The Boyfriend List (11 page)

“No, not at all.” She scooted over. “What are you doing here?”

He smiled again and pulled a sandwich and drink out of a lunch bag. “Looking for you.”

Looking for me?
Jenna’s heart skipped a beat when he sat down. He was so gorgeous. His tan chinos, blue-and-white-striped button-down, loafers, and Ray-Ban aviators made him look like he’d stepped right out of a Banana Republic catalog. But it was his smile, his presence, something uniquely him that made her toes curl.

“I stopped by the cottage to take you to lunch and Harper told me you come here sometimes. What’s up?”

Jenna sipped her water and looked out at the harbor. “Ah, you know, good view. Helps me think.”

He took a bite of sandwich, and looked at her, intensely. Once he’d swallowed, he continued. “What are you thinking about? Me, I hope.”

Jenna chuckled, he knew her so well. Even though they’d only been together such a short time, he knew exactly what to say. “I always think about you,” she said as she leaned her head on his shoulder. “I’m thinking about how I’m going to handle something that’s happened. Something difficult.”

He nodded. “Does it involve anyone I know?”

“As a matter of fact, it does,” she responded.

He took off his sunglasses, rested an elbow on the back of the bench, and looked right into her eyes. Jenna couldn’t have moved if she wanted to. His gaze froze her in place. Brushing a piece of windblown hair from her cheek, he smiled. “Put it out there, Jen. Nothing you want to talk to me about should be difficult. I love you, and whatever it is we’ll work through it.”

She kissed him, right then and there. The magic, the connection they’d forged over the past month and a half was stronger every day, and as much as Jenna had been worried about what she had to tell him, she knew it would be okay. Nate would make it okay. Then, a voice broke the trance.

“Jenna?”

Pinching her eyes shut, she cringed. How could she have forgotten? Her mother and aunts had been walking around the park on nice days for exercise. So much for peace. So much for talking to Nate.

“Hi, Mom.”

“What are you doing here? And you’re not alone. Hello, Nate.”

Nate stood, a gentleman to the core. Taking her mother’s hand, her guy charmed Mom with a look. “It’s a pleasure to see you again, Mrs. Albanese.”

“I forgot you all have been walking. The weather is sure good for it.” Once Jenna came to grips with the fact that she’d just lost all her privacy, she gave each of the women a peck on the cheek. Her aunts, God love them, were trying to be cool about the fact that she was here with “The Billionaire”.

Mama glanced at Nate, and then at Jenna, and back at him. Finally, her mother fixed her gaze on Jenna’s face. First there was confusion and then awareness sparked in her mother’s eyes.
Oh, God. She knows
.

The moment of clarity passed quickly between them, and her mother kissed her cheek. “You call me later,” she whispered in Jenna’s ear. “Come on,” she said to her sisters. “Let’s leave them alone. It was nice to see you again, Nate.”

Like a whirlwind, they were off. Jenna was relieved she’d avoided the big family scene that so often came when her mother and aunts traveled in a pack, but now she was back to Nate. And he also knew something was up.

“Are you going to tell me what happened there?” He took her hands and brought them both back to the bench and what was left of their sandwiches. “From what I’ve seen of your family, I got off way too easy.”

He’d been to one family party and he already had them figured out. How was she going to tell him? Her heart was skipping beats. Was he going to think she was trying to trap him? He’d said he loved her, but that was a long way from a permanent commitment.

“So what’s the deal? Your mother and your aunts should still be interrogating me.”

“That’s true. I guess my mother sensed we needed to be alone. I have something I have to tell you.”

***

Nate actually felt pressure in his chest. What the hell was going on? Whatever she had to tell him had her spooked, then without any warning, Jenna drew a long, shuddering breath and tears spilled onto her cheeks. One and then another. She was crying? Jenna didn’t cry.

“We moved too fast, didn’t we? Are you breaking things off?”

Please don’t dump me.

She shook her head. “No, no. You don’t want that, do you? Oh, God . . .” She covered her mouth, stifling the sobs.

“Jesus, no. I love you.” She was still crying, hiccupping with each breath. Cupping her cheeks, he examined her tear stained face. “Oh, baby. Tell me what it is. We’ll fix it. I promise. Don’t cry, Jenna. Don’t cry.” His thumbs brushed at her tears, and he wished he could do something to comfort her.

