Billionaires Dollar Series

He nods. “And then it did. And it was like a confirmation of everything I already knew, that relationships weren’t for me, that women weren’t to be trusted. But lost in that realization as I was, I left you alone with this, and I’m more sorry than I can say. It’s inexcusable.”

I wet my lips. “You’re right. This is a couch conversation.”

His laughter is short, surprised. “Told you it was.”

“Ethan, what you thought I did was pretty inexcusable, too.”

“You’re being too kind to me again,” he says. “I’ve been an ass. Be angry at me.”

“I have been.”

“But not just at you. At myself, too. At your ex-wife for putting these thoughts in your head.”

“I’m the one who listened to them. But I won’t, not again, not where you’re concerned.”

I shake my head. “Don’t say that.”

“Don’t?”

“We’re going to have to learn to trust each other again. It won’t be an overnight thing, but we have to.” And then, because I haven’t said it before, and because I can’t resist, “We’re going to be parents together, you know.”

And the answering smile on his face makes the knot inside me loosen. “We are.”

“And I plan on being very, very, very involved,” I add. “Comparatively speaking, you know.”

“To my ex-wife?”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Ethan steps closer, the solid wall of him now inches away. “That’s not all I came here to say.”

“It’s not?”

“No. But the next part might come off as a bit desperate.”

I laugh, pushing my hair back. My emotions feel scattered and my defenses flown wide. “I’ll try not to judge.”

“Thank you,” he says, mock serious, and then actually serious, as he reaches up and catches a stray tendril of my hair between his fingers. “The truth is that I’ve missed you, Bella. What you said about needing to learn to trust is right. We need to re-learn one another again. We need… well, I need to have you close.”

A thousand responses flit through my mind. Some kind, some sappy, some… well. “More papers for me to sign?”

“Christ no, not now, not ever.”

“I would, though. Whatever you need to feel secure.”

Ethan’s hand flits to my chin, tilting my head upwards. The space between us feels like it’s alive, humming with anticipation and closeness. It’s been weeks since we touched last.

Weeks.

“Do you think you can forgive me, Bella?”

“No,” I murmur. “Because you’re too late. I already have.”

A smile ghosts across his lips. “My heart damn near stopped after the first word.”

“Sorry. Is that dangerous for a man of your age?”

His smile is full-blown now. “Teasing me while we’re having this conversation is very unsportsmanlike. I can’t retaliate at the moment, not while I’m begging.”

“Sorry. I’ll behave.”

“Please try to.” His thumb smooths over my lower lip, the roughness soft over my skin. “Move in with me, Bella. With us.”

My breath comes out in a surprised huff.

“I know I’m asking a lot,” he says. “What I told you about having little to offer wasn’t entirely self-defense, after all. I come with two energetic kids, a complicated, pain-in-the-ass ex-wife, workaholic tendencies, and plenty of trust issues.”

“And a very nice treehouse,” I murmur. “You come with that too.”

“Is that a selling point?”

“Oh yes.” I wet my lips. “What about the girls, though? What would they say?”

“They love you,” he says, hand cupping my cheek. I fight the urge to lean in to the warm touch. “They have since you first met them. But we’ll go slow, for all of our sakes.”

I grip his shirt, as if to make sure he’s real. Everything he’s saying… it’s what I’ve wanted to hear for weeks. “Ethan, I need to know. Is this just because I’m pregnant? It’s okay if it is. I’d understand that. But I need to know where we stand, the two of us.”

“I deserve that question,” he murmurs. “I’ll admit that the baby forced me to reconsider certain things. Without that, I don’t know if I’d have worked through this as quickly as I have. It would have been… easy, so to speak, to dismiss you and not open up. But even if you hadn’t been pregnant…”

He looks away, something like embarrassment crossing his face. “I got annoyed at Maria for changing my sheets, the ones you’d slept in.”

“And I couldn’t eat a baked good without thinking about you. Looking for you on my morning runs. It might have taken me longer to come around without the baby, but I would’ve, Bella. I missed you too much.”

My hands flatten against his chest, soaking up the feel of him. “Oh.”

“That’s it? My grand declaration, and I get an oh?”

I tap my index finger against him. “Patience, Ethan.”

He gives a long-suffering sigh, but there’s something else in his eyes. Tentative happiness-hope. “I’ve never been good at that.”

“I’ve missed you too,” I say. “More than I expected, and far more than was good for me.”

“I’m selfishly very glad to hear that.” His other hand comes up, tangling in my hair. “What about my question? Will I get an answer to that?”

I wet my lips. “I already said I forgive you.”

“No, baby. About moving in.”

It’s not fair, asking me that with his mouth so close to mine. “In time,” I murmur.