“And things are only going to get more complicated from here on out. Once the company starts, that’ll be its own thing, and then…maybe we even have some more kids…”
She shot me an expression that was about as wide-eyed as it gets.
“You’re seriously talking about more kids right now?” she asked. “These two are barely three months old!”
“I know, I know,” I said. “But you have to admit, they’re pretty fun.”
“Easy for you to say,” she said. “You’re not the one who had to push them out of you.”
“You’re right. But you can’t tell me you haven’t been thinking about more.”
Isla hummed.
“Okay, fine. I have,” she said. “But still, I think both of us need a breather for a little while.”
“Sure,” I said. “I totally get it. Let’s shelve that discussion at least until we’re in the new house. How does that sound?”
“Sounds good to me.”
I turned my attention back to the view, something on my mind that I didn’t quite want to talk about.
“Okay,” Isla said. “Let’s hear it.”
“Hear what?”
“You don’t think I know you well enough to know when you’re thinking about something big? You get that look on your face, your brow gets knitted. It’s kind of sexy, actually.”
“All right,” I said. “Can’t hide anything from you, can I? I was thinking about how we have so much going on in the next year, it might be nice to go out of town for the holidays.”
“I could get behind that,” she said. “For Christmas?”
“For Christmas,” I said. “And I was thinking that there wouldn’t be any place better to go than the city where it all started…”
Her eyes lit up. I didn’t need to finish.
“You want to go to Rio?” she exclaimed.
“Mhmm,” I said. “Thought it’d be fitting. We met there, fell in love there, and now we’ll bring our family there. Sounds about perfect to me.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” she said.
With that, she leaned in and kissed me on the lips.
“I love you, babe,” she said.
“And I love you,” I said.
But little did she know, there was more to the plan than I was letting on. I had one more surprise in store, one I was sure she wasn’t expecting.
I couldn’t wait.
Chapter 33
Isla
Three Weeks Later
I wasn’t sure how it was possible, but Rio was even more beautiful and romantic than before.
Christmas was in full swing, and the entire city was decked out in red and green and lights and everything else. I loved it so much, and more than that I loved being able to take the girls there. Sure, they were too young to know what was going on, but judging by the looks on their little faces, they were having a great time taking it all in.
This time we decided to have a little bit of a change of pace. Instead of renting the hotel where we’d stayed the last two trips, we booked a place downtown with incredible views of the coast. From our room we could see the ocean and the bustling city center and, at night, all of the Christmas lights for miles and miles.
The trip was for a week, and we were ready to relax and have some fun. The rule was no work, and it took some doing to talk Adam out of taking a quick drive to the factory and looking around. That was someone else’s business now, I told him—his business was the girls and me.
In the days leading up to Christmas, we did it all. We toured the city, ate at some of the nicest restaurants, and, of course, spent plenty of time at the beach. Adam and I even took advantage of the childcare services at the hotel to have a little “him and me” time all to ourselves. There was something about that city, something that made the sex incredible. Of course, it didn’t hurt that we were totally, madly in love.
All of a sudden it was Christmas morning, and I was surprised to open my eyes to find the other half of the bed empty, bright sunlight streaming in through the windows.
Still a little groggy, I pulled on my robe and made my way to the kitchen—a full kitchen, not a tiny hotel one.
“Morning,” Adam said brightly, already fully dressed. “And Feliz Natal.”
“And a happy Feliz Natal to you too,” I said.
“Technically, you just said ‘happy happy Christmas,’” he said. “But you’re cute, so I’ll let it slide.”
He winked and smiled warmly from his position in front of the stove. The girls were in bouncy seats on the bar chewing happily on their teething toys, and the air was rich with the scent of bacon and eggs and pancakes.
“I let you sleep in,” he said. “Figured no sense in both of us getting up at the crack of dawn.”
I stepped over to him and slipped my arms around his back, planting a kiss on his cheek.
“You’re sweet.”
“I really am, aren’t I?” he said with a coy grin.
