“What?” Elizabeth gave voice to the same word I would have used, if I hadn’t been stunned into silence.
“Is this a joke?” she pressed.
Gurnsted laughed jovially, his face turning bright red. “No!” he declared. “it’s not a joke at all. Although I suppose it was a bit of a prank on the behalf of your granddad, making you think you’d given up everything.”
“I don’t understand,” I stated flatly. “How is that possible?”
“Imagine my surprise when I went to prepare your forfeiture documents last night, and I found a slip of paper in the envelope that your grandfather had notarized by another attorney—presumably so I wouldn’t know to tell you. The old trickster added a final clause to the will that stated if you did forfeit your inheritance for true love, then you had learned what the pursuit of happiness really meant.”
“So you’re saying…” Elizabeth trailed off.
I understood. I dared not say it out loud though, in case it stopped it being true.
“You may now enjoy your full inheritance without any restrictions,” Gurnsted finished for her. “Congratulations, Oliver. And congratulations, miss… Whatever your name is.”
I leapt out of my chair and pulled Liz into my arms, spinning her around right at the table. She giggled happily and I kissed her again and again, savoring how it felt for our love to finally have no drawbacks.
Nothing would have kept me from loving her—but now nothing could.
“He left you a note,” Gurnsted interrupted. “I presume you’ll want to read it.”
He produced it from the envelope and passed it over to me. It was written in my granddad’s cursive, and the paper was rich and thick. I held it reverently.
Dear Oliver,
If you’ve reached this point, no doubt you’ve partaken in some cursing and ill feelings directed toward myself and my unique last will and testament. I don’t blame you. How cruel it must have seemed when you finally began to but up against the restraints I placed on you. How unfair.
I’ve never made a decision lightly in my life. I weighed all the pros and cons. I was shrewd. But I was cold. Because of this, I lost my son before I ever got to know him, and neglected a wife that deserved more from me than I was ever willing to give.
And then you came into my life, and it was a second chance. Not for me—I was far too old. I was far too broken. But I knew what a beautiful life I could make for you, and I did everything in my power to help you achieve that.
In my own way.
You were a wonderful child, despite many moments of snobbery and petulance. But those are typical of all children, and you’d had a particularly rough childhood. Deep down, though, you were always good. Your only fault was that you looked up to me too much. You still do. And as I watched you try every dream under the sun on for size, only to find none of them fit, I began to realize that your true passion would likely be found in sharing your life with someone else.
As tough as you liked to act, you always had a big heart.
But for that same reason, I feared that your love and admiration for me was what drove you and that once I was gone, you’d try to take up my legacy out of a sense of obligation. I feared that my passion would become yours, and that you would make all of the same mistakes.
So I did my best to guide you away from that life. To give you the means to explore the world without restriction or responsibility so that you could find your true calling. Not just for what you wanted to do with your life, but for who you wanted to spend it with. Truly spend it with.
It may have been misguided, but I decided the best way to make sure you chose wisely in where you placed your most important asset, your heart, was to make you believe that you could only have love if you were willing to give up everything else.
And you did. You risked losing everything. And I couldn’t be more proud of you.
If you are reading this note, Oliver, then it means that I am at peace. That I will spend the afterlife with no regrets. I once had so many. But knowing you found your own, immutable love, means that my life and existence wasn’t completely without purpose after all.
Thank you.
Epilogue
Elizabeth
I heard the slam of the front door and raced toward it, trying not to trip over myself in my enthusiasm.
“Hey, honey,” I greeted, slipping into Oliver’s arms. “How was school?”
He frowned. “I wish you wouldn’t say it like that.”
I grinned. “Sounds like somebody’s been having trouble with the other kids. You’ve got your grumpy face on.”
“This is just my face,” he defended. “I’m a billionaire business owner with a wife waiting at home for me. I’m not a little school boy.”
I kissed his downturned lips until they became upturned lips. Then I kissed them some more.
“You’re awfully friendly today,” Oliver murmured. His eyes grew dark with lust. We’d only been apart a few hours, but even that always seemed like forever.
“Aren’t I allowed to be friendly?”
“No,” he replied flatly. “It’s how I know you’re up to something.” He stroked his fingers down my arm to my hands, intending to thread his fingers through mine. When I didn’t open my fist, Oliver raised one of his eyebrows.
“What’s this?” he asked, tapping the back of my hand.
“It’s a present.”
“Is it a present I’m going to like?”
I giggled. “I sure bloody hope so.”
