Page 27 of Damaged Billionaire Daddy (The Lanes Series #1)

Chapter twenty-six

Kandis

We sat together on the edge of the sand near the beach. The hotel, which was only fifteen minutes from the state-of-the-art birthing studio where we were tentatively signed up for a room, loomed up behind us.

Below us, water lapped the edges of the sand. We had gone for a walk earlier and were now relaxing. I was stretched out on a chaise lounge, with my feet up.

Richard sat on a stool beside me and rubbed my feet. We had drinks with little umbrellas in them, but no alcohol. I had a Shirley Temple, and Richard had a sprite with a twist of lemon, because now was not the time for either of us to indulge.

I almost purred when Richard hit a good spot. My feet had hurt almost non-stop for the last three weeks. “Oh, you have about a hundred years to stop that,” I said.

“We didn’t walk too far?” he asked.

I shook my head. “My back hurts, but it started hurting yesterday. The midwife said not to worry, but to have our bag packed.”

“It is, right?” he asked.

“Caleb put it in the car yesterday so we wouldn’t have to worry about it.”

“Good old Caleb,” he said. “He’s worked so hard to make up for breaking my hip.”

“Caleb?” I exclaimed in surprise.

“Yeah. Didn’t we tell you? He was on the other team. His tackle and the five guys who piled on top of us kind of wrecked us both.” Richard picked up his stool and moved it beside me where he could rest his head against my swollen middle.

“No, he never mentioned it. But then, he doesn’t talk a lot.” I took a sip out of my Shirley Temple. Somehow, it was not sitting right.

“Are you feeling all right, babe?” he asked.

I smiled at him. “Just tired of being pregnant. I’m ready for this kid to be on the outside so you can take a turn carrying him around.”

We were pretty sure the little slugger was a boy. The ultrasound looked like it, and the midwife said that I was carrying like he was a boy.

Richie didn’t care about that part. He placed his ear against me and listened to the gentle swoosh and churn of life getting made.

A taught ridge of muscle clenched in my belly. Little Slugger wriggled around in there and delivered a kick that caught Richard right in the ear.

“Wow! That was a strong one,” he said, rubbing his ear.

“I’ll say,” I replied. “Glad we made it back here to rest.”

Richard looked at me closely. “Are we talking about the same thing?” he asked.

“Probably not.” I grinned at him. “Our meanings frequently pass each other like ships in the night.”

“Strangers in the night,” he crooned softly to me, “Da-da-di-da-da.”

“Oh, you,” I giggled. I pushed the hair back out of my face and reached for my drink.

We had come so close to missing out on this. Funny how we rarely recognize the really good things in life until they smack us on the head.

Richard had an odd look on his face, so I asked, “Do you ever regret not taking over the vineyard?”

“Only when I have to listen to Delard bitch about it. I got you, and you are worth twenty vineyards, no, two hundred vineyards,” Richard replied.

I laughed. “Love you, too, you big lug.”

“Love you more,” he said, wrapping his arms around my stomach, listening to the life inside me.

“Even though I look like a beached whale?” I asked.

“Kandy Kane Lane,” he said, making my grandparents’ pet name for me into something new, “You are an amazingly beautiful whale, and I’m glad you are beached here with me. I am so lucky you read my letter and decided to give me another chance.”

“Come kiss me, lucky man, and make me feel beautiful,” I demanded.

Richard did his best to do as I asked. Kissing and hand holding was about all we could do now, but it seemed to be enough for Richard.

He’d just gone back to listening when my belly did that thing again. The muscles in my stomach corded up, and everything got taut and hard. It hurt! I panted, in little doggie breaths, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh for a minute, just as we’d practiced in pre-birthing class.

“You okay, Kandy?” he asked.

“Yeah,” I said. “That was a hard one. I think Little Slugger is getting ready to make his debut.”

“I thought only girls did that,” he joked.

“You know what I mean.” I let the sarcasm drip off the words.

“I do,” he relented. “I’ll be glad to hold a boy or girl in my arms. Either one will be fine.”

“I don’t much care if it’s a rhinoceros,” I grumbled. “I’m tired of being pregnant.”

He kissed me tenderly, but it was plain that there was only one way through this. Unfortunately, Richard couldn’t do it for me. “Can I rub something for you?” he asked. “Maybe sent for some ice chips?”

“Can we lay this lounger down flat so you can rub my back?” she asked. “And ice chips don’t sound bad.”

I pressed the service button and ordered a cup of ice.

Then I carefully lowered the back of the lounge so I could help her turn to her side to rub her back.

