Page 66 of My Bestie's Billionaire Brother

The walk to Carmine's takes ten minutes. I spend it rehearsing how to tell Stratton my news, discarding each approach as too casual or too dramatic. How do you casually mention that your life is about to change irrevocably? "Pass the salt, and by the way, Tess and I are having a baby"?

Stratton is seated at our usual corner table when I arrive. He stands as I approach, his handshake firm, his expression curious as he takes in the look on my face.

“I’m sorry I’m late.”

"Rough morning?" he asks as we both sit.

"Rough week," I correct. Stratton raises an eyebrow.

"Problems with the company?" He picks up his menu, though we both know what we'll order. We've been meeting at Carmine's monthly for years.

"No, business is fine." I take a deep breath. "It's personal."

Stratton sets down his menu, giving me his full attention. "Spill."

The waiter arrives right at that moment and we order—Caesar salad and the fish special for Stratton, steak for me.

"So," Stratton prompts, leaning back in his chair.

The words tumble out. "Tess is pregnant."

The words hang between us for a moment before Stratton lets out a low whistle. "Wow. That's...unexpected."

"You're telling me," I mutter.

"How far along?"

"Six weeks, give or take. We just found out at Michael and Lillian's wedding."

Stratton's expression shifts from surprise to something softer. "Well, congratulations. That's big news."

"I don't even know what I'm doing, Stratton. I'm not father material. I never planned for this."

"Neither did I," he says with a wry smile. "When Ariel told me she was pregnant with Chloe, I nearly had a heart attack. I’d done it before of course but it had been so many years. And I definitely didn’t think I’d ever be a father again.”

“But you’re such a natural with Chloe."

He laughs. "Now, sure. But the first time they handed her to me in the hospital? I was terrified I'd drop her. I’d forgotten everything I learned with Trevor." He takes a sip of his water. "The first few months were the hardest. Sleep deprivation is real, man. But you adapt. You figure it out as you go."

"I don't know how I’m going to do it," I admit, the confession leaving me feeling raw and exposed. "My father wasn't exactly a model parent. You know how he is. All business, no emotion. The only time he paid attention to me was when I screwed up or when he needed to parade me around at some business function."

Stratton nods, understanding in his eyes. "You're not your father, Charlie."

"But what if I am? What if I'm cold or distant or too wrapped up in work to pay attention to my kid growing up?"

"The fact that you're worried about it tells me you won't be," Stratton says simply. "Look, becoming a parent is terrifying. Anyone who says otherwise is either lying or delusional. But it's also..." He pauses, searching for the right words. "It changes you in ways you can't imagine. It happened when we had Trevor and again with Chloe.”

Our food arrives, but I've lost my appetite. I’m trying to imagine myself as the kind of father Stratton is describing.

"How did Ariel handle it?" I ask. "The pregnancy, I mean."

"She was scared too," Stratton admits. "Worried about her career, her body, whether she'd be a good mother. But she was also excited, in a way I wasn't at first. She could feel the connection to the baby already. It took me longer."

I think about Tess, about the way her hand kept drifting to her stomach during our flight home, the tentative wonder in her eyes when she thought I wasn't looking. "I think Tess feels that already. That connection."

"And you?" Stratton asks gently.

I set down my fork. "I'm still stuck on the terror part."

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