As I held him I turned my attention to the tree. It reminded me of the one he’d brought to me last Christmas, along with some delicious eggnog. This tree was a little grander, decked out with ornaments and lights, presents packed around the bottom. But that little tree would stay in my mind forever.
“Picked up some eggnog too,” Adam said, as if reading my mind. “And I went to the liberty of getting the streaming set up on the TV, so if you’re so inclined, we can spend the whole day hanging out and watching some cornball movies.”
“Sounds like heaven,” I said. “Maybe we’ll even be able to sneak off while the girls are napping and do our, ahem, other Christmas tradition.”
“I’m counting on it,” he said with a sexy smirk.
Adam finished making breakfast and once it was set up, we dug in. Damn, it was good. Adam didn’t cook all that often, but when he did, it was always good as hell.
Once we’d eaten it was time for the presents.
“I found something for the girls,” he said, picking up a small box wrapped in colorful paper and handing it over to me. “But I thought you might appreciate it.”
“Oh yeah?” I asked, taking it.
I opened it up, eager to see what he’d come up with.
And as I pulled the top open and moved away the wrapping paper, I let out a gasp at what I saw.
It was two pairs of booties, one red, one green. But they weren’t matching—each pair was two different colors.
“Figured if their mom likes to mismatch for the holidays, the girls might like it too.”
I giggled, my heart expanding at his reference to our first meeting—a moment a knew for sure now that he would never let me live down—and was quick to put the booties on our daughters’ precious little feet.
We opened the rest of our gifts, Adam loving his new watch and bottle of fancy whiskey, my eyes going wide as I opened up my gift to find the very same vintage pendant necklace I’d admired in a store window weeks before. Once we were done, he poured us both a glass of eggnog and turned up the radio, the sounds of Christmas carols filling the room.
“Care for a dance?” he asked.
“I’d love one.”
We both took sips of our eggnog before getting up, Adam taking me in his arms.
“You know,” Adam said as we swayed together in time with the music. “There’s one more present I have to give you. I was going to give it later, but now seems like the right time.”
“Another present?”
He nodded.
“Something I’ve been wanting to give you to let you know that I love you more than words could say, and that nothing will ever change the way I feel about you.”
He turned his eyes to me, the greens glittering in the morning light.
“I love you, Isla Marten. And I always will.”
With that, he reached into his pocket and took out a small box. Then he dropped to his knee and opened it, revealing a gorgeous, glittering diamond ring.
“And I’m ready to make that love enter
al. Will you marry me?”
I didn’t hesitate, not even for a second.
“Yes!” I exclaimed.
He smiled the warmest smile I’d ever seen before slipping the ring on and rising back up. Our girls sleeping soundly mere feet away, the city where we’d fallen in love spread out all around us, he brought me in for a deep, loving kiss.
“I love you, baby,” he said.
“And I love you, too. Always.”
And I knew it would be the first of many more to come, a kiss that sealed the promise of our future together, forever and always.
The End
We hope you’ve enjoyed this box set! Subscribe to Layla’s mailing list and get news, freebies and more!
Layla & Holly x
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP
ALSO BY LAYLA VALENTINE:
SCANDALOUS
The Baby Scandal
Prince Baby Daddy
The Triplet Scandal
The Baby Plan
Twins For Christmas
SAN BRAVADO BILLIONAIRES’ CLUB
Second Chance Twins
Nanny For Hire
The Baby Bargain
Accidental Triplets
Take My V-Card
Bought by the Boss
Four Secret Babies
My Brother’s Best Friend
Not Marriage Material
The Single Daddy Situation
ONCE A SEAL, ALWAYS A SEAL
His Baby Secret
Hot Pursuit
SEXT ME
Secret Daddy Surprise
My Protector
In Deep
The Wedding Steal
BABIES FOR THE BILLIONAIRE
Triplets For The Billionaire
Quadruplets For The Billionaire
Baby, ASAP
Scandalous Box Set Page 89