A Moment Like You (The Baker’s Creek Billionaire Brothers #2) - Claudia Burgoa Page 0,78

was over. He didn’t have the heart to tell me he had moved on. I love to watch people fall in love. It’s beautiful to follow their story, but I’m always skeptical about the outcome. I won’t lie to you—even when I was falling, I was waiting for this moment.”

“You didn’t believe in us?”

“Don’t take this the wrong way. It wasn’t you, but me,” she continues. “I love my parents, but I think my destiny is to take care of them. That’s my life, and I accepted it a long time ago. Any guy who happens to like me usually leaves immediately when they take a look at what my life implies. Long hours at the office, taking care of my parents, and focusing on how to keep Mom alive. I don’t blame them; it’s daunting to be with someone like me. What you and I had was magical, but momentary. Some loves are just meant to last a beat. I think that was ours.”

“But it’s not. Being with you is special and everything I want from life,” I assure her. “Our love is meant to become a tale that’ll last forever.”

She sighs and retrieves her legs hugging them. I wish I could take her in my arms, but I don’t want to cross the boundaries. I can still feel her heartbeat pulsing so slow it’s painful, just like mine. Since I’m not ready to leave, I tell her the story about Parrish.

“Maybe he was in love with your mom,” she suggests, intrigued by what I just told her.

“It doesn’t sound like he knew Mom,” I respond.

“Beacon can figure out a lot more with his private security guy,” she says.

“Do you know about him?”

She nods. “They told me the story yesterday. There is something more, but I don’t think finding out will give you the advantage. Parrish had years to prepare for this. You guys are going to have to be careful. I can’t believe your grandfather had an arrangement with William’s dad. You’re destined to be just a commodity.”

That might be what they originally wanted me to do, but it’s not what I’ll do. Not anymore. Instead, I say, “Cyril always called me Mom’s mistake, that I should learn from her and not repeat it.”

“I don’t think a kid is a mistake. We aren’t born by accident. We all come with a purpose. I was my parents, oops baby. What would you do if you had a surprise baby? Would you consider it a mistake?”

My heart beats fast, and I wonder if she’s about to give me some good news. “Who is the mom?”

“Unknown, a one-night-stand, I don’t know… It’s a hypothetical question.”

I can’t think of a stranger. I can only picture having babies with this woman and loving them. If she told me right now that she was expecting our baby, I would consider it the fruit of our love. Proof that we’re meant to be together. I’d be the happiest man in the world. Maybe I won’t be a great father like Mills, but I’d try to learn from my little brother and Sophia’s father.

“Love them, make sure they grow knowing I am proud of them, and teach them what little I know about life and everything I know about business, but give them a choice to follow their own path.”

“You’re already a different person from those men,” she assures me. “Maybe you came to change the destiny of the Merkels and be part of a new dynasty of Aldridges. You guys are going to create amazing things together. I can see it.”

“And our kids will be a part of it.”

She nods. Reaching for my arm, she says while giving it a light squeeze, “It meant a lot that you gave me your heart when you had never done that before. It’s okay to fall in love with someone else.”

“I have a theory,” I confess.

“What’s that?”

“We Aldridges only give our hearts once. I see it with Hayes and Pierce. You have mine, Take care of it while I’m away.”

I kiss her on the top of her head and leave.

Thirty-One

Sophia

“You need to stop avoiding the house,” Blaire says.

It’s been a week since Martina moved into the mansion, and I’ve avoided visiting it because what’s the point of meeting her?

“She’s okay,” Leyla informs me. “You need to remind her this is Baker’s Creek and not fucking New York, but other than that, she’s not that bad.”

“I’m not avoiding the house,” I explain. “Aldry’s needs more attention than I thought.