Page 27 of The Billionaire and His Forever

I throw my arms around my tiny bestie and give her the tightest squeeze I can. In the twinkling lights, with the sun hanging low over the horizon, my ring lights up like a carousel on the boardwalk, and it steals my breath away. Jude wriggles out of my grasp and grabs my hand to look at the ring.

“It looks like a princess ring,” she breathes.

“I think you’re right,” I agree. “It’s the most beautiful ring I’ve ever seen.”

“It suits you perfectly,” Graham says, pulling me in for another kiss.

It’s so surreal to stand here and be openly affectionate with Graham in front of anyone, much less his daughter. There’s no way the two of them pulled off all of this on their own, which means they had help, which means we’re no longer a secret. And that feels so good.

“Do you know what else this means?” Jude suddenly asks, tugging on my shirtsleeve. “Do you know what marrying my dad means?”

I think I know, but it seems so important to Jude, like she’s just dying to say it, so I pretend to think it over. “Let’s see. Getting married to your dad means I get to wear this incredibly shiny ring. And it means you’ll have to help me pick out a dress. And I guess it means I’ll also have to move into the house permanently. What else could that mean?”

“You’re going to be my second mom!” Jude blurts out, unable to contain herself any longer. “You’re going to be my new other mom!”

“Oh my gosh, you’re right!” I gasp, my hand going over my heart as if I’m in shock, but I’m hit so suddenly with the pure force of Jude’s love that I almost can’t keep up the act because I’m blinking back tears again. “Is that okay with you?”

“Better than okay.” Jude throws herself into my arms and I hold her tight, kissing the top of her head and letting a few silent tears fall into her hair. “You’ll be the best second mom in the whole wide world.”

“I can’t wait,” I tell her.

And that’s when it really hits me: Not only I am finally getting Graham, but I’m getting Jude, too. Forever. I’m so happy, I don’t even know what to say.

“Are you okay?” Graham murmurs gently in my ear.

“Yes!” I sniff, wiping up the rogue tears on my cheeks. “Are you kidding me? This is the happiest I’ve ever been in my entire life.”

“But you’re crying.” Jude looks up at me, her brows furrowing. “Are they happy tears?”

“Oh my sweet girl, the happiest. The happiest tears imaginable.”

We settle onto the picnic blanket and Graham starts unloading the picnic, laying out a sumptuous feast that only Mary could have assembled. She made all my favorites—crab cakes, avocado and citrus salad with white balsamic dressing, lobster rolls on crusty bread, fresh strawberries with Chantilly cream and slices of sweet green honeydew melon. I am going to have to thank her profusely for this later. We eat and laugh and take silly selfies with the flowers and the food and the horses, my ring finger featured in every single one of them, until it’s full dark out and Jude nearly falls asleep surrounded by zinnias, her flower crown askew.

“I made all the bouquets,” she murmurs. “Daddy said I should be a florist.”

“You did such an amazing job.” I pull Jude in so she can rest her head on my shoulder. “Girl, you really could be a florist. This is gorgeous!”

“Can you be a horseback-riding florist?” she asks.

“You can be absolutely anything,” Graham says. He fixes Jude’s crown and gently runs his knuckles over her cheek. “Come on now, love. I think it’s time we get back to the house.”

“But I want to stay here,” Jude protests in voice only. She lets her dad scoop her up and settle her on Desi’s back, where she instantly straightens up. “We aren’t done celebrating yet.”

“I think for now we are. We can pick up where we left off tomorrow, okay?” I kiss her hand and let Graham help me up onto Daisy’s saddle. “For now, we need to get you back before you fall off Desi!”

“She would never let me fall.” Jude pats her horse’s neck and stifles a yawn. “Okay, maybe I do need to go to bed soon.”

We all laugh, together, like a real family. Graham gives me a large bouquet of flowers before we ride off, and I spend the whole ride back to the house dreaming of happily ever after. Homemade waffles in bed. Horseback-riding competitions. Lazy summers in the pool. Decking the halls in the winter and jumping into leaf piles with Jude in the fall. By the time we get back to the house, I’m a mess of tears and elation.

Jude climbs right into bed and drifts off quickly, gripping my ring hand as she slides into a heavy sleep. I can’t believe this is actually going to be my life. It’s one thing to work here, but another to become a part of the family. I can barely breathe through it.

“Would you care to join me in my bedroom, or are you too exhausted to continue the celebration?” Graham teases as we leave her room.

“Never too exhausted to celebrate with you,” I tell him, letting my eyes rake his body.

In the hallway, Graham gently presses me against the wall and places a line of kisses across my jawline. “I’ve never seen you so happy. I do believe it’s turning me on.”

I giggle, both at his words and at his stubble tickling me. “Is that so?”

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