Falling For Her Billionaire Baby Daddy

Rachel was happy that everything had finally fallen into place. Her labor of love had not been in vain.

The love of her life, Derek, finally found closure regarding his estranged mother and opened the doors to rekindling their relationship.

He conquered his fears of falling in love at last and here he was already talking about wedding planning. Everything had worked out better than Rachel could have anticipated.

She opened one eye to peek at her new ring and smiled when the jewelry sparkled in the dim light of the room. Rachel wondered if she would ever get over the beauty of this extravagant ring. She wiggled her fingers and giggled as the jewel dazzled and winked at her.

Derek stirred and mumbled, "Go to sleep, Rachel. The ring will still be on your finger when you wake up."

"Sorry," she laughed. "I just can't get over how exquisite it is. How did you figure out my ring size, by the way?"

He chuckled sleepily. "I checked with your favorite cocktail ring. The one with the purple butterfly on it."

"Ah... you sneaky bear. You've been plotting all this behind my back," she said playfully. "Did you originally plan to propose to me at your birthday party or was that a spur-of-the-moment thing?"

He smiled. "What if I told you that I've had that ring with me for a month now?"

She gasped dramatically. "Tell me you're kidding." "I'm not."

"When did you buy it?"

"Right after you were discharged from the hospital after that freak fire outbreak at your mother's house. You know what they say about how some people see their whole life flash before their eyes as they die... that was what happened to me when I got the news that you were in a coma in the hospital."

"Oh?"

"I was devastated and it finally struck me that if I lost you, my life would be over. I agonized over how I'd wasted precious time playing the hard guy when all I wanted to do was to melt in your arms and stay there while you love me as you've always done."

"Wow," she said, mesmerized by his confession.

"When you woke up, I felt as if the universe was giving me another shot at correcting my mistakes. It seemed it was telling me to do right by you by giving you the love, respect, and care that you deserved." Rachel was speechless.

"As soon as I had the chance, I went into our jewelry division at the company and purchased the most expensive ring we had in stock."

"I don't know what to say, Derek," she whispered, overwhelmed by his love for her.

"Say you love me," he whispered back.

"I love you, Derek," she said, smiling.

"I love you, Rachel. Thank you for agreeing to do this thing called life with a knucklehead like me."

"There's no other knucklehead I'd rather spend the rest of my life with."

He gathered her in his arms and kissed her deeply. "Now let's get some sleep, shall we? Today is going to be a circus once the press gets wind of our engagement."

"Yikes!" She laughed.

"Don't worry. We just might carry out another disappearing act like the one we did in Atlanta."

She grinned. "Good idea."

They clung to each other and fell asleep with their arms intertwined. Rachel's ring continued to sparkle brightly as her hand slowly moved up and down on Derek's chest to the rhythm of his breathing.

*******

Just as Derek had predicted, Alfred was beyond ecstatic when they informed him of Rachel's wish to be married at Rickman Manor.

"What an honor!" He exclaimed happily. "What joy!"

"Stop being so dramatic, Uncle Alfred. It's just a wedding," said Derek.

"Uh-huh, Derek. It's not a wedding, it's the wedding," said Taylor and he got a high five from Rob who yelled, "Dang right, it is!"

Everyone laughed. They were sitting at a long dining table that had been set up by the hotel in the banquet hall where they'd had Derek's birthday party last night.

It was the only place that could contain the large family consisting of Rachel's folks, Jonah and his family, and Uncle Alfred.

Diane and the other guests had checked out of the hotel earlier after having breakfast in their rooms.

This late breakfast was for family only and that included Elaine. She was sitting beside Zoe and making sure the toddler was cared for while the adults joked and chatted playfully. "I am so happy for you two," said Rosemary, beaming at the newly engaged couple. "Your love story has finally come full circle."

Rachel smiled. "I guess you could say that," she said happily.

"Can we talk about planning the wedding now?" asked Vanessa, Jonah's wife. "If you're having a spring wedding, then that means we only have a few weeks to plan it." "Maybe we should do it in the summer," said Rachel uncertainly. "I don't want to do this under pressure."

"What pressure?" Alfred asked. "Just tell us what you want and Giselle will make it happen. All you have to do is show up at Rickman Manor with your groom and get married." "Who's Giselle?" Taylor asked with a playful sneer.

"Alfred's party planner," replied Rachel.

"You can work with her if you want," Derek suggested. "Imagine what would happen when two great minds work together." "Magic!" said Jonah.

"Are we invited?" asked Douglas, Reese's husband. He got a jab in the ribs from his wife who thought his question was rude.

