A/N: Hey folks. I was in two minds about this story, but a friend told me to take a shot at it and so I did. This is based on the short story Raising his Baby by Tressie Lockwood. Really cute. And so lovely. Lol. But I got inspired to put my own Richonne spin on it. So hope you enjoy this too. Thanks in advance for reading - ML.

Chapter 1:

Not Again

This was it. The day he'd secure a new beginning.

On the morning of August 8th, 2010, Rick Romano-Grimes stepped outside onto his veranda and examined a pure blue sky that was untouched by any cloud as far as the edge of the horizon. From his wanting, top floor condo, the coastal setting below was idyllic, the air around him was cool and salty, and the warmth from the sun eased his troubled mind. The thought of how everything in his life was about to change, in less than an hour, was daunting. Yet, it held a savory slice of hope. So, he sucked in a deep breath, shoved his shaky hand into the right pocket of his grey slacks, where his fingers fumbled with the black, velvet box tucked away in the corner.

Like a magic token, it was meant to soothe his pain.

No.

No this was the right thing to do, he reminded himself. Whatever it takes to get back on track in achieving his goals for the future.

In the early daylight, his black Martegani shoes gleamed when he exited the elevator down on the ground floor and approached his A5 Sportback. Like his footwear, not a speck of dust, or sand for that matter, could be found on an inch of the metallic blue vehicle. A feat for any resident of Tybee Island, Georgia.

As he drove down Dawn Boulevard, a carload of teenage boys with the top down on their off-road mini SUV, sped past him in the opposite direction, heading towards the beach. He smiled. Not an uncommon sight for this time of the day at this particular time of the year. And Rick was sure within the next few hours, the shoreline would be littered with families visiting from the mainland on vacation, to enjoy the physical perfection of the day. He himself had not stepped foot in the ocean in years despite living a stone's throw away. Maybe if he'd had a family of his own by now, it would've been different. But as fate would have it, love and romance had not been kind to him.

This time, however, on this day he was taking matters into his own hands.

After a half hour's drive, he was back in Savannah, and less than two miles away from his current girlfriend's house at the end of Amber Lyn Street. Again, he drew in a deep, calming breath and clutched his steering wheel.

Jessica…Beautiful Jessica. The answer to my prayers.

He planned on proposing to her, on asking her to be his wife…

Rick's tires screeched to a halt.

Wait. Right?

H-Hold on now, what's going on? Why the heck was he turning his car around, peeling off into the opposite direction?

Because his damned stomach was suddenly raging against him. That's why. So instead of making a right, which was the direct route to her home, Rick suddenly took a left.

"Come on man," he chided himself. "Don't be a wuss. Stick it out."

But no, he just kept driving. Suddenly, images of Josanna Johnson streaked through his mind. Five foot ten, with luscious auburn hair and jade-green eyes. At twenty-two, fresh out of college, she was the first woman who had captured his heart ten years ago. And not just his heart, but his mind, body, and soul…

And ten million dollars of his fortune.

She then disappeared without a trace, effectively slicing his heart wide open, his belief in love ripped to shreds. That is, until five years later when he'd met and fell head over heels for Mary-Ann Lockwood.

Mary-Ann was a petite country singer. A lovely brunette whom he'd actually entertained the idea of marrying and having children with. But alas, that dream also proved to be quite foolish as he suffered another humiliating blow. Turned out that she was in denial of being in love with someone else—her band-mate the guitarist. Whose name also happened to be, as luck would have it, Josanna.

Oh yeah. Fun times, right? Wrong. No Rick was definitely not a man who could claim he was ever fortunate in love.

A traffic light finally forced him to mash his brakes. He felt his heart thundering inside his chest, his pulse galloping a mile a minute. Despite being cool-headed and quick on the draw when it came to running Romano-Grimes Department Stores, the thriving family business, Rick was always the awkward and shy one, particularly around the fairer sex. He loathed it. His self-consciousness hindered him from being his natural self. The embarrassing fact of the matter was that his diffidence only ever ceased to exist when he was in his younger brother's presence. Shane—the baby in the family.

