THE BILLIONAIRE’S DANCE(Billionaire Bachelors Book_Two)

Chapter Nine

Jessica made a decision. She was head over heels in love with her husband and he’d seemed to pull further and further away from her. She’d been hopeful during those months when he’d seemed to open up to her and their marriage had seemed real. She couldn’t live half-way in the marriage and half-way out.

There were times when everything was perfect and then he would seem to notice he was too relaxed and once again pull away from her. The hot and cold was almost worse than if he was just cold all the time. When he was open with her, it gave her hope they could be a real couple.

She slowly gained her courage and walked down the stairs to her husband’s home office. She took another deep breath outside his door and then stepped in, with her head held high.

“Is everything okay?” Alex asked with concern. She normally didn’t disturb him in the office, with one exception when they’d ended up making love in front of the fireplace.

His eyes were automatically drawn to that spot and he could feel his body’s response. He quickly squelched it and turned back to Jessica.

She was standing there before him and he was thinking he could take her right there on top of his desk.

Her eyes held a determination within them that let him know she needed to talk. Seriously, he had to stop his thoughts.

“I don’t know if things are okay,” she began.

Alex was getting really concerned. “Jacob…” he began. He started getting up, ready to charge up the stairs to his son.

“Jacob’s fine. This has to do with us. I need to talk to you about our relationship.” Jessica felt her heart breaking in half as she watched the shutters quickly close into place on her husband’s face.

“Our relationship is fine.” He didn’t elaborate, just looked back down at his computer screen, as if the discussion was over and there was no need to interrupt his work any longer.

He absolutely didn’t want to have the conversation. He knew it had been coming for quite a long time.

He didn’t want to hurt her but he couldn’t lose her either. He was feeling more stress than he ever had in his life.

“The thing is, our relationship isn’t okay for me anymore,” she stressed. “Alex, I love you. I have been in love with you for a while now and I can’t live in this marriage, loving you with all my heart, while wondering when you’re going to walk out the door.” She finished, as a tear slipped down her cheek.

His heart warmed for a moment as she once again told him she loved him. He refused to allow the warmth though and blocked his emotions. He would reason with her, he would make things okay for them.

She’d been hopeful to get through the conversation with no tears. She didn’t want to appear weak and she didn’t want him feeling sorry for her. She wanted his love or nothing at all.

He looked at her with the same shuttered expression, although she’d thought for a moment, he’d shown some warmth. She’d most likely imagined it because he had a guarded look that wasn’t going to change anytime soon. He sat back in his chair for a full two minutes before finally speaking.

“Jessica, I care for you greatly. You are an incredible mother and a great wife. I’m comfortable with the way things are. I never wanted to marry, because other than my parents and my brother, I haven’t exactly seen a lot of shining examples of lasting love. I know you want me to say, ‘I love you,’ but I can’t. It’s just not who I am. I’m giving you everything I’m capable of.” His words were like knives stabbing her again and again. She didn’t know how it was possible to still be standing there. She pressed her hand against her heart, pressing in. The pain was so deep; it felt as if there was a gaping hole in her chest. She really thought her heart may explode from the intensity of the pain coursing through her.

“I understand Alex but then I can no longer stay married to you. You are an amazing father and I would never keep Jacob from you again. We’ll have to work out all the details but I just can’t do this.

I’m so sorry.” She turned and walked from the room. She was choking on the sobs that wanted to rip from her body but she managed somehow to hold them back.

Jessica didn’t know how she arrived in the bedroom she’d shared with Alex for almost a year. Their nights had been amazing. That was the only time he’d completely let down his guard. When he’d looked into her eyes, she’d convinced herself it was love shining through their blue depths.

She turned away from the bed. She couldn’t look at it. She walked across the hall and checked in on Jacob. He was sound asleep in his crib and looked so peaceful. He’d grown so much his first year of life. She was amazed how beautiful he was.

