Total pages in book: 33
Estimated words: 30692 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 153(@200wpm)___ 123(@250wpm)___ 102(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 30692 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 153(@200wpm)___ 123(@250wpm)___ 102(@300wpm)
EPILOGUE
SAMANTHA
Smoothing down the skirt of my dress with trembling fingers, I took a deep breath to calm my nerves before marching toward James’s office. I rapped my fingers against the door but didn’t give him the chance to respond before I strode inside and over to his desk. His head jerked up, his eyes going wide when he spotted the serious expression on my face. “What’s wrong, baby?”
“We’re behind schedule on JB Capital’s newest and biggest project in Chicago,” I chided, shaking my head as I handed him the folder I was carrying. “You need to get cracking on this list if you’re going to have any hope of ever finishing by the due date.”
His gaze dropped to the folder, and his brows drew together. “What new project?”
“The one I confirmed just this morning.”
James hadn’t been kidding when he said he’d wanted to get married sooner than later. Only a few days later, he took a page from my brother’s playbook and whisked me away to Las Vegas to elope—except I knew our marriage was real, unlike Zoe when she married Landon.
Although it had been put together quickly, James hadn’t spared any expense on our Vegas wedding. He rented out The Chapel of Dreams inside the Lennox, the hottest resort on the Vegas Strip, for the entire day so we had the whole place to ourselves. The cake and flowers were straight out of every dream I’d had as a little girl, and my dress was exquisite. He’d also put the private jets owned by him and his brothers to good use, flying everyone out to celebrate with us.
We took over the top two floors of the Lennox, and the owner and his wife even hosted us for lunch before we returned home. Drew Lennox was part of the billionaire’s club—or at least that was what I jokingly called it since it seemed to me as though James knew all the billionaires in the world with the way he kept introducing me to them. He also had something else in common with my husband—Drew was head over heels for his wife, Autumn.
“I knew that you’d come into your own when you got used to being a billionaire, baby. What kind of property did you find for us?” James grinned at me before flipping the folder open to stare down at the small white stick inside.
Recognition dawned on his face, and I patted my belly when his head jerked up. “It’s not so much that I found it as it found me.”
“It says ‘positive,’” he rasped, his eyes turning glassy.
I nodded. “And I have five more in my office with the same results since I wanted to be one hundred percent certain. Some of them say ‘pregnant’ and others have two pink lines, but they all mean the same thing.”
“You’re carrying my baby?”
I beamed a smile at him, sniffling because of the hormones already overwhelming me. “I am.”
“How did you manage to keep this a secret from me?”
“I’ve only known since this morning.” I winked at him. “But a girl’s gotta have her secrets sometimes. Even if she can only keep them for like two hours, max.”
Snaking his arm around my waist, James pulled me onto his lap and growled, “I thought we agreed to no secrets after our not-so real breakup.”
“I’m pretty sure you’re the one who said you wouldn’t keep anything from me again,” I teased, twisting in his hold so I could rest my head against his shoulder. “You didn’t have me make the same promise because I wasn’t the one who broke your heart while trying to protect you.”
“Sorry, baby.” He brushed a kiss against the top of my head.
“We’re way past you needing to apologize.” I pressed his hand to my still-flat stomach. “Although I do like to remind you from time to time so you don’t give in to your Neanderthal ways again in the future.”
“I’ll do whatever it takes to keep the two of you safe, but I’ll never leave you in the dark like that again,” he swore, running his fingers through my hair.
“Good, because I’ll turn into a fierce mama bear if anyone ever tries to hurt our child.”
“I have no doubt about that.” He pulled me closer and pressed a kiss to my neck. “You’re a force to be reckoned with, baby.”
“Darn straight.”
“But I’m going to need a promise from you.” He pressed a finger under my chin to tilt my head back. His hazel orbs were serious as he added, “Just as you get to be by my side against anything that comes our way in the future, I want to be there when you take those tests the next time I knock you up.”
“If by ‘there,’ you mean waiting on the other side of the bathroom door while I pee on tiny sticks, you’ve got a deal,” I agreed. As much as I’d enjoyed surprising him with the news, it would be nice to share the experience with him next time.