Final Offer (Dreamland Billionaires, #3)(98)

I lied.





“Mommy! Wake up! We’re going to Dreamland today!” Cami bangs against the door.

Lana bolts upright, the sheet falling around her waist. “Oh my God! What are you still doing here?” she whisper-shouts.

“Fuck.” I grab a pillow and cover my head. “I fell asleep.”

“You need to hide!” She rips the pillow away from my hands and throws it toward the end of the bed.

“Mommy? Did you hear me?” Cami slams her palm a few more times.

“Coming! Why don’t you go ahead and pick out your outfit for today.”

“Okay!” Cami’s voice sounds farther away when she answers.

Lana shoots me a look as she slides out of the bed, distracting me with her naked body as she darts around the room, collecting our clothes. She throws her shirt over her head before brushing her fingers through her wild waves.

“Get dressed.” She throws my shorts at my chest.

“I’m going.” I reluctantly climb out of bed.

Lana’s eyes widen as she presses a hand against her mouth.

“What?” I look down at my erection. “This?” I give it a few pumps, earning a hiss from Lana.

“No. I—” Her eyes widen. “I’m so sorry.”

“What’s wrong?” I turn and look at my reflection in the mirror.

Damn.

Lana left some souvenirs of our time together. Besides the few hickeys marking my neck and chest, my skin is covered with faint scratches and a couple of bite marks.

I run my hand over one of the marks. “If you wanted to mark your territory, a tattoo might have been more effective in the long run.”

“Shut up.” She tosses my shirt directly at my smirk.

I pull her in for a quick kiss. Her lips mold to mine, and I run my hands down her body, tracing her curves before giving her ass a squeeze.

I pull away although I’d rather not. “You distract Cami and I’ll sneak out.”

She places a quick peck on my cheek. “Deal.”





Fortunately, the real estate agent is able to drop by early Sunday afternoon. With us leaving to Dreamland tonight for Cami’s birthday, I want to make sure everything with the lake house is settled while Wyatt and Delilah take Cami out for lunch.

The meeting with the agent goes smoothly, and he assures me that the house will be put on the market first thing tomorrow morning while we are in Florida.

I should be happy with that kind of news. Thrilled even. The sooner I sell the house, the more liberated I will feel. Hopefully, the heavy weight pressing against my chest that has been present since last night’s conversation will lessen before disappearing altogether.

Lana stayed quiet, keeping to herself while we reviewed the logistics of the sale and our price tag. She only spoke up after the agent said goodbye and asked me to do one last walkthrough of the house by ourselves. She saves the kitchen for last, something I know is intentional given how much time she spends inside of it.

She opens the pantry door and frowns. “Hmm.”

“What?” I peer over her shoulder.

“Just was wondering if they’re going to paint over this or replace the door and the frame altogether.”

“Probably replace it.”

She makes an indiscernible noise.

“What?” I ask at the sight of her frown.

“It’s a shame.” She traces the different marks etched into the wooden frame—all written in her mother’s handwriting. Five different initials in varying colors mark the entire side: RGK, DLK, CPK, AVC, and CTC. Rowan and Declan’s heights were no longer recorded once they stopped visiting the lake house, while mine continues until my final six-four marking.

“You added Cami’s height?” I squat down and trace over the first small pink mark at the bottom, which is barely two feet tall.

“Yeah. My mom thought it would be a fun idea.” Lana looks at it with a watery smile. “Cami couldn’t even stand yet, but I held her up while my mom used the ruler to mark her spot.”

“You miss her,” I state.

“All the time.” She looks around the kitchen. “Being here…it feels like I’m still connected to her. She spent a majority of her time in the kitchen, cooking, cleaning, eating. It was her favorite place in the whole house.”

“And yours.”

“Most definitely.” Lana gives the kitchen counter a loving pat. “It’s hard to believe that by tomorrow, all of this will be gone.”

“Crazy, huh?” I lean against the counter beside her.

“If my mom were here, she would have been excited to say goodbye to the counters. She probably would have begged Ryder to let her take a sledgehammer to them herself.”

I grin. “Really?”

“Oh yeah. She warned your grandpa against picking blue tile as a countertop, but he was very insistent. Mom said it wouldn’t age well and she was right. Plus, she hated cleaning the grout all the time, and after being stuck doing the same, I completely agree.” Lana’s nose twitches with distaste.

“That was Brady for you. Stubborn as a mule and always thinking he knew best, even when he didn’t.”

She walks toward the window above the sink and looks out at the lake. “I still haven’t wrapped my head around the fact that we’re selling the house.”