A Gift of Matrimony (Lover's Gift Book 2)

by Adom Sample

  When I thought back, I realized I was never truly in love with Nathan. I was just afraid of being alone. I turned a friendship into something it never should have been. That was the reason I chose to hyphenate my last name. It wasn’t the same with Dante. I loved this man, and it would be an honor for me to take his name as my own. Being away from him was unbearable.

  I had finally settled on the dress for the wedding, designed by Yumi Katsura. It was an ivory Carwyn, macramé lace with diamonds. I told them I wanted something similar to the White Gold Diamond dress they’d designed a while back.

  I thought this one was a lot more elegant, not to mention more expensive. Dante had all the expenses for the wedding taken care of. He’d set up a wedding fund months before he went missing. I suspected he always knew someday we would be together, which was one of the reasons I loved him so dearly. He always planned ahead.

  This fund of his was sitting in a high-interest account in Switzerland, and over the last year, it had grown close to 103 million dollars. He refused to tell me how much his initial deposit on the account was because he wanted our wedding to be magical, without me worrying about how much money he spent.

  I dared not spend that much on our wedding, but it was nice to have a little, or should I say a lot, of wiggle room to splurge. So far, I had only spent fifty thousand. I didn’t plan on going over one million because I wanted to donate the rest of the money to his charity fund. Dante wanted a modest wedding, but Maya and Julianna insisted I indulge a little.

  They always bugged me about having all this money yet never spending it on anything for myself. Dante was the same way. I had never met a billionaire who enjoyed living modestly. I guessed it had to do with the way he was raised. Neither of us grew up very wealthy, which was why we enjoyed the simple things in life. This wedding would be the first and only thing we had really gone all out on, and I would like everything to be perfect. Out of all the places he wanted to get married on the list he gave me for suggestions, I decided on Florida. It might not be as extravagant as France, Morocco, Belize, or Macau, but it was the first place we met as children.

  Most of my family still lived there, and it was where I grew up. It wasn’t about the lavishness of the place but the memories that made it romantic. His family was split between New York and Florida, with most in New York. A few of them still lived in Spain, but for the majority of them it would only be a short plane ride to Florida from New York. I still hadn’t decided if I wanted Dante to wear a black tux or have the color of his tux match my dress. I probably should ask him for his input since he was the one who would be wearing it.

  It was three o’clock in the morning, and here I sat, planning everything when I should be getting some sleep. Tomorrow I was flying back to LA. I had scheduled a meeting with John, the Director of Human Resources. Liam was still working for me and I intended to lay into him for what he did. If I had my way, he would never be able to find another job for the rest of his life.

  That was what I got for giving people like him second chances. If it weren’t for him, Dante would have never felt the need to go searching for Nathan. While I should have told Dante about my ex contacting me, I still blamed that little creep for all of this. And yes, he would be getting what was coming to him tomorrow.

  Chapter 20

  Isabella

  “Did you have to make him cry like that?” asked John. In the back of my mind, I thought I might have been a little hard on Liam, but then I thought about Dante walking thirteen miles because of what he did, and the remorse faded.

  “He deserved it, John, trust me.” Now that my business with Liam was done, I could focus on more pressing issues. John and everyone else went back to their offices while I rushed to the restroom. Something wasn’t right with me. My stomach was upset. This was the third time this morning. Maybe I’d eaten something that didn’t quite sit well with me. I turned around, and there was Maya in the stall doorway, looking at me with excitement.

  “Uh . . . Privacy, please.”

  “Does Dante know?” she said elatedly.

  “Does Dante know what?” I wiped my mouth and moved her out of the way to wash my hands. As I was scrubbing, I looked at myself in the mirror and realized something. I turned around and saw Maya with her arms crossed and an ear-to-ear smile on her face.

  “I can’t be!”

  “Oh yes, you can. You told me you stopped taking your birth control when Dante went missing. Did you ever start it again when you found him?”

