One Night Stand (New Yorker III) (8 page)

“No…I
don’t know. We haven’t even talked about us raising the baby together. I only
found out last night. She told me, we had a fight and I left.” Rich winced when
he thought about the pain he saw in her eyes when she thought he was asking her
to have an abortion.

“You
weren’t raised to run away from your responsibilities. I will not let you shame
your family name by being a coward.” Harold continued to pace. “I think we can
get the annulment. Ava has abandoned you for more than five years. You’ll need
to marry the Ross girl.”

“Don’t
you think Catalella and I should make that decision?” Rich asked.

“You
already did that by getting her pregnant. When you finally arrange to meet the
family, make sure I’m with you. ” Harold then belted out a laugh. “I’ll be
damned, if only your father were here to see this.”

“See
what?” Rich asked confused.

“Just
talk to Catalella, I’ll handle Ava,” he said then walked out.

Rich
stood up,
then
saluted mockingly. “Yes sir!”

“I
heard that,” Harold called out from the other side of the door.

* * *
*

It was
Friday and the thought of going home that weekend to face more questions about
‘Rich-
ard
’ exhausted her. Being pregnant was tough on
her. She didn’t have the same stamina that she had before, and the stress of
her family, and now Rich, was taking any strength she had left.

She sat
on the couch eating a bag of chips, thankful she was finally able to eat
something. It wasn’t exactly the healthiest choice but the only choice. The
salty snack was the only thing she could put down that the baby wouldn’t send
back up. She sat and watched a few cartoons, forcing herself to become
accustomed to the characters before the baby arrived. But when she heard the
doorbell she froze. She hadn’t seen or heard from Rich for the past three days
and she had no doubt that it was him. It couldn’t be anyone from her family—her
mother had made sure that they each had a copy of her keys. They would walk in,
not ring the doorbell. She stood up and made up her mind to open the door. They
needed to have this talk and the sooner they did the sooner it would be over.

“Come
in,” she said without looking at him.

“Thanks,”
she heard him mumble. “What’s with the bag of chips?”

“It’s
the only thing that I can eat at the moment,” she said as she looked at her now
shrunken room. Rich was taking up all the space and, judging by the tightness
in her chest, all the air too. “Do you want anything to eat or drink?”

“No
thanks.” Rich sat down on the sofa and she joined him. “Why are you watching
this?”

“I’m just
getting prepared. Are you sure you don’t want anything?”

She
chanced a glance at him and noticed he was staring at her. She felt herself
squirm, lost as to what to do next. “Did you want to talk about the baby?”

“I’m
not going to run away from my responsibilities. I’m going to be in this with
you, but I have to take care of some details before I can fully commit.” His
voice was soft but filled with hope.

“I
wasn’t trying to trap you.”

“I
know. But I wasn’t prepared for this. The company is taking a lot of my time
and for the longest while I thought that would be my only responsibility. I
have to grow up a lot faster than I anticipated.”

“You
are twenty-eight,” she pointed out.

“But I
haven’t always been responsible. When my father died I realized I had to grow
up, and so far I have been getting by with the little maturity I was able to
gain. But a baby is another thing. Being responsible for another life—” He
faltered,
then
sighed. “That is something else
entirely. I can’t mess this up. I only have once chance at this.”

“You’re
scared. It’s understandable.” She gave him a weary smile. “I’m scared too, but
not about scarring my child for life. I’m scared that I will never get to hold
my baby.”

Panicked,
Rich grabbed her hands and turned toward her. “Is the cancer back? Is there
something wrong with the baby?”

“Calm
down. The baby and I are fine. But I don’t have the best of luck. My doctor
told me this was my one chance…after this baby I could never have another.” She
shrugged. “But nothing good ever happens to me. For a while I thought if I
acted like there was no baby, if I pretended that I didn’t care, it wouldn’t be
taken away from me. I’m terrified because I want this baby so much that I would
literally die if something happened.”

“Don’t
think like that. My luck is lousy but I’m optimistic.” Rich cupped her face,
wiping her stray tears with his thumb. “I think we should move in together.”