He eyed me suspiciously. “Is it going to make a mess?”
“Probably,” I said with a thoughtful nod. “And before you ask, it’s not a mineral or a vegetable.”
Oliver chuckled and brought my hand up between us, unfolding my fingers one at a time. When my palm lay flat, my package exposed, Oliver stilled. I don’t even think he was breathing.
“Is this…” He looked up at me with wide eyes. “Are you… did you… pee on this?”
I let out a bark of giddy laughter. “Is that all you can think of?” I accused. “Yes I peed on it. I also rinsed it off. Look at the damn lines you fool.”
But Oliver had already looked at the lines and he knew exactly what they meant. As usual, he was just trying to get a rise out of me.
His lips crashed down against mine in the next moment, stealing the breath from my lungs. The pregnancy test clattered to the floor between us, echoing through the foyer as our bodies entwined together.
“I’m so happy,” Oliver said between kisses. “God I love you, woman.”
“I’m so happy you’re happy!” I cried. “I love you, too.”
“And I’m so happy both of you are happy,” Todd interjected. “But what exactly is it we’re all celebrating again?”
I laughed, separating just far enough from Oliver to meet Todd’s eyes. He was standing by the library doorway, brandishing a bottle of silver polish and a cloth. We told him he didn’t have to do it, but he claimed that polishing all the silver and brass in the house made him feel zen.
“I’m pregnant,” I announced. I hadn’t said it out loud yet, and I liked the sound of it so much that I repeated it. “I’m pregnant!”
Todd’s jaw dropped open. “No.”
“Yes!” I confirmed.
He bared his teeth in a beatific smile. “This is wonderful news! Congratulations.”
Oliver squeezed me back to his chest, muffling the thanks I was going to give Todd in his chest. His voice rumbled through me. “This is the best gift you could have ever given me.”
My heart flopped over in my chest and dissolved into a big pile of goo. If Oliver hadn’t been holding me up, I might have just collapsed at his feet. A baby. Our baby. What more could I ask for in the entire world?
“Just remember that if it’s twins,” Todd interjected, “I’ll have to charge more to look after them.”
I shoved back from Oliver’s chest, fixing Todd with an inquisitive stare. “You do babysitting, Todd?”
He snorted. “Of course I do.”
“Is that what you’ve been all this time?” I asked. “A baby sitter?”
“In a manner of speaking.”
“That explains a lot.” I declared, giving my husband a wink.
Todd eyed me with amusement. “I’ll tell you the one thing I’m not,” he said.
“What’s that?”
Todd pointed at the pregnancy test on the floor. “I’m not your maid. I hope to god you don’t expect me to pick up your pee stick.”
Oliver descended into a fit of laughter, and Todd chose then to make a theatrical exit.
“I rinsed it!” I called after him.
Then I turned back to Oliver and smacked him on the arm. “You’re the worst.”
He gathered himself and pulled me back to him, pressing another tender kiss to my lips. “You knew that when you fell in love with me,” he reminded.
“Yes, that’s true. Does that mean that I only fell in love with you because you’re the worst? Does that make me a glutton for punishment?”
“Well, if so we might be in trouble. I mean, I was only the worst while you tore apart my house. What if I’m too nice to you now that it’s all finished and you lose interest?”
I smiled and pressed a kiss to the bottom of his jaw. “Oh, don’t you worry,” I said. “If renovations are what make you so desirable to me, we have plenty of time before I lose interest.”
“Oh yeah? How so?”
I waggled my eyebrows at him. “Because I’m going to tear some shit up to make the best playroom this world has ever seen.”
Oliver went pale.
BONUS NOVELS
For those of you that enjoyed this book, keep reading! As a special limited time bonus, I’ve included a few of my other full length romance novels with this copy of Billionaire’s Bombshell, as well as some excerpts from other books of mine you might enjoy.
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Also by Sienna Valentine
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Billionaire’s Bombshell
Outrageous Proposal
Pranked
Slade
Kellan
Unplugged
Desperados
Black Dogs MC Series (Available everywhere)
Sanctum
Retribution
Vindication
The Brody Bunch Series (Available everywhere)
PRIDE
LUST
WRATH
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Acknowledgments
Thanks go out to my friends and family that always have to put up with how cranky I get whenever I’m gearing up for a new release. Also, a shout out to my friend Vivian Lux who is the most wonderful sounding board for all of my crazy ideas, and finally to Lola, who always designs the most beautiful covers.
