My grumpy billionaire da.., p.13
My Grumpy Billionaire Daddy: A Single Dad, Age Gap Romance, page 13
He hasn’t said he loves me back, but we’re here together. He came to the competition as soon as he could, and cooking is his love language. I don’t want to push him. Hell, I hadn’t planned on saying that myself at the courtroom, but I was supposed to tell the truth, so I didn’t filter what I was saying. I’m a bit embarrassed but I can wait. Contrary to my previous boyfriends, he didn’t flip out the second I said it and hasn’t avoided me since. He’s standing right here in this kitchen, preparing tasty food for me because he truly cares.
“Here you go, beautiful,” he says with a smile.
I take it to the table and sit to eat. He sits with me and watches me eat without a word. I start feeling self-conscious.
“Do I have salad between my teeth?” I ask, half joking.
“No, I’m just glad you’re here.”
I smile. He grabs my hand and strokes the back of it with his thumb.
“I want you to stay with us,” he says.
I tilt my head. “What do you mean?”
“I mean…” he puts his hand on my face and draws me towards him. “I love you, too.” Then he kisses me so gently and fondly I feel like melting.
EPILOGUE
LEX
Three years later
I don’t know what I did in a former life, but I must have been a saint because I’m not sure I deserve so much happiness. Ava and I have been happily together for three years, and I feel like I found my soulmate. She completes me in ways no one ever has. She showers Duke with love, and he sees her as his mother figure. It heals my heart to see a woman love him like the child he is. Well, I say child, but he’d complain about that. He’s a teenager now, almost a grown man, he likes to remind me. That makes me feel old, but that’s life.
The three of us are spending a few days at the beach house before Duke has to go back to school. I’ve taken more distance from work these past few years. I try to enjoy my new family as much as I can. The new diner is doing great, and we’re trying to develop it throughout the country. But instead of buying out diners and applying the same formula everywhere, thus washing out any form of soul or authenticity, we find nice, wholesome restaurants or diners that are struggling, and we invest in them to keep them afloat. They can keep their soul and their menu and their employees. We just help them with the business plan and modernizing. I have to say, it was a great idea. It’s working even better than I expected, and our new non-franchise is popping up everywhere. This is what I was meant to do—keeping family restaurants and small business alive because that’s where you find the best food, not in tasteless franchises.
I sued Marcus for everything he had as well. Rudy helped me, and I won again. The evidence against him was overwhelming. He isn’t as cunning as he thinks he is, and he’d left traces of his dealings everywhere. My suit against him attracted the attention of the FBI, who discovered he was dealing with the Mafia as well. That put an end to his business. I bought it out and put it back on track, so it’s an honest business again. Marcus is ruined and facing charges that could take him to prison. You reap what you sow.
Ava invested her money with Jason to create Soma Dance, a somatic dance therapy center, where physical movement is used as a form of therapy. I was skeptical at first, I have to admit. It sounded a bit too hippie to me, but Jason showed me his plan, and it was solid. I didn’t give them any money. They built it all on their own.
Turns out, the space that Jason wanted to rent was space I had bought next to the diner in New York. I bought it to prevent Marcus from buying it and turning it into whatever would hurt my new business the most. Jason and Ava came to me with their business plan, and they paid the rent and the renovations necessary. Rita joined the team, and they’ve been doing well. They paired up with some schools to teach children how to express their emotions or how to process things differently. Ava’s now looking into opening Soma Dance in other cities in the US. I support the plan and think that her contribution to society is profound.
I’m making breakfast in the kitchen while Ava and Duke set the table on the terrace and laugh at something I can’t hear. Ava’s brought a lot of light and laughter into our lives, and I’m so grateful for her. I try to show her that I love her every day.
Duke is fifteen and still seeing his mom from time to time, but their relationship remains strained, which is understandable. I would have understood if he had decided to stop seeing her. But he has such a big heart that he couldn’t do that. Ava often tells me that he gets that from me, but I chuckle when she says that.
Anyway, I have big plans for today and Duke knows it. Maybe that’s why his eyes glitter with mischief when I arrive with two heaps of pancakes, one for us and one for him. Oh, yeah, puberty hit, and he eats so much food, I don’t understand where it goes. I don’t remember being like him when I was his age, but hell, maybe I was. I laugh as he devours the pancakes like he hasn’t eaten in a week.
Ava is as beautiful as ever. Today she’s wearing a turquoise summer dress with her hair in a high ponytail. Her green eyes sparkle as Duke makes faces at her. Her laughter is one of the most beautiful sounds I’ve heard. But it’s not my favorite sound, I think to myself, smirking at the thought of her naked body. Let’s focus.
“I was thinking we could go to the cove today,” I say.
“You two go ahead. I’m playing a game with some friends here,” Duke replies innocently, though he’s in on the plan.
“Sure, I’ll gather the beach towels,” Ava says before standing up and going into the bedroom.
“She has no idea, right?” Duke says with a cocky smile.
“I don’t think so,” I reply.
“Don’t worry, Dad. She’ll say yes.” He squeezes my shoulder.
I’m not worried, but I’m a bit stressed. I’ve never proposed before, and I’m forty-eight years old. But it feels right with Ava.
I drive us to the cove slowly, holding her hand in mine. I’m wearing a linen white shirt and blue shorts she bought for me, saying I needed more casual clothes. I park and take our stuff from the trunk before grabbing her hand again and leading her to the cove.
She’s smiling, looking around at the beautiful seascape, breathing in the ocean spray. The wind tosses her hair around.
When we arrive, there’s a small pergola on the same spot as our picnic setup three years ago, when she came here for the first time. The pergola is decorated with irises and orchids. There are two deckchairs waiting for us.
“Oh, you prepared something special for today?” she asks innocently while putting down the bag with our towels on the blanket. When she turns to me, I’m on one knee.
She gasps.
“Ava, I love you,” I say. “The last three years with you have been the happiest I’ve ever known. You’ve joined our little family like you always belonged there. I marvel every day at the fact that you want to be with me. I can’t believe I got so lucky as to meet you. I feel like I’d been waiting for you my whole life. I love how you laugh, I love how you can be moody when you’re hungry, I love watching you dance, I love how you take care of Duke. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?”
“Yes, I will,” she says with happy tears in her eyes.
I slide the ring onto her finger. It’s a pear-shaped emerald ring with tiny diamonds all around the band. I saw it at the jewelry store and knew it was meant for her. I stand and put my arms around her waist and lift her to hug her tightly.
“I’m so happy, Lex. Thank you. I love you too,” she says before kissing me passionately.
The End
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