Billion Dollar Revenge (The Lincoln Brothers #2)

38. Epilogue 2

Epilogue 2

Chelsea

A few months later

I only have a few minutes left before I need to be outside for Evan to pick me up. I finish typing the last sentence in my draft of a new eBook. It’s going to be a beginner's guide to mat Pilates at home. After taking on the studio, I realized I wanted to offer more. All my classes are full with waitlists. I needed to figure out a way to help more clients.

The books will be available through my website for purchase. I’ll also offer new guides for pre-and post-natal pregnancy. It will take a few months to make each eBook, but I’m having fun making them while the trainers teach the classes.

I’ve been able to take a step back into a managerial role, and I only teach a few classes a week because I’m not ready to give up that part of my life yet.

I quickly close my computer down, put my coat on, grab my suitcase, say goodbye to Colby, and head downstairs.

Evan’s car isn’t here yet, when a gust of wind picks up. I check the time on my watch and see it’s exactly ten in the morning.

He’s due any second.

His driver pulls up and Evan exits the side door, holding a bunch of white gardenias.

I smile immediately.

“Hey.”

“Hey, Shell baby. Are you ready to go?”

I nod and step closer, grabbing the gardenias from his outstretched hand. His hand grabs my hip, careful not to squash the flowers, and kisses me.

For a moment, I forget where we are until his lips leave mine.

He takes my bag and puts it in the trunk. As I climb into the car, he slips in beside me.

I keep the gardenias in my hand, a little confused by the flowers because he asked me to pack for a holiday.

“Where are we going?”

“There’s only one place at Thanksgiving I would love to visit.”

“Will your family be there?”

“No.”

“But your gram.”

“She’s encouraging this.”

My forehead wrinkles. “Okay. So where?”

His eyes wrinkle from the irresistibly devastating grin he’s wearing.

“Connecticut.”

Unable to hold back my glee, I throw my arms around his neck and kiss him. I whisper into his coat, “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

His hand rubs my back up and down.

“You’re welcome, baby,” he says. “Now buckle up, we have a helicopter to catch.”

I sit back in the leather chair and swiftly buckle up. I give the gardenias to his driver to give to his wife.

The ride was smooth and fast. It was a better experience because I was in a helicopter. It was my first time, and it was better than I had ever imagined. I don’t know how I’ll go back to the cabin after this.

When we exit the helicopter, holding hands, I scan the floor for Anna or my parents.

“I told them I wanted a guided tour before we arrived at the house.”

He gently nudges me, which brings me back from my daydream—him calling my family.

“Well, Mr. Lincoln, I’d love to be your tour guide.”

“I hired a car, so let’s grab our bags and then find our car.”

The genuine sounds of excitement in his voice sends a thrill through me.

On the way to my parents’ place, I detour to show him landmarks close to the airport like the New England Air Museum, then the Old Newgate Prison and copper mine, and the Northwest Park.

He was interested in everything, asking questions when he needed to. It made me feel closer to him. Even though I’ve seen it all a million times, it never gets old. It’s breathtaking. I enjoyed watching him experience it for the first time. It was way more special doing it that way. We're here for a week, so we have plenty of time to explore and visit more of my favorite places.

“The drive just up on the right.” I point to the house.

“I can’t wait to see where you grew up.”

I can feel my throat constricting as tears well in my eyes. This moment is huge for me. I’m bringing a man home. A man I love.

As we make our way along the driveway, I can hear his sharp intake of breath. “Incredible.”

“It is. It was a great place to grow up in.”

“Would you ever move back?”

He turns off the car, but neither of us moves. We twist in the chairs to face each other.

“No. I have my life in New York now.”

He nods, but his eyes drift as he thinks about the house. I’m desperate to know what’s running through his head.

“What?”

“Would you be opposed if I looked at a property for us?”

I frown, head tilting at that question. “But my studio.”

“I get it. It’s new, but for now, it could be a vacation stay…”

“But?” I push, hearing the hitch in his voice.

“Maybe one day we could live here?”

He means when we have a family.

I gulp hard, trying to stop new tears from choking me.

“I’d love that, but our businesses...”

“We could work remotely. Not be hands-on, just the owners. Hire more people to manage.”

I sit back in the chair and let all this new information process in my brain.

It’s a lot. A lot more than I dreamed of.

Move back here? And he’s willing to do it with me.

“I have a great team,” I say, sitting back and staring out the windshield.

“You do. But listen.” He grabs my hand, and I twist around to face him.

“Nothing is happening fast. You set the pace.”

“It might take a while to find a house,” I murmur.

The words feel strange leaving my mouth. But I don’t hate it. It’s just unexpected.

“Let’s go inside. I want a tour.”

I giggle, exit the car, and move to the trunk.

