The Billionaire’s Girlfriend Bet - Leslie North Page 0,57
coming, honey!”
“What is it?” Blake asked.
“It’s a picture of our family,” Michelle said as she led him up the stairs. When she looked over her shoulder, her eyes were shining with tears again. “Because Mollie knew first that you were the missing piece here. And now you get to see our little artist’s rendition of us.”
Blake throat tightened all over again as her words washed over him. Prior to meeting Michelle, he never could have imagined how good it would feel to be included in a family unit like this. He never could have imagined the joys and highs awaiting him from fully diving into love.
But maybe that was precisely why his friends had urged him into the bet.
They knew the secret. And finally Blake did too.
It was the type of lesson he’d hang onto for the rest of his life.
Epilogue
SIX MONTHS LATER
“Hey, wait a second! Where are the capers?”
Blake’s incredulous voice rang through the empty field of the Seagulls stadium. Michelle and Mollie had come with Blake and his best friends for a relaxed, autumn Sunday picnic. And being that Blake was the one with the least amount of experience in organizing lunches that didn’t require an elite staff of chefs and servers, Michelle had tasked him with unpacking the picnic basket.
It was just one of many ways that their lives had blended effortlessly ever since he’d shown up at her house six months ago. Going out for picnics on Sunday with friends and family came from Michelle’s world. Having the picnic inside the privately-owned Major League Baseball stadium came from Blake’s world.
And she wouldn’t have it any other way.
Michelle snickered as she headed toward him. He’d laid out a big blue blanket right by third base, while Grayson and Daniel threw a baseball back and forth nearby.
“They’re in there, I swear.” She sank to her knees beside him, grinning at the perplexed look on his face. “And even if they’re not, I think lunch will still be great without them.”
“Yeah, but the salmon—”
She pressed a kiss to his forehead. “You’re an incorrigible perfectionist, and I love you for it.”
“No canoodling on the picnic blanket,” Grayson called out.
“I like their canoodling,” Mila said, heading their way with baby Ethan hoisted on her hip. He was just shy of a year old. Mollie followed in Mila’s wake. She was eager to help with Ethan at every turn.
“Lunch will taste better if there’s some canoodling involved,” Jackie added with a laugh, joining Michelle on the blanket.
“See? We’re all in agreement,” Michelle said, winking at Grayson.
“You three would be,” Daniel teased. “Inseparable friends that you are.”
He wasn’t wrong. In just six short months, Mila and Jackie had turned into soul sisters. They had a long-standing Monday morning coffee date that none of them would miss for the world. And whenever questions came up on anything from fashion to training to caring for pets, the ladies consulted each other first.
“I can’t find them,” Blake finally said, throwing his hands in the air. “You look.”
Michelle sighed, fighting a grin while she took his place in front of the picnic basket. His gaze sizzled on her as she rummaged through the contents. She clearly remembered watching him place the capers in here, so her boyfriend was particularly blind today if he couldn’t find them an hour later.
Beneath the red and white checkered paper plates, she spotted the tiny glass jar. But she also felt something else next to it. Something small and velvety. She frowned, tugging out the jar followed by the strange little box.
The air around her changed as soon as she freed the box from the picnic basket. Suddenly, it felt like all eyes were on her and she wasn’t sure why.
“Oooh, Mommy, what’s that?” Mollie asked, bounding her way.
“I don’t know—” she began, but then clamped her mouth shut. Suddenly, it clicked. Blake’s eager gaze. The way Mila and Jackie’s mouths had parted. Why Daniel was discreetly filming the whole scene with his phone from the third baseline.
Michelle popped open the box, finding a glittering diamond ring inside. And below it, in a smaller slit, a tiny, simple band that looked like it was made for Mollie’s finger. Michelle gasped so hard that the box tumbled out of her grip. Mollie squealed with delight and caught it before the ring box got lost in the depths of the picnic basket again.
“Michelle,” Blake began, the low rumble of his voice immediately prompting tears. She knew what was coming. What this all was about.