About the Author
Bestselling author Sienna Valentine grew up in Canada and still lives there, spending her time reading and writing. Steamy romance has always been her favorite genre, and now finds that the only thing more satisfying than dreaming up her fantasies in the first place, is writing them down and being able to share them with others.
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Excerpt 1 - Outrageous Proposal
If billionaires are your thing, then take a look at the first couple chapters of my first try at the genre - Outrageous Proposal. This is a British Bad Boy Billionaire Romance.
Chapter 1
Harrison
“Ugh… Bloody Christ.”
The words dropped out of Harrison’s mouth before he was aware of anything else except the pain. A cloudy hangover headache tumbled around his skull, pulsing, making his brain feel three times too big and about ten degrees too hot. He groaned and rolled over. The soothing cool of satin sheets beneath his bare, hot skin was a welcome sensation.
He kept his eyes clenched shut and tried to trick himself back to sleep, but it was no use; once he was awake, it was over, especially after he had drank as hard as he had the night before. Harrison sighed and opened his eyes. On the ceiling, reflections from the ocean water outside danced lightly, dim ribbons that would get brighter with the morning sun.
He heard a gentle moan next to him and turned to see his bed companion, still hard asleep against the white smooth pillow. She was gorgeous, thin, her skin a flawless golden tan. As shiny as her hair was, she probably never did it herself, she was too rich and dainty for that. As he watched the gentle rise and fall of her bare back and bony shoulders, Harrison thought with a half-smile: What was she called again? Tiffany? Theresa? Ah, well. She had been fun enough the night before, eager and willing to suck his cock and spend the whole night fucking and drinking.
Not that it was hard for him to find those qualities, of course. That was the whole reason he even stayed on this island.
A tide of pain rushed through his head and Harrison groaned again, finally in too much pain to ignore it. He stumbled naked out of bed and into the penthouse suite bathroom. The woman’s toiletries and extensive make-up supplies were scattered like chaotic stars across the black marble countertop, and among it all Harrison found a white bottle of ibuprofen. He quickly downed as many as he safely could, then closed the bathroom door to trap in the steam for the piping hot shower he was about to take.
He hadn’t been under the steaming stream a few minutes before he saw a flesh-colored silhouette moving behind the frosted glass of the shower doors. One popped open, and the sleepy head of what’s-her-name popped in. Her eyes were still tired and droopy, ringed black from the makeup she hadn’t bothered to take off the night before. There was a lazy, lustful smile on her full lips as she looked Harrison’s naked body up and down.
His cock wasted no time springing to life. “Morning, love. See something you like?” He stroked himself twice as he smiled meaningfully at her.
The young woman licked her lips, needing no more invitation than that. “Mmm, something I like a lot.”
“The water’s just right,” said Harrison, reaching out a wet hand to brush along her breast and erect nipple.
The headache very quickly became a secondary priority. Besides, didn’t orgasms help them? He was sure he had read that somewhere, and used it on a woman once or twice before as well. That at least made him a charitable git, if a git regardless.
The woman slipped into the shower with him, pressing her naked flesh up against Harrison’s. Her skin was still warm from the bedsheets, and Harrison slipped his hands all along it as she breathed heavily against his neck. He attacked her mouth with a ravenous kiss just as his hands reached up to squeeze both of her big, beautiful breasts. Her responding touch felt like magic as they skimmed over the lines of his muscular
chest and arms. His cock, rubbing up against her wet, tight belly, was so hard it hurt.
But she knew exactly what he wanted. She pulled away from his mouth and kissed her way down his neck, chest, and abs, slowly dropping to her knees on the shower floor. Without any ceremony, she wrapped her hot lips around the pulsing head of his nine-inch cock and swallowed half of it down her throat. Harrison exhaled audibly and tangled both his hands in her hair.
“Fuck yes, baby,” he rasped. She hummed around his shaft in response.
When Harrison looked down, he saw the delicious view of her beautiful mouth stuffed with his cock, as well as her own delicate hand flitting between her legs, getting herself off at the same time. It was almost too much. She was far, far dirtier than he remembered from the night before, but he wasn’t about to complain. Instead, he figured he would find out just how dirty she was.
Tightening the grasp he had on her hair, Harrison began to fuck her face, holding her head tightly in his hands as he pushed his hips towards her. She only seemed to get more turned on by this, whimpering against the skin of his cock, sucking harder against it with every back-stroke.
He wasn’t going to last long at this rate. She was just too damn good at what she was doing.
“I never want to take my cock out of your throat,” he told her in a breathy groan.
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