I knew he was thinking about how much he missed her. Even after everything, he was still having a hard time accepting that his mother was gone. Damian had even mentioned that some nights, when he went to check on him, he found Jake crying in bed.
I put my arms around the boy and hugged him. We’d gotten very close the last three months and it hurt me to see him in pain.
“I’m sorry, Jake,” I said, kissing him on the top of his head. “I know it’s tough.”
He nodded.
“Hey, if you go and brush your teeth right now, I’ll read you a bedtime story as soon as you’re finished. Would you like that?”
“Yes,” he replied, sniffling. “Could you read, ‘The Night Before Christmas’?”
“That’s the one I was hoping to read to you. Do you have the book?”
He let go of me and ran over to his bookcase. He pulled it out and brought it back over. “Read this one.”
“As soon as you use the bathroom,” I reminded him.
He turned around and rushed into his bathroom.
When he was finished, Jake quickly took the ladder up to his loft bed and then turned around to look down at me. “Is it okay if you read it up here to me?”
“Of course,” I replied and then climbed up after him. Fortunately, there was enough room for me to sit next to him on the bed and it was certainly sturdy enough.
“Don’t worry,” he said, noticing my hesitation when I reached the top. “My mother used to sit up here with me and she was bigger than you.”
I smiled. “I can imagine why. It’s a really neat view from up here.” I said, looking down and around his room.
“Yeah. I’m getting tired of the bed, though. It’s too babyish.”
I stared at him in surprise. “Really? This is so cool, though.”
“It is but I’m going to be nine soon,” he replied. “I’m too old for this.”
I knew the ordeal had made him grow up very fast and it pained me to hear him say that.
“Did you tell your dad that you’d like something different?”
He nodded. “He said we’re moving soon and that when we do, I can pick out something else.”
I looked at him in surprise. I hadn’t been aware that they were moving.
“Where are you moving to?” I asked.
“I forgot,” he replied, yawning. “Can you read the book now? I’m tired. Please?”
“Of course,” I said, opening it up. I read him the story, half of my mind on the fact that they were moving and the fact that Damian had failed to mention anything about it. When I was finished, I looked over and noticed that he was sleeping. I gave him a light kiss on his forehead and then climbed out of the loft.
“I love you,” he whispered.
I looked over at him, thinking that he was talking in his sleep. His eyes were open, however, and he was staring at me. It warmed my heart and brought a tear to my eye.
“I love you too, Jake,” I replied, smiling at him.
Smiling back, he closed his eyes.
I climbed down the ladder, made sure his night-light was turned on, and then quietly backed out of Jake’s room.
42
Mia
“How is he?”
I gasped and turned around to find Damian standing there.
“Sorry,” he said with an amused grin. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“It’s fine. I just wasn’t expecting you,” I replied. “Anyway, he’s doing good. I just read him a bedtime story and he should be asleep very soon.”
“Good. He loves you, you know,” said Damian, grabbing my hand.
We started walking back downstairs. “I love him, too,” I said. “He’s an incredible little boy.”
“Yes, he is. I thank the stars that he survived. That you both did. My family means everything to me,” he said.
My eyebrow went up. Did he just refer to me as family?
“I know,” I said.
“If only…” Damian’s voice trailed off and he got that faraway look in his eyes. “I still can’t believe what happened with Marshall. He’d never been just my cousin… I’d always thought of him as my best friend. We grew up together and yeah, I always knew that my grandfather was rich but he didn’t spoil me. He made me work hard for everything that I acquired. I even paid for my own car insurance as a teenager.”
“So did I,” I replied. I’d had my first job at fifteen, working as a dishwasher at pizza joint. It had gotten me my first car, an old Ford Taurus that had seen better days. But, it had worked and I’d been very proud of it at the time. “What about your first vehicle?” I asked.
“It was an old Mustang. I bought it myself, if you’re wondering.”
My eyebrows went up. I hadn’t expected that. I’d thought for sure that his grandfather given him his first car.
“He did actually offer to buy me my first vehicle, though. But, he wouldn’t do it until I was eighteen and graduated from high school. I couldn’t wait that long.”
I smiled. “Understandable.”
Especially knowing how much Damian enjoyed his cars.
“You know, as rich as he was, my grandfather was very tight with his money. Like everyone else, I had chores and was required to do them. Not asked. Required.”
“What kind of chores?”
“When I was really young, I had to help the housekeeper dust and sweep this monstrosity.”
The mansion had to be over twenty-thousand square feet. It would have been a lengthy task for anyone, especially a young boy.
Damian went on. “As I grew older, I was in charge of making sure that his cars were washed and polished every Friday. He had quite a few of them.” He smiled. “I’m sure that’s probably where I became obsessed with classic vehicles. My grandfather loved them, too.”
“I bet.”
I’d seen Damian’s collection of cars and knew that they were worth millions of dollars.
