Falling For Her Billionaire Baby Daddy

Ignoring the warning bells going off in her gut, Rachel began to invite Derek to her apartment for lunch, dinner, and sometimes breakfast. She did that under the guise that having him around made Zoe happy, whereas, in truth, she was the one who wanted him around her every time.

During these cozy moments, they began to tell each other more about their background and growing-up experiences. Derek even opened up to her about his parents' toxic marriage and how his mother had died tragically in a plane crash with her Russian lover somewhere in the Caribbeans.

Rachel also confided in him about how her father had abandoned them when she was twelve years old and ran off with a woman he met at rehab. He had been admitted there for his drinking problem.

She told him how heartbroken she'd been ten years later when they got the news that her dad had been killed in a robbery shoot-out at a liquor store in Dallas. Her mother had forbidden her and Rob from attending the funeral, so they never got a chance to see their dad one last time.

As days became weeks, Rachel noticed some subtle changes in her relationship with Derek. The way his hand lingered on hers when he handed her stuff, how she'd catch him staring at her sometimes and not look away when she caught him. How he got a bit touchy-feely whenever he was near her.

Sometimes, he would join her in the kitchen and help out while she cooked and then clean up after her so that by the time she was done, the kitchen was spotless. He was around all the time, and it felt as if he lived there with them. "When are you going to give us a tour of your house?" she asked one evening as they sat beside each other on the couch.

They were watching a Mickey Mouse cartoon on TV with Zoe who was lounging comfortably on a bean bag chair in front of the TV.

"Zoe is already familiar with every nook and cranny of my house. You are the one who needs a tour," said Derek.

"I stand corrected," she laughed.

"Do you want to check it out tonight?"

Something about the way he asked the question made her shiver inside. Was that an invitation to see just his house, or was there more to the question?

"Uh, I don't know," she said uncertainly. "Maybe tomorrow after I drop off Zoe at the daycare?"

"Sounds good to me," he said in that same tone that Rachel interpreted as a seductive tone.

"Ok," she said and returned her attention to the TV and stared at the animated images moving about in their colorful domain.

Her mind was traveling at a hundred miles per second, thinking of all the things that might happen the following day at Derek's house.

After he left, Rachel tucked Zoe in for the night and read her favorite bedtime story. Once the child fell asleep, Rachel raced to her bedroom and began to ransack her closet for something fabulous to wear for tomorrow's house tour with Derek.

She tried on different outfits until she finally settled for a short dress with Caribbean patterns and tiny straps. It was casual and sexy at the same time.

With that settled, she took her time to do her nightly facial routine before going to bed. She wanted to wake up looking and feeling beautiful because her platonic relationship with Derek might just be about to change into something more... intimate.

******

Rachel eventually settled for a sky-blue dress with tiny daisies painted on it. The dress was a V-neck number that barely reached her knees and showed off her perfectly tanned skin.

She let her hair flow freely about her shoulder and she went for a dewy makeup look. She'd woken up quite early to bake an apple pie which Derek loves and she would be taking it along with her to the house tour.

When she finally got to Derek's front door, her heart was beating so wildly that she almost turned around to run away, but she summoned up courage and rang the doorbell. He opened the door in less than a minute, surprising her. "Oh, hi," she said and giggled self-consciously. "What are you doing here?"

He cocked an eyebrow and said, "I live here, remember?"

She laughed. "I know, I mean where is your butler?"

"I'm living a simpler life here," he explained.

"I don't want to draw unnecessary attention to myself in this neighborhood because of Zoe. Besides, only one person knows that I am here. As far as the rest of the world is concerned, I'm ruling my empire from somewhere in exile." "I see. And who is that one person who knows where you are?" she asked, involuntarily holding her breath.

She was afraid that he might say, 'My girlfriend', or 'my fiancée, or 'my wife whom I married in secret.' Gosh, she wasn't ready to hear any of those responses!

"My best friend," he said. "His name is Jonah Branson. He's the only person in this world that I can ever confide in because he always has my back. He's like my brother." "That's nice," she said and exhaled in relief.

