“My sister…what?” I shook my head. None of this was making sense. “What is going on?!”
Cliff reached for me then, holding my shoulders.
“I called Lily when I couldn’t find you. Then she met me when she was in Boston. She believes me, Piper, so should you. I never stopped loving you.”
He was searching my eyes wildly. His gaze was traveling back and forth around my face.
“Why? Why would you speak to her? Why would you buy this place? Why would you do any of this, Cliff?”
I was crying now. I just became overwhelmed by everything, my frustration with the jobs, and my confusion about Lily and him. I couldn’t be strong anymore. Cliff tried to pull me into his arms, but I resisted him.
I yanked myself away from him and crossed my arms over my breasts.
“I demand an explanation. Why did you do this?” I raged.
Cliff’s nostrils were flared with emotion. He gulped and nodded, holding his hands up in submission.
“Okay, I bought this place because I know you wanted it. I know you don’t want my help. I know you don’t want to see me again, but it was the only way I knew to prove to you that I still love you.”
The tears didn’t stop streaming down my cheeks. I glared at him through the watery haze.
“What does that prove?”
“That I never forgot you. That I want to give you the world, Piper. I will do anything to make you happy, even if that means you hate me. I’ve bought this place so you can have it. So you can have a shot at living your dream.”
My shoulders heaved. I was trying to steady my breathing.
The father of my child was standing before me, and I still didn’t know if I could be with him.
“I don’t want your charity, Cliff.”
“Dammit, Piper!” he growled and lunged at me again. He grabbed me by my shoulders, glaring into my eyes.
“Take the damn place. It’s yours. You don’t have to see me ever again if you don’t want to. You owe me nothing. I cost you your job, so consider this payback. Now we’re even.”
He looked mad, his eyes were bloodshot red, and his face had darkened. I gulped, and he released his grip on me.
“I am not doing this out of charity, Piper. How am I supposed to make you see that? I’m doing this because I’m in love with you. This is what men do when they’re crazy in love with a woman they can’t have. They pull stunts like this. I knew this wasn’t going to work. But I hoped it would. I just want to see you happy.”
I dabbed my cheeks with my knuckles, trying to hold on to some pride.
“What else did my sister tell you?” I asked, holding my head up.
When Cliff looked at me with those forlorn eyes, I knew he knew.
“She told me you’re pregnant,” he replied.
His gaze traveled down to my belly, and I lifted my hand up to it. When our eyes met again, I knew he was being honest. He didn’t have to convince me anymore. Cliff wasn’t lying when he said that he always loved me.
I pursed my lips together so I wouldn’t cry.
“Why did you leave me, Cliff? I need to know why,” I sobbed.
He came towards me and placed a hand on my cheek.
“I didn’t want to tell you because I didn’t want to rat out your family,” he said. He was speaking in a whisper. I touched his hand, narrowing my eyes at him.
“What did they say?” I asked. Cliff took a moment to breathe.
“You have to promise you’ll let it stay in the past, Piper.”
“What did they say to you?” I snapped.
“Nothing to me. Never to me. But I overheard them speaking after our Christmas dinner. I don’t want to go into the details. The gist of it is that they made it very clear I wasn’t wanted, and I believed they were right. I didn’t think I deserved you,” he explained.
“But I was in love with you, Cliff. That should have been enough!”
“It was enough for me, but I didn’t think it would be good enough for you. You deserved better…”
“Better than the guy who went to Harvard? Better than the man who is a successful CEO?” I asked. There was a smile on his face now.
“That happened much later, much after I’d already made my decision to stay out of your life. It was a mistake, Piper, because I was never going to be happy without you,” he said.
I felt a burden physically lift off my shoulders. Suddenly, I felt several pounds lighter. It was as if my heart was less heavy. It was because I believed him. I knew he was being honest. I could see it in his eyes that he loved me. He always loved me.
“I was never happy without you either, Cliff. I tried to be. I really tried. Nobody else was ever good enough.”
Cliff pulled me to himself and tipped my head back so I could look into his eyes.
“I will always be grateful to that asshole for picking that restaurant for the meeting,” Cliff said, smiling. “I will never regret the fact that he asked to speak to the chef!”
I laughed. He leaned in closer and softly kissed both my cheeks.
“He led me back to you. I’m half tempted to let him merge with my company, just as a reward. He’s good luck!”
I laughed even harder, especially since he was kissing all of my face now.
I clung on to him, with my arms around his neck.
“I can’t believe you bought this place, Cliff! I can’t believe you’ve been speaking to Lily!”
“I can’t believe she’s speaking to me either!” he remarked, and we kissed lightly. Neither of us could control the joy we were experiencing.
“What are you going to do about all this?” I asked, looking around the room. Cliff was examining my face, searching my eyes.
“The question is, what are you going to do about it?” he asked.
I didn’t dare to dream yet or even to imagine it. Was it possible that this place was finally mine? After all these years of wanting it and working towards it, was it finally Cliff who made this dream come true? The guy who was supposed to have nothing gave me everything.
I squealed with glee, and he swung me around in his arms. We were kissing again, this time more ravenously. When we pulled away, I was breathless and so was he.