"Are you kidding?" Rachel laughed. "Everyone at this table is invited!"

There was a collective cheer across the long dining table to this announcement.

"I've always wanted to visit the English countryside," said Reese, wistfully.

"Well, aren't you glad now that I asked," her husband chuckled.

"Hush, you," she replied to him. To Rachel, she asked, "Have you picked a date?"

"Nope," she and Derek replied in unison.

"You know what? Enough of the talking, it's time to pick a date and plan this wedding," said Alfred, whipping out his mobile phone from his pocket. "Let's check the calendar and agree on a date, shall we?" Everyone else followed suit, bringing out their phones and opening the calendar app. Before long, they were comparing dates, checking the weather forecasts, and trying to decide whether to choose a weekday or weekend for the wedding. Rachel and Derek linked their fingers on the table and smiled at each other at intervals as they watched the most important people in their lives attempt to plan their wedding. It had already been dubbed the 'wedding of the century' by Taylor.

******

Knowing that she was only playing a supervisory role in the wedding gave Rachel peace of mind. It gave her the freedom to focus her attention on her daughter and fiancé instead.

They'd returned to the penthouse and for the first time in weeks, Rachel didn't feel like a guest there anymore. The place felt more like a home now, although she would be more comfortable if it looked less like a bachelor pad, which it was. Her mother had recently moved back to her home which had been fully renovated and was as good as new. Reese and her family had since returned to Atlanta while Alfred had also gone back to his home in England. Yasmin was now staying in Rosemary's former apartment in Derek's building for the time being. She would stay there until the wedding to which she'd been invited.

Derek and Rachel haven't yet figured out how to pull that off without exposing Yasmin's identity. Regardless, they knew that they wanted her there.

Elaine was more like a full member of the family now and had a room beside Zoe's in the penthouse. Life was back to normal and they were simply counting down to the big day.

Rachel and Derek were lounging in the den one evening in front of the TV after Zoe had gone to bed. It was their favorite way to pass the time before going to bed and continuing the cuddling there. Rachel switched the TV channel to an entertainment show where the host got to interview celebrities and a bunch of folks who were famous on social media. Tonight's guest was an influencer that Rachel recognized instantly because she'd checked out the lady's online profile recently after seeing some ads she promoted.

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! "That's Gwen Asher," Rachel said and increased the TV volume. "She's pretty and I don't mean to judge her, but she sounds like an airhead most times." Derek was silent and he immediately stiffened when he recognized the woman on the TV screen. "Huh," he muttered. Rachel looked at him. "What? Do you know her?"

Before he could respond, the host of the show was already addressing his host.

"Have you called your ex to congratulate him?" he asked. "You're aware that he's getting married soon, aren't you?"

Gwen tossed her long auburn curls over her shoulder and giggled. "You're so messy, Presh. I don't even know who you're talking about."

"Aw, come on, Gwenny!" Presh complained playfully. "Don't string me along on my own show. Come on, give us the juice 'cause I know you got it." Gwen laughed. "You're gonna need to be more specific, darling. Who are you talking about?"

Presh sighed. "Ok, Gwen. I'll play your game. Derek Fraser!"

Rachel froze on the couch beside Derek. "What the - "

Meanwhile, on the TV, the studio audience erupted in a cheer and their applause rang out like jangling tambourines.

"I don't kiss and tell, Presh," said Gwen, enjoying all the attention on her at the moment. "I'm a real lady."

"Seriously? You're not going to give us anything? This show is about spilling the juice, honey. Gimme something," Presh pressed her with a catty grin.

"OK, fine. All I'm going to say is this, Derek is not the marrying type," said Gwen, getting an 'ooh...' from the audience.

"Uh-huh," she continued confidently. "I don't know what he thinks he's doing with that woman but believe me, when I tell you that Derek is a real freaky freak. Do you know what I mean?" "We gat you, girl!" Presh encouraged her.

"He's not a family guy but I guess people change," Gwen added unconvincingly and the studio audience laughed. "Who knows? Maybe he has changed. I mean, playboys can change too, right?" "Girl..." said Presh and the audience cackled loudly at his dramatic eye-rolling. "Playboys will change when pigs fly. Mark my words!"

The audience's laughter was almost deafening. Rachel flipped the power button on the remote control and the TV went off.

"Please, tell me how many more of these vipers have you been with?" she asked Derek with a hard stare.

"How many more are going to come out of the woodwork to either try to seduce you or simply insult me publicly?" Rachel demanded. "How many more?"