Page 28 of Playboy Billionaire's Secret Baby

Oh my God.I catch sight of Lexi right away because I can’t help myself, but then I gasp. But not because of her this time. It isn’t Lexi who has my attention. I’ve seen her son all night long, but now I’m really seeing him. I’m studying his face and his features, which don’t match Lexi’s after all. These features have come from his father….and they look like…Me.No way.

There’s no way this can be the case. Alex and Allegra got married a while ago, and Lexi and I connected that night. I try and add nine months onto that and… my blood runs ice cold. The more I think about it, the colder I become. If I really think about it, it’s possible. This isn’t something I’ve really thought about before as I’ve always been careful…but with Lexi, it was different.

Fuck.

James looks like me. For sure. If I think about the few photos my mom had of me as a kid, then hereally doeslook like me. But why hasn’t Lexi said anything? Isn’t this something I deserve to know? I don’t even want tothinkabout who has kept this secret because I am really going crazy. Instead, I stare at mother and son, wondering about the possibility. The more I do the math, the more it feels like too much of a coincidence not to be true. I don’t think Lexi is the sort of woman to fool around with many men at once, which means…

Oh God, I can’t handle it. Now that the thought has stuck me like lightning, I can’t shake it. I’m struck dumb. I spot Lexi walking away from her family, and I need to strike right away. If I want to find out answers to my suspicions, it’s now or never, and I can’t let it be never.

Chapter 19

Lexi

“Whoa,whatthehell?”I cry out as Frederico grabs my shoulder a little too hard for my liking. Is he touching me in a completely different way? I know that we want to keep this little thing between us under wraps, but jeez. This feels like a reaction. “What are you doing, Frederico?”

His eyes are burning. There are flames dancing in his gaze, but this isn’t the usual way he looks at me. He looks like anger has a tight grip on him now. What the fuck?

“I need to talk to you,” he shoots at me through gritted teeth. “Now.”

I pull away from my family, wondering what on earth could have changed from a few moments ago until now. I sense the eyes on me, especially my mother’s, but I can’t give her an explanation yet. Not until I know what’s happening. Frederico pulls me to a hallway where it’s only the two of us. A moment ago, we were alone, and there was a very different atmosphere surrounding us. I can’t quite wrap my head around the sudden change. This really does seem to come from nowhere.

“How old is your son?” he demands. “Because I have some questions for you.”

I fold my arm protectively across my chest. Just because we had sex doesn’t mean I’m ready to invite him into every aspect of my life. I thought he knew that.

“James is almost two. Why do you ask?”

Frederico’s cheeks flame a deep red. “I have just been looking at him and doing some calculations as well… and I’m starting to think that… that…”

He doesn’t say it, and despite the fact that I know what’s coming, there’s no way in hell I’m about to fill in the missing details. Especially considering that he has come at me with anger in his eyes. That isn’t a great start to me confessing all. I don’t want him to react like this to James, and certainly not when they are in the same building.

“I don’t know what you’re trying to say,” I declare, holding my hands up as if in defense. I need to escape before this escalates into something we can’t control. “I need to get back to my family. I can’t do this anymore.” But Frederico doesn’t want to let me go. He holds onto me hard and refuses to let me out of his sight until I’ve explained everything. The only problem is, this is one area in which I’m way too determined and stubborn to be taken for a fool. This involves James.

“Let go of me, Frederico. I’mnotdoing this with you here.”

“That suggests wedohave something to talk about then,” he snaps back. “If I have a child, then you need to tell me. This isn’t something you should keep to yourself.”

I dart my eyes around frantically, trying to check if anyone is looking at Frederico and me, having words. No one can directly see us, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t being side-eyed. Fuck, I need to get the hell out here – and right now.

“Frederico, will you calm the hell down?” I blurt out. “Stop it. This is Allegra and Adam’s party. You don’t behave like this in other people’s houses.”

“Yeah, and since you haven’t exactly followed those rules yourself, you can offer me the grace of telling me the truth. I am not letting this end here, you know that, right? It’s time for you to be honest. I don’t want you to keep anything back.”

I sigh, heavily. Perhaps itistime to tell him the truth, despite Allegra’s insistence that I shouldn’t. He isn’t great at commitments and probably won’t want to be a father, but I can’t lie. I always told myself that if he asked me outright, I would be honest. I just never thought it would ever happen. I also didn’t think it would happen in public. I don’t know how to handle the attention.

“Frederico, I’m leaving now.” Heat burns through my body, hitting my cheeks hard, but it’s not sex this time. “I amnottalking to you about this. You need to let me go.”

“So, you’re never going to tell me? Ever? That is bull shit.”

I part my lips, about to give him an answer, but nothing comes out. I don’t know if I’m ever going to tell him the truth. I’ve been back and forth about it ever since I first got to Italy, maybe ever since I got pregnant, and I can’t make a snap choice now.

“I need to go, Frederico. Let me go, please. I can’t do this… we can’t do this.”

He doesn’t want to go. I can see the agony ricocheting in his eyes. He wants to grab me and keep me fixed to the spot, until I give him everything he wants. If we weren’t in the middle of a party, he probably would make me stay. I have to keep away from him in future. I need to be smarter about everything; otherwise my life is going to get way too messy.

“I need to leave,” I repeat as I back away from him. “You have to let me go. We can’t do this. Not here, not right now. This is my best friend’s party.”

He doesn’t react anymore; he simply continues to stare at me in shock. He’s pale and his eyes are wide - almost as if I have given him all the answers, he needs without saying a word. Fuck, things are about to getreallyawkward. I’m going to have to face him at some point, but I will have to decide when I’m ready. Shit.

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