Blair Monore
“Hello, stranger,” a sensual voice purred from behind her. A soft touch ran across her arm. Shock vibrated through Blair as she immediately stared at the stranger who had grabbed her...
Blair had decided to go shopping for the first time by herself, without Zeke nor the bodyguards hovering around her, she had need to clear her head. She still hasn't told Zeke about how she felt yet not about the baby..
"You must be Blair. The most talked about woman in NYC right now"A gorgeous lady with red luxurious hair says..
Baffled and confused Blair said "Do I know you?"She asks as she inspects the strange woman. Who looked like she had just walked out of a magazine, her features looked so unreal yet beautiful. The kind of faces you see only on TV or the news.
"Not really but Zeke knows me. Sorry about my manners"The strange lady says smiling..
"My name is Zoey, Zoe Laverne. Zeke's ex fiancee"The strange girl says smirking...
"Pardon?"Blair says her legs began to quiver.
Fiancee?"Blair asks preplexed and shocked
"Yes dear, but it seems you've heard nothing about me. That too bad though, I feel bad because have heard a whole lot about you"She says grimacing...
"Well it seems we do have a lot to discuss"The strange woman says with the same smile plastered on her face but this time. The smile didn't look as pleasant as Blair had thought it did....
_____
Next day...
Zeke Armani
He took his coffee and phone and sat down on the couch. Sunshine filled the room. He had no idea that the view was so nice in the morning from his apartment. He was used to being out and to the office by dawn most days that he didn’t sit and appreciate it.
He checked his emails, checked the news, and checked his investments. Everything was doing well and that was thanks to blair. She had won the hearts of the public.
He sighed and checked his watch. It was still early and he wanted to let her sleep. He glanced at the table and saw a wedding magazine. She’d told him that she was giving the wedding planner free rein to make the wedding the perfect one.
He knew she would have preferred a small ceremony, but instead she had given him a big, elaborate wedding. She was willing to give up her dream wedding to give him, and his company, what they needed. He didn’t know many women who would be willing to do that.
How had he found someone that was so willing to work with him and give him exactly what he needed? Not just in the bedroom, but in daily life and in business?
He loved her.
The thought came out of nowhere. It was a good thing he was sitting down because he felt a little lightheaded just thinking it.
Yet, it rang with truth. Just thinking the words made his body tighten and relax at the same time. He’d never felt anything like this for anyone in his life. He knew without a doubt that he would die for her. He would do anything to make her happy.
He would give up his company to be with her. If the board of directors came to him and told him that it was her or his position, he would give up his job in a heartbeat. He wouldn’t even think twice.
It then dawned on him, that he was madly in love with her...
Zeke leaned back against the couch, breathless with his revelation. But he has sworn against love, love was never a good choice for him. Love was destructive, he knew and had been a victim to it once.
Amidst his deep thoughts Zeke heard the door to the bedroom open and the soft footsteps of Blair were loud as she emerged from the bedroom. She had came home the previous night and she hadn't said much.
“I can’t believe I slept so late,” Blair mumbled, stumbling out into the sunshine. “Did you sleep as well as I did?”
“Better,” he assured her.
She came over and kissed the top of his head. “You never stop working, do you?” she asked, motioning to the phone in his hands.
“I didn’t wake you, did I?” He hoped not to wake her up when he had left her asleep in the room.
She shook her head. “No. My need for something sweet woke me up She squeezed his shoulder and walked to the kitchen and made herseld a sweet cup of tea.
Zeke let out a small sigh of relief. Seeing she was in a better mood than yesterday. Although his sudden realization about his true feelings for her still baffled him.
“You look far too troubled this morning,” Blair said, joining him on the couch. He loved the way she curled her feet up under her as she sat next to him.
“You don't need to worry about it, just work" he told her with a smile.
“Is business picking up then?” Blair asked, taking a small sip of her tea. She grimaced and set it down on the coffee table.
“Yes, business is fine,” he replied. “Is something wrong with your tea?
“I think the milk spoiled,” she said, shaking her head. “It doesn’t taste right.”
He frowned. It wasn’t like the his staff to purchase or keep spoiled milk in the house. “I’ll have someone get new milk today.” "Although it's weird to see you take a cup of tea this Early, you're usually the coffee type of person"Zeke says as he stared at her..
“Did your coffee taste funny?” she asked, looking at his empty cup on the table. “It could be the milk
“My coffee was fine.” His frown deepened. “Let me taste yours.”
He picked up the cup and took a sip. It tasted fine, if maybe a little sweet for his preference. There didn’t seem to be any problem with the milk or the tea.
“I don’t taste anything,” he said, slowly setting the cup down. “Are you sure?”
Blair swallowed hard. “It must just be my luck after yesterday's saga.”
Zeke turned and looked her over. She looked exhausted, even though he knew she’d slept all night. Dark circles hung under her beautiful eyes. She sat with her legs tucked carefully under her, and her dark hair was messy in her ponytail.
A moment of possessive concern washed over him. He needed to make sure she was okay. He needed to protect her from whatever was making her look this tired. He would fight a dragon with a sword if that was what it would take, but he was going to protect her.
“Are you feeling okay?” he asked, keeping quiet about the desire to battle dragons for her. He reached over and smoothed a stray strand of hair from her face. She gave him a weak smile.
“Yeah...” She paused and took a deep breath. “Actually, there’s something I need to talk to you about.”
“You can tell me anything,” he said immediately. He meant it too. Short of her telling him she was in love with someone else, there was nothing he couldn’t hear from her.
“Okay I have something have been wanting to tell you for a while now..” She looked up at him, a hint of fear in her eyes. “Been hesitant but I think I should just do it now.”
