The Billionaire's Jackpot: Betting on You Series: Book Four (16 page)

Katherine gave him a look of thanks before heading over to Elaine, sitting in a rocking chair with the now sleeping baby. Trent stood proudly by her side.

Drew reached out his hand to Trent. “Congrats, man. He’s a good-looking boy. Thankfully he has his mother’s looks.”

Trent laughed. “You got that right.” His tone became serious. “Thanks for coming over last night.”

Drew shrugged his shoulders. “Wait till you get the bill.”

Trent then walked over to Katherine. She started to shake his hand, but he pulled her into his arms, not saying anything. He watched as Katherine put her arms around him, patting him on the back. It was strange to watch. Not one word uttered. Then Trent let her go and stood back by Elaine.
What’s that all about?

Before he could inquire Trent reached down and took the baby from Elaine’s arms and said, “We’re glad you guys are all here. We wanted you to be the first to meet the newest member of the Davis family.” Elaine moved the blanket slightly so they could all see him. “Meet Bradford Davis.”

The room was silent.
Brad.
Drew nodded his approval. Ross and Jon moved closer for a first look at the baby. There was no need to say anything.

Jill and Lizette on the other hand, seemed to have forgotten Katherine wasn’t privy to their friend Brad, as they said, “What a nice way to honor him.”

He shook his head, trying to give them the hint but they were too emotional to even notice.

“Who’s Brad?” Katherine whispered in Drew’s ear.

Thanks, ladies.
“An old friend.”

Thankfully Katherine didn’t pursue the topic and went over to visit with Elaine. He wanted to believe he’d dodged a bullet on that one, but she had a way of picking up on things he wanted to avoid. Somehow he knew if not today, soon, he would need to be prepared to explain everyone’s emotional reaction to the announcement.

“I am glad
to see you both doing so well,” KJ said. Delivering a baby three weeks premature comes with some risk. The fact Bradford wasn’t in an incubator was a very good sign.

Smiling, Elaine answered, “All because of you. Thank you, KJ. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t come when you did.”

Hopefully you would’ve gone to the hospital.
Somehow she didn’t think that would’ve happened, at least not in time. When she’d arrived at their house, it was as if Elaine hadn’t known she was in labor. It was a good thing Trent called Drew when he had. Things may have ended entirely different if he hadn’t. All’s well that ends well. Mom and baby strong and healthy.
Thank God.

“My pleasure.”

“Hey, Lizette and Jill, join us for a minute,” Elaine called out. When they were all together she said, “I think we might have a problem this weekend.”

Everyone looked at each other then back to Elaine. “What problem?” Lizette asked.

“My maid-of-honor dress isn’t going to fit,” Elaine said seriously. “I think you might need to make other arrangements. Sorry.”

Lizette bent over to give her a supportive hug and said, “Don’t worry about it. You just take care of that wonderful little boy of yours.”

Pride and contentment. That was what she saw in Elaine’s expression as she lovingly gazed at her new son.
Would that ever be me? Holding my child in my arms?
She’d never felt that maternal urge to bear children, but in this last week, those feelings and more had risen, causing her to feel a wistful ache in her chest.

“There is no way I’ll miss your wedding, but I was thinking that maybe Jill could step in for me.”

Lizette looked at Jill and nodded her agreement. “Excellent idea, Elaine. We do still have a dress that might just work with the right alterations. Good thing we bought matching dresses.” She smiled sweetly before she continued, “And if I am correct we have a bridesmaid waiting in the wings.”

Why are they looking at me?
Then it hit her. “Oh no, I can’t. It wouldn’t be right.”

Lizette beamed. “It’s perfect. KJ, you’re one of us now, and I would be honored if you would be in my wedding party.”

She looked to Drew for some help, but he was in deep conversation with the men.
Thanks a lot.
“Well . . .” Searching for an acceptable excuse, she found none. She was already going as a guest so it wasn’t like she could have said she was busy that day. She knew nothing about being in a wedding party, but at least it was only three days away so she didn’t have long to overthink it. Since there’s no way out, her answer was simple. “I’d love to.”

“I guess we have a busy day ahead of us,” Jill said.

KJ looked at her, puzzled. She knew what she had planned on doing, which was absolutely nothing. Somehow it looked like her plans had just changed.

“Lizette, you take care of Elaine and baby Brad, and I’ll take care of getting the dress taken in for KJ.”

“Hey, don’t remind me.” Elaine laughed. “You might be able to get two dresses out of it.” She joked some more.

KJ knew Elaine wasn’t worried about her body. She carried her pregnancy all in her belly, and she had no doubt it wouldn’t be long before she was sporting her lean body all over again.

Jill went to Ross and placed a brief kiss on his cheek before saying, “You guys are on your own today. We’ve a lot of girl things to do.”

Without having a chance to argue or say goodbye to Drew, Jill grabbed her hand and was hauling her out of Elaine’s hospital room. She didn’t recall ever saying yes, but this group didn’t wait around for anything.

As they rode down the elevator she figured she might as well find out what “girl things” they needed to do today, because she had witnessed a few weddings, but participating—this was her first. “Since you seem to have a game plan for today, care to share it with me?”

Jill stared at the doors and didn’t even crack her usual smile. She only uttered a single but meaningful word. “Nope.”

