Page 1 of Her Billionaire's Baby Secret

Chapter 1

The shock still hadn’t worn off. It had been a week since Kane had found out that his ex wife was expecting a baby the following May.

Kane leaned back in the seat of his private jet and drank the last of the bourbon in his glass. He glanced out his window to see the fall colors turning far below on the ground. He’d been out celebrating his new status as a single man with his best friend Benson, the quarterback for the New York Giants, and when he left the restaurant, he bumped into her on the street. That was when she told him she was expecting. The problem was, he didn’t know if the baby was his.

Kane had enough on his plate with the unexpected death of his maternal grandfather. He’d gotten the news just that morning, and he made immediate arrangements to fly to his hometown of Maple Creek, Virginia.

Darla, his flight attendant, approached him. “Can I get you something else to drink, Kane?”

“Just some water.”

“We should be landing soon.” The older woman put a hand on his arm. “I know how hard this must be for you. I’m sorry for your loss.” She’d been working for his family for years.

He gave her a thin smile. “Thank you, Darla. That means a lot to me.”

“Of course. You don’t have to go through this alone. Don’t forget you have a lot of people who care about you.”

He nodded, his throat growing thick with emotion. His main concern now was the welfare of his grandmother. She’d be hit the hardest by his death. They’d been planning to cruise the Caribbean later that summer. He couldn’t imagine what she must be feeling to have her sweetheart taken from the earth. He knew he needed to do all he could to ensure she had the support she needed.

It had been a week of devastating shocks. Finding out Gramps had suffered a heart attack and died was the worst of it. He’d come back to his hometown often to see his grandparents. They had been a huge part of his life growing up in the small, simple town. They were a typical Maple Creek couple. Sweet, southern, and welcoming to all they met. Both his grandmother and grandfather had grown up in the town and had roots that had been in the town for generations. His grandfather had been the mayor of the town at one time.

He loved coming home to Maple Creek. It was the complete opposite of the busyness of New York City.

The plane descended into Roanoke, the nearest airport to Maple Creek. It was about forty-five minutes from his hometown. He’d called his buddy Chase earlier that morning, and he’d agreed to pick him up.

He got off the plane and got his luggage. Chase was waiting for him, leaning against his black SUV.

“Hey, man,” Chase said when he approached. When he was close enough, Chase reached out to him and gave him a big hug. “I’m sorry about your grandpa.”

Kane wiped away a tear. “Thanks. I miss Gramps already, and I just saw him last weekend. I can’t believe he’s gone.” How could such a good man be taken from this world? This planet had a shortage of good men. The last thing they needed was another one of the good ones taken. He couldn’t make sense of it.

Chase and Kane put the luggage into the back of the SUV, and they both climbed into the front seats.

Chase put the vehicle into drive. “I know your gramps’s death was unexpected, but other than that, how have you been doing? I know this divorce has been really hard on you.”

Kane wanted to tell Chase about Orchid’s pregnancy, but he couldn’t speak about it. He’d been forbidden to say a word. He worked with his paternal grandfather in New York City. That was how he’d become a billionaire. As a family member he’d gotten equal shares to the company. He’d moved to Manhattan right after high school to go to college and become groomed to take over the family business. They were currently going through a merger, and until it went through, everything in the office was incredibly tense. They needed that merger badly, and when Orchid showed up at the office demanding money from Kane, his grandfather decided he needed to keep the drama about the baby under wraps.

With this merger the media was scrutinizing them, and he couldn’t have it getting out that he had that level of drama going on in his life. That meant he couldn’t tell a soul about Orchid’s pregnancy, especially when he didn’t even know if the baby was his. His grandfather was hoping the baby would end up being some other guy’s and the entire thing would blow over. He had to keep it quiet until the merger had gone through and all the paperwork was signed.

It was tough to keep something so huge a secret though. He didn’t have anyone he could talk to about how he was feeling about the baby situation. His grandfather wasn’t exactly the best option. They didn’t talk about much outside of work. Although he saw his paternal grandfather daily, he’d been much closer to Gramps. He still couldn’t believe he was really gone.

“How am I feeling?” Kane repeated. “That’s a really great question.” He rubbed a hand down his face. “I’m happy to be single.”

“I’m surprised your divorce went this fast. I would think it would have dragged out more. It’s only been three months.”

“It went fast because I gave Orchid what she wanted. I wasn’t in the mood to deal with a long, drawn-out divorce.” His grandfather had suggested that he do the same thing. Getting a speedy, quiet divorce was exactly what the company needed when they were being so heavily scrutinized.

“You’re a better man than me,” Chase said. “I wouldn’t have given her much of anything. She cheated on you.”

“I can’t understand how a person could break their marriage vows. I’m not wired that way.” When he made a promise, he did everything in his power to stay true to his word. So when Orchid had broken their vows, he’d been devastated. “When we got married, she seemed so amazing, all devoted to me. But eventually her mask fell off, and I saw her true colors. She was only in the relationship for the money. She knew I was going to end up a billionaire, and she wanted in. At first, I didn’t care. If she was a gold digger, then fine. I was willing to overlook that. It was the cheating that I couldn’t handle. All this wealth doesn’t matter that much to me,” Kane said. “When you have this much, you stop counting after a while. What do I need all that wealth for anyway? I have everything I need and then some. If Orchid wanted money, then fine. She got it. I just want her out of my life.”

“Do you think she’s going to stay away?”

“Probably not with how greedy she is. She’s already showed up in my office, demanding more cash. Since I gave her what she wanted in the divorce, it was like she thought it would be easy to get more money from me. I’m worried that I’ve started a new pattern with her where she shows up constantly bugging me for more money. I just want her out of my life.” But he knew that wouldn’t be the case if the baby was his.

“I’m sorry you have to go through all of this. But at least you’re free.”

“I’m glad I’m free too. It’s a great feeling. Our marriage had been dead for a long time, even before I discovered that she’d been cheating on me.” He’d still worked to save his marriage though. That was why they’d had a brief time of reconciliation. That was when she was claiming she’d gotten pregnant. It hadn’t lasted between them though. He’d caught her texting her other guy, Turner, again, and he discovered that she’d been giving him money. It was one of the reasons she kept going to him for money. This other guy was deeply in debt and desperate for the funds.

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