Victoria The Billionaires Maid

“Bye sweetness. Be good for your Daddy.”

She wriggled in my arms, smelling of powder and chocolate. “We go see Ally?”

“Yep, we’re going to see Ally. But Daddy needs to talk to her alone for a few m

inutes, so Aunty Sage will keep you company.” If Sage was even working. And if Sage didn’t hate me too for being a jackass and debauching her roommate, assuming Ally had told her what had happened. Part A and Part B.

Shit, I’d asked a virgin to have my baby. Not knowing she was a virgin didn’t make it any better. Somehow I should have known. Ally was a lockbox under the best of circumstances, but something like that…

Not to mention that I’d agonized more than once about her choice of dates over the years, imagining her going home with some of them and needing to drink to get the pictures out of my mind. I’d been certain it was just my streak of protectiveness in her direction kicking in, but what if?

What the fuck if?

I placed Laurie in her car seat and adjusted the belt, snapping it into place. “Extra sprinkles on your sundae if you’re good for Aunty Sage.”

“Sage has pretty hair. Yellow like mine.” Laurie touched her curls.

“Yes, just like yours, though yours is the prettiest in all the land.” I leaned forward to kiss the tip of her nose and she giggled.

A minute later, we were on the road to the diner. I debated giving Ally a heads up that I was stopping by, then decided a sneak attack was best. I wasn’t trying to corner her or convince her of anything. All I wanted to do was look her in the eye and make sure she was okay. And to apologize. Possibly fifty times or so.

I parked up the street from the diner and released Laurie from her car seat prison. Setting her on my hip, I checked my jacket pocket to make sure the cookies were still intact. Laurie wasn’t about to miss a chance for more sweets, however. She got one forbidden glimpse of them and screwed up her adorable face, her big blue eyes going shiny with unshed tears.

“For me?” she wailed. “For me?”

God save me from women. I truly wasn’t equipped to deal with them. Every time I thought I could handle the task, new obstacles were thrown in my path.

I dug out one of the cookies and resigned myself to a sleepless night with my child. Just as well. God knows I had no other reasons not to sleep at night. Last night’s event had been a one-off, certain to never be repeated again.

Virginity destroyer.

The little bell over the diner door dinged as I entered with a now contentedly munching Laurie. She was spewing crumbs all over my wrinkled dress shirt, but my attention snagged on all the faces that turned my way. It seemed like every patron in the place was staring at me and Laurie.

All but one person with a high, bouncy dark ponytail, and that was because she had her back to me. Luckily, she was talking loudly enough that I could hear her just fine.

“Oh, not you too, Sally Mae. As I was just telling Vern, I was just helping him with a problem. You know, as a friend.”

Sally Mae was looking past Ally at me. She cleared her throat. “Uh, dear, I’m not sure”

“Certain issues of a performance nature,” Ally went on. “Any good friend would help. Now would you like eggs over easy like usual with red potatoes and a side of sausage? We have the summer fruit cup on special today. Comes free with any meal.”

“Alison,” I said in an undertone.

Ally’s shoulders went tight in her uniform, but she didn’t glance my way. Didn’t acknowledge me at all.

“The fruit cup has blueberries, honeydew, pineapple, and slices of fresh strawberries. The first crop this year from Happy Acres Orchard, right down in Turnbull.”

“Alison,” I said again.

Laurie finished scarfing down her cookie and pulled her chocolatey fingers out of her mouth. “Ally!”

Yeah, my best friend might be able to ignore me, but she definitely couldn’t ignore my little spitfire.

Ally turned, a genuine smile creasing her face and lighting up her honey eyes. “Hiya you. What’re you doing here?” She moved forward and snatched Laurie out of my arms without acknowledging my presence. “Look at these cheeks, all covered in chocolate. What has your daddy been feeding you?”

“Cookies. Unca O and me made ’em. Daddy brought you one.”

“Daddy actually brought you two, but a certain thief felt the need to sample more of the merchandise.” I cupped my daughter’s head, leaving my hand there until Ally had no choice but to meet my gaze.

“I texted you.”

“Sorry, working.”

“And gossiping. About problems of a performance nature.” The diner was far too quiet around us, and I wasn’t about to give the town anything more to chat about today. “Is Sage working?”

“Sure am.” The cheerful blond crossed the restaurant with a tray full of dishes. “How can I help you?” Sage asked as she passed us, stopping to say something to Mrs. Negley in one of the booths.

They both giggled and glanced my way.

Fabulous.

“By the way,” I said, raising my voice, focusing on Ally’s face as it paled, “we both know my performance was just fine. Spectacular, in fact.”

“Enough to knock you right out?” Sage asked, blinking innocently when I narrowed my eyes.

