Falling For Her Billionaire Baby Daddy

"Girl, I don't wanna say that you blew it, but you did," said Taylor and rolled his eyes dramatically before taking a noisy sip of his lemonade. "Shut up, Taylor," Rob rebuked him.

"I agree with him," said Rosemary with a shrug.

"Thanks, guys. I feel so much better now," said Rachel sarcastically.

They were in Rosemary's place after arriving in New York an hour ago. She'd called her brother the moment they landed at the airport.

Rob and his boyfriend had shown up at the house in record time to get all the tea on why Rachel unceremoniously ended her vacation with Derek.

She'd told them about what went down at Rickman Manor but she'd left out the part about them meeting Derek's mother in Bermuda. That was way too much information to divulge right now. Besides, it still wasn't her secret to share. "Don't pay attention to them," Rob told her. "I think you did the right thing. If a relationship brings you more heartbreak than happiness, then you should leave."

"I don't know what y'all are talking about," Taylor drawled, "but I'd be dead ass happy if I got to travel to exotic places in a private jet without having to pay for anything."

"Stop trolling my sister, Taylor, and be quiet if you don't have anything nice to say. Can't you see how upset she is?"

"I'm not upset," Rachel said quickly. "I'm actually over the whole thing."

"Are you?" Her mother asked, skeptically. "It doesn't seem like it."

Rachel sighed. "Whatever..."

"Don't let Mum and Taylor make you feel as if you overreacted, Raych. You didn't." Rob assured her.

"Thanks, Rob," Rachel said to her number-one cheerleader.

"You're welcome, my love," said Rob. "I wouldn't put up with this sexy hot mess called Taylor if he didn't love me as much as I love him. Trust me, you did the right thing by walking away from Derek and his yoyo-ing emotions." "Did you just call me a hot mess?" Taylor asked in mock mortification.

"Not now, Taylor," said Rob, holding in his laughter. "So, lil' sis. What's next?"

Rachel sighed. "I don't know... maybe move back here?"

"What about your apartment in Atlanta?" Rosemary asked.

"Well..." Rachel didn't know what to say.

"And Zoe's daycare?" Rosemary continued. "You can't keep dragging the child around town and across the world like a pet. She needs stability and she can't have that if you keep moving around all the time."

"I know, Mom."

"Then there's the issue of the nanny and the bodyguards," said Rosemary. "Are you going to continue dragging them around with you too? I know Derek is the one paying them, but don't you feel weird about those people following you around all the time?"

"I honestly haven't thought about all of that," Rachel confessed. "I don't know where to start."

"Look, you don't have to have everything figured out just yet," said Rob. "Take a few days to relax and get your bearings right. Go out and hang out with your friends or grab a good book and read." Rachel sighed.

"Eat some ice cream," Rob added, "be lazy, and just relax for a while until your head clears up. You don't have to have it all figured out right now, ok?"

"I agree with that," said Taylor. "You need to chill out for a while. Zoe needs a happy, present mum, not a miserable one. Get Derek out of your system before you hit the reset button. There's no rush, ok?" "Yeah," she said, thankful to have such a great support system around her. "I'm gonna go inside and take a nap. I need a little brain reset."

*******

Rachel was surprised by how much she missed Derek. After that conversation with her family, she'd tried to take a nap but her mind kept going back to him and how she wished she could be with him now. She remembered how distant he'd been to her in the morning when she took Zoe to his room to say goodbye. He had barely looked in her direction and instead focused all of his attention on his daughter. Meanwhile, Zoe had been upset about the prospect of leaving her dad behind in England. Rachel wondered if she should call him and tell him that they had landed in New York. "Lame..." She confessed to herself.

Rachel knew that Shane had already informed him about their arrival in New York. So, what other excuse did she have to call him now?

It occurred to her just then that she hadn't spoken to Alfred since they got home. She picked up her phone and dialed his number. He answered almost immediately. "Hello, Rachel. How are you?" He said cheerfully.

"Hi, Alfred. I am well, and you?"

"Fabulous. How was your flight?"

"Uneventful. I just want to say a huge thank you to you for letting us borrow your jet. I don't know how I could ever pay back your generosity, Alfred. You are a lifesaver." "Oh, stop it," Alfred said modestly. "You're family now, so there's no need for you to pay me back for anything. How's my little Zoe?"

"She's hanging out with her nanny. I'm low key starting to get jealous of Elaine," she laughed.

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"Aww... My adorable Zoe. I miss her so much already."

There was a bit of awkward silence for a few seconds before Rachel cleared her throat and took the bull by the horns.

"How is Derek?" she asked tentatively.

Alfred sighed. "In my study. He has been in there for hours, sending and responding to emails, making phone calls, working..." Rachel's heart sank. "He's trying to distract himself."

