Nightclub Sins: A Billionaire Romance Series

by Michelle Love

  I was left breathless.

  Maybe he has changed. Maybe he does love me.

  The day went on, and as usual, we ate Thanksgiving food at lunchtime and my birthday was celebrated at dinner time.

  Brad and Brianna had a special dinner surprise for me, and I had to stay out of the kitchen as they prepared it. That was cool, nice, great, and all of that. But my siblings had pulled Gannon in on it, and the three of them were in the kitchen, cooking things up for all of us on my birthday. I couldn’t help but have a little worry that Brianna was winning over the man I loved.

  Night replaced day and the outside lights sparkled as we all sat out on the deck. The heaters kept it nice and toasty, and the ambiance was very relaxing. Not that I was very relaxed.

  My sister—who looked just like me—was in the kitchen with Gannon!

  Mom and Dad were whispering far more than I ever remembered them doing before. It was weird, and I found myself feeling left out as we all sat around and waited for the meal to be brought out to us.

  Everyone was starving as the meal wouldn’t be served until eight in the evening. Brianna said she wanted to make sure that we were all hungry after the huge Thanksgiving feast we had had at lunch.

  I was starving, and I wanted to see Gannon out there with me!

  With Braiden on my lap, I played patty-cake with him, and I caught my parents looking at us. Both wore wide smiles and Dad even nodded at me when I caught them. “You two are in love, kiddo.”

  I hugged Braiden and kissed his cheek, then he kissed mine. “That, we are. I love you, pumpkin.” I rubbed his nose with mine.

  He nodded then opened his mouth as he looked at me. “Ma.” His tiny hands took my face, and he kissed the tip of my nose. “Ma!”

  I cut my eyes and caught a tear falling down my mother’s face. I was about to correct him, but she was quick to say something first. “Oh my goodness. He needs a mother so desperately. How wonderful he has you, Brooke. What a godsend you’ve been to him and Gannon.”

  There were absolutely no words that came to me. Then the back door opened and out came Brad, Brianna, and Gannon. A cake was in my sister’s hands, and all three were singing happy birthday to me. My family joined in, and I found Mom taking Braiden out of my arms.

  I hated being the center of attention. But I took it on my birthday and stood up, blowing out the candles. At the end, I heard Gannon ask, “What did you wish for?”

  I shook my head as Brianna and Brad moved off to the sides to put the cake down on the table. But Gannon stayed right in front of me as I answered him. “You can’t say your wish.” But I had wished one thing as I blew out those candles. I wanted Gannon, Braiden, and I to be together forever, even though I knew that was next to impossible.

  “Well, it’s not my birthday, so I can tell you what I wished for.” He took my hands in his and moved me back to sit in the chair that was right behind me.

  I looked at what he was doing, touching me. In front of my family. I gulped. Had he forgotten about having to keep our secret?

  Then I noticed that he was moving down. Getting on his knees.

  Wait! No, not both knees. Only one knee. And he was pulling something out of his pocket.

  My left hand was still in his, and I threw my right hand up to cover my mouth.

  What is he doing?

  “Guess what your brother told me,” Gannon said with a soft tone.

  I shook my head as an answer. I couldn’t speak. I was half afraid for my life and his and half unsure what was going on exactly.

  “He told me that your middle name is Madilyn. Did you know that was my mother’s middle name too?” He smiled and winked at me.

  I shook my head. I still couldn’t talk.

  “So I see you are rendered speechless. Well, this is a first. I may as well dive on in then.” He opened his right hand. A little blue box was on his palm. He flipped that lid with his thumb, and the largest diamond I’d ever seen sparkled in the twinkling lights that hung all over the deck. “Brooke Madilyn Moore, would you do me the great honor of becoming my wife?”

  My mouth dropped. I looked at him, then around at my overprotective family and saw only smiles on their faces. And when Braiden threw his little arms out as he looked at me and shouted, “Ma!” as he nodded, well, I lost it all.

  I sobbed out my answer. “Yes!”

