Finding Him: Second Chance Billionaire Romance (Finding Love Book 1), page 35
“Save the crocodile tears for someone else, Kathleen. They won’t work on me.”
“You’re a heartless bastard.”
“And you’re a cold-hearted, manipulative bitch. You don’t fool me for a second.”
“Nobody messes with me; do you hear me? Nobody!” And just like that, her true colours return.
“And nobody messes with the people I love and care about, which unfortunately is a category you no longer fall under.”
“Don’t push me,” she threatens.
“Look, I don’t have time for you or your idle threats. I have two companies to run and a wedding to plan.”
“Your father told me you are marrying that gold-digging whore. You’re a bigger fool than I thought.”
She’s baiting me, and as hard as it is, I try my best to keep my cool. I also need to remind my old man not to tell her anything about my life. What I do is none of her fucking business.
“I have nothing further to say to you. I’ll see you in court, Kathleen. Goodbye.”
“I’ll make you sorry you were ever born!” she screams down the line as I’m ending the call.
Her threats don’t scare me. John only wants what’s rightfully his so he can move on with his life, but she’s fighting him every step of the way. It’s wearing him down to the point that both Brooke and I are extremely concerned about him.
Dropping the phone onto my desk, I pinch the bridge of my nose. John didn’t want to take this route, but unfortunately, it was the best solution. It took me weeks to convince him this was the only way to go. He was hoping they could settle this amicably, like two adults, but deep down we all knew my aunt wasn’t going to make this easy for him. She’s greedy, materialistic, and completely self-centred. The only person Kathleen cares about is Kathleen.
“Your four o’clock is here, Mr. Cavanagh,” Rose says, buzzing my office.
“Okay, just give me a few minutes, then send them in.” My eyes scan the desk. When I don’t find what I’m looking for, I press the intercom. “Rose, is there a file?”
“It’s a new client, but I’ll get one made up for you now.” I hear her giggle before she releases the button and my jaw ticks. I’m in no mood for this.
Sitting back in my chair, I run my fingers through my hair. I don’t want to be here today. I want to be at home where I can lose myself in my girl and not deal with this crap.
A few minutes pass before Rose knocks on my door and enters. I turn to look at her, but instead of my receptionist, I find my beautiful fiancée standing just inside the doorway.
“Brooke.”
“Hey, Hot Stuff.”
Standing, I round the desk as she approaches. She’s a sight for sore eyes. Her presence is just what I need. Pulling her into my arms, I bury my face in her hair and inhale her familiar scent. It instantly calms me.
“I wasn’t expecting to see you until tonight. Shouldn’t you be at the studio?”
“Michelle is holding down the fort,” she says, encircling my waist with her arms. “I’m your four o’clock.”
“What? You don’t need to make an appointment to see me. You know I’ll always make time for you, no matter how busy I am.” Tucking her hair behind her ear, I bring my lips to hers. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
“I’m glad I am too. Our time together has been limited lately, and as much as I miss you, I’m actually here on official legal business.”
“Really?” Releasing her, I guide her towards the chair opposite mine and gesture for her to take a seat. As Brooke sits down in front of me, I lean against the corner of my desk, before crossing my legs at the ankles and giving her my undivided attention. “I’m intrigued, Miss Ryan.”
She inhales a sharp breath before speaking. “Hot Stuff,” she says, scooting forward and placing her hand on my leg. “I may as well just come out and say it. I want you to draw up a prenuptial agreement.”
I stand quickly as my temper goes from zero to a hundred in a millisecond. That was the last thing I expected her to say.
“You’re kidding me, right?”
“No, I’m deadly serious,” she says, her face dropping.
Pushing away from the desk, I walk towards the floor-to-ceiling windows and gaze out over the city skyline. This day is going from bad to worse.
“That’s not happening, Brooke. I can’t believe you’d even suggest such a thing.”
“Hear me out,” she says, coming to stand beside me.
“Nothing you can say will make me change my mind.”
“Please, Logan.”
She rarely calls me by my birth name, a point that only manages to make my irritation grow. Turning my head, my eyes meet hers. “Don’t do this,” I plead.
“Don’t do what?”
“Sabotage our marriage before it’s even begun.”
“How am I sabotaging our marriage?” she asks as her pretty face screws up. “That doesn’t make any sense.”
“You’re setting us up for failure.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“Really? You wouldn’t even be suggesting a prenup if you didn’t have reservations about it working out.”
“That’s not it at all,” she says, reaching for me. “There are valid reasons why we should do this that have nothing to do with us, or our marriage.”
“Give me just one.”
“Okay … I’m a realist. I’ve been through enough in my life to know that things can change in a blink of an eye. Look what happened between me and Jake. When I married him, I thought it was forever too.”
I scrub my hand over my face. I hate that she was once married to that dickhead. “What we have doesn’t even compare to what you had with Jake. You said so yourself.”
“It still doesn’t change the fact that I never saw it coming.”
“It’s irrelevant.” I flick my hand, dismissing it completely. “Our circumstances are nothing like yours were with him.”
“But don’t you see? Things happen sometimes that are completely out of our control. We can’t even pretend to know what the future holds for us.”
“A beautiful life,” I snap as I rub the heel of my palm over my pectoral muscles in an attempt to relieve the sharp pain in my chest. “That’s what our future together holds, Brooke.” I refuse to consider anything less. “Let’s just drop this nonsense.”
“It’s not nonsense. I’m doing this for you. To protect everything you’ve worked hard for.” She pokes me in the chest to emphasise her words, and I have to hide my amusement. She’s sexy as hell when she’s mad. “I love you, not your bank balance. I don’t want you, or anyone else, for that matter, thinking I’m doing this for the money.”
“I know you’re not marrying me for my money. Christ, you won’t let me buy you anything without questioning it.”
“But you still do.”
“What?”
“Buy me things, even when I tell you not to.”
“Because I love you. I want to give you nice things. Is that so bad?”
“No,” she replies, bowing her head. “But as beautiful as all those things are, none of it is as important as you are to me. It’s you that makes me happy, not your gifts.”
“I know.” I place my finger under her chin, drawing her eyes back to mine. “It’s just one of the many things I love about you. As for worrying about what everyone else may think, I don’t give a flying fuck about that. When this marriage happens, and it will happen, it’s going to last. End of story!”
“I want that too, but how can you be so sure?”
“Because my life without you is unimaginable. Don’t you see that? This,” I say, gesturing between us, “is forever. I’ll fight until my fucking death to make sure that happens.”
Her hands fist my dress shirt as she moves her body closer to mine. “I want forever too.”
“Well, then that’s settled.”
“I still think a prenup is a good idea.”
“I swear on my life if you don’t stop this madness, I will sign over every cent and every property I own … including this company, into your name, which, in turn, will negate any prenup.”
Her eyes narrow. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“Try me.”
“You’d be a fool to do that.”
“A fool who is in love with his fiancée and refuses to do life without her.” When she blows out a puff of air I know I’ve won. Gathering her in my arms, I crush her body to mine. “So, we’re in agreeance?”
“Ugh, fine, you win. No prenup.”
“That’s my girl,” I say, resting my chin on top of her head. “You’re stuck with me for life.”
“I can live with that. There’s nothing we can’t get through as long as we face it together.”
“Exactly.”
Her words should be calming, but instead I’m left with a sense of foreboding. The truth is, she’s right—who knows what the future holds for us? I can only hope the unwavering love we share in this moment will last … forever.
Download Finding Forever here:
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THE BOSS
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NINETEEN LETTERS
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J. L. Perry, Finding Him: Second Chance Billionaire Romance (Finding Love Book 1)
