Casual as you please, he lifted a shoulder, but kept those mesmerizing eyes focused directly on her. “I wasn’t sure if I’d be welcome, so I let myself in since I knew your code.”
With slow, easy steps, he crossed the room to stand directly in front of her. Mia tipped her head back to look up into those eyes she’d so easily fallen in love with.
Bronson slid a thumb over her cheek, wiping away one lone tear. “Are those tears over me, sweet Mia?”
The words may have sounded cocky if he hadn’t delivered them with such agony in his own tone, such torment in his eyes.
Mia blinked and cleared her throat. “My tears are over a lot lately.”
His eyes roamed over her face and she just knew she looked like a mess. At this point, though, what did it matter? She was turning into a whale. But, God, she’d waited for him to come to her. Waited and prayed.
“You’re not sleeping well,” he told her, running a fingertip below her eyes. “I’m sorry.”
Mia jerked away, shocked those two words came from his mouth. “What are you sorry for?”
She turned back to the boxes, unable to be so close to him.
“Everything,” he whispered in her ear as his hands came to cup her shoulders, pulling her back against his chest. “I’m sorry for everything. For denying this child is mine, for not being the man you needed me to be, but most of all for not returning the precious gift you so freely offered me.”
Mia’s head dropped to her chest. So much for holding those tears back. “And what gift was that?”
Bronson turned her around, lifting her chin with his fingertip. “Love. Your unconditional gift of love was so rare to me. I didn’t believe it, didn’t believe in you or us.”
Hope speared through her, but fear accompanied it. Could she allow herself to let her guard down again? Bronson wouldn’t be here if he didn’t believe her and, dare she hope, love her.
“I know what I did may not have been the right decision, but Bronson, it wasn’t my place to say.”
“I realize that now.” He kissed the top of her head. “If I’d been in your shoes, I can’t say what I would’ve done, but I know that what you did was right. There aren’t many people who make the right decision when they’re under pressure. I was so angry I wasn’t sure if I could forgive you.”
Bronson stared back at her, then reached to pull her into his strong, warm embrace. Mia fell against his chest and sighed.
“And now?” she dared to ask, tipping her head back to look into his eyes.
“Now I’ve fallen in love with a woman who only eats green M&M’s, who has persevered through life no matter what the odds and who I want to spend the rest of my life with so she can try amazing new recipes in my gourmet kitchen. I want to spend the rest of my life showing you how much you mean to me, how much your loyalty and integrity have made me a better person.” He swiped a lone tear that trickled down her cheek. “I want to wake up every morning and see you next to me. I want to make more children with you so we have a house full of love that can come only from the bond we have. But most of all, I want you to know that I was a fool for ever doubting you. Let me spend the next fifty years showing you how much I love you.”
Mia’s breath caught. “Is that a proposal?”
Bronson stepped back, reached into his pocket and held out a locket. “It’s not to replace the one you have, but I thought you might want a picture of your new family to keep with you.”
“Oh, God.”
Bronson smiled. “How am I doing in making up for being a jerk? Because I’ll grovel more, Mia. I’ll do anything to make you see just how serious I am about loving you and committing myself to our family.”
“Our family,” she repeated.
His image blurred as her eyes collected with more tears than she could hold. They fell down her cheek, one after another, as a laugh escaped her. “You’re amazing. The locket is… God, Bronson, I don’t know what to say.”
Bronson slid the chain around her neck and fastened it, then pulled a small box from his pocket.
“Just how much do you have in those pockets for me?” she joked through tears.
“Not nearly enough to make up for my actions,” he told her, opening the velvet box. “This is the ring my father gave my mother.”
“What? Bronson, I can’t take her ring.”
“When I told her my plans, she insisted. This isn’t her original engagement ring—that one she’ll never part with. He gave her this on the night I was born for this purpose right here. To pass down to the woman I will marry.” He took her hand, sliding the ring on. “Perfect fit.”
Mia eyed the ring on her finger. The glistening diamonds stole her breath, but had someone else worn this before?
“No,” he said, as if reading her thoughts. “I didn’t give this to my ex-fiancée. She wanted a new ring, and when she asked to go ring shopping, I didn’t even mention that I had this. I should’ve known then she wasn’t the one.”
Unable to contain her excitement one more second, Mia threw her arms around Bronson’s neck, but their baby stopped her from getting too close.
“Oh, sorry.” She laughed. “Bella is growing pretty fast these days.”
Bronson raised a brow. “Bella?”
“Um, I call her that. It means—”
“Beautiful,” he whispered before capturing her lips for a brief kiss. “Just like her mother.”
His kiss never failed to send a jolt of love and hope through her.
“Let’s start our life together,” he murmured against her lips.
Epilogue
“Are you ever going to put her down?”
With a radiant smile on her face, Bronson’s wife of two months rocked their sleeping daughter. A sight he never tired of seeing.
“She’s just so sweet,” Mia whispered. “I could look at her all day.”
Bronson knew exactly how she felt. He eased off the door frame and crept into the room, loving the look of his family—Bella, with her mother’s dark wispy hair and almond-shaped chocolate eyes, and Mia with her glow that never ceased to clutch his heart.
