Page 97 of The Gambler Wagers Her Baron

“Just as I did not know I could come to love a lady, a gambler in masquerade. However, I most certainly cannot live without a woman who can comfort my daughter when her night terrors threaten to overtake her. A woman who challenges my son and cares deeply for his studies.” It was more than all this. Their love could not be all because of the children. “I found myself falling in love with a woman whose temper got the best of her on more than one occasion, a woman who wasn’t afraid to stand up to me, a lady who could soothe my own lost soul.”

“You were never lost, Damon, just as my searching was useless.”

He shook his head, unable to believe her.

“We were both exactly where fate meant us to be…”

Payton pushed to her tiptoes, her arms twining around his neck as she pressed against him.

Another truth he’d come to realize was that there was nothing more natural than having Payton in his arms and he, without a doubt, would do all in his power to keep her there.

“Miss Payton Samuels.” He tilted his head back, needing to gaze into the dark blue pools of her eyes when next he spoke. “Would you do me the great honor of becoming my baroness, my wife, and my children’s mother?”

She fell back a step, her hands coming to cover her mouth before dropping to her sides.

Damon smiled, his heart surging when his happiness was mirrored in her.

This woman, this lady he’d chosen to love, was everything he’d waited for all these years: strong, confident, and willing to wager everything for what she believed in.

“Do say yes, Miss Samuels.” Joy’s tiny voice squeaked from behind them.

When they both turned, they were greeted by three bright smiles: Joy, Abram, and Payton’s brother.

“What say you?” Garrett asked. “Unconventional, indeed. However…”

Payton glanced between Damon’s beaming face and the expectant looks of her brother and the children. There was not a thing about her day that had gone as planned, and Payton was overjoyed by that.

She’d returned to Ashford Hall to see the children safely home.

She hadn’t planned to seek out Damon nor be confronted by Catherton. The last thing she’d wanted was for Garrett to be entangled in the mess she’d created for herself. But, suddenly, his presence meant everything.

The last vestiges of her planned future fell away as images of a new course settled around her, mirrored in the shining faces of those who she’d come to care so deeply for. Damon, his children, as well as the entire Ashford household. She’d misguidedly thought she could walk away from it all and move on—move forward. The truth was, there would be no moving anywhere if Damon weren’t by her side.

Damon placed his hand on the small of her back. “Children, Miss Samuels is likely overwhelmed. I think it is best you both return to your chambers and give us a moment of privacy. Lord Garrett, would you be so kind as to see them to their rooms?”

Garrett nodded and proceeded to usher the children from the study, despite their pleas to remain.

Did Damon think she was opposed to being his wife? Did he bid Joy and Abram leave because he did not want them to remain and hear her turn down his offer of marriage?

Her pulse quickened. “Children. Wait, do not leave.”

Garret, Joy, and Abram halted, turning back to the room.

“Come inside,” she bid. “My answer affects you as much as your father.”

Payton steered the children toward the lounge while Garrett remained close to the door as if debating if he should stay, as well.

“Lord Garrett?” Joy called, holding her hand out to him. “Are you coming?”

How had it taken weeks for her to win the girl’s heart and only an hour for Garrett?

Payton lowered herself to the lounge, the children settling on each side of her with Garrett and Damon taking the chairs across from them.

This discussion was not solely hers, nor would this be the last time she’d need to consult others because, despite her longing to select her own future, with her answer, she would be affecting the lives of each person sitting around her.

Her life would no longer be her own.

Her life was to become their life.