Page 76 of The Billionaire's Paradise

“Well,” he said, stretching his legs. “That went better than expected.”

I gave him a long, puzzled look. “Are you sure you and I were at the same lunch?”

He gave a small smile. “Hey, at least nobody drew blood.”

I snorted. “Only because I was raised with manners. And there were witnesses.”

Cal sipped his wine, quiet for a beat. Then—“You’re really not going to give him a chance, are you?”

“I gave him lunch. That’s more than enough.” I turned toward my husband. “He talks over everyone, acts like he’s doing the world a favor by existing, and he thinks romance novels are God’s idea of a joke. He’s a total jerk, Cal. Full stop.”

Cal nodded slowly, eyes on his wine. “Yeah. He is.”

I raised my eyebrows. “You’re not going to defend him?”

Cal shook his head. “What’s to defend? He’s arrogant, insensitive, and—yes—I think he enjoys getting under your skin.”

“So why the hell are you working with him?”

Cal looked at me, not defensive, not annoyed. Just tired. “Because this deal is too good to walk away from. And if that means tolerating Hal for a few more months, then that’s what I’ll do.”

“For what?” I asked. “For bragging rights? A bigger house? More billionaire points?”

“For us,” he said. “For this family we’re building. For our future kid. I work hard so you don’t have to worry. So we can have the life we dreamed about. So I can give that child everything they’ll ever need.”

I sat with that.

“Matt,” he added softly. “Don’t you get that? I want us to be happy.”

“Wearehappy,” I said, turning to him. “We don’t need Hal to make that happen.”

Cal didn’t respond right away. He just stared out at thedarkening horizon, where the ocean disappeared into the sky. His thumb brushed the rim of his wine glass like he was thinking through a hundred things at once.

And maybe he was.

I looked at him—really looked at him. The sharp lines of his jaw softened in the rising moonlight, his shirt sleeves rolled up, hair a little messed from the breeze. He looked less like a billionaire and more like the man I fell in love with—the one who took a chance on a flower delivery boy like me. The man I married, who promised to always keep me safe.

And the truth was, Ididfeel safe with him. I always had. Cal was the one who steadied the boat while I flailed at the waves.

The one who made the impossible feel less so.

The one and only man with whom I wanted to raise a family.

I reached for his leg. “Cal, I know how hard you work. I know you do it for me… and I know you’re doing it for that beautiful bump growing inside Leilani. I love that about you.” I sighed, then added—“And if that means I need to have ‘I’m Too Sexy For My Shirt’ on a loop in my head for a few more months, I guess I can live with that.”

He smiled, finally. “It’s not such a bad song.”

“It’s a terrible song.”

He laughed. “You’re right. It’s truly annoying.”

We fell into an easy silence then, the kind that only comes when you know the person next to you will still be there when the silence ends.

Cal reached out and linked his fingers with mine.

“I just don’t want to lose sight of us in the middle of all this,” I murmured.

“You won’t,” he said. “I won’t let us.”