CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

RYDER

I walk into the apartment, and this amazing smell of chicken and cheese hits my senses.

I look over at the kitchen table as Ashlyn places a dish in the center of it. She looks up at me and smiles. “How was your day, sweetie?”

“Good.” I nod to the table. “What’s up with this?”

She rubs her hands on my t-shirt that she wears. “I wanted to cook you dinner.”

“Are we celebrating something? Other than the baby?” I ask, and she laughs.

“Something like that.”

She comes up to me and wraps her arms around me. “You got the job?” I say the only other thing that comes to mind.

“Yes, they called me about an hour ago and told me it was mine if I wanted it.”

I smile, but it’s forced. Can she notice? I reach up and press a few loose blond strands behind her ear. “Congratulations, baby.”

“I told them no.”

“What?”

Her smile widens as she wraps her arms around my neck. “I told them no,” she repeats. “I thought long and hard about it today, and dreams change.”

I can’t hide the smile on my face. “What is your dream now?”

“To be yours. To be here for you when you get home with dinner on the table and to be a mother to your children.”

I arch a brow. “Children? We’re having more?”

“As many as you want.”

I reach down and grab her ass, lifting her off the ground. “We should get to working on that.”

She throws her head back, laughing. “There’s already one baby in there. We have to wait to make the next one.”

“Practice makes perfect,” I say, carrying her off to our bedroom.

**

I’m standing in the bathroom when I look out the open door and see her sitting on our bed on her laptop. I spit out my toothpaste. “What are you looking at?”

“Art,” she says simply.

Placing my toothbrush in the holder, I walk out and fall onto the bed beside her. “What kind of art?”

“Talia’s is having an auction this weekend. They are selling all the art left in the gallery.”

“I bet their artists were pissed about them closing,” I say.

She shrugs. “Not sure. I haven’t spoken to any of them. But I can’t say they would be happy.” She scrolls down to the bottom of the page and clicks on a picture of what looks like to be a spider web but each piece of string is a different color. “This is my favorite.”

As she begins to tell me about the differences in the colors, I realize I’ve never spoken to her about art. We were living together and expecting a baby, yet I never asked her about her true passion.

I sit back with my head against the headboard as she snuggles up next to me, showing me one picture at a time, and I just smile at her. I ask questions here and there, and her face lights up as she takes me through all the pictures. I realize I can’t let her give up on her dreams. She was right when she said that dreams change, but that doesn’t mean you have to give up on one for another.

She’s selfless—giving up something she dreams of to make me happy. And I can’t allow that.

**

“Yes,” I tell the woman on the phone while I sit at my desk.

“Mr. O’Kane?” She confirms my name.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Okay. I have your information and will let you know when they’re ready.”

“Thank you,” I say, hanging up just as the door opens to my office and my father steps in. “Good morning,” I say with a big smile.

He looks at me as if I’ve lost my mind. I like to think I’m beyond that now. “What can I do for you this morning?” I ask.

He snorts and runs a hand through his hair. He tosses an envelope onto my desk, and I pick it up. “What’s this?”

“Jackie just gave this to me. She said that you had her on a wild goose chase.”

I nod, eying the envelope and getting a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. “Have you looked inside?”

“Yes,” comes his clipped answer.

I look up to meet his eyes, and he nods his head once. “You were right, son. And I have already put things in motion.”

I grind my teeth and pull the papers out to read over. My eyes scan over the words and figures. I find myself smiling even through the anger. “Well, looks like you’re gonna get your divorce after all.”

ASHLYN

“Where are we going?” I ask, reaching up to the blindfold.

“Don’t,” he says, grabbing my hand and pulling it away; he intertwines our fingers together so I can’t remove it.

“Is this some new fetish of yours?” I ask with a laugh.

“Something like that,” he answers with a laugh of his own. “Just a little longer.”

I huff but smile. He’s up to something. He’s been this way for a month now. Anxious. I just figured it was work, but I realized it was more than that when I woke up this morning and he had a blindfold in his hands. I thought we were gonna have some kinky morning sex, but he obviously had something else in mind.

I feel Milton bring the Escalade to a stop, and Ryder helps me out of the SUV. “Just a few more steps,” he says, and I can hear the smile in his voice. I think he’s more excited about whatever it is than I am.

I walk up a few stairs and then hear a door open. Then my heels are clapping against the floor, and it echoes loudly. I frown. Where has he brought me?

I feel him standing behind me, and then his fingers are untying the knot to the blindfold. He removes it, and I open my eyes. It takes a second for them to adjust, and when I do, I frown. “I don’t understand …” I say, turning to face him. He wears a sly smile on his beautiful face, and his green eyes shine. I’m confused.

My mouth opens and then closes, looking around the inside of Talia’s gallery. All the previous art still on the walls and the same crystal vase he sent me with red roses now sits on my old desk. But only this time, there are two vases with a dozen red roses in each.

I turn back to face him. “What are we doing here?” I ask.

He still wears that smile. “I wanna show you something.” Taking my hand, he pulls me over to one of the white walls to look at a painting. I look over at it and notice it right away. It’s the house where we stayed at in the Hamptons. It has the ocean behind it, and a sold sign out front …

He steps up beside me. I look over at him. “You bought it to sell it?” I ask, wondering why he would tell me this way.

“Close,” he says, smiling. “I bought it. For us.”

My heart starts to pick up. He didn’t. Did he ...? “We’re keeping it?”

“You said you liked it.”

“I loved it,” I say, and tears sting my eyes.

He turns to face me, and I do the same. He grabs my hand and kneels on his right knee. My heart pounds as I gasp.

He just smiles up at me. “Ashlyn, you told me that dreams change. And I realized that mine changed the moment I met you. I didn’t know I could love someone as much as I love you.” He pulls a box from the inside pocket of his suit jacket, and my breath catches when I see the Tiffany box. “I will spend the rest of my life making all your dreams come true. I just ask that you make my dream come true by becoming my wife.”

I can’t speak from the knot in my throat and the pounding of my heart. He’s nothing but a blurry mess before me, and I start nodding my head quickly. I feel him slip the ring on my finger, and then he stands, picking me up and spinning me around as a half-laugh, half-sob finally breaks free.

He sets me down, and I grab his face. “I can’t believe you bought that house for us,” I say still in awe.

He places his forehead on mine. “Baby, I bought this gallery for you too.” I gasp. “It’s all yours. I told you, every dream you’ve ever had I’m gonna make come true.” Then his lips are on mine.