The Billionaire's Baby (The Romero Brothers, Book 5) by Shadonna Richards Page B

Okay?” His voice was stern.
    “Okay,” she whispered.
Just then she yawned and the infectious motion touched Jules and he yawned,
too.
    “Oh, and what’s
this?” she said making her way over to the open kitchen. It was high-end
designer fridge with a TV on it and an ice-maker . No
biggie since she’d seen one before. But there was a computer monitor embedded
on the screen.
    “Oh, it’s just a
smart fridge.”
    “Just? What does
it do?” Amber opened the fridge.
    “Well, for
starters, I think every home should have one. It uses a light sensor to scan
the kitchen to see if anyone is present then powers down the electricity if not.
Anything that saves the environment is all good for me.”
    “Hmm.”
    “And it also, get
this, can let you know when food expires.”
    Amber whipped her
head around to face him. “Shut up!”
    Jules laughed at
her astonishment. “Yeah, you just need to scan every item that you buy and
place it inside as usual. It knows the location of the food item and will let
you know it’s time to remove it.”
    “Wow! I’m…just
wow.”
    “Yes, you are
just…wow!” he repeated, flashing her a knowing grin. “You’re amazing, you know
that?”
    “I am?”
    “Yeah, just
seeing you so happy and beaming like that really illuminates a room. You
deserve it.”
    “Thank you,” Amber
replied modestly.
    Why was it always
hard for her to take compliments and to accept gifts from people? Was it
because of what she’d been through in her life? Having to humble herself in the care of relatives who really didn’t want to
be burdened with her when she was orphaned? She needed to learn to quiet the
doubts flooding her mind and simply enjoy each moment.   And that’s what she was going to do.
     

 
    Later during the
night, Amber slept fitfully. Her mind drifted again…

 
    She was in the backseat of the Honda Civic hatchback
with her younger brother who was falling asleep and practically leaning on her
shoulder, drooling.
    “Yuck! Brian, wake up!” Amber had cried out, but her
parents didn’t hear. Her brother, adorable as he was, couldn’t help it. She
didn’t move him; she just allowed him to continue drooling all over her cool
new cardigan. She rolled her eyes and shook her head gazing out at the pouring rain.
    It was late at night. Cold and dark, a torrential
downpour crashed down on the windows of the car as her father drove through the
flooded roads. They had just spent the weekend at the family’s rented cottage
up north.
    “Slow down, Errol,” her mother told her father. Amber
knew her mom was always cautious.
    “We’ll be fine,” her father responded. “I know what
I’m doing, Jacie . I’m a driver.”
    “Yes, but the roads, Errol. Slow down.”
    Her father turned to her mother. “Just let me drive,
won’t you?”
    Just then bright lights flashed in front of them, and
their father careened into the other lane. The loud honking of what appeared to
be a tractor trailer startled them. Her brother woke
up.
    Amber screamed. Her father swerved back to his lane
and narrowly averted the accident. They pulled over to the side in the heavy
rain so that her father could catch his breath and calm his nerves.
    “You okay, pumpkin?” her dad asked after turning back
to face her. Her mother had apparently covered her face with her hands.
    “Yeah,” Amber lied. Her heart was pounding hard and
fast in her chest by then.
    Little Brian rubbed his eyes and opened them up.
“What happened?” he asked, his voice soft and small.
    “Nothing. Your dad just got a little sidetracked .” Her father pulled out a map from the glove
compartment. Her mother turned her head away to face outward at her side of the
window.
    Her mom wasn’t speaking to their father. It was going
to be one of those nights—again.
    He looked at the map. “Okay, it looks like I made a
wrong turn off the main road where the lights were out.”
    There were blackouts along the way due to the storm.
Most of the