Chapter 30
CHAPTER THIRTY
AUbrEY
Iknow something is different the second Dean walks through the front door.
He’s smiling, but it’s not his usual smile after work. Not the exhausted smile he wears when Liana has kept us both up half the night.
This one is lighter, like he seems relieved about something.
“Well,” I say, looking up from where I’m sitting on the floor, stacking colorful blocks in front of Liana. “Somebody’s in a suspiciously good mood.”
Liana, who is sitting up with cushions all around, puts her arms up in the air as he approaches.
Dean’s entire face softens. “There’s my girl.”
He laughs quietly before scooping Liana into his arms.
She immediately grabs both sides of his face, babbling something that sounds incredibly important despite neither of us understanding a word.
He nods seriously. “I completely agree.”
I smile to myself. Watching them together never gets old.
When I first moved into the penthouse, Dean held Liana like she might break if he breathed too hard.
Now she climbs all over him without a second thought, and somehow, they’ve both become more confident because of it.
He catches me watching. “What?”
“Nothing.” The corner of my mouth lifts. “I was just thinking.”
“That’s always dangerous.”
My forehead creases. “Oh?”
“You get this little look.” He points at my face. “Like you’re about to tease me.”
I put my hands up in defense. “I wasn’t.”
“You were.”
“I was admiring you.”
He pauses. “That’s … different.”
“It surprised me too.”
He laughs, shaking his head. “I missed you today.”
The words come so naturally that neither of us seems to realize what he said until they’re already hanging between us.
My heart stutters. “You did?”
He nods once. “More than usual.”
Something in his expression shifts. The playful teasing fades, replaced by something else.
“Actually …” He glances toward Liana before looking back at me. “Can we talk for a minute?”
A tiny flutter of nerves dances through my stomach. “Sure.”
“I’ll put Peanut in her chair.”
A few minutes later, Liana is happily occupied in her activity seat as she bats at the toys in front of her.
Dean doesn’t take a seat on the opposite end of the couch like he normally does when we’re pretending to be nothing more than employer and nanny.
He sits beside me. Close enough that our knees brush. His fingers immediately find mine.
They’ve done that a lot lately—almost unconsciously—like somewhere along the way, holding my hand simply became the place they belonged.
“I’ve been thinking,” he begins.
“About work?” I ask, dreading what this can possibly be about.
He shakes his head. “No.”
I study him as his thumb slowly traces circles across the back of my hand. I get the impression that he’s nervous.
Dean Ledger—the man who negotiates contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars without breaking a sweat.
The man who can command a boardroom with a single look.
Heat crawls up my neck. “You’re scaring me a little.”
He smiles. “Sorry.”
Another few seconds pass. He looks toward the nursery, the hallway, anywhere except me.
“I talked to my dad.”
My eyebrows lift. “About?”
He lets out a quiet breath. “Us.”
Everything inside me goes still.
I swallow hard. “You … what?”
“He figured it out.”
I blink. “Seriously?”
Dean nods. “He told me he’d never seen me look at anyone the way I looked at you.”
My stomach flips. “Oh,” I reply, completely unable to think of anything else to say.
“He wasn’t angry.” I hear the surprise still lingering in his voice. “He wasn’t disappointed or concerned about the age difference.” Dean finally looks at me. “He basically spent an hour convincing me that I’d been making this a much bigger issue than everyone else probably would.”
Emotion catches unexpectedly in my throat. Now I know how much that’s weighed on him.
All the times he pulled back in public. How often he’s worried about what people would think.
“I’ve been hiding behind that fear.” He gives my hand a gentle squeeze. “And I don’t want to anymore.”
I search his face as I try to understand exactly what he’s saying.
“I don’t want us to be a secret.”
The words steal every coherent thought from my brain.
He smiles softly. “I don’t mean I want to announce it on a billboard.”
A quiet laugh escapes me.
“Although Sawyer would probably volunteer to rent one.”
That earns him a grin.
“But …” His smile fades again, becoming something infinitely more sincere. “I don’t want to keep pretending you’re only Liana’s nanny.”
My heart feels too big for my chest.
“I don’t want to wonder if someone might see us holding hands or to stop myself from kissing you because we’re standing in Macy’s.”
My eyes widen. “You noticed.”
“I noticed.” He smiles apologetically. “I hated seeing that look on your face.”
I didn’t realize he’d seen it.
“I was trying to protect you.”
I nod my head in understanding. “I know.”
“I still want to.” He lifts our joined hands. “But protecting you shouldn’t mean pretending that I’m not crazy about you.”
The words wrap themselves around every uncertain part of me.
He laughs quietly. “And I’m tired of acting like that’s something I should be ashamed of.”