“I want to pay you back for it. I’m going to!” I said, and he nodded his head.
“Of course. It’s an investment. When you start making money, I’ll make money too. Don’t worry, I haven’t just donated it to you. But I want to make your dreams come true. I want you to feel free to spend whatever you need to get this place running. Whatever it takes. I want to see your vision come to life.”
When Cliff spoke, I was entirely taken up by his speech. I could see why so many people wanted to be in business with him. This was why he was a successful investor. Even though it was initially my dream, Cliff had managed to sell it back to me.
We held hands as we walked around the room, looking at the chipping paint and the broken window panes. When we stepped out, Martin had left already.
“Piper, I want you to let me be a part of this baby’s life,” Cliff said, turning to me. I couldn’t stop smiling. Just when I thought I was having the worst day, here he was making everything as right as rain.
“I would like that too,” I told him, and he put an arm around me.
“Are you prepared for motherhood?” he asked. I leaned my head on his shoulder.
“No. Are you prepared for fatherhood?” I asked him. He smiled down at me and shook his head.
“But there is nobody else in the world I would rather learn it with than you, Piper. You’ve always been my family.”
I kissed him again because I could, and because I wanted to.
Cliff excitedly placed a hand on my belly, even though there was no bump yet. Then he lifted me up in his arms and carried me back into the building. We were kissing. We were already taking each other’s clothes off.
When he lay me down on the tarp of the upstairs room, I looked up at the crumbling ceiling. All I could see was
what my imagination painted. I saw a beautiful red-brick restaurant with art on the walls and beautiful music floating out through the windows. A flourishing garden outside, maybe even a small koi pond to look at while my customers ate.
Cliff moved over me, unbuttoning his shirt. Then he lay down beside me on the tarp too, and we stared up at the ceiling, naked in each other’s arms.
“I love you, Piper Cohen,” he said, kissing my bare shoulder. I snuggled into him, feeling his warmth surround me.
“I love you more, Cliff Evans,” I told him and then we were kissing again until I rolled over on top of him so he could take me.
Epilogue
Cliff
Eight months later
I was in a board meeting, and I was supposed to be paying attention, but all I could do was think about Piper.
She made me happy. She made me truly happy. I felt like I was nineteen again and young in love. Now we had a real life together, and I couldn’t think of a single way that I could be happier.
We were going to have a baby together. In six days, Piper was due to give birth. I was going to be a daddy.
I was all set to join the league which Sawyer and Isaac were in, and I couldn’t wait!
My phone vibrating in my pocket triggered me out of my thoughts, but I ignored it. The fact that I hadn’t been paying attention to the meeting was bad enough. Now if I took a phone call, it would make matters worse.
It kept vibrating, and I kept ignoring it until there was a knock on the door and my secretary stuck her head around.
“Sorry for the interruption. Mr. Evans, there’s a phone call for you,” she said. I was about to tell her to let it wait.
“Piper is having the baby,” she said, and her face broke out in a smile.
I jumped out of my chair, and so did most of the other people in the room.
“Congratulations!” I heard as I darted out of the room. I couldn’t wait and exchange cheers with them.
“How did this happen?” I thundered at my secretary as I ran down the corridor towards the elevator.
“Her water just broke. Her sister called just now. They’ve taken her to the hospital,” she replied.
Then I was in the elevator and charging down.
I drove like a maniac. I couldn’t believe that I was going to miss the birth of my child! On the way, I tried calling everyone. I called Lily, Faye, Margo, and the boys, but nobody was answering the phone.
I drove into the hospital and didn’t bother parking the car as I ran in, shouting out Piper’s name.
“Cliff!” Sawyer was there, in his hospital scrubs.
“Where is she? How is she?” I asked, and we both ran. He was leading me to her room.
“She’s fine, don’t worry. Margo and Faye brought her in. They were out for brunch somewhere,” Sawyer told me.
It was all happening so fast. I zoomed past everyone else in the waiting area, and Sawyer took me straight to the delivery room and there I saw her, the most beautiful woman in the world, on a gurney, surrounded by nurses. She was in the middle of delivering my child.
“Cliff! You’re here!” she screamed, sweat dripping down her face. Despite her condition, she was smiling. I rushed to her, while Sawyer forced me into a gown and covered my hair with a cap.
I crouched down beside her and gave her my hand.
“It’s happening, Cliff,” she cried, while the nurses told her to push.
“Yes, it is. I love you, Piper. I’m here now,” I said, and she squeezed my hand tight.
* * *
I watched our daughter, Isabel, being born. The miracle of birth was the most beautiful thing I had ever witnessed. If I didn’t appreciate Piper and her strength enough already, seeing her giving birth cemented it for me. She was beautiful and strong and powerful, and I knew she was going to be a wonderful mother to our child.
Isabel was born with the perfect set of blue eyes like her mother’s. She had a shock of thick dark hair like me, and she was a smiling, happy baby.
She lay in Piper’s arms while the others came in to meet her. I stood by their bed, holding Piper’s hand. She didn’t want to let me go. I just wanted to be alone with them, to be able to tell this woman I loved how thankful I was for the joy she brought to my life.
