Chapter Thirty-Three
chapter thirty-three
NATE
“I know this isn’t ideal, but I can’t be here,” I say, scrubbing my hands over my face. “I missed her doctor’s appointment, and I get that she said it was fine, but it’s not. The baby can come anytime in the next several weeks, and I can’t be here when it happens.”
“I get it,” Dustin says with a smirk. “But how about we focus on these numbers, and we can discuss this later?”
Carmine chuckles, and I glare at my brothers, who don’t seem to give a shit that I’m being pulled in a million different directions and the only one I want to be pulled in is where Paige is. I appreciate her supporting me taking over as temporary CEO, but this isn’t where I should be. I should be with her, in Rosemary?—
My thoughts are cut off when there’s a knock on the door, followed by Paige walking into the office. Since she’s supposed to be in Rosemary, I shake my head, wondering if I’m seeing shit, but, nope, she’s here, dressed in a beautiful maroon wraparound dress that shows off her belly.
“Hey,” I say, pulling her into my arms.
I don’t know why the hell she’s here, but I’m so glad she is.
“We were just talking about you,” Dustin says. “Nate was about two seconds away from getting on a plane and going to you.”
Paige laughs, and the melodic sound hits me straight in my chest. I love this woman so much, and I can’t go another month without seeing her. FaceTime and texting aren’t enough.
“You’re not going anywhere,” she says, taking my hand and threading our fingers together. “This is your home, and it’s where you belong.”
“No.” I shake my head, confused as fuck. “My home is with you.”
“Then, you’re going to have to stay,” she says, her eyes filled with love. “Because this is my home now too.”
“Wh-what?” I stammer because she can’t possibly mean…
“I love you.” She lifts her other hand to the side of my face. “And I love your family.”
“I know,” I tell her. “But they understand that you want to live in Rosemary.”
“But I don’t.” She shakes her head. “While I was fighting to keep my house, to remain in Rosemary, to hold on to my job, I didn’t realize that I was fighting for all the wrong things. When, the entire time, what I was craving was the magic that I’d felt when my mom was alive. It had disappeared when she passed away, and I couldn’t seem to find it again until I met you.
“I thought you’d helped me find it again, but what I didn’t understand at the time was that the magic wasn’t London. It’s not the house or the job or the location. It’s the person. It was my mom…and now, it’s you.
“And that magic, it’s not actually magic. It’s the feeling of love…of being loved. It’s in the way you care about me and take care of me. The way you always put my wants and needs first. And now, it’s my turn to do the same for you.”
Fuck, this woman. She’s everything I’ve ever wanted and more, but I can’t let her do this.
“Paige, I appreciate you putting me first, but I don’t want you to do that. I want to live where you want to live.”
“And I want to live here with you and your family.”
Dustin clears his throat, reminding us that him and Carmine are still here. “Not his family,” he says. “We’re your family too.”
Paige smiles a watery smile. “Thank you.”
“What about the house?” I ask, trying to wrap my head around all of this.
“I’ve contacted a realtor to put it up for sale. The movers have been hired to get my stuff and bring it here so we can sort through it all, and since you left your key card to your hotel room at the house, we stopped by there and got all your stuff.”
“And the baby?” I ask .
“I spoke to my doctor, and she’s transferring my file to Penny’s OB.”
“Her doctor is awesome,” Carmine adds.
“People move all the time,” she says. “The important thing is that we have the baby somewhere safe, and Dallas Regional is a good hospital with an amazing birthing center and pediatric unit.”
“Holy shit, you looked into everything.” And then I remember one thing she didn’t mention. “What about your job?”
“I planned to take time off to be home with the baby anyway. I spoke to Ana and I’m going to finish everything remotely, and then Jill, one of the marketing team leads, will be taking over. Eventually, I’d like to work again, but I’ll cross that bridge when the time comes.”
“You could always work for the family business,” Carmine says with a smile. “You’d be a damn good asset to our marketing team.”
Paige’s eyes glisten as she looks at my brother, and she sniffles back a sob. “Thank you. That’s definitely something I’ll consider. That is, if the CEO would be willing to hire me.” Paige winks at me playfully, and I bark out a laugh.
“You’re serious?” I ask because I can’t fucking believe it. “You really want to live here in Dallas?”
She nods.
“You have no idea how much this means to me.”
“Actually, I do,” she says softly. “Because this is all I’ve ever wanted since the day my mom died…to be part of a family. And thanks to you and your family, I finally have one. Rosemary is just a place. But my heart is with you. This whole time, I thought the magic was gone, but it was only because I was waiting on you.”