The sun is shining and it's a beautiful, crisp winter day. The snow is still clean and sparkling out by Mrs. Russo's home. Beautiful green branches support fluffy white coats and everything sparkles in the afternoon sunshine.“You doing okay?” Dante asks as we turn into his old house. Ethan is driving us today.I'm meeting Mrs. Russo. The last time we spoke, she threatened to invite Norwood, so it's possible he'll be here today as well. Today, Dante isn't leaving my side for an instant.“I think so,” I tell him. Inside, I'm a mess. Just the thought of seeing Norwood makes my stomach roll. The bruises still ache from my last meeting with Norwood. My stomach is a mess of knots and I have to pee, even though there's nothing there. It's just nerves. Or maybe the pregnancy.I think I'm going to be sick.I pray she was bluffing and Norwood isn't there. I'm ready for an easy meeting.Still, this needs to be done. After this, I'm free of Mrs. Russo. Soon, I'll be free of Norwood.Then it's ju
This is book 3 of the Bad Boys and Babies Series. It is a stand-alone novel with all-new characters, however, the themes are similar! Please enjoy! Emma “Welcome to Coffee Shack, Mrs. Johnson.” Emma greeted her next customer with a smile. “Your usual?” The woman in a suit nodded, barely looking up from her phone. That was typical here. The coffee shop was located on the first floor of a downtown skyscraper with all sorts of important businesses filling the offices upstairs. W&W BabyCo held most of the floors, but there was also an internet company and a well respected law firm in the building. Everyone who came for coffee was usually busy with some sort of important work. “Grande triple mocha with almond milk,” Emma called out, taking Mrs. Johnson’s money. Emma handed the card back with a smile that Mrs. Johnson hardly acknowledged before stepping to the side for the next person to order. Emma grinned as she realized it was her best friend. “Hi, Grace,” Emma said warmly to her fri
Jackson“What in the hell were you thinking?”The sound of the newspaper hitting Jackson Weathers’ desk was almost as loud as Jane’s question. Jackson looked up from his work to see a very angry woman glaring at him.“Just what in the hell were you thinking?” Jane repeated, her voice low and dangerous. She motioned to the newspaper. “Do you know how hard I have been working to change your image? And then you go and pull this shit?”Jackson glanced down at the paper to see the headline: “BILLIONAIRE PUBLIC SEX SCANDAL.” He had made front page news. Again.“I don’t remember doing that,” he said, frowning and looking closer at the picture. The picture was censored, but it was clearly him balls deep in some blonde chick at a bar. “It’s not really a flattering angle.”“You bastard,” Jane whispered. She shook her head. Her normally neat bun was coming undone and gray wisps of hair framed her face. “I can’t believe you’d do this.”“Do what?” Jackson scoffed. “The woman was of age and very co
JacksonJackson evaluated Jane for a moment before speaking. He hated that she was making sense. The only change in the market was the addition of a new player. Jessica Balboa’s Innocence Company was doing something he wasn’t.“So, you want me to get married and have a baby,” he repeated back. “What if that’s not what I want? I’m not exactly looking to change my ways. I rather like a different model or actress in my bed every other night.”“And I’m not telling you that you can’t,” Jane replied, standing up straight. “Once you have this set up and people trust you again, you can go back to being the bad-boy billionaire. Until then, you have to be the epitome of fatherly love and trust. And that means no screwing up. I don’t care if it’s in a private setting or not. This is all or nothing. You can’t accidentally slip up with this.”She pointedly looked at the newspaper. He would have to say goodbye to his fun for a while if he agreed to this. He could understand that. If he had a wife a
JacksonJackson’s hands sweated. They were sticky and hot, and he wiped them nervously on his pants the entire way down the elevator.He hadn’t been this nervous since junior high.Asking out women was easy. He could smile and get any woman he wanted to hop in his bed for the night with hardly any effort. However, the idea of asking Emma to marry him and have his child to save his company made him nervous.So, halfway down to the lobby, he decided he wasn’t going to ask her directly. He was going to take her to dinner. That made his palms dry a little, but his heart still raced in his chest. She still made him nervous. She had turned him down before. She was one of the few women that consistently told him no.He didn’t know why she said no to him. As far as he knew, she wasn’t seeing anyone, and even if she was, he was fucking Jackson Weathers. No woman said no to him. The fact that she could say no actually made him like her more. She was unobtainable.Maybe that was why his hands sh
EmmaShe spun to see Mr. Weathers leaning against the window to the coffee shop entrance. He wore a jet black suit that fit his broad shoulders and lean waist. He looked like he belonged on the cover of GQ. His perfect blond hair was somehow more perfect as he walked over.“Hi.” She wished she had something clever to say, but the only thing she could think of was “Welcome to the Coffee Shack,” and somehow that didn’t feel appropriate.“You look absolutely stunning,” he told her. “I’m going to have the prettiest date at the restaurant.”She grinned, enjoying the compliment. “Thank you.” She smoothed the green satin of her dress. “This is amazing and so much more than anything I could have expected.”He grinned. “That’s kind of the point.”Her smile widened. No wonder women fell over themselves to be with him. “Well, thank you.”“Let me see you spin,” he requested.She slowly spun in a circle, loving the way the heavy fabric took the motion and swirled around her ankles when she finishe