"Yes. He has been quite withdrawn since you guys left. We've barely spoken since and it breaks my heart to see him this way." "I'm sorry to hear that," she said sadly.

"Ah, well... I'm sure he'll be fine. I don't know how much longer he'll remain here before jetting off to his next destination. Now that your vacation is canceled, he might return to New York."

"Oh."

"Anyway, whatever happens, don't forget to keep in touch with me. And if it's not a bother, could you video call me soon and let me see my little Zoe?"

Rachel smiled. "Of course, I will. Thank you once again."

"You're always welcome, dear. Bye."

After she hung up, Rachel lay flat on her bed and stared at the ceiling while tears ran down her face. She felt terrible for putting Derek in such a depressive state.

Despite her sadness, she knew she did the right thing by walking away from a relationship that was bringing her constant disappointment. Derek had asked her to marry him not because he loved her and couldn't live the rest of his life without her.

He'd wanted to marry her because he felt lonely and he saw her as an escape from his emotional turmoil. Rachel didn't want to marry just for the sake of it. She wanted to marry someone who loved and cherished her, and right now, that person wasn't Derek Fraser.

Rachel must have cried herself to sleep because when she opened her eyes, it was dark outside and the house was quiet. She went to the bathroom to wash her face before leaving the room.

She walked down the hall to Rob's old room where she found Elaine and Zoe asleep inside. Rachel suspected that her mother was also asleep in her room, so she tiptoed downstairs, not wanting to wake anyone.

Rob and Taylor were asleep on the foldable couch in the den, so she quietly made her way to the kitchen to make herself a cup of coffee.

Rachel checked the time on the smart refrigerator and saw that it was 10:05 p.m. That meant she'd been asleep for over 6 hours. She would probably spend the rest of the night awake while everyone else slept.

When her coffee was ready, she poured herself a cup. Rachel tiptoed back upstairs and settled on her bed to savor her brew while reliving the last couple of days. She knew for a fact that she had never had that much fun in her entire life. With a sigh and a wistful smile on her face, Rachel remembered her time in Bermuda. She had traveled luxuriously, ate the best foods, and shopped at high-end boutiques.

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And then as Rickman Manor, she'd been treated to the most lavish birthday party of her life! It had simply been a heavenly experience.

Derek had gone above and beyond to give her a memorable time and in return, what had she done? She had accused him of using her and made him feel like a jerk, while she was the actual drama queen in all of this.

So what if he didn't declare his undying love to her before proposing marriage? His actions had shown her that he cared very much about her and Zoe. So why was she so obsessed with hearing him say, 'I love you' to her? Was she a victim of the fairytale life she had dreamed up in her head? Had she pushed away the love of her life because of her impatience and selfishness?

"What have I done?" Rachel whispered to herself.

Feeling miserable, she put her cup of coffee on the bedstand and hugged her pillow in preparation to have a good cry. Suddenly, she heard a crash downstairs and her ears perked up. Were the guys awake or did someone go into the kitchen to make some coffee? Rachel wasn't sure if it was her imagination or not, but she could swear that she was smelling smoke.

It was as if something was burning in the house. She bolted off the bed and ran to the door. As soon as she opened it, her jaw dropped.

There was thick smoke coming up the stairs and it was growing bigger and bigger as she stared at it in horror.

"Mom! Rachel! There's a fire!" Rob screamed from downstairs.

"Oh, my god! Rob, are you ok?" She screamed back at him through the haze. "Where is Taylor? Is he ok?"

"I'm fine," Taylor replied. "I'm coming upstairs to get you guys."

"What is going on?" Rosemary asked as she stepped out of her bedroom. When she saw the smoke, her eyes rounded in shock. "Heavens! What is this?"

The smoke was now swirling around them and they began to cough. Rachel ran into Rob's old room to carry Zoe. Elaine was already awake from all that loud conversation outside of the room. The nanny was terrified to see the thick smoke everywhere.

"What's happening?" she asked.

"There's a fire outbreak downstairs and we need to get out of the house right now," Rachel explained.

Elaine sprang into action immediately. She ran into the bathroom and soaked a big towel in water and then she gave it to Rachel.

"Cover Zoe with this and see if you can find your way out downstairs," she said before running into the bathroom again.

Taylor barged into the room just then. "Come on, girls, we have to get out now!"

"Where's Rob?" Rachel asked as she followed Taylor out of the room with Elaine behind them.

"He's with your mom and they've both gone downstairs. Come on, let's go."

They followed Taylor's lead, coughing and squinting as they walked through thick smoke. When they got to the top of the stairs, an explosion went off downstairs, shaking the building and collapsing the lower steps.