Dean reaches up, brushing my cheek with his thumb.
“So”—he smiles— “I was wondering …”
The confident billionaire disappears completely. In his place is simply the man I’m crazy in love with.
“Would you be my girlfriend?”
I don’t answer. Instead, I throw my arms around his neck so quickly that the force of it nearly knocks him backward against the couch.
He laughs, wrapping both arms around me as I bury my face against his shoulder.
“Is that a yes?”
I pull back just enough to kiss him.
“Yes,” I whisper against his lips. “Obviously, yes.” I laugh again. “I’ve been your girlfriend in my head for weeks.”
His forehead rests against mine. “I was hoping you’d say that.”
“I can’t believe you thought you even had to ask.”
“I had to.” He brushes a strand of hair behind my ear. “I wanted you to have the choice.”
“I’ve been choosing you every day since I moved in.”
His smile is so full of relief that my heart aches.
“Oh.” He suddenly chuckles. “I almost forgot.”
“Forgot what?”
“I have a charity gala this weekend.”
I groan dramatically. “You almost forgot to tell me you have another fancy work event?”
“I’ve been a little distracted.”
“I wonder why.”
He grins. “My assistant already confirmed my attendance.” He takes both of my hands again. “I’d like you to come with me as my date.”
The warmth in his eyes makes my pulse race. I don’t think I’ve ever smiled this hard in my entire life.
“Our first official public date,” I reply. “Are you ready for this?”
He is serious for a second. “Are you?” he asks. “There will be paparazzi there. Our pictures will be taken.”
I realize this is the part he was trying to protect me from. Then it dawns on me.
“I should talk to my parents about us first so they’re not surprised.”
His jaw tightens. “If I’m being honest, I’m still slightly worried that your dad is going to hate me.”
I lean forward and kiss his cheek. “My father doesn’t hate anyone.”
“Great. So, I’ll be the first.”
I push his chest, and he smiles.
He’s trying to joke, but I see this is something that is really bothering him. It’s sweet how much he cares what my dad thinks of him.
“I’ll call them tonight. About the event …” I pause, feeling slightly awkward, bringing this up. “What am I supposed to wear?”
A slow, seductive smile spreads across his face. “You mean, what will I be stripping off your body that evening?”
My stomach flips. Will my body ever stop reacting to him in such a powerful way?
I smile back at him. “However you want to put it … I’m not sure I own anything nice enough to attend an event with a bunch of rich people.”
He grabs my hand. “First of all, I’d proudly stand by your side in just about anything you have in your closet. But I want you to feel comfortable.”
Out of nowhere, he drops my hand and stands up. “Come on. Let’s go.”
I look up at him. “Where are we going?”
“Well,” he says as a corner of his mouth lifts, “my girlfriend needs a dress.”
Dean insists on carrying Liana in one of those ridiculously expensive baby carriers he ordered online after spending an entire evening reading reviews because, according to him, “If I’m going to wear my daughter around Manhattan, she’s going to be comfortable.”
Watching a billionaire CEO spend twenty minutes adjusting straps in the middle of our entryway shouldn’t be nearly as entertaining as it is.
“I think it’s crooked,” I say as I try not to laugh at him.
He looks down at it. “It isn’t.”
“It definitely is.” I step closer, reaching around his waist to tighten one buckle. “There.”
He glances down. “You fixed that awfully fast. Have you just been letting me struggle?”
“I was letting you build confidence.”
He laughs. “I’m dating a menace.”
“I’ve been trying to tell you that.”
Liana lets out a happy squeal from her little front-row seat against his chest, kicking both feet as Dean adjusts the tiny knit hat over her ears.
“There.” He kisses the top of her head. “My girls are ready.”
My girls—the words settle warmly in my chest.
He says them so naturally now, like he doesn’t even realize he’s doing it.
The sidewalks along Fifth Avenue buzz with the kind of energy only New York has during the holidays.
Every storefront is dressed for Christmas. Twinkling lights, wrapped around trees, line the sidewalks. People hurry past, carrying glossy shopping bags.
Dean reaches for my hand without thinking. His fingers slide between mine as naturally as breathing.
For the first few steps, I catch myself looking around from weeks of making sure no one saw us together.
Dean notices.
His thumb brushes gently across the back of my hand. “You don’t have to do that anymore.”
I look up at him. His smile is soft.
“I’m not letting go.”
Something inside me melts. “I wasn’t asking you to.”
“Good.” He lifts our joined hands just slightly. “Because I plan on holding this all afternoon.”
I smile. “I think I can live with that.”
Our first stop isn’t the dress boutique. Instead, we go inside a children’s clothing store.