  “But— I— The wedding is in three weeks!”

  “Well, I’m pretty sure you won’t be showing three weeks from now, so you don’t have to worry.”

  “My mother is going to kill me if she finds out I’m pregnant out of wedlock.”

  “You’ll be married before the child is born, so just keep it a secret. The only person that needs to know is Dante.”

  I was shocked. I couldn’t believe I was pregnant. First, I had to be sure.

  “What am I going to do, Maya? I should probably go see my doctor to confirm this.” What would Dante say when I told him? I was meeting him at the airstrip in three hours. He had to travel to Holland on business and was due back this afternoon. That should give me enough time to confirm whether I was pregnant or not.

  “Come on. I’ll take you to the clinic. It’s on the way to the airstrip anyway,” Maya said, full of eagerness. She seemed more excited than I was. I was still in shock. She rushed me to the valet, who brought us her car and shoved me into the front seat.

  “Careful, woman. Why are you so excited?”

  “Because I’m going to be a godmother. You’re going to make me the godmother, right?” she asked. “I hope it’s a girl. I have so many gifts I can give you if it’s a girl.”

  “We don’t even know yet. It’s probably just some minor food poisoning. I don’t feel like I’m pregnant.”

  “Isabella, you’ve never been pregnant before. How would you know what it feels like? When was your last period?”

  It hit me. With that question, I could almost say with certainty that I was pregnant. I was two weeks late, and I hadn’t even realized it until she said something. I had been so busy with our recent mergers and the wedding that I— I was such a nincompoop. How could I be so absentminded? My phone vibrated, I’d received a text.

  “Who is it?”

  “It’s Dante.”

  “What’s it say?”

  “His flight is coming early. He’ll be at the airstrip in forty-five minutes,” I said as my heart sank. “Maya, we don’t have time to go to the clinic. Dante’s going to be here in less than an hour. Head to that CVS. I’ll just do it there.” I was frantic. She pulled up in the parking lot, and we both ran out of the car into the store.

  “They’re over here!” she shouted, tossing me a pregnancy test. I ran to the restroom, closed the bathroom door, locked it, dropped my pants, and hoped for the best. Ten minutes went by, and I heard Maya banging on the door as I sat there staring at the test. I couldn’t believe it.

  “Are you good in there?”

  I got up, opened the door, and showed her the test. Within minutes, the little oval thing had developed a large plus sign in the round window, signifying I was indeed pregnant.

  “I’m so happy for you!” she shouted, hugging me.

  “How am I going to tell Dante?”

  “If he loves you the way he has shown you, I’m sure he’ll be just as happy as I am.”

  We ran back into the car and headed for the airstrip. He had texted me three times telling me how he couldn’t wait to see me. I was nervous as hell, debating whether I should let him know right away or wait a couple of days.

  Perhaps I should wait until after the wedding to tell him. No, I couldn’t do that. We’d made a promise never to lie or keep secrets from each other. I had no choice but to tell him the minute we were alone. Besides, I would feel bad keeping a secret of this magnitude from him.

  We pulled up to the airstrip, and I saw Dante w
aiting for me on the tarmac, bags in hand. He rushed toward me and gave me hugs and kisses, lifting me off the ground and spinning me in the air. I wrapped my legs around his waist and hugged him tightly.

  “Missed you, babe,” he said. I was hesitant to return his affection, and he could tell something was wrong. He set me down and grabbed his bags.

  “Did you miss me?” he asked, smiling.

  “Of course, babe.”

  We got into Maya’s car and sat in the back seat. No doubt she wanted to listen in on our conversation, given how nosy she could be. We drove off, and I stared out the window, clenching his hand, palms wet.

  I could tell he was staring at me, but I couldn’t bring myself to make eye contact. I was just too nervous to say anything. I couldn’t have found out I was pregnant at a worse time. He took a bottle of wine from his carry-on and poured himself a glass, then one for me as well.