She loved how much he resembled his father. She rubbed his small, mostly bald head. He didn’t wake up. He was content in his crib. She wouldn’t disturb him right then. She would pick him up the next day.

She knocked on Julia’s door and it was quickly answered. “Hi Jessica, is everything okay?” she asked with real concern. Obviously, Jessica thought, she wasn’t doing a very good job of hiding her emotions.

“Everything is fine. I just wanted to let you know I’ll be gone this evening. You have my number if Jacob wakes and there are any problems.”

“I’m sure things will be fine. Are you sure you’re okay?” Julia asked again.

“Yes, thanks, I will see you in the morning.” With that Jessica turned and walked back into her bedroom. There was no way she could sleep there that night. She would go find a hotel room and then look for something more permanent the next day. Her son would be fine overnight. She would make sure she was back before he woke up. She packed an overnight bag and slipped out of the house.

As she climbed into her car she had to wait a few moments because she was crying so hard she couldn’t see to drive properly. When she finally pulled herself together and her vision cleared she turned away from the house. She watched it in her rearview mirror until the trees blocked her view.

Leaving was about the hardest thing she’d ever done. The further she got from the house, the more she was regretting the decision. She loved Alex so much and leaving him was even more painful than staying with him, even without his love.

She decided to turn around and head back towards the house, when her car was suddenly filled with bright lights. “What...” she began to say aloud, when there was a huge crashing sound and she blacked out.

Alex sat as his desk with his head in his hands. He was already regretting his words to Jessica. The longer he thought the more he realized she wasn’t demanding anything of him that he didn’t have to give.

All thoughts of work were gone. He was thinking back to his time with Jessica. He couldn’t wait to walk in the door each evening to see her. He noticed throughout his days, he would continually check the time, counting down the hours until he could return home. He’d done far more work from home, than he’d ever done in the past. Anything that didn’t require him to be in the office was done from home.

He was also delegating far more work than he’d ever done in the past. He just wanted to spend time with his son and his wife. Work was no longer the top priority to him it used to be.

Their nights were unlike anything else he’d ever known. She was always eager to fall into his arms.

She was the most beautiful creature he’d ever known. He could picture her pregnant with many more of his children. He couldn’t picture his life without her.

His heart seemed to grow too full for his chest, as the realization hit him. He did love her. “I love her,” he mumbled out loud, just to hear how it sounded and to know how it felt to say it. He felt his mouth lift up in a grin. He loved her. He wanted to shout it from the rooftops.

He knew he’d sat there to long but he needed to get control over his own emotions. He finally got up to go talk to Jessica. He hated the pain he’d caused her. He couldn’t believe he’d just sat there as the tears rolled down her cheeks and the pain flashed in her eyes. Well that would never happen again. He would make up for that and so much more.

He walked up to their bedroom and there was no sign of her. He went searching throughout the rest of the house, with no signs. He started to worry. He walked back to his son’s room and found Julia in there. “Do you know where Jessica is?” he asked.

“I thought you had both gone out. She came in about an hour ago, saying she would be out for the night,” she replied. Her eyes then narrowed slightly, as she looked at him. “She looked like something was really bothering her, although she was doing her best to cover it up,” she finished accusingly.

Alex headed over to his room, planning on calling her phone. His extension rang before he had a chance to make the call. He picked up on the first ring, “hello.”

“Is this Alex Anderson?” the stranger’s voice asked.

“Yes, can I help you?”

“Sir, your wife has been in an auto accident. She’s at the Mercy West Hospital in surgery and you are listed as her emergency contact,” the stranger said with sympathy.

Alex dropped the phone without another word and ran for the door. He shouted out for Tina to notify his and Jessica’s families and then raced to his car. He couldn’t lose her. Please God, he prayed, don’t take her from me.

Alex made it to the hospital in record time. He couldn’t even remember the drive. One moment he hopped into his car and the next he was rushing in the emergency entrance doors. “I’m looking for my wife, Jessica Anderson!” He was practically shouting at the poor receptionist.

