Page 48 of The Billionaire's One-Night Baby

More than anything, she wanted their lives, hearts, bodies and feelings to be tangled up in each other. She wanted to be in love, a bride excited to get married, to be part of a couple, to start a life with someone she adored.

One of her consultants hurried past her and Dodi reached out to stop her. She braked, turned and smiled. ‘How can I help, Dodi?’

‘There’s a bride in changing room number three by the name of Courtney. Her mum’s name is Dee.’

Her assistant nodded. ‘Dark hair, huge smile?’

Dodi nodded. ‘Yeah. She’s trying on a Pablo dress, but I don’t think she can afford it. She’ll probably settle for a cheaper dress in the same style. Sell her Pablo’s sample dress, at cost.’

She saw her assistance’s confusion, understandable because they never sold the sample dresses, as the brides needed to use them to make their initial choices. She’d just spent a little under forty thousand with Pablo. He could send her another dress in the same style.

Her assistant nodded. ‘You’re the boss.’

Yes, she was. And this was her business, one that helped make a bride feel beautiful, contributed to a magical start to what was supposed to be a magical life. Oh, it wouldn’t be, not every day, but one started as one meant to go on. She wasn’t ever going to sell or dispense of Lily’s business, so maybe it was time to change her attitude towards it and try to love it instead.

And if she was going to fix her relationship with Love & Enchantment, then she was also going to fix her relationship with Jago. Or, at the very least, she was going to try.

CHAPTER TWELVE

AFEWDAYSLATER, Jago stepped onto the entertainment area at Hadleigh House and saw his twin sitting on the edge of the pool, his feet in the water. They’d returned from a ten-kilometre run a half-hour ago and, like him, Micah had showered and changed into a pair of shorts and a T-shirt.

‘Want a beer?’ Jago asked.

‘Sure.’

Jago took two bottles out of the fridge and walked over to where Micah sat, dropping down to sit next to him, feet in the water. He handed over his beer, placed his bottle on the paving next to him and leaned back on his hands. Night had fallen and he could hear the sound of the cicadas and the frogs. It was a stunning night and he wished he were spending it with Dodi and not his twin. He liked Micah but...

‘Thank you for running the board meeting the other night and convincing the board to go along with our plans. That was all you, and I am grateful.’ Micah had done a hell of a job and the future direction of Le Roux International, cleaner and greener, was all down to his brother.

Micah tapped the neck of his beer bottle against Jago’s. ‘I’m not just a pretty face,’ he quipped.

He most certainly was not.

‘I know you have a lot going on, but have you found a venue yet for Thadie’s wedding?’ Jago asked, rolling his tense shoulders.

It was still light enough for him to see Micah’s wince. ‘No. Maybe.’

Jago lifted his eyebrows at Micah’s non-answer. His brother was normally more decisive. ‘What does that mean?’

‘It means that Ella, the event planner I’m working with, might have a lead on a property that could be very suitable, but it isn’t currently being used as a wedding venue,’ Micah told him.

Jago had a million questions and started to ask the first one that came to mind when Micah held up his hand. ‘Not in the mood for the third degree, Jay. You’ll know, as soon as I do, as soon as Thadie does, whether it’s an option or not.’

His brother looked shattered, Jago realised. Almost as tired as he did. ‘Everything okay?’

Micah shrugged and Jago knew, without his saying anything, that things weren’t okay, but Micah wasn’t ready to talk. Not yet.

But he was. He felt like a volcano ready to erupt and he needed to talk to someone. No, he needed to talk to his brother, his twin, the person who knew him best. But Micah beat him to the punch. ‘Can you believe that by this time next year you’re going to be a dad?’

He couldn’t. But he could. Both at the same time. He took a long sip of his beer, trying to get his erratic pulse under control. ‘I can’t wrap my head around it, to be honest.’

‘You’ve always said that you didn’t want kids, so are you okay with it?’

Very okay. ‘I am. Dodi made me realise that I’m not Theo, that I don’t have to be the father he was.’

Micah nodded. ‘Just do the exact opposite to what he did, and you’ll be awesome.’

That was the plan. Jago felt Micah’s eyes on his face, could almost hear the wheels turning in his brain. He braced himself for his next question. ‘I haven’t seen Dodi around lately. Everything okay between you two?’

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