The Baby He Wants: A BWWM Pregnancy Romance (9 page)

“
Hi
Tristan,” she said as he came up to her. She wasn’t
smiling. Tristan just stared at her in surprise.

“
Can
I help you with something?” he asked.

Ava
shrugged, “Probably not but I thought I’d come by and
give you some information anyway.”

“
What
information would that be?”

Ava’s
eyes cut to Jensen.

“
Is
there any way we can talk alone?”

Tristan
also looked at Jensen, “Jensen is a friend.”

Ava took
a deep breath and sighed. She opened her mouth and then closed it.

“
I’m
sorry. This was a mistake,” she said turning toward the door.
Tristan frowned.

“
Ava!”
he called.

“
I’ll
text you,” she called back as she hurried out the door.

"A
big thank you to the wonderful chef, who's been keeping me so
well-fed all evening," Tristan announced. "And I guess
feeding all you guys too."

Polite
applause filled the ballroom and Tristan looked over to see the chef
emerge from the kitchens to give the guests a wave of thanks. He
ducked back inside before the applause had fully died down and
Tristan addressed the crowd again, "And finally, on behalf of
Reichenbach Group, I want to thank all of you for coming out here
tonight. It's been great to see every single one of you and I really
appreciate your support." He scanned the ballroom and his gaze
landed on Jensen as he said with a grin, "I couldn't do this
without you."

The
applause rose up again, about as loud as Tristan would have expected
from a room full of people who'd spent the evening eating and
drinking to their heart's content. Taking a bow, Tristan strolled
back and forth as he waited for the room to settle again.

"Now,
ladies and gentlemen, please enjoy the rest of your evening.
Personally, I will be making a fool of myself on the dance floor with
my glamorous fiancé Savannah, but please don't let that ruin
your dinner."

Laughter
rippled through the seated guests and Tristan smiled as the band
started up. "Thank you again, folks!"

The
bustle of movement from the guests warred with the music from the
band as they kicked into action, and Tristan surveyed the room with
satisfaction for a moment before turning to search for Savannah.

He
didn't need to look far. She was standing on the edge of the dance
floor with her arms folded across her chest. The overall impression
was somewhere between grumpy toddler and stern principal, which left
Tristan in the awkward position of being amused and kind of repelled
at the same time.

Savannah
didn't blink as Tristan headed toward her, skidding across the smooth
surface of the dance floor. He came to a stop in seconds and held his
hand out with a flourish. "May I have this dance?"

Savannah
didn't budge. "Glamorous fiancé? I thought we were
keeping that under wraps for now."

"I’m
sorry, I got carried away."

Savannah
glowered at him.

"Too
far?" Tristan asked with a wince. "Look, I'm sorry. Will
you dance with me and let me make it up to you?" Conscious of
the eyes on him, he pleaded, "C'mon, Savannah. Please? Look at
this face. How can you say no to this?"

He
barely resisted a shout of triumph when Savannah reluctantly took his
hand.

"You
know you're not actually a puppy, right?" she said as Tristan
led her out onto the dance floor. "Your face is not that
persuasive."

Tristan
shrugged, resting his hand at Savannah’s waist and sweeping her
around in a circle. "It worked on you, didn't it?"

"I've
been hanging with you for years," Savannah said. "My immune
system is already compromised."

Tristan's
eyes widened. "What? Your immune-" Halting the sudden rush
of memories of the frizzy brown hair and a yellow dress, and why he
couldn’t seem to stop wondering what it was she’d wanted
to tell him, he said sheepishly, "That was a metaphor, wasn't
it?"

Savannah's
pitying stare was short-lived, and Tristan went where she led him as
she re-positioned their hands and forced him to move more
appropriately to the music. "If we're going to do this, we can
at least do it right."

Too busy
processing Savannah's 'immune system' comment, Tristan asked,
confused, "Wait, did you just tell me I was wearing you down?"

"No,
I told you that you dance like a giraffe on painkillers and should
probably try to move more gracefully," she said. "Except I
phrased it more diplomatically the first time."

