Page 44 of The Billionaire's Bad News Baby

“Is that a yes?” Elio asked, still not entirely sure, but with a laugh in his voice at least. They were both such a mess right now…

“Yes,” she said, through a sniff, swiping the tears from her face with a wrist. “Yes, yes, yes?—”

It seemed like she would say yes forever, and that was just fine by Elio, but he stopped the words falling from her lips by leaning down and kissing her. They could talk properly later. They could make plans and organize details and discuss the future at length; they had all the time in the world for that. But right now, Elio just held her because that was all that mattered. Making Kayla a home within his arms… that was all that would ever matter.

EPILOGUE

18 MONTHS LATER: KAYLA

It was rare, these days, for Kayla to feel nervous about anything at all, but she had to admit that there were a fair few butterflies in her stomach that seemed determined to make their presence known. She distracted herself by swinging Rosa around in the main room of the empty restaurant, making her squeal with delight and blowing raspberries on her cheeks to top it off. Everyone had said that she would miss the newborn stage, but honestly, Kayla was enjoying being a mother even more as Rosa aged, the more she got to see her silly little personality, hear her laugh and shout and stomp about the garden. She wouldn’t trade this time for anything.

Rosa, though, seemed to have other ideas, promptly deciding that she had had more than enough of swinging around, thank you very much, and that a nap was needed immediately. Her shrill cry, exhaustion in its purest form, did make Kayla’s ears ring a little, but it also called Rosa’s grandmother out from the kitchens like some sort of bat signal.

“Oh dear,” Liz said, bedazzled head to toe in a glitter top and smart trousers. “It’s a wonder she has vocal cords still intact.”

“She might have a future as an opera singer,” Kayla said, detangling her necklace from Rosa’s grip. “Or a radio DJ. Honestly, the options are endless.”

Rosa reached out for her Nonna, not afraid to show her blatant favoritism, and Liz happily accepted baby duties for the foreseeable future. They were all here to celebrate the opening of the restaurant, hence the dance party of butterflies in Kayla’s stomach, but Liz had given herself the official role of baby wrangler for the evening. Not that she saw it as a negative in any way, shape, or form. And because Liz was unequivocally Rosa’s favorite person on the planet, she almost immediately settled down once in her arms, her eyelids drooping with comical slowness.

“Nonna is magic, huh, kid?” Kayla said, stroking Rosa’s thick, dark curls back from her head.

“I’ve always been magic,” Liz said primly. “But I’m glad my talents are finally being recognized.”

A private area upstairs had been turned into an office and break room for staff, and Liz made her way up there with Rosa in tow. Kayla watched them go, and as soon as they were out of sight, her nerves tripled in strength.

The restaurant had been Kayla’s idea, a harebrained scheme that she’d thought up while recovering on Malbia after giving birth in a vineyard. It had helped to while away some of the hours when she wasn’t able to move much, thinking about every detail from the menu to the decor, the name, everything. But it was Elio who had pushed her to actually do it, telling her that it wasn’t just a pipe dream. He said what was the point of changing career paths to not go full steam ahead? She’d brushed it all off at first, so fully immersed in her new life on the island, taking care of Rosa and falling more in love with Elio every day. Thoughts of a restaurant all her own had gone quiet. Then, about six months ago, Elio announced he’d bought a building in New York and if she didn’t start designing a menu, he would do it himself, and she didn’t really want that, did she?

So here they were, minutes away from the public opening of their very own restaurant, which Kayla had named Malbia, after her favorite place in the world. And it was going to be a very public opening… With all of the press surrounding Elio and his wine business that kept breaking record after record, it felt like every food journalist and self-designated foodie from Los Angeles to New York was waiting outside the doors for the ribbon cutting to take place.

Elio appeared in the dining area of the restaurant, carrying a bottle of wine in each hand with a very stern expression on his face, and it took all of Kayla’s self-control not to laugh.

“I thought you’d already chosen the bottles you wanted to be served?” she asked, smothering her amusement.

“With a lot of different dishes, there needs to be the right wine to accompany them. I only just remembered these two. I’d never live it down.”

Kayla thought that was maybe a bit dramatic, but she didn’t argue and let Elio get the wine just right for his own peace of mind. But when the bottles were laid out at just the right angle, he turned his attention back to her, slinging an arm around her waist.

“Are you excited?” he asked, pecking a kiss on her cheek that then trailed its way to her earlobe.

“I feel sick,” she said. Elio immediately put a hand to her forehead with a concerned expression.

“With nerves, darling,” she said dryly. “Sick with nerves.”

“I’m not up to dealing with any sort of communication that isn’t in the most literal, black-and-white form today.”

“Entirely fair,” Kayla said and kissed him on the mouth, reveling in the comfort of his arms around her. But unfortunately, it had to come to an end. They had business to attend to.

“All right,” she said, brushing a stray curl off of her face. “What time is it?”

Elio checked his watch. “Time to meet the public. And time for you to cut a ribbon.”

“We’re both cutting the ribbon.”

“It’s your restaurant.”

“I seem to remember you being the one to buy the building.”

Elio rolled his eyes and pushed her towards the door. “Fine, we'll both hold the scissors. Happy?”

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