JamesDays had passed since I had been in New York, and with the contract finalized with Chad's father and himself, I had nothing else to worry about. The moment I could tell Tally she had nothing to worry about, I saw a light of happiness in her eyes I hadn't seen in quite some time.Things were looking up, and even Sergie's men had backed off on what they were trying to do… for the moment, anyway.With everything on the bright side, I contemplated the idea of whether it would be safe to convince Becca to come down here. Take her internship with my company maybe… come spend time with me. Anything to get her to forgive me, and let me show her how much I cared.I loved her more than anything, and it took going through all of this to realize what I was losing because of my selfishness. I did not know if I could still fix things, be able to keep her, be able to make it right, but I wanted to try.As long as she will give me a chance.Sitting in my office, I went through the
BeccaThe last few days with Neal had been absolutely amazing. I couldn't get over everything we had been doing; from hanging out at the house like we used to or catching a movie. He had even taken me down to Broadway to see a show. In between all of it, we spent time wrapped in each other's arms under the sheets of his bed, his hands stroking through my hair as I laid my head upon his chest.It was amazing being with him. Letting him possess me… ravage me.I never thought this could happen with him, but yet here I was, spending time with someone who was incredible, who seemed to really care about me, and through it all, he didn't judge me for being anything other than who I was."Are you getting hungry?" His deep, sultry voice wrapped around me, tugging gently on my heart. I had always cared for him, always held a special place for him in my heart, but after these last few days.... I was wondering if there was a possibility my feelings could end up eventually being more.
BeccaTwo days went by quicker than I thought they ever could, and before I knew it, I was loading all of my stuff back into my car with Neal at my side as he tried to convince me to stay, or at least convince me he would fly me back instead of me driving my car.No matter how much he tried to persuade me, though, I couldn't let him do that. It was a sweet gesture, but I had to be independent, and even with us sleeping together or whatever else this was, I didn't want people to think I was relying on him for everything."I can't believe that you won't let me help you," he sighed as he placed my last bag into my trunk. "I don't like the thought of you driving."Giving a soft laugh, I turned to him, raising a brow, and smiled as I closed the trunk. "You have said that multiple times now, but again, I will be fine. Honestly, you worry too much.""I don't worry enough, Becca." I wasn't sure where this sentiment came from, but pulling me close to him, he kissed me gently, wr
BeccaA day later and finally home, I made a point of making a doctor's appointment because no matter what I did, the nausea did not subside. I would be fine one minute, and then the next thing I knew, I was throwing up. Nothing I did made it better, and by this point, I was wondering if I was actually sick or if it could have been something else."No, Dad, I'm going to the doctor, I promise," I said through the phone, my father having called me twice to check on me already since I had been back. He worried I had picked up some unknown strain of virus in New York City.Not that you couldn't. Lord knows the subway system carries all kinds of germs."Well, I want you to let me know as soon as you get done at the doctor exactly what's going on," he replied."I will, I promise. Just go enjoy yourself with your girlfriend. She sounds really sweet. What was her name again?" I asked, trying to remember the woman's name my dad was now seeing. He hadn't been with someone in so lon
BeccaBy the time I left the doctor's office and made my way back to my apartment, I was too shocked to speak. I was too shocked to f*cking do anything. All the way home, I'd cried. I'd cried for the last thirty minutes I had been sitting on my sofa.I sat contemplating how I was going to tell James I was pregnant with his child.I thought we were over. I thought I was going to move on. I thought about a life with Neal. But no… fate decided to pull out their funny f*cking card and made me get pregnant by a man who wanted nothing to do with me.I had literally become ironic, a sitcom for whatever f*cking gods were up there watching me below them saying, 'Hey, let's pick on this girl because she hasn't already been through enough.'With a sigh, I grabbed my phone, flipping through to James's number. I debated on whether to call him, but I called the one person who wasn't a man. I called Allegra."Hey sweet cheeks, what's going on? Heard you haven't been feeling
JamesOver the past few days, I have worked with Greg and a few others trying to figure out a game plan in order to take down Sergie and his men. They were indeed watching me, watching my every move, and with that, I had to be very careful because if they had got wind of what I was doing, it would surely end bad for me and anybody I cared about.Stepping up precautions, I hired additional security guards from an outside source. Some of the extra precautions were even undercover agents Greg wanted placed around my property to ensure they had eyes there should anything happen. I wasn't pleased about it, but what was I going to do, tell them no?Leaning back in my office chair at my house, I tried to think over everything that had been going on. Since the day I met Greg, it had been nonstop work trying to figure out ways to catch Sergie. I wasn't quite sure why they thought Sergie would come out of the woodworks for me, but then again, it made sense he would jump at any opp