“One moment sir,” the efficient nurse looked at her computer for what seemed like hours. “She arrived about an hour ago and is still in surgery. I need you to fill out these papers please,” she requested, as she pulled out a packet of paperwork.

“To hell with the paperwork, I want to know what’s happening with my wife!” He shouted at the woman.

“Sir, I understand you’re upset right now but the doctor will be out shortly to inform you of your wife’s condition. We really do need these papers filled out,” she tried once again.

Alex was about to grab this insufferable woman by her shirt lapels and demand to be taken to Jessica, when a hand clasped his shoulder. “Come on son, let’s fill out this paperwork and wait to hear from the doctor.” Alex’s shoulders slumped in defeat. His father was there and he was right.

“Okay Dad,” he conceded in defeat.

“I know you’re worried, boy. We all are but your family is here now and we’ll wait together. Jessica is strong and I know she will pull through this.” Alex thanked God to have his family there with him. He couldn’t sit in the waiting room and maintain his composure without them.

A few minutes later his brothers, Lucas and Mark were there with him and then Jessica’s father, John.

No one did any talking. They were there to be a support system. Lucas’s wife Amy came in with coffee and food for everyone and wrapped Alex in a hug. “It will all be okay. She’s strong,” she said, then kissed his cheek, before heading over to sit with her husband.

“Son, let’s take a walk,” Joseph said and lead Alex from the room.

“What if the doctor comes in, Dad?” Alex asked in a panic.

“We won’t go far and trust me, if the doctor does come in one of your brothers will get you right away,” Joseph reassured him.

“Okay,” Alex said, realizing he really did need some air to clear his head.

“Is everything going okay for you and Jessica?” Joseph asked. He was never one to mince words and got right to the heart of the matter.

“I haven’t been a great husband,” Alex said, fighting hard to hold back a sob. “She told me she loved me and I just freaked a bit. I was so afraid if I admitted to her how much I cared about her she would end up being disappointed in me and walking away. I’ve been a fool,” he finished.

“Well admitting that is the first step,” Joseph said with a small chuckle.

Alex didn’t find humor in his father’s words. “I do love her,” he finally said.

“Have you told her that?” his dad asked.

“I was going too but we kind of had a fight and that’s why she was out driving. This is all my fault and if anything has happened to her, I will never be able to forgive myself,” Alex whispered.

“She’ll be okay Alex and you’ll have the rest of your life to reassure her how much you truly love her.

When two people are meant to be together, nothing can stop them except their own bullheadedness.

I’m glad to see you waking up,” Joseph slightly lectured.

“Thanks Dad. I wonder where that stubbornness came from,” Alex added.

“Ah boy, your mamma has had to kick me in the butt a few times and I sure deserved it but you know I would walk on fire for that woman.”

“I didn’t think it was possible to have a love as great as yours and mom’s but now I know how wrong I have been. Knowing Jessica is hurt and not being able to do anything about it is like ripping a piece of my soul away from me. I need to make her better,” Alex pleaded.

“You’ve sure grown into a fine young man. You know I’m always here for you and we’ll get through this. Families always stick together. There’s no way Jessica will leave her son behind so have faith, say a lot of prayers and know everything will work out.”

“Thanks dad. I’ll feel better once the doctor lets me see her,” Alex said, glancing through the doors, into the waiting room.

“Let’s head back inside,” Joseph said and they walked back towards the family.

Alex paced the room for what seemed like the hundredth time when a doctor walked through the doors. The man headed towards the large group. “Alex Anderson?” he questioned.

“That’s me,” Alex answered quickly.

“Your wife is out of surgery. She’s in stable condition but the next twenty-four hours are critical.

She’s in a coma right now but we have every confidence she’ll wake within the next few days. Her collar was broken and she had a large cut on her left leg. We’ve fixed both those things. Her head was hit pretty hard and that’s our main concern right now. We had to relieve the pressure built up and will have to keep an eye on her.” The doctor finally stopped speaking.

