“And you’re sure the jet’s ready to leave tomorrow?” I ask gently, bouncing one of the boys on my hip as the others bicker amongst themselves.

Dillon nods, scooping the other two up and holding them a reasonable distance away from each other.

“Of course, my love. I know how much this trip means to you,” he soothes.

Since I’ve been living with Dillon and our children for just over two years, we’re more than overdue a visit to Australia to see my family. Jenny is warming up to the idea of having him as a billionaire brother-in-law, though with all the gifts Dillon has been sending her and my parents, who can blame her? As much as I’ve tried to tell him that he doesn’t have to buy my family’s approval, he’s simply too generous for his own good.

“Do you think the boys will behave themselves on the plane?” I ask, and Dillon looks at me for a long moment before we both burst into laughter. “Oh, I know, I know. Of course not,” I correct myself, setting Bradley on the floor.

He looks at me with those big, expressive eyes of his, and I’m beginning to wonder if Dillon was onto something when he mentioned loving my eyes. All three boys have shades of green as an eye color: Dillon Junior’s eyes are looking a bit more turquoise, Charles has eyes that look more forest green, and Bradley seems to have the exact emerald shade of my own.

They’re growing to be handsome little boys, though they’re real troublemakers when they set their young minds to it. Dillon jokes that he can’t imagine where they got that trait. After two years of co-parenting, he and I are closer than ever, and I have no doubt in my mind that he’s the man I want to spend the rest of my life with.

“Have you finished packing your bags yet?” Dillon inquires, and I snort at the silliness of his question.

He tilts his head at me, placing Charles and Dillon Junior on the floor.

“You’re not going to be able to play once we’re on the plane, so better get all the roughhousing out of your system,” he instructs them, and the two grin before starting to wrestle. Bradley smiles as he watches for a moment, before joining in on the fun.

“Should we really be encouraging them?” I muse aloud, watching the three of them with a faint grin.

Dillon waves me off, stepping towards me to draw me into his arms. He presses a kiss to my cheek, trailing down along the side of my neck.

“Honey, not in front of the boys,” I murmur, blushing deeply.

My handsome billionaire smirks, pulling me away towards the other room.

“I need to talk to you about something,” he murmurs, lacing his fingers with mine as I glance anxiously towards the boys. “It’s important,” Dillon says, more urgently, giving my hand another tug.

“Oh, fine,” I sigh, following him into the den.

He shuts off the television which is blaring cartoons, gesturing for me to sit on the couch. I oblige him, more than vaguely curious as to what he has in mind. He sighs, beginning to pace back and forth in front of me. Something tells me that he’s troubled, though I have no idea by what.

“Dillon, are you all right?” I inquire softly.

He pauses, turning to face me with an intense expression.

“I don’t think your family is going to approve,” he says, his voice calm in spite of his words and posture.

His hands fidget at his sides, and I can tell that the situation is seriously bothering him.

“Approve of…what? Our relationship? Oh come on, you know they love you. Everything that happened is in the past,” I murmur, rising to my feet in an attempt to comfort him.

He holds a hand out to stop me, worrying his lip between his teeth.

“It’s just that, most parents expect their kids to, you know, get married and then have kids,” he hedges.

“My parents are well aware of where you and I stand. Nothing has changed in the two years we’ve been doing this together! We’re still co-parents even if we aren’t doing it the traditional way…” I trail off, averting my eyes.

Dillon sighs, dropping down to a knee to get on my level. I refuse to meet his gaze, the conversation hitting a nerve a bit more than I would like to admit.

“Listen, Charlotte,” he begins, and I glance towards him with the intent to tell him we don’t need to discuss this any further.

However, what I see stops me in my tracks. Dillon remains on one knee, a jewelry box in his hand as he meets my gaze with a warm smile. Certain he’s joking, I roll my eyes.

“What’s in there, a candy ring?”

He grins wider, popping the lid on the jewelry box. I glance towards him again, feeling my heart stop in my chest as I lay eyes upon the ring settled inside the box.

“I’m more partial to carats,” he says slyly. Then, his expression turns serious and he reaches out to caress my cheek.

“Charlotte, I had so much planned that I wanted to say. Some big romantic spiel, but, you know…ah. To hell with it. Marry me,” he murmurs.

My mouth falls open and it’s all I can do not to scream my answer. I hold out my hand, and he removes the ring from its box, holding it tantalizingly close to my finger.

“What do you say?” he whispers.

“Dillon…of course. Yes, yes, I’ll marry you!” I cry out, unable to stop the tears that prick at the corners of my eyes. I hear the sound of excited squealing from the living room, and the boys come tumbling in, each of them trying to get to Dillon and me first.

Overcome with emotion, I glance towards Dillon and smile broadly as he slips the ring onto my finger. It fits perfectly. It’s also the biggest diamond I’ve ever seen in my life. I’m overcome with emotion, gathering the boys into my arms and planting a firm kiss on Dillon’s lips.

“My sister is going to freak out when she sees this,” I breathe, holding the ring out and allowing it to glimmer in the light.

“You’re telling me!” I hear a voice cry out.

I glance over, surprised to see Dillon’s tablet propped up on the table. I hadn’t noticed, but my parents and Jenny are watching me from the small screen, apparently having been in a video call the whole time. Jenny gives me a thumbs up, winking at me. My mother is in tears, and my father is maintaining his composure with difficulty.

Mom gets close to the table and makes a kissy face at us.

“Congratulations, honey. I can’t wait to see your ring in person! You boys behave on the flight, all right? Grammy loves you. All of you! That means you too, Silly Dilly,” she coos before the screen goes black.

The boys having lost interest, the three of them totter out of the room, and Dillon seizes the opportunity to pull me to him again. I grin deviously as I reach out to poke his cheek.

“Silly Dilly?” I tease, and he grows indignantly flushed. “More like Big Willy Dilly,” I grin, leaning in to press our lips together.

Suddenly, there’s a rustling sound from the tablet.

“Shit, how do I turn this thing off? Guys…Mom and Dad can hear you making out, and Dad doesn’t look happy. Abort mission,” Jenny shouts, and Dillon jolts away from me.

I can hear my father repeating the words “Big Willy Dilly” in disbelief, and I can’t help but cackle as I reach towards the tablet to turn it off.

“Your father is going to kill me,” Dillon mutters ruefully.

I grin, moving to shift into his lap. He considers me with a raised brow, and I lean in to whisper into his ear.

“Well, if he’s going to kill you, shouldn’t we give him a good reason?” I murmur as I begin to unbutton his shirt.

He grins, capturing my lips and tangling a hand in my hair. The other slips under my shirt, where I’ve managed to reclaim my flat stomach. I’m a few stretch marks richer, but I’ve never felt more beautiful in my life.

Here in my billionaire fiancé’s arms, I’m certain that there could be nothing better than the life we have. The here and now. This very moment.

“Momma, I gotta go potty!” Bradley calls from the living room, and I draw away from Dillon with a wry smile.

“Raincheck, baby?” I ask, rising to my feet and walking into the living room.

Dillon trails after me, and while he looks exasperated, I know he wouldn’t trade moments like this for anything in the world.

And I’m glad, because little does he know that in just under eight months’ time, we’re going to be welcoming yet another little angel to our family.