Page 23 of Betting Her Curves

“I don’t know,” I snark. “Stacks? One of the footmen? Hell, a village man you’ve been fucking on the sly?”

Ashley turns her back to me then, refusing to engage.

“Leave,asshole,” she says in a tight voice. “I hate you.”

I lose it again.

“That child ismine!” I scream. “And if you think I’m letting you bring him up in this godforsaken setting—”

“This godforsaken setting isyour home, Patrick! This is your castle! We’re just living here.”

“Yes, and you were going to raisemychild undermyroof withoutmyknowledge. You’ve been sneaking furniture in here, and swearing my staff to secrecy about your pregnancy. Are you fucking kidding me?Nothinghappens here without my knowledge. Nothing. Nada. Zip.”

Her jaw clenches as she purses her lips into a thin line.

“Okay, fine. I see your point. My plan was underhanded and devious, not to mention a little far-fetched, but I’m not giving up my baby, Patrick. I’m keeping this child no matter what. You can’t force me to have a termination—”

“Who said I’d force you? Who says I don’t want this baby? I’mexcitedto be a father, and the only question is why you’ve been so afraid to tell me! I’ve been waiting for weeks for you to come forward, and instead I find out that you’re planning to live like a fucking hermit within the walls of my own home!What. The. Fuck!?!?” I bellow, the rage overtaking me again.

Ashley’s cheeks are scarlet, but she maintains her calm.

“I didn’t know that. I thought for sure that you’d make me get rid of the baby. We’ve had conversations before, Patrick. You told me about your lifestyle, and how you’d fuck women all over the world. You told me that you hated how you were brought up, and how you resent your parents for dying early and saddling you with responsibility. You’re so into your work, and your lifestyle,that a family would only be a hindrance. But the baby and I will be fine on our own, Patrick. You don’t have to have a role in his life. We won’t ask anything of you—”

This time, I stride forward to seize her narrow shoulders with both hands before glaring into her wide blue eyes.

“This child ismine,” I hiss. “Youare mine. The hell I won’t have a role in your lives. Both of you belong tome.”

That makes Ashley shut up for a moment, her lower lip trembling.

“Really?” she manages in a weepy tone.

“Really,” I rasp. “Do you hear me, Ashley Finnegan? I love you. You complete me. Yes, I was an asshole, and I stillaman asshole, but you’ve changed me. You made me feel things that I’ve never felt before. You made me see things that I’ve never seen, despite them being right under my nose. Iwantto start a family with you. I want to marry you, and raise our children together. I want you to be the viscountess, and to take my name as your own. Will you? Don’t you dare say no, or I might strangle you with my fucking hands,” I grind out.

She wipes her nose as tears roll down her cheeks.

“You don’t have to do this, Patrick,” she sobs. “You don’t have to—”

“No, Iwantto,” I repeat with urgency, still gripping her shoulders. “I love you, Ashley Finnegan. What’s so hard to understand about that?”

Then, the beautiful young woman breaks down altogether, a waterfall of tears coursing down her cheeks.

“I had no idea!” she wails. “I really thought that you wouldn’t be interested in a family. That you’d make me get rid of the baby, or banish us to the ends of the earth. I had no idea,” she sobs, collapsing against my massive bulk.

Unexpectedly, tears prick my eyes as I stroke the curve of her golden head. A lump forms in my throat when I think about how close we came to disaster – as if I was ever going to let disaster come to my child. But now, the time has come for forgiveness, and I press my lips to her hair, as understanding replaces my subsiding rage.

“It’s fine,” I growl low in my chest. “But never leave me, Ashley. Be mine, forever. Say you’ll be my wife.”

A heart-wrenching sob escapes her throat again, but this time, she lifts her delicate chin to look at me with blue eyes so innocent that I’m overcome with passion.

“Yes, I’ll be yours, Patrick. I look forward to becoming Mrs. O’Lachlan and starting our life together. I will be the Viscountess.”

With that, I claim her plush pout in a soul-devastating kiss because this is the woman I was always meant to be with. I met a young girl at a Vegas casino, who lost her most precious asset to my devious ways and blackened heart. But never underestimate a charming, intelligent young woman because Ashley Finnegan came out the winner in the end ... with my love as the ultimate prize.

EPILOGUE

Ashley

Ilie back on the settee as Patrick finishes a call with his sister.

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