This man. This fucking man.
“I can take care of myself,” I say.
“I know you can. That’s one of the reasons I love you. But you don’t have to because you have me.”
Do I?
I get to my feet and put a little space between us. It’s not this easy. It can’t be.
“What about your family doing business with Curt? Curt and I didn’t end things well,” I admit. “I’m not sure how he would feel working with you if he knew that you and I were together like that.”
Wade grins. “We aren’t working with him.”
“No, your brothers are. The Mexico project. I heard Oliver talking about it at your mom’s.”
He stands too. “And when they heard about your grandfather’s bullshit, they pulled the plug. Oliver and Holt sent a letter yesterday to cancel everything. It’s done.”
I heave a breath. I can’t believe what I’m hearing.
“Why would they do that?” I ask, my hands trembling.
“Because you’re family.”
My face screws up into one of those ugly cry memes on the internet, and I can’t stop the sob that erupts from my chest.
Wade catches me in his arms and holds me tight. He runs a hand over my head and whispers things in my ear that I can’t hear over my stupid cries.
I don’t know how to deal with this.
I pull back, wiping my eyes with my hands. It’s a routine I’m familiar with these days.
“They would also be very pleased if you will take me back,” he says.
My chest shakes as I try to calm down. I sit on the edge of the sofa and breathe.
“I have something else,” he says, handing me an envelope from his back pocket.
I take it with a heavy dose of suspicion. I unfold the letter inside and gasp.
Dear Mr. Mason,
This letter serves to inform you of our agreement for purchase of the Bartholomew Gardens estate. A formal contract will be sent from our attorney to yours.
It gives me a great deal of happiness to know that my precious property will be in good hands. I hope it brings you and Dara the joy it’s given me over the years.
Respectfully,
Philip Bartholomew
“Wade. What did you do?” I crack the paper against my leg and look at him in pure disbelief. “What is this?”
“I bought it.”
“I … Why?”
I have to laugh. I think I’m in shock.
“Because even if you don’t take me back today, you will,” he says. “You have to. We have this connection that will bring us together over and over until you relent. I know it. It’s the only way it can be.”
I hang my head and try to calm down.
“You bought the entire thing? What are you going to do with it?” I ask.
“I thought we’d figure it out. Maybe we could put a house on a piece of it.”
My face snaps to his. He’s serious.
“It would make a hell of a photography studio,” he says.
“My … I don’t know what to say.”
This is too much. Way too much. And way, way too much considering he doesn’t know we’re having a baby.
Shit.
I blow out a breath and hope that I don’t puke.
I have to tell him now. I have to tell him even if it wipes out everything that he’s said and changes the trajectory of this conversation—and our future. Because he has the right to know and the right to make decisions for himself.
How do I do this gently?
“You told me that you don’t want to get married or have kids,” I say carefully. “That’s big stuff.”
He chuckles. “I was wrong.”
“Just like that? You were wrong.”
He gets on one knee in front of me. “I don’t have a ring. Don’t panic.”
I laugh, verging on panic.
“It turns out that my father isn’t a complete idiot, and he taught me a few things about myself lately,” Wade says. “And I guess I can’t control the entire world like I thought. Crazy, right?”
I grin. “True. But you didn’t answer my question.”
I hold my breath while he chooses what to say. I say a silent prayer, too, that this resolves well and what that means, I don’t know.
For us both to be happy. For us to be friends. For us to figure out a way to make this work for the sake of our child—regardless of anything else.
Finally, he smiles. It’s a cheek-splitting, ear-to-ear smile that I’ve never seen on him before. It lights me up on the inside, and I feel like my stressors have been lifted by this one thing.
“I’ll put it to you like this,” he says. “If you want to get married today, I’m in. And if you told me you were having triplets today, I’d be thrilled.”
“No, you wouldn’t.”
“Well, maybe not thrilled, but I’d be happy. Mostly. I mean, okay, maybe not triplets. But I want to have children with you, Dara. I want you to be the mother of my children. I want to …” He closes his eyes. “I want to let go of the past and build a future.” He opens his eyes. They shine like diamonds. “With you.”