Tightening my hand on the doorknob, I yanked the door open, and he took it as an invitation to step inside—which was fine by me because it meant the door nailed him even harder when I swung it back his way with all my strength.
“Shit!” he yelled, his hands jerking up to cover his face. “I think you broke my nose.”
“Considering you’re a lying piece of crap that deserves a heck of a lot worse after what you did to my husband, you’re lucky it’s only your nose that’s broken.”
“Why you little—”
I felt the heat of Miles’ body behind me as Patrick’s gaze jerked up and his threat was cut off.
“It looks like my wife has already gotten a good start at kicking your ass, Patrick. But I’d be more than happy to finish the job off—physically, financially, and socially—if you don’t stay the fuck away from her.”
“I didn’t even do anything,” the little jerk whined.
“Except almost ruin my husband years ago, then come here and lie straight to my face in an attempt to hurt him again.” I took a small step forward, but Miles yanked me back.
“Cut your losses while you still can, Patrick. There are no weaknesses to exploit to get anything out of me or Emma. The only one who stands to lose anything here is you,” Miles warned.
My phone rang again, and Patrick’s gaze dropped to the screen where it said “Mom calling.” I caught the pleased gleam in his eyes as he turned away from us muttering, “That’s what you think.” And I knew—he was behind my parents’ calls.
“No, that’s what you think!” I shouted after him before slamming the door shut.
“Emma?” Miles asked.
I held up one finger and answered my parents’ call, putting them on speaker phone. “Mom, Dad.”
“Emma, we got the most disturbing email,” my dad started.
“And now you want me to come back home, right?” Miles’ body went tight, and his blue eyes searched my face. I did what I’d only done once before, when I told them I was moving to New York. I stood strong and did what was important to me. Not them. “It’s never going to happen. I’m married now and expecting my husband’s baby. I have a family here in New York, a growing one I hope you want to be a part of. But if you can’t accept Miles and want me to choose between you and him, you need to know my answer will always be him.”
“But Emma,” my dad growled.
“A baby?” my mom gasped.
“Yes, your first grandchild. One of many,” I answered. “So pick your next words wisely, or it’ll be awhile before they meet their grandparents.”
I heard a rustling through the line and then my mom’s voice whispering, “Your dad and I have questions, but we’re willing to listen to your answers when you’re ready to give them to us, Emma.”
My jaw dropped when I heard the dial tone signaling the call had been disconnected. “I think I just figured out the secret to making my mom happy. Babies.”
“Let’s go practice making more of them and see if angry sex when you’re pissed at other people is as good as make-up sex,” Miles urged, tossing me over his shoulder to carry me to our bedroom.
Neither of us were surprised to learn that it was.
Epilogue
MILES
Emma’s eyes darted over the crowd nervously as she switched her weight from foot to foot a few times and adjusted the small bundle cradled in her arms.
I chuckled and slipped my arms around her from behind, surrounding her with myself for comfort and strength. “Relax, sweetheart,” I whispered in her ear.
She inhaled deeply and exhaled through her mouth as she leaned back into me. We’d taken a trip to visit her parents a couple of months after she told them about us. They’d been wary at first, but by the end of the visit, I seemed to have mostly won them over.
Yet, she was extremely nervous for them to come to New York and see her life here. I was pretty sure she was worried that they would disapprove of her lifestyle. But I had more money than I knew what to do with and I wouldn’t let anyone keep me from giving my girls the best of everything.
“What if they hate it here and never want to visit again?” she whispered.
I dipped my head and kissed her cheek before answering. “Then we’ll go out to visit them as much as you want.”
She tipped her head back and smiled softly at me. “Really?”
“Really, sweetheart,” I confirmed. “You and Ginger are the most important people in the world to me, and I’ll do whatever I can to make you happy.”
Her smile turned radiant, and I couldn’t help planting a hard kiss on her plump lips.
“Emma?”
We were startled out of our kiss by her mother’s tentative voice. I chuckled at the pretty blush that stole over Emma’s cheeks.