Page 56 of Hard and Unprotected

“Always,” he promised into the top of my head, tucking me under his chin. “Always, my sweet Margaret.”

I started crying again, Niagara Falls pouring from my eyes. Ryan looked at me alarmed once more, blue eyes wide.

“Ga-ga? Mama?”

But Evan held the two of us close, kissing the baby on his head.

“Hi little guy,” he rasped hotly, taking in Ryan’s chubby cheeks and small, curling fingers. “I’m your daddy.”

But I had to get this under control. There were still too many unanswered questions.

“What about the glass ring?” came my heartfelt whisper, a lump in my throat. “Why did Lozano’s send me a trashy fake?”

The fire in Evan’s eyes grew harsh and searing.

“Those fuckers. I told them to hold the delivery because I wanted to propose in person but they’re incompetents who screwed the whole thing up. Sweetheart,” he rasped, turning to me. “The day you disappeared, I went over to your place with the real diamond in my pocket. I was going to propose to you, to get on one knee and do the whole she-bang. But you were already gone.”

I shook my head again, dazed and confused.

“So this was all a mistake?” I whispered, voice trembling and soft. “Really?”

Evan’s face got dark.

“It was more than a mistake. Someone there fucked up big time,” he growled. “Someone there saw the old order and figured that there was a delivery to be made. So they packed up the glass display model and shipped it to you. I had that person fired as soon as I found out, obviously,” he ground out, blue eyes harsh. “They got no notice, no severance, no nothing.”

I bit my lip then, turning to him with eyes filled with love.

Because this was the answer to my heartbroken dreams.

Even back then, the billionaire wanted to propose.

The glass ring was nothing but an error, but there was still one last question, niggling my heart.

“How did you find me?” I asked softly, brows drawn. “No one knows where I am. I made sure of it.”

“No one,” agreed Evan, “except the government. Sweetheart, did you just get put on payroll at this place? Because after two years, suddenly your social popped up in government databases.”

Realization dawned on me then.

“Yes, at first they paid me in cash,” I admitted. “It was just six dollars an hour, below minimum wage. But I accepted the offer because I didn’t have anything else. I was grateful for the job. It was only recently that Doggies R Us put me on their real payroll with benefits and all.”

Evan’s eyes gleamed as his finger trailed my cheek.

“Then that’s how,” he rasped hoarsely. “You were missing for two years. I checked everywhere sweetheart. Hospitals, shelters, even calling your family. But no one knew, it was like you vanished into thin air. And then lo and behold, you popped back onto the grid yesterday. I’ve been waiting for so long, sweetheart,” he added in a ragged voice.

My eyes closed and finally, I melted into the man who’d stolen my heart the moment we met.

“Yes, Evan,” I murmured, our little family bound together in a circle of love. “Yes, we’re together now.”

But Mr. Lincoln pulled back as his eyes burned fiercely.

“Will you, Margaret Lake? Tell me now,” he rasped. “Tell me, because I can’t wait any longer.”

Eyes brimming with tears, I clutched my baby tight while staring into the handsome face of his father.

“Yes Mr. Lincoln. Yes, I’ll marry you.”

And finally, the Cinderella tale came true. Because my prince had found me, pink diamond in hand. It’d been a wild goose chase for two years, the result of mixed signals, a transaction gone wrong, and heartfelt emotion thwarted by ambition, power, and money.

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