For most of his life, the youngest Grimes progeny had a basic and primal instinct to be an eternal bachelor. The confidence he exuded was enough for him and Rick both when it came to the romance department. Crass, undaunted and defiant, Shane held no qualms about seducing countless women without a sliver of commitment, for as long as he had any breath in him. But that wasn't Rick's way.

On the other hand, as much as Rick disagreed with his brother's torrid lifestyle, he still considered Shane to be his closest advisor and friend. The bad choices they'd made in the past, taught them both that it was best to keep females at arm's length. They understood each other in that. Which was why Rick confided in him and no one else, about his intentions to move forward with Jessica today.

Not unexpectedly, Rick was met with strained silence in response from his baby brother. Which may, or may have not, injected an ounce of doubt.

In any case, he tired of the dating game. At his age, he earnestly wanted to start having little ones of his own to carry on the Grimes' name—to contribute to his family's legacy. To please his Italian mother.

Rick made the block and drove back towards Jessica's residence.

Arriving at his intended destination, at last, he parked right behind the grey Toyota at the end of the driveway. From the backseat, he swiped up the gold wrapped present he'd gotten for her—a framed owl painting she'd fawned over from a recent art show they'd attended—and jumped out from his car. As he pressed his alarm, an unusual sight caught the corner of his eye; a tango red R8 Coupe sat parked on the opposite side, further up the street. For a split second, a ridiculous idea crossed his mind. He couldn't make out the license plate, but there weren't many persons who could've afforded such a flashy car on this side of Savannah. What were the odds that Shane hooked up with a woman in this quaint suburban neighborhood?

Rick shook off his curiosity and refocused on his mission. Burying the present under his arm, he trotted up the red-brick walkway and dug out from his wallet Jessica's house key.

Mrs. Silverman, the neighbor, was out watering her garden. She looked particularly pale, and overly sweaty despite it being only 8:30 a.m.

"Morning Ma'am," Rick said and waved, flashing a gentlemanly smile.

Nothing. He got no response.

Rick smiled wider and pointed to the brilliant sky. He was all about being the bigger person. "Looks like another scorcher. Don't stay out too long. Wouldn't want you to get a heat stroke."

This time the elderly woman scowled in his direction and it shocked him. He didn't think she'd still hold a grudge against him. It had been what? A month now since she'd caught him late one night, drunkenly revealing himself over her rose bushes? The shame he felt for his regretful behavior burned anew. Still, at her age, Mrs. Silverman should've at least learned how senseless it was to hold a grudge. A valuable lesson he himself at thirty-three, was desperately trying to learn.

"Screw you, you filthy perv," she spat out and proceeded to show him the middle finger.

His eyes bulged and his head jerked back at the potty-mouthed response. "Beg your pardon?"

"You heard me!"

Well…Screw you too!

Without further delay, he jammed the key into the lock and twisted open the knob. He did not knock. He simply walked in. And the moment he did, the moment he crossed that threshold, he knew something was wrong.

"Jess?" Rick inhaled a distinct smell, there was a stale odor of alcohol permeating the air, aggravating his nostrils. Moreover, the apartment was dim and quiet. Why was it so quiet? He wondered. Usually, she'd be on her Orbitrek at this hour getting in her morning workout.

As he turned the corner from the short hallway into her foyer, he discovered shed clothes strewn all over the floor; a blue shirt, a silk blouse, a pair of men's shoes. As a matter of fact, if Rick didn't know any better he could've sworn that the footwear was Italian leather. Very much like the ones he wore right then. Except these were brown. Rick didn't want to believe what his eyes were seeing. Something wrenched inside him. Not his heart...more like his stomach.

He breathed through his mouth as he felt his cheeks grow hot, and his eyes immediately lasered towards the stairway leading up to Jessica's bedroom. He prepared to call out again, but his voice, it got lost.

Just get out! Just go, he commanded himself, but the damage and destruction that awaited nearby commanded his attention more. An equal mixture of idiotic curiosity and sheer disbelief forced him to move forward. Just then, a deep moan coming from the living room area snatched his attention. Rick flung the painting into a nearby vase, sending it crashing to the wooden floor. Huge splinters scattered everywhere, but he didn't even flinch.

