Page 54 of Broken Billionaire's Second Chance

I give Michael a covert glance and catch him looking at me. His fingers tighten on my thigh and I feel safe, loved, and the center of his attention.

With a devilish wink and wicked smile, he makes my heart flutter. Then he leans in to whisper in my ear, “You look beautiful tonight.”

I blush and say, “Thank you. You're handsome yourself.”

With a slight smile, he kisses my cheek and says, “I love you.”

“I love you more.” I mean the words as I lean into him, enjoying his warmth as we sit at the table underneath the weeping willow trees. Thousands of little lights illuminate the night, and the green lawn under our feet smells fresh and damp.

We're still engaged like we agreed on, but I want more.

I want to be his wife.

After so much time spent helping Raina plan her wedding, I'm excited at the thought of planning my own.

I'm looking forward to the day I can wear a white dress and walk down the aisle into the arms of the man that I love. And even though I don't have a dad to walk me, his dad has offered to give me away and even now the thought makes my heart melt.

The only thing that matters is that I want to spend the rest of my life with Michael.

He’s my person, the one for me.

He always has been the person for me, even when I was too blind to see it. Even when I was afraid that he might have a daughter. Even when I was scared and doubted him - stupid move on my part, and a mistake I won’t make again.

The nice thing is we got some news about Grace. Cynthia discovered that her ex-husband, not Michael, was Grace's dad, and they decided to get back together. Good for them. I don't care. I'm just glad that they're not in our lives anymore. Michael hasn't heard from Cynthia since the day he kicked her out of his house and said that she would be hearing from his lawyer.

But I don't care about them anymore.

They're in the past.

Michael and I are in the present, and we're living every day.

We're looking ahead to our future and making plans for what we want our life together to look like. And I'm excited.

I listen as Valerie makes a toast to our best friend and her husband. I think about when it will be Valerie and Raina making a toast at my wedding, and I can’t hold back a smile. I'm so excited for this bright, beautiful future I see.

I'm also excited for our parents. They're sitting right across from us, laughing and chatting like old friends sharing a dessert Michael had slipped them on the sly. They started out as friends and just hit it off right off the bat. Who knew a couple of people could bond over flan and Bundt cake? Well, they did and it’s beautiful to see. Of course, I can tell that they're falling in love. And that's fine with me. I want them to be just as happy as everyone else.

Sure, past me might have thought it would be weird for me and Michael to be together and for my mom and Michael's dad to be together. But now I think I've become much more understanding and open minded. They're a great couple.

My dad still tries to call from time to time. I answered once just to give him a checkup because I wanted him to know that mom is happy and safe and in love. I wanted him to know that I'm getting married and that I don't need him to walk me down the aisle. And for the first time, I heard something strange in my father's voice. Regret, maybe sorrow.

But he made his choices, and now he has to live with them, just like the rest of us.

I finally feel like my life is falling into place so that everything is happening the way it's supposed to.

And Michael, he's absolutely amazing. The best man a woman could ever ask for. The app he made has catapulted my business to a whole new level, and I've gained so much more net worth. And yet he wouldn't accept a bonus or anything more than we agreed in the beginning.

Of course, I know when we get married we'll be sharing finances quite a bit more. But him helping me with my business has also allowed me to send more people his way, which has grown his business too.

And that's how it should be in business and in love. We should boost our partners. We should love them unconditionally. And we should strive to see the beauty, joy, and love in every moment. Like this one.

Under the willow trees and lights with the man I love.

THE END

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