The Next Level: A BWWM Billionaire Marriage And Pregnancy Romance (6 page)

Everyone
echoed the cheers before sipping their champagne. Between shaking
hands and saying goodbye, Chelsea was more than ready for bed. She
followed Matthew as she went, picking up her dress from the floor.
When the door was closed securely, she laid back on the bed. She was
completely exhausted.

“
So,
your brother seems nice. Why didn’t you want to tell me about
him again? Is it all just an act, you not liking him?” Chelsea
asked.

“
I’ll
tell you another time. For now, just let me kiss you.”

He
climbed on top of Chelsea. As she looked up she could feel her heart
pounding in her chest. He moved a piece of her hair from her face,
leaned down and kissed her until she forgot the question.

Sunlight
flooded her closed eyes making Chelsea wince. She opened them slowly.
Matthew had fallen asleep next to her still dressed in his best. She
knew the drinks and long car ride had caused that. Reaching out a
hand, she stroked his cheek softly. His skin was warm. Leaning over
she kissed his lips.

“
Good
morning to you too,” he mumbled.

There
was a knock on the door. Matthew weakly called out come in. Jackson
stepped through the door, looked at both of them and cleared his
throat. Chelsea had the sheet pulled up to her shoulders, but the
fact that they were bare probably made him think there was more going
on than it seemed. Chelsea looked away, embarrassed.

“
Your
mother has requested you for breakfast. It should be ready in twenty
minutes,” he said.

Matthew
thanked him then groaned. Slowly, he rolled over, pushing himself off
of the bed. Chelsea helped him out of his jacket. He grabbed towels
for both of them out of the linen closet before tossing her one.

“
I’m
going to shower in the bathroom across from my room. Or, you could
join me,” he said with a grin.

Chelsea
shook her head. “Your mother already doesn’t like me.
Let’s keep this as unsexy as possible.”

Matthew
chuckled as he headed out of the room after placing a kiss on her
nose. She watched him leave, then slipped out of bed herself. Her
feet touched the cool wooden floor, not yet warmed by the sun. She
sighed. It was going to be a long day. She grabbed her towel before
padding across into the bedroom. She had a slight hangover, but she
hoped some food and pain pills would remedy that soon enough.

Stepping
out of the shower, she wiped fog from the mirror with her hand. Her
hair was all over her head. She laughed. Only Matthew would still
find her beautiful when she was a mess. She spent some time combing
through her hair before she put it into a ponytail. Rifling through
her clothes, she found something she thought would be suitable for
breakfast. A pale green top, blue jeans and brown sandals. She
examined herself in the mirror, swiped on a little makeup, then
headed downstairs for breakfast.

As
Chelsea trailed a hand down the banister, she could already smell
food filling the house. Her stomach made its hunger known by growling
loudly. She placed her hand over it making a shushing sound. When she
reached the bottom of the stairs, she turned her head first one way,
then another. She realized she had no idea where she was going.

“
This
way, ma’am,” Jackson said making her

“
Thanks,”
she said sheepishly, “you don’t have to call me ma’am
though. I’m Chelsea. Please call me that.”

“
Yes,
Miss Chelsea.”

She
shook her head. It was a start at least. They walked down a corridor
passing room after room as they went. Chelsea wondered what was
behind the closed doors. Finally, they stepped into the dining room.
A long, oak table stood in the middle. Around the table sat Matthew,
his parents and Sangi and Andrew, who seemed to be in deep
conversation in hushed tones.

“
Crissy,
so good of you to join us,” Matthew’s mom said with a
tight lipped smile.

“
Chelsea.
Yes, I couldn’t find it right away. You have a really beautiful
home,” she said as she sat down.

Everyone
was nicely dress, looking a bit more than casual in light colored
slacks and neat button downs. Chelsea wondered if these people even
knew what casual was. Even Sangi was wearing a summer dress, red with
yellow flowers splashed on it. She was really beginning to feel that
she was out of her league.

Matthew
took her hand, giving it a squeeze beneath the table. Food was
brought out by smartly dressed kitchen staff. All of them wearing
simple black pants and white shirts.

“
Alright,
Lyle. You can say grace now,” Catherine said.

Lyle
placed his phone on the table finally, standing up. “
For
this and all we are about to receive, make us truly grateful, Lord.
Through Christ we pray. Amen.”

Amen’s
resounded around the table. Matthew poked her in her side making her
whisper a hurried amen. As soon as Lyle was seated again, the trays
were removed from their food by the staff. In front of Chelsea was
the biggest disappointment she had ever seen. There was a modest meal
of some kind of quiche, a single pancake and a strip of bacon. It
looked like something more suited for the Cooking Network than
Chelsea’s raging stomach. She picked up her fork, eating slowly
while craving a cheeseburger.

“
So,
the wedding is just a few months away. I suppose you both have
everything squared away? I hope the planner can handle everything
with the amount of guests who’ll want to attend,”
Catherine said before sipping on her glass of fresh orange juice.

“
Chelsea’s
actually handling all of the wedding details herself. She wants to
plan it without any help,” Matthew said.

Sangi
pouted. “Hey, I help.”

“
Minimal
help,” he corrected.

Sangi
shot him a look, but Matthew just continued to grin into his plate.
She didn’t know why the two of them liked to take such jabs at
each other, but they never seemed to fully get along. Still, they
kept it peaceful most of the time, for that Chelsea was grateful. She
looked back over to Catherine as she spoke again.

“
Nonsense.
I’m sure Christa is great at a lot of things, but planning a
wedding is a difficult task. We do have a certain standard to
uphold,” she said.