  “Here,” he said.

  “No, thank you. I’m not in the mood for wine right now.”

  “Are you still upset with me for leaving? It was only for three days.”

  “Oh no. I’m not upset with you at all.”

  “Then what’s wrong?” He looked concerned.

  “Yeah, Isabella, what’s wrong?” Maya said, grinning. I gave her the evil eye.

  “Would you focus on the road, please?” I snarled.

  “Okay, that’s it. Stop the car,” Dante said. He put down his glass. I could kill Maya right now. She pulled over, turned off the engine, and looked back at us.

  “Maya, could you please give us a moment?” he asked. Disappointed, she opened the door, stepped out of the car, and sat in the grassy field by the road. I had my head down, hoping he didn’t pressure me into telling him what was wrong. If he had just arrived when he was supposed to, I would have had enough time to wrap my mind around the situation and not appear so nervous.

  “What is Maya talking about? What’s wrong? You’re still upset that I left to find Nathan, aren’t you?”

  “It’s not you, Dante. It’s me.” He put his hand on his chest and slumped over as if he were having a panic attack. “Are you all right?” I untucked his shirt and loosened his belt.

  “You just said, it’s not you, it’s me, and those are classic breakup words. Are you leaving me? Are you calling off the wedding?”

  “No, for goodness’ sake! That is not what I meant at all. I’m not calling off anything, and I’m not leaving you. That’s not what I meant by that.”

  “You know something, Isabella? You have a habit of scaring me half to death,” he said with a chuckle.

  “I didn’t want to tell you until later tonight.”

  “Tell me what?” He was eager to know what I was hiding. I took a long, hard breath and exhaled into my lap with my head down. I looked up at him and touched his face before kissing his soft lips.

  “I’m pregnant. I found out just before I came to pick you up.” His eyes widened, and a blush of red overcame his face. We gazed into each other’s eyes. He opened the car door and stuck one foot outside. A sweet smile developed on his face.

  “Dante—” I said as he grabbed my head and kissed me on the forehead.

  He jumped out of the car. “I’m going to be a father,” he announced to the world. He pulled me out into the grassy field. “I love you so much!” he exclaimed. Maya was smiling at the both of us.

  “You’re not disappointed?”

  “Disappointed? How could I be disappointed in the miracle growing in your belly?” He placed his hand on my stomach and looked me deep in the eyes. “This, right here, this is a testament to our love. This is you and I, growing as one. This is confirmation that we will never part. This is our child, and it binds us together forever. I love you more than anything. I love you more than myself. And I will love this child just the same way I love you.” He got down on his knees and kissed my navel.

  I looked over at Maya, and her eyes were full of tears just as mine were. He stood up and wiped away my tears with his thumbs, kissing me gently.

  “You are the love of my life.” I wrapped my arms around him. We all got back in the car, and Maya took us home. As she pulled up into our drive, we bid Maya farewell before departing her car. Dante, as usual, swept me into his arms and carried me inside. I went into the kitchen to make us some tea. He was still excited by the prospect of becoming a father and played some music for us to mellow out to. Nineties R&B and old-school Neo-soul were his favorites. He had a mix playlist on his iTunes library consisting of Marvin Gaye, Maxwell, Kenny G, Jon B, Babyface, Sade, Boys II Men, and a couple of others. I handed him his tea, propped his feet on my lap, and then massaged his toes.

  “I can’t be any happier than I am right now,” he said. He set down his tea and crawled on top of me. I wrapped my arms around him and kissed his nose. “Isabella Alonso,” he teased. The both of us erupted with laughter.

  Chapter 21

  Isabella

  Nathan’s trial was the speediest trial I had ever seen. It only took the jury a few days to convict. Trials such as this usually took months, if not years, to prosecute. He was sentenced to twenty years in prison. After the first charge, prosecutors began digging and found portions of his conquest spreadsheet on the hard drive of the computer I destroyed along with other damning information related to the Zinghai Ma scandal. It took me a while to convince them I didn’t destroy it to hide evidence and I was just pissed off at the time.

