“No,” Vidar said. “Let me talk first. You have nothing to be sorry for. I overreacted. And then I yelled at you and sent you away.”
I said, “I came back and then you were the one that was gone.”
He nodded. “I know. I handled the situation all wrong. I couldn’t believe that you were working with DeeDee. For an instant, I thought you believed all those things she’s said about me. That I was an incompetent parent. That somehow you married me just for the money. That you would let her take Chloe.”
It was worse than I thought. “You really thought all that?”
He said, “I know. It doesn’t make sense, and once I could calm down and think logically, I knew I had misjudged you. Then I was afraid you wouldn’t want me back after I’d been such an idiot. I wrote half a dozen letters, begging you to forgive me, but I didn’t know where to send them.”
“Really?”
“I’m better on paper than I am in real life.”
“I disagree.” I held my arms open and he walked into them.
“Oh Nicole,” he said as he held me close. “I love you, and I never want to lose you.”
He loved me? Really? “I never want to lose you, either,” I said tearfully.
We kissed, and I knew I was finally where I belonged. I ran my fingers through his thick hair, pushing it back from his face. I looked deep into his eyes and said, “But I never want to go through that again. If we’re angry, we need to talk, not run away.”
“Agreed,” Vidar said kissed me again.
“We need to be a couple that never lets the sun go down on their wrath.”
Another kiss. “You’re right.”
After a few more kisses, we were sitting on the bed and I pushed my hand against his chest. He pulled back to look down at me. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” I said quickly. “As much I want to keep kissing you, I need to know what happened with DeeDee. Did she withdraw her petition?”
“Yes. I sent a detective to the gym and he found several eye-witnesses who saw her take Chloe and taser you. We have their sworn statements. We could press criminal charges and she knows it.”
“So Chloe’s safe.”
“Yes.”
I let my breath out slowly. “Excellent.”
“You’re what’s excellent,” he said, punctuating each word with a kiss. “and I’m going to spend the rest of my life showing you how much I appreciate you.”
I liked this amorous Vidar very much. “Do you still have the letters you wrote?”
“Why?” Another kiss.
“I want to read them.”
“I destroyed them all.”
“Oh no.”
“Don’t worry,” he said as he continued to kiss me. “I will write you a hundred more.”
EPILOGUE
VIDAR
I have never been a fan of Christmas. The holiday was too noisy and sometimes all the lights bothered me. But for our first Christmas together, Nicole kept the celebrations simple. She invited Gran to stay with us in Dallas for a week. Gran looked much nicer – and younger – with her new dentures. She’d started going to senior dance classes at one of the local recreation centers in Houston. While she was with us, Gran also made her famed chicken soup, although I still liked Nicole’s better.
We also invited Rick and Amanda over for dinner one night in December.
But other than that, we sent our regrets for all other invitations with boxes of fruitcake or brownies, depending on the giver.
We wanted to enjoy the holiday as quietly as possible as a new little family.
Chloe was a year old now with her birthday in the beginning of December. She could walk if she held our hands or if she held onto a wall or a piece of furniture, but she had yet to take those important first solo steps.
The moment she realized she did not have support from an outside source, she’d sit back down on the floor and crawl instead.
“Shouldn’t she be walking by now?” I asked.
Nicole assured me that Chloe was developing appropriately, perfectly on time. “It’s not a race,” she reminded.
But like every Dad, I wanted to capture the moment on my camera.
Finally, two days before Christmas, she did it. She stepped away from the couch and approached me, hands outstretched. “Dada!” she said, as clear as anything.
I didn’t have my phone or camera nearby, but I knew I would remember the moment forever.
On Christmas Eve, when we read the story of Christ’s birth from the Bible, I was touched by the words of the angel. I wanted Peace on Earth and I wanted to show more Good will to others.
I agreed to let DeeDee see Chloe for a few hours on Christmas, with supervision.
I didn’t hate DeeDee anymore. I felt sorry for her. And in a strange way, I felt somewhat grateful to her. If she hadn’t been so dead set on keeping Chloe, I wouldn’t have asked Nicole to marry me. Or at least not so quickly.
I liked to think that Nicole and I would have fallen in love eventually through our sticky note correspondence. It just would have taken longer.
We still left each other notes, but now I wrote her love letters, too, on almost every occasion. Thanksgiving, Christmas, Halloween, First Day of Fall, First Day of Winter, Columbus Day.
I loved watching the way Nicole’s eyes lit up as she read what I wrote. I loved her, and I considered myself the luckiest man in the world.
The End
AUTHOR’S NOTE
I hope you have enjoyed my sweet Billionaire Romance with Vidar. And yes, rest assured that the other Nilsson cousins will each get their romance as well in my Lone Star Billionaires Series.
I am the mother of three adult children on the Autism Spectrum, so Vidar is a character near and dear to my heart. The Autism Spectrum is wide and there is no one specific set of symptoms or issues, regardless of the diagnosis label. I hope that I have treated Vidar’s life with respect and that no one is offended by my fictional portrayal.
If you’re interested in reading more about Rick and Amanda, their love story is Book 3 in my Love and Chocolate series (another clean billionaire series): Something Sweet.
Thanks for reading!
Beverly
FYI: Although more Lone Star Billionaire Romances are coming soon, you might want to check out some of my other Billionaire stories while you wait:
OTHER BOOKS BY BEVERLY FARR
Love and Chocolate Series (Clean Billionaire Romances)
Corporate Husband
Marry the Doctor
Something Sweet
Wake-up Call (coming soon)
Summer Wedding Series
Forgotten Honeymoon
The M-word
Highland Park Series
Baby Comes First
Her Ex Next Door (he’s a Billionaire, too)
Rings and Things
Standalones
The Baby Tree
Dressed by Darcy: A Modern Mr. Darcy Romance
And much more to come!
Love Letters from a Billionaire (Lone Star Billionaires, #1) Page 9