Falling For Her Billionaire Baby Daddy

True to Alfred's prediction, the ballroom of the huge manor was filled with guests who had only been invited a few hours earlier. They were all dressed to the hilt in beautiful ball gowns and tuxedos.

It was as if they had been transported back to the Victorian age and Rachel could hardly believe her eyes. She was dressed in a cyan-colored ball gown that was made of velvet and tulle.

The gown had a low square neckline that showed off her full bosom, and mid-length sleeves that ended in bell shapes with frills on the edges. She completed the look with a pair of white elbow-length gloves too. Rachel's hair had been styled by a hairdresser that Giselle brought. They'd added some hair extension to create a high bouffant with a cascade of tendrils framing her face.

"You look ravishing," said Derek when he spotted her.

He was dressed in a tuxedo with tails. His blond hair was slicked back with hair gel, giving him a younger appearance.

"And you look positively dashing," she replied with a grin. "I feel like I am in a dream, Derek. This is amazing."

"I'm glad you like it," he said, pleased. "As Uncle Alfred said earlier, you deserve the world, Rachel, and that's the honest truth."

A lump developed in her throat but she quickly swallowed it. She wasn't going to cry and ruin her perfect makeup even though Derek was sweeping her off her feet right now with his sweet words. "Thank you," she said softly. "I will never forget this."

The tender moment was interrupted when Alfred started tapping his champagne flute with a dessert fork to get everyone's attention.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen," he began. "First of all, I want to say thank you to you all for honoring my invitation to this party on such ridiculously short notice."

There was a smattering of laughter in the crowd, acknowledging how unusual it was to invite guests to a party on the day of.

"And thank you for sticking to the theme," he continued. "This room looks like a scene from an eighteenth-century-themed movie if I ever saw one."

Another round of laughter.

"However, if you were wondering what this is about, we are here tonight to celebrate the 30th birthday of the delectable Lady Rachel Lane," said Alfred grandly.

"She is the girlfriend of my godson, Derek Fraser. She is also the mother of my newest and only god-granddaughter, Zoe, who could not join us tonight because her bedtime began two hours ago." Everyone laughed again, enjoying Alfred's humorous speech.

"To Rachel," he said, lifting his champagne flute in the air and everyone followed suit. "May you have many more beautiful years to celebrate in good health."

"Hear, hear!" Someone yelled and everyone began to clink their glasses together and drink to Rachel's health.

She was overcome by emotions and had to blink several times to keep her tears at bay. Rachel wished her family and friends were here to witness this incredible moment and see how this roomful of wealthy people was drinking a toast in her honor.

Rachel had never felt so important in her life. She had Derek to thank for bringing her here and allowing his godfather cum uncle to throw this lavish party for her.

"This is so amazing," she said to Derek who was still standing beside her. "Thank you."

He smiled at her. "It's Uncle Alfred you should thank. He made this evening possible. This was all him."

"He must really love you to do all of this without even the slightest hesitation. You are so lucky to have him in your life, Derek."

"I agree," he said. "But tonight is about you, Rachel. Enjoy it."

The live band began to play a classical tune that was perfect for waltzing. Everyone immediately moved toward the edge of the room to create some space for dancing at the center. "May I have this dance, Lady Rachel?" Derek asked her, extending his gloved hand to her.

"Of course, you may, Sir Derek Fraser," she said with a laugh. "Although I must warn you, I haven't danced the waltz in quite a long time. I may have forgotten how it's done." "Have no fear, my fair lady. I shall remind you," he said and led her to the dance floor.

He placed one hand on her lower waist and the other held up one of her gloved hands. Before long, they were spinning slowly across the floor to the sonorous tune from the band.

Eventually, other couples began to join them one by one until nearly everyone in the room was dancing. As far as Rachel was concerned, it was just her and Derek in the room. She allowed herself to be sucked into the blueness of his beautiful eyes.

Rachel pretended that they were both head over heels in love with each other and they were waltzing to the tune of their love which was floating around the room, surrounding the two of them with warmth.

