Page 97 of Playboy Billionaire

“No, I wanted to, but I couldn’t. It would have been too much.”

Head resting against the seat, he turned to look at her, “You mean that?”

“Yeah, after seeing you with the famous French model, I’ve been avoiding social media, entertainment shows, talk shows…”

He grasped her hand and brought it to his lips, “I’m sorry I didn’t call you back. I was a fool. But I still don’t get why you didn’t try harder.”

“There seems to be more than one foolish person sitting here. I was planning on telling you soon, I swear. I promised Dolly I’d tell you in the second trimester. I lost my first baby at six months. I’ll feel like I can breathe again after I get past that marker.”

“When is that?”

“In a week, I’ll have carried her longer than my first pregnancy.”

“What does the doctor say?”

“Not to worry. Baby’s healthy, I’m healthy, so far so good.”

“What comes next…with you and me?”

“You tell me. You can be in the baby’s life as much or as little as you want. I want her to know her daddy, so for us, the more the better.” Penelope suddenly giggled. “She’s got the hiccups, here feel.” She took his hand and placed it on her belly.

He felt a rhythmic twitching and smiled, suddenly choking up. He felt a different sensation, almost like a bump.

His voice was thick with emotion when he said, “What was that?”

“That was her kicking. She does a lot of that. You know, she can hear us right now? At this stage she’s beginning to focus on sounds on the outside.”

He placed his lips against her belly and said, “Hello baby. I’m finally here.” He felt Penelope’s hands entangle in his hair and heard her sniffle. He looked up and saw her eyes flooded with tears. His throat tightened, “Pen.”

“I’m okay. I don’t know what all of this means but I’m so happy right now I could burst.” She swiped the back of her hand across her eyes.

He sat up and slung his arm across her shoulders and leaned down and brushed his lips lightly across hers. She sighed and parted her lips, tempting him to deepen the kiss as she wrapped her hands behind his head and held him to her. He responded by drawing her bottom lip into his mouth and sucking. Her breath hitched.

“It feels so good to be with you again, I’ve missed you,” he said.

“Oh Griff. We’ll figure it all out. I’m relieved to have it out in the open now.”

“I suppose we should head over to the party. They’ll be wondering what happened to us.”

“Yes.”

Griffin knocked on the partition and the window slid open. “Let’s head on over to the soirée.”

“Yes sir.”

“Thanks.”

They were both quiet the rest of the way. Griffin was lost in his thoughts about possibilities and his future. He thought about the baby kicking his hand and felt a connection already. He wanted to teach her to play piano and teach her French. Read her bedtime stories and kiss her skinned knees. He hoped that whatever arrangements they came up with that he would have plenty of time with her. He wanted to be a positive influence in his daughter’s life.

47

“Penelope! Man, this party is blowing me away! I saw Dakota Johnson and Robert Pattinson!”

“It’s certainly the place to be,” Penelope said, smiling affectionately at Tyler’s enthusiasm. The energy of the room was electric. The party venue was elaborate, even by Hollywood standards. The premier had accomplished what it needed to, creating a buzz and excitement around the film.

“I hope it’s okay for me to ask, but does Griffin have a horse in this race?” He said nodding at her belly.

She laughed out loud. “That’s one way to put it. But the answer is yes.”

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