He knelt down beside the plush rocker they’d ordered on their trip to Italy. “You’re going to have to let her sleep on her own, you know.”
Mia’s lips brushed the top of Bella’s head. “I know. I just want her to know how much she’s loved.”
“I’m sure she knows.” Bronson wrapped an arm around Mia, leaned his head against hers and watched his child sleep, nestled against Mia’s chest. “I love you, Mia. Love you more every day.”
“I love you, too.”
“I just hung up with Anthony.”
“Bella’s a heavy sleeper. Tell me.” Mia’s rocking slowed. “Did you ask him to work with you on your mother’s film?”
“We’ve talked about it. We’re taking this one day at a time. We know how important this is to Mom, and we can’t let our past differences affect the movie. We both want this to be the best film either of us have ever produced and directed.”
Mia adjusted the white blanket over Bella’s tiny hands. “I think that says a lot about where the two of you are now in your journey.”
“Yeah, it does.” Bronson cleared his throat. “I want him to help me produce it, not just direct.”
Mia’s misty gaze came up to meet his. “Oh, Bronson. That’s wonderful.”
Bronson’s heart clenched at the sight of his wife, his daughter and this talk of producing a movie with his half brother. “I haven’t asked him, but I plan on it.”
“I’m so happy for the two of you.”
Bronson kissed the tip of her nose. “I’m happy for me, too. I never imagined I could have everything I ever wanted, but I do.”
Mia’s smile lit her up from within. “Trust me, I know all about dreams coming true.”
* * * * *
Billionaire’s Baby
Leanne Banks
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
> Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Epilogue
One
“That’s mine!” a voice echoing with feminine distress called out, making Garrett lift his head from the waters of Chankanaab Park in Cozumel. An orange bathing suit top floated to his side in the turquoise waters.
Garrett had taken a day to snorkel, and he’d expected to see plenty of tropical fish, but not this. A parrot fish nudged the orange triangles to check for edibility, then swam away.
“Could you—please!”
Garrett turned his head to catch sight of a young woman with strawberry-blond hair slicked back from her forehead, her mask on top of her head and her eyes wide with embarrassment.
The parrot fish was dead wrong. This woman was definitely edible.
“The current carried it away,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest. “If you could just send it over here…”
“I don’t know. Haven’t you heard? Finders keepers,” he said, unable to resist the urge to tease her just a little.
Kicking her fins to keep herself afloat, she gave a long-suffering sigh. “Aw, c’mon. Orange isn’t your color.”
“Maybe not,” he mused thoughtfully as he held the top out of the water. Looked like the cups would take just a little bit more than a mouthful. “What’s the reward for the top?” he asked, looking at her again.
She lifted her chin. “A gentleman wouldn’t ask for a reward.”
“I never said I was a gentleman. On the flip side, a lady would give a token of her gratitude.”
“What’d you have in mind?”
“Dinner tonight,” he said, meeting her gaze dead-on.
“If you can deliver the top of that bathing suit and keep your eyes on my eyes—with no detours lower,” she emphasized, “I’ll meet you for dinner in town.”
“Deal,” he said, though he knew the effort would cost him. He wouldn’t be a man if he didn’t want to see her naked, and the clear water would have made the viewing oh, so easy.
“Since you’ve already said you’re not much of a gentleman, I imagine I’ll be eating dinner with my friends,” she said in a cool voice, keeping her eyes trained on his as she moved closer. He made damn sure his gaze never wavered, never dipped. He had an odd feeling in his gut about this woman.
His eyes fastened on hers, he pressed the suit top into her outstretched hand.
“Thanks,” she said, surprise shimmering in her gaze.
“Turn around,” he told her, his voice a little rough around the edges.
She did, then fidgeted with the clasp. She made a sound of frustration. “I can’t make it stay.”
“Wait a minute. I’ve got a rubber band on my wrist,” he told her, treading closer. “You want me to try it?”
“Please.”
Garrett made a makeshift fastener and looped the two ends of the suit together. He gave it a slight tug. “Okay?”
She nodded and turned around. “Thanks. Really.” She paused then, as if on impulse, she leaned toward him and brushed her lips over his. “A token of gratitude,” she said.
Garrett licked the combination of salty sweetness from his lips and felt a slow burn. “Alberto’s at seven. What’s your name and where are you staying?”
“Haley. Haley Turner. I’m at Plaza Las Glorias. And you are?”
He opened his mouth to tell her his name, but thought better of it. The temptation to give in to the freedom of anonymity was too much. He’d been burned so many times by women who had wanted him for his family name, money or both. He’d always wanted to know if a woman could want him for himself instead of all the trappings associated with being a Winslow.
He felt a twinge of conscience but pushed it aside. If things worked out, he would tell her the truth later. “Rick Williams,” he said.
Four days later, he was totally entranced. While the sun set in downtown Cozumel, Garrett Winslow watched Haley snap a photo of two Mexican children selling marionettes on the busy street corner. The children smiled for Haley.