  I had no idea he was soliciting girls as young as thirteen to pose nude for him. How blind could I have been? They charged him with theft, various financial crimes, and possession of child pornography. My only hope now was that he died in prison—that would be a fate suited for him.

  Dante informed me of what he had to go through to find him. I couldn’t believe what happened. He’d waited this long to tell me Nathan pulled a knife on him in Bangkok. I gave him the silent treatment for hours for withholding something as important as that from me. He’d promised me he wouldn’t do anything that might put his life in danger, and look what happened.

  I supposed he didn’t suspect Nathan would do something like that, but still. He shouldn’t have gone there in the first place. I didn’t care about Nathan getting his just desserts. All I cared about was him and his safety. I couldn’t stay mad at him for long since he’d baked me a strawberry cake with the words I’m Sorry written across the top.

  I ate a single slice before taking the rest of it, smearing it into his face, and running off. He chased me all around the house before he finally caught me, carried me to our bathhouse, and threw me into the water.

  I loved it when we’d play fight. It was just a real shame that I grabbed ahold of his shirt when he threw me, causing him to fall into the water right along with me. At least the water rinsed away the icing all over his face. I jumped onto his back and started kissing his neck.

  “Don’t ever do that to me again, Dante. I’m serious!”

  I didn’t know how many times I had to tell him to stop putting his life in danger. If he died, my heart would die with him.

  “Babe, my life was never in any real danger. I’m a fourth-dan black belt in Aikido, and I’ve been training for ten years in Brazilian Jujitsu and Jeet Kune Do. Remember? I told you that in Korea,” he said, thinking it would make any difference.

  “Still, Dante, just don’t do it again.”

  He twisted me around and lifted me up off his back to face him. “I promise.”

  He held me tight and I melted in his arms. The way he said that was so sensual and romantic, it reminded me of why I loved him so much. I took off his shirt and pants and went for his underwear, but he stopped me.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  “Our wedding is tomorrow. It’s bad luck to make love days before the wedding.”

  “Bad luck? Says who?”

  “It just is.”

  The day he proposed, he told me he wanted to abstain from sex a couple of days leading up to the wedding. However, the way he
was looking at me now sent chills through my soul. We were in the bath, half-naked, and he wanted to stop?

  “Please, Dante,” I said, pressing my lips against his chest. He shivered. Nevertheless, his strong will wouldn’t allow him to yield to his desires out of respect for tradition.

  “We haven’t made love since you got back from Holland, and I need you more than anything,” I said, hoping he would give in.

  “I want you too. But it’s just one more day. We can hold out one more day, can’t we?”

  I pushed him away and splashed water on his face.

  “What was that for?” he asked.

  “Because I love you, and I love seeing water drip from your body,” I laughed.

  “On our wedding night, nothing will keep me from ravaging you. You’d best bring one of those 5-Hour Energy drinks because you’re going to need it.”

  “If you hadn’t moved to New York and I married you instead of Nathan, where do you think our lives would be?” I began to kiss his navel and lick his abs.

  “Well, two of our children would be in high school, and the other eight . . .”

  “The other eight?” I exclaimed, hoping he was joking.

  “Yes, the other eight would be either starting high school or middle school. I probably wouldn’t be as rich as I am today because I would have had you. You were the only thing I ever wanted in this life. Before I saw you again, my life was hollow and emotionally empty. I thought I would never get over you. You were my first and only love, and I am grateful for every minute, every second I spend with you.”

  “How could you have loved me for so long? We were just children.”

  “The way I see it, a person can never forget their first love. All the letters I sent you when I moved to New York only helped to intensify my feelings for you. I wish you were able to read them as I was sending them. Only then you could have understood what I was feeling all those years ago.”