The Billionaire Wins the Game (18 page)

Lucas set her down and she rushed from
room to room. The place was huge. There were some furnishings, but
not a lot. The kitchen had every appliance known to man and she
couldn’t wait to use them all.

A huge staircase circled around,
allowing two ways to get up or down. It had the kind of railing you
saw royalty descending from in all the romantic movies. She trailed
her hand along the railing while she ran up the stairs. Several
rooms were absolutely breathtaking.

She was surprised at the lack of
furniture. Maybe it was to be delivered later. She walked into one
room and gasped. There was nothing in it but a beautiful old
fashioned crib with laced bedding.

She walked slowly up to the crib and
ran her hand along it, picturing her child sleeping under the
delicate quilt. Suddenly, Lucas was behind her, wrapping her in his
arms. “This was the same crib I slept in as a baby. I know most
mothers want to design their own nursery, but it would mean a lot
to me, and my parents, if we used this crib for our child,” he
whispered in her ear.

“My mother made this quilt, herself.
She spent months on it while she was pregnant with me. She made one
for each of her children and then saved them for her future
grandchildren,” he continued.

Amy was speechless. She was so touched
by this piece of his family history, she knew she wouldn’t be able
to get words out, so instead she turned in his arms and decided to
show him how much she liked the crib.

Lucas gently picked her up and carried
her to their room. She was focused all on him and didn’t finish her
tour of the home until much later.

As they lay in the bed together and she
cuddled under his chin, he rubbed her back while they talked. “You
must have noticed the lack of furniture. The pieces here came from
my parents and others I’ve picked up over the years. The rest of
the place is for you to decorate. You can do what you want with it.
If you want some help, my mother asked me to inform you she’d enjoy
working with you to make this our home.”

“In other words she’s begging you to
let her take you all over the city in a shopping frenzy. My mother
really likes to shop, especially when it’s for someone else. You’ll
be begging for mercy, but honestly, if you want to do it on your
own I’ll make an excuse up,” he said.

Amy could tell he meant what he said.
She could’ve refused, but she loved his parents, and didn’t think
she’d be able to deny them anything. She’d enjoy hanging out with
his mother and learning from her. Katherine would know everything
about what babies needed, because she herself knew
nothing.

“I’d be very pleased to go with your
mom, but I don’t know when I’ll have the time,” she said. Lucas
took a deep breath as if he was trying to gain courage. That
surprised her, as he seemed to never fear anything.

“What is it?” she asked.

“Amy, honestly I’m not trying to
control you, but I think it would be best if you were to focus on
you and the baby. You’ve already had health issues and will be very
busy getting things ready for our new home and the baby. I don’t
think you should work for the company anymore,” he finally got to
the point.

Amy had many mixed feelings. She was
surprised that the strongest emotion she felt was relief. She was
doing well at her job, but she didn’t love it. There was so much
stress involved and all she could think about was her unborn child,
and her husband, anyway, which made work all that much more
difficult. The doctor hadn’t released her from bed rest, and she
could once again focus on her career after she safely delivered her
child.

She didn’t want to be completely
dependent on Lucas. She did have a decent amount of savings
already, due to the fact that she had very little expenses. That
was her security blanket. It wasn’t enough to last long if they
were no longer together, but it would be enough to get her settled
into a new place while she found a job.

“I would need to train a new person.
I’m okay with not working for now, especially since Dr. Scott said
I need to stay off my feet as much as possible. I’ll want to get a
job after the baby is a few months old, though, but it might be
better if I didn’t work for my husband,” she surprised him by
saying.

Lucas had been afraid she was going to
feel like he was pushing her away. “You don’t have to worry about
training someone. My dad has already taken care of all that while
we were on our honeymoon,” he said happily. He was so relieved this
hadn’t caused them another fight.

“Who’s this new person?” she asked
suspiciously. She didn’t want some skinny, hot young thing working
with her husband for countless hours each week. She knew there were
many women out there who wouldn’t have any problem sleeping with a
married man, and that connecting door between their offices was far
too easy to slink through.

The thought of another woman placing
her hands on Lucas was enough to quicken her breathing, and she was
ready to scratch the eyes out of this non-existent person. This was
her family and she’d do anything in her power to hold onto
them.

Lucas laughed. He knew exactly what she
was thinking. “Don’t worry. She is a happily married grandmother of
six, who is more than qualified. She actually worked for another
division in the company and my father felt it was high time she got
a promotion,” he reassured her.

“Esther’s been working with her the
past week and she’s picked up on the job quickly. I think she’ll do
well for us in the corporate offices. Of course, it will no longer
be such a pleasure for me going into work each day, knowing you’re
not there. I’ve gotten used to your scent invading every aspect of
my workspace. I’ll desperately miss it,” he said while nuzzling her
neck.

“I guess everything has been taken care
of, then,” she said, feeling a little out of sorts, since she’d
been replaced so easily. “I’ll focus on getting our home ready for
the baby.” Amy was scared, as she’d always worked so hard and now
there wasn’t much expected from her, except to get the home ready
and wait for their little one to be born. She’d been working hard
for so long, she didn’t know what she’d do with the extra time on
her hands.

Plus, she wouldn’t take anything from
her husband if he ever decided the marriage was over. She loved him
and she wouldn’t turn into the woman he thought she was at the
beginning of their relationship.

It was sad to her how many people used
Lucas and his family for their own selfish needs. Couldn’t all
those people see the Andersons’ were amazing people, with or
without the money and power? Well, she planned on showing him how
much she loved him for himself, and nothing else, for the rest of
her life.

