Lance took a piece of paper out of his pocket. It was a design for the City Complex. In the middle of it was a spot circled with her name written on it. “I knew there was something missing in my designs and my life, Willa. It was you. I want you to be part of this project. You can choose what the centerpiece of the complex will be or you can design it yourself.”
“You want me to be part of your project?”
“I want to share this and every other part of my life with you. All you have to do is say yes. Yes to me. Yes to my crazy family.” He glanced over his shoulder at the building behind them. “I’d like to apologize ahead of time for what’s in there.”
Willa looked past him. “What’s in there? Isn’t it just the food tasting?”
Lance chuckled and pocketed the paper. “You wish. My immediate, as well as my extended family is all in there waiting for us. At least a hundred of them.”
“One hundred? Here? For us? Why?”
Lance held out the engagement ring again. “Because I told them you’re the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with.”
Willa swayed again, but happily this time. I’m not imagining this. He loves me, and this is real. “Were you that sure I’d say yes? What if I said no?”
“I would have asked you again. And my family would have gathered for that, too. They love you.” Lance’s expression changed and his eyes filled with desire. “My uncle gave me advice on how to keep a marriage happy.”
“Did he?” Willa asked. She’d already decided she’d say yes to Lance, but after the week he’d put her through, she didn’t mind making him sweat for a little bit.
Lance bent and whispered Uncle Allesandro’s advice in Willa’s ear. A flush of desire rocketed through her. That’s real, too. “I like that.”
The Cinderella coach pulled up to the curb beside Lance and Willa. Several children and one adult exited. The driver asked if Lance and Willa would like a ride.
Willa looked up at Lance. “Would it be overly corny if I asked you to ask me again as we rode in that coach?”
Lance smiled. “I’ll ask you a hundred more times if this day ends with you saying yes.”
Willa stepped up into the coach and settled beside Lance. She took his hand in hers and couldn’t help but feel her parents were with her just then. “It won’t take a hundred. Just once more.”
As they rode down a side road, fireworks began to go off in the background, but Willa didn’t turn to look at them. She didn’t care about anything past Lance and the love he was no longer afraid to express.
“Willa Chambers,” Lance asked as he took her hand in his and held the engagement ring out near her left hand, “will you marry me?”
“I will,” Willa said as happy tears streamed down her cheeks. “I damn sure will.”
Lance slid the ring on her finger and pulled her into a deep kiss. The kind of kiss that was worthy of the fairy-tale setting.
Chapter Twenty
Several months later, Lance guided Willa into a room of the house they’d purchased together. His hands were over her eyes. “If it’s not perfect we can change any part of it you’d like.”
“I’m sure I’ll love it.”
Lance removed his hands and watched his fiancée’s expression closely.
She was silent for a long moment, then she turned and flung herself in his arms. “It’s perfect. It’s exactly as I always imagined it would be.”
Lance puffed with pride and hugged her closer. He’d meticulously planned every detail of the library from the rolling ladder to the chairs he imagined Willa would enjoy curling up in while she read. “With this last renovation completed, we can move in.”
“Maybe, not just yet,” Willa said with an odd smile. “You need to plan out one more room.”
“I do?” Lance didn’t think he’d missed a single room during the renovations.
“We’re going to need a baby room,” she said. “We’re having twins.”
Lance’s jaw dropped as her words sunk in then his hands went to her stomach in wonder. “Twins? How long have you known? Why didn’t you say anything?” I’m going to be a father. Lance hadn’t thought he could be happier, but the idea of Willa having his baby . . . his babies . . . filled him with undeniable warmth and put a huge, stupid smile on his face.”
She nodded. “I wanted to wait until—until I was sure. Plus, Emily was still pregnant. I wanted to hold off our announcement until she had Jamus.”
Twins. “We’re having twins.”
Willa laughed. “We are.”
Lance frowned. “We need to get married.”
“We are getting married.”
“I mean now. Right now.”
Still chuckling, Willa said, “What about the big wedding your mother was planning?”
“One phone call and we can have all that ready by next weekend.”
“You’re crazy. Kenzi’s wedding should come before ours.”
Lance smiled unapologetically. “Trust me, no one will mind.” He cupped her slightly rounded stomach. “Twins. We’re in trouble.”
Willa wrapped her arms around Lance and hugged him tightly. “Yes, but we’re in it together.”
He kissed her deeply. “We sure are. We took the long way home, but we got here.”
Willa snuggled against him and sighed happily. “We did. We finally did.”
Epilogue
With the holidays approaching, and the general state of happiness of his family, Lance didn’t feel that the timing was right to share what the private investigator in Aruba had uncovered.
He couldn’t involve Asher. He was enjoying being a new father.
Kenzi was a blissful new bride.
Honestly, the lead could be another dead end. Literally.
Or it might be nothing.