“If my investments fail, I can get a job as a masseur,” he joked, beginning slow circles over my lower back.

His hand was warm and comforting, and he was finding just where it hurt the most.

“I don’t think you should worry about a job,” I said.

“Why is that?” he asked, pouring a little lotion in his hand to help it glide over my skin. “I’ve retired as an entrepreneur, and I’ve got a wife with a baby on the way.”

“Because Pops and Mimi are deeding the vineyard over to me, and I’m going to need a business manager,” I said coyly.

Richard stopped rubbing in complete surprise. “You’re kidding, right?”

“Nope,” I said, turning to look up at him. “We all signed papers yesterday. It’s official. Pops and Mimi are going to retire.”

Richard just sat there for a minute or two, the massage oil dripping from his hand. “I don’t know what to say. After, well, everything, I’m going to wind up running the vineyard?”

“Yep,” I said, rolling over as far as I could. “Don’t stop rubbing.”

Richard began to laugh. He laughed until tears ran down his face. “The total irony of it all,” he says.

His laughter was contagious. I giggled, and then I laughed, and then we were both laughing like total loons until another contraction hit.

When it stopped, I said, “Funny, isn’t it, how things turn out sometimes? I didn’t even think I was in line to inherit the vineyard.”

“Who else would there be?” he asked.

“I have cousins,” I said. “I’ll admit that none of them seem to have taken an interest in the vineyard. When Pops realized that what you really wanted was to have a vineyard of your own, and to make excellent wine, he was completely won over.”

Richard sat there for a minute. “I can’t believe it,” he said.

Then a horrible thought seemed to hit him. “Kandy,” he said, panic on his face, “I married you for you. And I would still feel lucky, without the vineyard or even without the baby. I can’t begin to tell you how horrible I felt when you told me you hated me.”

“And I felt lost and abandoned, and like you were just using me,” I said softly. “Love doesn’t happen all at once, but I was sure falling for you.”

“And I for you,” he replied, bending to kiss the part side of my face. “Who else would brave the hammer with me, then go up in the mountains and make snow candy? No one, that’s who. You are one in a million.”

“Do you really . . .” I started to ask. Then I was hit with a really hard contraction that had my complete attention.

When the contraction eased off, he said, “I really love you. Really, truly love you. You are the best thing that has ever come into my life, better than anything I could hope for in the future.”

Something that had been knotted up in me seemed to relax. “Are you sorry that we are having a baby now?”

He shook his head and began to gather up our things into the beach bag I had brought along. “Nope. Babies happen when they decide to happen. I’m glad you caught up with me, so I didn’t miss out on this. I love you, and I will love our baby even more than I do now just as soon as he is here.”

“And I love you, Richard,” I replied, struggling to sit up.

He steadied me, the bag slung over one shoulder. As I stood, there was a sort of whoosh, and water began to soak the sand.

“I think it’s time,” I said, feeling embarrassed as fluid filled my sandals.

“Looks like it,” he said. “Caleb’s got the car waiting, and he has called ahead to the birthing center. Our room is confirmed.”

Then he helped me walk up the bank and settle into the car, and Caleb drove the big limo toward our happily ever after future.

* * *

Thank you for reading Damaged Billionaire Daddy please don’t forget to leave me a review it helps me out a lot.

You will thoroughly enjoy the SEAL’s Baby Surprise; A Brother’s Best Friend Age Gap Romance, next in the Protective Billionaires Series featuring the Lane family.

Meet Austin a damaged protective Ex SEAL who is a single dad and a Billionaire you want next door. Despite the his past he looks out for everyone, he meets his Lee a runaway bride washed up on his beach and their story unfolds.. .

Excerpt

Chapter 1

Austin

My name is Austin Ezekiel Moore, and I’m the guy mothers warn their daughters to stay away from.

No, not that guy. I mean, I’m not going to like... destroy worlds and shred reputations. I’m not a danger to anyone but myself.

Well. Danger being a somewhat relative term, I suppose.

In terms of like physical danger, yeah, anyone’s daughter is going to be fine with me. Hell, I’ll probably protect them if I can.

However.

Emotionally, I guess there’s some merit to the warning. I’m not exactly a safe bet, in terms of feelings.

I’m not trying to be a jerk. It’s just that I’m not built for relationships. I’m the guy with itchy feet, who doesn’t want to stay anywhere for long.

Even with my daughter (who luckily inherited the itchy foot gene from me) I don’t necessarily have a permanent home. We live in a modified camper van for now, and it’s as good a home as any.