Amy spent the next couple of months
getting her home decorated and ready for her newborn. She’d
frequently stop whatever she was doing and rub her belly. She was
overjoyed by the fact she was soon to be a mother.

Her relationship with Lucas was going
well, but there was also something missing. They made love
regularly and it was amazing. When they were in the bed together,
she felt cherished, like the most beautiful woman in the
world.

When she was in his arms, everything
was perfect. He still hadn’t said the magic words to her, but she
did feel loved by him. Maybe he just wouldn’t be able to tell her
he was in love with her.

She had to fight herself
daily to not shout the words out to him. Each time they made love,
she’d say them in her head over and over again.
“
I love you Lucas, I love
you.
” How she wished she had the
confidence to tell him how she felt. She was afraid he’d think her
too clingy if she told him, and then pull away.

She didn’t know if she
could survive if he didn’t want her anymore. She’d begun to imagine
the
happily ever after life
she’d read about in so many romance novels. She’d
always thought it was a work of fiction, but there she was, living
it in her own ongoing novel.

Amy was lost in her own thoughts, as
she attempted to read a book out by the pool. Her stomach was
getting so much larger as she was in the thick of her third
trimester of pregnancy. She kept waiting for Lucas to become
repulsed with her body, but he seemed to think the changes were
sexy, if his body’s reaction was any indication.

Even on the rare nights they didn’t
make love, she could feel the evidence he wanted her, pressed into
the softness of her behind.

“Hello, sexy,” Lucas said, as he sat
down and nuzzled her neck. “How are you feeling, today,” he
continued up her neck with an open mouthed kiss that had her pulse
sky-rocketing.

“I’m feeling great,” she purred. “Want
me to take you upstairs and show you,” she pleaded, as his kisses
were already making her body turn to a puddle of need.

He chuckled and pulled her into his
lap, where he sealed their mouths together in a deep kiss. By the
time they pulled apart for much needed air, she could feel the
evidence of his arousal and she was ready for him.

He slid her skirt up and took her right
there on the lounge with her sitting atop him. She came fast and
hard and then collapsed in his arms. “Now that was a great hello,”
he whispered as he continued to stroke her back.

“Dinner’s ready,” they heard a voice
call from inside the house.

Lucas quickly covered Amy up, having
forgotten their maid could’ve walked out at any moment. He forgot
the rest of the world existed when she was wrapped in his
arms.

He didn’t like to lose control that
way, and he sat uncomfortably while his body tried to return to
normal.

“I’m sorry,” he said a bit sheepishly.
“I was just coming out to say hello, but you make me go a little
crazy,” he continued.

She laid her hand on his face while
looking into his eyes. “Don’t be sorry, I wanted you just as badly,
and no one caught us,” she said a bit defensively. “I want to make
love to you as much as possible, before our child takes up all the
room, and you won’t be able to touch me anymore,” she finished a
little self-consciously.

He looked deep into her eyes and spoke
honestly, “you’re beautiful, Amy, and your body changing with our
child growing inside of you, only enhances that beauty. I want you
all the time, and that won’t change.” He continued to caress
her.

They sat together for a while longer
until hunger finally had them getting up and going into the
kitchen, where they shared a pleasantly quiet dinner and then
retired early to bed, and made love again. As she reached her peak,
she quietly whispered “I love you,” finally not being able to hold
it back anymore.

She felt him stiffen at her words and
feared she’d somehow broken the rules of their marriage. He said
nothing, but didn’t push her away. She lay in his arms, feeling
desolate and wanting him to repeat the words to her.

She felt like he loved her, but maybe
she was wrong. Silent tears fell down her cheeks, until she finally
fell asleep from pure exhaustion.

Lucas lay there, holding Amy, as he
waited for her breathing to even out, showing him she was finally
asleep. She loved him, he thought in awe. He’d seen the signs of
her attachment and felt she was falling in love but he was so
afraid to open himself.

There’d been too many women who’d
spoken those same words; not because they loved him, but because
they loved his money, his power, and all he could give
them.

He knew deep down, Amy wasn’t one of
those women, but she already had him completely wrapped around her
fingers. To give her his love too; seemed like he’d be giving up
the last piece of himself. He wasn’t ready to do that yet. He had
to have something left, he tried to reason.

After she told Lucas she loved him, he
started coming home later each night. She was seeing him much less.
She could feel him slipping away, before she’d ever really had him.
She figured she was going to either give this her all, or let go.
She couldn’t live in the marriage half-way anymore.

It was killing her a little bit more
each day as she watched him pull further away from her. She didn’t
say she loved him again, afraid if she did, he’d ask her to sleep
in a separate room from him.

They were making love less often, too,
partially because he was gone so much more, but a lot had to do
with the fact she was getting so far along in her pregnancy, and
she was tired all the time. She had a few months in the middle
where she’d felt great, but the beginning had been hard, and the
end was even worse.

The doctor was keeping an eye on her,
as she was swelling too much, and he was worried her blood pressure
was too high. He’d put her on bed rest for ninety percent of each
day and she was getting very tired of it.

When she finally got her blood pressure
under control, the doctor told her she could move around a bit more
and some fresh air might do her good. She decided to get out of the
house for a while.

She was going into the office to
surprise Lucas with a romantic lunch, lovemaking, and a confession.
She was going to tell him how much she loved him and wanted the
marriage to be real.