Bound As His Business-Deal Bride

‘Two blissful years, Mr Caron.’

She hadn’t realised how wrong everything had been until they’d married. Now all seemed right with the world. As if she’d found the last piece of a puzzle, finally fitting it into place. Their wedding had been everything she’d dreamed of, and more. Her dress a confection of antique lace and tulle. Blooms crowning her head as they’d been married surrounded by the flowers of her farm. Roses, lavender, jasmine. Such magic had infused those moments after they’d said their vows, she’d felt like a fairy princess marrying her prince. A day so full of joy she hadn’t stopped smiling since.

Even the absence of her family hadn’t dented her happiness. They’d made their choices, she’d made hers. She’d promised herself two years ago that the only direction she’d look was forward. With Gage as her husband, it was an easy promise to keep because he was right there with her, supporting her at every step.

Eve reached her arm behind her, running her fingers through Gage’s hair as he allowed the rings to nestle back against her chest. She turned her head and he lowered his, capturing her lips in a gentle, lingering kiss.

‘You were the most beautiful bride.’ His hands slid over her large and still-increasing belly. ‘Even more beautiful now. How’s our little bean doing in there?’

Eve laughed.

‘She’s not little anymore, and definitely not a bean.’ Eve shifted to get comfortable then settled again into Gage’s embrace. They enjoyed lazing here in the Paris apartment they’d moved back to as her pregnancy had progressed, to be close to the hospital where she’d deliver their baby any day now. As she relaxed, a tell-tale jab struck her near the ribs. ‘There! She did it again. Did you feel?’

‘Yeah.’ She adored the sound of wonder in Gage’s voice at their baby’s kick. His excitement over every moment of her pregnancy was infectious. Marvelling at the changes in her body, even her swollen fingers and ankles. He rubbed where their baby’s foot pressed against his hand. ‘Things getting a bit tight in there?’

She smiled. ‘Are you trying to say that I’m ripe?’

Gage slid his hand over her stomach, up her arms. The tip of a finger drifted across her collarbone. She closed her eyes, relishing the pleasure of his caress.

‘Like a peach. I just want to take a bite.’ He dropped his lips to her ear and grazed his teeth over the shell of it, his breath feathering her skin. Goose-bumps shivered down her arms. ‘I adore your curves.’

‘I adore you,’ she said. Their love had grown, expanded. Filling all the holes left behind by grief and loss. There was simply no room for sadness anymore. ‘When are your mom and dad planning to come?’

It hadn’t taken long for Gage to reframe his family’s past, present and future. In a more contemplative moment he’d admitted Gus Caron was exactly the man he would have wanted as a father, if given the choice. And from then on Gus became ‘Dad’ again.

‘A couple of weeks after our little girl arrives, so they say. I’m betting on earlier. How about your sister—have you convinced her to visit?’

Veronique had reached out after the wedding photos had hit the press with a simple text.

You’ve never looked happier.

The steps to communicating had been tentative, but that was okay. They had all the time in the world.

‘She’s trying not to show it but she’s crazy excited to be an aunty. I’m betting about a day after you send her the first picture, she’ll be r

ight on a plane, claiming her status.’

Gage groaned. ‘Remind me to delay the photos a bit or the house is going to get crowded.’

‘Even if you do, they’ll be beating down our door anyhow. There are a lot of people excited about this baby.’

Gage placed a hand over hers, threaded his fingers through her own.

‘Call me selfish, but I want a little time to introduce myself to our daughter. To get to know her. Have her get to know us...’ His voice caught. Sometimes emotion overcame them both. The excitement, the joy. And for Gage the fierce need to protect.

That was fine, because she protected him right back. She squeezed his fingers. ‘Your daughter will love you just as much as I do. Even more than you love her. I promise.’

‘I know. You showed me the way, reminding me how to love. I’m so full of it there’s no room for anything else.’ He lifted their joined hands and pressed hers to his mouth. ‘I’ve loved you my whole life, cher.’

The words she’d said to him, the words they’d written into their wedding vows. Their promise to one another. Words of love that filled every day of their lives, now and for ever. Loz!

She turned to him and smiled. ‘And I’ll continue to love you all the days I have left.