Falling For Her Billionaire Baby Daddy

When Rachel arrived at her mother's house in New York the following day with Zoe, she felt relieved for the first time in twenty-four hours. She'd explained away her impromptu trip to her mother by saying she'd needed a change of scenery But the truth was that she wanted to put as much distance between her and Derek as she could manage.

"Ooh, aren't you a sight for sore eyes," said Rosemary Lane as she swept Zoe up in a bear hug. "I missed you so much, darling."

"I miss you," said Zoe, getting cozy in her grandmother's arms.

"Rob would be so thrilled to see you two," said Rosemary. "When is he coming here?"

"Uh, I don't know. I didn't tell him we were coming," Rachel explained.

"Why not?"

"Because this was sort of an unplanned trip, you know. I think I'll call him now."

Rosemary set her granddaughter down and looked at Rachel intently. "I hope everything is ok between you and Derek?"

"What do you mean?" Rachel asked, avoiding her mother's eyes.

"I mean you are not impulsive by nature. That is why I find it odd that you would take a trip from Atlanta to New York without going through months of planning. You didn't even inform your brother of your visit ahead of time. That's very unlike you, Rachel. What's going on?"

"Ugh, Mom, don't make this into a big deal. Aren't you happy to see me and Zoe?"

"Of course, I am. I'm just curious about your motive, that's all."

"You are overthinking this, Mom. Everything is fine."

"If you say so,” said Rosemary. "Come on, Zoe. Would you like to see my beautiful flowers?"

"Bye!" Said Zoe.

"Well, hello!" Rosemary laughed. "Come on, let's go to the garden and you can help me water them."

Zoe happily followed her grandmother outside to the mini flower garden, leaving Rachel alone inside the house with her thoughts. She removed her mobile phone from her handbag and dialed Rob's number. He answered immediately. "Hey, lil' sis. Howdy?" He said cheerfully.

"I'm in New York," she announced. "Say what?"

"You heard me."

"You didn't tell me you were coming?"

"Oh, I didn't know I needed the permission of the King of New York before showing up here."

Rob laughed. "Where are you though?"

"At Mom's."

"Since when?"

"We got here a few minutes ago."

"Is everything ok?" Rob's voice was laden with concern.

"Why does everyone keep asking me that? I am fine!"

"Ok, ma'am, don't bite my head off. How long are you staying?"

She sighed. "I don't know yet. Maybe I should move back to New York."

Rob said nothing.

"Hello, are you there?" Asked Rachel, checking the phone to see if the call had ended suddenly but it hadn't.

"I'm here," said Rob. "Did something happen between you and Derek?"

"Maybe," she said.

It was Rob's turn to sigh. "I'll be there in fifteen minutes."

He showed up after ten minutes, full of questions and not accepting Rachel's flimsy excuses.

After she recounted her latest experience with Derek, her brother sighed and said, "At this point, it's safe to say that he is not a monogamous guy at all. It would take more than having a child with him to gain his loyalty."

"I don't want his loyalty," said Rachel. "I don't want anything from him. In fact, I want him to leave me and Zoe alone. We were doing just fine before he showed up."

"But you can't keep running away from him," Rob argued. "Zoe is a human being, not a stuffed toy that you can just drag around the country as you like. If you decide to relocate to New York, what would you do here? What about Zoe's daycare?"

"She's a toddler, she can adjust to changes better than a grown kid. I could start my dance classes again. And you know I can create my YouTube content from anywhere I am."

"Rachel, you're not really considering this move, are you?"

She shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe not."

"Look, someone else has taken over your slot in the dance studio and she's gathered a huge fanwise since she resumed." "Who?"

"Laverne. She's Taylor's cousin and teaches aerobic salsa to middle-aged folks."

"Oh, it's a family business now, isn't it?"

Rob snorted. "She pays for her slots."

"As I did."

"What's your point?"

"Nothing."

"You've been gone for almost two years, Rachel. Did you expect me to just keep your slots open permanently? I've got bills to pay, sis."

"I know and I'm not judging you," she said soberly.

Rosemary and Zoe came inside from the back door. "Rob! When did you get here?"

"Mommy!"

"Hey, is that my little pumpkin pie?" Rob gushed. "Come on over here and give me a big squishy hug."

Zoe ran into her uncle's arms and got smothered in kisses that sent her into a fit of giggles.

"I'm about to fix lunch," Rosemary announced. "And I'm thinking of making spaghetti and my killer tomato sauce with meatballs. Who's in?"

"Sounds like the perfect meal to lift my sour mood," said Rachel with a warm smile.

"I agree," said Rob.

They chatted lightheartedly as they joined their mother in the kitchen to make lunch. It was just like old times when they were growing up in their small apartment in Queens. They'd spend Saturday afternoons cooking together in the kitchen and storing up food in the fridge for the rest of the week.

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It hit Rachel that right now, she was creating memories for Zoe. She hoped that her daughter would look back on this time and remember what it felt like to be in a family. A family where she was loved and accepted no matter what mistakes she made.

******

Derek was surprised when he got to Rachel's house the following morning to take Zoe to the daycare and realized that they weren't home. He knocked on the door several times and rang the doorbell for good measure, but there was no response.

When he called Rachel's phone, his call went straight to voicemail.

"Maybe she's already taken Zoe to the daycare," he said to himself and got into his car to go and see for himself.

Several minutes later, he learned that Zoe hadn't been brought to the daycare and her mom had called to say that she wouldn't be showing up today.

Derek didn't need a soothsayer to tell him that this sudden disappearance of Rachel and Zoe had everything to do with that embarrassing business with Cassie yesterday.

Speaking of which, he'd had to lock himself inside his office to get away from Cassie. She'd wanted to get intimate with him last night after she returned from her shopping spree.

Cassie had been drunk and high on whatever brand of drugs she'd consumed. She wouldn't take no for an answer and had resorted to vandalizing some of his furnishings as a way to express her frustration.

When she woke up this morning, she'd been sober and apologetic for her awful behavior last night. Thankfully, she hadn't argued when he explained to her that he could no longer continue their wild liaisons because he wanted to start a relationship with Rachel.

He had eventually given in and told Cassie the truth about Rachel and how they'd met. When Cassie heard of Zoe, she'd been shocked because she knew how Derek hated the idea of ever having children.

"I guess it's true what they say," Cassie had said whimsically. "Never say never."

"Yeah, I guess so," Derek had agreed with her.

Now that he had successfully gotten rid of Cassie, it was time for him to track down Rachel and Zoe, but he didn't even know where to start.

Rachel wasn't responding to his calls and he didn't know who to ask about her whereabouts.

Could she have gone to her aunt's place in Summerhill? He didn't even have Reese's address or phone number, so how was he going to get in touch with her?

He felt a sense of déjà vu as if history was repeating itself. He had searched for Rachel and Zoe before, and he was about to do it again. However, this time around, he didn't have a lead.

He didn't know for certain if she was still in Atlanta or if she'd returned to New York just to get away from him. Why did he keep messing things up for himself?

How was he going to redeem himself from this gaffe? Who was going to speak to her on his behalf?

Refusing to give up, he got on social media and tracked down Robert Lane after a few minutes of browsing. If anyone was going to give him a listening ear, it would be Rachel's brother. Plus, Derek was sure that Rob was the only person that Rachel would listen to under the circumstances. He just hoped that Rob would allow him to tell his own side of the story first.