy unless I have a picture of the sonogram showing a winkie or not?”

  “Buy neutral colors,” Adira said. Lynette stuck her tongue out at her, making Adira laugh.

  Aunt Carmen stood up and took off her wedding ring. “I need a piece of string.”

  Suzie—who was also there with Mason because to everyone, especially Favian, they were family—got up and went to the kitchen and came back with a piece of white yarn.

  “I’m making a blanket for the baby,” she said with pleasure written all over her face. “I cannot wait until it’s done for you to see it.”

  “Oh, Suzie, you’re magnificent.” Adira reached out her hand and Suzie took it and gave it a fond squeeze.

  Aunt Carmen threaded the ring on the string and came over to where Adira was lying on the sofa. “Okay, let’s see what we’re having.”

  It seemed like everyone held a collective breath as Aunt Carmen held the string over Adira’s stomach and stabilized it by holding the ring so it wouldn’t move until she was ready. It was an old wives’ tale but Adira still thought it was a fun idea. She didn’t have family like this in her life so to be able to share all of this with Favian’s family was very special to her. Aunt Carmen let the ring go and it was completely still.

  “Nothing is happening,” Adira whispered.

  “Give it a moment, honey. It will,” Carmen said.

  It began to swing slowly back and forth and then a little stronger. Everyone watched with rapt interest as the ring swung back and forth.

  “There you have it, Favian. You’re having a boy,” Felipe said. “Thank God. We need more testosterone in this family.”

  “Well, it’s not full proof. It can still be a girl,” Santia said.

  “You’re the one who brought up the idea of the test, now live with the results,” Felipe replied.

  “Don’t be a sourpuss.” She handed him a plate. “Eat some cake.”

  About an hour later, after dessert, everyone retired to bed.

  “You know what your aunt told me? She said that we shouldn’t see each other before the wedding,” Adira said.

  “I think we’ve broken that rule already,” Favian said as he climbed into bed beside her and pulled her close. “Are you ready to be Mrs. Rivera tomorrow?”

  Adira nodded and then teased, “Are you sure you don’t want to be Mr. Potts?”

  “To have you, I would,” he replied.

  “That’s so sweet,” she said and then gave a little gasp.

  Favian was on alert instantly. “Baby, what’s wrong?”

  She took his hand and pressed it against her belly. “Feel. You can actually feel the baby move, Favian!”

  Sure enough, under his hand the small but perceptible thump was felt and he looked at her with excitement in his eyes. Favian kept his hand on her stomach and the baby moved again and again as if to say, “Yes, Daddy, I’m here.” Favian kissed her stomach and talked to the baby before resting his head gently where his hand had been.

 
“Love, are you okay?” Adira asked when he said nothing for a few moments.

  He looked up at her and the happiness on his face stunned her. “I’m more than okay, I’m perfect. I was thanking God that I have you and our son in my life.”

  “So you believe the ring test then?” Adira asked as he settled back close to her.

  Favian pulled the covers around them. “Uncle Felipe pulled me aside and told me to think boy. He’s dead set that we must have a nephew.”

  “Truthfully, I don’t think he’ll mind either way,” Adira said sleepily.

  “I don’t think he will either,” Favian replied and kissed her. “Good night, Mrs. Rivera.”

  “Good night, Mr. Potts,” she said and was rewarded with his deep rumble of a laugh. With fingers laced, they fell asleep.

  Their wedding day, in August, dawned bright, clear and warm. In such a short time Adira’s life had done a complete three-sixty. She’d gone from a shop girl one minute to marrying one of the richest men in New York in a wedding that looked to be out of a fairy tale the next minute. Michael turned his restaurant into a summer wonderland of sheer lace and green garlands with tiger lilies. The chairs and tables had been pushed back, set around the sides of the large room to make space for an aisle.

  Favian’s suit was charcoal black and the silk gray tie complemented the crisp white shirt he wore. Adira had decided on a simple white satin dress with an empire waist high under her breasts. It left room for her burgeoning belly and still looked elegant. Lynette wore orange to match the tiger lilies and Remy, who you’d very rarely see in a suit, had one on and his tie matched Lynette’s dress. As she walked down the makeshift aisle to Pachelbel’s Canon in D, between the tables and guests, she couldn’t take her eyes off Favian. He was truly the man of her dreams.

  “Dearly beloved, we’re gathered here today to celebrate this family.” The priest, Father Carlos Ruiz, was an old family friend. He smiled at them before continuing. “I’ve known Favian from the time his mother brought him home from the hospital. I’ve seen you run with the wrong crowd back in the day and I’ve seen you grow up to the honest man you are now. I call you a family because of the baby that is present in its mother’s womb and I saw how you looked at her as she walked up the aisle toward you. In your heart, you are already married. My being here is just making it legal.”

  The family and friends gathered gave a little laugh before Father Ruiz continued. “I could repeat the words that bind you together, but I feel it’s time to let you both speak from the heart. Favian, tell this woman why you want her to be your wife today.”

  Favian turned to her and took her hands in his. She watched his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed and met her gaze. “Who knew that standing and looking into a shop window would have led me to you, my soul mate. It was on that day—April third—that it felt like I just started breathing and each day since it’s been you that has kept me going. You look at me and my heart grows stronger. You smile and I want to give you the world.” He put his hand on her belly. “Now this gift that is growing inside you means more to me than any money I will ever have or make. You are my treasure, mi querida, and you honor me by being my wife.”

  She couldn’t help the tears that fell at the words he spoke. Looking at the people gathered to celebrate with them she saw that his words affected them too. She didn’t think anything she could say would even compare to what he said.

