Page 44 of Undeniably Unexpected (Boston’s Irresistible Billionaires #6)

I watch her breathing beside me, crimson hair fanned across the white hotel pillow and my chest. The dim light from the bathroom catches the freckles dotting her shoulders, and I lightly trace them with my finger.

I’m not used to this fullness in my chest, the strange certainty that came with those three words we exchanged hours ago.

I love you. Words I’ve said in films countless times… but never in real life.

Never with this terrifying honesty.

Keegan shifts, her leg sliding against mine beneath the tangled sheets.

The ceiling fan turns lazy circles above us, barely moving the heavy Florida air even with the air conditioning blasting through the vents.

Outside our window, Key West continues its nightly symphony of distant music and occasional shouts—thankfully no roosters yet—but in here, it’s just the sound of our breathing and the soft whir of the baby monitor tracking Fen’s dreams in the bedroom across the suite.

“You’re thinking too loud,” she murmurs, not opening her eyes. Her hand finds mine under the sheet, fingers threading through mine with practiced familiarity, as if we’ve been doing this for years instead of hours.

“Isn’t that my line for you?”

“Yes, but I was sleeping this time.”

“Sorry.” I bring her knuckles to my lips. “My brain won’t shut up.”

Now she does open her eyes, green with tiny flecks of gold, like sunlight through leaves. “Share with the class, Powell.”

I trace the curve of her bare hip with my free hand, memorizing the softness of her skin, the curves of her body that I’m still learning.

“I have to go back to Boston,” I say finally. “Sooner than we planned.”

Her expression doesn’t change, but I feel the slight tension in her fingers. “How soon?”

“By the end of the week. I spoke to Mel, the head producer, yesterday. They’ve moved up the production schedule.” I sigh, hating the intrusion of reality into this bubble we’ve created. “Some issue with scheduling and budget. The usual film nonsense.”

She nods, absorbing this. “We knew this was coming,” she says, her thumb making small circles on my palm. “It’s already been like ten days anyway. Can’t make vacation last forever.”

“That’s actually what I wanted to talk about. I want you to come back with me.”

Her eyebrow arches. “Instead of staying here the extra week or two?”

“Yes. I realize that might seem selfish. But I want you to come back to Boston with me and Fen.” I gesture vaguely toward the baby monitor.

She shifts onto her side to face me fully, the sheet sliding down to reveal the curve of her breast. I’m momentarily distracted before forcing my eyes back to her face.

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying I don’t like the thought of you on the island alone. I’m saying I’d miss you too much if you stayed.” I swallow thickly and force out the words. “This is new for us, and I don’t want to lose what we’re building.”

“And you think a week apart would do that?”

I sigh. “I don’t know. No, I don’t. I just know I don’t want to be without you, and I’ll go mad thinking about you alone on the island.

Besides, the press already found us here,” I point out.

“They had photos of us at lunch and then on the beach yesterday. Photos of you holding Fen. Of us holding hands.” The memory makes something protective and angry rise in me.

“If privacy is the concern, we’ve already lost that battle, and it’ll be no time until they find the island. ”

She pushes a strand of that remarkable red hair behind her ear. “It’s not just that. It’s going back to Boston is different. Key West is a vacation. Boston is real life.”

“I want real life with you,” I say quietly, a little frustrated by her brush-off. “That’s exactly what I’m asking for.”

She studies me, and I see the fear there, beneath the calm exterior. Keegan Fritz, with her sharp tongue and sharper mind, is afraid. Not of me, but of this. Of us and of what we’re becoming.

“The press will be worse there,” she notes.

“You know that. British movie star returns with billionaire heiress girlfriend and baby. They’ll be all over us, digging into my life, making assumptions.

They’ll find the most unflattering photo of me from college and plaster it everywhere next to some airbrushed shot of you from your last premiere. ”

I can’t help smiling. “Most unflattering photo? Now I’m intrigued.”

She shoves my shoulder, but she’s smiling too. “There was an unfortunate phase involving too much eyeliner and boy band T-shirts I cut up in ways that made sense at the time.”