Now I’m scared. Probably has a Brazilian wax planned for me as payback.
It wasn’t like she could back out now without it appearing she didn’t like them. No, she was now a bridesmaid, so she might as well make the best of it.
Three days. Just three very long stressful days.

‡

“S
he’s going to
ask questions. Trust me I know her by now. Katherine doesn’t miss anything,” Drew told them all.

“Sorry, everyone. The excitement about the baby’s name made me forget KJ hasn’t been brought into the loop yet,” Lizette responded.

“Yet?” It wasn’t meant to be said out loud.

Elaine put her hands on her hips and said firmly, “She is exactly what Takes One needs. I mean, she has the hands-on experience in areas we’ve only researched online. What better candidate could there be to fulfil Brad Anderson’s dream to help those in need?” No one responded. “Yeah that’s what I thought. So now we just need to decide who is going to approach her on the topic. I vote for Drew.” When everyone looked at her she said, “Hey, I just delivered a baby last night so cut me some slack.”

They all burst out laughing and Drew replied, “Elaine, I think you earned yourself some time off. I’ll talk to her after the wedding if you guys don’t mind. Unless she brings it up first, I’d rather not throw too much at her all at once.”

Even though he had not witnessed another emotional crying attack, that didn’t mean she was over her grief. Push any person to their breaking point and even the best and strongest will fall. He’d promised to take care of her, and he wasn’t about to let her, or himself, down.

Jon said, “KJ might have a better insight into what Brad had wanted us to do. We are doing some good stuff, but somehow I still feel like we’re missing the mark.”

Drew knew exactly what Jon meant. It was like they have all the moving pieces but the puzzle had not yet been put together. “Yeah, something still feels off. I can’t put my finger on it, but I think what he had planned would have been something greater than what we are doing monthly. Maybe global was not the right decision.”

The four men sat in silence as though trying to search for the answer, but none came. “It will come and when it does. You will all know it. Until then, keep doing what we’re doing because at least it is something, and though I didn’t personally know Brad, I understand the person he was. He would want us all to keep moving forward,” Elaine said.

A tear rolled down Lizette’s cheek. “Look at you, a mommy for less than one day and already dishing out words of wisdom.”

“Don’t start on me, my hormones are still crazy,” Elaine warned in a teasing manner.

Trent spoke up. “She’s not fooling anyone. You should have seen what she did with her burnt toast this morning.” He laughed. She gave him a look that said it all. “Okay, we really appreciate you coming to meet the latest family member, but I think she needs to rest.”

Drew had no issue heading out first. Sleep wasn’t something he’d had much of last night either. Of course, he wasn’t complaining, because he would be willing to never sleep again if it meant he spent every night making love to Katherine.
Since she is off doing girlie things, I may as well take a nap and rest up for what comes later. How is it I miss her already?

By the time
KJ was riding the elevator to Drew’s penthouse, she was so tired she wasn’t sure she could even remember her own name. Not only had she been on an emotional roller coaster for two days, she also hadn’t had much sleep.
Worth every minute.
But if she didn’t get sleep soon she was going to crash and burn.

Jill had been nonstop and wasn’t joking when she’d said, “Girl things.” They started with the dress shop for emergency alterations. Thankfully Elaine was taller than KJ so no issue there, and they had all chosen the same dress so bridesmaids and maid-of-honor could be interchangeable.
They think of everything, don’t they?
Taking in a dress that was designed for someone who was in her final trimester took more work than anyone had anticipated. Buying a new dress might have been a better option. But this wasn’t her wedding, and she would do as she was asked.

After the dress was altered, the rest of the day was spent on one-hundred-percent pampering: facial, manicure and pedicure, and yes, the dreaded waxing.
Thank God, not a Brazilian.
On a normal day, each one of those things would have been considered quality time with a good friend. Today it was almost more than she could handle. Especially given how emotional she had felt from last night, and then the time spent with Elaine and the baby.

The elevator doors opened, and she could only think of a hot shower and bed. Blossom greeted her, but there was no sign of Drew.

“Really? You need to go out now?” Blossom wagged her tail and let out a low bark of agreement.

This was the last thing she needed. But duty called, and Blossom was her responsibility. Latching the leash, she re-entered the elevator. This time, her head was bowed and her eyes closed—not out of fear—hoping the thirty-second ride down would give her a moment of peace and quiet, as she knew she’d be back on the noisy streets of Manhattan.
Let’s make this quick, girl.
Unfortunately, Blossom had other ideas, and they ended up walking for almost an hour.
I really miss my doggie door and fenced-in backyard.

When she finally arrived back upstairs, Drew was fast asleep in bed.
Perfect.
Taking a quick shower she quietly slid in beside him. He rolled over and snuggled her from behind.

“I’ve missed you,” he said against her ear.

She tried to open her mouth to respond but exhaustion overtook her, and she went limp in his arms.
Despite her fatigue, she felt cherished, lying in Drew’s arms.

‡

S
he awoke to
find a note on the pillow next to her.

“Meeting the guys for breakfast. We have to pack for the wedding trip to Rhode Island. Call me if you need anything. Drew”

KJ couldn’t help but notice there was no love before his name. He’d told her he loved her. Was he that uncomfortable with the word? She knew he hadn’t said it just to keep her here because his actions said he cared deeply.
Don’t overthink it, KJ.