Falling For Her Billionaire Baby Daddy

Alfred Rickman's estate in the English countryside reminded Rachel of Downton Abbey. The ginormous manor house was surrounded by lush greenery, woods, and many hills in the distance.

The lawn was trimmed to perfection and the two fountains in front of the house were reminiscent of those exquisite marble statues in Rome. The place looked like something out of a Beatrix Potter storybook. Their host had sent a helicopter to pick them up, while their bodyguards would join them later in a rental car that they'd gotten at the airport. It was Rachel's first helicopter ride and she couldn't hide her excitement. Zoe kept giggling and pointing at everything in sight, and Derek gladly indulged her playfulness.

When they landed, a butler showed up to lead them into the house.

"Welcome, Mr. Fraser," the man greeted Derek politely. "It is good to see you again."

"Thank you, Connor. It's good to see you too," replied Derek.

"This is my family," he continued. "Rachel, my girlfriend, Zoe, my daughter, and this is Elaine, my daughter's nanny. Our bodyguards will be joining us shortly. They're driving up here from the airport."

"That is good to know," said Connor pleasantly. "Welcome, ladies. I present to you, Rickman Manor."

The women expressed their gratitude and followed Connor's lead into the house. The helicopter took off just then, leaving in the wake of heavy winds coming from its blades.

Inside, the main hall was styled to look as if they had been transported to the Middle Ages. It featured vintage furnishings, Persian rugs, intricate candle holders, a grandfather clock with a swinging pendulum, and two knights' armors on either side of the hall.

"Oh my goodness..." Elaine gasped at the sheer splendor of the place.

Rachel was too blown away to even utter a word. She just stared with wide eyes.

"Mr. Rickman is expecting you in the great room. Please, follow me," said Connor with his English nose in the air.

"After you," Derek said with a grand bow to Rachel.

"I feel as if I have just traveled back in time," she said. "This place is amazing!"

Derek laughed. Her childlike awe always excited him. It was one of the things he loved about her.

Rachel never masked her emotions but simply wore them on her sleeves. It was the one thing that made her unique from every other woman Derek had ever dated in his life.

The great room was even more enthralling than the hall. An elderly man was sitting on a wing backed chair in front of the fireplace, reading a book.

When the man heard them coming in, he rose to his feet and dropped his book on a low stool beside his chair.

"Welcome!" He greeted them with open arms and a huge smile. Alfred Rickman was a tall, slender man with silver-grey hair and a smiley face.

"Thank you for allowing me and my gang to intrude on your peaceful retirement," said Derek, hugging him. "It's so good to see you again, Uncle Alfred."

"Aw, don't be silly my boy. You know this is your home and you are welcome to visit any time you want," said Alfred, happily.

"This is Rachel, my girlfriend," said Derek, beaming.

"Hi," said Rachel.

"Come here, darling," said Alfred cheerfully, wrapping her in a warm hug. "I finally get to see you. What a pleasure it is!" "And this is Zoe, my daughter," said Derek with pride.

"Oh, my world!" Alfred exclaimed. "She is your spitting image!"

He scooped up Zoe from Elaine's arms and did a little twirl with her, eliciting some giggles from the happy toddler.

"She is adorable," said Alfred. "I know I shouldn't say this, Derek, but I never thought that I would live to see the day that you would declare a child as yours." Derek laughed. "People can change, Uncle Alfred. I have."

"So, I see," said Alfred. "And who might this be?"

"That's Elaine, Zoe's nanny," Derek replied.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, sir," said Elaine.

"Same here, Elaine. Welcome to my home."

"Shall I ask Cook to serve lunch now, sir?" Connor asked his boss.

"Why, yes. I am sure my guests are positively starving by now after that long flight," said Alfred.

To Derek and Rachel, he said, "I asked my cook to prepare a hefty meal for us. I assumed you would need some delicious home cooked meals to warm you up after eating loads of junk food during your vacation." "We barely ate any junk food," said Derek. "You know me, I'm still a preacher of healthy eating. Gotta keep my gut clean always."

"That's good to hear. Come, sit down, and let's get acquainted before we go to the dining room," he said to Rachel.

She sat beside Derek on a comfy chair adjacent to Alfred's chair. Elaine sat on the other end of the room, giving them a respectable distance.

Lost in the world of this story? Make sure you're on Ñe5s.org to catch every twist and turn. The next chapter awaits, exclusively on our site. Dive in now!