  Adira centered herself and tried to focus on her feelings and how to put them into words. “Favian, I know loss. I had a great childhood, but then my father died. My mom married a man who ripped our world apart and then she was gone too. I’ve learned how to scrape by and how to survive, but I never really knew how to love. But then I met you and I knew my life wouldn’t be complete without you. You tease me and I laugh, you smile and I smile, whenever we’re apart it feels like part of me is missing. Favian, I love you so much. Some people use those words so lightly that sometimes it loses meaning, but I vow to love you, to cherish you, and to spend the rest of my life showing you that you are loved completely by me and that our love will never lose meaning.”

  Then there was silence while everyone took in the words that weren’t rehearsed and came directly from the heart. Father Ruiz smiled and then clapped his hands together and sighed. “That was better than anything I could have ever said. There is only one thing left for me to say: I now pronounce you man and wife. Favian, kiss your wife. Adira, kiss your husband. May your marriage be forever filled with God’s blessings.”

  She could hear the clapping and whistles as they kissed. His kiss filled her with elation and joy because now he was truly hers and nothing could tear them apart. She understood now the deep love her mother and father had once shared. Their kiss ended and they were congratulated as they walked down the aisle. In the back of her mind she felt as if her parents were watching her and were happy for her. She knew that what death had taken from her parents, they had found again in the afterlife.

  It wasn’t sadness that filled her from that thought but happiness and a hope that comforted her and completed the circle that had been broken in her life for far too long. She let go of the anger and hurt that had almost been a fuel in her life. She had two people now to be strong for. One held her close while the other kicked and fluttered in her belly.

  The wedding reception was wonderful, but fast paced and full of food, loud music and dancing. She’d never been to a celebration like it in her life. The dancing went on for hours until she actually curled up in one of the high-back booths and fell asleep. That was where Favian found her and woke her with gentle kisses. She opened her eyes to see him on his knees in front of her. The rugged lines of his face were gentled by the love he showed openly.

  “Hey, mama, mi amor, I think I should get you home to bed.” His lyrical accented voice was like a caress.

  “Is that an invitation?” she teased huskily.

  “For you, always,” he said gently. “This party is going to go on for a while. We’ve got most of my family, Remy, Lynette and Michael cutting a rug. We can sneak away; none of them will notice.”

  “Shouldn’t we thank them?” Adira asked.

  “We’ll do that at breakfast tomorrow.” He cupped her cheek and kissed her. “Let’s go home.”

  Adira nodded and he helped her to her feet. As they snuck towards the back door, Santia saw them and alerted everyone. After hugs and kisses, they left through the front while everyone stayed to enjoy more food and music.

  At home, Favian decided to be traditional and carried her across the threshold. He didn’t stop there but went all the way upstairs with her in his arms. In the bedroom, he placed her on her feet carefully and cupped her face as they looked into each other’s eyes. Adira didn’t need any words at that point; she could see it all clearly written on his face.

  This is what people search for in life—a love impossible to explain, but you can’t stand being without. His lips met hers and she was lost again, in the magic and passion he created. They made love slowly. He kissed her body reverently until passion consumed them in waves and he sank himself into her warmth. She couldn’t speak for anyone else’s wedding day, but hers was perfect. She didn’t care that he was a billionaire. He could be a fisherman and she would feel no different. The wealth was in his love and because of that she was the richest woman in the world.

  * * * *

  Summer turned into fall and the first hints of winter filled the air. Halloween found her round and dressed like a pumpkin. They also had a clay molding made of her tummy and Favian painted the art that graced the smooth surface. His hands were talented and he painted the pictures of a child’s whimsy at Halloween. Now the bust sat in the living room on a pedestal for guests to admire.

  November was now here and Thanksgiving meant his family would be back for the holidays. They were staying until after the baby was born but not at their house. Favian rented a wonderful brownstone close by so they could be close but not underfoot.

 
Four months of marriage had been nothing but bliss for her. Favian was taking photos of her constantly and her favorite—one in black and white—had been framed and hung in the nursery. In the picture, she wore a white see-through silk wrap like a Greek toga. Her belly was clearly visible as she cupped her hands around it. When Favian gave the framed photo to her as a gift she was amazed at how beautifully he captured the memory in time. Anyone who went into the nursery was instantly drawn to the picture.

  There was another unforeseen development that had cropped up over the last few months. Hillary tried to come over a few times and was sent away by Suzie, Mason or Favian. They didn’t want Adira to deal with her and when she wasn’t allowed in the house, she began calling. When someone did answer her calls anything could be expected. Hillary could go from crying and trying to make amends to screeching vile insults and threatening all kinds of things. Adira wondered about her mental stability and brought it to Favian’s attention. He seemed to have no concerns about Hillary except that she was an annoyance and promised to take care of it so she was no longer calling and harassing them at the house.

  Adira was excited because Lynette was coming in from London. She’d be taking a cab from the airport in a few hours and, like Favian’s family, she would be staying until the baby was born and probably after New Year’s.

  Lynette now had three contracts with Favian to build gaming software that would make them both a very lucrative profit. It meant Lynette would be spending more time in New York and Adira was happy her friend would be close by more often. Adira was in the nursery folding and putting away clothes, blankets and other items that kept being delivered. Favian went a bit crazy with online baby shopping and between the boxes from him, Lynette, Remy and assorted family members it seemed she was in the nursery every day reevaluating space and putting things away. At the family dinner later that night, she was going to put a ban on anymore shopping for the baby.