Page 214 of Boss of the Year

But Lea shook her head stubbornly. “You’re all living these happy, beautiful lives,” she said. “Marie’s engaged and starting a family. Joni’s got Nathan, and her career is taking off. Kate’s moving to LA. Matthew, you have Nina and Olivia and this perfect life in Boston. And meanwhile, the kids and I are stuck back in that same neighborhood, sucked back into the worst memories of our lives every single day.”

Lucas watched every person in the room break a little as Lea spoke. By the time she was done, they’d all wilted. In shame, maybe. But also love.

He’d never experienced anything like it.

“I—” He cleared his throat as every face turned back to him. “I just want to say, I think it’s admirable. Both what you’re doing for your family, Lea. And also how much everyone in this room clearly loves you. I don’t know about them, but can I just say, if you ever need anything out there, any kind of help, please call us, day or night. I don’t care that we’ll be in France. Marie and I will do whatever it takes to get you what you need.” He looked down at Marie. “Right, baby?”

Her bright eyes shone up at him with so much love, he honestly thought he might die from the heartache of it all.

“Right,” she whispered, then reached over the back of the couch for Lea’s hand and squeezed it. “I’m proud of you, Le. It’s hard to go out on your own. I know you’ll do great.”

The conversation calmed then as the family wanted to know more about Lea’s new life. Eventually, as Lucas could have predicted, their curiosities settled back on him.

“So,” Matthew said as he returned from the kitchen with his third cup of coffee, “what areyouactually going to do with yourself in France? I mean, beyond washing dishes and knocking up my sister.”

Lucas felt Marie stiffen beside him.

“Lucas is going to study plants, you mannerless lout,” she said. “He’s going to solve Darwin’s ‘Abominable Mystery.’”

She looked up at him with a grin, and he couldn’t help but grin back. Just when he thought he couldn’t love this woman more, she went and remembered something likethat.

“Which is?” Kate asked.

Marie winced. “Er…Lucas?”

He chuckled. “It’s a term that refers to the mysteriously rapid diversification of flowering plants during the Cretaceous period.”

Every Zola’s face turned blank.

“It’s about why there were suddenly a lot more flowers,” he clarified. “Still one of the great unsolved puzzles in evolutionary biology.”

“Oh!” Joni perked up. “So he’s a dork like Nathan. Mattie, we have nothing to worry about now.”

“Am I a dork?” Nathan wondered. “Really?”

“A super hot dork, babe. But that’s why I love you.”

Marie chewed on that luscious lip of hers. “Can you answer that question in Saint-Cyprien?”

Lucas kissed her temple, his heart swelling with love for this woman. Because he knew she wasn’t asking because she doubted him, but because she wanted to make sure he could have everything he wanted. Just like he did for her.

“I can do that anywhere I have you,” he told her softly.

“That’s all very romantic,” Matthew said dryly, though he wasn’t totally immune to the romance in the room anymore, Lucas noted, if the way he was holding his wife’s hand was any indication. “But how are you going to pay for research if you’ve given away all your money? I doubt answering abominable mysteries comes cheap.”

“I transferred my shares in the company, not my personal assets. I left us with some pocket change.”

“How much pocket change are we talking?” Lea wanted to know.

For the first time since this morning, Lucas felt genuinely uneasy. He looked down at Marie.

“It’s okay,” she said. “But you don’t have to say anything.”

He sighed. It was better to get it out there. “About five hundred million dollars.”

Every person in the room gasped. Marie, most of all.

“Five hundredmilliondollars is pocket change?” Joni asked faintly.