“Anyway, I also had to walk his dogs and keep their kennels clean.” Damian then went on to name several other jobs he’d been given and I was impressed.
“What was your allowance like?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. I think when I was really young, he just treated me to ice cream on the weekends. When I grew older, I think I’d get anywhere from fifteen to twenty dollars a week. It wasn’t anything outlandish.”
“I guess not.”
“My grandfather didn’t come from money. He earned it and wanted me to, as well. From what I heard, however, my father had been spoiled. That might be why he wanted to try something different with me,” said Damian.
I knew he’d been wondering about Marshall’s claim of the two of them being brothers. The fact that his father and aunt might have been having an affair really bothered him.
“Was your father…” My words trailed off.
“An arrogant, rich asshole?” he said, smirking.
“Yes. Sorry. I didn’t know how to put it.”
He laughed. “It’s okay. To be honest, I don’t remember. I just remember that he laughed a lot and took me to fun places, like the zoo and Disney World. We went there a few times.”
“That’s great,” I replied.
“And it seemed as if my parents got along very well. They never fought. At least from what I can recall.”
“They might have hidden it from you.”
“They might have hidden things from each other,” he said, sighing.
“Very true.”
We walked down the staircase and headed back to the drawing room.
“I took the liberty of chilling you a bottle of your favorite wine,” he said. “Or maybe I should say it’s mine since you attacked me after drinking it.”
Knowing that he was referring to the first night we’d made love, I had to smile. “That was because of your music. Not the alcohol.”
“Then forget the wine. Let’s go over by the piano,” he joked, setting the bottle down.
“Are you hoping to get lucky again t
his evening?”
“It’s my hope every evening.”
I laughed.
He opened up the wine, poured me a glass, and then went over to the piano.
“Sit down next to me,” he said softly.
I did what he asked.
He looked into my eyes. “I wrote something for you.”
“You did?” I asked, smiling in pleasure.
He nodded and then began to play.
43
Mia
The song started off soft and almost… whispery. It was delicate. Ghostly. Ethereal. I closed my eyes and listened as its melody went from breathy to something more velvety and lush. I pictured the two of us together, making love, and almost didn’t let him finish the song. As the music tapered off, however, I wanted him to play it again. It was so beautiful. The depth of the song touched both my heart and my soul and it brought tears to my eyes knowing that he’d written it for me.
Damian looked at me after he was finished. Before he could ask me about the song, I put my hands on both of his cheeks and kissed him on the lips.
“Does that mean you liked it?” he whispered, staring into my eyes.
“I loved it. It was so beautiful, Damian. Can you play it again for me?”
“Maybe,” he said with a twinkle in his eyes.
“Please? I’ll do anything,” I replied, giving him a wicked grin. “You know what your music does to me.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box. “You’ll do anything?”
My heart pounded in my chest as he opened it. Inside was a beautiful, sparkling diamond ring.
He held it out to me. “Would you even… wear this?”
My mouth formed a small circle. “What is this?”
“I know that I haven’t said it yet, but… I love you, Mia.”
I was speechless. I just stared at him. Was he asking me to marry him? “I love you, too, Damian.”
“You do? I thought so, but I wasn’t sure,” he said with a smile in his voice.
“I wanted to tell you that I loved you, but I thought it would be too soon and… I didn’t want to scare you away,” I replied.
“Scare me away? I thought the same thing. To tell you the truth, I think I fell in love with you back at the club, the night we met. I can still remember seeing the pain in your eyes after you met Tracy and it hit me right in the chest. All I wanted was to take all of the hurt away. To protect you.”
“Are you sure it wasn’t pity you felt?”
“I’ve never felt any pity for you,” he said, his eyes growing stormy. “I love you, Mia. Besides Jake, you’re everything to me. When I thought that you’d died, I was ready to kill John with my own bare hands.”
“Thankfully, you didn’t have to,” I whispered, looking at the ring again. It was so beautiful. It took my breath away.
“No, but if he was still alive and threatening you, I damn sure would. I’d have traveled the world to find the man and make him pay for everything he did to you.”
I could tell by the look on his face that he was deadly serious.
Damian took the ring out of the box. “Mia, you and I are meant to be together. I couldn’t imagine waking up in the morning without you next to me. Tomorrow or fifty years from now. I’ve never felt like this before. Not with anyone.”
Tears sprang to my eyes. I licked my lips.
“I love you. Jake loves you. Lord knows that we both need you. Would you do me the honor of being my wife?”
“Yes,” I whispered in a husky voice.
He let out a shaky sigh of relief and slid the ring on my finger.
I laughed at his reaction. “As if I’d say no.”
His lip curled up. “I wasn’t sure.”
“If you couldn’t tell that I loved you, then we’d better get you fitted for glasses,” I told him, wiping the tears from my eyes.
