Hired a Gigolo, Got a Billionaire

When my breathing finally steadied and the tightness in my chest began to ease, I felt like a complete idiot. Annie had been right-I'd built a distorted version of Christian in my head, some cold, calculating version of him that didn't match the man I'd fallen in love with. Christian wasn't the ruthless CEO my insecurities kept trying to convince me he was. He was the man who brought me hot chocolate when he found me crying in the kitchen during our first week of marriage.

The man who held my hair back when I got sick and stayed up all night checking my temperature every hour. The man who took me walking through the vineyards under the stars and told me stories about his childhood in Valentia. The man who named a vineyard after me-a tradition reserved only for the true wives of the Kensington family. How could I have doubted, even for a second, that he'd be happy about our baby? "Feeling better?" Annie asked, studying me closely as I wiped away the last traces of tears. "Feeling like a total idiot." I shook my head, half laughing at my earlier meltdown.

"You were right. I was being ridiculous." "Not ridiculous," Annie corrected gently. "Scared. There's a difference. But now that you're back among the rational..." She pointed toward my phone on the nightstand, glaring at me like a silent dare. I picked it up, the weight of it suddenly heavy in my hands. The words I needed to say to Christian tumbled through my mind-I'm pregnant. We're having a baby. You're going to be a dad. Every single one felt inadequate, too small for what it meant. "Call him," Annie urged, sitting beside me on the bed.

slightly as I scrolled to Christian's contact. He was probably already at the office, maybe in a meeting about the organic project or dealing with the fallout from the family's new ownership structure. I took a deep breath and hit call. The phone rang twice before his familiar voice filled my ear. "Good morning, amore mio." Even through the phone, I could hear the smile in his voice. "What a lovely surprise. I didn't expect to hear from you so early." "Hey," I said, my voice coming out weaker than I

missed you this morning." My heart softened instantly, guilt washing over me at the same time. While I'd been processing the fact that I was carrying his child, he'd just been missing me. "I missed you too," I murmured, and it was the truth. There was a pause, and when he spoke again, his voice was lower, more serious. "Zoey, are you okay? You sound...

meetings and come down there right now if-"|| "No!" I blurted out, a little too fast. "No, that's not necessary. Actually, I was

voice. "I have a surprise for you." "A surprise?" Christian laughed, and the warmth in that sound spread through my chest like sunlight. "Now I'm curious. What is it?" "If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise," I said, smiling for the first time since seeing those positive tests. "But I'm pretty sure you're going to love it." Well, I didn't actually have a surprise

his smile through the phone, that gentle curve of his lips that always managed to undo me. "I can't wait for Friday," he murmured finally. "Me neither." "I have to go. Marcus's waiting for a meeting about the new Euradian contracts." His voice shifted back to that smooth,