All he’d uncovered was the name of a nurse who had also gone missing during the same time frame. What the investigator had found unnerving was how little attention any of the deaths had received either from the authorities or the papers. Either each incident was unrelated or someone very powerful had paid plenty to cover something up.
Ian would think Lance was paranoid if he tried to tell him.
Grant would need more evidence before believing what Lance’s gut was beginning to suspect.
Aunt Patrice, were you a sick enough woman to kill your sister’s child? Were you that jealous of her that you’d do anything to hurt her?
Did my mother suspect you? Is that why she had a breakdown?
You ruined my father’s career.
How much did you take away from us?
Lance sent a text to the one brother he knew would believe him and who would take the truth with him to the grave if doing so was best for the family. Andrew was deployed on a mission he couldn’t discuss, but when following leads that were twenty-eight years old, a few more days or weeks wouldn’t make a difference.
Andrew, call me when you get a chance. We need to talk.
THE END
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Coming Soon
Other books by Ruth Cardello
The Legacy Collection:
*Also available in audiobook format
Where my billionaires began.
Book 1: Maid for the Billionaire
Book 2: For Love or Legacy
Book 3: Bedding the Billionaire
Book 4: Saving The Sheikh
Book 5: Rise of the Billionaire
Book 6: Breaching the Billionaire: Alethea’s Redemption
Book 7: A Corisi Christmas Novella
Novella: Recipe For Love, An Andrade Christmas Novella
The Andrades
*Also available in audiobook format
A spin off series of the Legacy Collection with cameos from characters you love from that series.
Book 1: Come Away With Me (Perma FREE)
Book 2: Home to Me
Book 3: Maximum Risk
Book 4: Somewh
ere Along the Way
Book 5: Loving Gigi
The Barringtons
A synchronized series. If you love these characters and this world, scroll down for more stories in this world written by other authors. The timelines overlap. The characters flow in and out of each other’s books. Each story is a stand alone and the series can be read independently, but they are more fun if you read all three.
Book 1: Always Mine
Book 2: Stolen Kisses
Book 3: Trade It All
Book 4: Let It Burn (Coming 2016)
Book 5: More Than Love (Coming 2017)
Book 6: Forever Now (Coming 2017)
Book 7: Never Goodbye (Coming 2017)
Author Jeannette Winters
Book 1: One White Lie
Book 2: Table for Two
Book 3: You & Me Make Three (Coming July 2016)
Book 4: Virgin for the Fourth Time
Book 5: His for Five Nights
Book 6: After Six
Author Danielle Stewart
Book 1: Fierce Love
Book 2: Wild Eyes
Book 3: Crazy Nights
My characters also appear in Jeannette’s Betting on You Series in the Billionaire’s Longshot. I loved writing those scenes!
Book 1: The Billionaire’s Secret (FREE!)
Book 2: The Billionaire’s Masquerade
Book 3: The Billionaire’s Longshot
Book 4: The Billionaire’s Jackpot
Book 5: All Bets Off
Meet my Cowboys! Lone Star Burn Series:
Hot, fun romances that roam from the country to the city and back.
Book 1: Taken, Not Spurred
Book 2: Tycoon Takedown
Book 3: Taken Home
Book 4: Taking Charge
Looking for spicier?
The Temptation Series:
Guaranteed to put you on Santa’s naughty list.
Twelve Days of Temptation and Be My Temptation
Two hot novellas about one sizzling couple.
Other Books:
Taken By a Trillionaire
Ruth Cardello, JS Scott, Melody Anne.
Three hot fantasies about alpha princes and the women who tame them.
About the Author
Ruth Cardello was born the youngest of 11 children in a small city in southern Massachusetts. She spent her young adult years moving as far away as she could from her large extended family. She lived in Boston, Paris, Orlando, New York—then came full circle and moved back to New England. She now happily lives one town over from the one she was born in. For her, family trumped the warmer weather and international scene.
She was an educator for 20 years, the last 11 as a kindergarten teacher. When her school district began cutting jobs, Ruth turned a serious eye toward her second love– writing and has never been happier. When she’s not writing, you can find her chasing her children around her small farm, riding her horses, or connecting with her readers online.
Contact Ruth:
Website: RuthCardello.com
Email: [email protected]
FaceBook: Author Ruth Cardello
Twitter: @RuthieCardello
Acknowledgements
I am so grateful to everyone who was part of the process of creating Trade It All.
Thank you to:
Nicole Sanders at Trevino Creative Graphic Design for my new cover. You are amazing!
My very patient beta readers. You know who you are. Thank you for kicking my butt when I need it.
My editors: Karen Lawson, Janet Hitchcock, and Marion Archer.
My Roadies for making me smile each day when I log on my computer. So many of you have become friends. Was there life before the Roadies? I’m sure there was, but it wasn’t as much fun.
Thank you to my husband, Tony, who is a saint—simple as that
Trade It All (The Barrington Billionaires Book 3) Page 21