THE BILLIONAIRE'S SURROGATE BABY

Chapter 9

                          ROME

Rome handed Phoenix her fifth ice cream, silently vowing it would be her last for the night. Yet, he had made the same promise after her third, only to relent each time she flashed him a smile of persuasion.

"Last one, and I mean it," he insisted, to which she simply grinned and accepted the treat.

"Your child appreciates your effort," Phoenix remarked with a smile, prompting Rome's curiosity.

"How do you know that?" he inquired.

"Well, I am carrying the baby," Phoenix replied nonchalantly before returning her attention to her ice cream, enjoying each lick.

As they made their way to the car parked in the lot, Phoenix voiced her confusion.

"How did you manage to get here so quickly and already dressed?" she asked, genuinely puzzled.

"Maybe because you nearly gave me a heart attack, and where I was before is none of your business," Rome retorted, opening the car door for her.

"If I didn't know you, I might mistake you for a gentleman," Phoenix teased as she settled into the car.

"Maybe I just choose to be this way around you," Rome countered as he joined her inside.

"Haha, that's a lie. You're proud, rude, and..." Phoenix paused, her gaze lingering on him.

"Quite handsome," she concluded, still smiling.

"Well, you don't have to tell me that; I already know," Rome replied with a smirk, causing Phoenix to burst into laughter, leaving him puzzled by her sudden amusement.

"See," she managed to say between laughs.

" What??" He asked curiously as he tried to look at her while driving

" see, you're very proud."She completed laughing so hard.

Rome scoffed incredulously, focusing on the road ahead as Phoenix continued to find humor in his expense for the remainder of the ride.

"Don't ever give me that kind of scare again," Rome warned, his tone firm.

"I won't," Phoenix promised, though she couldn't help but crack up at the memory.

"Especially not at 11 PM," he added, glancing at his watch to find it was already past 1 AM.

"Well, it depends on when the baby wants attention," she countered, placing a hand on her stomach.

"Whatever. Just don't do it again," Rome reiterated, to which she nodded in agreement.

"Oh, and don't forget about our appointment the day after tomorrow," he reminded her.

"Yeah, I know," she replied.

"Be punctual," he emphasized.

"Am I ever late?" she retorted, well aware of her tendency to be tardy.

"Let me remind you of the time I came to pick you up, and you were just waking up," he countered.

"Yeah, that day... the baby needed some extra rest," she explained, now gently rubbing her stomach, even though the bump had yet to make an appearance.

"Sure, blame it on the baby," Rome scoffed, opening her door.

"Me? Okay, the baby is angry with you now," she teased, earning another scoff from Rome.

"Goodnight," he bid her.

"Well, it's a bad night for you then," she shot back playfully, before closing the door with a grin.