Page 48 of The Housekeeper's Billionaire Boss
“Molly?”
“It’s freezing. Where is your coat?” she asked.
“I was hot.” He blinked a few times. “What are you doing here?”
She took him by the hand and pulled him into the house. “I need to talk to you.”
He softly shut the door and stayed by it. “Talk to me about what? And where is all my family? Where is Ellie?”
“Ellie’s with your mom. She’s not Derek’s, by the way.”
“Brenda said she wasn’t.”
“I have trust issues.” She paused. “Your family went to the orchard so I could talk to you alone.”
His eyebrows knitted together. “Okay.”
Molly held his gaze a moment longer and then began pacing. “I royally messed up, Josiah. So many times, people walked out on me, and I didn’t want it happening again. I wanted to be the one to walk out on someone before they hurt me, so I did. And you know what?” She stopped pacing and faced him. “It hurt worse.”
“What?”
Groaning, she palmed her forehead. “I thought that call after Christmas was you choosing work over me and Ellie. I was a jerk because I took one little thing and used it against you. Even if it was work, when you did give me and Ellie your attention, we had all of it. Nothing and no one is perfect, but that’s the standard I was using.”
He didn’t know how to process what he was hearing. “But your rule.”
“The stupidest rule ever made. This whole last month, I’ve been a complete mess. I can’t watchGoonies. No one ever calls me. Not one single person, but then Ms. Salinas calls, and my phone starts ringing. I lost it. It’s theSharknadotheme song, and I’m in the middle of the grocery store, crying like I’d lost my best friend…” She took a few steps toward him. “Because I had.”
“You cried overSharknado?” he asked, closing a little of the gap between them.
Closing the remaining distance, she nodded. “I’m so sorry I hurt you. I will never be able to say it enough. Do you think you can ever forgive me? I’d rather be Sam to your Danny Phantom than anyone else on earth. I don’t want to sing “Tainted Love” ever again without your cat-dying notes destroying the chorus.”
“Cat-dying notes?”
She shrugged. “I kinda overheard you singing to Ellie, so it’s just a guess. I love you, Josiah. I was so worried about getting hurt that I didn’t realize it would hurt worse to not love you.”
Chuckling, he smiled. “I love you too. I don’t want anything but you and Ellie. Loving you, loving Ellie, that’s all the success I need. Without the two of you, success means nothing to me.”
“Does that mean you forgive me for being a complete and total jerk?”
“I think that’s pretty much the definition of a relationship: messing up and apologizing over and over until we grow old and gray.” He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to him. “I’d like that very much.”
She lifted on her toes as she circled her arms around his neck. “Me too.”
The last word was barely out of her mouth before she kissed him. It was like the last puzzle piece snapping into place, making the picture whole. Molly, Ellie, and him. They were three pieces who fit together perfectly. They were worth so much more than an award.
His arms tightened around her as he deepened the kiss, and it felt like he’d been brought back to life. The past month, he’d ached in ways he’d never thought possible, and now, he was holding the one dream he wanted most in the world. A home with the two people he loved most.
Slowly, the kiss came to an end, and he leaned back. “So, about that marriage—”
“Yes.”
“Usually, the girl lets the guy finish.” He grinned.
“Yeah, but I think we’ve established I’m not like other girls.” She laughed.
He kissed her nose. “I love it. I love you.”
“I love you.”