“Whoa!”
Catalella exclaimed as she jumped off the couch. “You can’t be serious.”

“I am.
You can keep your apartment and I can keep mine, just in case we have other partners—although
I would appreciate it if you didn’t sleep with anyone else while you’re
carrying my child. But we should definitely get a place together—a three-bedroom
apartment. We could each have our own rooms and a nursery.”

“How
long would this be for?” she asked cautiously.

“As
long as we can make it work. Maybe we could get married later on.”

“No, I’m
never getting married again.”

“Fine.
But I should probably meet your
family.”

“About
that…”

Chapter Seven

Catalella
sat in the passenger seat and watched as Rich drove them to her parents’ house.
They had taken his Range Rover Sport. He insisted that it was much safer than
her SUV. His uncle Harold followed behind them. She didn’t see why the old man
had to come, but Harold had insisted.

Catalella
had to tell Rich about telling her family that his name was Rich-
ard
. He found it hilarious but she was worried that her
father would think she was irresponsible. But they had to tell her family the
truth. Rich had told her about buying the restaurant when the owner refused to
admit him and a few of his friends after a fight broke out. He said the guy he
was fighting with, Ali, had given him the nickname, Rich. Later they had become
best of friends.

Catalella
saw what he meant when he said he had to do some growing up. She only hoped
that he was ready for his biggest responsibility yet and over his frat boy
phase. She looked at how he dressed in baggy jeans, a T-shirt and sneakers, and
groaned. Her father would take one look at him and tear him apart. For a second
she wished he had brought his Armani suit with him. He looked sexier dressed casually,
but she didn’t think her father would appreciate it the same way she did.

“Are
you all right?” Rich asked as he reached over and touched her hands which were
folded neatly on her lap, his fingers caressing her belly.

“I’m
perfect.” Catalella trembled when he released her hand and
lay
his on her small round belly. The tenderness in that act made her heart want to
explode.

“What
are you worried about?” He stroked her cheek with his fingers and smiled.
Although he had shades on she knew that his eyes were smiling too. It was hard
to imagine that the same guy that had freaked out four days earlier was
caressing his baby through her skin and stroking her cheeks.

“That
my dad is going to kill me,” she huffed.

“I’ll
protect you,” Rich said before he took her hand and kissed it.

“Okay,
right now you’re confusing me,” she said, as she tried to retrieve her hand
from his and failed. “You freaked out on me, and then suggested that we have an
open relationship while we raise our child, and right now you are acting like
we’ve been in love for a hundred years.”

“I’m
playing the role of your boyfriend. Does it bother you when I touch you?” He
looked at her for a second before turning back to the road.

She
chewed on her bottom lip as she thought. It didn’t bother her…it excited her.
Her mind was set on keeping their relationship platonic but her body was
against the idea. With her now raging hormones she wanted to do nothing more
than to have sex with him every single second of the day. “No, it doesn’t
bother me. It affects me.”

He
laughed and Catalella felt her heart grow warm. “I’m confident about how sexy I
am, but I think the pregnancy and the hormones have you on overdrive.”

“How do
you know?”

“I’ve
read a couple of books. I need to be informed about my baby and you. Your body
is changing and you are more hormonal. It’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”
He shot her a smile.

“So for
my sake could you keep the sexy grins to a minimum?” She laughed and when she
did she felt so liberated.

“I’ll
try, but knowing that my baby is growing inside you is so damn sexy,” he teased
her.

The
laughter stopped when they got to the large gates to her father’s estate.
Catalella began to panic, sure that they weren’t ready for this show of
commitment but terrified that being here with her family would only confirm it.

“I’m
right here with you, and I’m not going to run,” Rich said as he squeezed her
hand.

“You
thought about it?”

“I
think every guy who knocks up a girl outside marriage is terrified about
meeting her father.”

“Right
now I would advise it.” If her father didn’t take a swing at him, AJ or Reno
definitely would. Either way he wouldn’t be leaving the Ross estates unscathed.
“Remember, they think you’re my boyfriend. My mother will be heartbroken if she
thinks I haven’t gotten my complete package,” she pleaded.

