Page 150 of Beautiful Revenge
I never thought I would have enough energy to hate a duck, but I do. Lloyd is a bloody arsehole, but the girls love him.
My girls.
I also never thought I’d be a girl dad, but if anyone is prepared to perform background checks and scare the fuckout of future boyfriends, it’s me. I dare any one of them to come to our door and date one of my daughters before she’s thirty years old. I won’t allow it.
Cora is three, and Collins just turned one. Cora was easy on us and gave us a gentle introduction to parenthood. Collins, not so much.
She’s hell on wheels. I love it.
I pull up the driveway and straight into the garage that was an addition since Grandma never had one. The entire place took more than a year to get it where it is today. Usually the grounds would be the last thing to be finished, but for us, it was the first.
Harlow wanted to be married here, and I agreed. It doesn’t matter how beautiful my resort is or how different we could make it. Neither of us wanted the memory of what was supposed to be her wedding with the rat bastard mingled with ours.
The fall colors were the only décor needed. Our ceremony was small. Our families and Chrissie. We didn’t need or want anyone else.
The reception, however, might as well have been a Winslet appreciation party. Something I didn’t know about small-town life before I moved here, it’s all-or-nothing when it comes to its residents. It’s a good thing my manor is big, because our reception was a doozy.
We did not sell the rights to a national magazine, but that doesn’t mean our marriage wasn’t reported on.
The bride had a murder for hire hit out on her.
The groom was a prior MI6 whose co-worker came back to life, was arrested, and tried for treason.
The American Princess and British secret agent.
We were a story in and of itself. I might not have wanted the world to know who I was when I worked for SIS, but I’m a businessman now. We didn’t promote our story, the world did it on their own, and my business benefited from it. For the fifth year in a row, we made the list for one of the top ten destinations in the States.
I remember the days I couldn’t fill positions. Now, I’ve got people knocking on my door to move to Winslet and work for me.
I prefer the locals. We’re still a rag-tag bunch, but we deliver top-notch service. Guests love us.
I’m living the dream. Harlow, the girls, and a business I manage from my private office. It’s everything I never knew I wanted and more.
I grab my briefcase off the passenger seat and make my way through strollers, bikes, and wagons. I stop to pick up a dirty pacifier that Collins must have dropped when she was toddling around with the chickens and Lloyd.
The moment I open the door, the sound of my family feeds my soul.
Cora laughs, Collins squeals, and Harlow sings along with whatever little kid music she’s got playing over the speakers while she stands at the kitchen sink washing vegetables from a huge basket. They must have been in the garden.
Before the girls see me, I go straight to Harlow. I wrap my arm around her waist and press my lips to her neck.
She yelps before she twists in my arms. “You snuck up on me.”
I lean down to take her mouth. “I’m not exactly sneaking. It’s a rave in here.”
Harlow glances at the girls in the family room. “Collins just woke up from her nap. They want to go outside, but I’ve got a video conference with corporate I need to get ready for.”
Harlow is still in charge of the Effie Madison Foundation, but she cut back on her travel and most everything else. Chrissie got a promotion and handles ninety percent of the legwork that Harlow used to do. Chrissie gets to live her best life in the city and traveling the world. Harlow was happy to hand over those duties to her friend. She didn’t trust anyone else to do the job.
Harlow has changed her focus to Stonebridge. It wasn’t easy for her to make that switch. Patrick had to talk her into it.
Patrick is still at the helm of the company, but even he has stepped back in his duties. It’s more like he’s preparing for the future when he won’t be able to run the company any longer, but on his own accord, not anyone else’s—like Janie’s or Allen’s.
Stonebridge is a publicly traded company, but the Madisons still own a majority of the shares. It will stay all in the family. And the family is bigger than it used to be.
I’m about to slide my hand down to Harlow’s arse covered in the same cutoff jean shorts she wore the first day I met her after I delivered her breakup note at the altar, but I don’t get the chance.
Cora slams into my legs and demands my attention. “Daddy!”