BeccaThe last thing I expected was for James to message me out of the blue while I was trying to get coffee and tell me Tally had gone into labor. I didn't think I would care as much as I did, but the moment I heard, I panicked for her.Tears sprang to my eyes as I thought of what could happen.She may not have been a good person her entire life, but from what I saw and have heard, she was trying, and everyone deserves a second chance. She had been through so much, and this baby was a way for her to start over. To make amends for her actions.I knew it was stupid for me to act this way, considering everything she had done to me, but I was only human, and a very caring one at that. So considering I had such a large heart, the last thing I wanted was for something to happen to her or the baby.Trying to preoccupy myself until I got the news, I meandered around my apartment trying to catch up on homework, dishes, and anything else that needed done. My hands were wrinkly and
BeccaThe sound of loud knocking woke me from my sleep in the middle of the night. I wasn't exactly sure at first where the hell the noise was coming from, but as soon as my mind focused, I realized someone was pounding on my front door. Glancing towards my clock, I groaned seeing it was close to 5:00 in the morning."What the f*ck?" Sliding from my bed, I wrapped my robe around me and made my way downstairs where the persistent knocking continued. The person on the other side was relentless in their endeavor to piss me off for waking me up at this hour. Looking through the peephole, my heart stopped for just a moment. There on the other side of my door was Neal. His hair was disheveled as if he hadn't been sleeping. Not to mention he was wearing sweats and a T-shirt, a duffle bag in hand. "What the hell…" I muttered to myself as I opened the front door.His gorgeous eyes locked with mine, and as they did, he stepped into the apartment, pressing his lips against mine as
Becca.I didn't need to push much longer until the baby was born. I let out a sigh of relief as a lot of pressure was released as the doctor announced the head was out. I was almost done pushing. Out came the shoulders, and then the doctor was able to pull the baby out. She lifted the baby up and smiled, studying the baby for a moment. "It's a boy!" she said, causing the room to erupt into cheers. I gave a very quiet cheer of my own, my body completely exhausted. I closed my eyes, tears still spilling down my cheeks. I was still worried about how healthy he was, though, since he had come so early. "The baby is healthy, even if a bit underweight. He'll get meat on his bones in no time," the doctor assured me, reaching over to hand the baby to me. Putting a few clips into place, the doctor handed James a pair of scissors, and he cut the umbilical cord. Then, she began the process of helping me pass the afterbirth while the nurses prepared to clean our son up while
Becca.Several months had passed since our honeymoon, and things had been going wonderfully. The baby was developing very healthily, and they were going to be on the way soon. I was tired as I sat on the couch, reading up on some news. The progress with Guatemala went very well. I had made contact with locals who were going to make sure everything ran smoothly and children would be getting what they needed. The thought made me smile. Children deserved wonderful lives. The kids were just put to bed about an hour ago. 8:00 PM was too early for me to go to bed quite yet, but I was feeling tired. Still, I needed a snack, as my cravings were intensifying lately by quite a bit. I walked up to the fridge and rummaged through it, pulling out a jar of pickles and giving a satisfied sigh. I grabbed a plate, taking out several to munch on while I watched television. Maybe this would help me wake up a little bit. I wanted to wait until James got home. He was busy worki
Allegra."I have made a list of reputable centers that we can look into," I said to Layla, leaning on her as we stared at a laptop on the table. At the moment, we were looking into adopting, though not right this instant. We wanted to do a lot of research first. Not to mention, Layla wanted to get another cat so Onyx had a playmate, and they'd need to adapt to our apartment first. The idea of adoption was a prospect both of us adored. Giving a child a loving home would be a wonderful thing. Layla pointed to the screen, saying softly, "I've heard about that one. Good things, thankfully. I think we should be open-minded about teens." She frowned sadly, closing her eyes. "They are often overlooked.""I agree," I said. "They may be a large responsibility, as teenagers can be rowdy, but I'm confident we can handle it. Can't be worse than being captured by the Russian mob," I said with a chuckle. Layla winced but gave a half-smile. "You still think about that, huh
