by Emma Lea
“She said that?”
“She did,” Declan said softly, his voice rumbling through his chest. “I know things are a bit hard at the moment and soon you will have evidence of our little miracle, but I want you to promise me that you will go back to it.”
“I will,” she said, “and I have some ideas about expanding the program. Peyton is doing such a great job filling in for me that I wondered whether there might be others out there who could do it too. I could employ my very own princess crew and we could visit other hospitals too.”
“I like it,” Declan said. “What about boys? Do you think we could have some superheroes join the princesses?”
“Are you volunteering to dress up as Superman?”
“I think I’m more a Deadpool type of guy,” he said with a laugh. “But that’s probably not appropriate for a children’s hospital. For you, I will don the blue tights and the cape.”
Brandi sighed and snuggled into his arms. Everything was going to work out as long as she had this man beside her.
Epilogue
The music started and Declan stood anxiously beside his four best friends as the bridal procession started. Piper, Brooks’ six year old daughter, was the first to walk down the aisle, her hand clutched tightly around a basket of flowers and followed closely behind by Harper. Bailey’s cousin followed them. He held his breath as Brandi appeared and his eyes didn’t leave her as she slowly walked towards the front of the church. He had begged Bailey to let him swap partners with Mason, but she wouldn’t have it. He was stuck with Harper as his partner and Mason was Brandi’s. Not that Harper was a problem, they actually got on quite well, now that she had worked out her issues with Brandi.
Brandi looked stunning in the emerald green, floor length gown. She had regained some of the weight that she had lost, but she was still too thin. Her baby belly wasn’t showing yet and he couldn’t wait until it did. He was unreasonably excited to see her show the fruit of their love in the form of a basketball sized bump that he could claim as his own. Her boobs were bigger though, and didn’t he have fun with those beauties. Brandi thought he was funny with how obsessed he’d become with their new size and the fact that they seemed to get bigger every day. He wasn’t complaining.
Her morning sickness had settled down, if not gone away completely. Now it limited itself to the mornings only and she was back working and visiting the hospital - although she had to be careful not to mix too closely with the kids who had communicable diseases. The doctors at the hospital made sure she stayed safe. Oh and that bastard Dr. Shane had been sent packing. After his accusations against Brandi, other nurses and support staff had come forward and complained about him. Brandi hadn’t been the only woman he had been harassing.
They had started making plans for their own wedding, which would be held soon. Brandi wanted to get married before there was a baby bump, but he didn’t care either way. He just wanted to be her husband and he wanted to start their new life together. Since they had spoken about the ‘Fantasy Island’ idea, it had grown into something big. He’d shared the idea with his friends and they all wanted to invest in it. The company that Brooks had set up to buy The Mayfield Group was going be used instead to create the island paradise where adult fantasies could come to life.
The music changed and Bailey appeared in the door of the church. She was stunning and Declan shot a quick look at Hunter to see his reaction. He could see the love in his friend’s eyes and he felt a burst of happiness. He was turning into such a sap since he’d fallen in love with Brandi, but he didn’t care. He liked this new version of himself; he liked who he was becoming and it was all because of the stunning woman who he could now call his fiancée.
The wedding ceremony was lovely and the words spoken and the promises made were perfect and personalised to Hunter and Bailey. They hadn’t had an easy start to their love affair, but it was being proven to Declan time and again that love could win in the end if you just gave it a chance. Love was a choice and if you didn’t choose it every day then things could and did go wrong. His life with Brandi wasn’t without conflict. They still fought on occasion and there was the whole sticky issue with his family. His parents still weren’t speaking to him and probably wouldn’t come to their wedding. Thankfully her family had welcomed him with open arms; her father even offered him job and he’d very nearly taken it. Brandi hadn’t let him, though. She wanted him to pursue his new dreams and with the island idea, the trust fund for parents of terminally ill children, and the scholarship (which they were naming in Caitlyn’s honour) he was kept busy. And he was loving every minute of it.
After the vows were spoken and the kiss was shared, Declan watched on as Hunter and Bailey signed the wedding register and were announced as husband and wife. As they moved back down the aisle being greeted and congratulated by the guests in attendance, Declan sidled up to Mason.
“Swap partners with me,” he whispered.
“No,” Mason replied.
“Come on, man,” Declan pleaded.
“You may have a death wish, but I have no intention of getting on Bailey’s bad side. The answer is no.”
He sighed but snuck over to give Brandi a quick kiss before holding his arm out to Harper. She was looking longingly at Brooks, who was partnered with Peyton - Brooks was best man and Peyton was maid of honour so it was only natural they were paired together.
Declan nudged Harper. “Your turn will come soon enough,” he said. “Just remember that Brandi has to be my partner.”
“Who says you’re even going to be in the wedding party?” she said with a sniff.
