Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 56280 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 281(@200wpm)___ 225(@250wpm)___ 188(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56280 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 281(@200wpm)___ 225(@250wpm)___ 188(@300wpm)
“I can and I am promising you that.”
“Life doesn’t work that way,” she cried out. “You’re you, and—-”
His jaw clenched. “If someone older – someone perhaps like Julian Alexeyev – was the one who has made you pregnant, are you saying that will be the only time you feel there is no need to worry? It is only because of my age that makes you think I am incapable of caring for you and our child?”
“No.” His words forced her to see the silliness in her thoughts, forced her to remember the kind of man she knew Sergei Grachyov to be. He wasn’t like her father and had never been like him.
“Trust me, pchelka.” He breathed hard. “Because I love you.”
Fredericka jerked.
“I have loved you for a very long time.”
“Don’t say that just because of the baby.” Her tone was strained. “It’s not necessary. If you’re worried about what people would say—-” She shut up when he looked at her like she had gone mad.
“My mother is an infamous gold-digging snob, and my youngest brother is dating our stepsister. Do you think I’d survive this far if I cared about what other people think?”
Right, right. But if that was so, then did that mean—-
Her eyes widened.
And just like he could read the question screaming in her mind, Sergei said flatly, “I wasn’t lying. You didn’t hear wrong. I love you.”
“You can’t,” Fredericka whispered.
“I do, and I know you heard me the first time I told you.”
Oh.
Oh.
Oh.
“How can you love someone like me?” she choked out. “I’m older than you. And I’m boring. And—-”
“I love you,” the billionaire murmured, “and I can love only you because you’re the only woman who pays for dinner when we go on a date.”
She laughed and cried, but when she saw him reaching for his pocket and pulling out a small jewelry box, her heart stuttered, and she burst out unthinkingly, “No.”
A shuttered look fell on the billionaire’s handsome face as he said stiffly, “I haven’t even asked you anything yet.”
“And you shouldn’t.” Her mind was shouting at her for being insane enough to preemptively turn down a marriage proposal from a confirmed bachelor like Sergei, but she knew her conscience wouldn’t have let her live with any other choice. Giving the billionaire a tremulous smile, she whispered, “Not just yet. Please?”
Ah. The billionaire studied her for a long moment before saying finally, “You still don’t trust me.”
She didn’t answer.
“You think I’ll leave you the way your father left your mother.”
She still didn’t answer, but when he started to move, she stiffened, the paranoid part of her already preparing itself to face his anger or disappointment.
But instead all he did was place a tiny kiss of her nose. It was a surprisingly cute kiss, and her toes actually curled hard at the billionaire’s gesture. “It’s okay.” His voice was quiet and gentle, strong and steady.
Definitely didn’t sound like a guy who was going to run out on her, she thought, but she also knew that things could still change, especially when the truth of his impending fatherhood finally sank in.
“I just want us to be both sure—-” Fredericka was aghast to hear her voice crack suddenly. Was this already the start of those rumored mood swings caused by pregnancy?
Hiding a smile when she looked at him with eyes that unconsciously begged for his help, the billionaire said soothingly, “I understand, pchelka, and I will wait for you to be ready. There’s no need to hurry when we have the rest of our lives to be together, da?”
“D-da.” Right now, she would probably say yes to whatever he said. It was strange, the way she suddenly felt weak and confused, almost like she had reverted to being a newborn baby unable to understand how the world worked.
He cupped her face, murmuring, “All you need to do is focus on one thing, and you’ll be fine.”
“A-and w-what’s that?” she asked shakily.
His mouth moved down, and he whispered against her lips, “Just remember that I love you, Fredericka Spears.”
Ah. A wobbly smile touched her lips. “Cheesy.”
“But it’s working, da?” His tone was lazily confident. “You are smiling now, and you are no longer worried about our future.”
“You’re too cocky.” But her voice was breathless, and the way his eyes gleamed told her he knew she wasn’t irritated by his so-called cockiness. Rather, it was a major turn-on, and they both knew it.
When he bent his head, she closed her eyes, and as her lips parted, his tongue slipped in. The kiss they shared was so sweetly possessive it had her toes curling, and in the back of her mind, a thought formed. A future full of kisses like this didn’t sound so bad. Actually, it didn’t sound bad at all.
When the billionaire pulled away, the first thing he saw was the clouded look in her eyes, and the sight made him want to simultaneously laugh and crush her in his arms. Such denseness, little bee, Sergei thought with a mental sigh. This beautiful woman already loved him back. He just had to teach her to look past her fears to realize it.