  My hand shook as Gannon pushed that heavy ring onto my finger and I continued to cry as he got up, picked me up in his strong arms, and kissed me right in front of my entire family.

  All I heard were claps, whoops, and hollers.

  Then I felt a hand on my shoulder just as our lips parted. I turned my head to find my big brother right there. “Now you be good to this man right here, baby sister. He’s one in a billion. But you two were made for one another.”

  All I could do was nod and cry as Gannon hugged me again.

  “Let’s eat cake!” my brother shouted, and all the noise of my family faded away as Gannon kissed me one more time.

  His lips moved off mine, up my neck, and to my ear. Warm breath stirred my hair with his words. “You are mine, and I love you. And I always will.”

  The End.

  The Forbidden Sitter Extended Epilogue

  Gannon

  Five years later:

  “Grab him, Braiden!”

  “I’ve got ‘em, Dad.” I watched as Braiden scooped up our one-and-a-half-year-old son before he made it all the way to the cold water of the Pacific Ocean. “You can’t go into the water, bubba. Come on, let’s play in the sand over here. Away from the water so you don’t get wet. You might catch a cold if you get wet, Grady.”

  “That’s Momma’s little helper,” Brooke called out as she turned over to get some sun on the front of her. “He’s such a great big brother.”

  I moved off my beach chair to lie on the blanket next to her. Leaning my head on my hand so I could look down at her, I gazed at her. “You know your parents will be coming into L.A. this evening. We could pawn the boys off on them and have a little alone time.”

  Her perfect eyebrows arched over her shades. “Alone time? What’s that?” She snickered and shook her head. “It’s been so long since we’ve had any of that. It’s been one thing after another, hasn’t it?”

  Her bikini-clad body did things to me that had my mind going to other places. Placing my hand on her flat stomach, I ran my thumb over the scar where she had the C-section that brought little Grady to us. He was a week late and didn’t want to make his debut until forced to. She had a long recovery after that ordeal.

  Brooke scared the shit out of me with the birth of Grady. The unplanned C-section merely the start of bad things to come. They were inducing labor when something went wrong. The baby’s heart rate just plunged for some reason.

  The doctor and nurses whisked her away to the O.R., and I was left standing there with her family and Braiden. I had to stay out of the way as the doctor told me Brooke was hemorrhaging. We nearly lost her and Grady that night.

  I’d never felt more terrified than I did when a nurse came to tell me that Brooke wasn’t waking up. They needed me to come into the recovery room. I left Braiden and Brooke’s family in the waiting room.

  When I saw my wife hooked up to a ventilator and all kinds of other things, I nearly fell to my knees. I offered up a prayer before I took her hand.

  With my touch, her hand jerked a bit. With my voice, her eyes fluttered open. She couldn’t speak with the tube going down her throat, so all we could do was look into each other’s eyes. But somehow that was enough. I could see a spark light up inside of her as she looked at me. And that spark ignited the one that always burned inside of me for her, but with the pure terror I was feeling, that spark had grown dim.

  I had no idea what I’d do without Brooke if the Lord decided to take her away from me. To say I’d be lost without her just didn’t cut it. I’d be devastated and so would Braiden.

  The nurse hurried to get the breathing tube out of Bro
oke since she was awake. And I hated to see Brooke gagging and coughing the way she did as it came back up her throat, making her pretty blue eyes water.

  She was weak, paler than I thought was humanly possible, and so fragile. I knew I had my work cut out for me, taking care of her. But I swore to her I would, and I stood by that promise.

  A few days later, I took my wife and new baby home, and Braiden and I got a crash course in taking care of a newborn. Braiden was only five, but he could bring me all kinds of things. And he could hold his baby brother while he was sitting down, giving his mother and me a break now and then.

  Brooke had legally adopted Braiden after his biological mother’s rights were stripped. Cassandra Harrington had been sentenced to ninety-nine years in prison. Not long enough if you ask me, but my lawyers assured me she’d die behind those thick walls.