Alex stood digesting the words the doctor was saying to him feeling like he was being slapped. He was so worried about Jessica. “Can I please see her?” It took all of Alex’s control not to grab the doctor and demand to be taken to his wife. He wasn’t normally a man who would ask.

“She’s being moved into her room right now. The nurse will take you up in a few minutes,” the doctor replied and then left through the double doors.

“We’ll wait here, son,” Joseph said, while patting Alex’s arm.

A few minutes later a led Alex through some corridors into Jessica’s room. Alex gasped in shock as he saw Jessica lying in the large bed. Her face was bruised up and slightly swollen. He felt a tear slip down his cheek, as he realized how close he’d come to losing her.

He pulled the chair up next to her bed and gently placed her hand in his. “Jessica, I’m so sorry for everything I have put you through. We’ll be just fine. Please wake up, so we can be a family. I love you so much and can’t live without you,” he said to her, willing her to open her eyes and look at him.

She didn’t stir. He sat with her the rest of the night. The nurse had come in and told him visiting hours were over but gave up after a few minutes, knowing she couldn’t budge the devoted husband.

The next day a doctor stepped into the room and was looking at some charts. “Well, we have some great news, Mr. Anderson. She’s healing nicely and should wake up anytime. It also looks like the baby wasn’t affected by the accident and her pregnancy is just fine,” he finished.

Alex sat in shock. He had a mixture of emotions running through him. Did she know she was pregnant? She would’ve told him. “How far along is she?” he finally choked out.

“I’m sorry, I assumed you already knew,” the doctor seemed to stumble over his words. He glanced back down at the chart. “She’s about twelve weeks along,” he finally said.

Alex’s face lit with joy. They were going to have another child. He loved his son so much and now they were going to have a sibling for him. Even better, he would be there for the entire pregnancy. He would see his child come into the world and he would be there every single day to enjoy the entire pregnancy.

He sat there next to Jessica and thanked the heavens for the blessings in his life. His wife was going to be fine, although he’d feel much better once she finally opened her eyes. He was going to have another child to love. Jacob was the most perfect child in the universe. It only seemed right to bring more children into the world. He smiled to himself, thinking he sounded a bit prejudiced but that was alright too.

He vowed he would never let anything bad ever happen again to anyone in his family. He couldn’t stand to feel so helpless.

Later that afternoon both families came in to check on Jessica, bringing in more flowers and balloons.

Her room looked like a floral shop from all the arrangements people dropped off wishing her better.

“We’re going to have another baby,” Alex excitedly stated to everyone in the room. He knew he should wait to tell everyone until Jessica was awake but he couldn’t help himself. He was too excited about it.

There was a moment of silence, before the room erupted in excited chatter. “Congratulations son,” Joseph nearly shouted before grabbing Alex up in a huge bear hug.

“That’s wonderful, just wonderful,” John added with tears in his eyes.

His brothers each gave him a hard hug and Amy kissed him on the cheek. They were equally as excited as he was.

“I don’t know if Jessica even knows yet but I couldn’t wait to tell everyone,” Alex stated, sheepishly.

“Alex.” His head whipped around, as he heard the quiet whisper of his name spoken. Jessica’s eyes were cracked open in confusion and she was looking right at him.

“Baby, it’s so good to see you awake.” He settled down into the chair next to his wife and took her hand into his.

“Wh…What happened?” she finally managed to croak out. Her throat felt like sandpaper. The rest of the room went completely silent.

“You were in a terrible car accident but everything’s fine now. You should be able to return home in a few days,” he said.

“I don’t remember. I was driving and then everything went black,” she said, sounding scared.

“You have nothing to worry about. The doctor said you’re going to be fine,” he reassured her.

“Jacob’s okay, right?” she asked. Her heart monitor started beating as she frantically looked around the room for her son.

