And Cole’s former company prospered as a result. Surprisingly, a number of the staff elected to remain despite their large lump sum payouts even after the one-year deadline when they could have easily walked away. They worked well together, and were prideful of everything they had accomplished, with or without their founder.
However, all of this leaves out an important detail, something that you might already be wondering about…
Cole had family again.
Or at least he would, in another seven months… I thought to myself, moving my hand across my swelling tummy.
I had finally found my place, and I didn’t have to adapt or change to fit the next big opportunity anymore. This was just me, living my happy life with the man of my dreams. It was something complete in the now, something concrete.
I had Cole. We had each other. Forever.
And, as you’ve undoubtedly noticed…
I got that honeymoon in Venice after all, if only a little belated.
The End.
Author’s Note
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Here’s a little taste:
The Billionaire’s Desire…
She's even better up close.
Sanniyah is studying her surroundings like she has everything already figured out, her chin lifted to show off the graceful swoop of her neck. In the waning light of sunset, I first assumed her perfect skin was a smooth shade of caramel, but as I move closer, I can see the different colors under the surface; the ebonies, the siennas, the dark chocolates. I am staring at her, I can feel it. I have to look away.
She doesn't know how hard this is for me. She can't possibly know that the very act of allowing someone I don't know into my sanctuary is tearing me apart internally. It's not her fault that she is gorgeous and unnerving and I am already so on edge I feel like I might snap at any moment. So I keep conversation to a minimum, though it is clear she is unhappy with how I am avoiding talking about the wedding. She doesn't know that the just allowing her near me is the biggest step.
But she seems unnerved too. When I steel my resolve and make to touch her, she goes stiff and jumpy. I wonder if she can sense the damage inside of me. I wonder if she knows I am not right inside.
This bothers me.
"Come down here," I tell her. I am being too abrupt, ordering her around. I expect her to tell me to shove off, but instead she follows me, to my immense surprise. "I want to show you something."
She hesitates at the bottom step, wavering. "Oh, I got that," I say, reaching out to help her unbuckle her sexy, spindly heels. It's a problem I can easily solve, unlike my inability to handle a normal conversation.
She lifts her foot. The instant my hand circles her ankle, I feel it again. That bolt of possessiveness. That want. A fiery need I haven't felt in...forever perhaps?
I used to feel things. Hunger, drive. Ideas would come to me like bolts out of the blue. Inspiration would take hold of me and shake me like I am shaking right now. I am shaking so hard I can barely get her buckle undone.
My hand looks like it belongs there, wrapped possessively around her. Claiming her as my own. I know she is what I need. I know that she will make me whole again. I don't question it, just like I never questioned any of the ideas that led me to my incredible fortune. I just acted.
Her bare feet wiggle in the sand, and I feel another jolt. A different kind of jolt.
This one goes straight a very different part of my anatomy...
She's standing on the half-buried last step, which means our eyes are level with each other. "I'm glad you're here, Sanniyah," I say. And I mean it.
She looks startled for a minute. I can see a million different expressions flash across her face until she finally settles on one.
Delight.
Her eyes open wide; shocked and pleased. Her beautiful, kissably plump lips curve into a megawatt smile. Her face is so utterly transformed in that moment that I make a solemn promise to myself right now.