Page 63 of A Billionaire Gentleman

“I’m sorry for leaving you.”

I could breathe again but didn’t want to hope it meant anything more than him being the decent guy I knew him to be. “It’s okay. I understand why you did it.”

He shook his head and came a step closer to me. “It wasn’t okay. No matter how pissed I was, stranding you without a way home was a dick move.”

“I’m sorry for everything.” I swallowed hard, determined not to cry. I didn’t want him to think that I was trying to manipulate him with tears. No matter what Mead said, I’d never done it to him, and I certainly didn’t intend to do it to Deklin.

“Grandad told me that you didn’t agree to take the job until he showed you the letter from my mom and told you about Aurelia.”

I nodded.

“I know you did it for your son, and for me.”

“I never meant for things to get this far,” I said around the lump clogging my throat. “I didn’t know I was going to fall for you. I wouldn’t have slept with you if I didn’t–”

I stopped, unsure if I should say it or not.

He smiled, and it was so achingly beautiful that my heart felt close to bursting. “I love you too,” he said, “and I want to give us a second chance. A new start.”

I caught my breath as he pulled me to him. When his arms wrapped around me, I pressed my face against his chest, hands clutching at his shirt. The smell of his laundry detergent mingled with his natural now-familiar scent and loosened the knot in my stomach.

“Does this mean you want the same thing?” He kissed the top of my head as he stroked my back, hand moving up and down my spine.

“Yes.” I tipped my head back so I could see his face. “I want that very much.”

He brushed his lips across my mouth and then rested his forehead on mine. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if you thought it wasn’t worth it.” After a beat, he added, “That would’ve made for an awkward trip home.”

Home, right. We both had a lot waiting for us when we stepped off that plane. With a sigh, I took a step back. “We should probably pack.”

“You’re right,” he said. “We have an appointment with Grandad’s PI tomorrow afternoon.”

I frowned. “What?”

He gave me a sheepish grin. “I may have spent the flight here talking to Royd Kichner about what he’d found on your ex.”

My eyebrows shot up. “You did what?”

“Grandad told me about how Royd was looking into Mead for you, so I figured I might as well do something productive since I hadn’t done anything but brood the whole flight to Houston.”

I walked over to the closest chair and sat down. I felt like I had whiplash. “And?”

Deklin came over and crouched down in front of me. “And Royd has enough to bury your ex. Not just stuff that’ll make any judge think twice about giving him custody of a kid, but enough to get him arrested.”

Arrested?

Deklin grinned. “Royd’s got something that proves Mead’s responsible for having those drugs planted on you.”

I was glad I was sitting down already because, otherwise, I would’ve been on the ground. In less than thirty minutes, I’d gone from thinking I’d lost any chance at a happy future to seeing a real chance at get everything I’d never dared to wish for.

Deklin took my hands and kissed both of them. “You’re not in this alone anymore.”

That simple statement did what nothing else had done so far, and tears spilled down my cheeks. My whole life, I’d never had that sort of support, not even when I was married.

“It’s all right.” He brushed his hands over my cheeks, wiping away my tears. “We’ve got this. We can do this.”

I nodded, letting him pull me to my feet. He was right. Whatever was coming, we could handle it together.

Step one was packing up. Step two would come after that.

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