49. Gage
Gage
P resident Laurent Rocard de Villepin’s sumptuous luxury Corsican villa is located not too far from the beach.
There are several hundred-year-old olive trees on the property along with tall rosemary bushes, and more bougainvillea than I’ve seen in California.
There are also tons of beautiful flowers I’ve never seen before.
The large terrace that offers a picture-perfect panoramic view of the Mediterranean Sea is my favorite spot. The second is the large pool.
While I was swimming laps, Lily was reading on her iPad, keeping an eye on my performance. Since fucking my girl wasn’t an option, I had to work off all this pent-up energy.
Nadine had one unbendable rule––I had to sleep in a separate guestroom since Gérard lives on the property. It’s only one night. I can live with that. Soon, Lily will share my life and I’ll be able to fuck her whenever I want.
After she shared the baby news, she video called Nadine who was waiting on tenterhooks. She erupted in a joyful cheer when Lily told her she was moving to LA.
I texted my buddies to tell them we were pregnant.
Congratulatory messages are still pouring in.
Other than Mr. Bachelor-for-Life Collin Dennison who’s mourning the loss of another single buddy, our friends are delighted for my girl and me.
Not that I was rushing into a relationship or fatherhood, but unlike Collin, I’m not terrified of the concept.
After a shower, I make my way downstairs to the terrace where Lily is sitting.
Smiling, I approach her.
Our eyes meet.
Lily’s smile could rival the brilliance of the Corsican sun.
I kiss her forehead. “What are you reading?”
“A few articles online about what to expect during the first trimester.”
“I suspect we’ll be reading a lot of those.”
She offers a shy smile.
“I’m famished,” I say.
“You weren’t joking out there, Mr. Olympic.” She drops her device on the table and lifts her eyes to meet mine. “You’re an incredible swimmer. And you’re fast.”
I take a seat at the head of the table. “You should’ve joined me.”
“I don’t know how to swim.”
“We’ll have to change that when you get to LA.”
“No rush.”
The expression on her face is priceless.
“I have a pool on my property. You have to learn how to swim so you can teach our little one.”
She grins wide. “Our little one… that’s wild.”
“It is.”
A pummeling of emotions ricocheted through me when she dropped the baby news in my lap. I wouldn’t want any other woman to carry my child.
Gérard approaches, carrying a tray .
“The breakfast,” he says. Although, it comes out sounding like De brakafast .
“Thank you,” Lily says.
“ Merci ,” I say.
“Text me.” He winks.
He doesn’t wait for a response. He turns on his hell and heads back into the house.
Lily leans into the table. “What was that about? He’s chipper than usual.”
“He’s happy he can communicate in English with more ease.”
She gives me a thoughtful half pout. “I wish I had thought of encouraging him to use a translation app. The fact he can hear how to pronounce the words, makes a world of difference. You’re pretty smart, Mr. Grumpy Pants.”
“At least you know our kid will be a freaking genius.”
She laughs, and laughs, and laughs.
Her laugh is a melody I’ve missed so fucking much.
“Our child…” she says in a soft voice.
“Yes, angel, our little boy or little girl.”
“What if we have twins?”
“I’m okay with that.”
She nods.
Her expression is so vulnerable, it made trekking around Europe to find her, worth it.
My stomach growls.
I gesture at the food. “Dig in before I eat everything in sight.”
“I’ll stick to plain bread and cheese, followed by the strawberry and rhubarb purée.”
She was sick earlier this morning, but managed to hold down some fruit.
“Were you sick again? ”
She nods. “While you were taking a shower.”
Shit.
I wish I could do something, but I’m powerless.
I serve her.
“Thank you for taking such good care of me.”
“Get used to it.”
She beams at me.
I’ve been protective of her since day one, but after last night, something primal ripped from its dormancy.
This woman and the child she’s caring are my world.
I grab the bowl of latte, load a plate with a variety of morning pastries, and a couple boiled eggs.
I finish an almond croissant in two bites.
Lily giggles.
I shrug and keep eating.
We make idle conversation over breakfast, mostly talking about how much our lives will change when we become parents.
When we’re done, I grab my phone and send off a text.
“Mikki is beside herself,” she says. “She can’t wait for me to return to LA. She was wondering why I wasn’t responding to her texts. She was unaware of the turmoil I was dealing with.”
