“One more thing,” he said.
“Yeah.”
“Ian is out. Fucking my girlfriend was one thing—”
When had I been his girlfriend? I didn’t ask out loud, only smiled.
“—but he’s not fucking my wife.”
I opened my mouth, but he read my mind. “Fucking my fiancée is out too. It’s just you and me, babe.”
“You and me.”
“And the baby, or two, or three.”
“Don’t get your hopes up, buddy. Let’s first enjoy these last few months of you and me before we talk about raising a team of kids.”
“I was thinking of a baseball team, or maybe football team size.”
I laughed. “Clearly the blood from your dick hasn’t reached your brain yet.”
“Exactly,” he said with a sexy smirk on his face.
Then he rolled me over and showed me a different side. It was slow, sensual and everything that defined making love.
Much later, wrapped in his arms, I admitted, “I do love you.”
“I know,” he said. I lightly punched his arm. “Ouch,” he said, rubbing at the spot. Then he pressed the sweetest kiss on my lips. “I’m completely and utterly in love with you.”
Epilogue
Leaving for the flight the next day was hard, but it was more than ever important to ensure my child’s future and Chloe’s too. Though I’d been late for it, I didn’t stay away. I came right back that very day. We had plans to make.
My sweet Chloe was very demanding. Before we could get married, she made it absolutely clear I had to make peace with my cousin. As it turned out, making my woman happy was a top priority for me.
We stood in his parlor waiting for said cousin to grace us with his presence. I rolled my eyes and was ready to leave after twenty minutes of waiting.
Chloe squeezed my hand. “Just give it a little more time.”
I brought our joint hands to my lips and kissed her knuckles. “Only for you, my love.”
Her grin brought warmth to my cold heart and reminded me there were more important things than my feud with family.
“Ah, there he is. The man who stole part of my company.”
We turned around to face Hugh. He looked haggard, like he hadn’t slept for weeks.
Chloe gave me an encouraging smile and I let go to step forward. “Hugh—”
He held up a hand. “Are you here to ruin me completely? It’s bad enough you bought half of my company, but now you’re here to tell me you’ve won? That you’ve gotten her pregnant and are taking all of Grandfather’s wealth?”
“It’s not what you think.”
“So she is pregnant with the next heir to our family’s fortune?”
“Yes, but—”
He laughed bitterly. “It doesn’t matter. Money means nothing without her,” he muttered more to himself.
“Cousin,” I tried again.
His shadowed eyes met mine.
“Chloe is pregnant, but I’ve decided not to fight for the money. I won’t tell the lawyers anything. And the money is yours if you can produce an heir.”
“Very magnanimous of you, cousin.” He rolled his eyes and they landed on Chloe. “You were the best employee I had. Losing you and my company is worse than I thought possible.”
“You haven’t lost her,” I said.
His eyes narrowed.
“I’m your partner now,” Chloe said.
Talk about saucer eyes.
“You gave her my company?” he shouted. “And I’ve lost everything that matters.”
I held up a hand. “Isn’t she a better partner than your ex? You just said she was the best thing about your company. With her, you’ll have someone who wants to make a difference. It’s not like you’re losing anything except your ex meddling with your company. You’ve gained something far more.”
He thought about it.
Chloe stepped forward. “I’d be willing to sell it back to you if you don’t want me. I don’t want bad blood between us. You will be a cousin… let’s just call you an uncle to our child.”
I didn’t have siblings.
He glanced between us. “You’d sell me your half?” he asked, not looking as half-crazed as he had moments before.
She nodded. “I want you at our wedding.”
That shocked him. “You’re getting married?” His gaze bounced between us.
“Yes, and I want you there,” I said. “We don’t have much family left. I want us to mend fences. You used to be like a brother to me.”
His gaze landed on Chloe and dipped longingly to her still-flat belly. “Hold onto her, cousin. You don’t want to know what it feels like to lose the only woman you’ve ever loved.”
Hugh was acting strange. He’d never spoken about his ex this way. Maybe he hadn’t wanted me to know how broken he was after she was gone. I hadn’t wanted anyone to see me when I’d given Chloe space those few weeks.
Hugh focused on Chloe. “I regret so much. I poured all the work onto you because I knew you would get it done. Maybe you are what this company needs. At least now I’ll share it with family.”