Page 47 of The Billionaire's Christmas Baby Surprise

It would’ve been a lie, though. Max had been ready to try a relationship with Billie. He cared about her deeply and suspected that they might have been able to work things out. He would still be distracted by his work, but so would she; it might have been all right.

A baby was another story, though. Max remembered the heartbreak he’d felt every time his father had told him that he wasn’t good enough. He remembered how hard it had been to hear other kids talk about trips to the zoo or camping with their fathers when Max’s own father had no time for anything but work. He remembered the way he’d been desperate to make his father proud, even long after he’d realized that wasn’t possible.

Max couldn’t put his own child through that. The only way to stop himself from becoming his father was to stay away entirely. Billie was hurt now, but she would be okay. She was strong, smart, and independent — she would be a great mother. Max had no doubt about that. With his financial support and her nurturing love, their child would grow up happy and healthy without any of the struggles Max had faced.

Max clicked on an email from one of his investors about renewing their partnership in the coming year. He began to type out a reply but found his mind wandering again.

If only there was a way for him to be the kind of father his child needed. Max had enjoyed spending time with the children in the hospital, but even he knew that was very different from being a father. It simply wasn’t possible, and if he tried, he would only end up hurting Billie, the baby, and even himself in the process. No, his distance was for the best.

Max refocused on the email he was writing, which had turned into a long string of commas, and started over. The best way he could provide for Billie and their child was by doing what he did best: working and earning money. His financial support would ensure that the baby wanted for nothing. That was all Max could do.

Max stayed at the office until late in the evening. Then he drove home along the frosty, moonlit streets of Denver. Yesterday’s snow had formed dirty piles on the sidewalk after the snowplows had come through. In Max’s current mood, it felt like a reminder that nothing good could ever last.

Monday, Max was back in the office bright and early. He started his day with several hours of meetings. Since there were only a few days before Christmas, there was a lot to be done to ensure that everything would be in order in the new year. Billie must be busy, too, making sure that everything was ready for the gift distribution. She had plenty of volunteers, so she didn’t need his help. Still, he felt bad for not being there.

The last meeting before lunch was with Stephanie and the PR team. Max welcomed them into his office with a smile.

“Good morning,” Stephanie said. “We just wanted to give you a quick update on what’s been said about you in the press and on social media. As we discussed, it was important to overhaul your image in time for the holidays. I'm happy to report that your collaboration with Sweetest Surprise has more than paid off. There have been numerous positive mentions of you, both in tabloids and on social media. There’s even a new hashtag trending, #CEOsGiveBack. It’s part of a call for wealthy company owners to, as you can probably guess, give back to their communities.” Stephanie smiled proudly. “In short, the campaign has been a complete success. The only question now iswhether you should partner with the same charity next year, or switch to something different.”

“It’ll have to be a different charity,” Max said.

“Oh?” Stephanie frowned. “Why is that?”

“It just is. But I appreciate all your hard work on this campaign, and I’m glad it paid off.” The truth, of course, was that there was no way Billie would agree to work with him again after how things had ended this year. In fact, Max might never work by Billie’s side again.

“I know you were skeptical at first,” Stephanie continued. “But I think we can both agree that this went well.”

“Indeed.” The charity partnership had gone well. Max’s relationship with Billie was another story entirely.

“Now, if you have a minute, let’s dive into our January PR strategy. This year, we’re hoping to highlight more restaurant openings in a positive light. Your trip to the Colorado Springs location also generated some great publicity, both for you and for the restaurant in general, so more trips like that are in order.” Stephanie continued to lay out the strategy. Max listened attentively, offering his thoughts and feedback when necessary, but his heart wasn’t in it.

Although the campaign had worked, he felt unable to celebrate the success without Billie by his side. He wanted to call her and tell her that she’d been right and that giving back both felt good and was good for him. He wanted to tell her that he’d stay on as a volunteer.

More than anything, he wanted to ask her to give him another chance.

Yet even after Stephanie and her team had wrapped up the briefing and headed off to lunch, even when Max was alone in his office, he didn’t reach for his phone. It was too late for him and Billie. Reaching out to her now wouldn’t be fair to her — or to himself. It was better to keep his distance.

Instead, Max reached into his desk and pulled out his checkbook. Carefully, he filled out a check to Billie, wrote the purpose asChild Support,then signed it and slipped it into an envelope. He addressed it to Billie and wrote the Sweetest Surprise address, since he didn’t know her home address off the top of his head. Then he added it to the pile of outgoing mail.

Even though the baby wasn’t here yet, Billie would need the money to pay for good medical care, baby clothes, diapers, and all those things she’d purchased for so many other mothers. He remembered the stacks of items she’d bought to make sure busy mothers wouldn’t have more tasks on their plates, and his heart ached. Billie deserved someone who would do all that for her — someone who would hold her hand during labor, someone who would be around to change diapers, someone who would tell her how amazing she was.

Max just wished that he could be that person.

That Monday, as he worked and worked and tried not to think about Billie, was one of the longest days of his life. More than once, he reached for his phone with thoughts of calling her and apologizing. Each time, though, he forced himself to turn back to his computer and keep working.

Eventually, hopefully, it would become easier to pretend he didn’t care.

CHAPTER 20

BILLIE

The first day after Max had walked out of her apartment after ending things, Billie was resolute. She wasn’t going to let anything he did get to her. Instead, she was going to work on the gift delivery, read a book about pregnancy, and pretend that everything was fine.

The second day, as Billie wrapped a few final gifts, she realized that she was angry. How could Max have walked out on her and their baby like that? Who did he think he was? She was never going to forgive him. He was self-centered and idiotic. Sure, his father had his issues. Billie understood that. But that was no reason for Max to walk out on her while she was pregnant.

The third day was the night before Christmas Eve. Billie’s family had gotten into the habit of celebrating Christmas on the twenty-third, so that her married siblings could also spend time with their in-laws on the proper holiday and so that Billie would be able to make her gift deliveries on time. Billie grabbed the bag of gifts she’d carefully picked out and wrapped for her family and headed to her parents’ house on the bus. As she rode, she watched the city roll by. A few people were out and about, allbundled up against the cold, but the streets were mostly empty. Everyone was home with their families.

As Billie rode, she realized that she wasn’t angry with Max anymore. Disappointed, yes. Sad, yes. But angry, no. He was clearly trying to do the right thing by giving her space, as misguided as the attempt was. More than that, Billie knew that she would eventually have to tell her child about Max, and she wanted to be able to tell funny and sweet stories without anger clouding her vision. The baby deserved to believe that he or she had a loving father, even if Billie had to skim over the part about that father not wanting to be involved.

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