Page 23 of Accidental Theirs (Alpha Billionaire Daddies #6)

Chapter Twenty

OLIVIA

I slowly open my eyes, and I’m so warm and comfortable that I don’t want to get up.

Dominic’s arms are wrapped around me, and when I wiggle, he shifts, not quite waking.

I slowly extract myself and stand up, looking down at him in my bed.

His sandy-colored hair falls across his face, his features softened by sleep. His eyelashes are longer than mine, fanning across his cheekbones.

Damnit.

I shouldn’t have called him. I should have waited until today, until my emotions were less intense. The hormones just make everything worse.

Sebastian’s support was unexpected, but I’m still stung by Damien’s response.

And Dominic… Well, I should have known I would catch feelings all over again for him. It was stupid to ever start interacting with him again outside of work.

But what if he is saying the truth? What if he really does support me and my unborn child? Unconditionally ?

As if he heard me thinking about him, he stirs, yawning widely as he blinks sleepily at me, sitting up against the headboard.

“What time is it?” There’s a rasp in his voice that makes my skin hot, but I ignore it.

“Noon,” I answer. “I slept through my alarms.”

Usually, I’d be running around crazy, trying to get ready to go in, but given how Damien and I left things, he can sweat a little.

“Fuck.” He grabs his phone and shoots off a text.

I cross my arms over my chest, rubbing my arms. “I’m sorry I kept you out so late.”

He frowns, looking up from his phone. “Don't you dare apologize. You needed me, so I came. I always will.”

Dominic sitting shirtless against my headboard is making my head fuzzy, but I can’t keep staring.

I look away. “I, um... I think I need some time to think.”

He doesn’t respond and when I look back, he’s frowning even deeper.

“What’s there to think about? We’re back together. I’ve got you.”

“We're not back together.”

He blinks, and hurt flashes across his face. “But last night?—”

“Last night, I was upset, and you were here for me. I’m grateful for that. But I’m not ready for us to be a thing again. Not... not yet.”

“Does that mean there’s a chance?”

The hope in his voice makes my heart do flips, but I try to stay strong.

“I need to learn to trust you again, Dom. It’s not that easy, so I don’t know. We’ll see.”

Dominic throws back the blanket and stands, picking his shirt up off the ground and putting it on .

“All right. I’ll go. But just remember who was here for you.”

I want to roll my eyes at his obvious possessiveness, but I have always secretly found it a little sexy, so I don’t.

I nearly push him to the door, and he pouts, standing outside in the hallway.

“No goodbye kiss?”

I peck him on the cheek, but he catches my chin in his hand, kissing my mouth soundly.

I huff out a breath, but he just smirks and heads toward the elevator.

Letting the door shut behind him, I head back to bed, plopping down facedown.

I don’t even want to look at my phone, but I have to. Roland will be worried.

Grabbing it off the nightstand, I notice a few text messages.

Roland: Did you sleep in? Are you sick? Text me back.

Marie: Let me know if you need anything.

Damien: I’m sorry for how I reacted. Let’s talk.

I breathe out through my nostrils.

He’d reacted badly, that’s for sure, even though I’d expected Dominic to be the angry, possessive one.

I text Roland and Marie in our group chat, I need you guys. Come over at lunch.

They each text back with heart emojis, and my heart swells.

I’m lucky to have friends like them, especially during this confusing time.

I pre-emptively order from our favorite Thai place, and by the time Marie and Roland arrive, having carpooled, my kitchen table is full of glass noodles and other goodies.

Marie comes straight to me for a hug while Roland sits down at the table, already digging in .

“Should have known you’d pick the food over me,” I drawl.

Roland shrugs. “Guy’s gotta eat, right?”

“He eats like a horse and stays so trim,” Marie complains.

I pat my stomach. “I’m eating for two, so I ordered a lot.”

She laughs. “Fair enough. Now, what’s going on? You worried us, not showing up this morning.”

“Damien’s been standing on top of his head,” Roland pipes up, and some bitter part of me is glad.

“With the way he acted last night, I’m not surprised.”

Marie’s eyes widen as she sits across from Roland and grabs a box of spring rolls. “Oh, my God. Spill everything. Did you tell him?”

I sit down with them, slowly eating so that my morning sickness won’t make it come back up.

“I told all of them.”

Roland’s mouth drops open. Luckily, he’s already chewed and swallowed.

“How did that go?”

I sigh. “It was a mixed bag. Sebastian and Dominic were surprisingly understanding and supportive, but Damien kind of flipped out.”

Roland’s eyes widen. “Plot twist! I always thought it’d be Dominic who lost it.”

Marie nods.

I wince. “Well, I told Dom last, around three in the morning, and he, um, stayed over.”

“On the couch?” Marie asks and Roland scoffs.

“Fat chance.”

I reach across the table to smack him, but he darts away from me.

“I’m just keeping it real.”

I groan. “Well, you’re right. I did sleep with him. I was just so upset, and he said all the right things... ”

Marie’s small smile plays on her lips. “Doesn’t he always? He wants you back so badly, he’d say anything.”