“Like I said, you can tell me anything.” He gave her a confident smile, even though his insides were twisting. He could already imagine half a dozen absolutely terrible things and another half that were only mostly terrible.
Did she want to call off their arrangements!
But he didn’t show it. He kept his face calm and his body serene. It was his secret to business. Never let ‘em see you sweat.
Blair took a deep breath, She got up from the couch, swaying slightly as she stood. She gave him a shrug and hurried to her purse on the counter. He watched her, memorizing everything that he could. He didn’t know what she had to show him, but if she was this nervous, it couldn’t be good.
"It was terrible for me to hide such news but I had no idea what to do. When I first found out, I was scared shirtless but yesterday made me realize I shouldn't hide such things from you.
She clutched a small piece of paper. Like an envelope and then she pulled out something that looked, like a photograph. He wondered what she could possibly have. Photos in his world, though, were rarely a good thing. They were usually for blackmail or divorce settlements.
She stood before him, her breath coming in shallow pants. She chewed on her lip and every inch of her body said she was nervous.
“I had this really amazing plan to make you dinner, and make this special,” she said. He was having a hard time focusing on her words he was staring at the paper in her hands so hard. “But, I want you to know. You deserve to know.”
She swallowed hard and took a deep breath before handing him the picture.
He took the paper like it might bite him. It looked to be upside down, but when he turned it over it still didn’t make sense. The photo was black with a tiny gray smudge to the right. He frowned trying to figure out what she was telling him with this. He was going to be sucked down a black hole? She was going to bury him in a place so dark no one would ever find him?
“You’re going to be a father.” Her voice was small and far away.
Slowly, it dawned on him what he was looking at. This was an ultrasound of a pregnancy. Blair was pregnant. This was their baby. The photo in his hands, this strange, grainy, picture of space, was the first picture of his child. Their child.
“You’re... you’re...” Zeke’s mouth and tongue couldn’t seem to form the words. His entire life, he’d tried not to get the women he slept with pregnant. He was always careful and never let his guard down.
He hadn’t thought it would be so quick with Blair. He knew couples who tried for years before seeing success. They’ve just been together for two months, and here was the result of their passion.
“Yes, Zeke,” Blair said. She was watching him, waiting to see his reaction. “I’m pregnant with your child.”
He looked down at the picture again. He was a father.
“What are you thinking, Zeke?” Blair asked. He looked up to see her biting her lip and looking like she was about to cry. “Please, tell me what you’re thinking.”
“I’m thinking you are the most beautiful woman in the entire world,” he told her. He stood up and put his arms around her. She was shaking. " I am the luckiest man in the world.”
A shudder of relief went through her and she collapsed into him, tucking her face into his shoulder. He rubbed her back.
“I was so afraid...” Her words came out muffled, but he understood them.
“Why?” he asked, pulling her back.
She shrugged. “I don’t know. Your reputation?”
“It’s in our contract.”
“Yeah,Just because it’s in our cntract doesn’t mean that it’s something you want, especially now?” she replied.
He took her chin in his hand, making sure that she looked up at him. She was so beautiful it made his heart catch. If he had felt protective before, this was a thousand times more.
“I want this,” he told her, his voice going low. “I want you. I want this.”
With his other hand he touched her belly. She sniffled and fell into him again. He wrapped his arms around her, letting her sniffle and relax against him.
They stood there, him comforting her and contemplating his future. The idea of a child that was now a real thing was overwhelming. It was a good kind of overwhelming, but still more than he had expected. They’d both known this was coming, but he thought they’d have more time.
His heart thudded in his chest. He was going to be a father. The only word he could think to describe the feeling taking over him was joy. He was going to be a father.
For this moment, he didn’t care that it would help his company. He wasn’t thinking about that.
He was thinking of bike lessons and piano lessons. How to treat a skinned knee, and where they were going to put the nursery. Would it be a boy or a girl? Suddenly flashes from the past overwhelmed him..
Suddenly a question popped in his head "What would Zuri think? grief and guilt began to eat at him, the guilt he had longed tried to bury so hard now resurfaced because of a memory of the past...
He had lost someone of importance to him and now he's been blessed with a baby. A little creature that would depend on him like Zuri had!
He just hoped he had the strength to not fail nor lose this one!!
Suddenly he didn't care about the contract, he didn't know how they had gotten to this aspect in there relationship but he couldn’t wait to find out. How in the world was he going to wait 9 months to meet this little person that he already adored?
Not to mention Blair. He wanted to make sure she had the best of everything. The best doctors, the best hospitals, the best food, the best everything. He would make sure this time he did things right.
He wanted her to be as happy as he was.
“You okay?” he asked, rubbing her back. He wasn’t sure how long they’d been standing there, but it felt like a long time. That one small sentence, I’m pregnant, still had him spinning. It didn’t feel real yet.
She sniffled and pulled back, but this time she was smiling. “Yeah. I am.” She looked up at him with those big eyes. “Are you?”
“I’m fantastic,” he assured her. He grinned. “Absolutely fantastic.”
She grinned at him and her old happy spark came back to her face.
“There is a small problem that you should know about, though,” she said, trying to keep a straight face and failing.
“What?” he asked, unsure of where she was headed with this.
“Do you know anyone called Zoey Laverne?” she asked with a suspicious look on her face.
"How do you know that name?"Zeke immediately says as he grabbed her by the shoulders..
"So you do know her"She says with a preplexed face on her face..
Before he could say another word she added, saying a name he hadn't had the courage to say in 3 years..
"Who's Zuri?"she asks with a soft pitiful look on her face and it dawn on Zeke just how bad it had all gotten.
Fuck!