Jessica sprang up from the couch. Half dressed in a bra and pencil skirt hiked up to her thighs. Her makeup smeared, her blonde hair disheveled, and her baby-blues went wide with guilt. "Oh my god!"

Suddenly, the room closed in on him. Women, they were all the same, weren't they? Damned leeches every last one of them only concerned about their own endgame, and clearly Jessica was no different. What was he thinking? How many times was he going to get this wrong? How many times was he going to keep making the same stupid mistake?

Thank god he hadn't shelled out more than a couple thousand for the stupid ring.

The man beside her rose up and kept his gaze from meeting Rick's. Unsurprised, but hurt, Rick wanted to break his brother's jaw, let him choke on his teeth. It took everything from him to stand there and not use his clenched fists.

"Nothing happened," Shane said. "We passed out. Beer and Tequila do not go together."

"And that makes this okay?" Rick narrowed his eyes at his brother, at the visible bite marks across his bare chest. He stared at him hard until his vision clouded, wondering what the hell was going on inside Shane's thick head.

"No, no of course not," Jessica jumped off from the couch, her arms shielding her breasts. "I'm so sorry Rick. I got-I got carried away, and my actions are reprehensible I know. Not that that's an excuse but…"

Rick ground his jaw. "But what?"

She gave Shane a sheepish glance and looked back at Rick. "But it's just been such a long time since I felt like this. You're so...cold. You never let me in. No matter what I do there's always been a disconnect between us, and I'm tired of pretending that you would love me someday."

An old friend of his family, Rick had always liked Jessica Adrianne Bellici. More importantly, he trusted her…well as much as one can trust a woman other than their own mother in this day and age. In any case, Jessica's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Bellici, both lawyers, had been acquaintances with his mother, Veronica Romano, since she'd migrated from Italy forty-five years ago.

A lover of equestrian sports, yachts, and contemporary Asian poetry, Jessica by no means held his heart, and she was right she never would. But when together they enjoyed a contented companionship. Albeit bland and ordinary and passionless, he believed that their polite love affair could last for the rest of their lives. He'd never admit it out loud but, this was the best he could do. Not to mention, Rick feared not having the strength to face yet another toxic and unpredictable relationship.

He should have felt guilty at her declaration but truthfully, she didn't love him either, so to hell with her.

"You got played, Jessica. Don't be this naive." He didn't mean for the bitterness to seep out into his tone of voice, but when she cringed he knew he was losing his grip on his emotions. His gaze then bulleted to his scoundrel of a brother. "You really outdid yourself this time asshole."

Up until then, Shane kept his head hung low.

"Hey! Look at me when I'm speaking to you," Rick said, and watched as Shane slowly raised his eyes to meet his. Rick desperately searched for a sliver of remorse. But there was none. Instead, his brother's brows furrowed as his mouth turned grim. His chestnut brown eyes shifted back and forth assessing Rick's reaction.

When a look of satisfaction and victory finally settled on his smug face, Rick's body rocked forward with disappointment. He wanted to barrel ahead and beat the living shit out of his brother. To pummel him till Shane couldn't see straight.

But no. What good would it do to lose himself to violence? Rick grit his teeth and stomped off.

"Hey, Rick…" Shane bolted behind him. "Say, why don't you hold up just a bit let me talk to you for a minute, please?"

"Why should I?"

"C'mon brother. You believe me when I said nothing happened, right?"

"You know what? " He came to a stop and faced him. "I do. But why couldn't you have just told me that Jessica wasn't the one? You didn't have to show me!"

Shane shrugged. "That ain't my way."

"What gives you the right?"

"You're my brother! That's all the right I need. To keep you safe."

"That ain't your call."

Shane grabbed him by the shoulders. "Like hell it is. I'd be damned if I watch you shackle yourself to this broad for the rest of your life. Give her our family's name? She ain't worth it. She ain't worth shit. Did you hear what she just said? How you're cold? Fuck that, she don't know you. I know you. And I'm stopping you from making the biggest mistake of your life."

Rick shoved him off then stormed out. Humiliated. His pride pricked.

"No hard feelings?" Shane called out, standing in the doorway. "Rick? Fratello?"

But Rick ignored him, climbing into his car, his blood pounding in his ears. He had a jeweler to revisit.