Merger to Marriage (Boardrooms and Billionaires)

by Addison Fox

  “There’s nothing to share, Holt. I thought we both understood that clearly when you left my apartment the other night.”

  “I’m a stupid asshole. That’s all that happened in your apartment the other night.”

  “A stupid asshole who has stayed away for nearly a week.”

  “I thought the term ‘stupid asshole’ was sort of self-evident?”

  She didn’t want to laugh, but damn it if he couldn’t make her smile. “What else did you do today? Rule the boardroom? Manage a little world domination while you were at it?”

  “I closed a deal with Teddy Craddick.” He took a few steps closer.

  “Very nice.”

  “And I came to my senses.” He took another few steps closer, enough so that he could reach out and touch her hand with his index finger.

  She fought the shiver incited by that simple touch. “What did that involve?”

  “Knowing that I love you. That I want to make a life with you and have babies with you.”

  The ever-present tears that she couldn’t seem to get rid of pricked the backs of her eyes.

  “Why are you crying?”

  “Because I can’t seem to stop lately.” She waved a hand. “Pregnancy hormones or something.”

  “Can you always use that excuse when I act like a raging ass? You know, even when you’re not pregnant? Because I can’t promise I’m not going to mess up in the future.”

  “According to you and all the babies you want to have, it sounds like I may be pregnant for a while.”

  “Is that a problem?”

  “Not if you don’t mind sharing the load.”

  Holt moved forward and lifted the layouts from her hand, setting them down on the table behind her back. “I want to share the load. If you’ll have me, I’ll share it with you every day.”

  She tilted her head to stare up at him. So much had happened in such a short time and there were so many things she wanted to tell him. So many things she wanted to say. But in the end, only one thing really mattered. “I love you.”

  His mouth came down over hers, full of warmth and passion, affection and understanding. And love. Underpinning it all was love.

  He lifted his head from hers and gazed down into her eyes. The emotions she saw there were pure and so very, very full of promise. “I love you, Mayson Elizabeth McBride. And I want to marry you and make a family with you.”

  “I want that, too.”

  He smiled broadly before he stared down at her hand. “Where’s your ring?”

  She felt the hot blush creep up her neck. “In my purse. You forgot it last week when you left and, well…”

  “Go get it.”

  She pulled her purse from the bottom drawer, her fingers closing over the ring. As she did so, she thought about the other things she kept in her desk and removed the sonogram photo. He captured her as she came around the desk. “Let me.”

  She handed him the ring and watched, mesmerized, as he dropped to his knee before her. “Mayson Elizabeth McBride. Will you marry me?”

  Love, strong and true, welled in her heart. They might not have had the most logical of starts, but what they had was pure and true. More than that, she was committed to making it work. To making a life with him.

  She pulled the photo out from where she held it behind her back. “We will.”

  With trembling fingers, she handed him the first photo of their child and watched as every dream she’d ever held, every truth she’d ever whispered in the depths of her heart, reflected back at her in his gaze. “This is our baby.”

  “Yes.”

  He exhaled on a heavy breath as his gaze returned to the photo. “Amazing.”

  “And all ours in about six and a half months.”

  A look of wonder rode his features as he pulled her close once more and slipped the ring on her finger. He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her stomach before standing and pulling her close.

  As she lifted her mouth to his, Mayson put every ounce of promise into the kiss, the truth of her love undeniable.

  The promise of their future awaiting them both.

  Epilogue

  Keira had been right about the dress.

  Why Mayson even spent one moment in doubt, she didn’t know, but she supposed it came with the territory as a soon-to-be bride. Thankfully, she’d only had to be one for two weeks.

  The simple lines framed her body and accentuated her figure. Mayson smoothed her fingers over the delicate silk of the bodice and smiled to herself where her belly rounded slightly. The thought of the life that grew there filled her with wonder and a deep appreciation for what she had, as well as the future she and Holt were about to embark on.

  “Mayson. It’s time.” Keira waved her from the hallway, and she didn’t miss the excitement that put bright color on her sister’s cheeks.

  “You ready?” Camryn smiled at her as she handed over a small bouquet of white roses.

  “Yes.” She was ready. Ready for her life with Holt to begin. Excited for the arrival of the child they both wanted and were so anxious to see. Equipped with the love she needed to see them through life’s ups and downs.

  Camryn helped her with the train of the dress, folding it over her arm before handing over her bouquet. A sheen of tears covered her eyes before a few spilled out and over her cheeks.

  Keira waved from the door. “No crying, Camryn! If you cry, you’ll make me cry. And that’ll make the bride cry, who, let’s face it, can’t stop crying lately.”

  “Hey!” Mayson said in mock protest.

  Keira ignored her and continued with her drill sergeant routine. “We still need to get her picture.”

  Camryn added a jaunty salute before gesturing her down the long hallway, where Mayson met Holt at the doors of city hall. They’d decided on something quiet and private, and then would do something more formal after the baby arrived.

  This was for them.

  And the look of love shining from Holt’s eyes made her feel as if she were the only woman in the world. “You’re sure it’s not bad luck, you seeing me first?”

  “You’re beautiful.” He bent down and pressed his lips to her ear. “And we make our own luck. Remember that.”

  “I will.”

  They waited their turn behind two other couples, and it was only as they were waiting to be called forward that Mayson remembered their earliest discussions about getting married. “Was this what you had in mind when we discussed a merger?”

  “Are you still hung up on that whole idea? Because, baby, I don’t need an out clause. Or a golden parachute. And I’m certainly not looking for a business transaction.”

  “What are you looking for?”

  The smile in his eyes softened his features, the strong, formidable man she knew fading a bit as a lighter air seemed to hover around him. “A marriage. Something I can celebrate every single day with you.”

  “Me, too.”

  “It’s you, Mayson. I’ve been looking for you. Long before I even knew I was looking, my heart knew you. Knew I was waiting for you.”

  She lifted on her toes and pressed a kiss to his lips. “I love you.”

  “You’d better, because I’m keeping you. Merger to marriage, baby. That’s the deal.”

  “And it’s the only deal I want.”

  About the Author

  Addison Fox can’t remember a time when words weren’t a part of her life. An avid reader, her love of the written word started at the tender age of 1 with “The Owl and the Pussycat” by Edward Lear (a poem she could recite by heart to any family member who would listen).

  Shortly after college, Addison decided to try her hand at writing her own novel and it only took about eight pages until she was hooked. Several manuscripts followed and in 2008 she sold her first book. She enjoys writing across romance sub-genres, from contemporary to paranormal to romantic suspense.

  Addison lives in Dallas. You can find her at her home on the web at www.addisonfox.com or on Facebook (faceb
ook.com/addisonfoxauthor) and Twitter (@addisonfox).