Page 63 of Damaged Billionaire Daddy
“Come kiss me, lucky man, and make me feel beautiful,” I demanded.
Richard did his best to do as I asked. Kissing and hand holding was about all we could do now, but it seemed to be enough for Richard.
He’d just gone back to listening when my belly did that thing again. The muscles in my stomach corded up, and everything got taut and hard. It hurt! I panted, in little doggie breaths, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh for a minute, just as we’d practiced in pre-birthing class.
“You okay, Kandy?” he asked.
“Yeah,” I said. “That was a hard one. I think Little Slugger is getting ready to make his debut.”
“I thought only girls did that,” he joked.
“You know what I mean.” I let the sarcasm drip off the words.
“I do,” he relented. “I’ll be glad to hold a boy or girl in my arms. Either one will be fine.”
“I don’t much care if it’s a rhinoceros,” I grumbled. “I’m tired of being pregnant.”
He kissed me tenderly, but it was plain that there was only one way through this. Unfortunately, Richard couldn’t do it for me. “Can I rub something for you?” he asked. “Maybe sent for some ice chips?”
“Can we lay this lounger down flat so you can rub my back?” she asked. “And ice chips don’t sound bad.”
I pressed the service button and ordered a cup of ice. Then I carefully lowered the back of the lounge so I could help her turn to her side to rub her back. “If my investments fail, I can get a job as a masseur,” he joked, beginning slow circles over my lower back. His hand was warm and comforting, and he was finding just where it hurt the most.
“I don’t think you should worry about a job,” I said.
“Why is that?” he asked, pouring a little lotion in his hand to help it glide over my skin. “I’ve retired as an entrepreneur, and I’ve got a wife with a baby on the way.”
“Because Pops and Mimi are deeding the vineyard over to me, and I’m going to need a business manager,” I said coyly.
Richard stopped rubbing in complete surprise. “You’re kidding, right?”
“Nope,” I said, turning to look up at him. “We all signed papers yesterday. It’s official. Pops and Mimi are going to retire.”
Richard just sat there for a minute or two, the massage oil dripping from his hand. “I don’t know what to say. After, well, everything, I’m going to wind up running the vineyard?”
“Yep,” I said, rolling over as far as I could. “Don’t stop rubbing.”
Richard began to laugh. He laughed until tears ran down his face. “The total irony of it all,” he says.
His laughter was contagious. I giggled, and then I laughed, and then we were both laughing like total loons until another contraction hit.
When it stopped, I said, “Funny, isn’t it, how things turn out sometimes? I didn’t even think I was in line to inherit the vineyard.”
“Who else would there be?” he asked.
“I have cousins,” I said. “I’ll admit that none of them seem to have taken an interest in the vineyard. When Pops realized that what you really wanted was to have a vineyard of your own, and to make excellent wine, he was completely won over.”
Richard sat there for a minute. “I can’t believe it,” he said.
Then a horrible thought seemed to hit him. “Kandy,” he said, panic on his face, “I married you for you. And I would still feel lucky, without the vineyard or even without the baby. I can’t begin to tell you how horrible I felt when you told me you hated me.”
“And I felt lost and abandoned, and like you were just using me,” I said softly. “Love doesn’t happen all at once, but I was sure falling for you.”
“And I for you,” he replied, bending to kiss the part side of my face. “Who else would brave the hammer with me, then go up in the mountains and make snow candy? No one, that’s who. You are one in a million.”
“Do you really . . .” I started to ask. Then I was hit with a really hard contraction that had my complete attention.
When the contraction eased off, he said, “I really love you. Really, truly love you. You are the best thing that has evercome into my life, better than anything I could hope for in the future.”