From what Garrett had observed, everyone smiled for Haley. With her strawberry-blond hair and easy laugh, she had an unpretentious air that was like pure oxygen for Garrett. He couldn’t get enough of her. At odd moments, he envisioned their relationship extending past their time in Cozumel.
She made him feel content and ravenous for her at the same time. He had wanted her in his bed since the first minute he’d seen her. Maybe by the end of the night, he thought. He could feel the crackle of expectancy sizzling between them. He wanted to tell her his real name, but the delicious appeal of attracting her purely on a personal basis stopped him.
Within months, he would take on the role for which he’d been born and bred. Vice-president-in-training for Winslow Corporation, the company his father, grandfather and great-grandfather had built and nurtured.
He would graduate from law school in weeks. His roommate had persuaded him to go to Mexico for spring break for one last hurrah. And what a hurrah, he thought, mesmerized by the sway of Haley’s hips beneath the skirt that skimmed just above the knee to reveal long shapely legs.
She glanced around at him and, with a grin, shook her head. She waggled her finger. “You’re staring again.”
“You’ve got a lot worth staring at,” he told her, catching her hand in his and dragging her against him for a quick kiss.
Her slightly sunburned cheeks turned even pinker, but she didn’t stiffen or pull back as she had the first couple of days he’d cajoled her into spending time with him. “Are you trying to take my breath away?”
“Turnabout’s fair play,” he said, staring into her green eyes.
Her gaze deepened with a sliver of doubt. “Bet you say that to all the girls at Yale.”
“Don’t bet the farm,” he told her, unable to resist skimming his finger down a strand of her red-gold hair.
“What’s so different about me, other than the fact that I lost my bathing suit top in the ocean and you rescued it for me?” she asked with a catch of laughter in her throat.
“You’re real.”
Haley felt her stomach flip at the look in Rick’s eyes. Ever since the first time they’d met, she’d been intrigued by him. She’d been cautious at first, but now she was very curious and very attracted.
Haley was a good, sensible girl who attended a women’s college on scholarship in Texas, but she didn’t feel at all sensible when she was with Rick. She felt beautiful, interesting and sexy. He made her heart go pitter-patter, and all kinds of other places buzz.
She took a quick breath and tried to cling to sanity. Mexico was no place for a girl to lose her head. “Everyone’s real.”
He shook his head. “Not like you. I want to dance with you tonight.”
“Carlos ’n’ Charlie’s?” she asked. The wild, rowdy bar was the most popular spot with the spring break crowd.
He shook his head. “Too loud.”
“Then where?”
“A store owner told me about a place that plays blues and jazz.”
“Sounds nice,” she said, feeling a reckless anticipation bubbling inside her.
Two hours later, after a dinner of fajitas and two margaritas, she was swaying to sultry music in Rick’s arms. She probably shouldn’t have had that second margarita, but Haley felt as if she’d been sensible her entire life. She wanted to cut loose and enjoy herself for once.
She stumbled slightly, and Rick drew her body flush against his.
“Sorry,” she said, breathless. “A little dizzy.”
“After just two margaritas?” he gently teased.
“It doesn’t take much for me, but I don’t think it’s just the tequila.” She looked into his eyes and felt her stomach dip and sway.
“Then what is it?”
The alcohol loosened her tongue. “You.”
He lowered his lips to her ear. “I don’t
believe you. You’ve been hard-to-get since we first met.”
She shook her head. “There’s a difference between hard-to-get and shy. And careful.” She searched his face. She had felt the oddest, strangest connection with him right from the start.
His dark eyes darkened further with arousal and he lowered his mouth to hers, taking her lips in a French kiss that made the room spin. He slid his leg between hers, and she felt the hard evidence of his desire against her. She instinctively moved against him, and he groaned.
“You’re going to drive me totally crazy, aren’t you?” he muttered against her lips.
Her heart pounding a mile a minute, she shook her head. “Not me. I don’t have that kind of power.”
“You greatly underestimate yourself,” he said in a wry voice and pulled back with a sigh. “I need some air. Let’s go for a walk on the beach.”
They left the sexy sounds of the jazz club and grabbed a cab to his hotel, which boasted the most walkable portion of the beach. That didn’t say much, considering much of Cozumel’s beach was rocky. They arrived at a good time, however, and ended up walking the narrow strip of sand several times.
“It’s very strange,” she said, allowing him to tug her down beside him on the beach. “I feel like I know you and don’t know you at all.”
He shrugged. “There’s not much to know. I’m a simple guy.”
“Liar,” she said, playfully tossing a handful of sand on his leg. She wasn’t an idiot. She could tell he was a complicated man. He’d let her see parts of him, but she was convinced he kept some parts secret. The more she knew about him, the more she wanted to know.
He chuckled. “Okay. What do you want to know?”
“That’s easy. What do you want more than anything?”
His gaze grew serious, and he laced his fingers between hers. “Right now? Right this very minute?”
Two
Haley couldn’t have breathed if her life had depended on it. She bit her lip at the rush of emotions that rolled through her. She forced herself to look away from Rick’s dark gaze to regain her equilibrium. “Before you came to Mexico, what did you want?”
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