EmmaEmma tried to keep her knee still. She tried not to bounce it up and down, but she couldn’t help but move it. She was nervous now as the car sped along the road to Jackson Weathers’ apartment and her knee couldn’t hold it in.Jackson had something planned for her. He wanted to discuss something, and she had no idea what it could possibly be. Plus, they were going to his house. Where he took all the women he slept with. Now that it was really happening, she was nervous.She wasn’t sure what was going to happen next.He kept up comfortable small talk the entire short trip back to his luxury high rise apartment. If she hadn’t been too busy thinking about the fact that she wasn’t wearing panties, she would have been able to admire the building. It was old and beautiful with a literal golden elevator to bring them to the penthouse suite.He scanned his thumbprint in the elevator and smiled at her.“You’re nervous, aren’t you?” he asked.“Maybe a little,” she said. “I’ve never been in
EmmaShould she marry a man for money?The question floated around Emma’s mind the moment she woke up.No. I shouldn’t, she decided as she made her coffee. I should marry someone I love. I should keep dating, despite my lack of success, and it’ll happen. I still have a few years before I need to worry about the biological clock.She sipped her coffee, pleased with her decision for a whole thirty seconds.Yes, I should, she decided as she ate her cereal. She liked Jackson. He made her smile and she could see a future with him. Plus, the money from being his wife would make her dream job come true. She could work with any marine animal she pleased. She could buy the freaking marine park.She took a shower, mulling over the pros and cons.No, I shouldn’t. I should love the man I have a child with. That was always the plan.Yes, I should. Jackson would love the child and provide for it unconditionally. This child would be better cared for than most children in the world. She would have al
JacksonHis mouth twitched like he wanted to smile at her. She raised her hand and tried to appear like this wasn’t breaking her heart. If anyone was looking, they would think she was here for moral support and that nothing was wrong.“Thank you, ladies and gentlemen for joining me today. First, I’d like to address the vicious rumors going around that I am involved with a woman other than my fiancée. I want to state expressly that this is a bald-faced lie.” He paused and smiled around the room. “And I have proof.”Emma couldn’t help but gasp. So did several reporters.“If you’ll please turn your attention to the screen here,” Jackson said, motioning to a flat screen TV near him. He clicked a small button and the screen came to life. “This is security footage from a small sailboat in the dock. It was overlooked at first, but as with many good things, it warranted a second look.”Emma wondered if he meant something more by that statement, but didn’t have time to ponder it as the securit
JacksonJackson went back up to his apartment, got in the shower, and cried.He hadn’t cried since he was five years old and his pet turtle died. He hadn’t cried like this when his parents died. He didn’t know that it was possible for a grown man to feel this much hurt inside.He had screwed up. Big time.Why hadn’t he just told her? He could have come home from the party and told her then. He could have mentioned it the next day. It would have been so easy.He wanted to say it was to protect her. He wanted to believe it was because he was keeping her calm for the baby.But that was a lie.He was doing it to protect himself. He was afraid she would leave him. That she wouldn’t smile up at him like he was the best thing in the world. That she wouldn’t tease him or make him laugh because she would finally see his true nature.And he had made it a self-fulfilling prophecy. By not telling her, he had ruined things. He had broken their trust.He should have told her that he loved her the m
EmmaEmma didn’t know it was possible to cry this much. She didn’t know that she had this many tears inside of her. She didn’t know that it was possible to feel this much pain from just one lie.He kissed another woman.He didn’t love her.She was obviously nothing to him.She sat on her couch in her tiny apartment, mindlessly eating a pint of ice cream that she stole from his fridge, and cried.The worst part was that she didn’t even feel like she had the right to cry. It was in the contract that they could see other people. Their relationship was never meant to be about love. They were a business relationship. It was always supposed to be a way to keep the bad boy’s business happy. She was only ever supposed to be the good girl image.Yet, it still hurt. It hurt more than she ever thought possible.He had cheated on her. Just because she had suspected this day might come didn’t make it easier. When they had first started this arrangement, she thought she could handle it. She had tho
