Changing Roles

“Any other surprises for me, Beaker?”

“I didn’t know your reaction to me wearing a kilt would be so…powerful.” She lifted her head, eyes dancing as she smiled. “I might have worn one sooner.”

I captured her lips with mine. “I liked it.”

She giggled. “I noticed.”

“Indeed.”

She settled closer. “How did the shoot go?”

“Once the weather cooperated, fine. Douglas got what he wanted. He thinks about another six weeks and we’ll wrap.”

Shelby sighed. “Oh.”

I tilted up her chin. “That was a sad sigh. Do you not want to go home?”

She shrugged. “I miss Thor and seeing Ev. But I like it here, Liam. I like the quiet and the peace.”

“I do too.” I sat up, dragging Shelby with me. I pulled a pile of papers I’d been hiding from the bedside table drawer and handed them to her. She read them, her brow furrowing in confusion. Then her eyes widened, and her head flew up in shock as she realized it was an offer to purchase the house we’d been using as our base in England. We’d both fallen in love with it. I’d married her there, and I wanted to give it to her.

“I didn’t know the house was for sale,” she gasped. “You want to buy it?”

“I asked the owner if he would consider selling it.”

“You want to move here—permanently?”

“No. Not yet anyway. But we both love this place, and we could use it when we come here to visit. It’s close enough we can get to Mum and Dad and easy to get to London…” My voice trailed off at the look on her face. “It was only an idea. I won’t do it if you hate the thought, Beaker.”

She shook her head wildly. “I don’t hate it. At all.” Her fingers traced the page she was holding. “You can…afford this?”

“Hey.”

I waited until she looked at me. “We. We can afford this. What’s mine is yours. Remember?”

She nodded slowly. I knew she still had a hard time comprehending my wealth. When I’d repaid Everett what he had put out to cover the debts her ex had left her saddled with, she’d had trouble accepting it, but I had finally persuaded her it was for the best. It had taken weeks to convince her to use the account I had set up for her once I “fired” her as my housekeeper. She still wanted to discuss her purchases, even though I wasn’t the slightest bit concerned with any of them. I humored her though, since I knew she had to get comfortable with the concept.

Her eyes looked back at the paper she was holding in a tight grip. Confused by her reaction, I pulled open her shaking fingers. “Shelby? Talk to me.”

“I want this, Liam. I want to be able to come here. More than visit,” she confessed in a quiet voice. “I want to bring up our children in a calm, peaceful place.” She hesitated, biting her lip, then finished her thought. “I don’t want them surrounded by the craziness of LA.”

“Why are you nervous to tell me this?” I asked her, confused. She had to know I would give her anything she asked for, material or otherwise.

“You’ve already given up so much for me.”

“Such as?”

“You spoke to the press about your private life. You’ve changed your lifestyle, you—”

I cut her off with a finger pressed to her mouth. A low laugh escaped my lips as I pulled her into my lap, the papers now forgotten. “Yes, you’re right. I gave up a meaningless, lonely existence where I was so afraid of the crowds I had to face, I drugged myself to leave the house. I gave up rattling around in a huge house that was only a place to crash until you came in and made it a home. I filled my life with work, empty things, and meaningless drivel.” I admonished her gently, “Shelby, you gave my life meaning and a sense of purpose. I gave up nothing but a few minutes of privacy and my immaturity. I gained everything with you. I grew up because of you—for you. You’re my best friend, my lover, my wife.” I spread my hand over her stomach. “You will be the mother of my children. And if you want to move here, we will. As long as you’re with me, I don’t care where we live,” I admitted. “I was hoping to convince you to let me buy the place and use it for vacations, thinking maybe, eventually, you’d want to be here more. I’m thrilled you want it as well, my darling girl.”

Tears filled her eyes. “Really?”

I tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “Why don’t we plan on splitting our time for a while? I’ll finish up my commitments to Douglas and a few other obligations. The house here needs some renovations to make it what I know we’d need to live here permanently. We can go back and forth after the shoot is done, and we’ll do whatever feels right. Mum and Dad can help oversee any work that needs doing here.”