Page 22 of The Billionaire and His Forever

Seconds later, she’s racing up to her room to change into a bathing suit and sundress. I keep Cassie company in the foyer until Abbie comes back. After Jude pops in for a quick hello, Abbie and Cassie head out the door. I watch them go, listening to them chatter about the local Italian deli where they’re going to stop en route so they can put together a picnic lunch for their day at the beach. It’s good to see Abbie looking so lively again. God knows she’s earned it.

With that first obstacle out of the way, I call out for Jude.

“I’m in my room, Daddy!” she yells from upstairs.

I steel myself for the conversation I’m about to have with my daughter. My heart is already racing, but all I can do is hope for her blessing. Here goes nothing, as they say.

When I reach Jude’s room, I find her readingMisty of Chincoteaguein her beanbag chair, using her gigantic stuffed horse from FAO Schwarz as a footrest. I lean against the doorjamb for a moment, just watching her. She’s a remarkable child. Smart and resilient and kindhearted, but with a spine of steel underneath it all. I’ve never been more proud of anything I’ve created.

“Hey, little warrior,” I interrupt gently. “Can we talk?”

“Sure, Daddy. About what?” Jude’s face scrunches up as I drop onto the floor beside her, and I smile to let her know this isn’t going to be something scary.

I take her hand. “I have something important to tell you, Jude, and I hope you’ll be as excited about it as I am. But if you aren’t, it’s perfectly all right to say so, or to ask questions or to discuss it more—so don’t think you have to react a certain way just to please me. I love you very much, and this affects you just as much as it does me. We’re in this together. Okay?”

Her eyes dart back and forth as she searches my gaze, looking for clues. “Okay.”

She gives my hand a squeeze, as if she’s expecting this to hurt, and I take a deep, steadying breath.

“So here it is. I’ve given this a lot of thought, and…I’ve decided I want to ask Abbie to marry me.”

Jude gasps, and then looks confused. “But what about Mommy?”

I was prepared for this initial response, but it still feels like a knife in the gut. “Do you remember the talk we had, about me and your mom? We love you, Jude, and we’ll always be your parents, but we’re simply better people when we’re apart. So it’s going to stay that way.”

Her face falls a little, but she nods slowly as she appears to mull it over. “Does this mean Abbie would be my…stepmom?”

“That’s exactly right.”

“Wow,” Jude says wonderingly.

I can’t help but smile. “Here’s the thing, Jude. Even though I know this is what I want, I still need to make sureyou’reokay with it before I talk to Abbie. Because it’s important that you and I agree on what’s best for our family. So if you feel like you’re not ready for me to ask her to be a part of our family, I need to know. I’m not going to change my mind, but I am willing to wait a bit if you’re not comfortable with the idea yet. I know it’s a lot to take in all at once.”

And then I hold my breath as Jude looks off into the middle distance, pondering everything I’ve just dumped in her lap.

“I love Abbie,” she finally says. “And I think she’d make a really good stepmom. But…”

“But?”

She chews on her lower lip. “I want to ask Mommy if it’s okay. I don’t want her to think I won’t love her anymore if I have a stepmom. It’s important for her to know she’s still my mom.”

Jude’s request is not at all surprising, although the idea of going to see my ex-wife sours my stomach. Still, I can see how important this is to Jude. And the last thing I want to do is make her feel that she has no agency, that she isn’t a part of this decision. So I won’t deny her. If it’s important to my daughter, it’s important to me.

“Why don’t we go to the hospital to see your mom now?” I offer.

“Okay! And then maybe I can help you propose to Abbie.”

“You know what? That’s exactly what I wanted.”

Jude beams.

I call Ronaldo and tell him to bring the car around, and Jude and I are on our way to Manhattan a few minutes later. The entire drive down, Jude babbles nonstop about the wedding.

“We can have it at the house! And Desi and Lucy can be the flower girls. I mean, flower horses. Actually, I’ve never heard of flower horses, but it’s totally a thing now.”

“I think it’s brilliant,” I tell her with a smile. My little horse-obsessed daughter and her wild ideas.

When we pull up to the hospital, my grin instantly becomes strained. I don’t want to go in there. I don’t want to see Natasha. But this is for Jude. And for her, I would do anything.

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