Page 38 of Single Dad’s Fake Bride (Billionaire Baby Daddies #7)

HARRISON

I sat on the foot of the bed with my head buried in my hands, staring at the carpet between my bare feet. I'd been in the middle of changing to pajamas when the exhaustion of emotional toll finally caught up with me and I sank down here, and now I didn't feel like moving at all.

I wasn't a pessimist, but this negative spiral felt like it had my world turning upside down and taking other people with it.

If I lost this case, not only did I lose Hawthorne and Eloise's ability to remain there as a student—because I could never afford tuition on my own—but it would turn Sadie's world around too.

And Janet's, stunting or even stopping her recovery.

The news from Blackwood today hadn't been promising.

The judge allowing the case to go from deposition to discovery should never have happened, yet here I was, staring down the double barrel of life.

Lose the case, lose everything, and have no job to return to.

The pressure I was under felt helpless, given that I had no control over the situation.

Dragging Sadie into this had been a very poor leap of faith.

I should've washed my hands of it when I had the chance and explained to my sisters why Eloise needed their help to stay at Hawthorne.

I'd let my pride ruin my chances of that, and now there was no turning back.

I had to let this play out and pray to whatever god may be listening that something would break my direction.

When Sadie burst out of the bathroom with something fisted in her hand, I looked up, feeling a bit of shock.

I didn't know where she was. After rushing off during dinner clean up, I thought maybe she was feeling sick.

Then Janet said she threw up, and I assumed her last week at the school had exposed her to the flu that typically started doing its rounds this time of year.

But the frightened, deer-in-the-headlights expression on her face didn't scream "flu". It looked more like rigid panic, laced with hesitation or fear.

"Are you alright?" I asked her, ignoring the fact that I was in only my boxers.

I made a point over the past few weeks with Janet staying here to change and be ready before Sadie came to bed, or long after she was asleep.

The tension between us was often explosive, the chemistry so addictive we had no way of stopping ourselves.

But I hated how disrespectful it made me feel toward her.

She deserved better than my lack of self-control.

Sadie padded toward me, opening her palm as she walked, and I stared at her hand.

Something wrapped in a tissue lay on her palm, and her hand shook slightly.

Her skin was pale, like she was afraid, but her cheeks were flushed and her eyes wide.

She acted as if she wanted me to take it from her, so I reached up hesitantly and plucked it from her palm, folding the tissue back.

The small, white plastic wand was face down, but I knew what it was the instant I saw it, and the second I had it in my hand, she hugged her arms over her chest and backed away like I had the plague.

I didn't need to turn it over to know. My insides felt like lava instantly, and my chest blew up like a balloon.

But I flipped it over to see the two pink lines and the tears came before I could speak, large, swelling drops that rolled down my cheeks and had me shaking my head. The breaking point I'd been needing for months.

"You're…?" I said, looking up at her frightened face.

Sadie didn't respond with words, but her head dropped like she felt ashamed as I stood and dropped the test, taking her by the biceps and pulling her against my chest.

"Oh my God, Sadie…" I breathed, cradling her, kissing the top of her head. My heart hammered, but it was elation, not fear or anger or whatever reaction she was bracing for.

"Please… don’t be angry…"

"Angry?" I asked, snapping her back to arm's length so I could see her face. "Why on earth would I be angry? My God….This is amazing. It's incredible. You're pregnant!"

She trembled as tears rolled down her cheeks and she stared up at me, still frazzled. I could tell she was still frightened and unsure of what was going through my head.

"Did you mean it?" she asked timidly.

"Mean what?" I shook my head, confused.

"When you said you loved me. Did you mean it?" Her lip quivered, and I let the smile I felt warm my face as I pulled her back to my chest.

"I meant it more than I've ever meant it to anyone, sweet, amazing girl.

You came into my life and changed everything, and even if this entire circus of a mess we're in went pear-shaped, I would still love you.

It's crazy fast and I know it's stupid and I should have no good reason to feel this strongly, but I love you.

" I held her back again, cupping both of her cheeks as I continued.

"I love the way you read to Eloise. I love the way you make coffee rings on my counter. I love the way you leave the lid off the milk carton and the way you fold towels in thirds instead of by halves and I love how you?—"

Her hand shot up and she pressed one finger to my lips to stop my rambling.

It's a good thing because I had a million things I loved about her that I would probably stand here telling her if she let me.

But her finger preceded her lips as she rose to her tiptoes and pressed them to mine.

It was warm and hopeful, and I let her part my lips and slip her tongue against mine.

When she pulled away, she whispered, "It doesn't have to mean anything… Anything at all…" Then as another tear rolled down her cheek, she kissed me again.

Her finger fell from my lips and I let myself sink into her, into the trembling sweetness of her mouth. My hands framed her face, then slid down her sides, over her waist, until my thumbs found the edge of her shorts.

She didn’t stop me. She pulled me closer, her chest pressed against mine, her body warm and eager beneath my touch. I guided her backward until the backs of her legs brushed the bed, and she sank down onto it, her eyes wide and searching.

“Sadie…” I breathed, brushing a strand of hair away from her cheek.

She shook her head, as if she didn’t want me to say anything else, and tugged at the waistband of my boxers.

Her urgency caught me off guard, but it only fanned the fire already burning through me.

I slid her shirt over her head, tossing it aside, and she arched up to help me.

Her skin glowed in the dim light, every inch of her calling to me.

“You don’t have to be afraid,” I whispered. “Not of me. Not of this.”

Her breath hitched, but she pulled me down on top of her, her thighs parting to cradle me. I kissed down her throat, tasting the salt of her tears, the heat of her pulse racing beneath her skin. Each sound she made wound me tighter, each gasp unraveling me more.

