Page 59 of His Secret Virgin
I parked my car in front of my lake house with Emma pulling up right behind me. Getting out, I hurried to reach her before she got scared and drove away. Opening the door, I took her by the hand. “Come on, baby.”
“I feel like I might pass out, Christopher. I’ve never been more afraid of anyone’s reaction in my life.” She held on to me so tightly her nails dug into my arm.
“It’s going to be okay. I’ll take care of everything.” I brought her into the home that we would now not only be sharing, but raising at least one child together in. “Don’t expect any congratulations from them, but expect me to shut down anything ugly they might try to say.”
“Okay, I can do this,” she whispered as we went through the foyer and into the great room. “My goodness, this place is spectacular, Christopher.”
“Thank you. I had the interior designed to fit my personality. I’m glad you like it.” I was very proud of my home. It was the only home I’d ever considered all mine. But now, I wanted Emma to think of it as hers too. “Now that you’ll be living here, we can hire the decorator to add some touches of you to our home.”
“Christopher, this is all too much. I’m reeling here.” She looked up at me warily.
Everything was moving too fast for her, and I could see that. “Okay, one thing at a time, baby. No problem.”
She was reverting back to that shy young thing again, clinging to me like I was the only lifeline she had. I hated that she felt insecure, but I could see she was fighting it. I was proud of her for trying, and with time, I hoped to help her get back to being the secure woman she’d grown into in the last few months. The fact that our relationship had been a secret hadn’t stopped her from making huge strides in her self-confidence and esteem. I hated that this pregnancy and coming clean about our love seemed to be setting her back.
The sounds of high heels clicking on the tile echoed as both my daughters came down the hallway. “Daddy?” Lauren called out. “Are you home?”
Emma’s legs began to shake, and I helped her sit in a chair. I held her hand as I stood next to her. “Don’t worry.”
My daughters came into the great room, and both stopped in their tracks as they saw me holding Emma’s hand. Ashley’s mouth gaped. “Who’s she?”
“And why are you holding her hand?” Lauren added.
“Take a seat, girls,” I nodded toward the sofa, “and I’ll tell you everything.”
Lauren glared at Emma, shooting daggers with the blue eyes that looked so much like her mother’s. “If you think this is going to be easy, you’re wrong.”
“Do not threaten her,” I barked at my oldest daughter. “I won’t allow that.”
They took their seats with stunned expressions on both their faces. I hadn’t been firm with them all that much throughout their lives. But I wouldn’t let them torment Emma, and I knew I would have to be firm now.
Emma looked up at me with a weak smile. “Thank you, Christopher.”
“You’re welcome, baby,” I said then turned my attention back to my children. “This is Emma Hancock. She and I have been in a relationship for the last couple of months.”
“So, you were with her all of those weekends you were away, weren’t you?” Lauren asked me. “You’ve been lying to us.”
“If take a look at how you’ve been behaving, and how you’re acting now, you might understand why I chose to keep our relationship from the two of you.” Their attitude wore thin with me, and I jumped into the meat of the conversation. “Let me cut to the chase, girls. Emma and I are having a baby. She’s moving in, and if you don’t like any of this, you are free to leave our home.”
Emma shook her head. “No, please don’t call this our home, Christopher. This is your home and theirs. I don’t want them to feel like I’m coming in and taking anything away from them.”
“But you are,” Lauran snapped. “You’ve snuck around behind our backs and gotten knocked up by my very wealthy father so you could take what’s rightfully ours. Don’t act innocent with me.”
“Lauren, I will not let you talk to her that way.” I let go of Emma’s hand to walk closer to my daughters. I wanted to let them know that I would not tolerate that kind of behavior. “The fact is I’m happier with her than I’ve been in a very long time. And I’m happy to be having another child. If I have my way, she and I will have many more children. As many as she’ll give me. Do you understand me?”
Wide eyes looked up at me with quivering lips, making me feel like some kind of a monster. Soon, tears started falling down my daughters’ cheeks.
“She’s fooled you. She’s a gold digger,” Lauren whispered. “She did this on purpose. I can see it written all over her plain face.”
My hand itched and I wanted to slap my daughter so badly. I’d never hit either of them in my life, and I wouldn’t ever. “I’m sorry that you feel that way. You can pack your things and leave now. I won’t have Emma, the mother of my child, living in an atmosphere where she feels threatened or unwelcome.”
Turning my back on my children, I joined Emma again. If they wanted to be in my future, they would have to accept the fact that Emma would be there too, and so would our child.