"No,
no, before that," Tristan said. Accusations of giraffe dancing
were nothing new. "You said I compromised your immune system!
That's Savannah-speak for ‘there’s possibly a chance I
might want to marry you in spite of your inability to conceive'."

Savannah
grimaced. "I promise I have never expressed those sentiments."

"But
you want to!" Tristan said triumphantly. "You want to hit
this like it's going out of style."

Savannah
closed her eyes. "Oh God."

"You
want to ride this like a pony."

"Please
stop."

"You
want a first class ticket for this love tra-"

Savannah's
lips were on his before he could finish.

Of all
the ways Tristan had pictured kissing Savannah again, none of them
had involved being knee-deep in euphemisms for sexual attraction.
Savannah had pulled away by the time Tristan got his head back in the
game and he was left gaping as Savannah started to guide them around
the dance floor again.

"I-
Did you just kiss me?"

"Nothing
gets past you," Savannah deadpanned.

His lips
quirked up in a smile, however, and Tristan spun them to a stop
before leaning in until their noses were almost touching. "You
just kissed me. You. Ms, Perfect."

"Ms.
Leicester."

Tristan
smiled. "Smartass." He slid his hands around to give
Savannah's ass a quick squeeze and asked, "So kissing is
something we do now? What changed your mind?" He paused. "You’re
not playing with me are you? This mean what I think it means?"

"What
do you think it means?" Savannah asked "This has been
coming for a while now."

Tristan
blinked. "Really?"

"I
guess I shouldn't be surprised you never noticed," Savannah
said. "I mean, the whole city's in love with you. What's one
more?"

"But
you're Savannah," Tristan said, dumbfounded. "You're not
supposed to be in love with me."

Savannah
looked like he was trying to contain a smirk. "What am I
supposed to do?"

"Honestly?
Judge me for my life choices."

Savannah
did smile at that as she reached up to straighten Tristan's bow tie.
Looping her arms around his neck, she leaned in close and murmured,
"I'm very good at multi-tasking."

"I
think we should test that."

Savannah
hmmed in agreement. "Thoroughly."

"You
know how much I like experimenting."

That
time Tristan actually managed to get his sentence out before Savannah
tugged him down for a kiss. It was crazy because as much as he’d
hoped for this, and wished for it and wanted it to happen, he still
couldn’t get that yellow dress and big hair off his mind. What
had she
wanted
?
He almost stopped kissing Savannah to run out the door and find out.

Just
then, she let out a happy sigh against his mouth and Tristan let his
tongue slip past the barrier of Savannah's lips and explore her
mouth. He could feel people's eyes on him in the middle of the
bustling dance floor, and wondered what they were thinking.
Especially his mother. This must be making her very happy.

He ran
his hand down Savannah's spine, trying to span as much of her as he
discreetly could. He wanted this to be real to him; his present, his
future. This woman was the one he was expected and expecting to
marry.

Why
did Ava come?!?

He
couldn’t get rid of the curiosity he felt and that mad urge to
just run off after her. He deepened the kiss in consequence. Savannah
hadn’t shown any interest in making out with him since he’d
made his announcement. The fact that
she’d
come on to
him
was huge.

Savannah's
skin was warm under his hand and Tristan was gratified at the
realization that he was feeling Savannah blush. They were here in the
middle of a crowd of friends, clients, and dignitaries who definitely
hadn't come to watch Tristan kiss Savannah, though they were probably
thrilled to have something to talk about for the next week at the
club. Savannah Leicester and Tristan Carrington, finally making it
official.

He
couldn't resist the visual of her blushes and he pulled back to look
at Savannah. Her eyes were bright but her cheeks were brighter,
painted a rosy pink in pleased embarrassment, and Tristan gave her
another quick kiss before asking, "You okay?"

Savannah
cleared her throat and smoothed her skirt. "I'm fine."

"You
sure?" Tristan teased. "You're looking a little flushed
there, Leicester."

"I'm
fine," she repeated. Despite her reassurances, she took a breath
to compose herself before glancing over Tristan's shoulder. "I
should go check in with your mother."

