Page 41 of Secret Baby for Dr. Billionaire

The same thing could be said about the dresses delivered to my place earlier. There were five of them.Five. I had never gotten to choose from so many gowns for one event before. And they weren’t cheap. The red dress I wore was enough to pay for my Queens apartment for a year.

But Ben was a very insistent man, and he’d always find a way to get what he wanted. Most of the time, he tried to spoil Sofi and me as an extension. The feeling was very odd having someone take care of me like that—someone to fix something for me or cook dinner for me.

Although Frankie had been with me my entire life, he never made me this secure. I always had this thought at the back of my mind that if I asked for too much, he’d ask something in return—something I couldn’t give.

“I know,” I whispered, and my stomach fluttered at his endearment.

“Hey, Sam. It’s Ben.” I snapped my head towards Ben in attention, surprised at the small gesture he was offering. “Yeah, we’re almost there.”

A pause.

“I know. Something came up.”

The smirk he gave me told me that whatever Sam’s question was, it was about why we were running late when I had left a minute early from my penthouse.

“How’s Sofi?”

Another pause.

“Great.”

“What did she say?” I asked, unable to hear anything. Ben covered his phone's microphone and pulled it away from his mouth.

“She said she’s been trying to stack the colored blocks for thirty minutes.” He returned his attention back to his phone and added, “Send me a picture. And send some pics to Chloe before she goes down to sleep, okay? Thank you, Sam.”

They hung up, and Ben turned to look at me, his gaze going up from my pretty shoes to my curly hair. “Sofi’s in good hands.”

“If you trust her, then I trust her, too,” I told him, but the anxiety hadn’t eased down because my leg was still bobbing, and Ben had to stroke my bare knee to get my attention and make it stop.

“There’s something else that’s bugging you. It’s the gala, isn’t it?”

“What if they hate me, Ben?” I sighed, and the worry in my tone was evident.

I didn’t actually know if I was the type of person someone would bring home to their parents, given that I didn’t have parents and I had never really had a serious relationship before.

“Look, my mother had been bugging me to bring a plus one for years. She’s going to worship the ground you walk on. Trust me.”

“What if I say something that pisses them off? I’m not exactly the most graceful person.”

“You’re not going to make a fool out of yourself.” I found solace in the warmth of his hand on my knees and reminded myself that I had Ben for the night. “But if you need to know something about Janice Hayes, it’s that she loves her jewelry. You compliment her earrings, she’ll love you.”

“And your sister?”

“Maggie is going to complementyou. She’s the most easy-going person you’ll know. She’s a feminist, so that she couldn’t hate you based on first impression. Just remember what we talked about. Fifteen minutes, then we’re out if that’s what you need.”

“You’ll rescue me when I need it, right?”

“I won’t leave your side the entire night.” He shifted on his seat and brought a finger under my chin to lift my face so we were looking at one another. And then he gave me a sweet, reassuring kiss. I knew it was meant to calm me down, but it only made the butterflies in my stomach wilder.

“What did I sign myself up for?” I jested in between kisses. And my partner for the night chuckled.

“This is your chance to meet Sofi’s family, Chlo. And potentially yours too.” He was right. If I looked at the bigger picture, it was up to me to make a good impression for me and Sofi.

I just prayed that they weren’t the vindictive type of family. I hoped they would be a great extended family that Sofi could grow up and spend time with.

“Come here. Sit on my lap.” He reached out a hand to guide me. The vehicle wasn’t moving fast, so it was safe. I honestly didn’t know where we were but Ben looked sure that we had time to do whatever he was planning to do with me.

“But your driver—”

---