Page 62 of Billionaire's Accidental Marriage
“Yes.”
His forehead pressed against mine, and my eyes fluttered closed. “I think you’ve struggled enough in your life, Maggie. And now, life is finally giving you what you’ve waited for patiently. Life is finally showing you the avenue to take because life knows you deserve it.”
I sighed. “You really think so?”
“I know so. But overthinking things the way you are is only going to bring you more stress that you don’t need, especially if you’re going to be carrying our child around for the next eight or so months.”
I smiled softly. “You’ve got that right, too.”
He leaned up, and I matched his movements before he took my hands in his. “So, I guess there’s only one more question to ask.”
I smiled. “What’s that?”
“Maggie Shackleford, would you like to move in with me?”
22
Michael
Four Months Later
“Iwant to thank you all for coming to this event,” Maggie said into her microphone, “because at one point in time, I didn’t think I’d get here. After all of the struggling and all of the money funneled into the updating and rebranding of these boutiques, I wondered whether or not to sell them off, if I’m honest. And it’s because of your support and your love and your encouragement that I’m standing here about to cut the last red ribbon on my grand re-openings.”
The crowd cheered wildly as I stood just behind Maggie on the podium. It took two grueling months to fix up the boutiques' neglect, and then another two to restock, reschedule, and stagger the grand re-openings after rebranding everything and starting fresh. It had been a hell of a ride, with Maggie changing her mind on the color scheme and the boutiques' name at least three separate times. But, once she had settled on a combination she loved, I couldn’t have seen the boutiques dressed up any other way.
And when she cut that last red ribbon with those massive pair of scissors, my heart leaped for joy.
“Well, what are you guys waiting for?” Maggie asked into her microphone. “Come on in and find your next big thing!”
The crowd rushed the boutique’s entrance, and I swept in to pull her off to the side. I didn’t want her getting trampled, especially since her body had blossomed and filled out with the growth of our child. I wrapped my arms around her waist, settling my palms against her protruding stomach. And as a line quickly formed down the block to get into the newest store she had opened, I peppered kisses along her exposed shoulder.
“I’m so proud of you,” I murmured.
She giggled. “Thank you for being as patient as you’ve been lately. I couldn’t have done this without you.”
I kissed the back of her head. “It was a pleasure to help you with this. And anything you need, you know all you need to do is ask.”
She turned to face me, her stomach pressing against my abs. “Actually, there is one last thing I need to ask of you.”
I cupped her cheek. “Name it.”
“I’m starving. You want to go get some food while the guys break this stage down and everything? They’re sort of waiting for us to get off.”
I chuckled. “Sandwiches and soup?”
She batted her eyelashes at me. “With a banana milkshake for dessert?”
I grinned. “How can I deny my beautiful wife the one craving she has more than anything else?”
I threaded our fingers together before leading her off the stage, and it took us damn near forty-five minutes just to get two blocks down the road so we could eat. People stopped to hug her neck and congratulate her on the re-openings. Others stopped by to exclaim that they had been to some of the other stores and couldn’t get over how nice they looked now. She beamed with pride all the way to the restaurant, even though I saw the exhaustion slowly rising behind her eyes.
So, once we finally got inside the restaurant, I picked a booth at the back of the place, hoping no one would come up and bother us.
“Did you get to talk with Guadalupe last night before you went to bed?” I asked.
Maggie flopped down into her seat. “I did, actually. We talked for about an hour and went over some of the ideas I jotted down.”
“And…?”
