Page 45 of Billionaire's Accidental Marriage
“I was wondering when you were going to get out,” Maggie said.
I paused, standing there naked and dripping wet behind the closed door. “Mags?”
She giggled. “I already ordered us some pizza. Should be here in about fifteen minutes.”
I blinked. “How long have you been here?”
“Uh… I pretty much leaped into my car from my apartment window to get over here once you invited me. Why?”
I chuckled. “I thought your non-response meant you weren’t coming.”
“Oh, boo. You’re so sensitive sometimes. I was just doing some cleaning when your text rolled through, so I took a quick shower of my own.”
I finally reached for a towel and wrapped it around me. “Well, maybe next time we can skip all of the hurdles and take a shower together.”
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
I swung open the bathroom door and watched as her eyes lingered on my chest. “I’d love it, actually.”
Watching Maggie’s eyes drink me in made me feel strong. Powerful. Like I could conquer the world so long as I had her at my side. But, while she studied me, my eyes gravitated to the plastic bag full of stuff she had at her side.
“What’s that?” I asked.
She shook her head softly before looking down at her bag. “Oh, you know. Just some things.”
I walked over and peered inside. “Like what things?”
She snatched it back into her lap. “Just clothes, things… and stuff.”
I paused. “You brought clothes with you?”
She shrugged, her eyes falling to her lap. “I don’t know, in case I stayed or something.”
I crooked my finger beneath her chin and pulled her gaze up to mine. “Do you want to stay?”
Her eyes watered over before she nodded. “Yes, I do.”
I smiled softly. “Then, by all means, let’s eat pizza in bed and find something to watch.”
The smile that spread across her cheeks was one I’d never forget. As God is my witness, I vowed then and there to do anything necessary to make her smile like that for the rest of her life. The doorbell downstairs rang, and she scurried off to go get the pizza, which gave me time to throw on some pajama pants before drumming up some drinks, napkins, and dipping sauces for our extravagant, carb-loaded feast. And after we piled into my massive bed, I turned the mounted flatscreen on as we cuddled side by side, sharing pizza, enjoying our romantic comedy movie marathon, and snuggled up as close as we could get to one another.
For once, my life finally felt like it had slipped into place. For the first time in my entire existence, I felt as if I had reached the pinnacle of what it meant to live my own life.
Which only made me dread the conversation Maggie and I would have to have at some point in time about Vegas, especially if she still wanted to dissolve our marriage.
17
Maggie
“Yes, that’s right. No, no, every boutique will have the same color scheme, but not the same layout. I want each of them to feel like an experience. Yes, that’s why I hired you guys. Uh-huh. I’ve been told the plumbing work will be done by the end of the week. Then, you guys can move in and—yes, sir. Uh-huh. Thank you so much. I appreciate it. Yes, I’ll get it paid now. Just send over the invoice. Uh-huh, you, too. Buh-bye.”
I smiled as I leaned back, waiting for the contractor to send me the bill. Over the past month, I had been able to get every single boutique fixed and up to code. So, now started the fun part—the remodeling work.
Not only that, but my father’s businesses—no, no,mybusinesses—were finally in the black after years of scraping by just shy of that mark. And as I sent off the last down payment for the remodeling jobs, I started crunching numbers before coming to the conclusion that I’d have just over one million left over after all was said and done.
Tears came to my eyes as I leaned back against my small office chair at the spa. I had been using my lunch breaks to pay bills, catch up on debts my father had left behind, and generally make sure things were coming along the way they needed to with everything. And as I sat there, allowing myself to bask in my relative success in brokering my first-ever investor’s deal that had dug me out of this mess in the first damn place, a knock came at my office door.
“Come in,” I said.