“Oh I know I will be,” he replied with a grin, “and if you want to be partnered with Brooks when Brandi and I get married then you will make sure to return the favour.”
Harper grinned. “Now we just have to find someone for poor Jonathon.”
Declan snorted. “Pretty sure Jonathon isn’t interested.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure of that,” Harper said and they both looked over to where Jonathon was escorting Bailey’s cousin.
Did he look a little… melancholy? Was the wedding and all his friends getting engaged having an effect on Jonathon, like maybe changing his mind about his much touted bachelor status? Declan smirked. He’d like to see that.
Jonathon sat back in his chair, crossed one suit clad leg over the other and with a drink in one hand, checked his phone with the other. His groomsman duties were done and the party was winding down. The bride looked lovely, the bridesmaids were beautiful and everything for Hunter and Bailey’s wedding had gone off without a hitch.
With Declan finally getting Brandi to agree to marry him, Jonathon was the last official bachelor of the Alpha Pi Tau. It was a position he’d always thought he would relish. Relationships had never really been his thing, although he appreciated them for others. He always imagined himself staying the lone wolf, like George Clooney…oh. George Clooney had tied the knot hadn’t he? Whatever, it didn’t matter. He had styled himself after the likes of Dean Martin in all those old movies except… oh yeah, Dean always ended up with the chick at the end of the movie. Regardless, relationships weren’t his thing… or he didn’t think they were his thing until all his friends had managed to find amazing women. Suddenly his life seemed a little less ideal and a little emptier.
His thoughts were distracted by a Twitter alert. He swore under his breath as he opened the notification. It appeared that someone was trying to take over his life. The guy didn’t even look like him. Okay, well maybe he did look a little bit like him, but surely there wasn’t enough of a resemblance for people to mistake the two of them as the same person. And yet…
“Fucking hell.”
Jonathon had always guarded his privacy. He’d built up his grandparents’ chocolate company to be one of the finest in the world and he, Jonathon Ashby, was touted as the finest chocolatier. It was his passion. He loved creating the confections, combining flavours and textures to create something memorable. He loved
to watch people when they took their first taste of one of his masterpieces. It was a rush. But he didn’t court the media. He lived large - the sports car, the fancy clothes, the mansion - but he didn’t have a social media profile or try to get his face in the papers. Apparently someone else had thought it was an opportunity not to be missed.
It should be easy to track down the guy who was impersonating him all over town, but the guy was clever. He never stayed long enough at any event to let people get too close. The photos posted online never gave a clear shot of his face and no one could give the authorities a clear description of him. They all thought it was him, even though most of the people questioned had never actually met him. To make things worse, the guy was getting bolder and the glitterati were opening their homes to him more and more regularly. He even arrived with a bountiful gift of Ashby Chocolates. Jonathon had scoured the sales reports to try and find out who was buying these gifts but he hadn’t found anything which meant that the guy had to work for him. This was a damned inside job which made it personal, which was why Jonathon had taken the radical step of going undercover in his own company.
Yep. Starting next week, Jonathon would become Jake and he would start work as the new Research and Development Manager at Ashby Chocolates. His own fucking company. Instead of developing recipes in his test kitchen at home like he preferred, he would need to work in the test kitchen in the main manufacturing plant in Melbourne. And he would need to investigate his own employees. Whichever way he looked at it, it sucked arse. He hated that someone was trying to take over his life, but he hated even more that he had to doubt his own employees.
He threw his phone on the table and downed his drink. He didn’t want to think about what next week would bring. He didn’t want the culprit to be one of his employees but who else could it be? No one else had access to stock like this guy seemed to have. No one else would be able to move so much stock without it showing up on his reports. It wasn’t like the guy was just handing over a small sampler as a hostess gift. He was supplying enough Ashby Chocolates gift bags to give away to all the guests at these swanky parties he attended. The thing that really bit Jonathon in the arse was that it had had the effect of building the reputation of the brand and his sales had gone up because of the added exposure. The fucker. How dare he do that!
On the outside it looked harmless enough, but Jonathon had no control over what the guy was doing. He could turn around and burn to the ground everything that Jonathon had built without too much trouble at all. That was why it was important that Jake ferret out the imposter as soon as possible and nip his little scheme in the bud. He didn’t know what the guy’s ultimate endgame was, but it was imperative that he never get to act on it. Jonathon would do just about anything to protect the only inheritance his grandparents had left him. It was all he had left of his family and he would defend it fiercely.
“Stop scowling,” Hunter said, sitting down beside him. “My wife says you are ruining the night with your frownie face.”
“Are you going to be continually referring to Bailey as your wife from now on?”
Hunter grinned, his white teeth stark against the dark fur of his beard. “Yep.”
Jonathon shook his head but smiled. “So,” he said, scanning the room, “point out all the single women.”
Hunter snorted. “You mean to tell me you haven’t scouted them out already?”
