Page 140 of Worth Every Moment

I pull her up the bed, so our faces are on a level, and kiss her. “Maybe we should get you a matching one. The Hawkston logo, right here.” I grab her arse with one hand and squeeze.

She yelps, then rolls over. “Nope. What if you sold the business? I don’t want that logo on my bum if it has nothing to do with you.” She nods at my hip. “I sold my half of my company to Arthur Knatchbull, so now you’ve got a tattoo that refers to him and my mother. It’s nothing to do with me anymore.”

“That’s not what it means to me. To me, it’s you. Forever. Also…”

She perks up at my tone. “What?”

“It wasn’t Arthur who bought it, it was me.”

She squeaks. “Really?”

“Yup. He just fronted the deal. I also bought your mother’s half—I offered her a price she couldn’t say no to.”

She bounces on the bed, looking as excited as a little kid as she slams her hands down on the sheets. “No! Did you? I knew Arthur paid a crazy price for it.” She swats playfully at my chest. “It was you all along. You idiot. I should have known.”

“Yeah, it was me. I also set your mum up with a new business. A modelling agency, based in Geneva.”

“Geneva?”

I shrug. “Yeah. Far away, but not too far. You know, in case you ever want to talk to her again. She seemed pretty happy about the deal to be honest.”

Erica’s eyes widen. “You exiled her.”

I let out a bellowing laugh. “No, I didn’t. She went willingly.” I pause, reassessing. “With a little encouragement. I don’t want anyone around who’s going to upset you, but if you want to re-establish contact one day, I know where she is.” I press a kiss to her lips. “And now the entire Erica Lefroy company is under my ownership, so if you want it back… it’s all yours.”

She leaps on me, smashing a sloppy kiss on my mouth. “You’re the best.”

“There is one condition.”

“What’s that?”

“You have to do a photo shoot with Diana for her social media accounts. She bloody loves thatTaming the Beastbook, and she idolises you. After everything that happened, and how essential her assistance was in taking Dad down, it’s the least I could do.”

“The leastIcould do, you mean?” she teases.

“The leastwecould do?” I suggest, and she smirks and kisses me again. “Without Diana, we might not be here. I’d do the photo shoot for you, but people would notice that I’m not Erica Lefroy. Your shoes are great, but they’re not really my style.”

She shakes her head at my joke. “Of course I’ll do it. Thank you. I was really sad to let the company go.” A cunning look whisks through her gaze. “You should do the shoot with me.”

I grin, remembering how she straddled me all those months ago for the cameras. “Not this time.”

“Spoilsport.” She sighs, stretching her arms over her head, letting out an ‘eee’that’s half yawn, half excited squeal. “Any news from your brothers?”

I roll over and grab my phone, checking the messages. I find one from Matt and another from Aries. “Yup. Baby was born last night.”

Erica leaps out of bed. “What the hell are we waiting for then? Let’s go meet your niece!”

“Nephew. They had a boy.”

Her smile widens, and as much as I want to go and meet the new Hawkston baby, I can’t take my eyes off Erica. She’s a goddess, standing naked at the end of my bed. I can’t believe she’s here. Every day she’s here, every night, every morning. I fall asleep next to her and wake up beside her. The reality of a life with Erica exceeds every hope and expectation I ever had.

“You’re even more beautiful than the picture in the bathroom,” I say. Erica’s been pestering me to get rid of it. She complains it freaks her out having to pee in the same room as a huge imageof her, but there’s no fucking way I’m getting rid of it. It’s here to stay, just like she is.

She grabs a t-shirt from the chair and tosses it at me. “Move it, Hawkston. I want to meet this kid.”

Forty-five minutes later, we’re showered and dressed and standing outside the suite at the Portland hospital with Nico and Kate.

A midwife exits the room and allows us to pass inside, where Aries is propped up on pillows, a tiny newborn cradled in her arms. She looks tired but happy. Matt sits on a chair at the side of her bed.