I hooked my thumbs into her shorts and slid them down slowly, her hips lifting to help me. She was shaking, but it wasn’t fear anymore. Her fingers clutched at my shoulders as I touched her, as I let my hand slip between her thighs, feeling her already wet for me.

“Harrison…” she whispered, her voice breaking.

I kissed her mouth again, swallowing the sound, pressing into her with my hand until her hips bucked.

She was so ready, her body opening for me, and I couldn’t wait another second.

I pushed my boxers down and settled between her thighs, guiding myself into her with one steady thrust. Her back arched, a broken cry leaving her lips as I filled her completely.

“God…” I groaned, burying my face in her neck. “You feel perfect.”

Her legs wrapped tightly around my hips, pulling me deeper, her nails raking across my shoulders. I moved inside her, slow at first, then harder when I felt her body respond. Each stroke dragged another sound from her throat, each one higher, sharper, needier than the last.

She clung to me like she couldn’t breathe without me, her chest heaving against mine, her mouth hot and wet as she kissed me with desperate hunger. I shifted my hips, driving into her at a different angle, and her gasp nearly undid me.

“That’s it,” I urged, holding her gaze as I pushed harder. “Let go for me.”

Her eyes fluttered shut, her whole body tensing beneath me, and then she broke, crying out as she came hard around me. The sudden clench of her body dragged me over the edge with her. I groaned her name into her mouth as I spilled into her, holding her close like I’d never let her go.

I stayed inside her, unwilling to let go, my chest heaving against hers. The world had narrowed to this bed, this moment, her skin damp beneath my palms and her breath warm against my throat. She curled into me, her hand resting over my heart as if she could feel how violently it pounded.

For weeks I’d tried to cage it, to keep myself from crossing the line, to tell myself what we had was nothing more than survival and circumstance. But with her body wrapped around mine, carrying my child, every wall I had left crumbled.

“I love you,” I whispered. The words scraped raw from my chest, terrifying to speak, but truer than anything I’d ever said.

Her lips parted, her eyes wet, and then she breathed the only thing that mattered. “I love you too.”

The sound of it nearly undid me. I kissed her hard, kissing her like a starving man, kissing her because for the first time in years, I didn’t feel like I was holding everything together by sheer force of will. I felt… free. Seen. Wanted for who I was, not for what I could provide.

She pressed her forehead to mine, her tears smearing against my cheek. “I tried not to,” she admitted. “I thought if I kept my heart out of it, it wouldn’t hurt when all of this ended. But I can’t stop. I love you, Harrison.”

My throat burned. I held her tighter, overwhelmed by the truth of it. I’d lived so long in careful, measured silence, never giving anyone this piece of me. Now I couldn’t imagine not giving it to her.

But if she loved me, if she was tying herself to me in this way, she had to know what kind of future she was walking into.

“There’s something I need to tell you,” I murmured.

She brushed her thumb over my jaw, waiting.

The weight of her touch steadied me and unmoored me all at once.

For years I’d built my life around control—every number in its column, every plan airtight, every choice calculated so Eloise would never feel the instability I’d grown up with.

Now, here she was, telling me she loved me, trusting me with her body, her heart, and our child.

And all I could think was how unworthy I was to hold it.

“Sadie…” I faltered, my voice rough. “I don’t want to lose this. Not you. Not us.”

She blinked, her brows drawing together, but she didn’t speak. She just waited, her silence soft and patient, as if she knew dragging it out of me would be worse than letting me wrestle with it.

I pressed my forehead to hers, eyes closing.

“The truth is… none of this is certain. Everything I’ve promised you, everything I’ve built for Eloise—it could all disappear.

I’ve been holding it inside because I didn’t want to lay that weight on you.

But if you love me, you deserve to know what you’re stepping into. ”

I drew in a shaky breath. “The case with Blackwood… the lawyer doesn’t think it will go my way.

If it doesn’t, I lose Hawthorne. I lose the title.

The salary. The protection that’s kept Eloise here.

It means public school for her, and me going back to a normal job, trying to hold us together on far less than you’ve seen so far. ”

The words cracked something open in me. Saying them aloud made the threat feel closer, more real. I’d been pretending I could keep us all above water by sheer force of will, but I couldn’t ignore how precarious it was.

I searched her face, half-afraid I’d see regret there, that she’d wish she’d never said she loved me. Instead, her hand slid higher along my jaw, her thumb brushing the corner of my mouth as if to soothe me.

She brushed her thumb over my jaw, waiting.

I swallowed hard. The words felt jagged in my throat, but I couldn’t keep them from her.

“Everything could change, Sadie. If the board wins, I’m not headmaster anymore.

No salary, no legacy, nothing from my father.

Just me, working a job and trying to cover what I can.

Eloise won’t be able to stay at Hawthorne. ”

Her expression didn’t shift. “Then we find another way. If she has to leave, I’ll teach her myself. She won’t fall behind.”

I stared at her, certain I’d misheard. “You’d take that on?”

“Yes.” She said it without hesitation. “Because this isn’t about titles or money. I want you. I want Eloise. I want a family with you, whatever it looks like.”

The air left my lungs in a rush. For months, I’d braced for the moment she would decide this was too much, that the strain of it would drive her away. Instead, she was offering more. Not because she had to. Because she wanted to.

I pulled her against me and kissed her, slow this time, tasting the certainty in her words. She didn’t want my father’s name or the school’s prestige. She wanted me.

When she finally slept, curled into my chest, I stared up at the ceiling. The case still hung over us. The board. My sisters. But this—her, us—wasn’t in question anymore. It was real. And I would prove it. To the judge. To the board. Even to Margot and Caroline.