He wrapped his hands around my waist and began kissing me. Soon our clothes were on the ground and we were making love next to the fire. When we were finished, we lay next to each other, holding hands and talking again.
“By the way, Jake mentioned that you two were moving,” I said.
“Yes. I suppose I should have mentioned it,” he said, sitting up.
“Probably. Maybe even before you asked me to marry you,” I said, amused.
“I’m selling this place.”
My eyes widened. “What?”
He looked around the drawing room. “This isn’t me. It’s far too big and elegant.”
“You don’t like elegant?” I replied. “What about that boat of yours?”
“That’s different. It’s not a real home. It’s great to travel on and I like impressing my friends,” he admitted and then smiled. “Rich or not, guys like to do that.”
“I figured,” I said dryly.
“But, when it comes to a place where I’d like to finish raising Jake and possibly have more kids, I want something much smaller.”
“More kids?” I asked, delighted.
He grinned. “Yes. I’d like to have more children. I’d really like to have a girl. Maybe two. Hell, maybe five. I know Jake needs some siblings and I think it would be good for him.”
“I would love to have kids.” I looked around the drawing room. It was impressive and reminded me of something you’d find in a castle. But, it was a little too much. “I totally agree that this house is a little overwhelming.”
“Good. Then it’s settled. We’ll start looking for a new place and announce our engagement after Christmas is over.”
“Wait a second. You’ve put in a lot of requests, which is fine, but I have one of my own.” I gave him a serious look. “One that is firm and non-negotiable.”
His smile fell. “What is it?”
“There will be absolutely, positively no bachelor parties.”
“Is that it? I thought you were going to ask me to fire my hot new secretary.”
I laughed. His “hot new secretary” was twice his age and could double as his bodyguard.
“No, but I might send her after you if you have one of those wild, crazy parties.”
He took my hand and kissed it. “Believe me, I’ve had my share of bachelor parties and have no qualms about skipping my own.”
“I know. How about we have a couple’s party?”
He nodded and smiled. “Great idea.”
“Just make sure that you invite Garrick,” I replied.
“He’ll be there no matter what. He’s the head of my security team.”
“I know.” From what I’d learned, he owned the security company and was very well off.
“Why do you want him there?”
“Ridley is hot for him.”
He frowned.
“What is it?” I asked.
“You should probably tell her to stay away from him. He’s made it pretty clear that there is no room in his life for romance.”
I laughed. “You talked to him about romance?”
“We talked a little about his private life when I was interviewing him for the job.”
“Does he even like women?” I asked.
Damian laughed. “For sex, yes. I’m not sure if he likes women for anything else.”
My eyes widened. “Nice.”
“Exactly. So, tell Ridley that she’d be better off looking for love somewhere else.”
“Maybe he just hasn’t met the right woman?”
“And you think that Ridley might be?”
“I don’t know. I do think that she needs something to take her mind off of what happened on the ship, though. Maybe it’s a challenge like Garrick.”
“I’m sure there are a lot of guys who could take her mind off of that. She could even join a dating service.”
“God no. She doesn’t need to. Guys are always asking her out. But, that’s not what she wants. She likes challenges. Thrives on them.”
“And you think he’s the answer?”
“I don’t know what the answer is for her. All
I know is that she’s been having nightmares about John and everything that happened on the ship.”
“Maybe she should see a shrink for that.”
“She did. The man told her to keep busy and that time would heal all of her wounds.”
“She should get a new shrink,” said Damian dryly.
“She did drop him. Anyway, I think, in a way, that Ridley really does need some kind of distraction. Even if it’s just sex.”
His eyes lit up and he laughed. “Funny. She said the same thing to me about you.”
My eyebrow went up. “She did, huh?”
“Yes.”
He told me about the conversation they’d had at the restaurant. How she’d told Damian that I needed to get laid.
“As mortified I am of her right now, she was right about us in the long run. I think I should try and return the favor.”
He frowned. “We don’t really know this guy, Mia. He might really be a complete asshole toward women.”
I thought about the way Garrick had talked to Jake with such warmth and honesty. I could that he was a caring individual. Maybe he just hadn’t found the right woman to bring out that side of him.
“And he might not.”
“Enough about them. We only have a few more hours before Jake is up and looking around for presents,” he replied. “And I have another package with your name on it.”
“Oh yeah?” I asked, smiling.
“Spread your legs so that I can deliver it.”
I groaned at the corniness. “Really?”
“Okay, how about if you take a ride on my South Pole?”
I snorted. “Santa, you are being a very naughty boy. I think it’s time to teach you a lesson.”
“Ho, ho, ho,” he said with a silly grin. He touched my breasts. “Now these are the kind of treats that Santa likes on a cold, winter’s night.”
The End
Coming 2017
The story of Ridley and Garrick
To read books about other characters in Billionaire at Sea, check out the Tangled Series, featuring Reed, Ransom, and Thane. (Keep scrolling for store links).
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