“Complete
package—baby, love and a husband.”
She watched as Rich swallowed hard. He was terrified and
she could see it. “I’m not sure if we’re going to have that. But I can promise
you that today you are the only woman I want to be with.”

Catalella
almost felt her heart running away with his words. She
reigned
it in and took a deep breath to clear her thoughts. He sounded convincing, but
so had Michael Mathews. She was going to keep up the ruse for her mother, but by
sunset tomorrow they would be back to being their true selves. She held her
breath as her mother and father stood outside the front door to meet them. She
glanced at Rich and he smiled at her.

“Wait
for me,” he said as he got out of the car and walked round to her side. He
opened the door for her and helped her out of the car. “Be careful.”

“I’m
not going to break,” she whispered.

“I
know.” He smiled at her as he held onto her hand, walking by her side as they
came face to face with her parents.

“Mama,
Papa.” Catalella hugged her parents then stepped back to Rich’s side. “This is
Rich,
I mean this is Ethan McCrery.” She heard footsteps
coming behind them and Catalella remembered their tail. “And this is Harold
Henry, Ethan’s godfather.”

She
watched as her father shook Rich’s hand, studying him the whole time. Then he
shook Harold’s hand and there seemed to be even more there, as if they had a
past. Catalella shot her mother a look and could see how nervous she was. She
looked at Rich and they exchanged a glance that told her he was just as
confused as she was.

“Come
in,” Rosalinda said finally.

The two
men disappeared into her father’s study, leaving Rich and Catalella staring
after them.

“
Ay papi muy encaliente
.” Catalella
frowned at her sister’s rude exclamation.

“Lisette,”
she warned.

But
Rich gave her a curt nod and a smile then replied, “
Gracias.”

“You
speak Spanish?” Catalella asked, stunned.

“I do.”

“You
didn’t tell me.”

“You
never asked.”

“Already
arguing like a married couple,” Rosalinda said as a smile beamed on her face.
“Come on, he has to meet the rest of the family.”

“Peanut!”
Catalella launched herself into her brother’s waiting arms when she spotted
him. She felt his body go rigid and his arms stiffen as he put her down. He
took a step towards Rich and, before she could introduce them, AJ punched Rich
in the face.

“What
the hell, AJ!” Catalella said as she went to Rich’s side. She had never seen
her brother hit anyone that hard and was surprised that Rich was still
standing.

“You
knocked up my sister, Rich,” AJ growled as Reno held him back.

“I
didn’t know she was your sister, Ali,” Rich groaned.

“Ali?”
Catalella asked when it dawned on her. “AJ is Ali?”

She
watched the two men and it was obvious that they knew each other. Catalella
buried her fingers in her hair and shrugged. There was no way her day could get
any worse after this. Then she remembered that she had to tell her family that
she got pregnant from a one night stand. She didn’t think they would buy the
story that she and Rich were in a committed relationship.

“I
guess my son has settled the score. But I come with a reward.” Adrian walked
into the room with a bottle of his hundred-year-old whiskey. Harold was at his
side and both men looked relaxed.

“I bet
Four
would have gotten a kick out of this.” Harold chuckled.

“Four?”
Rich asked. “You mean my father?”

“Yep.”
Adrian bellowed a laugh. “I
miss him, though. Sorry I wasn’t at his funeral.”

“He was
dead. I don’t think he minded,” Rich put in.

“How do
you know Harold, and Rich’s dad?” Catalella asked as she held an ice pack to
Rich’s face.

“The
four of us used to be best friends,” Harold said.
“Me,
Adrian, Dennis and Ethan.
We went to college together, then something
happened and we split up.”

“Harold
went with your dad and Dennis stayed with me,” Adrian went on.

It was
then Katherine decided to make her entrance. She froze at the glass doors, the
plate of burgers in her hand threatening to spill on the floor.
“Daddy?”

“Daddy?”
AJ gasped.