“Jacob is fine. You need to relax, your heart rate is getting too high,” he said calmly and breathed a sigh of relief as the beeping slowed. “He’s home with Julia. She will be down here in about an hour with him,” he said and kissed her gently.

Jessica drank in Alex’s face. He looked like he was the one who had been in an accident. His eyes had dark circles and his face was unshaven. His clothes were in desperate need of changing. He’d never looked better to her.

“I’m sorry for the things I said. I do love you more than you could ever imagine. I was just scared.

You’ve held my heart for so long and I was afraid if I told you how I felt you’d somehow hold control over me. I should’ve realized sooner it did not matter. When I thought I could lose you I went out of my mind. Please forgive me for being so stupid,” he pled to her.

Neither of them noticed their families quietly slipping out of the room, giving them much needed privacy. They didn’t notice the happy looks between Joseph and John, the two meddling fathers.

“Of course I forgive you Alex. I love you so much. I wanted to come home the minute I left. I was already thinking I’d rather live with you, without love than without you,” she replied.

“So we’re going to be alright?” He asked her.

“We’re going to be more than alright. I think we can finally be a real family,” she said.

“Speaking of families,” he began, “how do you feel about giving Jacob a new brother or sister?” Jessica beamed at him. “Nothing would make me feel better than having a houseful of children running around, filling up the empty corners,” she beamed at him. “As soon as I get out of here, we’ll have to start working on that.”

Alex gave her a blinding smile. “I don’t mind practicing for baby number three but number two is already cooking,” he said.

Jessica looked at her husband in confusion for a few moments before she realized what he was saying.

“Are we…” she began, when he nodded his head. “We’re really pregnant?” she asked with hope.

Alex nodded his head. He was so overcome with emotions he couldn’t speak for a moment. He found it amusing he was the one telling her they were pregnant as it was normally the other way around.

“I can’t believe it,” she gasped. “How do you know?”

“They ran all kinds of tests to make sure you were alright and found you were twelve weeks along.

The baby’s fine. As a matter-of-fact, they are going to bring a monitor in this afternoon so we can have our first peak at the little one,” he said.

“I can’t believe I didn’t know I was pregnant. I just thought I had a touch of the flu. I guess even the flu can’t last that long,” she said feeling a little foolish.

“I should’ve noticed something was up myself. You have been sleeping a lot and hardly eating. We have to get you taken care of so you can properly take care of our baby,” he said and gently rubbed her belly, which had a small bump on it.

Jessica looked at his hand on her stomach and gave a small laugh, “I thought I was just putting on weight,” she said, turning a little pink.

“I would love you no matter what you looked like,” he said and she could see he really meant it.

Jessica was thrilled to be carrying another baby of Alex’s. “I never thought my life could be this perfect. I love you. Alex.”

“I love you to Jessica and I’ll spend the rest of my life showing you just how much,” he said as he gently kissed her.

Jessica shivered as the doctor applied the cold gell to her belly but soon all her pain seemed to fade away as she got her first look at their baby.

“Is that her?” Alex asked in awe, as a perfect little head came into view on the monitor. He was gripping Jessica’s hand in his as he got the first image of their child.

“How are you so sure our child is a girl?” Jessica asked with a proud smile. She too had a feeling the baby was a girl.

“Because this world won’t be complete without a mirror image of you in it,” he stated as fact.

Jessica’s eyes filled with tears once again. She couldn’t believe just a couple of short days ago she’d been filled with such despair. She felt like she would burst wide open from the joy she was feeling.

Her eyes returned to the monitor and she took in every detail of the three dimensional image of her child, whom was safe within her womb becoming stronger each day.

“Thank you for being a wonderful husband and father,” she said, barely able to get the words out of her tightened throat.

“No Jessica, it’s me who needs to thank you for having so much faith. I love you, Jacob and our daughter,” he said.

Jessica knew from that day forward her life would be a great adventure and even though there would be trials now and then, things would work out for them all. She looked from the monitor to her husband and then sent up a silent thank you to God for blessing her life with so much.