Filed to story: Submitting to My Bestie’s Daddy Read Online >>???
“Just do as I asked you,” I snapped. “If shit gets bad, protect her and keep her safe.”
“Yeah. I f*cking heard you the first time,” he replied as the sound of glass crashing in the background caught my attention. “You don’t have to ask me to keep her safe, James. I f*cking love her and will do what I need to, to protect her.”
“You aren’t the only one who loves her, Neal.”
“No, but I’m the only one who gave a f*ck about what she wanted,” he replied before the phone call disconnected and I was left in silence.
Neal wasn’t wrong about what he’d said, but at the same time, he wasn’t right. I did care about what she wanted and who she was. Even if I hadn’t always shown it. The problem was that even if things had happened differently with us… she would have still been caught up in my issues.
The only problem then would be that she may not have had someone like Neal to protect her.
.
Becca.
“What are you doing today?” Neal asked from the bed. We had spent another glorious night wrapped in each other’s arms, and as much as he wanted me to stay there… I had shit to do.
“I told you yesterday…” I laughed as I peeked my head around the corner of the bathroom to look at him. His cool eyes stared back at me with his arms resting behind his head. “I have shopping to get done. Christmas is right around the corner, and if we’re going to be leaving, I’m not going to leave people empty-handed.”
“I’m not telling you that you have to leave people empty-handed. All I’m merely asking is, why do you have to do it today? Come back to bed.”
Shaking my head, I rolled my eyes and continued finishing up the rest of my makeup. If I was going to beat the masses, which I highly doubt I was going to do, then I needed to hurry up and get my ass out there so I could get my shopping done.
Looking down, I stared at the small bump protruding from beneath my shirt. I was closing in on four months, and while I still dreaded telling James I was pregnant—I was planning on doing it soon.
I was wrong to continuously hold off on telling him the truth. He deserved to know he was the father. The problem was, I just hadn’t had time to go down to Miami and tell him. And unlike some people who thought it would be perfectly fine to pick up a phone and tell him, that wasn’t me.
Telling James he was going to be a father, again, needed to be done in person, not over the phone or FaceTime or anything like that. I found that to be so impersonal.
“Don’t you have a meeting at eleven o’clock?” I called from the bathroom, pointing out that he had been denying what needed to be done. All because he wanted to stay in bed with me.
“Yes, I do, but I wanted to spend the morning with you.”
“We live together, sweetie. You don’t have to stay and miss work every single day just because you want to spend time with me,” I replied as I stepped from the bathroom.
“I know we do.” He watched me walk from the bathroom towards the closet. I had no doubt he would try and pull me back into bed if he got his way, but I couldn’t let that happen. I was a woman on a mission.
The moment I bent down to grab my boots, I felt his arms around my waist. A smile spread across my lips as I stood up and felt his lips against my cheek.
“You look absolutely stunning.”
“Do I?” I whispered as I leaned my head back to let his lips press gently against mine.
He didn’t hesitate in deepening the kiss as his hand ran over my small protruding bump. “Yes, you do.”
“Well, be it as it may, I can’t get back into bed with you. I know what you’re trying to do, and it’s not going to work. I’m on a mission today, and I have a lot of ground to cover before the end of the day.”
With a groan of protest, he let me go with much reluctance.
“I suppose I should get ready for my meeting, then?”
Laughing, I stepped from the closet and smiled at him. “That would be the adult thing to do if you feel like adulting today.”
Understanding my sense of humor, he laughed, nodding his head. “Okay, okay.”
The last few weeks had been hectic, but now I was settled into Neal’s home and was preparing for the future, I found myself more relaxed by everything. It wasn’t my ideal situation, but I wouldn’t change a thing.
I was finally looking forward to having the baby. “I have an appointment with the doctor tomorrow, by the way.”
He stopped in his tracks, naked and gorgeous as ever, and turned his attention towards me. “Are you finding out the gender?”
“I don’t know… maybe? I thought about not finding out. Just waiting until the baby is born.”
“Really? No one does that anymore.” He chuckled. “Or do you want to have a party or whatever they do with the genders?”
I couldn’t help but chuckle at his comment. He was taking all of this very seriously, and even though the child wasn’t his, he still wanted to be a part of every aspect. “No party.”
“Okay. If that’s what you want to do, then I’ll support your choice. On that note, I got the flight booked for Saturday,” he replied, drawing my attention even more.
I knew what he was talking about. We were leaving on Saturday to fly down to Miami. We would spend a couple days with Allegra, and then we would turn around and fly up to my father’s for Christmas.
I was excited to see my father. It had been so long, and with him having a new girlfriend, I couldn’t to meet her. She made my father happy, and that was what was important.
“That sounds perfect, which is all the more reason why I need to leave now to go get shopping done. Not to mention, there’s all the wrapping that has to be done as well, which is incredibly tedious, and I’m very meticulous about it.”
“You’re not seriously wrapping presents.” He looked at me, slightly shocked. “That’s what those gift wrappers are for at the stores to wrap your gifts, so you don’t have to.”
“You have never personally wrapped a gift yourself?”
“I’m a busy man.” He shrugged. “I don’t have time for that kind of stuff.”
“So you keep telling me,” I muttered with a smile. “Regardless, one day you’re going to have to wrap a gift yourself.”
“Perhaps, but that day is not yet happening, so therefore I will continue to allow those gift wrappers to wrap the gifts for me.” Leaning in, he pressed his lips against the corner of my mouth, kissing me before I quickly made my way to the front door.
“I won’t be too late, and I’ll call you as soon as I am on my way home.”
“You better. Otherwise, I’m sending security out to find you.” He leaned against the kitchen counter as he watched me go.
I knew he was giving me space to be my own person, but the last week he had been so adamant about me taking someone with me as ‘security.’ I wasn’t sure why, and I didn’t press the issue, but deep down, I couldn’t help but wonder if something was going on.
Something I wasn’t privy to.
**************
A few hours and many stores later, I found myself satisfied with the gifts I had purchased.
The snow had slowly begun to fall once more, and stepping out onto the cold streets of New York, I made my way through the crowd in search of something warm to soothe my throat. The cold air wasn’t something I was used to yet, and even though I had lived in it for some time with school, I rarely ventured out into it.
Perhaps it was my warm southern blood protesting.
With no coffee shop insight, I decided to call the driver to come and pick me up. After hours of shopping, the bags were heavy, and, honestly, I was ready to go home. There was only one gift I still needed to get, and that was for Neal.
I had contemplated what gift I would get him for some time, and the only thing that kept going back to my mind were the stories he told me of when he visited his grandparents and how those were some of the happiest moments that he had ever had.