Jonathan shrugged. He hadn’t, which was surprising. He’d had too many other thoughts on his mind, but now he needed a distraction and a beautiful woman was just what the doctor ordered.
“Please tell me the spitfire in the pink dress is available,” he said nodding towards the dark haired beauty who blew him a kiss and gave him a saucy wink.
Hunter chuckled. “Go for it buddy,” he said. “I have no idea who that woman is. She must be a plus one.”
Jonathon stood and tugged at his cuffs. “Perfect,” he said, “I feel like a challenge.”
Want to be the first to know when the next Young Billionaires book is available?
Sign up here to get an alert email.
Click Here
Afterword
Brandi & Declan’s story has been percolating in my brain for a while now. I had so much fun learning about Brandi; who she was and what made her tick. I loved the relationship she had with Caitlyn and I suppose I used Brandi to work out some of my own grief from losing my daughter-in-law a couple of years ago.
Declan doesn’t play much of a role in the other books, but the more I got to know him, the more I liked him. He is such a sweetheart and he was perfect for Brandi. He is a bit of a Peter Pan and I can’t wait to see how he deals with becoming a father.
I love writing the Billionaire books. I love that I can share my Australia with you through their eyes. There is only one more book in the series and I am a little sad to write it. I’m not quite ready to say goodbye to them yet, so…I’ve decided to write a spin-off series. The first book is going to give you the story of Bailey’s sister, Peyton.
My love and thanks go to my wonderful, amazing, gorgeous husband for his ongoing support of me and my dream. We have been married 25 years and I honestly can’t imagine my life without him in it.
Thanks go to Kathryn and Brooke for their tireless input and suggestions. You guys not only make me a better writer, but you made this a better story too.
Thanks also to the fans of the Young Billionaires. You guys rock!
About the Author
Emma Lea is a barista, artist, cook, mother and wife. She lives on the beautiful Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia with her wonderful husband. She has two beautiful, grown-up sons, a dog and a cat (both of which are female because, hey, we needed to balance all that testosterone!)
She is a ferocious reader with eclectic tastes and has always wanted to write, but never had the opportunity due to one reason or another (excuses, really) until finally taking the bullet between her teeth in 2014 and just making herself do it.
She loves to write stories with heart and a message and believes in strong female characters who do not necessarily have to be aggressive to show their strength.
If you enjoyed reading this book, please share the love by leaving a review and telling your friends!
To connect with Emma Lea
www.emmaleaauthor.com
Thanks
Thank you for reviewing this book and recommending it to your friends and family.
Honest reviews are important for authors and I appreciate the time you have taken to share your thoughts.
Other books by Emma Lea
This is Emma Lea’s complete book library at time of publication, but more books are coming out all the time. Find out every time Emma releases something by clicking here and signing up for her New Release Alerts.
SWEET ROMANCES
These are romantic tales without the bedroom scenes and the swearing, but that doesn’t mean they’re boring!
The Young Royals
A Royal Engagement
A Royal Entanglement
A Royal Entrapment
A Royal Expectation
Bookish Book Club Novellas
Meeting Prince Charming
Broken Arrow Trilogy
Broken
Cursed
Eternal
SWEET & SEXY ROMANCES
In my Sweet & Sexy Romances I turn up the heat with a little bit of sexy. No swearing, or very minimal swearing, and brief, tasteful and not too graphic bedroom scenes.
Love, Money & Shoes Series
Walk of Shame
Strictly Business
Skin Deep
In The Money
All At Sea
Love, Money & Shoes Novellas
The Five Year Plan
Summer Fling
Standalone Novels
Amnesia
HOT & SEXY ROMANCES
Hot & Spicy Romances turn the heat way up. They contain swearing and sexy scenes and the characters get hot under
the collar.
Recommended for 18+ readers
TGIF Series
Girl Friday
Black Friday
Good Friday
Twelve Days
Twelve Days of Christmas - Her Side of the Story
Twelve Days of Christmas - His Side of the Story
Quickies (Collins Bay Novellas)
Last Call
Standalone Novels
Learning to Breathe
TOO HOT TO HANDLE ROMANCES
These are definitely 18+ reads and contain graphic sex scenes and high level swearing – not for the faint of heart
The Young Billionaires
The Billionaire Stepbrother
The Billionaire Daddy
The Billionaire Muse
The Billionaire Replacement
Music & Lyrics
Rock Star
Songbird
Strings
Also by Emma Lea
Have read the other books featuring Australia’s youngest billionaires yet?
The Billionaire Stepbrother
Bailey Sheppard has loved Nick Heart for as long as she could remember. They had been best friends in school and had graduated to a friends with benefits arrangement after she left home to study at a University two states away. Their once a month weekends were the highlight of her life, when he would fly in to visit her and she would have him all to herself for the entire, uninterrupted weekend.