“Back room,” Ally muttered, handing off Laurie to Sage without even waiting for my direction. Even with all this shit between us, we had a rhythm.

A damn fine one, in and out of bed. Fuck performance issues. Mine had been spot-on.

Sage hugged Laurie and carried her to an empty booth. “How about a nice cup of fruit while your Daddy and Ally talk?”

“Ice scream. Daddy promised ice scream.” Laurie glanced my way and banged a tiny fist on the table. “With sprinkles if I was good.”

“Were you good?”

“Yeah, put a hot fudge sundae with sprinkles on my tab. A small one,” I said out of the side of my mouth.

Sage nodded. “Will do.”

Ally was already headed down the hall that led to the bathrooms, the break room, and the storage room, so I followed, figuring she’d aim for the break room. Instead she went right for the storage area.

The second I shut the door, she whirled on me.

“What was I supposed to say? Everyone knows, Seth. Everyone. Someone must’ve seen us at the hotel, or hell if I know.”

I started to reply, but Ally wasn’t finished.

“They asked me questions all shift. I had to make a joke out of it, so people didn’t think you and I could that we could ever be”

“Had to make a joke out of me, you mean.” I tucked my thumbs in the pockets of my jeans. “Think you got your wish. Probably half the town is now wondering how I even managed to make my daughter.”

She bowed her head and her jaunty ponytail drooped over one shoulder. “I’m sorry. It was just a joke to save face and I guess I went too far.”

“Save face why? Even if someone got the idea that we were together, why not just roll with it?”

“Roll with it? Are you crazy?”

“I must be, considering the last week.” I stepped forward and forced the irritation from what she’d told people out of my head. When compared with my recent sins, it didn’t really rank. “I texted you that I was sorry.”

She tucked a stray curl behind her ear. “For what, exactly?”

“I never should have asked you to have my baby.”

Ally’s gaze shot to the door as if she expected it to blow open at any moment. “About time you realize that.”

“It was completely unfair of me. I’m not enough to be both mom and dad to a new child. I mean, with Laurie, it just worked out that way, but to set up a situation where I’m the only one making all the decisions for another child isn’t right. I’m simply not enough.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Ally stepped forward, going toe to toe with me. “Laurie is a happy, well-adjusted little girl. She adores you.”

“I’m not her mother. I can never be her mother.” I swallowed hard. “No matter how much I love her, it’s not the same as”

“You think a child knows the difference as long as they’re treasured? Sure, they might wonder what if, but the lack comes

from not being loved enough, not from whether the person who tucks them in at night was mommy or daddy. I didn’t know my father, and I grew up just fine with only my mom. She was everything.” Ally gripped my wrists and jerked my arms until my eyes snapped up to meet hers. “She was way more than enough.”

“Your mother was amazing.”

“You’re right. She was. And so are you. Laurie couldn’t be any luckier if she had two parents. No one could love that little girl more than you do. Just like you’d love that new baby. I never doubted for a second that you were enough. It wasn’t that.”

“I didn’t know you were a virgin. If I’d known…”All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.

“It’s not about that either.” Her nails scraped my wrists, and the bite of pain made my cock spring to life. I wasn’t proud of it, but this woman was like a goddamn torch to my libido.

One taste of her hadn’t been enough. Would never be enough.

“Then?” I asked softly, fighting the urge to cup her cheek so she had no choice but to look into my eyes. I hated that she never fully looked at me anymore. That was a new thing too.

So much of this was new, and she wasn’t the only one struggling to keep her footing. With every step, I felt as if I was sinking in quicksand.

“You’re the most important person in my life. If this goes sideways and I lose you” she began.

“Not gonna happen.” Even after the past week, I didn’t have to fake the confidence in my voice. “We are solid. Always. No matter what.”

“A baby would change things. You thought you’d make it easy on me, give me the chance to walk away. But I couldn’t. Just like I can’t turn my back on you or that little girl.” Her face tipped up to mine and her pleading tone cut me to the quick. “Do you honestly think I could walk away from a child we’d made?”

“So do it with me.”

Her mouth quivered. “What?”

“Have the baby with me and we’ll raise it together. Why the hell not, right? We’re both single, and we’re friends. As close as could be before sex, and now that’s obviously a go too, so why not?” I rushed on, the idea gaining speed. I didn’t know all the logistics of what I was suggesting, but right now, I didn’t care.

This way, we could both get what we wanted. And I wouldn’t lose her. She wouldn’t walk away from town for school, or if she did, she’d come back.

She’d always come back to me. To us.

Ally backed up and spun around, facing the stacks of boxes along the far wall. “What about Laurie?”

The question barely registered, because all I could think about was that she hadn’t said no.