  I tried not to think about the horrible woman much. I had much better things to think about. Like my precious little family.

  Brooke’s hand moved over mine as she pulled her shades down a bit. “You get that look every time you touch my scar.”

  “Our scar,” I corrected her. “And it’s just because that was a very emotional night. And you’re never allowed to put me through that again.” I leaned over and placed a kiss on the tip of her nose.

  She giggled as she ran her hands around my neck and pulled me to kiss her sweet lips. When our mouths parted, she whispered, “But I will want another child, my love. A girl would fit in perfectly. In a year or so. No rush.”

  With a chuckle, I added, “Oh, no, baby. You just think you were overprotected by your family. That poor girl would have it even worse with two brothers watching over her. And me and you too. Oh, she’d hate us all. We should just stop right where we are.” I kissed her softly once more. “And that way I know you’ll never scare me the way you did with Grady.”

  Her soft palm ran over my shoulder. She knew I still had nightmares about that night. Sometimes I’d wake up screaming her name. Not that it ever happened in real life. But man, I thought I was going to lose my shit more than once that night.

  Thank God her family was there with me. Keeping my head screwed on tight. If it hadn’t been for them, I knew I’d have been a raving lunatic.

  Grady came up between us, laughing like crazy. I was happy that he favored me so much, just like Braiden did. The two looked like brothers completely. And as I looked at my sons, noticing how much they looked like me, I understood Brooke’s desire to have a daughter. Someone who looked like her.

  Then and there I knew I was being selfish. Yes, the birth of Grady had been an ordeal that no one would ever want their wife to go through again. But in the end — if she wanted to try for a girl — it would be wrong to deny her that.

  “How’d you guys like to spend the night with Papa and Grams tonight?” I asked the boys.

  They whooped and hollered, and I knew their answer.

  Brooke wore a wide smile. “Well, it seems we may have a night out, Daddy.”

  “I’ll make the arrangements. You get these little monsters into the car, and I’ll pick up our things. Our day at the beach is officially over.” As I grabbed our things, I tapped out a text to Janine to set up a night at The Peninsula in Beverly Hills for the two of us. I was about to show my wife a night she’d never forget. And I’d give her the good news that I was completely on board with her having another baby whenever she wanted to.

  It was time to put my fears to one side. If Brooke wanted a chance to have a daughter, then I’d give her that chance. I found it impossible not to give Brooke anything she desired.

  Not that she asked for much because she didn’t ask for hardly anything. And when she did, it usually was something for the children instead of herself.

  Truly selfless is the best way to describe the woman who did me the great honor of becoming my wife. Not once had I ever regretted asking her to marry me. Not even a little.

  I asked Brad one time after we’d been married a year what had him and his family changing their minds about Brooke and me. He told me they all could see the love in all of our eyes.

  His exact words were, “You look at Brooke with the same love in your eyes as you look at your son. And she does the same to you. And that little boy has the exact same look when he looks at you both. You three are a family; anyone can see that.”

  I’d been ready to do battle with my best friend and his entire family over Brooke. Thank God it didn’t have to come to that.

  Braiden’s shouting brought me out of my reverie. “Hey, Dad look for Grady’s shovel, please. He’s screaming his head off and saying what me and Mom thinks is shovel. He really wants that thing.”

  Looking down, I found the little red shovel halfway buried in the loose white sand. “Got it.” Jogging over to the car with all of our things, I handed Braiden the shovel.

  He hurriedly handed it to his baby brother. “Here you go, Grady.” The baby quickly went quiet as he had his toy back in his little hand. “He sure can get loud when he wants to.”

  Brooke nodded as she turned back around in the passenger seat. “He sure can.”

  I slipped into the driver’s side and winked at my wife. “So, I’ve got something special in the works for tonight, Mrs. Forester.”

  Laying her head back on the headrest, she smiled. “Good. I need a special night for just the two of us.”

  And she’d get what she wanted, just like I always made sure she did.

