Page 20 of Accidental Theirs (Alpha Billionaire Daddies #6)

Chapter Seventeen

DAMIEN

Something’s up with Olivia, and it’s making me nervous. Not that I wasn’t already. My palms have been sweating since the moment she got out of her car.

I don’t know if it's just me or if she’s gotten hotter since the last time I saw her—which was literally this morning.

But this morning, she wasn’t wearing a blouse that shows off the mounds of her creamy white breasts.

I’ve always been a breast man, even though I don’t mind what size. Hers seem bigger, somehow, but I’m probably just smitten.

Then again, I’ve been smitten for years.

But it’s not her body that’s making me nervous, it's the look on her face.

She hasn’t smiled at me even once, and that’s unusual. Besides, everything she says to me is abrupt.

“Are you… upset with me?” I ask after we order drinks—a Shirley Temple for her and a beer for me.

She isn’t looking at me, instead perusing the menu like it’s written in a language she doesn’t understand.

“Olivia? ”

She finally looks up at me, and her green eyes seem oddly stony. “What do you think?”

I frown, leaning forward and trying to take her hand.

She wrenches it away.

“Olivia, please tell me what’s going on.”

Her eyes narrow. “You know what’s going on. You’ve always known.”

It feels like she threw a bucket of ice water on my head.

She knows .

“Olivia, if this is about Carter Holdings?—”

“Of course, it’s about Carter Holdings. What else would it be about? We’ve never really talked about anything else, have we?”

I sit back in my seat, stung, shoulders stiffening. “We’re not just coworkers. We’re… friends.”

More than friends.

“That’s what I thought too. I guess the joke was on me.” It’s almost a whisper, and I’m horrified at the tears forming in her eyes.

“Please, give me a chance to explain.”

She crosses her arms over her chest, and it just makes her breasts bulge.

I struggle to keep my eyes on her face.

“I don’t know how you’re going to explain that you’ve been lying to me for months.”

“Not lying,” I argue. “Just… omitting.”

“Omitting the fact that my mother’s company is going under? That you’re going to allow Titan to dissolve it?”

I freeze. “Wait, what are you talking about? I never even imagined suggesting something like a dissolution.”

“That’s not what Dominic said.”

I grit my teeth.

“Dominic. Why am I not surprised?”

“What’s that supposed to mean? ”

The server looks nervous as she sits our drinks down. She clears her throat and takes out a server pad. “Ready for entrées?”

Olivia throws her menu down on the table. “Whatever is the most expensive thing on the menu.”

I huff out a breath, not worried even remotely about her expensive meal.

“The ribeye,” I answer, not taking my eyes off Olivia. “Medium rare. Asparagus and the Caesar salad.”

“The T-bone and lobster would be our most expensive item, ma’am. How would you like that steak cooked and what sides?”

Olivia doesn’t look away from me, either, staring me down.

“Bloody. House salad with balsamic vinaigrette, garlic mashed potatoes.”

I glance over at the server, and she’s looking back and forth between us like she’s watching a tennis match.

“Sure thing.” She hurries off.

“Now that we’ve traumatized our server, can we have a civil conversation about this?”

“I am being civil,” she says through gritted teeth.

“Dominic doesn’t have your best interests at heart. He doesn’t have Carter Holdings’ best interests at heart. I do.”

“Is that so? Because it certainly doesn’t seem like it.”

“Olivia, you have no idea how hard I’ve tried to make things right. I’ve been over and over the numbers, met with the head of the accounting department a dozen times, talked to the board…”

I really have done everything I can to try and mitigate this disaster, but when I say it out loud, it doesn’t sound like enough.

“You lied to me. ”

“Keeping it from you isn’t the same as lying.” I search her face.

She looks away from me, her eyes still wet.

She’s quiet for so long that I almost say something to fill the silence, but finally, she looks back up at me after wiping tears away with the heel of her hand.

“I’ve been keeping something from you, too,” she whispers, so quietly that I can barely hear her.

I frown, leaning forward over the table. “What are you talking about?”

She takes a shaking breath, and her eyes finally connect with mine again.

“I’m pregnant.”

Shock runs through me, and I can’t move. I can’t speak. I can’t breathe.

“Damien?” Concern washes over her face.

A breath rushes out of my lungs, and tears prick at the backs of my eyes.

A baby? A family? After all this time?

“It’s mine?” My voice cracks.

Her face changes. “I don’t… I don’t know.”

“What do you mean, you don’t know?” Anger rushes through me.

It’s stupid. Of course, I know that it might not be mine. I was there that night. With all three of us. But I can’t help feeling slighted.

“Damien, I was with all of you, how would I know?”

“You’re not on birth control?”

She huffs out a breath, and I curse inwardly.

I know that was the wrong thing to say, but in my defense, I’m absolutely floored.

The food arrives, and I have absolutely no appetite. So, I ignore it and stare at Olivia as she picks at her lobster and T-bone .

“I have an IUD. Sue me, I missed the appointment to get it updated. It’s not like any of you suggested protection, either.”

She’s right, but it feels like there’s something crawling under my skin.

Anger and jealousy cloud my thoughts.

“I can’t do this.” I stand up, and she frowns up at me.

“Sit down,” she hisses.

The anger boils up even more. “You came here to confront me about lying to you, but you’ve been keeping an entire baby from me?”

I remain standing, taking out my wallet to throw more than enough cash down on the table. Our poor server deserves a good tip, anyway.

“Damien, please—” Tears are rolling down her face.

My heart aches, but I told her the truth.

I really can’t do this. Not here. Not now. I need time to process this.

“I’ll see you at work.”

I storm out of the restaurant.

I’m waiting at the valet when she calls my name.

I freeze and don’t turn until her hand touches my shoulder.

“Damien, please.” Her voice is cracked, and I want to give in.

I want to pull her into my arms, tell her I’m sorry, that we’ll get through this together.

But I can’t.

I wrench away from her when the valet stops in front of us, and I get in and drive away, watching her look smaller and smaller in my rearview mirror.

I can’t be around anyone right now, so I just head home, walking into my place and immediately heading for the liquor cabinet .

Never been much of a drinker, but Olivia and this whole situation are driving me to it.

I pour myself a hefty glass and wince as the liquor burns down my throat.

I can barely breathe, there are knots in my stomach.

It only takes a few minutes for me to start feeling light-headed because I skipped lunch and went to the gym instead, and I couldn’t bring myself to eat after Olivia gave me the news.

She’s pregnant .

And it could be Dominic’s. Or Sebastian’s.

But what if it’s mine? What if it’s a little girl with her pale green eyes or a little boy with my nose? What if we could get married, be a family?

God, would I even be a good father? It’s not like I had a role model growing up.

I pinch the bridge of my nose between my fingers and plop down on the couch, chugging down the rest of the glass and nearly gagging at the taste.

“What am I supposed to do now?” I mutter to myself, my head spinning.

When I finally pass out on the couch, I dream of my house being filled with love and laughter, of a family I’ve always dreamed of but never had.