Page 264 of Billionaire Temptations

“Sorry. This is very much needed at the moment.”

“It happens to all of us.” She smiled.

As I looked up, I saw the hostess walking Gregory to the table, and the nervousness I already had felt intensified.

“Emily.” He smiled nervously as he sat down.

“Gregory.” I nodded.

“Is that a neat martini with three olives?” he asked as he looked at my glass.

“It is.”

“That’s the way I order mine.”

I needed just to come out and say what I was thinking. There was no use in making this situation any more awkward than it already was.

“I called you because I want to know how you knew my mother. I want to know how and where you met, how old you were, and what your relationship was.”

After the waitress took his drink order, he folded his hands on the table and took in a deep breath.

“Your mother and I met through a mutual friend one summer when we were sixteen years old. I don’t care what anyone says, it was love at first sight for both of us. I’ll never forget the first moment my eyes laid sight on her. I thought she was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. And her smile, just like yours, would light up the darkest rooms. She was sitting on a blanket on the beach in a black and white polka dot bikini when Crystal introduced us.”

“Wait a minute. You know Crystal?” I set down my glass.

“Yes. Crystal had moved next door to me when we were just ten years old. We became good friends, and shortly after, my father was transferred to San Francisco, and we had to move. But Crystal and I still remained very good friends. When I was sixteen, my father got transferred back to Los Angeles and we returned there. I was reunited with her, and she introduced me to your mom.”

I sat there, intently listening to him speak as I grew angry on the inside at Crystal for never mentioning him.

“Karen and I spent that whole summer together and saw each other practically every day. We did everything together, and there wasn’t one moment I wanted to be without her. Our relationship grew even stronger over the course of three years. Her dream was to own her own business someday, and mine was to serve our country. Enlisting in the army was something I had wanted ever since I was a child. My father served, as well as my uncles and grandfather. We talked about marriage, kids, and building a future together. She had it all planned out, right down to the red brick house with the white picket fence and the springer spaniel named Dooley.”

A small smile crossed my lips because I’d never known that side of her.

“I told her all along I wanted to enlist in the army, and she tried to talk me out of it every time, giving me reasons not to do it. With her as the main reason, I tried community college for a year, but it didn’t cut it. Being in the army was in my blood, and I loved her so much, and she loved me, so I knew deep in my heart that our relationship would survive it. I told her that after I finished training, I’d come back, and we’d get married, and then we could be together forever. She finally agreed, and I enlisted. She told me she was pregnant the day I was leaving for training. That was the happiest day of my life, and then she begged me not to go. But it was too late. I had no choice. I’ll never forgetthe tears that fell from her eyes as I said goodbye to her with the promise that I’d be back and that I’d write to her every day. It was only for ten weeks, Emily. Ten weeks of training, and I’d be back to get my girl, marry her, and raise a family.”

There was a moment of silence as he picked up his martini and took several sips before going on with his story.

“I kept my promise and wrote to her every day. When I could call her, I would, but I heard nothing but sadness in her voice. I missed her so much and promised to be together soon. Then a war broke out, and the unit I was assigned to was getting deployed right after training. They wouldn’t even give me a day to see her. When I wrote and told her what was happening, she wrote back and told me that she understood. With every letter I wrote to her from that day forth, I begged her to send me pictures of her and her growing belly. But no letters ever came, except for the ones I wrote to her that were returned.”

“I’m so sorry, Gregory.” I reached out and placed my hand on his.

His eyes met mine, and I gulped at the sadness that resided in them.

“Two years later, the war ended, and I returned to California, only to find out that her mother had passed away a year prior and that she had moved. Nobody knew where she went. After her mother’s funeral, she packed up everything and quietly moved away. I spent the next year searching for her.”

“What about Crystal? My mother would have told her where she was going.”

“Crystal was studying abroad in Paris then, and it was impossible to get hold of her. I wrote her letters, and she wrote one back saying that she had lost touch with Karen, and she didn’t know where she went.”

“Well, she obviously lied to you because Crystal was there when I was born.”

“I figured she did, but what else could I do? I finally gave up, went on with my life, and prayed to God every day that I would find my child. I never even knew if you were a boy or a girl. When I walked into your shop that day, I felt like I was seeing Karen all over again.” His eyes swelled with tears.

After we finished eating, we stepped outside the restaurant, and before parting ways, I spoke, “I need time to process all of this, Gregory. I hope you can understand.”

“I understand and want you to take all the time you need. I will if you want me to do a paternity test. I’m sorry for just springing this on you, but I’ve waited twenty-seven years for this moment.”

I reached over and hugged him. “I’ll be in touch. I promise.”

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