by Boyd, Eliza
She bit her lip, unsure how much she wanted to tell him. But he was being honest with her, so she decided to be honest with him. “I didn’t, actually.” Guilt swirled around in her belly as she remembered exactly why—and how that information could affect what she and Jared were trying to build again.
His head jerked back in shock. “Really?” he asked as his eyes went wide. He schooled them back to normal size before asking, “Why?”
Hailey looked away. She didn’t think she could face him as she told him the truth about this. “Because I want different things now, Jared. I’m not even sure I want my cupcake business anymore.” She fluttered her legs and hung her head.
Jared squeezed her fingers. “Then what do you want?”
Her lungs expanded as much as they could as she filled her chest with oxygen. Then she pushed the air out in a rush as she said, “Remember when I told you I didn’t want to have kids?”
His responding laugh was mirthless. “How could I forget?”
“Yeah, well…” She wiped her free hand over her jeans, keeping her gaze down. “I did. I always did, just…” As tears built in her eyes, she raised a hand to swipe at them. “I couldn’t do it alone, Jared. You barely had time for me, and I couldn’t imagine raising a child without you.” Her heart pounded as she dared to peek at him.
He looked confused. Hurt. Sad. “I’m sorry you felt that way. I wish you would have told me.”
Slowly, she nodded. “Yeah, I do too. Because it might have saved me an entire year of trying to get pregnant on my own when I realized how much I wanted a family whether or not we were together. I could have had that instead of spending all of my money on IVF that—” Her voice broke as the tears flowed freely down her cheeks.
“Oh,” Jared replied quietly. His grip on her hand loosened for a moment before it returned even tighter than before. “Is that why you wouldn’t take your pills?”
She nodded again, using her sleeve to dry her face. “Not that it mattered. It didn’t work. Again.”
When the sobs started to rack her body, he scooped her into his arms and held her close to his chest. “I’m sorry, Hailes,” he said against her hair, smoothing it down as the salty breeze tossed it around.
“I know how much you wanted kids, Jared,” she cried against his chest. “I don’t know if I can—“a hiccup interrupted her words—“have any.”
He let her cry for a few more moments before using her shoulders to gently push her away from him. He tipped her chin up, and she gazed at him through the tears in her lashes.
“I think I wanted kids to keep us together. I knew you were leaving.” He used his thumb to wipe the moisture off her cheek and kept it there as he held her gaze. “As much as I’d love a bunch of our own kids, I have enough money to adopt and take care of an entire baseball team if that would make you happy.”
She couldn’t help the faint laugh that built up in her chest. “I’m sure you’re right,” she said, rolling her eyes sarcastically and then sniffling. “I’ve seen your plane.”
His lips twisted into an adorable grin. “And there’s more where that came from,” he chuckled. Then he sobered. “Whatever you want, Hailey. We can figure it out together now if you’ll let me help you.” He leaned in closer to her lips and watched them as he said, “All I want is you. Forever.”
Her lips trembled as those words sank in. Her heart fluttered in her chest, dancing around against her rib cage when she pictured what that forever would look like with him. Then she gave him a watery nod—because that’s all she wanted too. Forever.
With that, Jared closed the distance between them and kissed her. His hands slipped into her hair, and he cradled her head. With so much passion infused in this kiss, Hailey forgot all about cupcakes and kids. In that moment, she had everything she needed back in her life, and they’d do whatever they need to do to make it work. As long as they were together.
“I still love you,” he whispered against her lips.
She heard his words above the seagulls and the salty wind picking up speed. They made butterflies swarm loose, tickling her belly. “I still love you too,” she replied before planting another deep kiss on his lips and wrapping her arms around him. She couldn’t get close enough, but she leaned back a little to say, “Happy birthday.”
“You know,” he said, smiling wide, “now that you’re back in my arms, this is the best birthday I’ve ever had.”
“And the idea you had about working together—putting my cupcakes in meal kits. Is that still on the table?” she asked, hope blooming in her chest.
He slanted his head toward her and kissed her on the tip of her nose. “If that’s what you want, I’ll make it happen.”
A big grin took over her face. “Then you have a deal.”
She didn’t even get to see his reaction as he cupped the back of her head and held her close. But she took that as a good sign and relaxed in the arms of her billionaire ex-husband. Which was right where she wanted to be.
Forever.
Epilogue
“So?” Jared said through the bathroom door. Hailey was on the other side, and he couldn’t wait for the answer. “What does it say?”
She’d been in there for the three minutes those tests normally took and he was starting to get antsy. Well, antsier. He wanted to hold his wife in his arms and be there for her—no matter what the results were.
When she whipped the door open, her wide eyes didn’t tell him one way or the other.
“Woman, you’re killing me,” he groaned. He tried to peek behind her, but he couldn’t see the test. When he glanced down, he found it in her hand and pointed to it. “Hailes, what is it? Are we…” He couldn’t say the word in case they weren’t.
“I don’t know,” she said, thrusting her arm toward him. “I couldn’t look.”