Shaking her head, she buried her face against his chest. “It’s nothing to fix. I’m . . .” She swallowed air in big gulps, barely able to speak. “I’m pregnant,” she finally squeaked out.

Now he’d had the wind knocked out of him. Holy shit.

“Pregnant?” Everything went fuzzy for a second, and his first instinct was to get up and walk, but he had a crying woman in his arms and if he walked away it would only get worse.
Pregnant.

“Uh-huh.” She sniffled. “I’m sorry.”

Nate held her head close to his chest and dropped a kiss onto her soft silky hair. “Don’t apologize. You’re having a baby. That’s nothing to apologize for.”

“I should have been more careful.”

“
We
should have been more careful. I was there, too.”
Pregnant.
The word kept echoing in his head. “But we’re not teenagers, we’re old enough to handle it and we love each other.”

He was saying all the right things, hoping to calm her down, but a dozen questions ran through his mind. How did this happen? When did this happen? They’d been careful, but this was confirmation that nothing was foolproof.

Did he want kids with Jenna?
He did. No doubt. He just didn’t expect it to happen now. Taking a deep breath, Nate held her tight. His response to her news would determine how this all turned out.

Everything he’d been planning—a proposal, a new house—everything else was irrelevant. There were only two people he needed to think about—Jenna and their baby. The future just happened.

Their baby
. He was going to be a father. Now his eyes were burning. Looking down at the trembling woman in his arms, Nate tucked a finger under her chin, tilting her face toward his.

“I love you. Those weren’t just words. It means we’re in this together.”

“But people will think I did this to trap you. Because you’re
The Billionaire
.”

“Oh, for Christ’s sake . . . We know the truth. Jenna, I want to marry you. I was going to propose after we’d been together a little longer, but I guess we’ll have to rethink the timeline a little.”

“I don’t want you to feel like you have to marry me.”

Easing her away, Nate gently took her by the shoulders and stared into her big brown eyes. “I want to marry you. I love you. I’m happy. Jenna, I already have a ring. I’m not going to lie and say this didn’t take me by surprise, but I love that we’re having a baby.” Finding a clean napkin that came with her sandwich, Nate mopped her eyes and face. “Now we need a plan.”

Her head bobbed up and down. “Okay. A plan.”

“What do we tell people? When do we tell them? Our families are going to have a stake in this.”

The tears started to flow again. “I know we should tell everyone—our families and friends, but all I want is to be with you. I wish we could just run away and figure some of this out.”

Here was the advantage to being a billionaire. Nate pulled his phone from his pocket and set his finger to dial. He felt a grin pull at his face as Jenna watched him. “Where you want to go?” he said. “I’ll have everything arranged with one phone call.”

“What? Really?”

“Let’s get out of here. You’ll need your passport. Where do you want to go? Europe? Hawaii? Bali? The Caribbean?”

“You’re serious?” He’d surprised her. He liked that.

“Of course I’m serious.”

“I don’t . . . God.” Jenna look down and wiped her eyes, breathing slowly in and out. “You don’t have to do that.”

“I know that.” He kissed her gently. “Jenna, your boyfriend is a billionaire. I know you’d rather forget that sometimes, but here’s the advantage: you can go anywhere in the world at a moment’s notice. I can have a private jet waiting and a condo arranged in less time than it takes to get a sandwich from the deli.”

“You would do that?” She’d started to calm down. Her breathing was leveling off and the tears weren’t falling as fast.
Thank God
.

“I’ll do anything for you. Just tell me. I want you happy and I want you to know you have me. No doubts. I love you.”

Jenna rested her head on his chest. “I love you, too,” she whispered. Then she looked up with a shy, sweet smile on her face. “Italy. I want to go to Italy.”

“Good choice. I know just the place.” He pulled her close and pressed the screen of his phone.

His assistant picked up on the first ring. “Hi, Nate.”

“Luanne, I need you to make some arrangements for me.”

“Okay. Shoot.”

“This is top-secret. No one can know. I’m going to vanish for a few days. First, arrange a jet to Milan. I want to leave tonight. Next, call my grandparents. Tell them I’ll be using the villa.”

