expected.
“I’d like to have a relationship with you,” she finally said, placing down the other half of her cookie. “I know that’s probably asking too much, but all I’ve had over the years were news articles and magazines to know about you, and I… I’d like more.”
Staring down at my cookie, I tried to figure out how I felt about all of this. “It’s going to take time,” I told her. “But you’re a huge part of Brooke’s life, and she’s my entire fucking world, so… we will be part of each other’s lives no matter what. There’s no reason we can’t try and build a relationship.”
I had no idea if we would be successful or not. My experience with parents wasn’t the best, but what did it hurt to give it a shot. Especially when I had a child on the way. A child who deserved a fantastic grandparent.
I’d thought I’d maxed out my “Christmas miracles” with Brooklyn deciding she was ready to put up with my stubborn, violent, pushy ass. But maybe there were more in store for me.
One thing I knew, I was ready for whatever came my way.
33
Brooklyn
I’d fallen asleep content and warm in the knowledge that Dylan loved me, that I had a family in Mary, and that I was free. Finally, truly free. One day soon I’d even sell this shithole of a house with all its bad memories, and then I’d be totally rid of Blake’s memory.
When I woke on Christmas morning, Dylan's huge frame was draped around me with his palm splayed over my bare belly. For a long time, I just lay there, looking down at the way he subconsciously protected his baby.
Some time later, he stirred and kissed my neck lovingly.
"Merry Christmas, Brooke," he murmured, his voice thick with sleep.
My pulse raced and my belly flipped with utter happiness as I snuggled deeper into his embrace. "Merry Christmas, Dylan."
He drew a deep inhale, then released it slowly, warming my neck. "Thank you, baby," he whispered. "You gave me the best gift of my entire life."
My chest tightened. "What was that?" I asked. I was all too aware that the silly remote-controlled pterodactyl I'd bought at the mall was still wrapped up under the tree. The incredible tree that he'd set up for me.
"A family," he replied, stroking my belly. "You gave me a family of my own, Brooke. I fucking love you so much it almost hurts."
I knew he wasn't just talking about our baby, but about Mary, too.
"I love you too," I murmured back to him.
He'd given me the greatest gifts of all: our child, Blake's death and my subsequent freedom, and love. He'd showed me what it felt like to get my fairytale ending, and we were only just beginning.
“How did it go with Mary last night?” I asked, hoping that I wasn’t about to turn his mood sour. It could have gone either way, depending on Dylan and what he learned, and I really needed to know if there were pieces to pick up this morning.
He stilled beside me before he started to stroke my side softly, sending tingles through my body. “It was… a lot. A fucking lot.” He tickled me playfully all of a sudden. “A little heads up wouldn’t have hurt.”
I chuckled, pushing his creeping fingers away even though I really wanted to pull them closer. And lower.
“Mary never actually said anything to me, but I put all the pieces together. I don’t even know how I missed your similarities. Guess I just wasn’t paying attention.”
Dylan was quiet, but he didn’t seem upset. “She told me what happened. My father basically manipulated her into thinking she had nothing to offer then lawyered up to intimidate her. Since she was young and terrified, she walked away, thinking she was leaving me to my billionaire life. She didn’t know the bullshit that went on behind closed doors. No one did. I can’t blame her for wanting me to have a better life, even if I would have given anything to have been raised by her. Even if we’d lived on the streets, it would have been ten times the life I had.”
My heart hurt and thanks to pregnancy hormones, I was now crying for him. For both of us.
“Did she end up with me because of my family contacts in Delta?”
He nodded, his stubble scraping my cheek, he was that close. “I think so, but she didn’t elaborate how she first came to work for your