"So, how did you two meet?" Alfred asked while bouncing Zoe on his knees.

Rachel chuckled. "Today makes it exactly two years ago when I first bumped into Derek at the bar of a nightclub where I was celebrating my 28th birthday," she said. "Wait, are you saying today is your 30th birthday?" Alfred asked with raised eyebrows.

"Yes," she grinned with pride.

"Oh, my goodness! Happy birthday, Rachel. Are you having a party to celebrate?"

"Uh, I don't know..." she replied uncertainly.

"Let's throw a party for her here," Derek suggested.

"Absolutely!," Alfred agreed enthusiastically. "We are going to celebrate your birthday in the manor. How do you like that?"

Rachel was amused by Alfred's excitement. It was as if he had been looking for an opportunity to throw a party in his house and this was the perfect excuse for him to do so. "Well, if you don't mind," she said shyly.

"I do not. We are having a party here tonight!" He declared joyously. "How about a themed party?"

"I'm thinking a ball," said Derek.

"I've always wanted to go to a ball," Rachel confessed.

"Then it is settled. We are going to have a ball here tonight to celebrate your 30th year on Mother Earth," Alfred said grandly, thoroughly enjoying himself.

"I should call my friend, Giselle, right away," he added. "She is a genius party planner and she can create a dream party even at the shortest notice."

"Wow. Are we really doing this?" Rachel giggled nervously.

She couldn't believe that this man whom she had only met a few minutes ago was about to host a ball in his home in her honor, just like that.

"Of course, we are," Alfred assured her. "You don't get to be thirty twice in one lifetime. Also, you are the mother of my god-granddaughter, so you deserve the world for making me a grandpa. I never thought that could be possible, seeing that Mr. Cassanova here had sworn never to procreate."

Derek laughed. "As I said, Uncle Alfred, I am a changed man."

"So I see, and I like it. Now, I have to call Giselle right away to get things started. Rachel, you're going to need a ball gown and she's going to send a stylist down here to fit you for a dress."

Lost in the world of this story? Make sure you're on Ñe5s.org to catch every twist and turn. The next chapter awaits, exclusively on our site. Dive in now!

"Oh."

"My adorable little Zoe is going to get a dress too," Alfred continued excitedly, "although I'm not sure about letting her participate in the party. It's going to be an adult-only bash." "Aren't we forgetting something?" Rachel asked.

"What?" The men asked in unison.

"How are we going to have a party without guests? Or is it going to be just the three of us and your staff attending?" she asked.

Alfred laughed. "Dear Rachel, one of the perks of being a wealthy man is that people are ready to show up at your party even if you invite them only an hour before it kicks off." "Wow."

"I am going to send the word out right away through my assistant, and you'll be surprised at the turnout tonight," Alfred said confidently.

"Besides, I have never had a party here and I know a lot of my nosey neighbors and acquaintances are dying to see what the place looks like. So, this is their opportunity to feast their eyes and feed their stomachs too. Trust me, it's going to be fun."

"Lunch is served," Connor announced from the doorway.

"Perfect," said Alfred. "Let's all go to the dining room, shall we? After lunch, I'll give you all the grand tour of my manor if you are up to it, that is."

"Sounds like a plan," said Derek, enthusiastically.

"Come on, Zoe darling. Let's go eat!" Alfred said before scooping the child up into his arms. He was every bit the doting grandfather that Zoe had never had until now.

As they walked a few steps behind him, Rachel nudged Derek in the side and whispered to him, "You seem to have forgotten why we are here."

He rolled his eyes. "No, I haven't but this isn't the right time to bring that up. Let's focus on having fun today and then tomorrow, we can talk about it. Deal?"

Rachel gave him a skeptical look. She knew he was stalling. He was probably afraid that Alfred might corroborate everything Yasmin had told them and he wasn't quite ready to face the truth just yet.

However, he was right about waiting until tomorrow to bring up the issue. Alfred was way too happy for them to dampen his mood with questions about the Frasers' chaotic marriage of many years ago. The timing wasn't right. "Ok," she agreed. "We'll talk about it tomorrow. Let's not spoil today with a traumatic conversation."

"Thank you," Derek replied and kissed her cheek. It was an unexpected romantic gesture that made Rachel smile.

She swallowed the lump in her throat and reminded herself that she was still trying not to fall in love with Derek. She needed to focus her attention on having a great time with him and stop getting distracted.