Lily hugged me tightly, with tears in her eyes. Piper’s parents were there too, and we hugged. In the past eight months, things had smoothened out between us, and we were all just happy about Isabel now. She was the center of our world.
Sawyer, Isaac, and Vince were there too. Their arms were full of balloons and flowers and toys for the newest addition to the group. Faye and Margo fussed over Piper, and I watched as everyone kissed and hugged and cried.
We brought everyone together. I wanted to do it again. I wanted to have another child with Piper already!
I was anxious about holding Isabel when she handed our daughter to me.
“Don’t worry, daddy, you won’t break her,” Piper said. Tears were glistening in her eyes, and I was sure I was going to burst into tears too. This precious little thing was mine. I made her! I couldn’t believe it.
Piper had no idea how grateful I would be to her all my life.
I cradled Isabel in my arms, holding her close to my chest. Piper looked on at us, smiling proudly.
Eventually, hours later, the others left. Finally, the three of us were alone in the room, and I gave Isabel back to her mother. Piper kissed her forehead and then smiled at me.
“We did good, Cliff,” she said, rocking the baby gently in her arms.
“We have a baby together!” I exclaimed, running a hand through my hair in disbelief. It still hadn’t sunk in.
“Yes we do, and we are the luckiest parents in the world. Aren’t we?” Piper said and then she cooed to Isabel, who giggled and drooled in response.
I watched the two girls in my life play and laugh together, and I knew I was content. I wanted nothing more than to see this for the rest of my life.
Piper
Six months later
It was my day to watch the kids.
Evie, Oscar, and Isabel were playing together in our living room, while I worked on my laptop, keeping a firm eye on them.
Faye, Margo and I had collectively decided that we didn’t want nannies and babysitters raising our children. Instead, we decided to try and hold down a career and raise the children together.
So, each day of the week one of us watched the three kids while the others worked. This included Sawyer and Isaac as well. Vince offered to help, but we knew he wasn’t exactly filled with fatherly feelings and was too nervous around them when left alone.
Sometimes, when Lily was in town, she spent the day with me, and her son joined the group too. That’s what my life was about, working on my dream restaurant, being surrounded with kids and sharing an experience with the man I loved. What more could I have wanted?
The rest of the week, I worked hard at the restaurant. We spent over a year renovating the place and bringing it up to working condition. Now the staff was hired, and the menu was finalized, and we were all set for opening night which was a week away.
Isabel crawled towards me. I lifted her up in my arms so I could give her a tight hug. When she rammed her hand onto my keyboard, I had to scold her lovingly, but she was so cute, that I could hardly keep it up!
Soon enough, Margo and Faye came over after work to pick up the kids. Before they left, we had a half of a glass of wine each and watched our kids playing together.
“It’s like they’re growing up in one big happy family!” Margo said.
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure Evie thinks Oscar and Isabel are her siblings. They spend a lot of time together!” Faye said as we laughed.
“I’m happy for them. They’re never going to feel lonely, and they will always have each other,” I remarked.
Eventually, they left, and Isabel and I were by ourselves for a short while before Cliff returned.
“Honey, I’m home!” he shouted from
the door. He was in the habit of saying that every evening now, even though it had started off as a joke.
“Daddy’s here!” I squealed, and with Isabel in my arms, I rushed to the door so I could kiss him.
“Have the others left?” he asked, lifting Isabel out of my arms so he could hold her.
“Yeah, and it’s Sawyer’s turn tomorrow. So we have to drop her off to the hospital,” I said.
Cliff and I cooked together in the kitchen, while Isabel watched us, sitting in her high chair near the counter. We tried to involve her in everything so she would grow up to be accustomed to household chores and responsibilities. That was the plan anyway. Even though she was going to grow up surrounded by luxury, we didn’t want her to turn out to be a pampered brat. Cliff was very clear about that. Both of her parents had worked hard to make their way in the world, and so would she.
After we ate and put Isabel down in her bed upstairs, it was finally time for us to put our feet up in the backyard and have a drink together.
I made a vegan pistachio ice cream today, testing the recipe out for the restaurant. I brought it out in two bowls for Cliff to try and he smacked his lips when he sampled it.
“Wow. This is the bomb!” he said.
“It’s not finished though. I’ll be serving it with rose petals and a dressing of rose syrup. It’s inspired by Turkish recipes. Do you think it’s too sweet?” I asked him.
Cliff put his bowl down, and grabbing the arm of my chair, he pulled me to himself. I squealed as he pulled me over to his lap. I threw my legs on his side, holding the bowl in my hand still.
“You’re the one who’s too sweet,” he said and lifted up my blouse so he could kiss my belly.
I sucked on the cold spoon and giggled.
“I missed you all day. I couldn’t wait for you to get home,” I told him and wrapped my arms around his neck.
We kissed, and then I offered him a bit of the ice cream, he licked the spoon and kissed me again. He tasted of pistachios. We kept kissing. I couldn’t get enough of him. I would never get enough of Cliff!
Daddy CEO: A BILLIONAIRE SECOND CHANCE BABY ROMANCE Page 9