EPILOGUE: CHLOE

Eighteen Months Later

“Your husband is here to see you, ma’am.” Melody poked her head into my office.

I looked up at her and wrinkled up my nose. “I’m sorry, you’ll have to send him away. I don’t have a husband.”

She sighed. “I told him that just like you said last time, but he insisted that was how I introduced him.”

“Please tell the delusional gentleman that he has to wait another three weeks before I can see my husband,” I said, grinning. “Maybe offer him a coffee or a blanket so he can be comfortable for the duration of his stay.”

“Do you hear this shit, Melody?” Theo’s head appeared over the top of Melody’s. “This is workplace harassment.”

“No, a strange man showing up to my office and continually calling himself my husband is workplace harassment.” I stared at him for a second. “And please don’t bring my secretary into this.”

“She was my secretary first.”

“Hey, you sound just like Gramps.”

Theo froze. “I take it back. Every word.”

I grinned and looked at Melody. “Did you confirm the hotel reservations for this weekend?”

She nodded. “Yes, Miss St. James. It’s all ready to go. I also spoke to the manager and confirmed our meeting on Saturday.”

“Perfect. You can go for lunch now.”

“Thank you. Oh, excuse me, Mr. Black.” She dipped under his arm and disappeared.

Theo stepped into my office and closed the door. “I still can’t believe you left me and stole my secretary.”

“It was a year ago. Get over it.”

He wasn’t going to get over it. He was never going to get over it.

I didn’t know what he’d been expecting back then. There was no way I could have moved into a new role at the company without taking someone I knew, and I was gracious enough to leave him Daniel and train him up to be my successor.

He was doing a fantastic job, and I was just thrilled I was no longer the person responsible for ordering cars late at night.

Although as things happened, I was still the one who was knotting Theo’s tie every single morning.

I’d pretty much accepted that was my future the day he’d gotten down on one knee at the cottage and asked me to marry him.

That had been a whirlwind six months. I’d spent the better part of two weeks weighing up Alastair’s offer to become the manager of the Adair Travel office before deciding to accept it.

I hadn’t wanted to resign in the end, and the plan he’d laid out had made perfect sense. It’d also saved us when Theo had accidentally let the true nature of our relationship slip not long after I’d fully transferred—I already had results from my previous work with the project, so the ‘stuffy bastards on the board’ couldn’t oppose me very easily.

That was what Gramps called them, not me.

Ironic, considering he was one of those board members.

We’d also managed to weather the rumours about our relationship. There were those who did think it’d had something to do with my new position, and that’d affected Theo a lot more than it had me. I’d convinced him not to retaliate and fan the flames even more, and after some prodding, he’d agreed, and they’d eventually died down.

Since then, my results had spoken for themselves.

The only thing that had changed from our original plan was delaying my second promotion to the Managing Director position. Theo was going to hold onto that for another two years, but since the whole reason for it was his fault, he had to suck it up.

That was what happened when you had a magic dick and got your fiancée pregnant the first month without protection.

Okay, yes, I was also responsible, but who the heck thought they’d get pregnant the first time around?

I closed the file I’d been looking at and rested my chin in my hands to gaze up at him. “To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit, Mr Black?”

“Can’t I come and see my wife during my lunch break?”

“You could. If only you had a wife.”

“Fine.” He walked around my desk and spun my chair, leaning over me. “I came to say hello to the freeloader.”

“The freeloader is in my bad books,” I replied. “If I have to sniff one more herbal mix said to alleviate nausea from Gramps, I’m going to turn into a herb.”

“Nonsense. You’re far too pretty to be a herb.” He kissed both of my cheeks before pecking the tip of my nose. “How are you feeling?”

“Like there are waltzers in my stomach. Thanks for asking.”

“Have you eaten lunch?”

I shook my head. “The smell of just about everything makes my stomach roll. Melody is keeping me stocked with ice water and mango smoothies, so I can at least keep something down. I’m getting a bit sick of mango, though.”

He blew out a long breath and touched his forehead to mine. “I’m sorry.”

“You should be. What kind of super sperm do you have to get me pregnant so quickly?” I grumbled.

“I know you’re trying to be mean, but honestly, that just makes me feel a little smug.”

“Ugh.” I reached for my water and sipped it through the straw. “I’m just glad the women in your family aren’t as insane as the men. Grandma has been intercepting Gramps’ deliveries.”

Theo looked at the pile of boxes in the corner. “Are those all from him?”

“His latest offering was baby-sized binoculars so they can go plane spotting together.”

Theo frowned. “Is he aware that you’re only nine weeks pregnant?”

“This is exactly why I told you not to tell him.”

He coughed into his hand, looking away shamefully. “It just came out.”

“Because you were bickering again! You were just shooting things at each other without thinking. That’s exactly how everyone found out about our relationship.”

His cheeks flushed. “I like showing you off.”

“And as I keep reminding you, I’m not a diamond.”

“Of course, you aren’t. You’re far too valuable to be reduced to a mere diamond.”

“Stop sucking up to me. I’m nauseous enough as it is.”

He clutched his chest. “Just when I thought you were going to stop breaking my heart.”

“You’re such a big baby.” I stood up and rested my cheek against his chest. “I’m so tired. Do you think I can take a nap?”

“Mm.” He wrapped his arms around me. “You’re the boss here. You can take a nap if you want to.”

“Isn’t that an abuse of my authority?”

“Your husband is the Vice-President. Who’s going to tell you off?”

“Okay, that’s an abuse of your authority.”

“I see you didn’t tell me off for referring to myself as your husband.”

“I’m picking and choosing my battles. Right now, it’s trying to stay awake.”

Theo took hold of my shoulders and pushed me over towards my sofa. “Sit there and wait a second.”

I did as I was told, watching as he pulled out his phone and tapped away.

“Done.” He put his phone on the table and sat next to me, grabbing hold of me and slowly lying us both down on the sofa.

“What are you doing?” I asked, yawning.

“Flagrantly abusing my authority,” he replied, wrapping his arms around me. “Daniel is on his way down. He’ll watch your office until Melody comes back, so close your eyes for half an hour.”

“But I—”

“It’s lunchtime. If you keep going, you’re going to pass out at your desk. Take a rest, baby.” He cupped the back of my head, stroking my hair. “Half an hour isn’t going to kill you, nor is it going to affect your work.”

“You’re just giving Daniel a chance to hang out with his girlfriend at work,” I murmured, closing my eyes.

“And giving myself one to see you.” He chuckled, still smoothing his hand over my hair. “The internet said it’s good for pregnant women to sleep when they’re tired.”

“Have you been reading the baby websites again when you should be working?”

“It’s called research. Daniel and I are now experts on the symptoms of the first trimester.”

“I’m sure you are.” I smiled, fisting his shirt. “Okay, Mr Expert. I’ll nap for a little bit.”

He kissed the top of my head. “Good girl.”

“I won’t want to sleep if you say that.”

“If you nap now, I’ll do whatever you want to you later.”

“Silly,” I muttered. “Thank you. I love you.”

“I know.” He pressed his lips to my forehead. “I love you, too.”