Charmed by the Billionaire (Blue Collar Billionaires #2) - Lemmon, Jessica Page 0,69
she was gone I filled her car with pink roses from Mom’s garden. I mean, it was packed. I idled the engine and turned on the A/C so they wouldn’t wilt, then waited outside for her to come back. The awestruck, flattered look of disbelief on her face when she stepped onto the driveway and encountered a car full of flowers was priceless. I immediately snapped another picture for my mental scrapbook.
Click.
Vivian put the idea in my head a few nights ago when she asked if I was considering putting together a bouquet. While having a cigar, I decided that since I vowed to teach Cris how to be treated well, I was going to make damn sure I treated her like gold.
“Did you like them?” I’m shamelessly fishing for compliments. I know she did. When she opened her car, she pulled an armload of the bouquets against her chest and looked over to where I was standing in the garage. Wetness shimmered in her eyes, and sweat glistened on her forehead as she regarded me over hundreds of pink petals.
Click.
Instead of worshiping me, she let out an exasperated breath and then asked, “Where am I supposed to find vases for this many roses?” I told her she could use the bathtub. She rolled her eyes but instructed me to grab an armload of roses and meet her inside. From there I was thanked with many kisses. I returned the gesture by plucking her clothing off piece by piece.
“Mom called Manuel the other day,” she says, sounding contemplative. I find it odd she didn’t tell me this morning. Her mother calling is big news—that woman never calls. Out of everything Cris shares with me on any given day, I would think a call from Lina would be the headline.
“She’s pregnant.”
The blaring horn of a freight train sounds inside my head, sending my heart into a full gallop. I blink rapidly at the spinning ceiling fan, my own head spinning. My hammering heart returns to normal as my brain sluggishly processes her words. Apparently, the mere mention of the word “pregnant” has the power to send me into a panic. However, the “pregnant” person in this scenario is not the gorgeous, naked blonde I am sleeping with, but instead her mother. Still alarming, but nowhere near deserving of my Code Red reaction.
“You’re kidding.” I clear my throat when my voice sounds strangled.
“I’m not kidding.” She sounds exhausted. I can imagine why. The news carries with it a hell of a lot of weight—way more than the sum total of pounds and ounces of a newborn baby boy or girl.
We are talking about the woman who was too irresponsible to raise her own kids, so she heaped that responsibility onto the oldest of them. If Cris was a different person and reported her mom, the state would have seen to it that Lina (or other available family members) performed her parental duties. But Cris didn’t want to upset her brothers. She refused to risk them being taken and relocated. I remember my family being ripped away, what it was like to start over. The brothers I’m insanely grateful to have in my life were strangers to me back then. It was terrifying. How’d she know exactly the right thing to do for Manuel, Dennis, and Timothy when she was so young herself? I don’t know, but she did. God, she’s incredible.
“Manuel was almost robotic when he told me the news,” she says. “I wish he had a better relationship with Mom. He had more time with her than Dennis and Timothy, which is alarming because it still wasn’t much.”
“Lift up,” I instruct, unwilling to have this conversation without holding her. She snuggles in, and I wrap an arm around her shoulders. “Listen—”
Downstairs a desk phone rings. Her body stiffens against mine, her abs tightening like she is about to rise and run to answer it.
I squeeze her against me. “We’re having an important meeting. Ignore it.”
“Is that what this is?” She side-eyes me, but settles, her head on my shoulder and her arm draped over my middle. Idly, she strokes my chest. I ignore the flare of heat there, my normal reaction to her touching my body.
“Your brothers consider you a queen, Cris. They know you didn’t have to do what you did. And if they haven’t figured that out yet, you can rest knowing you loved them harder than anyone else in their lives. They know that, even if it’s deep