Kian (Undercover Billionaire, #1)(76)

“I’m going to marry you as soon as I can get the license,” he said, his voice casual, as if there wasn’t a chance of letting her escape.

“What makes you think I’ll say yes?” she joked, joy in her voice.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black box. He was leaning against the back of the bed with her resting between his legs, her back against his chest. She looked at the box in shock as he opened it, and a brilliant square diamond sparkled against the velvet.

Her fingers shook as she lifted them and traced the sparkling rock. She snatched her hand away as if she were stung. Tears fell down her face. How long had he been carrying this? She wanted to ask, but she didn’t think it was possible to get words past the tightness of her throat.

“I carried this for two months before you left four years ago. I’m not telling you that to hurt you; I just want you to know how long I’ve loved you,” he said. “I’ve now had it in my pocket again since the day after I saw you in that park.”

His voice choked on the last word, and she felt her own heart break all over again at how much she’d hurt this man and how truly strong he’d been for the both of them. She twisted on the bed so she was on her knees before him.

She carefully cradled his face in her hands and leaned in, running her lips across his before she backed away, not trying to hide her tears from him anymore.

“Thank you for loving me. I will never be able to apologize enough for the pain I’ve caused you, but you need to know I will do my best to be your everything from here on out,” she said, the words difficult to speak past the lump in her throat.

His eyes sparkled as he gazed at her, and then he pulled the ring out and took her left hand, slipping it on her finger. It was a perfect fit. He then cupped her cheek in his large hand as he smiled at her.

“For time and all eternity,” he whispered.

“Yes, Kian, a thousand times, yes.”

They stopped talking as his lips took hers. They sealed their promise to each other, and then, hand in hand, they went and picked up their daughter so they could start the rest of their lives together.





Epilogue

Why was it that sometimes it took a terrible tragedy to wake a person up? Roxie would never understand it, but she also wasn’t a person who didn’t learn from mistakes. She’d made too many of them in her life, and now she had been given a second chance, and she vowed not to waste it.

Kian held Lily in his arms, and the sound of her laughter was about the most beautiful music in the universe to Roxie. She rubbed her bulky stomach as she glided across the dance floor, her eyes focused on the two most important people in her life.

“There’s my beautiful wife,” Kian said as she leaned in and kissed him before giggling.

“With my stomach out so far, I’m having a much more difficult time reaching you,” she said.

“I love this belly. I’m going to miss it,” Kian told her as he ran his fingers across her protruding stomach.

“I’m going to miss it, too,” Roxie admitted. “I love Lily as if she truly were mine. I also love this experience of carrying a child within me and getting to be there for every moment.”

“Lily is both of ours,” Kian said, and Roxie had no doubt of the truth in his words.

“We’re blessed more than words could ever say,” Roxie told him.

“Yes, we are, and we’re a family,” Kian told her.

“Dance with me,” Roxie insisted.

She chuckled as he held Lily in one arm and wrapped the other around Roxie’s waist. She leaned her head into his shoulder and smiled at Lily as the three, soon to be four, of them swayed to the music playing.

“Happy anniversary, Mrs. Forbes,” Kian whispered.

“Happy anniversary, my love,” Roxie replied.

He leaned in and kissed her, and she knew every single day would bring more and more joy to her life. It truly didn’t get any better than it was right now. She’d been afraid of losing herself. Now she realized how foolish that was. She couldn’t get lost in another person when she knew exactly who she was. It wasn’t until she’d realized that that she’d actually found herself, and now she had the rest of her life to continue to grow into the person she was always meant to be.



“Joseph Anderson, I sure have to say I’m more than grateful you’re my friend,” Lucian said with a wide grin as he patted Joseph on the back.

“Hey, I’m not chopped liver,” Sherman grumbled before he gobbled down the rest of a pastry that was so buttery, he couldn’t help but moan in delight.

“Of course not,” Lucian said with a chuckle. “I’ve been waiting for my children to pull their heads out for a long time, and it seems they just needed a little pushing to get the ball rolling.”

“Well, you’re not even halfway there yet,” Joseph pointed out as the three men turned and looked to where three of Lucian’s sons were standing off in a corner, away from the rest of the crowd.

“I wonder what they’re discussing over there,” Sherman said. “We should just put bugs on all of them, and then we’d know.”

He would most likely do that if he could get away with it. The sad thing was, Lucian wasn’t too against the idea himself, and he knew for sure Joseph would be on board.