Becca."This place is beautiful," I said, looking around the fancy restaurant in Florence and letting out a happy sigh. Vines practically dripped from the ceiling, making it feel as though we were in a romantic movie. My life was similar enough to one, at this point! Mariano and Neal sat together across the table from James and I, all smiles and warm energy as well. They sipped wine and nodded, agreeing with my observation about the atmosphere. I took a sip of water myself, always mindful of the baby."This is the place where we met!" Mariano exclaimed with excitement. "When I first laid my eyes on Neal, I knew a prince had entered the establishment. A handsome one that made me swoon in my seat," he said. He winked at Neal, and the other man blushed. I giggled, gushing, "You two are so cute! I'm so happy for you. It really does look like you connected, which is wonderful. Just like a storybook!" Mariano nodded, his grin only widening at the idea. This place had a
James. "Look at how wonderful and huge they are, James!" Becca exclaimed, causing me to smile. It was the day after our first engagement on the beach, and I was happy to relax. At the moment, we were looking at some giant tortoises with a deep sense of awe.She was right; they were the size of side tables. A guide handed Becca some lettuce, which she held out to the tortoise. She squealed with delight as the animal took a leaf from her and began munching, causing my smile to widen even further. I was so happy to be able to relax. Security had reported nothing odd happening, and they seemed to be having a ball as well. I was relieved, though I shouldn't have expected anything bad to happen. Not like the Cartwrights tracked our every move. At least, I hoped not. I shook that thought out of my mind as Becca continued to give a ton of attention to the tortoises. One of the security men walked over with a camera in his hand, beaming at us. "Let's get some pictures of
Becca.This was it. The perfect honeymoon, the one where James and I would have the time of our lives. I was thrilled, my heart singing even as I looked out the window of the airplane we were taking. With the money I had, we were able to charter a private jet. Even after all these months, I'd never completely gotten used to always being able to afford the best of everything. The staff was very kind, including the flight attendants who catered to our every need. Our money came with a lot of advantages. I tried not to think about that too much, though. It made me feel guilty.Rather, when my worries became too heavy, I reminded myself of the charity that I was starting off. I realized I couldn't physically go to Guatemala, but with my wealth, I reached out to locals for the best ways to run a charity for kids there. The representative I spoke with had been wonderfully helpful, and it made me beyond happy that I could still help while not being there. I had decided I
James."This is going to be such a wonderful trip, James!" Becca exclaimed, wrapping her arms around me. I smiled, returning the hug and holding her close. When she pulled away, I gave her a tender kiss.At the moment, we were sitting in the living room of the compound with a laptop open on the table showing all the activities we could do in Seychelles. The pictures of beautiful, pristine beaches with shining sand and deep blue water got me excited, too."I think we should see the tortoises and dolphins," Becca said, giving a smile. "The kids are going to love those pictures. Someday, we need to take them with us, to a kid-friendly area." No doubt she would be paying attention to that during our honeymoon. "That is an excellent idea, my love," I said to her, giving her another squeeze. We exchanged another kiss as she continued to scroll through the pictures and destinations. Thankfully, the trip was taken care of flight-wise and hotel-wise. Having money was
Neal.A few weeks had passed since I met Mariano, and the strong sense of attraction I had to both his looks and personality had not faded. In fact, we were hitting it off even harder now, and I couldn't be happier. Thankfully, I was brave enough to call Becca and say I wanted to visit as a friend. I meant it this time. There was no ulterior motive, not that there had been one, to begin with. She may have been stuck in my head a little, but that wasn't an issue anymore. After some hesitation, she agreed to see me. Likely because I wanted to introduce her to Mariano, which put her at ease for me not actually being after her anymore. I accepted that she was with James. Mariano and I were sharing lunch before heading out. I gazed into his eyes, my own full of adoration for the man. "We're really hitting it off, aren't we?" I chuckled, breaking the silence that had formed between us as we ate sandwiches. Mariano winked, saying, "I think we are, yes. I am thrill
James.Still feeling beyond happy about the news of the baby still being healthy, I walked over to the fridge to get myself a quick snack before meeting with Giovani. Becca was dripping with joy, which made me relieved, to say the least. She had no idea what was going on in the background, and I didn't want her to, either. She shouldn't suffer the stress of anything anymore. My wife was looking forward to a wonderful life with our expanding family, and I wouldn't let worry settle in her mind. At least, despite the stress on my end, we were going to have our honeymoon soon. The kids were happy, and that's all I could ask for. Speaking of which, I stopped into the nursery for a visit before heading off to discuss things with my cousin. Alessandro was playing around with a few cars and stuffed animals. Dahlia sat in front of him, doing the same, making happy cooing noises threaded in with a few words. When they saw me, they let out squeals of happiness and hobbled o