“Sounds hot,” I murmur, leaning in to kiss her shoulder.

“You’re missing the point.”

“I’m appreciating the visual.” I trail my fingers up her arm.

“But no, I’m not missing the point. I know what we’re up against. The press has been following me since I was twenty-three, Keegan.

It’s not my favorite part of the job, but it’s part of the package.

You’re no stranger to the press. Besides, I’m not leaving you here on a rooster-infested island with press lurking offshore in motorboats. ”

She sighs, rolls onto her back again, and turns her head to look at me. “You make a fair point.”

“I occasionally do that.” I prop myself up on one elbow and gaze down at her. “Besides, I have a not-at-all foolproof plan for Boston.”

She snorts. “This should be good.”

That sound never fails to make me smile. “First, I get a real place, not a short-term rental. Something with security and parking and enough space for Fen to run around without encountering mysterious stains on the carpet.”

This gets a laugh and a scrunched nose from her. “Practical and less terrifying. I’m listening.”

“Tinsley knows someone in their building who’s moved out?—”

“Wait.” She stops me. “Are you talking about buying a place in Boston? As in moving there?”

Now I stall. Did I misread this? Her expression is throwing me for a loop. “I was contemplating it, yeah. Bad idea?” Maybe I’m more in this than she is, which feels ironic and horrifying all at once.

She catches my wrist, her expression turning serious. “What happens when this film ends? When you need to be in Vancouver or New Zealand or wherever for the next one?”

It’s the question I’ve been asking myself. The one that wakes me in the middle of the night.

“I don’t know,” I admit. “I can’t promise I won’t have to travel because that’s the nature of the job.”

“I know that.” Her voice is low. Cautious. But the hopeful sparkle in her eyes surges my own. “I wasn’t expecting you not to.”

“But you thought I’d film this movie and then hop a flight to London or LA with Fen and that would be that,” I surmise.

“I don’t know what I thought. All this happened last night, and I haven’t gotten that far yet, but yes, before, that’s what I assumed.”

“I’d like Boston to be home base for the foreseeable future.

This film runs through early spring, and after that I’ve got two other films lined up that I’ve already signed contracts for.

I made those deals before Fen came, but…

Fen needs stability. He needs a regular home.

So I’ll work out things for these two projects, and after that, I’ll either do local to New England films or…

I cut back for a while, or… I don’t know. ”

Her eyes bounce enormously wide.

“Are you bringing a nanny with you for those two projects?”

I can tell she doesn’t like that, and I can’t blame her even if it stings a bit. I’d never in a million years cheat, but this is new and I don’t have the best reputation in the past with women.

“I don’t know what I’m doing about that yet.

My mum is going to come to the States to help with Fen for a bit when I start shooting, which is great, but after that, I don’t know.

He will need some form of childcare that meets my hours and potentially travels with me.

And there are these brilliant inventions called airplanes,” I add.

“I’m told they can transport people across great distances in mere hours. ”

She rolls her eyes. “Sounds fake, but okay.”

“The point is, if I have to go somewhere for a while, maybe you and Fen could come with me for part of it. Or I fly back on days off. And if I do get a nanny for Fen, I’ll make sure it’s a man or a grandmum or someone you approve of.

Regardless of who they are, they’ll know I’m with you, and that means I’m with no one else. ”

She smiles, liking that.

“We’ll figure it out. People do this all the time, don’t they?”

“Famous people with normal partners? I’m not sure the data supports that theory.”

I laugh softly. “First, there’s nothing normal about you, Keegan Fritz.”

“Truth,” she agrees, but I quickly press on.

“And second, look at Tinsley and Stone. He’s a doctor, same as you, and she’s always off filming and playing concerts.

They don’t have a Fen, but fuck. I’m not saying it will be easy.

The press attention alone will be... challenging.

” I search for the right words. “But I’ve done the math in my head a hundred different ways, and every calculation ends with the same result.

I want you with me. I want Fen with me. The alternative is worse than whatever obstacles we’ll face. ”

“Are you trying to make me swoon? I should totally write this down and put it in one of my books.”

“You’re teasing me now.”