  Brooke

  With my kids under the watchful, albeit spoiling, eyes of my parents, I gave myself over to my husband for the matter of one night. That’s all I could really stand to be away from the kids.

  Even though we only had one night, I knew Gannon would make it a night to remember.

  He and I never did the dating thing. The going out to lavish hotels and eating in the fanciest of restaurants. Not with having Braiden right from the start. We frequented family restaurants and rarely went anywhere where we needed to stay in hotels. So this was a real treat for me.

  Gannon had gotten us a villa at The Peninsula, a place I’d often talked about wanting to visit in Beverly Hills. The small structure was tucked away in one of the gardens of the hotel. It resembled a tiny mansion with upscale furnishings. On the patio a jacuzzi sizzled, reminding us we’d have to indulge ourselves in a little while.

  The moon would be full that night, so I commented as we walked by the bubbling tub, “Wanna meet me here at midnight and see if we can’t conjure up something sinister?”

  “You’re on,” Gannon told me as he pulled me in tightly to his side. “First, some dinner. I’m taking you out to a place we could never bring our kids. Then onto a little…”

  I placed my finger on his lips. “Gannon. Do you know what I really want?”

  He chuckled. “Me. Naked. Now.”

  “That would be nice. But no. Not yet. I want the fancy dinner. But after that, I want to come right back here, and I want to be alone with you. Just you and me and no one else. Do you think we can do that?” I batted my eyelashes at him. Not that I had to. The man gave me everything I had ever asked for. But I liked to butter him up anyway. It was always fun.

  “I’ll think about it.” He pulled me around in front of him so our bodies were flush against the other’s. His mouth took mine over, and I wrapped my arms around his neck.

  The fancy dinner was fast becoming a thing I could see forgoing in exchange for making some hot passionate love with my man. But my stomach betrayed me, growling like a hungry lion.

  His mouth left mine, and he rested his forehead on mine. “Let’s get changed so we can go eat. The reservations are for an hour from now.”

  With a sigh, I headed to the bedroom to get myself ready, and he followed behind me. It was torture, watching him undress, shower, then put a nice suit back on, covering his scrumptious body up once more.

  I just kept sighing as I longed to feel his arms around me, our naked bodies covered in sweat as we worked to arouse one another
. But my tummy would growl, letting me know it wanted to be filled up first.

  We made our reservation. I ate some delicious lobster and enjoyed some expensive wine. And then, after sharing a piece of cheesecake, we went back to the little villa.

  Each step I took had me feeling a little bit giddier as we neared the villa. When we got to the door, I was surprised by Gannon as he scooped me up and took me inside.

  Kicking the door closed behind us, he made an animal-like growl before putting me down. “Clothes off now.”

  Shivering with delight, I hurried to do as he said. He never got this way with me anymore. Not since I had Grady. No, after Grady and all I went through with that delivery, Gannon had treated me like I was made out of glass. Like I could so easily be broken.

  I was more than ready for him to be with me the way he had prior to all that.

  His nightmares that would occur on occasion told me he had a deep fear. One that had me at the center of it. One that had him afraid I might be taken away from him.

  I was as close to death as it gets the night they had to cut me open to get Grady out . I recalled it all too. The way it felt as I poured out my life’s blood in the operating room.

  They’d given me an epidural. I was awake but feeling nothing from the waist down. But my head began to swim with the blood that quickly exited my body. It was as if I was going into a tunnel. One I could never come out of.

  For the longest time, there was only blackness. I felt nothing, heard nothing, and didn’t have the will to even open my eyes to see anything.

  Until I felt Gannon’s touch and heard his deep, smooth voice. Then everything came rushing back to me. It felt as if he was a tether, pulling me back from a spacewalk. When I looked into his blue eyes, I saw home. He’d brought me back home.

  Gannon and I had a connection before I ever had Grady. But when I almost died and he brought me back, that connection grew so deep that I knew nothing could break it.

  I gained so much from that experience, and so did Gannon. But with that nearly tragic moment, I lost something too. I lost Gannon’s support about having another child, ever.