“Wow,” she responded. “Everything is okay? What should I tell Adelaide and Martin?” She was using his grandparents’ first names to throw off anyone who might be listening.

“Just that I need to get away. Jenna and I have some things to discuss.”

He could hear Luanne’s excitement through the phone. “Really?” Her voice became a covert whisper. “Like a ring may be involved?”

When he ended the call, he stood, and brought the mother of his child with him.

“Your grandparents?” Her poor eyes were swollen and red. As long as she didn’t start crying again, he could handle anything.

“They have a villa on Lake Como. We’ll go there. It’s beautiful, private, and the weather this time of year is perfect. You’ll love it.” He kissed her gently. “You’re right. We need time to make a plan. No family. No rushing. Just you and me.”

“Thank you.” Jenna had cuddled into his side, like she was looking for shelter. Nate would provide that and more. He would protect her from the fallout, from the gossip, from their families and friends, who would question them at every turn.

Getting her out of the country was drastic, but it was the only way they could handle this without interference, without questions. He and Jenna had a lot to adjust to, along with celebrating their new life together. Jesus. This was big.

“I have to tell Harper.”

“Shit.” Of all the people at Reliance, Harper was the least likely to keep a secret. Especially from Owen, who would be asking the most questions. It had been said at more than one board meeting that Harper would give up company secrets if her interrogators threatened her with a splinter.

“I’ll go with you.”

“You don’t have to . . .”

He laid a finger over her lips. “Get used to it. I want to. We’re in this together.”

***

Harper had taken the news pretty well, and had promised to keep their reason for going away and the pregnancy a secret. To do that, she was going to go on Kevin’s next road trip. “Owen and Jason can’t ask me questions if I’m not there,” was her response.

The real moment of truth would come when Nate took Jenna home to her parents’ house to get her passport. Jenna was hoping they wouldn’t be home, but when they arrived at the well-kept split-level home in Seaford, they had no such luck.

Her mother greeted her at the side door and held it open as she and Nate entered the bright, sunny kitchen. The Albaneses had suffered a tragic loss when her brother, Tom, was killed in Afghanistan. Now she was going to fly off to another country to avoid having to face her family with what they would consider another one of her missteps. She was disappointing them, yet again. Unmarried and pregnant? That wouldn’t go over so well in her Italian Catholic family. Jenna had never felt so sick.

“So how far along are you?” Her mother didn’t miss a beat.

Jenna swallowed. Taking a glass from the cupboard, she filled it with filtered water from a pitcher in the fridge. She offered it to Nate but he waved it off. “I’m a few weeks gone. Not long.”

“Did you forget to use protection?” she snapped at Nate. “Are you rich men always so irresponsible?”

There was the first barb. Her mother had been sweet as pie to Nate as long as he was just a fling; now this was getting serious. “Mom, knock it off. Not that it’s any of your business, but we did use protection.”
Mostly. They mostly used protection.

“You need to start thinking, Giovanna. You’re too reckless. Haven’t you made enough trouble for yourself? And now you’re pregnant?”

Her mother was a tough woman, made tougher by everything she’d gone through in her life, but Jenna didn’t need her anger or advice right now. She wanted her mother’s understanding.

“Mrs. Albanese . . .”

“You stop right now. What are your intentions? Are you going to try to buy her off? Pay her to get rid of it?”

“Ma!” This was out of control.

“No.” Nate’s hand found Jenna’s and he wrapped his fingers around hers. “I love Jenna, and if she’ll have me I want to marry her. Since that’s the case, you can stop insulting her. I understand that she’s your daughter, but I won’t have you upsetting her.”

Whoa. He just told off her mother—no hesitation, no worry about taking a stand. No one had ever done that for her. Damn. “I’ll get my things.”

“What things?” Her mom was panicking now. She was a woman who wore her whole heart on her sleeve, but when Nate stood up to her she lost her moral high ground. Now she was worried about losing her daughter.

“I’m taking Jenna away for a few days. We need time to be alone and make some plans without anyone rushing us for a decision. My grandparents have a villa on Lake Como, in Italy. We’ll go there.”

“Oh.
A villa.
I’m sure that will be lovely. You can make all your plans without your family.”