“Hey,
kitty cat, I decided that I would come meet your fiancé today,” Harold said.

“Four
would have found this hilarious.” Adrian burst into laughter and Harold
followed.

“I
don’t see what’s so funny. Ouch!” Rich exclaimed and he took the ice pack from
Catalella. “Why did you split up?”

“Because
of me,” Rosalinda put in. “Your mother and father weren’t divorced at the time
and I met Adrian and Ethan at the same time.”

“Let me
guess—they both wanted you but you chose papa so their best friends picked
sides,” Lisette interjected. “Mama, you’re Yoko.”

“Lisette!”
It was AJ who had issued the
warning. He walked over to his soon to be father-in-law and shook his hand.
“Good afternoon, sir. It’s good to finally meet you.”

“I
won’t lie to
you,
I didn’t want my daughter to marry
you. I thought I was betraying Ethan’s friendship by allowing it,” the old man
admitted. “But since Ethan junior has crossed the line even further I think I
would be a hypocrite if I didn’t allow this wedding to take place.”

“Thanks.”
Katherine winked at Rich.

“Anytime,
kitty cat.”
Rich grinned back.

“Enough
with the past—a drink to my old friend and to his son and his sperm.”
Adrian raised his glass.

“Papa.”
Catalella could feel her face
getting red, and it didn’t help that Rich seemed as amused as everyone else in
the room.

Everyone
drank except her and Lisette. Catalella retrieved some orange juice for herself
and her sister. Lisette’s bump was already evident as it stretched her shirt at
her midsection. Catalella was growing bigger, and she couldn’t wait until she
got that big. She was back with their drinks just in time for her father to
make another toast.

“To
my two grandchildren on their way to join my family.”

Rich
froze and stared at her. “You didn’t tell me we were having twins.”

Everyone
burst out laughing at the panic in his eyes. “My sister, Lisette, is pregnant.”

“AJ,
you need to catch up,” Adrian said.

“We’re
going to wait until we get married. That’s the right way of doing it.”
Catalella didn’t miss the warning in her brother’s tone or the look he shot
Rich. The veiled message in his statement was clearly meant for Rich.

“I’m
working on it,” Harold said before he gulped his whiskey.

Catalella
watched Rich get acquainted with his childish side as he hung out with her
niece and nephew. Reno Junior and Rhyne were proving to be a workout for him—at
the ages of four and two they had too much energy. But Rich still tried and
that gave Catalella hope.

“He’s a
good guy,” Lisette whispered in her ear.

“He’s
scared of failing at being a dad.” Catalella laughed as Rich pushed Rhyne
around on her tricycle. The sound of his bellowing laughter and her tiny
shrieks filled her heart.

“Reno
doesn’t like me telling people this, but when I showed him my pregnancy test he
froze.” Lisette laughed. “He held on to it for like a lifetime. I went to bed
and the next morning he was still on the couch staring at the two bars. Later
that afternoon he bought the whole baby section in the book store, he started
constructing a baby’s room in a town house we didn’t own yet, and was shopping
for baby stuff. He seemed to be in a trance.”

“He was
getting ready.” Catalella stared at the giant with his son in his arms. Reno
was like a boy scout. He was always prepared.

“He was
afraid that he wouldn’t be a good dad. That’s Uncle Dennis’ fault—he abandoned
them. But by the time Rhyne came, he seemed to be convinced that he was a good
dad.”

“All I
want is for Rich to be there for both of us.” Catalella hugged her belly,
trying to dispel the fear of abandonment that had all of a sudden overwhelmed
her.

Catalella
had refrained from asking Rich what Harold meant when he said he was ‘working
on it’. Did that mean the old man was trying to convince Rich to marry her? She
had already seen the old man’s persuasive power. He had already convinced
Katherine and AJ to have a grander wedding, and that meant they were pushing it
back three months. Lisette and Catalella had protested, especially since they
would both be in their second trimester, but the old man had made his decision.
She hoped that Rich had more resolve to say no. She wasn’t getting married
again.
Never again.