Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 78304 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78304 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
“That’s why you didn’t ask me to come work for you,” I say, the pieces finally fitting together. “You were abiding by her last wishes.”
“I was,” he says, “but it wasn’t the right thing to do because all this time, you thought I didn’t think you were capable, didn’t believe you were worthy of working for Kingston or me. I never thought you were a disappointment, Anastasia. I just didn’t want what happened to me to happen to you.”
“So, you chose Julian as the new CEO.”
“No,” Julian says. “What you overheard had nothing to do with work. I was asking for your dad’s permission to marry you … the right way.”
“What?” I gasp. “I don’t understand.”
“You said you wanted a real wedding. The white dress, beautiful venue, your dad walking you down the aisle. And I want to give that to you.”
He smiles softly, and my heart pounds against my rib cage. Just when I thought I couldn’t love this man any more than I already do, he does something like this.
“Thank you!” I throw my arms around him as tears spill over my lids and slide down my cheeks.
“I know our engagement started off fake, but I love you, Ana, and I want to give you the world.” He reaches down and presses his hand to my belly. “Both you and our baby.”
I’m so caught up in the moment that it takes me a second to take in what he just said in front of my dad. When I do, I glance at him, and he’s smiling.
“You didn’t really think I believed your sudden engagement was real, did you?” Dad says with a laugh. “I run a successful multibillion-dollar company. I can sniff out bullshit from a mile away. I’ve known the entire time.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?” I ask, stunned at his admission.
I mean, it makes sense, but he had so many opportunities to call us out, and he didn’t.
“For one, it meant having you back in my life,” Dad says with a watery smile. “When I found out you were home, I didn’t care how you had gotten here. But the fact that it was Julian who’d brought you home … well, maybe I’m just an old man who’s in love, but that sounded a whole lot like fate to me. The man who I consider a son bringing my daughter home after six years? I couldn’t have asked for anything more.”
He clears his throat and smiles at both of us. “I was struggling with how to handle the CEO position. But then I got to watch the two of you fall in love, and you guys made it easy.”
“What?” I ask. “How?”
“There’s something you need to know, Anastasia,” my dad says, his smile fading. “I don’t want you to get worked up over this. Especially since you’re pregnant. But I’m sick. Lung cancer. Thankfully, they caught it quickly. I already planned on retiring before I found out, but it solidifies my decision to step down. I need to focus on beating this thing, and then I want to travel and spend time with my family.”
“Dad,” I whisper through a choked sob.
“I’m going to be okay,” he says, always so damn strong. “But I’ve decided to pass Kingston down to you. I want you to run our family business, sweetheart, with your husband by your side.”
“But I’m pregnant,” I cry, wiping the tears from my eyes.
“Which makes the childcare we’re building even more essential,” Julian points out. “Between you and me and our families, this baby will want for nothing.” He leans in and kisses me. “We got this, Red.”
epilogue
JULIAN
Roughly Eight Months Later
“I hate you! And if you ever come near me again, I’m going to rip your di—”
Ana’s words are cut off by her screaming as she pushes for what feels like the millionth time. She’s been in labor for over forty hours. The doctor mentioned having to do a possible C-section, but our little boy just needed to come on his own time.
“You got this, Red,” I tell her as she pushes through another contraction.
“I see the hair,” the doctor notes. “One, maybe two more pushes, and he’ll be out.”
Another contraction, another push, and then he’s out.
We both watch as the nurses clean him up, clearing out the fluid, and then he cries for the first time, and it’s like my heart splits into two—my wife owning one half and my son owning the other.
The nurse brings him over to Ana and lays him down on her chest, and I take pictures as they both cry and bond. It’s been a rough few months with Samuel’s cancer taking a turn for the worse and Ana trying to remain strong for him and the company while preparing to become a mom.
But as she looks up at me with our son in her arms, I know that every hard moment led to this moment right here.