Page 55 of Billionaire Temptations

I asked my mom to tell me all about Danny to keep myself from having a total breakdown in the car. The way her eyes lit up when she talked about him made me happy. I had never seen her like this before over a guy. For everything she’d been through in life, she deserved to be happy finally.

I took my bag to my room and sat down on the edge of the bed. I was exhausted. Exhaustion had become my best friend these days. My mom walked into the room as I sat there with my face cupped in my hands.

“Emma, what’s wrong with you? You don’t seem like yourself. Did something happen in New York that you’re not telling me about?”

I could never keep anything from her, even if I wanted to. All she had to do was look at me, and she knew when something was wrong. My shoulders began to move up and down as I started to cry in my hands.

“Oh, honey. What is it?” she consoled me as she wrapped her arm around me.

I lifted my head and looked at her. Teary-eyed, stuffy nose, and the overwhelming feeling of disappointment she’d have in me.

“I’m pregnant, Mom.”

She pursed her lips together and stared at me with her big brown eyes. It wasn’t a look of disappointment. It was a look of empathy.

“Emma,” she whispered. “Who’s the father?”

I laid my head on her shoulder. “It’s such a long story, Mom. There’s so much you don’t know.”

“Then tell me.” She squeezed my hand.

I told her how I had met Max at the club the night before I left and then about the email from Parsons.

“All I had to do was pretend to be his fiancée, and he would pay for my tuition at Parsons. It was only for three months, Mom.” I sobbed. “And then I had to go and fall in love with his dumb ass. He couldn’t even say goodbye. He slipped a letter under my door. Who does that, Mom?” I continued sobbing. “I really thought he loved me or at least cared enough to stay.”

“Sweetheart, it probably hurt him too much to say goodbye in person. Men are cowards, and they run. Look at your father.”

“I don’t know what to do, Mom. I’m so scared.”

“And so was I, sweet baby girl. But I never once regretted having you. You are the one good thing that happened in my life, and this baby will be for you, too, but you have to tell Max about the baby.”

“I can’t. He’s gone, and he’s starting over. He’s making something of himself on his own. If he truly loved me, he never would have left. But he did. I won’t destroy his dreams and life with the responsibility of a child.”

“Emma, he has a right to know. Let him make his own decision.”

“He made his decision the day he slipped that letter under my door and walked out of my life. I obviously didn’t mean anything to him, and I won’t have him come back out of obligation. I couldn’t handle it. So it’s best that he never knows. You raised me alone, and I can raise this baby alone, too.”

She placed her finger on the butterfly pendant Max gave me. “Did he give this to you?”

I nodded my head as I continued to cry on her shoulder.

Thanksgiving came and went,and it was time to fly back to New York. My mom and I had great conversations, and I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Danny, from what I could tell, was an amazing man, and I could see why my mom was so in love with him. He treated her like a queen, and she deserved nothing less. Watching the two of them over the past few days hit a sore spot with me because I missed Max so much. But it was time for me to forget about him and the time we shared and move on with my life—the life I was supposed to live when I moved to New York in the first place. Now, it would be me plus one. Aubrey was graduating in a couple of weeks and then moving to New York. It was going to be great to have my three best friends by my side once again.

“Goodbye, Mom. Thanks again for everything.” I gave a small smile as I hugged her.

“You call me if you need anything. I’ll be in New York in a flash.”

“Thanks, but I’ll be okay. I promise.”

“I’m going to miss watching your tummy grow.” She pouted.

“Go get yourself an iPhone, and we’ll FaceTime. Or learn how to use that computer of yours, and we can Skype.”

Danny chuckled. “Don’t worry, Emma. We’re going to get her an iPhone right when we leave here. I don’t want her missing a thing.”

“Thanks, Danny.” I hugged him tight. “Take care of her for me.”

“You bet I will. I love this little lady.”

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