Chelsea
gritted her teeth. “Chelsea. I’ve been doing okay with it
so far. We have a lovely little location picked out. I’ve
almost finished the menu with the caterer as well. It’s a lot
of work, but I enjoy planning it.”

“
Nonsense,”
Catherine said again with a dismissive wave of the hand. “I
highly doubt a little venue is going to hold five hundred people.”

“
Mom,
that’s insanity. Why would there be five hundred people at our
wedding? We just want to keep it small.”

“
So
you don’t want to invite your friends? What about your father’s
business associates, clients? This is a social event, it should be
taken advantage of.”

Chelsea
began to squeeze Matthew’s hand so hard, he winced before
pulling it away. She was trying her best to keep the soft smile on
her face, but she could already feel it faltering. A social event?
Take advantage of their wedding? Who did she think she was?

“
Mom,
I really don’t think-” Andrew began.

“
Honey,
let them plan their wedding the way they want to,” Lyle added.

Catherine
looked at both of them like they were bugs. Her eyes were so
narrowed, Chelsea vaguely wondered if she could still see. The woman
turned back to her and Matthew.

“
I
could be of some assistance. I have a wonderful friend who’s a
wedding planner. She’s used to planning five star weddings.
Really Charity, it’s no trouble to me and I can more than cover
expenses.”

Chelsea’s
foot tapped away under the table. In her mind, she was telling
Catherine to shove it up her ass. She was choking her, finding a nice
little spot to bury her body. She could feel Matthew’s eyes on
her, saw the worried expression on his face. There was a reason they
were so easily matched, one of them being her temper. However, she
placed a sweet smile on her face as she laughed.

“
Of
course, Catherine. That would be lovely. Thank you,” she said.

Everyone
seemed to either be looking at her in shock or with a look of relief
on their face. Chelsea picked up her fork, sliced off a piece of the
quiche and smiled as she ate. Once breakfast was over, she excused
herself. Matthew followed behind her quickly.

“
Did
somebody get into my mother’s sedatives? You were awfully
calm,” he said.

Chelsea
shrugged. “I can see she doesn’t like me. So, I’ll
let her do things her way for a while.” She glanced around
them. “Why doesn’t your mom like me? What did you say?”

“
What?
Me? I didn’t say anything,” Matthew said looking
offended.

Chelsea
searched his face, but he was fidgeting with himself. She let out a
huff of air. “Fine. I’ll try to be nice to mommy dearest,
for your sake.”

Matthew
smiled. He gripped her chin with his fingers, ran a thumb over her
smooth skin. As he leaned forward to kiss her lips, they heard the
sound of approaching footsteps. Heels. That could only be one person.
They pulled apart quickly making Chelsea wonder why they should have
to. Everyone was an adult here. Catherine came into the hallway.

“
Chelsea,
would you like a tour of the house?” She asked brightly.

Chelsea
wanted to respond that she’d much rather take a tour of her
medicine cabinet because apparently the woman had now taken her
pills. How miraculous that her smile looked sincere and she
remembered her name. Matthew wrapped an arm around her waist.

“
Mom,
I’m sure she doesn’t want the grand tour.”

“
Actually,
I’d like to see your house,” she said. Matthew looked at
her in surprise and she shrugged. She couldn’t contain her
curiosity at seeing the large estate.

“
Wonderful.
Follow me, then,” she said as she turned.

Chelsea
followed behind her as Sangi joined them with Andrew. Matthew still
looked as if she’d been taken over by an alien. They started at
the entrance hall before covering every corner of the house. With
each room, Chelsea’s mouth seemed to hang open a little more.
There were twelve bedrooms in total, six bathrooms, four powder room,
a wine cellar, game room and theater. Chelsea couldn’t believe
this was the house her soon to be husband had grown up in. Catherine
seemed to take great pride in her reaction. Chelsea couldn’t
seem to close her mouth no matter how hard she didn’t want to
give his mother the satisfaction of impressing her. Sangi’s
look mirrored her own. They shared a look.
Fucking
rich people.

They
finished the tour of the house, ending back up in the entrance near
the stairs. Chelsea and Sangi both complimented her on her home. With
it out of the way however, a sort of awkward silence filled the
space. She could tell Matthew wanted to get her alone, but his mother
seemed to be sticking around. Finally, Sangi was the one to break the
silence.

“
Andrew
and I were going to head into town for a little bit. Why don’t
you and Matthew go over the wedding plans for a little while?”
She suggested.

Catherine
checked her watch. “We can all meet back here for brunch.
Matthew, when you’re done, could you visit me in my office
please?”

Matthew
nodded. She seemed to find that satisfactory as she walked away from
the small group. Andrew and Sangi said their goodbyes. When they were
gone, Matthew grabbed her hand and pulled her up the stairs. Safely
inside of her room, they dissolved into a fit of laughter.

“
I
don’t even know what’s going on anymore, babe. This
weekend already feels surreal.”

She
nodded. “Thank God for Sangi. I wasn’t sure how much
longer I could keep that smile on,” she said as she rubbed her
face. “My cheeks hurt.”

“
I
have the perfect solution for your cheeks.”

“
Oh
no you don’t! You stay over there.”

Chelsea
yelped as he tackled her onto the bed. He pinned her arms above her
head. She tried to fight against him, but he was stronger than she
was. He leaned down, kissing her lips softly, nipping at her bottom
lip. She sighed as his mouth slipped over hers. When they came up for
air, she gazed at the door.