I frown. “So, you don’t think he means it?”

She shrugs. “I’m honestly not sure. I’m just warning you to be careful.”

Roland finishes up his noodles and moves on to mine.

I’ve started to get a bit nauseous anyway, so I don’t protest.

He swallows and wipes his mouth. “Usually, I’d suggest cracking open a bottle of wine even though it’s one in the afternoon, but with the baby coming, we can’t do that.”

“I know. I’m going to miss wine so much.”

“It’ll miss you, too,” Marie teases, and I laugh.

It feels good to be among friends, be away from the drama for just a little while.

“When you say Damien was worried...” I remember his text and feel kind of bad.

Maybe I should talk to him.

Marie nods. “He only asked me about twelve times if I’d heard from you.”

Roland starts to clean up the mess on the table. “Same here.”

Marie shrugs. “Honestly, you can’t blame the guy for being a little upset. It’s a lot to deal with, and with the rumors about his past...”

I blink. “Wait. What rumors?”

Marie bites her lip. “Um, maybe I shouldn’t have said anything.”

Roland is always the gossip, and he doesn’t disappoint. “Rumors are he used to be a bad boy.”

Damien? A bad boy?

I laugh. “That’s ridiculous.”

“No, seriously. Your mother had a lot of his criminal record expunged because he was a juvenile when it happened.”

“Criminal record? Now I know you’re just making stuff up.”

“Believe what you want, but I’ve seen the emails.”

I stare at him. “And you’ve never thought to tell me this before?”

“I thought you knew! Why are you always out of the loop on office drama?”

“Wish I knew,” I mutter, my head spinning.

Damien has a dark past?

Now that I think about it, he never talks about his family. Never makes a mention of any siblings, parents, anything like that.

“It’s his business,” Marie argues. “Whatever he was in his past, Damien is a good man now, and a great CEO.”

There’s no denying that.

I think of Damien’s handsome face, try to picture him on a motorcycle or vandalizing a building or something.

I come up with absolutely nothing. It’s ridiculous to even think about.

Besides, wouldn’t my mother have told me that? Made sure I knew the whole truth?

Mom always played her cards close to her chest, though, so I’m conflicted.

Marie shakes her head. “I’m less shocked about Damien going nuclear and more shocked about Sebastian being supportive. I figured he’d run for the hills.”

“He took it really well, but to be fair, he was pretty drunk.” I chuckle at the memory.

He was actually pretty cute, all wide-eyed and confused at first.

“Drunk? Did you catch him right after the bar?”

“Maybe. ”

The mysterious Sebastian intrigues me, I can’t lie. Some part of me wants to learn his secrets, see if I can pierce that front he puts up.

Roland looks at me. “What I want to know is how you feel about all this.”

“How I feel?”

He nods. “About all of them. We know you’re still crazy about Dominic, but has all this made you realize that you might have feelings for Damien and Sebastian, too?”

Marie pats my hand. “You don’t have to tell us if you don’t want to.”

“Of course, she does! We’re her best friends. She owes us all her drama.”

I rub a hand over my face. “Honestly, I’m not sure how I feel.

All of them have good qualities for a father, but as for romance?

I don’t know. I’ve been in love with Dominic for years, and I’ll admit to seeing Damien in a new light.

Sebastian, on the other hand... I’ve known him for a long time, too, but it’s like I barely know him. ”

Roland heads to the living room to plop down on the couch. “He plays it pretty cool.”

“Are we going back to work, or…?”

“What’s Damien going to do? Fire us?”

I snort and then startle when the doorbell rings.

“The plot thickens,” Marie drawls, and I wave a hand to dismiss her before going to the door.

Looking through the peephole, all I see are red roses.

I pull the door open, and the courier looks up at me. “Are you Olivia Carter?”

“That’s me.”

He hands two dozen roses to me in a beautiful vase and leaves without another word.

I bring the flowers inside and instantly put water into the vase, admiring them before picking up the card .

I’m sorry. - Damien.

My heart melts.

I know it’s a cliché, being excited over flowers, but I’m a simple woman. I enjoy flowers and chocolate for apologies.

“I’d bet my life savings that’s from Damien.” Marie pauses. “I guess it could be Dominic.”

“My money’s on Sebastian,” Roland says, and I shake my head, smiling, putting the roses on my mantle and sitting down on the couch between my two best friends.

“Damien. Says he’s sorry.”

“You’re going to forgive him,” Roland teases, and Marie nods.

I sigh. “Of course, I am. I don’t really have a choice, do I? He could be the father of my child just as much as the other two.”

“You should go over to his house this evening. You don’t want to have this conversation at work.”

“His house? I’ve never even been there.”

Marie’s eyes almost bulge out of her face. “After all the time you’ve worked together, you’ve never been to his place?”

“Never. Kind of just assumed he slept in his office upside down like a bat.”

Roland and Marie crack up, and I lean against Roland’s shoulder, feeling comforted.

No matter what else is going on, I’ve got these two people in my corner.

And I can’t help but wonder what the future will bring.