Page 30 of Four Weddings and a Baby Shower

Chapter Sixteen

Silver

Three months later

“I really don’t feel like going anywhere,” I said. “I’ve gained like thirty pounds in two months. I waddle everywhere I go. I can barely wear heels anymore.”

“You look beautiful,” Ray said. “And you have to come with me. I barely know anyone at this charity luncheon. I need a familiar face there. It’s all ladies anyway,” she said.

“Oh, alright,” I said with about as much enthusiasm as a cactus plant in a snow storm. I owed Ray so much. She and Tyler had taken me in and let me stay in their guest house while I waited for the birth of the baby. I’d made enough money with Liam’s company to be comfortable while I adjusted to single motherhood. Though, in all honesty, I was terrified most of the time. I wasn’t mother material and yet here I was, single and pregnant.

But I would not have traded my baby for the world. My baby would be the one thing I had left of Liam; I’d still have a piece of him to carry with me through life. Though there were days, so many days, that I wanted to call him and tell him. I always hung up before the first ring, though. It would be selfish of me to do that to him now. He’d done so much for me. I had to let him go and live the life he was born to live, running multimillion dollar corporations and living the high life. Without a wife and baby to keep him chained down. Not now anyway.

“You are a gorgeous, glowing pregnant mama, Silver. Now let’s go. The driver’s waiting.”

“It just cracks me up that you have your own driver,” I said as I followed Ray through her immaculate home. “I’m surprised you don’t have a butler too,” I said with a chuckle.

“Not funny,” Ray huffed. “I only have a driver sometimes. And I’m not great at driving, you know. Tyler feels better if the chauffer drives.”

“Whatever you say, Lady Wolfe,” I said. “I’d bow, but I can’t with this big belly.”

“Oh, hush,” Ray said.

We arrived at the hotel about thirty minutes later. The chauffer helped Ray and me out of the car, and we made our way to the ballroom where this luncheon was supposed to be.

“Wow,” I said when we walked in. “It looks like a fancy wedding reception in here.” I looked around at the extravagant decorations. There were ice sculptures, pastel-colored tiered cakes topped with cherubs, and enormous flower arrangements adorned each table. Waiters in formal black suits wandered around the ballroom with trays of canapes and iced tea. I was definitely back in the south.

“This is a fancy luncheon. What charity is this for, Ray?” I asked as I took in all the glory of the ballroom.

“Actually...”

Something in Ray’s voice drew my attention. She looked at me straight in the eyes. “Don’t be angry with me. This was all done with absolute love for you, okay?”

“For me? What do you mean?” I looked closer at the decorations, at the cherubs on the cakes. Dispersed along the table tops were baby toys, rattlers, and silver baby spoons. “You threw me a baby shower?”

“No,” Ray said. “We did,” she said, gesturing to someone across the room. I guessed Tyler was in on it, too.

And then I saw him and my heart stopped. Liam strolled over to us. He gave Ray a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll be leaving you two alone,” she said and stepped away.

“Wait,” I called after her. But she’d disappeared into the sea of flowers and baby paraphernalia. I looked over at Liam. “You did all this?” I asked.

“I had a lot of help from Ray. And your grandmother. She’s really excited to have a great grand baby.”

“I hadn’t told her yet,” I said. “Only Ray and Tyler knew. How did you find out?”

“You left a pregnancy test in the bathroom in your apartment in Vegas. I confirmed it with Ray, though she was very reluctant to share the truth with me at first.”

I was speechless. I truly thought I’d never see Liam again.

“I gave you three months to tell me. Why didn’t you tell me, Silver?”

I could almost feel the pain in his voice. “I didn’t want you to feel obligated to me. Your new business was doing so well and the last thing you needed was to have a family to drag you down.”

“Drag me down? Silver, I’m ecstatic about being a father. I can’t think of anything better in the world that could have happened, save one.”

Damn these hormones. They were making me all teary. “Save one?” I asked softly.

“I love you to the moon and back, Silver. I love our baby just as much. I want us to be a happy family. Together. I just need to know one thing that would make my world even better,” he said.

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