One Night Stand with a Prince: Oops! I Had His Baby!

The Calm Before

“Surprise!”

I jumped in shock as I flicked on the light, finding almost half the staff stuffed into my tiny office, smiling with champagne flutes raised as they all shouted at me. There were pink and blue streamers hanging from the ceiling with matching balloons covering the roof. A big sign was hung over my desk with the words “Congratulations! Boy or Girl?” Lucy was standing at the front, a big smile on her face and two glasses in her hands. Sauntering over to me, Lucy handed me a flute filled with orange juice and dinged her own champagne filled one against it.

“Were you surprised? Of course you were.” Lucy rattled off, turning to face the rest of the small crowd stuffed into my coat closet of an office, her arm sliding around my shoulders as she pulled me close.

“I can’t believe you did all of this!” I exclaimed, marveling not only at the beautiful decorations but at the amount of people here. In the past eight months I had slowly gotten closer to each member of my office team, and though I liked to think of some as friends, I hadn’t realize they cared so much. Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes, and I knew soon I would be bawling like a baby. I heard footsteps behind me and turned around to see the rest of the office staff hurrying to my office door with their own drinks in hand and balloons. I laughed as they shouted ‘Surprise’ as well and turned to hug Lucy tightly to me. “Thank you so much Lucy, I know you set this up, and it means so much!”

“Of course, I’m going to be God Momma after all, gotta start spoiling that little girl now.” Lucy winked at me, and I rolled my eyes, shoving gently on her shoulder in jest.

“I don’t know the s*x anymore then you do and even if I did, I wouldn’t tell you, I want it to be a surprise.” I repeated for the hundredth time in the past eight months, my hands rubbing my massive stomach. I couldn’t believe how much I had blown up in the past month, but I was thanking the lord above daily that I had less than two weeks left. Two weeks and I’d meet the love of my life.

“Yeah, because the baby it’s self wasn’t enough of a surprise.” Lucy muttered sarcastically, also for the hundredth time in the past 8 months.

I chuckled at her repeated response and turned to face everyone who was here to celebrate such a huge event in my life. “Thank you everyone, this means so much! I’ll make sure to bring the baby by to see you all once I’m back on my feet.”

For the next two hours the entire office laughed, ate, played games and just enjoyed each other’s company. It was the perfect end to the 8 months I’d been here, I’d be taking the next 6 months off, working from home as needed after the first 3 months. Doing this alone I was exceedingly relieved that I had a company that had amazing maternity practices. I’d be paid to stay home for the first year if I wanted, but with me now having another little life depending on me I needed to focus on climbing my career ladder as fast as possible to give my child the best life I possibly could. So, I’d be going to work at home at 3 months and coming back part-time in office at 6 months until a year.

In the past six months I’d read every book on pregnancy, childbirth and babies that I could get my hands on. I wanted to be overly prepared, I had no one else to fall back on during any of this, only myself, so I prepared, organized, and scheduled everything I could.

As Lucy helped me pack all the gifts the office staff had gotten me into my car, I thought back on him, the father of my child. I had tried to look him up, but all I found were hundreds and hundreds of men with the last name Kingston, and of course that was assuming it was his real name. I saw his handsome face and beautiful eyes in my mind every time I tried to imagine what our child would look like. I wanted to tell him he was going to be a father, I felt he had the right to know, but I’d searched for months with no luck.

“Alright hun, that’s the last of them.” Lucy said with a smile as she walked around the car and gave me a hug, when she pulled back her bright eyes locked with mine and her hands grasped my shoulders gently. “Remember, at the first sign of labor, call me, and I’ll get you to the hospital and hold your hand the entire time! I’m here for you!” I nodded my head, swallowing the lump in my throat as I wandered again what I had done to deserve this amazing woman as my friend. “Oh, did you manage to hire a nanny yet?”

“No Lucy, I told you, I’ll be home with the baby, no need for a nanny yet. I don’t want to hand my baby off to a stranger.” I grumbled, playing with the keys in my hands as Lucy groaned and shook her head at me in exasperation.

“Please, if you take no other advice I give you, listen to this. You have the money to pay a highly qualified nanny, do it! Married women with husbands there to help have trouble adjusting to life with a baby. Hiring a nanny to make sure the chores get done or dinner gets made or you have the time to take a shower, is not handing your baby to someone else to raise, it’s preemptive preparation.” Lucy’s gaze bored into mine and I nodded my head. “It also doesn’t mean you failed, or you can’t do this, it just makes it easier.” I nodded again and rolled my eyes as I stepped back from her.