JacksonJackson sat at his desk, head in his hands. He didn’t know how to fix this one. He had screwed up. It wasn’t really his fault, but now that it was happening, he could see a million different ways he could have prevented this.‘If onlys’ whispered through his mind. He could have pushed the woman away sooner. He should have never been alone. He should have told Emma right away.That was the one that hurt the most. He should have come straight home and told her that a strange woman had kissed him. She would have forgiven him then. She would have understood.He sighed. Now it was too late. He’d kept the kiss to himself. For the first twenty-four hours, he thought he was safe. There were no news stories, no leaks. He had thought that it really was just an over-eager business student.And then came the phone calls. Nearly the instant it hit the tabloids, he was deluged by phone calls.Now there was a note from his housekeeper that Emma had moved all of her things out.He ran his han
EmmaEmma groaned, finally giving up on her nap. Exhaustion still tugged on her, but her phone simply wouldn’t stop buzzing or chiming. Unfortunately, it was on the kitchen table and a good ten steps away from the couch she currently was very comfortable on.The chime went off again. She thought about just leaving it there, but it was plugged in. The chimes would never stop since it would never run out of battery. Besides, that many text messages, emails, and phone calls had to be something important.With a groan, she threw her feet to the floor and sat up from the couch. She just wanted to nap today. This being pregnant thing was harder than she expected. She remembered her friend Grace’s pregnancy being easy. The only thing Grace had was an aversion to the smell of cooked chicken. Emma seemed to have an aversion to everything.She stood up and walked zombie like to the kitchen table. She picked up her phone and started making some ginger tea while she checked what was making her ph
Jackson“I don’t have to go,” Jackson told the beautiful woman laying in bed.Emma rolled over and hugged the bowl closer to her chest.“And what are you going to do if you stay here? Sit and watch me throw up?” she asked, motioning to the bowl.Morning sickness had hit her hard. He’d been surprised to learn that it really should be called All Day sickness as it didn’t occur just in the morning. It actually seemed to be worse for Emma right before bed.“I don’t like leaving you,” he said, softly. He sat on the edge of the bed and caressed her hair. She hummed slightly, leaning into him.“I’ll be fine,” she promised. “Honestly, I just want to lay in bed, drink the ginger tea you got me, and watch horrible, trashy TV. There’s a new episode.”Jackson rolled his eyes and then narrowed them. “You aren’t hyping the morning sickness so you can stay home and watch the new episode are you?”“Me?” Emma’s eyes got big and innocent as she held up a hand to her chest. “I would never.”“You so woul
He looked down at the picture again. He was a father.“What are you thinking, Jackson?” Emma asked. He looked up to see her biting her lip and looking like she was about to cry. “Please, tell me what you’re thinking.”“I’m thinking you are the most beautiful woman in the entire world,” he told her. He stood up and put his arms around her. She was shaking. “I’m thinking that I am the luckiest man in the world.”A shudder of relief went through her and she collapsed into him, tucking her face into his shoulder. He rubbed her back.“I was so afraid...” Her words came out muffled, but he understood them.“Why?” he asked, pulling her back.She shrugged. “I don’t know. Your reputation?”“It’s in our contract.”“Yeah, but so are sales taxes and membership fees. Just because it’s in a contract doesn’t mean that it’s something you want,” she replied.He took her chin in his hand, making sure that she looked up at him. She was so beautiful it made his heart catch. If he had felt protective befo
JacksonJackson woke feeling more rested than he had in months. He lay in bed for a moment, his eyes closed and body still, enjoying the lack of exhaustion. He wasn’t sure what had woken him, but it wasn’t his alarm. It wasn’t a need to move or a desire to get the day started.It was that he just wasn’t tired anymore.He peeked open one eye to see the world bathed in sunlight. It was strange that he’d slept so late. Usually, he was up and running by dawn. There was too much for him to do in the world to lay around sleeping all day.Yet, he had relaxed today. He looked over to see Emma curled up beside him. Her chest rose and fell with easy, deep breaths that told him she was still fast asleep. He smiled, watching her for a moment.When she was here, he felt at peace. There was no need to push for the next thing. He still wanted to excel, of course, but the need for better stopped when she was around. She was the best. He was content.It was a strange feeling. Usually, when he woke up
Emma“You must be Emma. It’s so wonderful to meet you. You look just like your pictures in the magazines.”Emma stood at the door of Jackson’s apartment and suddenly wished very much that she didn’t have to do this. But, she didn’t really have much of a choice. This had to happen.“Yes, I’m Emma,” she said, forcing herself to smile as she opened the door a little wider. “Please come in. Your name is Becca, right?”“That’s me, Becca the wedding planner,” the woman chirped. Becca wasn’t much older than Emma, but was several inches shorter. She had beautiful blonde hair in beautiful wavy curls down her back. The woman looked like she just stepped out of a beauty salon.She wore a light pink dress that looked like 1950’s vintage. Her makeup was perfect. Her hair was perfect.Even though Emma wore nice slacks, a button-up dark blue silk shirt, and light makeup, she felt incredibly unprepared. Becca just looked so put together.“Now, I have some samples of other weddings so that I can get y