Final Offer (Dreamland Billionaires, #3)(139)
Cal lifts a shoulder. “We do crazy things for the people we love.”
Lorenzo’s upper lip curls. “Let’s pray I never find out.” He tips his head in my direction. “Good day, Ms. Castillo. Wish you two the best of luck with this endeavor because you’re going to need it.”
He waltzes out of the room, taking his air of superiority with him.
“Asshole,” I say.
“Couldn’t agree more,” Cal grumbles. “I never thought he would leave.”
I turn to face him. “What the hell is going on, and why are you putting an offer on a house you own?”
Cal’s smile wavers. “Because I’m not the one buying the house.”
“What?”
“I’m speaking on behalf of a trust.”
“What trust?”
“The one I made for our future kids.”
The air whooshes out of me. “You opened a trust for our future kids?” I choke on the last two words.
“Yes.”
I reach out for the fireplace mantle to stop myself from keeling over. “But why?”
“Because I wanted to prove to you that the inheritance means nothing to me personally.”
Oh. My. God.
“How much is in the trust, Cal?”
He hesitates. “Does it matter?”
I shoot him a look.
He doesn’t hesitate as he says, “Twenty-six billion once we sell the house.”
“To Cami and whatever hypothetical children you think we are having one day.”
“To their trust. It’s a whole complicated legal loophole, but it works. Grandpa’s lawyer and I sorted it all out.”
My knees give out, but Cal wraps an arm around me before I crash to the floor.
“Twenty. Six. Billion. Dollars.” I pinch my arm, wince at the pain, before repeating the same move again.
Cal swats my hand away and rubs at the red spot. “They won’t have access to the whole thing all at once.”
“Well, that’s a relief. I was worried what might happen if the kids had the urge to blow through twenty-six billion dollars on a whim.”
His eyes narrow. “I can’t get a good read on how you feel about all of this.”
“I’m not even sure myself.”
“Are you happy?”
“Yes.” My eyes mist.
So damn happy. Not because of the money—there is no way I would let Cal give up his entire inheritance—but because we get to keep the house.
His arms tighten around me. “Then it was worth it.”
“How is this even possible?”
“You wanted the house, so I found a way to keep it.”
“Iris was right.”
His head tilts. “About what?”
“She said if I wanted something, you would find a way to make it happen.”
He grins. “You should know by now I’d do anything for you.”
My heart squeezes. “Anything?”
He clasps onto my chin. “Absolutely anything. Although I can’t take all the credit for this plan. Without my grandpa’s lawyer dropping a cryptic hint, I would have never thought about opening a trust.”
“I’m still wrapping my head around that.”
“What about it?”
“Why you would give anyone that kind of money in the first place.”
“It’s not anyone. It’s our family.” His smile reaches his eyes.
My legs threaten to buckle, but Cal holds me up.
Shit. I never stood a chance against him once he got sober. Hell, I barely stood a chance when he was still drinking, which only proves how screwed I was from the very beginning.
He brushes his knuckles across my cheek. “I told you selling the house never had anything to do with an inheritance.”
“So, you decided to give it all up to prove a point?”
“Without you agreeing to sell the house, there would be no inheritance to give in the first place.”
“We really get to keep the house?” I ask again to confirm.
His smile grows. “Only if you accept my final offer.”
I look around the room. “Where are the other buyers?”
“I scared them away.”
“You?” A laugh explodes out of me, making Cal’s grin widen.
“Did you bribe them?”
He shakes his head.
“Threaten them?” I probe.
“No. I’m not Declan.”
I bite back my laugh. “Then what?”
“I explained my situation and how I was trying to win back the woman I love.”
A warmth blooms in my chest, right above my heart. “Then what happened with Lorenzo?”
“Asshole refused to back down. Said he didn’t know what was more disappointing: me making poor life choices for something as fickle as love, or everyone else walking away after I confessed I was hopelessly in love with you and desperately needed to buy the house.”
“Hopelessly in love with me, you say?”
The butterflies in my stomach flutter as he cups my chin. “I’ve always loved you, although at first it was platonic and innocent. But the love grew as we did, morphing into something more mature. Something strong enough to stand the test of time and distance every single year. A love built on memories of the past and a hope for the future.” He tucks a wave of hair behind my head. “A future I can’t see with anyone but you.”