“I need to get going Lucy, I promise to look over the list you sent, okay?”

“That’s all I ask.” She chirped back, holding the door while I maneuvered my massive belly into the car and clicked my seatbelt on, while she laughed at me. “You look a mixture of blissfully happy and absolutely miserable.”

“Makes sense, that’s how I feel… a mixture of happy and miserable. I’ll just be happy when I have my baby in my arms.” With that Lucy shut my door and stepped back, waving me off as I pulled off the curb in front of the building and into the traffic. It took 30 minutes to get to the gated neighborhood I’d bought a small 2 story home in 4 months ago, the down payment had taken nearly my entire savings, but it was worth it. I didn’t want to raise my child in an apartment, and I wanted a place of our own.

Pulling into the driveway I pushed the button over my head that opened the garage and I stared at my house with pride. I’d done this. Me. I hadn’t needed a man to buy my house and get it ready for my child. Would I like a husband by my side? Of course, I wasn’t exactly looking forward to raising my baby alone, but I would. Because I had to. And we would be just fine. Better than fine. We’d be happy, and my son or daughter would have everything they could ever want or need.

****** 6 Day’s Later*******

“He’s perfect.” Lucy said as she sat beside my hospital bed, her bright blue eyes locked on the tiny bundle in my arms, though he hadn’t felt very tiny when he’d been making his way out of my body just a few hours ago.

She was right though, he was perfect. Absolutely, freaking, perfect. I could already tell he was going to be an exact replica of his father, even the nurses said they’d never seen a baby born with such thick black hair. I couldn’t stop staring at him, though I was exhausted and knew I needed to sleep, I just couldn’t bring myself to let him out of my arms long enough to get some shut eye.

I yawned for the tenth time in five minutes and Lucy chuckled as she rose to her feet and held her hands out for my baby boy. “Come on Julianna, hand me my godson, and get some sleep. You need to rest, or you’ll be useless. You can’t care for him if you’re running on empty yourself, can you?”

“But I don’t want to let him go.” I mumbled, hugging him just a bit tighter and placing a soft kiss on his forehead. I knew she was right though, I needed to sleep, I couldn’t care for my baby properly if I didn’t have any energy. “Alright, here, take my perfect prince.” I sighed as Lucy took him from my arms. Pulling my blanket up to my chin and settling into the bed, I watched her snuggle him in the overstuffed chair by my bed. “Thank you, Lucy, for everything, I couldn’t have done this without you.”

“Oh shh, you could have done all of this and so much more without me, I’ve never met a woman with such resolve as you have Julianna. But It’s nice to hear you say, I’ve enjoyed getting to know you and becoming your friend.” Lucy smiled at me, and I returned it with one of my own, tears in my eyes. “You still haven’t named him…”

“I know, I know, I need to name him. It’s just so hard to pick something as perfect as he is.” I cooed as I stared at his perfect little hand waving above his blanket as Lucy gazed down at him.

“What about Dakoda?” Lucy offered.

“No.” I answered with a chuckle.

“Julian?”

“No.”

“Augusts?”

“Maybe.”

“Leroy?”

I raised an eyebrow at Lucy at that one and shook my head no, to which she giggled and nodded her head in agreement.

“Alright, how about Christopher?”

“No.”

“Baron?”

“No.”

“Charles?”

I looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully for a moment before glancing back at Lucy. “Charles Augustus Kingston Ortega?”

“Kingston?” Lucy asked with a raised brow, I had never told her my child’s father’s name.

“It’s all I know about his father; his last name is Kingston. I wanted to contact him, but I tried and was not able to find any info… besides, I’m not sure he’d want him.” I said as I looked pointedly at my son.

“Then why give him his father’s name? He’s done nothing for him, he doesn’t deserve that honor.” Lucy said with finality, as Charles wrapped his fingers around one of her fingers, melting my best friend’s heart.

“It’s not about his father, it’s about Charles. If he doesn’t want to carry his father’s name one day then we can remove it, but by blood he has earned the right to carry his father’s name.” I told her with a sad smile before I yawned again.

“I understand, and I like Charles. Charles Augustus Kingston Ortega, it’s very royal for the little prince of your life. I love it. Now get some sleep momma, we’ll be right here, and I’ll wake you up to feed him if he gets hungry.” Lucy insisted, not that it mattered, I wouldn’t have been able to stay awake if I wanted to. In seconds I was falling into darkness, a smile on my lips as I listened to my best friend coo at my son.