His tan-colored coat and blue jeans with matching tan boots make him stand out in the best way. The wind blows his wavy hair onto his forehead, and I can’t help but push it back. Refocusing on the task, he grabs all the luggage and heads to the door.

“You’ve lived here your whole life?”

“Yep.”

The door opens, and Mom, Dad, and Anna stand there with large smiles on their faces. Their eyes automatically go to Evan.

And when they move to mine, the same gleam is reflected in their eyes. As if I didn’t already know, now I’m certain they approve of him.

I step forward and hug them each. They all say hi to Evan.

“Would you like tea, coffee, or a cold drink?” Mom asks.

My sister and Dad are already exiting to the living room.

“Let me take our luggage to the rooms and give him a tour of the house first.”

Mom smiles as she slips away.

I turn to Evan. He is wearing a humorous expression, but his wolfish grin knows exactly what he’s thinking.

I shake my head. “Not happening.” I walk off, and he follows behind, listening as I give him the tour.

We arrive at my childhood bedroom.

“Nice. You still have posters on the wall.”

He wanders through my room with interest. Coming to the side table, he picks up the frame sitting on it. It’s a family photo of me on my twenty-first birthday.

“Mom won’t take anything down without me. But when I come home, I love this.”

“I love seeing the young Chelsea.”

“I’ll show you around this week. You can meet some of my childhood friends.”

“You don't talk about them much.”

I sigh, feeling the heaviness of that knowledge weighing me down. “I know. I don’t see them much. Most are married with children.”

“You moved away. I get it.”

“Exactly.” I take the luggage from him and move it near the closet, and Evan whispers in my ear, “Does it squeak?”

I swallow the giggle trying to escape. “Probably.”

“What do you mean, probably?”

I bite the side of my lip. “I haven’t...” I don’t want to say the words out loud. I don’t need my family to know those things about me.

His eyebrows rise to his forehead. “We will be changing that tonight.”

My bottom lip drops as I see the fire burning in his eyes.

My body temperature rises. The tour…

“Let’s get back to the tour.” I take his hand and walk him out. He and I in my bedroom is a very dangerous thing.

“You have so much room here,” he says, his voice is full of disbelief as I take him out the back door. I know what he means. The lots here are much bigger and so is the square footage. Here houses are more affordable for privacy, yards, and gardens.

It’s vastly different from New York. Connecticut is more colonial, capes, salt boxes, whereas New York is apartments, brownstones, townhouses, and high-rise buildings. Neither is better, just different.

We walk toward the white oak tree. Suddenly, he stops mid-step, and I turn to check on him to see him staring at it. After a good minute, he turns to me.

An expression I can’t read sits on his face.

It’s the tree. His favorite tree.

“Crazy, isn’t it,” I murmur.

“Not crazy…just unbelievable.”

“I assume in a good way?”

“Yeah.” He clears his throat. “You were meant to be.”

I rock back and forth on my heels, knowing exactly what he means.

His hands slip into mine, and he pulls me toward the tree. “Does the tire still work?”

Tilting my head, I stare into his eyes. His eyes suddenly fill with mischief.

With his youthful face, I couldn’t turn it down because the tire is at least twenty-eight years old.

“Let’s see.” I jog toward it, pulling him along.

A light laugh bubbles from my chest. The pure joy and freedom of sharing this special place with him.

I jump in, but it’s awkward. “This isn’t as comfortable as when you’re younger and shorter.”

His eyes drop slowly over my legs. “I’m not complaining about your long legs.”

That one hungry, admiring look sends goosebumps scattering over my body.

We stay out here for a while before we decide to have a coffee with my family.

Entering the house, I amble to the wooden table where Dad has the paper out and the front page catches my eye. He’s not here, so I move the paper toward me, and read the front where there is the current whereabouts of the princess. The paper’s been keeping up with the princess’s whereabouts.

The picture of her holding hands and looking up at her bodyguard on an island makes me smile.

The way the wind has picked up her dress and her dark blonde hair looks effortless in beach waves, makes me reflect on my happiness with Evan.

Everyone deserves to have this feeling.

“Are you looking at my paper?” Evan creeps up behind me, wrapping his strong arms around me. He holds me tight.

The PDA in front of my family is new. My sister winks at me before turning to the kitchen, giving us privacy. I silently thank her. He already had her seal of approval, but now I think she may like him more than me.

“I’m happy she found her happily ever after.”

He nuzzles his nose into my neck. “She did. And so did I.”

I twist in his arms, my hands behind his neck, gazing lovingly into his eyes.

“You didn’t want this…”

“I was an idiot.”

I shake my head. “No. You just needed to find me.”

“I needed you.”

As I stare into his eyes and hold him close, I realize, not for the first time, how completely besotted and in love we are.