"Come on in," he said, opening the door wider.

"Thanks. I brought an apple pie along. We could eat it after our tour."

"Wow, that's very thoughtful of you. Let me help you with that."

He took the pie from her and let her into the front hall, then closed the door behind her.

"I'm always impressed by this place," she said as she followed him in. "It's not like your New York penthouse, but just as classy. How long did it take you to get it ready?"

"About a week. I was staying at a hotel then and Jonah flew down here to supervise everything by himself. Since I didn't want to be recognized by the contractors or anyone else around here."

"Oh, he'd been here before?"

"Yeah. Come, let me show you the kitchen," he said and that was how the tour began.

He showed her around the beautiful house. It had three bedrooms, three and a half bathrooms, an office, and a large combined kitchen/dining area. There was an outdoor swimming pool, a garage large enough to contain three cars and a small vegetable garden. It was a modest paradise and Rachel loved it.

"I didn't know you fancied gardening," she remarked.

"Yeah, I haven't been able to do that for years. It was one of my father's favorite pastimes that I inherited. But after he died, I just couldn't bring myself to go near a garden." "Oh."

"However, coming back here made me feel as if I was starting my life all over again and so, I decided to revive that part of me," he said softly. "That's so wholesome, Derek."

"What other better way is there for restarting one's life than with gardening?" he asked with a lopsided smile that melted Rachel's heart. That's certainly one thing you and my mother have in common," she informed him. "She has a flower and herb garden in her backyard too." "Really? I would love to see it someday," he said with genuine excitement.

Rachel replied with a smile. She didn't know if his statement was a hint at his intention to take their relationship further beyond mere co-parenting. However, she wasn't quite ready to find out yet because she didn't want to jump the gun and make a big deal out of everything he said to her.

She knew she shouldn't be so hopeful, but his words about starting afresh might mean that he wanted another chance with her. That wouldn't be so farfetched now, would it?

"Would you like to go back inside?" he asked and when she nodded in response, he led her back in through the backdoor and they were back inside his kitchen.

"I guess it's pie time," he said and withdrew two forks from a drawer under the island. "Shall we dig in now?"

"Sure," she said, feeling shy and awkward.

Something was slowly changing in their present relationship and she knew he could feel it as much as she did. This could probably be the turning point for them and he may not make the first move if she didn't encourage him. "I'm glad that we could both get along like this now after everything that has happened between us," she said.

"You are right, Rachel. I know I have apologized many times before but I want to say again that I am very sorry about my behavior in the past," he said solemnly. "And I wish we can truly move past that and start all over again." Rachel looked into his eyes and saw that he was being truthful but she still needed to be double sure. "Do you mean that? The part about starting again, I mean."

"Yes," he said. "I want to start over with you, Rachel. That is if you would have me."

She smiled. "So, you meant it when you said you came here for me and Zoe?"

"Yes. I wanted to be a part of Zoe's life and yours too. So, what do you say?"

The hope in his eyes mirrored hers and she was thoroughly convinced that he was being sincere with her. "I say let's give it a shot," she said, grinning.

"Now, that's what I like to hear," he said with a laugh. "How about a celebratory kiss to mark the beginning of a new dawn?"

"Don't be so dramatic about it. Just kiss me already!"

Derek bent down and kissed her deeply, pulling her into his arms and holding her against him tightly. He was both happy and relieved that Rachel was willing to give him a second chance after her ugly experience with him. He was so happy he almost felt like weeping with joy.

The doorbell rang, interrupting their kiss and startling them at the same time.

"Are you expecting someone?" Rachel asked with a small frown.

"No," he said, shaking his head and looking just as annoyed as her. "Wait here, let me go see who it is."

"Ok," she said and watched him go.

Derek was so annoyed at being interrupted that he pulled the front door open without even checking the peephole first to see who was calling. When his eyes landed on the visitor his jaw literally dropped.

"Cassie, what are you doing here?" he asked in shock.

"What do you think, sweetheart? Are you gonna let me in or what?"