Christmas Baby for the Billionaire (South Shore Billionaires 1)

“I wish I’d had a mom like you.”

To his surprise, she handed him back the dish towel and patted his arm. “Well, now you do.”

She went back to washing dishes as if she hadn’t just turned his world on its end.

When Tori came back to the kitchen, he and Shelley were talking about Sharpe Christmas traditions. He broke off midsentence when Tori appeared in the doorway. She wore a new outfit of navy leggings and a soft gray sweater that molded to her shape and made her look so beautiful and maternal he thought his heart might burst. “Look at you,” he said, putting down the towel.

“It’s new. From Mom, for Christmas.” She turned in a circle. “See, Mom? Fits perfectly.”

“You look lovely.” Shelley let the water out of the sink. “Now go on. Jeremy has a surprise for you. I’ll expect you back for dinner at five.”

“We’ll be back before then,” Jeremy assured her. “You shouldn’t have to cook a whole Christmas dinner yourself.”

“Take your time,” she said with a laugh. “The prep’s done. I’m going to put the bird in the oven and have a nap. Maybe read one of the books I got from the girls at work.”

He held Tori’s coat for her—still the parka that needed replacing—and then took her hand, leading her to his rented car. “Did you stay at the inn?” she asked, waiting as he opened the door for her.

“No, here in Lunenburg. I didn’t want you to know I was in town yet.”

“Oh.”

“Come on. I’ve got something to show you.”

They drove past Liverpool and toward the Sandpiper, and then past it. He looked over at her face as he turned up the lane leading to the house on the beach, the one they’d looked at after their feed of fish and chips. Her eyes widened.

“What are we doing here?”

“You’ll see.”

The gate was open, and they drove through, up the drive to the house. A huge wreath was on the front door, and just like at her mom’s, a light dusting of snow made everything postcard perfect. He parked and got out of the car, patted his pocket, and went around to open her door. She put her hand in his and got out.

“Jeremy?”

“Come on.”

He led her to the bluff overlooking the private stretch of beach. The wind was brisk off the water, but not bitter. The caps were white and the faint sound of the breakers touched his ears. This had been the right choice. No question.

“Tori?”

“Yes?”

“Remember the night we watched Miracle on 34th Street?”

She nodded.

“And there was the scene, at the end of the date, where Bryan proposes and she turns him down?”

Tori’s eyes widened as she turned away from the ocean and stared up at him. “What?”

It was now or never. “You said to me, I don’t know why she’s so mean to Bryan. And I said, because she’s scared. Plus they had to work to get to their happy ending.”

She nodded, just barely, and he reached inside his pocket. “I know you’re scared. I’m scared. But we shouldn’t let that stop us from being happy. Not if we can be scared together. I’m ready to work toward that happy ending if you are.”

And he held out the red ring box, identical to the one in the movie, and opened it.

* * *

Tori stared at the ring. It was possibly the most gorgeous thing she’d ever seen, nestled in velvet, winking in the winter sunlight. “You’re proposing?”