The Billionaire's Fake Dating Game (Part Three): The Billionaire's Artist, #3

By K.L. Zales

Abbie has just broken some surprising news to Thomas—they're expecting their first child. With their fake marriage only one month away and Thomas's inheritance to be decided soon, Abbie and Thomas now face the prospect of parenthood. While Abbie is fearful that a baby will take away her identity, she wants to keep their child.

But Thomas harbors an even greater fear, something he has hidden from Abbie, and it just may rip the two of them apart. Can Abbie and Thomas's love for each other conquer everything that life has thrown at them?

• Language: English
• Publisher: K.L. Zales
• Release date: Nov 7, 2017
• ISBN: 9781386236085

Book preview

The Billionaire's Fake Dating Game

Part Three

By K.L. Zales

Chapter One

Do you think you could be pregnant?

Thomas's words made me dizzy. I stood there on the steps, with at least six of them between me and the marble floor as he steadied me with both hands.

I can't be, I said.

Are you sure? The look on Thomas's face was one of worry and shock.

I had been throwing up earlier that morning, but I felt fine now. I think I just ate too many pancakes. I'm all right. Inside, I was far from all right. The first time Thomas and I had sex, I had forgotten the morning after pill when my family arrived. I had been far more careful in the nights after that, but only one time could--hell. When I first started dating Thomas, it wasn't even real. Then against my vows, that changed. I had sworn not to get too close to this perfect, gorgeous and charming man, but now...I gulped. I don't know.

His expression was unreadable now. Thomas's beautiful hazel eyes darkened to a shade that was just above death. We need to find out, he said.

We?

Well, if you are in fact pregnant, it's my child too. Right? He lifted one eyebrow and smiled.

Right, I said. You're the only guy I've had sex within the last three years, Thomas. What reason do I have to go out and cheat? I couldn't believe Thomas and I were having this conversation.

Just asking, he said. I know you wouldn't cheat on me. You're not that kind of girl. What I was asking was if we were official. He brightened up with his familiar grin. Anyway, tests don't cost that much. We should just keep this quiet for now until we know for sure. Don't tell anybody. He held one finger up to his lips. If we have a child coming, that's...that's a whole new step. It will be a combination of you and me. I'm interested to see how that turns out. He looked around the entryway and the room below to make sure no one was there. My sisters and my mother were still down in the sitting room, out of sight. Their excited, low wedding planning voices floated up the stairs towards us.

Mom suspects this, I said. She gave me a look after I got done throwing up. Now we're moving the conversation to barf. That's great. Now she's rushing the wedding plans. I guess she doesn't want our baby to be out of wedlock. The panic was roaring back, riding on my racing heart and my tense muscles. Thomas, I said. I have to get out of here.

A look of hurt flashed across his face. Let me come with you. You're not fit to drive right now.

I'm not one of those women who's going to faint, I said. I imagined passing out and rolling down the stairs, with Thomas unable to catch me. I would break my neck in front of everyone.

Thomas hugged me and held me close. Abbie, we don't even know anything yet. We'll figure it out if it is what we think.

It's just...I can't be pregnant. My heart raced faster as the thought got bigger and bigger, taking up everything. It was something that had never crossed my mind. A child wasn't in my future. Hell, marriage wasn't in my future, except that now, it was, and if a child came into the mix, it would have to be more than a fake marriage no matter how Thomas and I felt about each other after the wedding, even though I had sex with Thomas every night.

Even though we got along on just about every level and we clicked.

I had known Thomas for only two months, and I had heard plenty of horror stories about rushing into things. They usually ended in ugly divorces. I might be falling in love with Thomas, but I was realistic. This whole ploy was the most terrifying thing I'd ever done.

Abbie, we'll go and get some tests later, and we'll see for sure, Thomas said. Then, we'll figure out what we're going to do.

I couldn't read the emotion in his words. He had gone flat as if he were trying to hide something. Even though I was in his arms, I looked up at his face to find it equally expressionless. I had never seen Thomas like this before. He stared ahead at the far wall, blank and lost. I didn't like it.

What are you thinking? I asked.

Nothing, he said quickly. Once everything dies down tonight, we'll do what we have to do. Abbie, if it's the worst, then we can plan accordingly. We're getting married next month, after all. We can keep it a secret until then.

I let go of Thomas and took a step back on the steps. The worst? I asked. The prospect of a child was terrifying. You think having a child with me is some horrible thing?

He cleared his throat. I know you're an independent woman, he said quickly. I know a baby isn't something that's on your radar anytime soon. I don't want to see you lose your career.

I couldn't hold back the full-on panic anymore. I turned away from Thomas and headed down the stairs, to walk past the sitting room where Mom and my sisters were going over another catalog of wedding supplies. I had to get some fresh air and get out of here, even if I had to walk.

Abbie, Thomas said quietly.

I ignored him and pushed open the front door. The late morning air had a chill but rapidly warmed. The grounds stretched out in front of me, freshly mowed and bright in the sun. A lone jogger went past outside the gate, complete with headphones. What had I done?

I was a frog in boiling water, and I never realized when the temperature got to a dangerous level.

Thomas opened the door. Abbie, he said in a low voice, trying to avoid detection by the wedding squad. Let me walk with you. Please.

He sounded so desperate that I had to agree. This is all too much, I said, taking breath after breath and trying not to feel like I was about to die. We both took the steps quickly, getting away from the house and everyone else. Somewhere, my brother Gavin was still sleeping in, enjoying the fact that he was a man and didn't have to be involved in this wedding planning. Dad might be in the borrowed office, sitting on another remote meeting.

What would he think about all of this?

The two of us said nothing as we walked towards a side gate and Thomas unlocked it. He was wearing a dark blue work shirt today, one without a tie, and slacks that brought out his perfectly proportioned butt. I know this is all too much, Thomas said. We're getting married and possibly adding a child to the mix. We were supposed to do a business deal where I paid you.

I stopped in the middle of the gate. It's still a business--

But it turned into so much more, Thomas said, taking my hand and rubbing his finger over it. My skin tingled at his touch. He lifted my hand and kissed it, his lips gentle and cool in the sun. I want to marry you, Abbie, and not so that I can inherit the family business.

I felt dizzy as the panic fluttered away. Thomas lowered my hand but kept his grip on me. We've been sleeping together, and you kiss my hand as if it's the first time we met.

He grinned. What would you like me to kiss?

I laughed but remembered the way life was crashing down on us. My phone buzzed in my pocket with another text, but I didn't take it out. This moment was for Thomas and me now. We're out in public, I said. You know our luck with that sort of thing.

Thomas and I walked. I felt a little better about everything. We didn't speak much. Instead, I took in every little detail around me, every flower and every pattern on each rock. I had been so wrapped up in wedding planning since my family had arrived and now I was getting away from them for the first time in days. I loved my family, but I needed this quiet time as well.

But if we were having a baby--

There would be no more of that.

What if I wound up like Mom, giving up everything that made me Abbie? What if I had to put all my dreams aside, to let them wait until I was old and possibly not even alive anymore?

Thomas, can we walk to the pharmacy right now?

He managed a smile, but I could see the nerves behind it. Sure, he said. We can get it over with right now. Waiting and waiting is worse than just getting the truth out of the way. Besides, we're far away from the others. It might be a good time to check.

The pharmacy was a two-mile walk away from Thomas's boulevard. We passed under trees waving in the breeze, and Thomas ignored a couple of calls, which I liked. We both had a no cell phone rule when we were spending time with each