Mr. Mitchell Billionaires' Club Book 2 - Raylin Marks Page 0,177
when we weren’t ready. It might’ve seemed absurd to the outside world, but this was my woman, and I would be a fool if I let her go again, even if it was only to a different house. “We’ve been apart long enough.”
When we got to the beach house, my nephew and Addy were playing in the gated room. I must have looked like a rude asshole to Carm and Mark, but I wanted to see Addy and John more than anything. Jake scooped up my nephew after the little guy gave me a kiss, and then Addy’s eyes met mine, and her smile could’ve lit up a baseball stadium. God, I missed this little girl. That smile was the prelude to her hugging me tighter than ever before, and I picked her up and held her in my arms.
“I thought I’d never see you again, Jim,” she said. “Mom sold my car, too.”
I smiled. Her info-dump was as adorable as she was. “We’ll have to go find another one, won’t we?” I said, Addy looking at her mom with the sass I missed so much.
“Yes! And a new house. Mom and I sleep in the same bed, but I don’t like it when I can’t stretch out good. She always says I steal the covers, but I don’t know what she’s talking about.”
“Can’t stretch out good means she can’t lay like a starfish,” Avery said with a laugh.
“What if I told you I never wanted to lose you or your mom again?” I looked at Avery, and she nodded. “What if I told you I want you to live in my house in a new room?”
“A new room? Like the one I picked the decorations for before we moved away?” she asked, her eyes wide.
“Exactly like that,” I said. “Just the way you wanted it.”
She choked my neck and squealed with excitement. “I love it!”
“And more Sally stories too?” I probably sounded like a damn fool, but I missed this little girl as much as I’d missed her mother.
“And those darn little rascals,” she said with a crinkled-up nose.
“Yes.” I laughed. “I think we’re all set, then. You’re moving to your new house, and we’ll never have to miss each other again.” She pulled back and nodded. “Deal?”
“You got it, mister.”
That’s when I knew life would change forever. All I knew is that Avery, Addy, and I needed each other. They were my family. I had my life now—and it was finally complete. This was my final step in living the life I’d promised myself I would have after letting that demon of my past rule it for far too long. Those demons were gone, and they were replaced with my two beautiful souls of saving grace.
Chapter Forty-Four
Avery
It had been five months since Jim and I had reunited on Jake’s yacht. One might have expected that reconnecting so quickly would have brought about some significant issues after so much time apart. Hell, if I were a betting woman, I would’ve put money on it. However, this was Jim, and he was different. Everything was different. He’d fallen out of my dreams, and after I’d worked out my issues, I was able to fully appreciate the gift that God had given Addy and me.
Jim had guided me in fulfilling my new passion for helping people who’d gone through similar life experiences as me, and he helped me to revamp and expand a women’s shelter and support center in Los Angeles. My heart was burdened to share my story and to help encourage others and give hope to those who’d been suffering silently with trauma. I was living proof that there was always hope. We all had a choice to change our lives and live it on our own terms. I needed others to know how necessary it is to forgive yourself, even when it’s the hardest thing in the world to do. Nothing brought me greater happiness than helping others come to those realizations.
On top of coming home every day to the most handsome and loving man in existence, and the wildest, sweetest daughter, I was living such a fulfilled life. I could never ask for anything more.
Addy was back in preschool at Mitchell and Associates, which made it easy for me to pick her up after work, but my favorite was when Jim would surprise me by showing up with Addy at the women’s center for our McDonald’s date night. The man’s generosity and love had me constantly on