“You’ve been sitting in there for—” He cut himself off. Then he gingerly plucked the white stick from her hand without looking and slipped the other arm around her shoulder. “Come here.” Hugging her, he pressed his mouth against the top of her head. “We’ll look together, okay?”
She sniffled against his chest. “O-okay.”
Carefully, he guided her to the couch in the living room. Their living room. The one in their home in France, which he’d brought her to for their honeymoon three months ago. They’d gone back home to finalize the paperwork to make CumberCakes dessert kits, but other than that, they’d spent much of the last six months since they’d gotten back together doing anything but work.
They’d gotten to know each other again. They’d traveled a bit. They’d even visited his parents, who hadn’t really had much to say except “I’m sorry.” That relationship would have to build back up over time, but at least it was on the mend.
Especially now that they might be bringing a child into the world.
Over the past few days, Hailey had been sick. They’d had to postpone their trip from France to Italy until she got better. But she’d started to think it wasn’t an illness that’d go away quickly. When she’d mentioned to Jared that she might have it for nine months, give or take, his heart had nearly beat out of his chest all the way to the local store to get a test. Even though she hadn’t been able successful with fertility on her own, they both thought the old-fashioned way would work for them. If it came back positive, they’d make an appointment with Dr. Campbell, whom he’d met at their wedding reception. He’d told Hailey to invite everyone if she wanted and she hadn’t held back.
“It’s okay if it’s negative, right? We can keep trying, or we can just adopt like you said.” She tucked some of her hair behind her ears. She’d let it grow out some since they’d met, though the shorter hair had grown on him. “Or we could just focus on business,” she said, twining her fingers together in her lap. “With the new meal kits coming out, we’ll both have a lot to do, so we wouldn’t even have time for kids anyway, right?”
“Hailes,” Jared said, gripping the test in his hand. “You’re rambling.”<
br />
She blinked, taking her first breath in a while. “Right.”
He put his free hand on her leg. “I’m going to look now, okay?”
After licking her lips, she pressed them together and nodded. “Okay.” Then she squeezed her eyes shut and gripped his leg, digging her nails in.
Jared inhaled as much as he could to prepare himself for whatever he was about to see. Then he used his other hand to hold the test as he unwrapped his fingers from the other end. One peek at the white stick gave him his answer, and he released the air from his lungs in a rush as tears built in his eyes.
Hailey kept her head tipped up so she couldn’t see it. “What’s it say?” she asked, her nails digging deeper as she got more and more nervous.
“It’s…” He trailed off, needing to take another look for conformation. Maybe his eyes had been messing with him. But with one more glance, he knew he’d seen correctly the first time. “It’s positive, Hailey.”
She gasped, her hands flying to her mouth and relieving his leg of the pain they were causing. “We’re gonna have a baby?” Moisture balanced on her bottom lids.
Lifting the test in the air, he showed her the proof. Two pink lines blazed against the white of the stick. “Yeah, we are.”
Without warning, she launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and squeezing. “Oh my goodness. We’re gonna have a baby!”
His heart soared as he held his wife tight in his arms. He’d waited his whole life to hear those words come from Hailey’s mouth. He’d known the moment he’d looked at her the very first time that he wanted her to be the mother of his children. That he wanted to marry her and grow old with her, even though she was his sister’s best friend. For a while there, he’d lost her, but fate—not coincidence—had brought them back together. Now, they were getting everything they’d ever wanted.
A successful business they ran together.
A long-lasting marriage they’d tirelessly work on to make sure it lasted.
Enough money to enjoy life together.
And the beginning of their family.
During the week they’d spent together at his sister’s house, he’d thought he’d been helping to heal her dislocated shoulder. In the end, though, Hailey had been healing the billionaire instead. Now that his heart was whole, he was ready to take on fatherhood with Hailey, his wife again, by his side.
Together.
Just the way it should be.
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Sneak Peek of Book 3
Persuading the Billionaire
A jilted bride alone on her honeymoon.
A stubborn billionaire in need of an assistant.
And a resort in paradise for a week.
Will Alexis and Maxwell keep it strictly business?
Chapter 1
“Yeah, I’m here,” Alexis grumbled into the phone as she stepped out of the cab. The sun was too bright, and the sky was too clear. The only thing she could relate to was the ocean for how blue it was.
“You’re literally in paradise,” her best friend, Heather, reminded her down the line. “At least try to enjoy it while you’re there. Some of us would kill to be there right now.”
Alexis shook her head, shading her eyes from the sunshine. She’d have to get a new pair of sunglasses at this rate. Apparently, the ones sold in Montana wouldn’t do the trick on this island. “Then maybe you should have come with me. I only asked you a thousand times.”
“And I only told you a thousand times that I have work up to my eyeballs,” she said. “Believe me. I’d much rather be there to keep you company. But it’s not my fault you picked the peak of tax season for your honeymoon.”
On her way to the trunk, Alexis faltered on her high heels. That word was enough to make her stumble on the smooth pavement. She almost dropped her phone, but she managed to catch it before it fell too far.
