Page 45 of Starting Over with Her Billionaire Boss

Daegan closed his eyes, savoring the feeling. He had been so consumed by his grief that he had forgotten what it felt like to live without its constant presence. But now, as he stood before the fire, he realized that he had the power to shape his own future, to create a life filled with hope and happiness. It was both a destruction and a creation—a funeral for the man he had been and a birth for the man he could become.

With a sense of renewed purpose, Daegan returned to sit beside Kinsley once more. She reached out and intertwined her fingers with his. In that moment, he knew that he was no longer alone. There was still beauty and love to be found in the world, even after all the darkness he had endured.

Together, they sat in the warmth of the bonfire. When he looked toward Kinsley, her smile lit up the night more than the fire ever could. When he squeezed her hand, Daegan felt a faint flicker of hope for the man he could become with her by his side.

11

Kinsley couldn’t imaginethe strength it took for Daegan to go through with that. Grief was something she knew too well; it wasn’t something she had expected him to feel so deeply, too.

“Feel better?” she asked, her voice gentle.

“Much better,” Daegan replied, placing a kiss on her forehead. “Thank you for being here with me.”

Kinsley squeezed his hand, a warm smile on her face. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”

In comfortable silence, they watched the flames dance and the embers float into the night sky. The crackling of the fire and the distant sounds of the evening created a soothing symphony. In that moment, everything felt right in the world. She rested her head on his shoulder, content in a way she never knew she could be.

That was until Kinsley felt a raindrop. “Seems like the rain is joining us.” She put up her hand to shield her eyes as it began pelting down.

“I forgot all about it!” Daegan laughed as he grabbed her arm to help her up. “The house is at least a five-minute jog away.Let’s get to the barn.” He grabbed the blanket and held it over them.

The lingering light of the bonfire lit their path enough for them to race to the old barn in the deepening dark. The worn wooden doors gave a gritty creak when Daegan pushed them open. A bolt of lightning came down nearby, rushing them inside.

“Do you think it’ll let up?” Kinsley asked as Daegan shut the door behind them.

“Yeah, just give it a little while.”

“So youdidwant to get me all alone again,” she teased.

Daegan locked eyes with her. “Yeah, I just had to call in a favor with Mother Nature first. Aunt Tilly knows her,” he joked.

They broke out in a laugh.

“It wouldn’t surprise me,” she added.

“Me neither,” he agreed. His hand found hers, effortlessly linking their fingers together. His warm touch sent a wave of awareness through her. His other hand felt around the wall. “I know there’s a switch here somewhere.”

A moment later, dim lights flicked on around the barn.

“Let’s go up to the hayloft.” Excitement danced in his voice, like a child eager to play with their new toy.

“The loft?” she questioned.

“We can sit there and open the hayloft door to let in some air and watch the storm. Hopefully, the rain won’t blow in. Apart from that,” he shot her a glance, “it will be nice.”

The ladder creaked under their weight, each step echoing in the quiet space. The hayloft smelled of dried straw and aged wood, the scent blending with the damp air wafting in from the open door just below the roof. A sudden flash of lightning illuminated the space, followed by the low rumble of thunder. Here, in the loft, it felt like they were suspended betweenworlds—sheltered from the chaos outside, yet on the verge of something equally tempestuous.

Daegan spread out the blanket he brought along to make it more comfortable. The cool breeze was pleasant. Luckily, the rain wasn’t blowing in for now.

A deluge hammered against the barn roof like a frantic drummer, each drop echoing in the cavernous space. Lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating the hayloft in brief, pale flashes.

“I’ve never experienced anything quite like this before,” Kinsley whispered as he sat down next to her. Their bonfire, a short distance away, had been extinguished by the rain.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it? Storms can be something special. Well, when you’re outside of it—maybe not if we were outside right now getting pelted by the rain.” He laughed as his arm stretched around Kinsley, settling on her waist.

The storm outside was fierce, yet here, with Daegan beside her, she felt a strange sense of calm. The barn’s sturdy walls offered a quiet intimacy that wrapped around them. The air was heavy with the promise of something unspoken, waiting to be realized.

“So we’re good, right?” Kinsley asked. She couldn’t help it. After everything, she needed his reassurance as much as she needed him.

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