Page 39 of Falling for the Wrong Billionaire
He’s holding the ferrets in his arms, showing them to us with a grin. I laugh and walk over, but my mind is still on Lucy. The way she looked at me. The way she almost opened up.
Max runs off with the ferrets again, and I find myself standing alone with Lucy, the world slowing around us.
I want to lean in. I want to close the gap between us, but I hold back. I remind myself to respect her pace.
She looks at me again, her eyes softer now. "Do you ever wonder if you’ll ever really feel like you belong somewhere?"
Her question catches me off guard. I blink, unsure of how to answer.
"Maybe," I say slowly, my voice low. "But I think… I think sometimes belonging isn’t about a place. It’s about the people who make you feel at home."
She’s quiet for a long moment. Then, unexpectedly, she takes my hand. The simple gesture sends a shock through me, a quiet jolt of electricity that I can’t ignore.
And before I can think better of it, I pull her toward me, my lips finding hers in a slow, tentative kiss.
The moment lingers. Just like that, with the ocean crashing behind us, the world fades away. It’s just us.
But then Max giggles, holding a ferret up high. "Look, look! The ferret’s gonna fly!"
We break apart quickly, laughing awkwardly as the moment slips away. Lucy blushes, glancing down at the sand.
"Well," I say, smiling despite myself, "I guess that’s one way to interrupt a kiss."
She laughs, her eyes crinkling with amusement. "Sorry," she says teasingly. "I didn’t mean to ruin it."
I shake my head, still smiling. "You didn’t ruin anything. I think we just need to work on our timing."
Max comes running back over, dragging the ferrets behind him. "Liam, can we go to the hidden beach now?"
I look at Lucy, my heart still racing from the kiss. "Yeah. Let’s go."
We walk down to the hidden beach, a quiet place I come to when I need to think. The sun is setting, casting a warm golden light over everything. The air is peaceful here, and the sound of the waves crashing against the rocks is soothing.
We sit together on the sand, the three of us, laughing, talking, the ferrets playing around us. And for the first time in a long time, I feel like I really belong.
Like we belong.
The day winds down, the sky turning a deep purple as the stars begin to emerge. I glance at Lucy, her face soft in the twilight, her expression relaxed.
And in that moment, I promise myself — I’ll be patient. I’ll wait.
Because this is worth it.
Chapter sixteen
Lucy
I can’t stop smiling as I walk into my apartment the next morning, still floating on the memories from yesterday. The sun is shining through the window, casting warm light across the living room, and everything feels just a little more vivid, a little more… real. Yesterday was perfect — in a way I didn’t know I needed.
Liam. Max. The way everything just clicked, like I was part of something bigger than just the quiet life I’ve always known. There was something about being with them — the way they just accepted me without question. I felt seen. I felt heard. I felt… happy.
I set my purse down on the kitchen counter and freeze when I notice the package sitting on the table.
A large box, wrapped in brown paper and tied with twine.
I don’t need to guess who it’s from.
My heart flutters as I reach for it, untying the twine carefully, almost reverently. The excitement makes my hands shake as I peel away the paper.