The driver of the cab, a nice older man named Jeff, reached out to steady her. “You okay there, missy?”
Righting herself, she lifted her chin. “I’m fine. Thank you.” Then she returned the phone to her ear as Jeff dropped his arms and went to the trunk for her bags. “You still there, Heather?”
“I’m here. And I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said—”
“It’s fine. I have to get over it sometime.” Alexis peered around the Hawaiian resort she’d call home for the next week. “I might as well do it in paradise.”
The smile in Heather’s voice was more than apparent when she used too much enthusiasm to say, “That’s the spirit! Slip on your bathing suit, sip on a margarita, and enjoy the week, okay? I want pictures and a really good, juicy story when I get back because other people’s taxes won’t do that for me.”
Alexis finally chuckled, cracking her first smile since she’d found out Gabe had cheated on her days before their wedding. “Thanks, Heather. I’ll keep you posted, but don’t expect too much.”
“Whatever, girl. I see big things for your trip, so go get them!”
Feeling lighter than she had in weeks—maybe even months—she ended the call and put her phone in her small purse. Then she rounded the car to the trunk and met Jeff back there to get her bags.
“Here you go, missy,” he said, setting the biggest of her three bags down on the pavement.
“Thanks, Jeff. I appreciate your help.” She dipped a hand into her purse again to retrieve her wallet. “What do I owe you?”
Dusting his hands, he went to the driver’s side to check the meter. As he disappeared, a black SUV pulled up behind Jeff’s cab. It seemed like an important vehicle, the kind Gabe drove, and Alexis wasn’t paying close enough attention as she pulled her wallet from her purse. Her favorite lipstick tumbled out as well, falling to the pavement with a clatter. Alexis bent to pick it up, and just before she stood back up, the passenger’s door of the SUV swung open.
Right into Alexis’s side, knocking her to the ground, the rest of her purse’s contents flying all over the circular drive of the resort.
“Oof,” Alexis moaned as she tried to sit up. She wanted to melt into the ground or be swallowed whole by the Earth. Clearly, her life wasn’t getting any better by going on this trip alone. If this was how things were going to be, she should have stayed in her apartment. It was warm under her covers, and Heather would have made margaritas for both of them. She didn’t need sun, sand, or the water—just comfort.
The hard pavement was not comforting. At all.
The warm hand circling her upper arm kind of was though. And when she’d been pulled to her feet, the dark eyes staring down at her kind of were too.
“Are you okay?” the man in front of her asked in a kind of comforting—though urgent—tone. “I didn’t see you there.” He wiped a hand down his face, which made Alexis wonder what all of that stubble on his cheeks felt like on her own fingers.
She squeezed her eyes shut and shook that thought right out of her head. She didn’t even know this man, and he’d almost killed her. Okay, maybe that was a bit dramatic, but still. An attraction to anyone was the last thing she needed. Her picker was good and well broken if the last man she’d picked was any indication.
“Miss? Are you all right?” he asked again. Then he reached into his back pocket. “Here,” he said, slipping his fingers into the fold of he wallet. “I have…” He counted up the bills, which looked like hundreds to Alexis. “This is twelve hundred dollars. If that’s not enough, I can have Phillip or Ana get more, but that’s all I have on me right now.” He thrust the money in her direction, waiting for her to take it.
But she didn’t move an inch. She didn’t know who Phillip or Ana were, but they somehow had acces
s to more than twelve hundred dollars of this man’s money. And this man casually had twelve hundred dollars on his person in that given moment.
What in the world had just happened?
Alexis feared she was actually in a coma and dreaming. Or maybe the car door had caused her to have some kind of hallucinations. Because this handsome, well-dressed man was handing her more money than her plane ticket from Montana to Hawaii had cost just for accidentally knocking her to the ground.
Typical. Men and their money. That’d fix everything.
Not.
Squinting at him, she said, “You can’t just throw money at things. I don’t want it.” Then she brushed her loose-fitting off-the-shoulder tee off, smoothed down her flowy pants, and captured the handle of one of her bags. “I just want to get up to my room.”
Jeff came over to the passenger’s side of the car. “Are you sure you’re okay, missy? I can take you to the hospital if you want to get checked out. No charge.”
“No, no. I don’t need to go to the hospital,” Alexis replied, waving his concern off. But the mention of no charge reminded her that she still needed to pay him. She patted her side for her purse, but it wasn’t there.
Then another man, who she assumed had come from the SUV, handed it to her. “Here, miss. I gathered everything I could find.”
“Thank you, Phillip,” the man with the nice dark eyes said. Then he turned his attention to her. “If you realize you’re missing anything, don’t hesitate to call me. I’ll replace it quickly.” With his wallet still in his hand, he slipped a card from it and passed it to her.
Alexis hesitated before taking it. “Thanks,” she said, a tight smile on her lips. Glancing at it, she saw bold letters proclaiming Maxwell King – Entrepreneur and Investor. She put it inside her purse and then removed her own wallet—again. “Sorry, Jeff. Did you say how much I owe you?”