****** Three Months later******

“Oh my god look at all of that hair!” Exclaimed Sherril, a receptionist at the office as I pushed Charles’ stroller through the big double front doors.

“I have never seen such a bright baby at such a young age! Look at those blue eyes, watching everything and studying it. You have a true genius on your hands Jules!” Larry added, as he passed by, smiling at my happy little prince.

“He looks nothing like you Julianna, are you sure they didn’t get him mixed up with another baby in the nursery?” Joked Lilly from HR, pulling a laugh from my lips.

Every mother thought their baby was the most beautiful thing in the world, but I had to admit, Charles was one of the cutest babies I’d ever seen and anyone who met him swore the same. Everyday his eyes got a lighter blue, and I knew they’d be every bit as beautiful as his father’s, his onyx hair was so thick and long and shiny I was asked constantly if he was a girl, even though he was constantly in blue and green boy’s outfits. I hoped he’d look a bit more like me as he grew up, but I prayed he took his time growing, I wasn’t in a rush for time to fly by.

“Thank you everyone, I’m just here to pick up a little work but I promise to bring him around more often.” All the ladies oohed and ahhed at him while I grabbed the things I needed from my office, leaving 30 minutes later. As I walked out of the building, pushing Charles’ stroller and a bag with my work items thrown over my shoulder, I got the oddest sense that I was being watched.

I scanned the area around me but there were so many people walking around, and cars passing by quickly, there was no telling. Shaking it off as a figment of my imagination, I focused on getting Charles in his car seat and putting his stroller in the trunk.

James Kingston POV:

“Yes Dillion? Do you have news on Julianna?” I asked the private detective I had hired to find my mystery girl as his call came through on my cell phone.

“Sir, there’s something you should know, and I don’t think it can wait for our meeting next week.” Dillion’s voice sounded anxious, and I scooted to the edge of my seat in excitement, he’d only have called if he’d found her, right?

“What is it? Did you find her?”

“I did… but your highness.” Dillion paused and I found myself feeling frustrated that he was being so dramatic. “She’s got a baby.” The words rushed out of his mouth just as I was going to snap at him to spit it out.

His statement gave me pause, before I sighed in resignation. “Okay, if she has a family then leave her be, assignment over, I am not interested in destroying families.” And that was true, as much as I had thought she was my meant to be, I was not a home wrecker.

“No sir, you don’t understand.” Dillion paused again before releasing a heavy sighed and continuing. “The baby is 3 months old; his name is Charles August Kingston Ortega. I got the records from a friend who works in the hospital he was delivered at. There’s no father listed sir.”

“I do not understand Dillion…” I muttered, frozen as his words began to sink into my brain. Doing the math, she’d have conceived 13 months ago, right around the time I’d woken up with her in my bed. And she’d put my name in his… wait, his… did I… did I have a son? “Dillion, send me everything you know, and see about a paternity test, I do not care what you have to do, bribe the daycare or the nanny, the hospital staff, no amount is too much to pay to get me the answers I need.”

“Yes sir.” He answered back quickly, normally he’d have hung up, but I felt like he was hesitant to say something.

“What is it?” I demanded of him, Dillion was normally all business, not dramatic like this.

“Would you…. Would you like a picture, sir?” He asked softly, and his words made my heart flutter and my stomach churn.

“Yes.”

With that the line went dead and I held the phone anxiously in my hand waiting for the picture to come through. Seconds later the screen lite up and dinged loudly. I’d never put in my passcode so fast in my life, clicking on the message he sent me with shaky fingers. He’d sent me 3 photos, the first two were from a short distance, a picture of the woman who’d been haunting my dreams for the past year with a baby in her arms, smiling at him. The next was her bending into a car to strap him into a car seat.

The third was much closer and must have been clipped as he walked past her, and she’d been unaware. A beautiful baby boy with a head full of thick black hair just like mine and the same bright blue eyes most of my family inherited. He looked just like me, but soft and smiling, innocent. My fingers touched the picture on my phone screen with reverence as tears gathered in my eyes, I never cried, I couldn’t remember the last time I cried… and yet I was. I didn’t need the DNA test; I knew he was mine. Charles Augustus Kingston Ortega. A name fitting the Royal status he was born into. He was a Prince of Lenova.

Anger began to boil up in my chest and I began to question if she ever looked for me, if she ever planned on telling me I had a son in this world. I’d find out soon enough, within an hour I had a private jet ordered to be ready as soon as possible to take me straight to LA, USA.