No other experience in her life could compare to how special she felt right then that moment. It was a priceless feeling and she wished it would always be this way.

The rest of the party was a delightful blur for Rachel. She got to cut a huge three-tier birthday cake made into the shape of a layered ball gown, and there was more dancing, drinking, and eating.

They partied until the early hours of the next day before the guests started to leave one after the other.

"This was an unbelievably amazing night, Uncle Alfred," she said after the last of the guests had left around 3 a.m. "Thank you."

"It's Alfred," he replied warmly. "And you are welcome."

She smiled warmly at him. He was such a nice man!

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"Now, I gotta go crash in my bed. I haven't had this much fun since forever and my 65-year-old body now needs to recuperate from all that adrenalin rush." "I agree," said Derek.

"I'll say goodnight to you two then," Alfred said and attempted a bow that almost had him falling over.

"All right, that's it. I'm walking you to your room," Derek said firmly and led Alfred away before he could reject the offer of assistance.

Rachel strode through the double doors on the other end of the room and ended up on a wide balcony overlooking the east wing of the house. She could see the shimmering of a body of water that looked like a lake in the distance. She made a mental note to check it out tomorrow and probably take a swim in it with Derek if he was up to it.

"You look like a queen," said Derek, coming up behind her.

Rachel turned around and welcomed him with a smile.

"And you look like a king," she said. "Tonight was simply magical. I have never had that much fun in my life."

"I'm glad to hear that," Derek affirmed. "Uncle Alfred was more than happy to do this, you know. I haven't seen him that thrilled since he lost his partner five years ago."

"I was going to ask if he didn't have any family. You know, a wife and kids somewhere, but there never seemed to be a good time to ask."

"He and Leonard were soulmates," Derek said wistfully. "They were together for fifteen years but never tied the knot because Leonard wasn't a fan of marriages. Can't say I blame him."

"What happened to Leonard?"

"Died of a malignant brain tumor. He'd had a series of surgeries over the years to take out the bugger but it kept coming back until it finally snuffed the life out of the poor guy."

"Oh, dear."

"Uncle Alfred was inconsolable after Leonard's death and he has been mourning him ever since. He bought this place a year after Leonard's funeral and it became his hiding place, so to speak. He stepped down as CEO of his conglomerate and initiated a merger with the Fraser empire, giving me a large chunk of his holdings."

Rachel was intrigued. "Wow. How rich are you?"

Derek grinned. "I have no idea precisely but I know that the kind of money I have right now cannot be used up in one lifetime."

"I don't mean to sound judge but don't you ever feel... weird?"

"About what?"

"About having such an obscene amount of money for yourself in a world where many people are still living below the poverty line?"

"Fraser Holdings has several charity organizations across the world that cater to that. Besides, every year, we contribute generously to many projects targeted at helping the less privileged in our society."

"I see..."

"And the truth is, billionaires, can't solve the problem of world hunger. It is largely an infrastructural problem that the government needs to work on. There's only so much me and my kind can do to save the world." "Well said," she replied with a smile. "You should probably become a politician too."

"Nah, that's not for me. I'm not a fan of politics."

"So... are we going to address the elephant in the room?" she asked in reference to their primary reason for coming to England.

"Ugh, Rachel. I said we'll bring it up tomorrow."

"You mean, today?"

"Ah, yes," he said and glanced at his pocket watch. "It's a new day already. I'll ask him after breakfast, I promise."

"Good, because that unsolved puzzle seems to be hanging over us like a dark cloud. I want it to go away so we can enjoy the rest of our vacation in peace."

Derek waved his hands above their heads as if he was clearing away cobwebs. "See? I've chased the clouds away."

Rachel laughed. "That's better."

"So, Lady Rachel, may I escort you to your room?" he asked in a poor imitation of the English accent while extending his elbow toward her.

"Why, thank you, Sir Derek," she replied in a similar accent. "That is awfully kind of you."

She looped her arm with his and let him lead her back into the house. It was finally time to bring a befitting end to her birthday celebration...