Seduced by the Billionaire: The Complete Collection by Lee Nadia

Author:Lee, Nadia
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Four Isles Press
Published: 2019-01-01T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-One

STELLA LLOYD’S SINGLE-FAMILY HOME in southern Maryland was modest by every Lloyd brother’s standards. She used to live in Houston, but had decided to move back to her hometown after her husband’s death.

Her garden was vivid green and healthy. Everyone in the family always made mental notes to look for things to compliment—it was her pride and joy. They also used it to gauge her overall mood. As he walked up to the house, Gavin noticed a small yellow rosebush on one side and frowned. His mother had once had several in the garden, but had ripped them out when Jacob and Catherine announced their engagement.

Stella waved through the living room window and gestured for him to come in. He walked into the house. Its hardwood floor gleamed with a fresh coat of wax. One of the ceiling fans was spinning, creating a soft breeze, and three well-worn couches and love seats surrounded an oak coffee table.

She came out of the kitchen with two tall glasses of iced tea. A little more gray glinted in her long dark hair, which was twisted into a simple updo. She wore a pair of pretty gold earrings and a turquoise necklace that matched her simple shin-length dress.

They sat down, and she handed him a glass. “Extra sweet, just for you.”

“Thanks, Mom.” Coffee was best taken black, but he preferred his tea almost syrupy with sugar.

“So how are things? Is it true you’re divorcing Amandine?”

He choked and coughed to clear the tea from the wrong tract. “What?”

“It’s on Facebook.”

How in the world…? “Facebook? You barely know how to operate your TV.”

“Eric showed me on his…flat thing.”

Traitor. Gavin made a mental note never to buy a tablet or any other fancy toy for his nephew again. “We’re not divorcing.” He hesitated. Neither Amandine nor he had mentioned anything to Stella so that she wouldn’t be upset, but frankly, he no longer wanted to operate with the expectation that his marriage would fall apart. “Amandine is pregnant.”

Stella’s face brightened. “My goodness. Well, that’s fabulous! Congratulations!”

“If you talked with Uncle Tony, and not just your nosy grandson, you would’ve known we just had our second honeymoon.”

“He’s too busy playing with his new boat to talk. Anyway, I’m glad to hear that. Another baby! They’re so precious.”

Gavin’s insides warmed at his mother’s pleasure. She deserved some good news after suffering the scandal of Jacob’s bigamy.

“You think Amandine can visit before she starts showing?”

“She can’t fly. Doctor’s orders.”

Stella’s face clouded. “Is she all right?”

“Nothing to worry about. Just no airplanes.”

She nodded. “Good. So does this mean you’re cutting back?”

“For a while, yes.”

“You’re going to go back to working like you have been?”

“I can’t cut back forever.”

“For heaven’s sake. You can’t continue to slave your life away at the firm. Besides, what about your child? You’ll have to go to recitals, soccer games… Children take time, even if you have nannies.”

He frowned. He hadn’t thought about that at all.

Stella sighed. “You were planning to go on like you always have, weren’t you?”

“Er…sort of.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.