Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 118965 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 595(@200wpm)___ 476(@250wpm)___ 397(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 118965 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 595(@200wpm)___ 476(@250wpm)___ 397(@300wpm)
“I hope not,” I whisper.
I want to say more, things for which I can’t yet find words, but he seals his lips over mine in the tenderest of kisses, showing me that it’s okay. That actions speak louder.
Chapter
Thirty-Six
Angelo
* * *
Ryan walks into my study and closes the door. His jaw is set tightly as he advances to the desk and stops in front of me. “Heidi said you wanted to see me.”
I take the folder with the paperwork I’ve been poring over for the last hour and get to my feet. “Are the arrangements for your return home in order?”
He observes me with a narrowed gaze. “Everything is fine. You didn’t have to fly us in first class.”
I round the desk. “Why not? I have the money. Not to mention, the kids will be more comfortable. I don’t believe in skimping on comfort, especially not when there’s children involved.”
His sneers. “Is that why you need so much money? So that you can fly parents with children in luxury across the world?”
Stopping a short distance away from him, I drum my fingers on the folder in my hand. “What matters is that it’s important to Sabella.”
Animosity sparks in his eyes. “Are you going to do a better job of taking care of her?”
“Yes.” That’s all I need to say. No justifications or explanations can make a stronger statement. All the vows and promises I made are condensed in that one small but powerful word.
“You damn well better do that. I have a good mind to take her home with us.”
I meet his level gaze head-on. “Why don’t you?”
He gnashes his teeth, but he doesn’t reply because we both know the answer. Sabella won’t leave with him. She wants to stay. She made her decision. She chose me. Us. Our future. To what miracle I owe that chance, I’m still not sure. I only know I don’t deserve it but that I’ll live to be the man she needs.
Ryan blows air through his nostrils like an angry bull. “Don’t let there be a next time, because if there is, as God is my witness, I’ll fucking kill you.”
There won’t be a next time. There’s no point in regurgitating the same argument. Instead, I thrust the folder at him, slamming it on his chest. “This is for you.”
He watches me with suspicion as he takes the folder. “What is it?”
I jut my chin at the contract he clutches in his hands. “Open it.”
His expression turns wary as he opens the folder and, after another glance at me, lowers his gaze to read what’s printed on the paper.
The more he reads, the more his features transform with surprise. He flips a few pages and scans over them.
When he gets to the final page, he looks back at me with a deep groove running between his eyebrows. “I don’t understand.”
“It’s long overdue.”
His brow creases. “Why?”
“It was your father’s business. It should be yours.”
He clenches his jaw. “Are you buying me off because of what happened to my sister?”
“There’s not enough money in the world to make right what happened to Sabella.”
“Then why?” he asks again, stressing the why.
“It’s fair, or do you disagree? Don’t you want the business?”
“But why now?”
“You know why I took the business.”
He shuts the folder. “To leave my father powerless.”
It boils down to one truth. “To marry Sabella.”
He measures me, weighing me with a calculating gaze. “And now you’re giving me back power. What if I use that power against you?”
“Sabella and I are a team.” I smile as I use the words she gave me in the hospital. “We’re on the same side. If you hurt one of us, you’ll only hurt the other.”
He drags his tongue over his teeth as he contemplates the statement. After a moment, he says, “How is this supposed to work? We swear peace for the sake of my sister?”
“If you remember well, we already swore to stop the bloodshed. I’m not asking you to be my friend. I doubt we’ll ever be anything as remotely close as that, but we can do decent business together.”
“For my sister’s sake,” he says with a wry smile, but something like respect sparks in his eyes.
“Not only.” I opt for honesty. “I always respected your intelligence and your character. I even admire your business sense.”
He looks both taken aback and doubtful.
I take my pen from the desk and hold it out to him. “If you agree with the conditions, I’ll make the official announcement tomorrow.”
Reaching out slowly, he wraps his fingers around the pen. He wrestles with something, maybe his pride, but then he puts the folder on the desk and signs his name next to mine.
When he straightens, it’s a done deal.
As of today, Ryan Edwards is the owner of Edwards Imports and Exports.
Chapter
Thirty-Seven
Sabella
* * *
Two glorious weeks pass in which I have my family all to myself. Well, mostly. Brad adopted Sophie and follows her around like a lapdog. My mom takes the boys shopping, tasking them with carrying the baskets of fruits and vegetables she buys at the market, and they assume the responsibility as if our lives depend on it.