Page 8 of The Billionaire's Paradise

He laughed. “I’ll take the Fifth on that one.”

I rested my head on his chest, letting the scent of wine and cologne and Cal settle around me.

We stood there for a while. His hand moved slowly across my back. My fingers played with the hem of his shirt. It was one of those quiet, late-night kitchen moments where everythingcouldbe fine… but something still buzzed beneath the surface.

I cleared my throat. “Hey… can I ask you something?”

Cal gave a low “mmm” and kept rubbing my back.

I hesitated. “Hypothetically… if someone, say me, happened to find a certain glossy brochure under a Daffy Duck tie in your drawer—purely by accident, of course—what would you say that meant?”

His hand paused.

I tilted my head to look at him. “The brochure had a lot of smiling babies on it. And also the words ‘premium tailored solutions to suit you,’ which frankly sounds like a shopping experience at Brooks Brothers.”

Cal winced. “Okay. I was hoping you wouldn’t find that yet.”

I pulled back, my heart doing a stupid little leap. “Yet?”

He ran a hand through his hair. “I didn’t mean to be sneaky. I’ve just been… thinking. Quietly. Casually. Panicking, a little. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to say it out loud.”

I blinked. “Saywhatout loud?”

“That I’ve been thinking about… us. Having a baby. Starting a family.” He looked at me, then away. “It’s not just the wine talking, I swear.”

I stared at him.

“You’re allowed to freak out,” Cal said quickly. “I just—God, I didn’t want to pressure you, Matt. I’ve been carrying this idea around like a secret hot potato. And maybe that’s not fair. But you’re my whole life. And lately I’ve been wondering if maybe… our life could have more people in it. Small ones. That throw food and cry a lot. Then this afternoon, when I saw you and Angus and Mr. Banks and Mrs. Mulroney holding her Cabbage Patch doll upside -down, well I… hell, I didn’t know whether I was going to burst out laughing or burst into tears.”

I was quiet for a second too long.

Cal’s face fell. “If this is all too much, I—”

I shut him up with a kiss planted firmly on his lips, then wrapped my arms tightly around him. “I thought I was the only one secretly thinking about it.”

His whole body relaxed into my arms.

“I didn’t know how to bring it up,” I mumbled into his shirt. “I thought you’d think I was being impulsive, or overcompensating for something, or—”

He kissed the top of my head. “Or maybe I’d say yes.”

We didn’t say anything else for a long time.

Eventually, Cal said, “So… maybe we keep talking about it?”

“Maybe westarttalking about it,” I said.

He smiled into my hair. “We’re gonna screw this up so spectacularly.”

“Spectacularly,” I agreed.

But neither of us let go.

CHAPTER 2

Sunlight streamedthrough the bay window, warming the polished counters and neatly bunched bouquets that lined the front ofMrs. Mulroney’s Flower Shop. The place smelled like rosemary and ranunculus, with a faint hint of whatever detergent she used on the mop that doubled as a back -scratcher when she thought no one was watching.

Mrs. Mulroney was busy reorganizing the gift card display for the third time this week, muttering, “Sympathy should never be next to Congratulations, it sends the wrong message. Nobody wants to muddle their good news with the bad.”