Page 41 of Marrying a Billionaire

“Are you still there?” she asked.

Tamara must have blown out her breath because a whooshing sound caused Lillian to pull the receive away from her ear.

“This. . . Is. . . Incredible!” Tamara’s voice went from quiet to loud.

Lillian stared at the phone. Had her best friend not heard the right story. “How is this incredible? I have to marry a man that might have feelings for me while I carry the baby of the man who dumped me. Oh, and Joshua has decided that this would be the perfect time to come waltzing back into my life.” Ugh, this was a huge mess. One giant doozy. Why did she think she could pull this off?

Tamara tsked. “Seriously? You have a billionaire fawning after you, and you’re worried about Joshua? That man is an idiot. I wouldn’t worry about him.” She sighed. “But you have to do something about the baby. You have to tell Reed. Before this gets too far.”

Lillian’s stomach twisted. She couldn’t do that. For so many reasons. What if she had the baby early, and it passed away? She couldn’t deal with that again. Especially if other people knew.

Then an equally painful thought entered her mind. What if Reed found out and broke off the contract because she didn’t tell him? Could she really handle the rejection of two men because of a pregnancy?

“I can’t, Tamara. I can’t tell him.” She buried her face into the comforter. However she looked at the situation, she came out brokenhearted.

“Lil, you have to. You can’t marry the man and keep this a secret. I know you think that you’re going to lose this baby, but what if you don’t? How are you going to explain the tiny human that suddenly appears a few months from now?”

Lillian shook her head. Tamara didn’t understand. The time she’s spent with Reed had been the best she’d ever experienced. Was she really going to be able to walk away?

Her stomach flipped. She was going to vomit. Rolling off the bed, she dropped the phone and sprinted to the bathroom. After all of Jackson’s hard work was in the toilet, she sat back. Tears brimmed her lids as she cradled her head in her hands. Everything was a mess. A gigantic mess.

Tamara had hung up by the time she got back to the phone. Not feeling rushed to call her back, Lillian took the time to get a grip on her emotions. She made her way back into the bathroom where she washed her face and patted it dry.

Once she felt more human and less like she was going have a complete breakdown, she picked up her phone and dialed Tamara’s number and she picked up on the first ring.

“Did you throw up?” she asked instead of greeting Lillian.

Lillian sighed. “Yes.”

“See? The baby is telling you that you need to fess up. Tell Reed what’s going on.”

Lillian shook her head as she dabbed the underneath of her eyes. “No. I can’t.” She let out the breath she’d been holding. “The pregnancy won’t last so it wouldn’t matter anyway. I can’t risk tell him just to lose the baby.” She felt tears brim her lids again so took a moment she pushed her feelings down. She could do this.

Tamara was silent for a moment before she sighed. “Okay. Do whatever you want to do. I don’t agree with it, but I’ll support you.”

A weight felt as if it was lifted off her chest. That was what she needed. Her best friend. “Thanks. And I understand. I’ll think about telling Reed, but right now, I need to focus on marrying him.” She was actually grateful that she didn’t have a choice there. She had to marry him whether she wanted to or not. It was nice to have that decision made. It gave her a goal to work toward.

“Sounds good. What do you need me to do?”

After giving Tamara the details of the evening, Tamara agreed to meet her at Reed’s grandfather’s house, dressed in a maid of honor gown and a smile. They hung up just as a knock sounded on Lillian’s door. She glanced at the clock. She was late. Bert must be here, and she wasn’t even ready.

She walked over to the door and pulled it open. Reed was standing on the other side with his arm propped up on the frame, staring down at her. He had a strong, sexy man vibe to his stance. She swallowed as she tried not to let her gaze linger on him for too long. Why did guys stand like that? Did they know it drove women crazy? Forcing down her hormones, she smiled up at him.

A concerned expression passed over his face. “Are you okay? Were you crying?”

She turned, discreetly blotting her eyes and took in a deep breath. “No. I wasn’t crying. I’m just tired. I think the sun really zapped me of energy.”

Reed pushed off the door frame and entered the room. “Are you sure? I could ask Mom to push the wedding off a day.”

Lillian took a deep breath and turned. “No. No worries. I’ll be fine. I’m sure your mother went to quite a lot of work for this. I would hate to disappoint her.”

Reed studied her and then nodded. “You’re right. It’s probably better that we do this tonight. Before anyone changes their mind.”

Lillian walked over to the closet and pulled out the dress. After she gathered her other things she turned only to find Reed standing right behind her with his arms outstretched.

“Can I help?” he asked.

Lillian glanced down at his hands. She hesitated and then nodded. He could help her. It wouldn’t kill her to let him do that.

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