“Actually, I’m kind of serious.”

The baby monitor crackles with a small sound. Not a cry, just Fen shifting in his sleep, and we both glance at it reflexively.

She turns to me, her expression softening. “I have another job, you know. As an author.”

“Pardon?”

“You’re not the only one who’s been thinking.

Part of what I came to this island for was a bit of soul-searching.

I love being a doctor, but I love being an author more.

It’s what I think I want to do on more of a full-time basis.

I have a few more months left on my residency, and after that, well, nothing says I have to be a doctor full-time.

I could be per diem hospital staff even. ”

I blink at her, floored by that. “What are you saying?” Now it’s my turn to pose that question.

“You really want this?” she counters.

“I want you and Fen,” I correct. “That’s all I know for sure.”

She’s quiet for a long moment, her eyes searching mine. “Your accent gets more British when you’re trying to convince someone of something,” she says. “Did you know that? It’s pretty sexy.”

My lips bounce. “I hadn’t, actually. Is it working?”

She smiles, and something in my chest unclenches. “Maybe.”

“Maybe is better than no.”

“I’m thinking I can write anywhere. And Fen adores me. I’m not sure how he’d feel about a manny or a grandmumnny.”

“A what?” I laugh the words.

“I’m just saying, let’s see how things go with us over the next couple of months, and after you shoot this film and I finish my residency, if we’re still having conversations like these, then I think we can make it all work with your schedule and mine.”

I lean down to kiss her. Something soft and lingering. When I pull back, her eyes stay closed for a moment. “I love you,” I say, because I can now, because we crossed that threshold last night and I’m no longer afraid of it. “I don’t say that lightly, Keegan.”

“I know you don’t.” She opens her eyes. “I love you too. That’s why this is terrifying.”

“My mum told me the best things are worth risking everything for.”

“I thought she told you to never fall in love.”

“Apparently I was wrong.”

She rolls her eyes and snorts a laugh. “Good thing she didn’t tell you that before or who knows who you’d have ended up with.”

Her hand slides down my chest, finding the scar just below my ribs from a stunt gone wrong years ago. The baby monitor crackles again, and this time there’s a small whimper. We both freeze, waiting to see if it develops into a full cry. After a moment of silence, we exhale in unison.

“He’s a seriously good sleeper,” she observes.

“He’s the best.”

“That’s sweet.”

“I mean it.”

She kisses me then, slow and deep, her body shifting against mine. My cock stirs again, and I’m amazed at how quickly she can affect me.

“So,” she says when we eventually part, her eyes bright with a mixture of fear and excitement. “Back to Boston by the end of the week.”

“Yes,” I agree. “Just the three of us with the entire world all over us. Not so bad.”

“When do you move into your new place? Did you already buy it?”

“Not yet. I’m not sure when that’ll all come together.”

“You and Tinsley will be inseparable now. More than you already are. You’ll have sleepovers constantly.”

“Likely. But three’s a crowd in a bed.”

“Huh? I’m not moving in with you. Not that you asked or anything, but after living with you for ten days, I’m sure you can understand. Besides, we’ve only been real for a hot beat.”

“Perfectly reasonable.” I try to keep my voice light. “You want a safety net. I respect that. But just so we’re clear, I am asking you to move in with me. But it can be at your own pace.”

“You’re ridiculous.”

“I prefer charming or persuasive or even devilishly sexy works as well.”

“Ridiculously charming, then.” She stretches, catlike, against me. “Let’s see how things go once we’re back on dry land. And let’s figure out who’s outing you to the press.”

“We will,” I tell her resolutely. “And when I do, there will be hell to pay for them.

“Yeah?”

I trace patterns on her bare shoulder. “I’ve spent my career playing men who go after the thing they want most. The treasure, the girl, saving the world, whatever.

But they’re always chasing something. It’s part of their inner conflict and makes for a good story on screen.

” I meet her eyes. “But I’m not chasing anymore.

I’ve found what matters, and it’s all right here in this hotel suite.

Now it’s just about protecting it, and I won’t let anyone fuck with you or with Fen. I won’t.”

No matter what.