Page 39 of Billion-Dollar Attitudes

He pressed his lips to mine and I exhaled for the first time since I watched him walk out of my little beach bungalow. I may not have that bungalow anymore, but I had a feeling we would be needing more space in the future than that anyway. We were starting a life together, something more exciting than even when we met. Everything was getting better by the second.

I never thought it would happen, but I was getting my own happily ever after. I was getting everything I wanted, and that darkness that had suffocated me for weeks was finally gone, chased away by the love I had for Daniel. After all the doubt, the misery, the pain, and the heartbreak, I could see now that I was wrong. Fate did exist. There was no other explanation for what happened between us. The universe sent Daniel to me and Harper, and it wouldn’t let us fall apart for any reason.

I didn’t know where the future would take us, and I didn’t know what would come out of everything else we faced in California, but I did know that we would get through it. We would do it together, as a family. I never thought I’d be able to say I had a family, besides just me and Harper, but Daniel truly filled the space that had been missing all along. And I hoped that the power of our connection, and the magnetism that drew us together would never stop.

Sand, sun, waves, and love, that was all my little family would ever need.

Epilogue

One Year Later

Sicily

I carried my chair over my shoulder, a cooler in one hand, and Harper holding my other hand. The beach was full of people that day, but Daniel had reserved the same umbrella we had watched the fireworks under the year before. It was crazy how much things had changed in a year.

Harper was going to be starting preschool in the fall, and she was really excited. She got her very first surfboard for her fourth birthday. I wasn’t thrilled, but I trusted Daniel to take good care of her out on the water. She didn’t go out far, but she was already standing up on the board, which apparently was a big deal. It didn’t shock me; she was more like her daddy than I ever thought. Watching her grow with him over the last year had been amazing. I used to think she was my twin, but in reality the only thing she really had that was like me were her looks. Everything else, including her sassiness, came from Daniel.

I looked around for him, knowing he was competing in a bit, but there were so many people, I couldn’t find him.

When Daniel came to get me from Ohio, he had stayed for two weeks. Daniel insisted on getting to know my family as good as he could before stealing us away back to California. We moved into his house initially, but he had surprised us with a new house on the beach in IB just a couple months ago. It was a beautiful home, and we were right in the middle of everything, close to playgrounds, and right on the water. There was nothing like sitting outside on a cool summer’s evening, listening to waves.

Josie signed on as the full time, live in nanny for Harper, which was really nice when it came time for me to go back to work. I had been asked to come back to the company, and resumed my old position, but that only lasted about two months. Clint was promoted, and transferred to the company’s new satellite office in Washington state. I didn’t see it coming, but the day he announced his transfer, they offered me his position. Daniel wanted to make a position for me, moving me on up, but I insisted on working hard and learning my way up. It was the best for my ability to do the job, and it let me keep the respect of my team.

I did have to admit, being the boss’s girlfriend did have its perks. Like steamy rendezvous and late night “meetings” in his office. But all in all, things were better than I imagined they would ever be when I first decided to move to California. Daniel and I had only grown closer, revealing all the things that made us who we were. It was fun getting to know those quirks, the stories, the background of each other, especially already being in love. There was no pressure to impress or hide anything. His flaws weren’t flaws to me. I loved him even if he didn’t know how to separate his laundry from his drycleaning, and sometimes forgot to put the cap on the soda before rushing off.

I had started to get to know the guys a lot better, and they weren’t nearly as crazy as I had imagined them to be. I rather enjoyed Ryder’s moodiness, and how he couldn’t hide his grin when Harper ran over and jumped up on his lap. We were determined to soften him up.

The loud speaker crackled and the same voice from the year before came over, announcing the first competition. Josie pulled Harper into her lap and they both started whispering to each other. I narrowed my eyes. “Secrets don’t make friends.”

Harper giggled and climbed over to me hugging me tightly. “It’s okay mommy. You’ll know soon.”

Confused, I glanced at Josie who smirked. As I watched the competition begin, I was a bit confused, not seeing Daniel out there. “This is his class right?”

Josie nodded. “Yeah. Oh, wait. I think I see him.”

I looked all around, squinting against the gleam on the water. “Where?”

Josie pointed over to the left and I tilted my head to the side, watching six guys, all in wetsuits that looked like tuxedos, paddling across the water. As they grew closer I recognized Daniel first, and covered my mouth, laughing at the other guys struggling to stand up on their boards. I stood up, holding Harper, shaking my head as they made it to shore, several of them doing so by tumbling in instead of stepping off the boards.

The guy on the loudspeaker spoke again. “Everyone, can we have your attention? We have a special presentation by the six owners of INT Coms.”

Everyone cheered and music began pumping through the speakers. I laughed as the guys struggled, dragging their boards down the beach, trying to stay in sync with their running. When they got to the shore directly in front of us, Ryder took Daniel’s board and watched as Daniel jogged up the beach to me.

“What is this?” I asked, giggling.

“Daddy loves you,” Harper said, wiggling down out of my arms and running over to her toy bag.

“That’s right. I love you very much. You have been the light that has kept me going. I loved you the moment I saw you in that little sundress on the campus lawn, and I loved you every minute we were apart, and every moment since you walked back into my life. You put up with my inability to keep my laundry separated, the ten times you’ve flung open the fridge to have soda spill all over the floor, the way I won’t let you sleep without me wrapped around you, even when you’re dying of heat exhaustion.”

I laughed, wiping a tear from my eye.

“So,” he said, stepping to the side. “I have a question for you.”

I looked out at the guys who had all shoved their boards in the sand. Each of them had a word on their boards spelling out, “Will you marry me ?” Chase’s board had the question mark, and Daniel’s board had our initials drawn on it with Harper’s hand prints all over it. Harper tugged on my shorts and I looked down, finding her holding a small velvet box with a very large diamond ring inside. Daniel leaned down and picked Harper up, turning to me.

“What do you say? Let’s make this family official. I don’t want to spend one more minute then I have to without you as my wife.”

I clapped my hands over my mouth and nodded, jumping into their arms. As I hugged them, the entire beach roared out in cheers and applause. The guys all cheered the loudest, even Ryder. I pulled back and looked at both of them, shaking my head. “You guys are so crazy. And Harper, you kept a secret like that? That’s really impressive.”

---