Page 129 of The Billionaire Is Back

I look up to find Grady watching me. “What were you saying earlier? About changing your mind?”

I glance over at Damien, who’s got his eyes closed and I think he’s visualizing the race or something, so it feels private. I lean in a little closer toward Grady and say, “I’ve decided I want to be with you as much as possible. I’d rather live in your world than live without you in mine.”

“Is that from a song?”

“Maybe?”

“‘Midnight Train to Georgia,’” Damien says, his eyes still closed. “Sort of.”

“I’ll sell the bakery,” I continue. “And move to New York. I can get a job working at someone else’s amazing bakery in Manhattan.” I shrug. “That way I’d have more time to be with you.”

I don’t think I’ve ever seen Grady look this surprised. Not even that time I did that thing to him on top of the mega yacht. He blinks once and then says, “Is that really what you want?”

I’m tearing up again, but not because I’m sad. Because I finally feel like I have what I want. “What I really want is to be with you.”

Chapter 36

A Race against Brine

Grady

I had expectedto be the one to surprise Claire, not the other way around. I’ve been holding back from telling her that I’m stepping down as CEO because I didn’t want her distracted while she made her magnificent cake. But it’s been incredibly difficult. I want to hold her and kiss her and make her understand in no uncertain terms that she’s mine and I am hers.

When all this time, underneath all the stress and frosting and fondant, she was thinking about our future and choosing us.

Choosing me.

She’s willing to give up her life here in Beacon Harbor to be by my side in New York so I can continue my conquest. If there was any doubt in my mind that I had made the right decision in choosing to come back to her—which there wasn’t—there wouldn’t be now. She hassomehow simultaneously promised me what I’d wanted and thrown me completely off-kilter. Only Claire Sweeney could do this to me.

Would it be easier for her in New York?

Does she want a whole new chapter in life?

“What I want is to be with you too, Claire.” I reach across the glossy cake sea to hold one of her hands, both of us still gripping the giant cake tray with one hand each. “But there’s something that I need to tell you too.” Before I can continue, the ambulance comes to an abrupt stop.

Damien mother-seat-belts his lobster containers, and Claire and I steady the lobster cake. Seconds later, Jake and Vera are opening the back doors.

“We’re here. Let’s move!” Jake yells as he hops up into the back to start moving the gurney.

Claire and I share a look. It’s not a sad shared look. Or frustrated. It’s bemused. We haven’t figured out our future. But now we both know for certain that we have one.

We just don’t have time to talk about it right now.

“They’re still setting everything up!” Vera yells over her shoulder, pointing at the stage. “We aren’t late! I did nothing wrong! Nothing at all!”

“Let’s show the town this amazing cake,” I say to Claire. “And then we’ll figure out the rest of our lives.”

Claire smiles a radiant smile, and we help get the cake down and out of the ambulance. Damien follows close behind with Clawdia and Muhammad Lobbee. He looks stressed. My brother never looks stressed. It’s actually nice to see. He clearly gives a shit. But what’s not okay is that he looks miserable. Without hope. I look overat Claire, who is flanked by Vera and her brother as they get the cake to the award stage.

I’ll have to wait to tell Claire everything I need to tell her. But there’s another speech that’s been burning a hole in my mind. For my brother. And it’s now or never.

“Damien, wait!” I call out. He turns back as I jog up to him.

“What? I have to get Muhammad into the race track.”

Sugarcoating this like it’s one of Claire’s donuts will not help matters. So I just say it: “I think you should race Clawdia.”

Damien is not accustomed to tough love. Except from Vera, apparently. He looks at me like I just sucker punched him. “What?”

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