The idea
of letting go of Savannah was not a happy one. "Really?"

"I
think I’ve provided the world with enough of a show tonight.
Now I need to talk to the most important person in the room."

"Man,
you really know how to make a guy feel good."

Savannah
rolled her eyes. "I don't think your ego needs any help from
me."

"Oh,
it does," Tristan said, moving in again. "Lots and lots of
help."

Savannah's
eyes went wide as Tristan spun her around before hooking an arm
underneath her and dipping her backwards with ease. Lowering his head
to press their lips together, Tristan kissed her thoroughly, feeling
the tension ebb out of Savannah's body with every slip and curl of
their tongues together when she finally trusted Tristan not to drop
her. Tristan wished it obliterated the images in his mind.

When he
pulled her back to her feet, he was pleased to see the dazed look in
Savannah's eyes. It meant he’d done his job well. He could do
this. He could forget about Ava and the fact that she’d turned
up at his party…she’d said she would send a text. What
would she want to text him about though? Did she want to see him
again. They had said…

Savannah
blinked up at him as she regained her balance. "How's your ego?"

"Throbbing."

The
familiar look of judgment came flitting back across Savannah's face.
"Classy," she remarked, patting Tristan on the chest. "You
should put some ice on that while I go talk to your mother."

She made
her way across the dance floor without any further romantic
sentiments and Tristan called after her with a grin, "I love
you!"

Somehow
it didn’t feel like he meant it though.

*****

Jensen
had the car brought around as Tristan waited at the lobby. Savannah
and his mother had left together and he was on his way home.

“
You
have my phone Jensen?” he asked.

Jensen
threw him a glance, “Really?”

“
Give,”
he said holding out his hand.

“
She
didn’t text,” Jensen said.

“
You
better not have deleted my texts Jensen,” Tristan warned.

“
I’m
your assistant not your wannabe soap opera lover Tristan,”
Jensen replied in a bored voice as he handed over the phone.

Tristan
smiled and clicked it on so he could see if he had any notifications.
There was a message blinking and he clicked on it.

Sorry.
I chickened. Didn’t know what to say. I did a pregnancy test a
few days ago. It was positive. I thought I’d tell you. That’s
all. Bye.

*****

Tristan
was in a daze all the way home. He couldn’t really assimilate
what Ava’s message was telling him. He stared at Jensen
wondering if he should show him the message. Get his thoughts. Jensen
didn’t know about Tristan’s test. Nobody knew apart from
mama and Savannah. Maybe he needed an outside perspective.

“
Jensen
can I talk to you about something non-work-related?” he asked.

Jensen
turned curious blue eyes on him, “Is it to do with the
African-American woman in the lobby?”

“
Partly
yeah,” Tristan said sheepishly.

Jensen
nodded. “I see. You have feelings for her,” he said it
like it was a statement not a question.

“
Beside
the point,” Tristan said not wanting to dwell on feelings at
this time.

“
Okay.
Hit me,” he said.

So
Jensen told him about the blood tests, his conversation with his
mother and Savannah, as well as what Savannah had said to him
tonight. And then he showed him Ava’s text.

“
What
should I do?” he asked.

*****

Ava
walked out of the lobby of the hotel and took herself home. She had
no recollection of how she got there. She was completely on automatic
pilot. Tristan had looked horrified to see her. Whatever made her
think he would be glad to see her again? She must have been
delusional. And to turn up at a party of his. How ill mannered could
she be? It was just that she’d seen the announcement of the
function on a website and she’d figured that for once, she knew
where he would be and at what time. And she had wanted to tell him in
person. She’d figured letting a guy know he was going to be a
father via text was a douche move. Well…looked like she was
going to have to be a douche. She fished out her phone and sent him
the text then changed out of her finery and went to bed. There was no
way he was even interested in her little inter-racial bundle of joy.
She couldn’t recall anyone she knew of in Tristan’s
circles who married outside of their little circle of privilege and
race. Look at her thinking about marriage! How delusional could a
girl be?