I grab her hand into mine. “It’s water under the bridge now.”
She nods.
“Speaking of Mikki, Phoenix texted me, telling me he’s certain I knocked you up from the way I was devouring you with my eyes when we first met.” I shake my head. “Idiot.”
She laughs. “I’m going to have to pick Dom’s brain. She understands this pregnancy thing better than me.”
“You should connect with Levi Aldridge’s wife. She’s also pregnant.”
“Thank God I don’t have to go through this alone. ”
“No, you don’t. In LA, someone will always have your back.”
“What a departure from what I have with my father and half-brothers.”
Best to keep my mouth shut.
As much as I’m excited about the prospect of meeting our baby when he or she gets here, I’m not excited at the prospect of having Fisher Edgington and his four sons in my life. Thank God they live on the east coast—far away, where they belong.
A grinning Gérard saunters our way with a square-shaped black box in hand.
He drops it on the table, and claps before rubbing his hands together.
“Merci, Gérard,” I say.
“No problem.” He’s still grinning like a loon.
“What’s in the box?” Lily points.
“Bye-bye. I go.” Gérard rushes back into the house, waving over his shoulder.
She frowns. “What’s gotten into him?”
“It has to do with what’s in the box.”
Her frown deepens.
I hand it to her. “Open it.”
Blue eyes settle on me, suspicious flashing bright.
“How else are you going to know what’s in it?”
She rises perfectly shaped arched brows. “Why don’t you open it?”
“Because you should open it.”
She pulls the lid off.
Her gaze bounces from the box to me. “What are these red braided strings for?”
I grab one out of the box. “They’re more than red braided strings. They’re promise bracelets.”
I get up, and get down on one knee .
She gasps.
“You’re mine.” I place a hand on her tummy. “This baby is mine. I take care of what’s mine.” My eyes bore into hers. “I don’t want you to come back to LA with me as my girl, I want you to come back with me as my fiancée.”
“OhmyGod, Gage.”
“Since I didn’t see the baby news coming, I’m unprepared. One of the advantages of being forced to sleep in separate rooms was that I had time to do research. In other words, I made the internet my bitch last night.”
She laughs.
“Armed with a plan, this morning, I enlisted Gérard as my ally because with these big fingers”––I wiggle my digits––“I wouldn’t be able to braid shit.
” I drop my eyes to the bracelet I’m holding before locking my gaze onto hers.
“This is called the Red String of Fate. The legend goes a little like this. Forgive me for adlibbing. There’s an invisible red thread that connects us to the one we’re destined to meet.
Regardless of the place, time, or circumstances.
The thread can be stretched and sometimes tangled––as it’s been in the last few days––but it will never break.
It describes us to a T. I don’t know when you went from being the woman I was supposed to watch over to the angel who holds my heart, but here we are.
I can’t promise you I’ll never slip back into my grumpy-self, but I can promise you, I’ll always love you.
Over the past three years, I lost myself in grief over Mom’s death.
I was okay being single for years to come, but I found you.
I like who I am when I’m around you, Lily. ”
“Your words touch my soul. And for the record, I don’t mind a few appearances from Mr. Grumpy Pants… I know how to turn his scowls into smiles.”
I shake my head.
She winks .
“I was probably too young at the time to understand the depth of my parents’ love, but now, I get it,” I say. “When you meet the one. That’s it. Game over. Nothing else matters. The way I feel when I look at you… the way I feel when you’re near me… I want this for the rest of my life.”
A tear spills from Lily’s eye. She wipes at it as she nods. “I want to be with you forever.”
“We were fated, angel.”
“We were.”
“I don’t have a big ring––”
“I don’t need one.”
“There are two bracelets. One for you.” I tie the braided thread around her wrist. “And one for me.” I extend my arm.
She grabs the other bracelet and ties it around my wrist. “Our thread can never be broken.”
“Never,” I say. “Lily Schuyler, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
Her lower lip quivers. “Yes, Gage, I want to marry you. I want that more than anything in the world… other than our baby.”
“You’ve made me the happiest man,” I say before kissing her until we both run out of air. After several beats, I pull away from her, boring my eyes into hers. “We’re going to have a great life together.”
“The best.”
My mouth claims hers in an all-encompassing kiss, chasing away years of loneliness and replacing them with my beautiful angel.