Staring down at my cookie, I tried to figure out how I felt about all of this. “It’s going to take time,” I told her. “But you’re a huge part of Brooke’s life, and she’s my entire fucking world, so… we will be part of each other’s lives no matter what. There’s no reason we can’t try and build a relationship.”
I had no idea if we would be successful or not. My experience with parents wasn’t the best, but what did it hurt to give it a shot. Especially when I had a child on the way. A child who deserved a fantastic grandparent.
I’d thought I’d maxed out my “Christmas miracles” with Brooklyn deciding she was ready to put up with my stubborn, violent, pushy ass. But maybe there were more in store for me.
One thing I knew, I was ready for whatever came my way.
33
Brooklyn
I’d fallen asleep content and warm in the knowledge that Dylanlovedme, that I had a family in Mary, and that I was free. Finally, truly free. One day soon I’d even sell this shithole of a house with all its bad memories, and then I’d be totally rid of Blake’s memory.
When I woke on Christmas morning, Dylan's huge frame was draped around me with his palm splayed over my bare belly. For a long time, I just lay there, looking down at the way he subconsciously protected his baby.
Some time later, he stirred and kissed my neck lovingly.
"Merry Christmas, Brooke," he murmured, his voice thick with sleep.
My pulse raced and my belly flipped with utter happiness as I snuggled deeper into his embrace. "Merry Christmas, Dylan."
He drew a deep inhale, then released it slowly, warming my neck. "Thank you, baby," he whispered. "You gave me the best gift of my entire life."
My chest tightened. "What was that?" I asked. I was all too aware that the silly remote-controlled pterodactyl I'd bought at the mall was still wrapped up under the tree. The incredible tree thathe'dset up for me.
"A family," he replied, stroking my belly. "You gave me a family of my own, Brooke. I fucking love you so much it almost hurts."
I knew he wasn't just talking about our baby, but about Mary, too.
"I love you too," I murmured back to him.
He'd given me the greatest gifts of all: our child, Blake's death and my subsequent freedom, and love. He'd showed me what it felt like to get my fairytale ending, and we were only just beginning.
“How did it go with Mary last night?” I asked, hoping that I wasn’t about to turn his mood sour. It could have gone either way, depending on Dylan and what he learned, and I really needed to know if there were pieces to pick up this morning.
He stilled beside me before he started to stroke my side softly, sending tingles through my body. “It was… a lot. A fucking lot.” He tickled me playfully all of a sudden. “A little heads up wouldn’t have hurt.”
I chuckled, pushing his creeping fingers away even though I really wanted to pull them closer. And lower.
“Mary never actually said anything to me, but I put all the pieces together. I don’t even know how I missed your similarities. Guess I just wasn’t paying attention.”
Dylan was quiet, but he didn’t seem upset. “She told me what happened. My father basically manipulated her into thinking she had nothing to offer then lawyered up to intimidate her. Since she was young and terrified, she walked away, thinking she was leaving me to my billionaire life. She didn’t know the bullshit that went on behind closed doors. No one did. I can’t blame her for wanting me to have a better life, even if I would have given anything to have been raised by her. Even if we’d lived on the streets, it would have been ten times the life I had.”
My heart hurt and thanks to pregnancy hormones, I was now crying for him. For both of us.
“Did she end up with me because of my family contacts in Delta?”
He nodded, his stubble scraping my cheek, he was that close. “I think so, but she didn’t elaborate how she first came to work for your parents. After Blake took over the house, she fought to stay with you because she knew you needed her.”
That was my Mary. “She saved my life,” I whispered. “More than once. Patched me up, snuck me food, and put up with terrible treatment to stay with me. I owe her so much.”
Dylan kissed my cheek and then my neck, and I sighed at how good it felt. “For that alone,” he breathed against my skin, “I forgive her. You needed her more than I did. I had my best friends, and they kept me sane.”
He wiped away the few tears still trailing across my cheeks before his lips found mine, and our kiss was deep and sweet. He didn’t push harder, knowing we couldn’t go too far, but he thoroughly loved my mouth.
“Everything is going to be okay now,” I told him between kisses. “We will be the family we both deserved. Mary will be the most amazing grandmother, and this little kiddo will have a bunch of insane uncles and an aunt who will shoot any asshole that look at them wrong. We will make our perfect life, just wait and see.”
“It’s already perfect,” he whispered, and I breathed in the truth of that.
