“I’m not a psychopath.” I chuckled. “I worked hard for what I have. I’ll keep enough where I can give us a more than comfortable life. But Kayla, you really have no idea how much money I have to my name. I have so much I could give away that I’d never be able to spend my way through anyway.”
“You’re a good man, Lukas Holt. A very good man.”
“Because of you.”
She smiled and tucked a strand of still damp hair behind her ear. “You were always good. You just needed help letting that part of yourself to take the driver’s seat.”
“Well now that he’s behind the wheel, I want a lot of things I never thought I’d want.”
“Things like what?”
“A family,” I said.
My quick answer surprised her. She blinked and cocked her head to the side. “A family?”
“I want to make babies with you. I want to raise humans who are as kind and as good as you. I want to share something with the world that it needs. More good people. I want to watch them grow while we get old together. I want to have holiday dinners with our grandchildren, maybe even great grandchildren.”
Kayla kissed my cheek. “I never thought I’d hear the grumpy billionaire I started working for say these kinds of things.”
“I’m not afraid to admit when I’ve been wrong.”
She cuddled in close. “Well, these changes are looking real good on you, Lukas.”
“You know what else looks real good on me?”
“What?”
“You.”
Kayla laughed and rolled her eyes. “I should’ve seen that one coming.”
We laughed and sank deeper into the sofa. Her stomach growled and I checked the time. The pizza would be there any minute.
“We’ll have to figure out how to spend time away from work, you and me,” I said. “We’ll need to find a way to relax and enjoy each other’s company without feeling tied to our jobs all the time. There are more important things than making money, or giving it away for that matter. Like spending time with you. And we’ll spend some of that money of mine on each other. We’ll travel. See the world.”
“That will be something to get used to. I can’t remember the last time I had any real time off. Or spent money on myself.”
I looked around her apartment. “Well, it’s about time we changed that.”
I looked forward to spoiling her. She deserved it.
She sighed and settled into the groove of my shoulder. “You know, I’ve never really wanted much for myself, but I have to admit, your beautiful home on the Sound is a little nicer than this dingy old apartment.”
I chuckled and rolled into her to pepper her with kisses. “The only thing my house has been missing is a pretty girl in it.”
“Check that off the list.”
“Already done.”
I kissed her deeply and left her panting with red cheeks when the door buzzer rang and the pizza arrived. She scolded me as I left her on the sofa hot and bothered to run down and grab our food.
Silly girl. She should know by now. I’d never leave her hanging again.
Epilogue
Kayla
One Year Later
Lisa lifted my veil gently and let it fall into place down the back of my wedding gown. She clapped her hands together, clearly satisfied with her flair for the dramatic, and hurried out in front of me in her lilac-colored bridesmaid dress.
“Any last minute doubts?” she asked.
I laughed and shook my head. “Aren’t you supposed to ask me something a little more positive?”
“You’re right, you’re right,” she said. “Are you sure you want to marry that idiot brother of mine?”
Snickering, I nodded. “I’m absolutely positive.”
Lisa smiled tearfully. “You look so beautiful, Kayla.”
Butterflies took flight in my stomach. “Thank you. I couldn’t have done this without you.”
“No, you couldn’t have,” she said.
We shuffled and shimmied up to the swinging saloon doors that led from the kitchen of the soup kitchen out into the hall. I knew it was a weird venue for a wedding, but for me, it fit right, like the perfect shoe.
Lukas had told me we could get married anywhere I wanted. He even suggested the Monroe Hotel, the very same place Lisa had landed for us by cashing in that favor with the owner, Stephen Edmonds. Apparently, Lukas had some pull there as well.
But I wasn’t one for flashy or glamorous events. I was a simple girl who liked to stick to her roots.
And this place was my roots. My bread and butter. My home.
And the people there were my family.
Our guests were made up of family, friends, and soup kitchen regulars who’d all been invited to our ceremony. We’d decided on Thanksgiving Day for the wedding so that the caterers could feed everyone a hearty turkey dinner. Lisa had joked that a lot of the guests were probably there for the turkey, not the wedding, and if that was the case, I didn’t mind at all.
The chairs would be filled with smiling faces of people I’d helped and who’d helped me. They deserved to be there today.
And so did Rodney, who stood off to the side of the doors with a tight-lipped smile on his face.
I knew this hadn’t been an easy day for him. When Lukas and I first made our relationship official about a year ago, I’d told him my very first shift back at the soup kitchen. He’d told me he wasn’t all that surprised. He’d suspected something was going on between me and Lukas and he’d told me he knew he couldn’t compete.
I’d assured him it had nothing to do with competing. When I explained that I’d known Lukas since I was a little girl and we grew up together, Rodney felt a little less sorry for himself. I knew this still wasn’t the best day for him, but he was my friend, and that was how he’d shown up for me on my special day, as a friend.
He’d handled all the catering details, telling me I had other things to worry
