Force of Forever (All In #0.5)

“I did. I would have settled for a couple of hours and a fruit skewer, though. Lord. You didn’t have to buy me a beach house.”

Too bad Matt didn’t know how to love small. “Yeah, I did.”

She took his hand on the third patio, and continued to hold on through the kitchen the size of his Paris flat. She didn’t let go as she examined the exposed beams and millwork, and she was still holding his hand when they toured the master shower in its own room with a view.

She paused outside a sunny bedroom on the first floor that featured a wooden door to a walled garden. Her joyful smile made his stomach flip. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“Baby’s room?” he replied.

She nodded. “We’re having a girl.”

Matt’s heart stuttered in his chest. His breath all but left him. A daughter. “We are?”

“That’s what my gut tells me. What do you think of the name Graciela?”

“Graciela Geier.” Matt tried the name on his tongue. In his heart. “Beautiful,ma belle. Is it weird that I love her already?”

Pia shook her head, smiling.

Matt’s heart started to pound harder. She hadn’t explicitly stated that he could move into this home with her or accepted his apology, but he couldn’t stop himself from speaking. Not this time. “Is it weird that I think I loveyoualready?”

She tapped her lips in faux thought, seemingly unfazed by his confession. “Mmm…yeah, it is, actually. But we already knew you were crazy.” She pulled him into a hug and his whole being exhaled. “Is almost telling me you love me part two of your plan?”

He shook his head, his muscles releasing for the first time in weeks. “I quit.”

Pia stepped back as if shoved. “What?”

“Well, mostly. I pulled Tate away from the liquor division in Paris. He just arrived a few days ago at OrbitAll. I’m keeping the CEO position simply to shield him from the worst parts of running a company, but I plan to let him lead and learn. I’m still at OrbitAll in title only.”

The gratitude filling her face warmed him like sunrays. “You gave up your job? Your newcompany, your whole future?”

He shook his head. “I think I gained a future. A real one. I didn’t give up a damn thing. We just need to decide together what we want to do with our time and my money. If you’ll have me, we’ll find something that makes us both fulfilled.”

She pressed wobbly lips together. Tears tracked down her cheeks. “Wow. Despite every kindness you showed me in Paris, despite this gorgeous house, I never expected a step like that toward our little family’s future, Matt. Thank you.” She stuck a fingernail in her mouth, still staring at him with weepy eyes.

Matt smiled.Our little family.The words should have scared him, but they didn’t. Not anymore. Not next to her. “It’s my pleasure, Pia. Want to see the beach?”

They moved together through the kitchen and living room onto the patio that flanked the entire front of the house, flowing from inside to out seamlessly. Her fingers brushed his, then grabbed hold, as they followed the little flagstone path to the beach.

Pia dug her toes in the sand with a happy sigh and wandered closer to the ocean. Matt didn’t bother looking at the scenery. He watched Pia as she surveyed their home and the sea with her hair tossed about by the wind.

They walked all the way down to the waves, where Pia waded in. When she joined him again, sand coated her feet like socks. “Is it time to tell our families everything?” she asked, putting her arms around his waist.

“Is that forgiveness, Pia?”

He had to know.

She watched the crashing waves a while longer before replying. Then her dark eyes branded his. “Yes. I want this to be our life, unconventional and unplanned as it is.”

Matt felt his body sag with relief. He hugged her tighter.

“I think I love you too, Romeo,” she said into his chest. “I feel like meeting you was fate. Like some force brought us together and kept us that way.”

Matt’s heart had never felt lighter. Never. Love over legacy was already saving him. “I feel that way, too.”

She pulled away to look into his face. So full of joy and love that Matt couldn’t help himself, he placed a long, deep kiss on her mouth.

His body lit up with rightness. Fuck, he had missed this piece of his soul that had walked out with her. “I didn’t know if I’d ever get to kiss you again,” he said. Pia’s response was to slide her tongue along his while toying with the buttons on his shirt.